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Tendle is the het ship between Tennis Ball and Needle from the Battle for Dream Island fandom.
- Needle – “Tennis BALLLLLL!!!”
- Tennis Ball – “Whaat? I didn't break the pact, now did I?”
- Needle – “Ngh! I can still get the flag!”
- Tennis Ball – “But can you do it in the dark, though?”
- — I'm the Main Character
Canon[]
Battle for Dream Island[]
At the start of the season, the two are both chosen by Leafy to join the Squashy Grapes. Later while the team decides the rest of their members, Tennis Ball talks to Needle about the idea of choosing Flower so she is less of a threat against them. Needle is wary about this, though Flower ends up on the team anyways because of this.
Battle for Dream Island Again[]
In BFDIA 12, Needle overhears Tennis Ball and Golf Ball planning to go to the bug hive in order to retrieve anti-poison. Needle tells her new team FreeSmart to follow the two as they run away. Later after Needle and Ruby encounter the two in the auditorium, Needle finds Tennis Ball's stash of anti-poison and rubs her hands together to denature the substance. Shortly afterwards, Golf Ball spots the two and Tennis Ball is determined to get Needle and Ruby out of the challenge. Needle then launches a bug at Tennis Ball, causing him to get poisoned. Golf Ball, now realizing that their anti-poison is no longer functional, panics when Tennis Ball is unable to wake up shortly before Needle and Ruby take her out of the challenge as well.
When the final 9 contestants are split into teams of three in BFDIA 15, Tennis Ball, Needle, and Bomby are put together as The Quasi-Rhombicosidodecahedrons. At the start of the challenge, Tennis Ball gets measurements of the birdhouse that they must enter while Needle is confronted by Bomby for previously leaving his team. Afterwards, Needle asks Tennis Ball if they'll be able to fit inside the birdhouse only to learn that they won't and Tennis Ball's measurements were only for fun. After Bomby realizes that they'll be able to shrink themselves using a shrink ray, the three head to the island Ruby left hers at to grab it. The three return to the birdhouse and they end up watching a fight break out between the other two teams over who gets the shrink ray. When the team thinks of where they could find another shrink ray, Bomby mentions Golf Ball describing one in a riddle. Needle is set to figure out what it means right as Tennis Ball bluntly tells her that it's in Golf Ball's factory. Bomby runs to get it and Needle and Tennis Ball have split opinions about having to run to somewhere once again. Later after Bomby retrieves the shrink ray and uses it on himself and Needle, the two are now able to get inside of the birdhouse, though Needle realizes that Tennis Ball isn't with them. She quickly finds him being chased by Coiny and Fries, where the latter of the two spins the birdhouse away to prevent The Quasi-Rhombicosidodecahedrons from getting inside. As Needle is flying in the air holding on to the team's Shrink-a-Tron, Tennis Ball hears her voice and guides her to shrink herself further for a safer landing. She does so and makes it safely on top of Tennis Ball.
On top of Tennis Ball, Needle is asked by him to use the shrink ray to make him fit in the birdhouse. Needle navigates throughout Tennis Ball's head and ends up finding it after searching around. While making her way there, she is briefly stopped by a ball of dust which Tennis Ball attributes to him missing his dedusting appointments. Needle uses the Shrink-a-Tron to size Tennis Ball down only for Fries to revert the process using the growth ray he took from him. Tennis Ball ends up getting trapped inside of the growth ray and later has to rely on Needle in order to know where he's going. She guides him to where the recovery center is so that Tennis Ball can revive Bomby, who died earlier from Fries' doings. The trio follows the other two teams inside the water droplet that the shrunken birdhouse is located in. Bomby and Needle get poisoned from the birdhouse's lead paint and Tennis Ball gives Coiny an antidote to save the two. After the three teams are shrunken down to the atomic level, the three are unable to make it inside of the birdhouse after being poisoned again.
In BFDIA 16, Tennis Ball and Needle are safe during the Cake at Stake afterwards. During team switching, Tennis Ball turns to Needle and suggests the idea of forming what he calls a Quasi-Rhombi pact. Needle likes the idea but ends up having to decline when she is called over as a FreeSmarter. Later after FreeSmart and W.O.A.H. Bunch argue over which team Needle belongs to, Tennis Ball mentions to them that she was on his team, Team No-Name, to begin with before she joined any of theirs. In the trinket challenge as Needle ends up playing for the two teams, Tennis Ball is surprised when she reveals where W.O.A.H. Bunch's trinket is. After FreeSmart is tagged out of the challenge, Needle wonders what to do next as Tennis Ball asks if she could help fix his Nickel detector. Pin and Needle then decide to get Tennis Ball out next to his shock. The two dig up the giant dirt hill he was guarding earlier, believing that his obelisk would have been under there. Upon finding nothing inside, Tennis Ball laughs at the two for falling for his trick. Pin then realizes that Nickel's trinket is taped behind Tennis Ball's back, pointing this out to Needle as the two run after him to get it. Tennis Ball is caught off guard by this and starts screaming as Pin and Needle chase after him. Tennis Ball falls into Fries' pit and as he bounces back up, he grabs Needle and takes her down with him. This ends up causing W.O.A.H. Bunch to be tagged out of the challenge.
In BFDIA 17, Tennis Ball is looking for Needle and tracks her down with a metal detector. Needle is underground running away from Evil Leafy and is pulled up by Tennis Ball's metal detector right as she reaches a dead end. After being pulled back up to the surface, Needle thanks Tennis Ball for saving him, though she learns that he was only finding her so he can put everyone together to make a bike with. After finishing the bike, Tennis Ball and the rest of the contestants make it Yoyleland. After Cake at Stake as FreeSmart and W.O.A.H. Bunch urge Needle to choose a side, Tennis Ball intervenes and hopes to enact the Quasi-Rhombi pact he mentioned to her earlier. While Pin tries to shoo him away, he urges that he needs a good teammate for once, only for Needle to push everyone away and team up with Fries in the end. During the challenge when Needle needs to revert Fries back to his original form, Tennis Ball gives the two the idea to kill Fries and recover him which they end up trying out. Later as Needle follows Fries into Yoyle City, she tries to talk to him about her situation with everyone wanting to team up with her. She mentions that it would be nice to work with Tennis Ball but she is unsure if she could.
When Tennis Ball is given a Disbandment Token as his Cake at Stake prize in BFDIA 18, he must choose between disbanding either FriesMart, Fries and Needle, or W.O.A.H. Bunch, Coiny and Pin. Tennis Ball jokingly expresses difficulty in deciding which of the two duos to split up after Fries begs to be disbanded, with Needle also having to ask Tennis Ball if he is serious. W.O.A.H. Bunch ends up being disbanded and Fries splits off from FriesMart anyways. Tennis Ball sees the opportunity in finally being able to team up with Needle before Fries convinces him otherwise. During the sky lighting challenge, Tennis Ball asks Needle if they can work together, calling her and himself the only two non-saboteurs. Needle brings up how Tennis Ball just tried to shut off her beacon earlier, though Tennis Ball dismisses it and calls himself generally cordial and kindhearted. Needle nonetheless declines the offer and emphasizes that she's playing for herself, slapping Tennis Ball away to his frustration. Tennis Ball finds Gelatin's grappling hook and shoots the rope, tying it around Needle and flinging her away to the lighthouse. Needle calls him a villain, making Tennis Ball explain how he has every right to prevent her from winning since she isn't working with her. However, he still apologizes to her regardless. Later after Needle makes it to the watchtower and finds Tennis Ball there, he gets startled and repeatedly apologizes to her as he leaves the tower. Fries, Coiny, and Pin make it to the watchtower and find her still entangled in the grappling hook as she asks them to turn off Tennis Ball's beacon. Coiny gets shocked in the process because of the electrical conductor Tennis Ball put in place, though Pin ends up turning on everyone's beacon when she tries to flip his switch off. After the six remaining contestants climb up the radio tower to turn on their last beacons, Book helps Needle get untangled after Tennis Ball was unable to, allowing her to use the grappling hook to get back at him. She fires the hook and pulls Tennis Ball away, though this ends up knocking her off the tower's pole as well.
In BFDIA 19, Needle witnesses Tennis Ball bribing Firey and Gelatin into letting him win the game. Needle calls him out for it, though Tennis Ball finds himself being naturally charming and inventive, the traits he sees in a winner. Gelatin defends Tennis Ball and makes up a rule for the season in Tennis Ball's favor, making Needle wish that he gets eliminated next. During the item collecting challenge, as Coiny and Needle are about to brawl, Tennis Ball's magnet ends up causing the Hand-powered Recovery Center to hit them both. Needle is stuck in the magnet and she yells at Tennis Ball to power it off. Needle finds herself curved out of shape after being freed from the magnet's pull.
In BFDIA 20, Needle is the first to collect 10 items in her basket last episode and is given the role of deciding who will be safe during the next part of the challenge. After Needle is told this, Coiny points out how Tennis Ball disfigured her with his magnet, making Tennis Ball rush to defend that he would never intentionally do so. During the challenge when Pin and Book are poisoned, Needle recovers them with the reason that she would rather have Coiny and Tennis Ball put up for voting. After Pin is given an immunity ticket, Needle gets to take Pin out of the danger zone and she replaces her spot with Tennis Ball. Later when Tennis Ball returns to Earth after selling his rocks on an alien planet, he ends up crushing Needle with his rocket. Tennis Ball is now out of the danger zone by claiming his immunity ticket and is told to recover Needle so she can decide who takes his place. He quickly realizes that Coiny will arrive soon and Needle will likely put him back in the danger zone if Coiny claims his immunity ticket. He gets an idea and goes to the HPRC to recover Needle, only to stop cranking half-way and leave Needle partially stuck inside of the machine. Tennis Ball tells Needle that she has to choose between Pin or Book to put in the danger zone, though Needle wants to be fully recovered. After deciding on Book, she asks Tennis Ball again to finish recovering her, where she is told that he will do so only if she doesn't put him back in the danger zone for the rest of the challenge. Needle reluctantly accepts the deal only for Tennis Ball to say that he'll finish cranking after the challenge. She compares Tennis Ball to Flower because of his rudeness towards her, emphasizing that they made a deal. Tennis Ball wants to be cautious by leaving her half-way recovered, though Needle is enraged by this and lifts the machine to find someone to fully recover her. Worried, Tennis Ball follows her and gets kicked away by Needle before Ruby finishes cranking Needle out. As Needle throws the HPRC off to the side, the machine ends up knocking her and Tennis Ball where the two are taken back to Yoyleland. The two witness the machine fling Book into space, where Needle is worried for her while Tennis Ball awkwardly backs away from Needle. After Book is recovered, Tennis Ball sees Needle giving her an immunity ticket and gets nervous. Right as Needle is about to announce her switch in the danger zone from Book to Tennis Ball, Tennis Ball urges Needle not to do so and ends up promising Needle that he'll do whatever she wants. Needle stops herself and Tennis Ball explains that he'll do anything she wants him to do for the next challenge if she spares his fate. This ends up working as Pin is chosen instead to be put in the danger zone. At the end of the challenge, Coiny and Pin are unable to return back to Earth in time and Needle, Tennis Ball, and Book are immune from voting.
In BFDIA 21, Book tells Tennis Ball to try and be nice to Needle, and Tennis Ball calls out for her in the bush, with Needle asking what's up. Tennis Ball greets her, with Needle showing off an annoyed and confused expression. Later on, Tennis Ball asks Needle if she wants to go watch the rest of the Cake at Stake, with Needle accepting.
In BFDIA 22, Tennis Ball goes over to console Needle after he assumes she feels left out due to seeing Coiny and Pin working together. However, Needle walks away uninterested. Needle goes over to Tennis Ball after the challenge starts and uses her contract to set up the first rule, which is that Tennis Ball cannot harm Needle in any way during the episode. This also causes "The Contract" alliance to be made. Later, after fixing the Goiky Highway, Tennis Ball kicks Needle out of his Everestian-powered car, saying that she isn't his ally. When Tennis Ball gets a flag in the hydraulic press, Needle activates it in order to crush his flag so that it doesn't count. When Tennis Ball finds out that Leafy plans to keep the challenge going on forever, he tells Needle this, only for her to not care and to continue advancing in the challenge. During the end of the challenge, a chasm opens up, exposing the Earth's core. Coiny take Leafy down in order to get the last friendship flag, with Tennis Ball close behind. Just as he's about to jump down into the chasm, Needle stops him, reminding him of their deal. Needle then sets up another rule that Tennis Ball is not allowed to enter the chasm. He tries to not accept the rule before Needle reminds him of what he said during "Launch Party". With this, he begrudgingly agrees to abide by her new rule. Once she enters the chasm to pursue Coiny, he wonders what he'll do. Just then, Pin's drill lands right next to him. With it, he sends the drill down to kill Leafy, effectively ending the challenge. Despite being outsmarted by him, Needle still tries to plant the flag. However, the Earth starts closing up, with Tennis Ball sarcastically questioning her if she can plant the flag in the dark.
IDFB[]
Right as Tennis Ball and Golf Ball are about to enter the Science Museum, Needle stops them and warns the two not to enter. When asked why, she hides the reason but tells them that it has to do with FreeSmart. The two ignore her order and enter the museum anyways.
The Power of Two[]
In TPOT 9, after the zombie apocalypse, Needle helps Tennis Ball look for Barf Bag. Tennis Ball tells her that Barf Bag had disappeared ever since he recovered her and the two get annoyed when Black Hole tries to blame the situation on Barf Bag herself. Later after the following challenge, Tennis Ball recovers Needle and the rest of her team.
During the team swap in TPOT 12, Tennis Ball and Needle are put together as teammates of the new team BAGGED. In the challenge when Tennis Ball calls for someone to chase after Black Hole and Marker, Pen and Needle volunteer to do so.
In TPOT 13, during Cake at Stake, Needle ends up getting the least votes to be saved and is eliminated as a result. She and Barf Bag, the other contestant eliminated from CloudYAY, vanish and Tennis Ball gets anxious when his tracker isn't picking up either of them.
Fanon[]
Tendle is a rarepair in the Battle for Dream Island fandom. The ship began to get recognition during the era of the BFDIA revival era, especially as the two began to become the few remaining contestants left of the season. Scenes that showed the two being able to work together when need be got fans to be more invested in their dynamic, though their dynamic in the season overall has been relatively mixed as of late. As a ship, most of their following comes from video edits within TikTok highlighting the two.
Fandom[]
- FAN ART
- Tennis Ball and Needle search results on DeviantArt
- Tennis Ball and Needle posts on Reddit
- TIKTOK
- Tennis Ball x Needle posts on TikTok
- TUMBLR
- Tennis Ball and Needle posts on Tumblr
