| “ | Yay! I owe you a big one, Needle! | ” |
— Pencil, "PointyPointyPointy ♫" (Release Ver.)
|
This article focuses on the interactions between Needle and Pencil.
In "Insectophobe's Nightmare 4", Needle is forced to join the FreeSmart alliance after Ruby uses a Swap Token. At first, Pencil didn't show much respect for Needle, referring to her with dismissive titles like "the thing with the nickname" and "alternate’s alternate". However, they work well together during challenges and are shown to genuinely care for each other eventually. Despite that, they seemingly cut ties during or after IDFB.
Episodes suggesting a friendship[]
In "Taste the Sweetness", she seems happy to work with Pencil along with Nickel while making drawings to advertise the ice cream their team is selling.
In "Insectophobe's Nightmare 4", Needle joins FreeSmart. Later in the episode, she sacrifices Coiny in order to get promoted to member, as promised by Pencil.
In "PointyPointyPointy ♫", Needle figuratively and literally carries Pencil until she is able to use anti-poison to unpoison her. Afterwards, Pencil steps up to sing a lullaby for Puffball, but as she opens her mouth, her mind goes blank, unsure of what to sing. In a moment of panic, she turns to Needle for help. Needle, without hesitation, sings a heartfelt lullaby that moves Puffball to tears. Touched by Needle's beautiful performance, Puffball allows them to advance. As the platform with Needle and Pencil rises to the bunk beds, Pencil excitedly cheers and hugs Needle, thanking her for saving the moment. They both climb into bed, Needle’s lullaby replaying softly through the speakers. Puffball announces their team as safe, securing third place in the challenge.
In "Respect to the Wicked", Pencil calls all FreeSmart members to regroup and shares a celebratory high-five with Needle upon her arrival. A while later, Pencil seems upset at the prospect of Needle switching from FreeSmart, implying she respects her more than she lets on. She contradictorily states that Needle can make her own decisions, before immediately making the decision to stay on FreeSmart for her. Later in the episode, as they're driving through the desert, Needle immediately complains about the oppressive heat. In response, Pencil cranks up the van’s air conditioning to provide some relief. Pencil praises Needle when she saves her and Book from being crushed by the FreeSmart SuperVan.
In "Start the Shift", Needle and Pencil hug when it's revealed they are the bottom two at the elimination ceremony. Needle sadly looks at Pencil as she is eliminated. Later in the episode, Needle and Pencil look at each other briefly before Pencil tosses her Leafy Detector towards Needle to help her find Evil Leafy.
In "Airplanes in the Night Sky", Pencil is shown to genuinely really care for Needle, being very upset when she dies in the challenge, and when Ice Cube asks her why she is so upset as Needle isn't even officially in the alliance, Pencil angrily snaps back that Ice Cube isn't either. She then travels all the way back to the Recovery Center to recover Needle, and when she is confused as to why Pencil went to the effort for this, Pencil says it's because even if she isn't an alliance member, she's totally awesome, displaying that she genuinely sees Needle as a friend.
In "Bottle For Dream Island", Pencil explains to Book that she has no friends left, quoting Needle being gone as an example.
In "Shattered!" Pencil happily exclaims that Needle is safe during the Cake at Stake. Later during the race to "Dream Island", Pencil stops Needle because she wants her to do her challenge which at first bugs Needle because she's in last place and needs to catch up. Needle doesn't want to do Pencil's challenge because she wants to win on her own, but Pencil says that's not going to work, stating that she can't win if she keeps pushing people who want to help away. Pencil then explains that The Alliance was created to show that you can have friends in the game. Needle then agrees to do Pencil's challenge, and as a reward Pencil gives her a ride in the FreeSmart SuperVan.
Neutral interactions[]
In "Get Digging", Pencil warns the Puffball riders, including Needle, to be cautious of a wild Leafy.
In "PointyPointyPointy ♫", After reviving Pencil with the Anti-Poison, Needle quickly explains that they are now teammates and on Dora's island. Pencil asks where they are, but before Needle can fully respond, Pencil is overtaken by a sudden, uncontrollable hunger. She begins devouring part of the island. Nickel explains that the craving is a side effect of the anti-poison, which Needle finds weird.
In "Spore Day," Pencil attempts to shoot Pin with the Shrink Ray, but Pin skillfully dodges each of her attacks. Amid the chaos, Pencil accidentally hits Needle with the ray. Pencil acknowledges hitting Needle and not Book, even though Needle isn’t on her team.
In "Respect to the Wicked", Book mentions that the journey reminds her of a road trip, prompting Pencil to suggest playing some music. However, when the blaring, awful music from the radio makes her cringe, she quickly turns it off. Pencil then suggests that Needle should sing for them, and Needle agrees.
In "Welcome Back", Needle prevents Golf Ball and Tennis Ball from entering the science museum, citing a reason related to FreeSmart. Despite her efforts, they disregard her warning and proceed inside anyway.
Episodes suggesting a conflict[]
In "Bridge Crossing", when Pencil says she loves "needies", Needle slaps her.
In "Well Rested", Pencil and Needle engage in a struggle on the dehumidifier pipe. After a prolonged fight, Pencil expresses her frustration by saying she's "had enough of this", implying she hadn't been giving her full effort before. Immediately after, she overpowers Needle and pins her down.
In "Insectophobe's Nightmare 4", Pencil selects Needle to join the FreeSmart alliance, dismissively referring to her as "that thing with the nickname." The swap token pulls Needle towards the group, and upon arrival, Needle slaps Pencil for implying she's needy. Later, when the FreeSmarters hide behind Spongy to avoid the clothing store explosion, Needle tries to join them but Pencil excludes her, stating that Needle wasn't a full member yet. Pencil tells her she needs to make a sacrifice to be promoted within the alliance.
In "Well, Look Who It Is!", Needle approaches Pencil to ask about the perks of being a FreeSmart member, referencing her recent promotion due to a sacrifice she made. Pencil, however, questions when this promotion occurred, as she was dead at the time and didn’t witness it. She asks Book for confirmation, but since Book was also dead at the time, Pencil dismisses Needle's claim and tells her to come back when she actually makes a sacrifice. Needle, frustrated, slaps her.
In "Spore Day", Needle prepares to rehydrate a caterpillar-like creature but is interrupted by Pencil, who takes over, emphasizing her status as a "full FreeSmarter." Pencil completes the task successfully, earning cheers from Book and Ruby. While the mission succeeds, Needle feels disheartened, recognizing that her comment implies she isn't fully regarded as part of the team.
In "Respect to the Wicked", Pencil praises Needle for revealing the location of W.O.A.H. Bunch's trinket and hints at a potential promotion for her. She instructs Needle to boost her, and Needle throws her partway up the dirt tower. However, when Pin urges Needle to stop, she switches her sticky note again, races up the tower, and shoves Pencil back down, covering her face in dirt. In response, Pencil retracts her praise and cancels Needle's promotion.
In "Shattered!", Needle slaps Pencil for saying "what's wrong with being a little needy?", and later on in the episode, once Pencil states that no one can defeat the FreeSmart Supervan, she is immediately proven wrong by Tennis Ball once he rips it in half. Pencil then has an irritated look on her face, and Needle tells her that she thinks he defeated the Supervan, and Pencil almost immediately tells Needle not to annoy her.
Trivia[]
- Needle and Pencil are two of the nine characters to have competed in every season (not counting IDFB, since that isn't a competition season, or BFDIE, since it makes all of those records invalid).
- Coincidentally, Needle got out in TPOT in the same episode as when Pencil joined, that being "Category One".
- Both of them are two of the three contestants in BFDIA that made it into the final 10 but never got a prize, the other one being Nickel.
Gallery[]
| Needle | |
|---|---|
| Interactions with | Everyone, Bomby, Book, Coiny, Coiny and Pin, Fries, Ice Cube, Leafy, Nickel, Pen, Pencil, Pin, Tennis Ball, Yellow Face |
| Others | Needle's slaps, Variations of Needle |
| Pencil | |
|---|---|
| Interactions with | Everyone, Bubble, Book, Donut, Fanny, Firey, Four, Fries, Golf Ball, Grassy, her alliance, Ice Cube, Liy, Match, Match and Spongy, Needle, Pen, Pin, Ruby, Tennis Ball |
| Other content | Variations of Pencil |