Matchble

Matchble is the femslash ship between Match and Bubble from the Battle for Dream Island fandom.

Canon
Match and Pencil warn Ice Cube not to pop Bubble when she starts to squeeze her. The two are shocked when Bubble pops. For the first challenge in Battle for Dream Island, Bubble asks to form an alliance with Match and Pencil. The two agree, Match saying it will do no harm. The three later join the same team, the Squishy Cherries, during team picking.

Both Match and Bubble wait to start the obstacle course while Pencil is away to rescue Blocky. While waiting, Match grows impatient and Bubble reminds her she's only left for 5 minutes. The two watch the rest of the Squishy Cherries return with Blocky and start once Pencil arrives. Bubble, Match, and Pencil throw Tennis Ball at the wall, which ends up bending it and opening a path for the three. They stick together throughout the rest of the obstacle course.

Match slaps Bubble when she refers to her and Pencil as "guys" when greeting them. Bubble defends Match when Pencil is shocked to see her pop Bubble.

Pencil convinces Match that Bubble is dumb for not being able to count to three. Bubble tries to prove them wrong but gets popped by a strawberry before she can reach three, further convincing Match. Near the end of the challenge, Bubble is able to continuously count without getting popped and proves to them that she isn't dumb. Match encourages Bubble before she presents her cake to the Announcer for the challenge. Bubble expresses her anger to Match about how Coiny's dirt cake ranked higher than hers.

Match sees Pencil and Bubble fall off the challenge's bridge and jumps off because she wants to stick together with her alliance.

When Match and Bubble are selected together to be in one team of three for the challenge, they high five in celebration. Pencil is the other member selected for their team and Match calls it a miracle. When they are knocked off while crossing the balance beam, Bubble tells the two they must swim back. After crossing the beam, Match and Bubble find the safe that contains a key for the next area. They turn back after they realize they accidentally left Pencil inside one of the safes. The two check each safe until they find Pencil and further progress through the challenge. They end up placing 3rd of 5th and are safe from elimination.

Bubble is about to tell Match and Pencil her vote history until the Announcer lands on and pops her. Match agrees with Pencil that the Announcer killed her. For the relay race challenge, each member has to carry the next member to run on their back. Match is relieved when she learns she only has to carry Bubble. When it's Match's turn to run, Bubble warns her not to grab onto her too hard. Match ends up popping her and has to wait for Bubble to run back from her recovery center. Although initially impatient, Match continues the race with Bubble when she arrives and finishes the lap together.

When the team must choose between Snowball or Teardrop on who should survive elimination, Match agrees with Bubble on choosing Teardrop over Snowball.

Match congratulates Bubble when she finishes climbing up the ladders for the challenge.

Pencil is greatful to be in the final 11 with Match and Bubble, with Match saying that they're amazing. After Pencil and Match have completed the challenge, Bubble asks them to help her find a ball after Blocky popped her earlier. When she does, Bubble is glad that her placement brang her out of the danger zone. Match is worried because she is now in it as a result.

Bubble and Match are both mad at the Announcer for choosing fruit cake for the Cake at Stake ceremony. When Match is eliminated, Pencil and Bubble aren't sure what to do with her gone. Ice Cube asks to be part of the alliance and Pencil allows her in. Bubble believes that Match would be mad to find out she's replaced.

Pencil and Bubble are still bummed out over Match's elimination and don't enjoy playing catch the same as without her. Bubble states that the Tiny Loser Chamber must be a horrible place for Match.

Bubble asks Ice Cube how she thinks Match is doing in the Tiny Loser Chamber.

During the season one finale, each of the contestants are asked on who out of the final three they would like to win. Match is the only one to vote for Bubble. Later after Dream Island has been stolen, Bubble agrees to help Match figure out who could have taken it.

Match gets the idea to blow bubbles in order to bring Bubble back to life. Pencil brings out her bubble solution and wand and gets Match excited on having the original alliance back. Ruby stops them from proceeding with Bubble's return.

Ruby admits she didn't want Bubble to get brought back in fear of getting kicked out of the alliance in favor of Bubble. Match assures her they can have an alliance of all four of them and Pencil uses the bubble wand to revive Bubble. Bubble is happy to be back but kicks Ruby away, unaware that she is now in the alliance. Match is confused and Bubble explains that alliances that have over three members are more likely to divide from conflict. Her doubts are later sealed after Pencil explains otherwise. After the challenge, Match warns Bubble about the flying glass shards, in which one ends up popping her. Match demands Tennis Ball to build a recovery center so Bubble can be brought back.

When the Hand-Powered Recovery Center is introduced, Match and Pencil are happy to be able to bring Bubble back. Shortly after being brought back, Match has to bring her back again when she pops. She and Pencil are annoyed that she dies too easily and Bubble apologizes for this.

Match and Bubble, although both are no longer part of the competition of BFDIA, form up with Pencil, Book, Ruby, and Ice Cube to become their own team which they name FreeSmart. Match uses Gelatin to disguise herself as a tree as to not get caught by Firey Speaker Box. This works and she suggests Bubble to do the same. Bubble is initially worried but also disguises herself as one after Match encourages her. The two, along with the rest of the team, get inside the FreeSmart Van for the challenge. When they approach Evil Canyon, Bubble jumps with Match so that the FreeSmart Van can propel from the ground and jump to the other side.

Pencil introduces the newly-recovered team to the FreeSmart SuperVan, exciting the two. While driving through the desert, Bubble and Match express their complaint of how boring it is. Ruby decides to start a snowball fight with the two and Book to keep them busy. Match later recovers Bubble when she pops from the snowball fight. Throughout the team's time driving underwater, Match continuously recovers Bubble when she pops.

In Battle for BFDI, Match, Ruby, and Pencil watch Bubble count up to 10. After being popped twice by forks, Match questions who keeps popping Bubble. Pencil along with the others set off to find who they think did it. Later on, Bubble is concerned when Pencil and Match use Lightning as a tactic to stun their enemies. Match is mad at Bubble when Lightning flies away after being told by her to do what he thinks is right. Match agrees with Pencil demoting Bubble as a "bember" of the alliance, upsetting her. For the challenge, Bubble jumps to reach the flying baskets while Match encourages the rest of the team to do the same. Pencil is mad at Fanny and, although frowned upon by Bubble, gets Lightning to zap her. Match and Pencil grin evilly at Bubble while she cries at seeing Fanny being electrocuted. A little while later, Match tells Bubble to stop thinking about Fanny as the thought will prevent her from jumping as high.

Match congratulates Bubble for being safe at their first Cake at Stake ceremony for the season. Pencil ends up getting eliminated and the two are unsure of what to do in terms of their alliance. Bubble remembers Book and Ice Cube as alliance alternates, but Match reminds them that they're on different teams now. For the challenge, the two free Ice Cube from the jawbreaker and get their team safe. The two plead Ice Cube to return to their alliance to no avail.

During the swingset challenge, Bubble wants to talk with Match about the alliance. She insists she will after she figures out how to use Fanny's blades to propel the swing.

Flower wants Ruby to convince Match and Bubble, calling them her "ignorant friends", to think she's pretty.

After Bubble ends up getting the Twinkle of Contagion, Match invites her into a staring contest. The two fiercely stare at one another and rapidly pass the twinkle to each other. With the sound of the twinkle being passed around, they trick Pen into looking at him and passes the twinkle to him.

Gelatin overhears Match calling Bubble "swollen" after Fries believes its a slang term for being overweight. During the challenge, Bubble is selected to buzz in the answers to the quiz show for their team. Match and Snowball guilt Bubble for not knowing the answer for the first question. She pressures Bubble into trying harder or she will be further demoted from her bembership status in the alliance. Bubble nervously understands. In the next round, Match and Snowball glare at her while she sweats to come up with an answer. She buzzes in and ends up getting it wrong for the team. Match is enraged and further demotes her to a "bemb" out of disappointment towards her. Bubble screams in defeat. At night after the challenge, Fanny reveals to her that Match didn't know the answers to the quiz despite scolding Bubble for not knowing them either.

Match tries to talk to Bubble but is popped a mere second after. She wants to find X so Bubble can be revived. Fanny tells her to stop pretending to care for her, angering Match. Even with this, she finds out that both X and Donut are incapable of recovering dead contestants. After Four is back and brings back everyone, Match is excited to see Bubble again. She is saddened when Bubble ignores her and walks away.

Bubble madly looks at her when Match says she wants Pencil to rejoin. During the challenge, Bubble is tired of Match's complaining and finally confronts her about it. Match apologizes for berating her during the quiz show and explains she demoted her to set an example for the other members of their team. Bubble doesn't understand why Match thinks that acting like Pencil would help them. She criticizes Match for not realizing that every time she's done so, she's hurt the team in some way. Pointing out they lost Pencil in the first challenge of the season, she explains the hurt Match brought onto her during the quiz show. Match is about to promote her back to a regular member until Bubble yells that her status is meaningless. She explains that she needed Match this whole time during her struggles. Now realizing, Match apologizes for trying to fill in for Pencil. Bubble is glad to hear an apology but tells Match she doesn't forgive her yet. Match understands and walks away.

During the team's next Cake at Stake ceremony, Match gets the most votes to be eliminated. Bubble tries to get her attention but is sent away by the hosts. Bubble blames herself for Match's elimination, stating she wanted to be assertive but didn't want her eliminated. She further restates that she needed her during her struggles when Fanny says she doesn't need her. Thinking that Match was eliminated because she didn't forgive her, Bubble promptly forgives the rest of her teammates for their past actions.

Fanon
Despite the early and lasting friendship, Matchble isn't necessarily as popular of a ship in the Battle for Dream Island fandom. Some fans do ship them romantically but more often than not, fans rather like reflecting on Match's leadership and how it affected Bubble. A Tumblr analysis blog compares Match using Pencil's tactics and Bubble's resentment afterwards as how the series handled abusive friendships well. Fans are appreciative of Match's realization and the two's loyalty towards each other before and afterwards. Within Pencil's alliance, Matchble is one of the more popular pairings. The ship rivals both Bubble and Match's more popular ships: Fubble (Fanny x Bubble) and Matchcil (Match x Pencil).

There are six works for their tag on AO3. It is the second most written ship for both Bubble and Match on the site. The first for Bubble is with Fanny and the first for Match is with Pencil.

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