Bubby (HLVRAI)

Bubby is a crass, idiotic, egotistical, and impulsive scientist. Bubby was created inside Black Mesa by scientists slapping chemicals together until they created a person, The Ultimate Life Form, and promptly had knowledge injected directly into his brain; Bubby also claims to be six years old. He is played by Gir. Gir describes Bubby as "a jaded tutorial NPC until he believes his life is in peril," and "the kind of person to go home and then just like sit in the corner and do nothing." Bubby is often antagonistic towards others, with the exception of Dr. Coomer, who he seems to be close friends with. He frequently harasses and insults his friends, particularly Gordon, whom he loathes for some inexplicable reason, though he will on occasion pull pranks on Tommy as well, known as his “Classic Lies”. Bubby is also extremely short-tempered, frequently attacking or somehow physically harming the object of his rage for any slight that sets him off; at one point, he mercilessly shoots a man for owing him $5. Bubby’s attitude problems are a result of him having no social skills due to not knowing how to interact with others or being able to apply the knowledge that was injected into him. Bubby is often shown to lack self-preservation, repeatedly blundering into traps and setting off explosive devices mere feet from civilians and other members of the Science Team. Despite his egotistical demeanor in the moment, Bubby becomes rather cowardly in the face of actual danger. Halfway through the series, Bubby betrays Gordon by tricking him into getting kidnapped by military soldiers, an action seemingly fueled by impulsive desperation and his assumption that Gordon was at fault for trapping them in Black Mesa during the incident. He later is subsequently thrown in his tube and realizes his errors, and reunites with the group with a proper motivation in mind. By the end of the series, though not particularly "nicer" as a person, he does ally with the group for a common goal to defeat Benrey, and is the one who helps Gordon travel backwards in time. Because of this, Bubby cannot be truly considered an antagonist.