Bubble had been keeping to herself more often lately.
It was a brand new season, a whole new Battle for (Battle for) Dream Island. It was another chance to make a name for herself, to prove to the world that she was more than just some fragile soul that was destined for nowhere but the grave. All the odds seemed to be in her favor; though her team had a few... questionable choices, she remained with the bulk of her alliance, and thus always had a shoulder to lean on in case push came to shove. She knew there were gonna be tough times, but she learned to weather the storm and tough it out; she didn't get third place in the original BFDI due to pity alone, after all. Things were gonna be just fine.
But then Pencil got eliminated.
Things seemed fine enough at first; the loss of a teammate was understandably devastating, even if your personal feelings towards them were... mixed. Being the self-proclaimed stern leader of the bunch, always pushing her (and their new teammates) nearly to her breaking point (both metaphorical and literal), Bubble didn't quite care for her getting the boot as much as everyone else. She'd grieve for a moment or two, of course, but that was it. There were other things to look forward to, other things to worry about. Meanwhile, Match, the one that's been closest to 'Pence-Pence' from basically the very beginning... she didn't really take it all too well. Though she'd pretend that all was well whenever they talked, it was quite clear that she was growing more distant, more quiet; it was clear that the loss of her other half was silently gnawing at her, breaking her apart from the inside.
And then that silence suddenly got broken.
All of a sudden a switch would flip in her head, and that matchstick would start yelling and belittling Bubble for being unable to pull her weight. In an instant, Bubble's means of support would come crashing down; though she'd been through worse, and she could very much return to standing on her own, being effectively betrayed by who you thought was your friend... that stung. And now, when she needed *someone* most, she was effectively all alone, stranded in a team that was pretty much foreign to her; her alliance seemed to reject her, and her other teammates were either those she already had a bad history with or newbies that she'd failed to reach out to.
Up until recently, anyway.
It wasn't all too surprising when Bubble saw Fanny sitting all by herself, very much away from the rest of iance; from the start she made it very clear just how much she hated the new arrangement of things, taking every opportunity she could get to go on about how she disliked her team, how they acted, how *everyone* acted in general, or about anything that bothered her in the slightest. Obviously, this meant that the one with the spinning blades wasn't exactly a social butterfly. When the rest of her team became *very* much aware of just how much she hated them, they were very quick to respond in kind.
And yet.
After Match suddenly snapped and started screaming at Bubble for every perceived flaw and error, the one that moved air around began acting... different towards Bubble. When fate finally decided that those two were to meet and interact, none of the vitriolic hate that the electric fan was known for would be present in their short, yet fruitful discussion. Really, it was quite the opposite: she'd seemingly comfort Bub, telling her that the incident was no big deal given that the matchstick wasn't any more capable of dealing with the challenge as she was. Bubble thought it to be rather strange, really; bubbles don't have brains, but when the one with the temper issues constantly made her hatred known, it wasn't too hard to recall. But it wasn't like she was going to reject it. After becoming excluded from the only group that made her feel welcome, she was going to accept every bit of help she could get.
And eventually, of course, she was gonna pay it back.
"Hoi, Fanny!" Bubble would wave to her and make herself known, given that she most likely hated surprise visits. "Noice weather we've been having, huh? Oi've been groitely enjoiying this cold breeze!" The one that hated everything grumbled. "I hate it." "Huh?" The bubble raised an eyebrow. "Whoi's that?" "I mean, it's not that I don't enjoy it, or anything." The mechanical device elaborated. "I don't *hate* hate it; it's just that I'm designed around moving air and giving it to those who need it. But when there's already a cool breeze around, that makes my job redundant." "Whot do you mean?" Bubble didn't quite get that; The fan quietly sighed. "The cool air pretty much makes me useless; I *HATE* being useless!" "Well... you're not!" Bubble replied. "Oi think you're a *very* useful and helpful person, even if the woi you do things can be a *little* irritating." "You too, huh?" The one powered by a motor interjected, scoffing. "Of course. Why did I think-" "Noio!" Bubble interrupted. "Oi'm just saying that's how Oi see others feel about you; Oi think that you're a very capable, strong individual!"
