Bubbles is a female robot who was involved in an underground robot-fighting ring. She works with her girlfriend, Faye Whitaker, at Union Robotics.
Biography[]
Military service[]
After joining the military, Bubbles was given her name by members of her squad. A horrific attack during her tour of duty led to the deaths of all other squad members. Bubbles herself was incapacitated by EMP but escaped physical damage.[1]
Exact details of Bubbles' service record have been lost.
She suffered from PTSD after her military career; those memories were claimed to have been locked away by Corpse Witch, who held the encryption key as leverage over her,[2] although when Yay intervened it was revealed that the memories were accidentally lost in the process.[3]
Robot-Fighting Ring[]
Bubbles greeted and screened visitors and performed repairs on the fighters in Robot-Fighting Ring.[4] She did not fight,[5] and finds robot fighting "grotesque".[6]
She came with Faye to Coffee of Doom on Faye's first visit after getting fired,[7] much to Corpse Witch's dismay.[8]
Meeting Faye[]
Her armor was both a physical and a psychological defense. She had continued to wear it without any practical need and had been unwilling to take it off until a recent milestone in her recovery. Faye helped Bubbles take off her armor.[9] Since removing her armor she appears to wear a maroon bodysuit with short sleeves and legs, which is removable. She has been seen wearing a hoodie and jeans.[10] Bubble's first true piece of clothing was a cardigan sweater made by Emily Azuma; the sweater would open or collapse by squeezing a corner (a feat Bubbles noted as incredibly advanced programming).[11][12] She has also borrowed neckties from Marten for celebratory occasions.
Union Robotics[]
She currently works at Union Robotics, a robot repair shop she started with Faye.
Bubbles did not appreciate some of Evie's commentary about AI-sociology.[13][14]
Dating Faye[]
Bubbles is extremely close with Faye. Eventually her feelings for her became romantic. She was initially unsure of what to do about those feelings because she didn't believe that Faye reciprocated them. However, after discovering that Faye had similar feelings for her too, they entered a committed intimate relationship.[15]
Personality[]
Bubbles may feel misunderstood on account of her size.[16] It is maybe related, or maybe not, that she is socially withdrawn.[17]
It took time for Bubbles to become friends with the rest of the characters. Since then she has shown concern for Faye's well-being and was sympathetic to Claire's gender dysphoria.[18]
Her speech patterns are formal and erudite.[5] She also does not enjoy nicknames, having rejected Faye's nicknames like Bubs, Miss Bubbles, PALKyrie and Large Metal Friend.[19]
Sexuality[]
Bubbles, accounting for her memory loss, does not remember being attracted to a male person.[20]
Tea[]
Although Bubbles cannot eat, she has highly-calibrated olfactory sensors- whenever visiting Coffee of Doom she will order herbal tea because she enjoys the aroma. Hannelore takes pride in brewing tea for Bubbles;[21] the resulting blends have allowed Bubbles to see a variety of mythical creatures in different settings.[22][23][24][25] One of the sessions was interrupted by Melon,[26] while another was shared with Roko Basilisk.[27] Hannelore once charged the tea for Bubbles with love and support, appearing in the hallucination as a Super Saiyan.[28]
Claire once tried to make tea for Bubbles, but failed.[29]
Samantha[]
Bubbles first met Samantha Bean when the youngster snuck into Faye's bedroom (as her alter-ego, Skullmaster) to yell at Faye for not telling her about the new robot repair shop.[30] Bubbles was very patient with Sam, answering all her questions.[31] Punchbot came in the shop, missing an entire arm,[32] and got a patch over the hole until a replacement arm could be obtained. Sam drew a muscular arm on the patch.[33] Another robot came in, having seen the drawing, wanted a "spray" (a robot equivalent to a tattoo); they became Sam's first Spray customer.[34]
When Sam hurt herself in the shop,[35] Bubbles inspired her to tell her dad the truth about her injury.[36] Rather than restrict her from the shop, he instead restricted her from using power tools, as he considers Bubbles a positive influence.[37]
Art[]
Bubbles has some drawing ability. When Sam was interrupted while putting a spray on Beepatrice, Bubbles finished the spray in a different style. Both Sam and Beeps thought her art was nice.[38]
Appearance[]
With armor on, the abs of Bubbles are like "a slinky full of ball bearings".[39][40] Before Bubbles took off her armor, Faye sometimes hit her head on Bubbles' chest plate.[41][42][43]
Bubbles styles her hair herself.[41][44]
Equipment[]
Bubbles has an olfactory system tuned to detect chemical and biological weapons.[21] Her muscles are triple-reinforced myomer. Her armor is a metallo-ceramic material, possibly Chobham armor, and can resist a 3 cm APFSDS round. Also, her armor can be removed.[45] She is capable of a top running speed of 30 km/hr and a 3-meter vertical leap.[46]
Trivia[]
- Bubbles and her relationship with Faye are foreshadowed in Number 2262: A Beer, Please when Pintsize says to Faye:
- — Leave him for a robot! A GIRL robot!
- Faye getting into a relationship with a robot is also mentioned in guest strip Number 211: QC Guest SURPRIZEATHONAGANZA: Stirling McLaughlin.
- Newspost of Number 3086: It's Pretty Cute contains a sketch of Bubbles brushing her hair.
- Newspost of Number 3417: Free As A Bird contains a portrait of Bubbles with a spoiler and flame decals.
- Bubbles' idea lightbulb in the comic is drawn as a compact fluorescent lamp.[40]
Memorable quotes[]
- DO NOT DISTURB ME WHEN I AM IN UNICORN GROVE[47]
- DO NOT TAINT PEGASUS COVE WITH TALK OF DILDOS[23]
- Dialog with Steve:
- —How much do you bench?
- —Is the bench reinforced?[48]
- We have holes in our hearts. We can paper them over, and learn to live with them, but they are still there.[49]
- If your love life requires close air support, something has gone very wrong.[50]
- One must crawl before one can walk.[51]
References
- ↑ Number 3463: Heart Of Darkness
- ↑ Number 3370: The Dangling Blade
- ↑ Number 3413: Having Fun
- ↑ Number 3018: Friendly Fire
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Number 3019: Noncombatant
- ↑ Number 3017: Fite Nite
- ↑ Number 3139: Revisitations—Number 3151: Future Visitations
- ↑ Number 3160: Think Well
- ↑ Number 3474: Sailor Sagittarius A*
- ↑ Number 3500: Bandwidth Limitations
- ↑ Number 3180: They're On Speed Dial Now
- ↑ Number 3476: Within Acceptable Tolerances
- ↑ 3656: Recursive Psychology
- ↑ 3668: Letting It All Come Out
- ↑ 3744: Good Talk? Good Talk.
- ↑ Number 3009: They Should Go To The Support Group
- ↑ Number 3051: Reverse Reverse Psychology
- ↑ Number 3337: Smol Talk
- ↑ Number 3256: I Guess She Didn't Go Home
- ↑ 4364: Crunch Time
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Number 3146: Smell Test
- ↑ Number 3147: Rookie Mistake
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Number 3179: It Must Remain Pristine
- ↑ Number 3251: Hello Kirin
- ↑ Number 3426: Anything You Say
- ↑ 3792: Return To Unicorn Grove
- ↑ 3891: A Shared Aroma
- ↑ 4469: Power Level
- ↑ Number 3332: Lipton
- ↑ Number 3591: Sam Of Thrones—Number 3592: She Died As She Lived
- ↑ Number 3593: Monstrosities
- ↑ 3954: Nelson Is Prepared
- ↑ 3956: Brun Trusts Her Gut
- ↑ Number 3598: An Eagle Doing A Kickflip—Number 3599: Heckin' Skullchicken
- ↑ 3802: YIKES
- ↑ 3804: True Strength
- ↑ 3807: Fayecing Consequences
- ↑ 4129: Can't Stay Mad Forever—4132: First Edition
- ↑ Number 3279: It's Like A 30-Pack
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Number 3340: The Body Politic
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Number 3276: Shaped Armor
- ↑ Number 3388: Donk
- ↑ Number 3461: This Keeps Happening
- ↑ 3852: Zandatsu
- ↑ Number 3032: Is That A Hotdog Bun?
- ↑ Number 3004: Anatomy Of A Combat Droid
- ↑ Number 3148: Horsey Time
- ↑ Number 3059: Welcome, Giant Friend
- ↑ Number 3463: Heart Of Darkness
- ↑ 3670: Questionable Contentment
- ↑ 3801: Safety Third
Characters | |
---|---|
Coffee of Doom | Smif College |
The Secret Bakery | Union Robotics |
| |
The Space Station | AI rights nonprofit |
The Horrible Revelation | Robot-Fighting Ring |
Cubetown | |
Parents | |
Other | |
Robots | |
Minor | Filler strips |
Unnamed/unseen characters | |