mosaic_archive | Bubble Chats With Doc Brown About Having 'The Talk' With Kids

Bubble Chats With Doc Brown About Having 'The Talk' With Kids

[Below is an archived version of one thread response to a LiveJournal post here, because LiveJournal became hard to impossible for me to access. Icons and threading not preserved, nor are other peoples' replies.]

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc walks into the Nexus with his head slightly bowed, muttering to himself. "There must be a logical way to go about this. A way that won't traumatize us both for life. She's a fairly bright -- child, she'll -- Great Scott, how do I do this?! Damn horny -- well, I guess they're not teenagers anymore. . . ."

He looks up suddenly, noticing where he is. He frowns for a moment, then shakes his head. "Well. Dee and I caught Victor and Alice in the middle of a rather intense kissing session. Intense enough that Dee's started to ask questions about why people like to kiss and --" He throws up his hands. "How in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton do I explain human reproduction to a CAR?!"

(OOC: What Doc and Dee saw Victor and Alice doing.)

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[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, I remember when we had to explain that to Zero. We just looked for, um, technical stuff. Like medical information and stuff on human biology. I think it's better to explain it that way and not let it get all weird."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Aha, someone with experience. "Keep to the 'mechanics of everything' route? I could do that, though it would probably still be a little awkward," Doc says, frowning. "The less weirdness the better, though." This is weird enough, honestly.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "It's really a lot easier that way. And at least that way it's accurate. We'd heard a lot of weird things before the Nexus, and we didn't really want to tell Zero most of that... Especially since we were pretty sure most of it wasn't right."

"Um, are they old enough to read? Maybe there's a book explaining things you can find and then you won't have to actually say anything?"

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"I'm not sure I want to know what you found out here," Doc says, eyes shifting from side to side.

"She is, yes," he nods. "Someone else suggested a book too -- I may get her one. I just feel like I should say something as well. Fatherly duty and all."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble fidgets and shakes his head. "No, we found the accurate stuff here. It was at home that there was stuff that was weird, and, well... we wanted to explain things to Zero better than the stuff that was in Dr. Wily's magazine collection." The little bot cringes slightly and shakes his head, hoping not to have to mention the magazines again.

Bubble nods at the rest. "I don't know that very well. Dr. Wily made us, but he wouldn't have explained, well... a lot of things, not just that. We've always just took care of each other. I'm one of the oldest ones at home, even though I don't look it."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Magazine -- don't tell me," Doc says, wincing. Partly from imagining what could be inside those magazines, and partly from realizing he's got a couple of "Playboys" he may want to hide a bit better. "I'm glad you were able to find something accurate somewhere."

"I see," Doc says, sympathetically. "Have to make your own way through the world? I couldn't do that to one of my creations. Which Dee technically is." He shrugs. "It's a long story."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I think we're better off with Dr. Wily gone than we were when he was around, but... most people aren't like him."

"We put off telling Zero things for a long time. But then after we came here, he got a pet fire lizard and we knew there'd be questions because of when they mate, so we really couldn't put it off any more."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"I would hope not," Doc says.

Doc chuckles. "Ah, I see. I sort of wish it had happened like that with Dee. I think I'd be more comfortable explaining this if I had an animal to fall back on." Instead he gets the intense makeout session of doom.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "It is a lot easier to explain when it's all about dragons and instinct and baby dragons. With the way the Nexus is sometimes, we're kind of lucky he didn't see anything we had to explain like that. Well, other than Star wearing fishnet hose, but that's just Star..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Ugh, yes," Doc says, grimacing. "One of the dangers of having a place anyone can enter at any time. Still, it seems you got through it all right." Gives him hope for his little chat with Dee.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Yes. It always was easy to explain things to Zero. Not like some of the other younger ones. He'd listen to the rest of us. And as long as we tried to answer questions the best we could and just said so if we didn't know something, it was usually ok."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc smiles. "Good. I imagine it'll be much the same with Dee. She likes learning new things, so I don't have to worry about her listening. I guess I just have to prepare for whatever questions she may have."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Yes, it's always one question after another when someone's still very new. And it could be funny sometimes, because sometimes it would be questions about one thing or another and then right in the middle it would change to something else. I guess because when you're new you have a lot of questions."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc chuckles. "Yes, I believe that's the case with anyone who's new to the world. Humans, robots, girls who were previously nonsentient cars. . . ." He shrugs. "I guess it's in the nature of children to question, no matter the species."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"But it's important for them. If they don't question things, then they'd miss out on learning things, and that's very important."

"It was hard when Zero would question some of the things most of us really couldn't then, like things about Wily. But it could be funny some times, like when he wanted to know why Enker wouldn't let him give Wily a chocolate milkshake with pureed grubs in it."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Exactly. Curiosity is a survival trait," Doc agrees.

Doc laughs a little. "I imagine that was an interesting conversation. Though probably for the best that milkshake didn't end up in Wily's hands."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Zero'd tried them here, because someone gave them to him and... well, he had a bad habit of eating Nexus food and not asking what it was first, and I couldn't always stop him in time. But he'd liked them and he was really just trying to share, so he didn't understand."

"And we tried to tell him humans didn't eat bugs... which turned out to be wrong later but Dr. Wily still didn't eat bugs and he was the only human we really knew back then. And Zero brought the milkshake here and he got someone to try a drink and then said that proved humans ate bugs..." Bubble has to stop talking due to a fit of giggles.

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc grimaces a little. "I hope he's grown out of it now. Or at least knows that it's better to wait and ask first. Some of the food here. . ." Yeaaah.

Doc laughs too, putting his face in his hand. "Oh dear. Perhaps some humans eat bugs, but the ones I know would not be appreciate of grubs in their milkshake."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods, recovering from his giggles. "He did learn to be more careful eventually. Especially once he got old enough to find LOLs embarrassing..."

Another snicker and he adds, "Not even bugs that someone tells them are 'nice and nutty flavored and go good with chocolate'."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Good. I guess they would be less traumatic for young children," he muses. "Especially the imaginative sort."

"Oh dear. I suppose you would want nice-flavored bugs as opposed to the other kind, but even still. . . ." He shakes his head, amused.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"His first one didn't bother him at all, and that was a gender change. But he was only a few days old and I guess really didn't have much of a gender identity yet. It did mean some awkward questions, though... And telling Zero not to poke certain parts in public, no matter how 'squooshy' they are."

"He's a lot older now, but we have plenty of pictures." Yes, that is a somewhat evil big sibling grin for a moment.

"I don't think our neighbor Gate ever outgrew the 'not being bothered by LOL' stage. He does it to himself all the time and the only time it bothers him is when he ends up something that can't use a datapadd to make notes on the effects."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc can't help another laugh. "Ahh, yes, the good old gender switch. I haven't experienced that one personally. I don't know how I'd handle it." Part of him is frightened about suddenly changing sex, but part of him is curious about what he'd look like as a girl.

"Oh dear, poor Zero," Doc says, mostly joking, but with a little genuine sympathy for the younger bot. He's a younger sibling himself, ya see -- older sister back home. Though she was never very evil.

Doc arches an eyebrow. "Huh. Well, I guess getting some scientific information on them is a good thing. Maybe he could make a catalog of the various LOLs that pop up. Probably be useful for newcomers."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I know he's been researching them for a while," says Bubble. "I think he has a lot of notes on different ones, and how long they last. And some samples of stuff that causes them. I don't know too much about it though, because most of us try to stay away when he's doing that kind of research. It's almost a little safer when he's just putting strange things in the nearest microwave..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc nods. "Probably for the best -- you never know what might negatively affect passers-by." He arches an eyebrow at the next bit, though. "He just -- puts unknown substances into a microwave?" Doc questions your scientific experimentation, Gate.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, I don't think they're unknown... just not always food. They let him teach some of the science classes at the Mars Colony, and I've heard things about glowing grapes and making plasma balls..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, I see. Well, as long as he's not hurting anybody. . . ." Doc isn't sure what to make of this guy, but he sounds harmless, so. . . .

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, I don't think he'd hurt anyone on purpose. Unless they hurt Alia or one of his kids. But there was an accident in his lab once moving LOL stuff that turned Zero and Iris into cats for a while... and, um, gave them a kitten... So it's a good idea to be careful."

"It's Flea you really have to be careful about though. Things explode around him a lot more often than around Gate..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"I can understand that impulse," Doc says. "I know I'm protective of my kids." Which includes Marty, Victor, and Alice as well as Dee. His eyes widen at the mention of the kitten. "Er -- yes. Very much so. Great Scott. . . ."

Doc half-smiles. "I see. I know about that too." Ah, the wonders of failed experiments.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Gate moved to the Nexus because someone tried to kill one of his kids. And I think he's been helping X lately."

"They're pretty good about keeping the LOL experiments and any that might actually hurt someone in the Nexus. At least that way there's the anti-violence field just in case."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc looks horrified for a moment. "Someone -- oh God." A brief flicker of rage runs through him, echoed by a soft rumble of thunder in the distance. "I hope they're all right."

That gets an approving nod. "Good idea. That AVF is very useful for things like that."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "He's ok. I've worked with Yammark on the terraforming sometimes. He's still a little skittish around people he doesn't know, though."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Certainly can't blame him there," Doc says. "But I'm glad he's all right." Stuff like that pisses Doc off.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble just nods in agreement with that. "He's a noncom, so he should stay safe now. It's the ones that have to fight that I worry about."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Built for battle? I can imagine that they'd have a hard time transitioning to a peaceful environment," Doc says.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Yes. It's harder for some of us than others. My programming wasn't all finished, so I don't have some of the problems the others do. I can fight, I just never liked it. It's harder for the ones that like it."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc nods. "Yeah, if you're programmed to enjoy something, giving it up must feel near-impossible," he says. "I don't suppose giving them punching bags and the like helps?"

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble finds a nice place to sit where he can swing his feet. It might be noted he moves awkwardly on land, almost as if his shoelaces are tied together. "With some of them, but not much. Sparring helps more. I end up helping with repairs sometimes after that."

"We're lucky in that it's usually combined with what our abilities are, and not just the fighting itself. Like I'm ok if I can get to water, and Quick's ok as long as he can race, and Crash is ok if there's something he can blow up... But then there are ones like Forte or Punk, and with them even some of the video games we found don't work for very long before they want a real fight."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc does indeed note it -- he assumes it's part of Bubble's construction, but it seems an odd choice. He nods at his mention of sparring. "Whatever keeps them happy, I suppose."

He sighs. "That's too bad. I'm glad it's easier for some of you, but dealing with them must be difficult." He half-smiles. "Can't exactly conjure up someone who deserves a fight on a moment's notice."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble looks down for a moment and fidgets. "There's a war back home. So... we can find someone for them to fight. I just don't know if it's very good for them. And there's always a chance..." Bubble shrugs a bit. He doesn't like to think of that.

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Oh." Doc feels like an ass now. "I see. I -- I --" He fidgets and sighs. "Here's hoping it all turns out for the best." He wishes he could think of something else to say, something uplifting, but nothing's coming.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble fidgets again. "It's ok. I'm the one that wasn't saying anything about that. I hope things get better too..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"If there's one thing I've learned about life, it's that it never stays bad forever," Doc says, finally finding the words he wanted. "Perhaps that's a bit cliche, but it's true nonetheless." He smiles. "It'll be okay in the end, I'm sure."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "I hope so. I just hope it doesn't get worse. But the person that we're fighting against... well, the person in charge of things there... he's, um, do you know what a Xanatos Gambit is? He's really good at those."

"It gets confusing, because sometimes we're not even sure if we're getting anywhere or if it will all turn out to be part of some big plan..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term," Doc admits, puzzled. "Though I think I can pick up a little of it from the context. . . . He's quite smart, I assume." And smart enemies can be particularly dangerous. Doc doesn't envy poor Bubble in the least.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I heard it used because of Weil, and because of Lumine. It's like he plans everything out so that no matter what we do, it's something that ends up good news for him somehow. And some of it isn't even stuff we did, but stuff he did... like blowing up the Council building when the Alphas were there, and making it look like the Alphas did it."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, wonderful," Doc says, and you can practically see the sarcasm dripping off his words. "Not an enemy I'd like to go up against. But he can't plan out everything, small comfort that may be. One day you'll manage to surprise him and get the upper hand."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I hope so. At least we're safe here, and he can't get to the colonies, but... Just trying to stay away isn't enough to stop someone like that. I think he might even be worse than Dr. Wily was."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"No, it isn't," Doc agrees. "But as long as you keep trying, you're bound to succeed. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything." Yes, he's breaking out that old saw. He can't help it -- it sounds like something Bubble needs to hear.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
And Bubble will offer a bit of a froggy smile. "That sounds like something Rock would say most of the time."

"I'm sorry for.. well, I guess for the bad topic. I'm too old for combat now, so there isn't much I can do about it. I guess I'm just missing a friend right now, and it gets hard not to be worried. But we'll get through this. We've survived worse things already, it just can take time to find a way sometimes."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"It's all right," Doc assures him, though he looks a bit surprised at the "too old for combat" line. "I know about missing people, and being worried about them." He grimaces as he remembers when he first got pulled into Chicago -- how worried he was about Marty. Not a fun time. He nods at the last part too. "Precisely. You just have to take the time and work at it."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble seems to notice the surprise, because he smiles and says, "I'm one of the oldest at home. I'm from Beta Squadron. I was designed small, and we don't grow. Zero's the youngest of my brothers, and is actually the one that looks the oldest."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc chuckles a little. "I see. That must be confusing for new acquaintances." He's a little puzzled why Bubble would be designed so small in the first place, but hey, if he's one of the oldest, perhaps they were still fiddling with designs.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "It can be. It made it hard finding things for telling Zero about, um, what you asked about before, too. The people at the library kept telling me to ask my parents." He giggles and shakes his head. "I thought about having Zero ask them, since he looked grown up even then, but I decided to ask here instead."

"I was LOLed to look the same as my age once, but I didn't like that very much. I was afraid I'd bump my head on things if I hopped."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc shakes his head too. "Oh dear. Having him ask might have been amusing, but maybe it's for the best you came here. Could have caused some problems as well."

"Growth spurt? A fair fear, most of us are a bit clumsy in early adolescence." Doc knows he was when he first started shooting up like a weed. Suddenly having to duck in certain situations wasn't pleasant.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "Kind of like that, but since it was an LOL it wore off. I'm glad it did. I'm twenty-six years old now, but I wouldn't want to be that tall. I'm too used to being small."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"After a lifetime of shortness, I think any of us would be unnerved by suddenly growing," Doc agrees. "As much as my friend Marty complains about his height, I think he'd be thrown completely off balance if he suddenly ended up as tall as our pal Victor."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I think we all get used to things about ourselves. Like how I'm really awkward out of the water and have to hop sometimes because I can't really walk right. It could be fixed, but I've just been that way for too long, and we don't know what it would mess up when I swim. And since most of my work means I'm under water, I don't do anything about it."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc nods. "I see. We certainly wouldn't want to do something that affects your primary function," he agrees. "You seem to handle yourself all right up here, from what I can see." He shrugs. "Of course, I haven't seen you walk that much. But I understand what you're saying."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"It's like that with some water designs. My friend Splash has a fin, like a mermaid. It's even harder for her on land than it is for me. And some it's not, like Lev..." Bubble goes quiet for a moment before continuing. "Leviathan was always ok either in or out of the water, but she liked in water better."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc shakes his head. "I can imagine. You'd think they'd try to account for that better. . . ." He gives Bubble a sympathetic smile as he mentioned Leviathan, fairly certain why she gets a "was." "Most of my friends are organics, but we've all got our favored environments, so to speak. I'm a scientist, Marty has his music, and Victor has his butterflies."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Levi's MIA, but after two months on a planet that's a warzone, and with searches turning up nothing... well, it's not good odds and Bubble's trying to be realistic about it.

"Most of what I do now is scientific too, even though I wasn't designed for that. I was supposed to be for underwater combat, but since I spend so much time underwater I know a lot about it. So when we started terraforming Mars, I ended up in charge of a lot of the water work. Mostly this means planting sponges and releasing fish and things."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Sounds like interesting work," Doc says, smiling more genuinely. "And probably a nice change from combat. I work mostly with theoretical physics -- working out the logistics of time travel and things like that."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I don't know too much about time travel, but I think Quint does. He was supposed to use a time machine once but it was destroyed and there isn't anyone left who knew just how it worked. Quint doesn't talk about it a whole lot."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"It can be dangerous business," Doc says. "The slightest change to the timestream can have catastrophic consequences. You have to be extremely careful. Not saying he wouldn't have been, of course, but you'd be surprised at how much trouble you can get into without even thinking about it."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I think maybe ours was already changed, because I remember Quint saying something once about everyone dying the 'first time' or something. But you'd have to ask him about it. I could call him if you want."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc arches an eyebrow. "Sounds like it to me -- though it sounds like a positive change, considering. Those happen too." He shrugs. "I wouldn't want to bother him if it's something he doesn't like discussing. Wouldn't want to bring up anything painful." He knows all too well how bad memories can haunt one.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "I know it has to do with Zero. Quint knew what was going to happen... Um, I guess that doesn't make sense." He sighs. "One of the last things Dr. Wily did was give Zero a virus he made. Omega. Zero was designed to be a carrier and infect Mega if he lost to him. But it messed up and made Zero crazy for a while. That's how Dr. Wily ended up dead."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Makes sense if you're used to twisting your mind around the concept of alternate timelines and such," Doc says encouragingly. He grimaces at what apparently happened to Zero. "Great Scott -- that sounds horrible. Though typical of the death of a mad scientist. Undone by his own creation."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "Some of the parts used to make Quint came from the future. They were stolen using the time machine he was supposed to use. But I heard him say something once about how it must have been an alternate future because he didn't disappear or something."

"I think Crash wanted to nominate Dr. Wily for a Darwin Award, but I don't know if he ever found a way to. Zero... didn't really mean to do most of what he did, but the virus made him think it was the best way to keep us safe. I found a cure for it here, so he's ok now, but he was shut down for a year after that so it wouldn't spread to anyone."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc frowns as he considers this. "A rather twisted timeline indeed," he murmurs.

"A -- Darwin Award?" Forgive Doc, Bubble, but he's unfamiliar with the precise nature of this award. He nods a little. "I'm glad you were able to fix him -- and prevent it from spreading to others. A virus like that sounds exceedingly dangerous."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Crash said they're awards given to humans who manage to die due to doing something really stupid, as thanks for improving the gene pool by removing themselves from it."

Bubble nods. "It would have been. We would have had to have kept him shut down if we couldn't find a cure. We couldn't risk it spreading."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc snorts a little. "Oh, I see. I suppose what Wily did qualifies."

"Certainly not," he agrees. "I'm glad it didn't have to come to that."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Me too, and not just because he's one of our best fighters."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc nods. "Exactly. Hopefully he's doing well now."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "It's been a long time since that, and he's ok now." Well, except for the expected wartime stress and having a best friend whose kids are MIA. "He and Iris have a daughter now, because of an LOL that happened. Two LOLs really, at the same time. One turned them both into cats, and the other made a kitten appear. We didn't know at first if she'd stay a kitten or not, but she didn't."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"That's good," Doc says. Then he blinks, because that's certainly not what he was expecting to hear next. "Great Scott. Well, the LOLs around here are certainly unpredictable," he says, still a little stunned. "I got turned into a LEGO figure once myself. Never had anything like THAT happen, however."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"I don't think that one's going around any more. I heard it was gas that came out of a couch here, but someone's gotten rid of the couch since then."

"I've never been legos, but chibi lols are common at home."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"Well, good," Doc says, glad he doesn't have to deal with that strangeness along with everything else.

"Chibi?" Puzzled Doc is puzzled.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, it means 'small and cute', and there's a certain kind of cartoon drawing style called that. It means someone shrinks and acts like a hyper little kid. And then there's another variant where they're only a few inches tall and make sounds like puppies or kittens."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Blink blink. "I -- see," he says slowly. "Never been hit by one of those either. Obviously." And he's kind of glad he hasn't.

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"That one's sometimes used for discipline back home. There are some troublemakers in the family, and they dislike being embarrassed much more than anything else like KP duty. And it makes them small enough to stay out of trouble for a while, even if it means someone else has to chibi-sit."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc can't help a smirk at that. "Clever way to punish someone, I must say. And probably more amusing than KP duty."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"And a lot better than letting pranksters like Quick and Crash near our food."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
Doc chuckles. "Precisely. Don't want to punish yourselves, after all."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
Bubble nods. "And it was nice talking to you, but I think I'd better go home now. It's almost my turn to help with repairs. I hope we have a quiet day..."

[Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (clockwork_doc@livejournal.com)]
"It was nice talking to you too. Having someone with some experience in these matters around. . . ." He nods. "I hope so too. And I hope my day doesn't get any stranger."

[Bubble (bubbly_bot@livejournal.com)]
"Oh, I hope so too. Good luck." And he'll wave goodbye as he hops off.

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Bubble Chats With Doc Brown About Having 'The Talk' With Kids

Bubble's Reply

Bubble's Reply, Part 2