 Plum is to wake me up in 15 minutes, I promise." Romantic love has never been the focal point for adventure time, yet when they do get around to displaying it, they explore it with plenty of nuance, highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly, and showing just how complicated, difficult, and beautiful the feeling, the action, the idea of love actually is. Through Marceline and Bubblegum, we see how so much of making relationships work is the work we must do on ourselves first. No matter who might help you or who is in your corner, at the end of the day, the responsibility is on oneself to grow and change. Beginning with Marceline, the vampire queen's most detrimental problem is her complicated relationship with her past. In her words, she was a messed up kid. Abandonment issues are at the forefront of this character. Beginning with her mother, who raised her, the demon child believed her mother ran away from her out of fear of her monster origin and left her alone in the post-apocalyptic land of U. Simon, who then found and raised her for a few years after that, slowly turned into the Ice King and had to leave her for fear of hurting her. Hunson, her biological father, only assumed that role when Marceline was in her teenage years, and up until the first season of the show, she is unsure if her father actually loves her or even cares about her. As she grew older, he rarely spent time with his daughter, devoting most of his time to ruling the nightosphere. Add in Ash, Marceline's conniving ex-boyfriend and the whole vampire saga, and all of this creates and informs the Marceline we come to know in the early stages of adventure time. This morally confused trickster has lost her way over all those years and is deeply afraid of letting good people into her life, fearing that they will leave her because she is a monster at her core. Marceline becomes someone who is easily influenced by those around her, and once surrounded by more questionable figures like LSP, Ash, and her ghost friends, she then tends to emulate the people she's around, having no real moral anchor of her own. This is why she comes across as somewhat cruel and cold and caring in her first few appearances, but eventually growing out of that when she spends more time with Finn and Jake. After believing that she's scared her own mother off, the young Marceline says that when people run away from her, it's because she wants them to. Like a funny joke, she says, so Marceline embraces this side of her and intentionally develops this edge and this roughness about her, creating this hard and tough barrier because love has constantly hurt her. One of Marceline's most persistent traits is her inability to confront her own emotions while simultaneously being an emotional person, and this is because her mother was never able to be honest about her own health problems with her daughter. It messed her up, she says. Marceline has this tendency to run away at the first sight of discomfort. We see her do that in what was missing, in stakes, obsidian, even to people. And I remember you, she points out that ever since she met Ice King, she's been avoiding him because of her memories of Simon. Marceline's only outlet for her emotions is her songs. It's easy to see how this emotional baggage comes to haunt Marceline's relationship with Bubblegum as their argument and obsidian was born from Marceline's lack of morality with the glass citizens, in which she stated that she didn't care about their lives and proceeded to play with the other citizens like they were toys. Marceline's emotional volatility is also displayed here. When her need for attention isn't met, she lashes out immaturely how to fear of being left behind once again now by her girlfriend. Again, her inability to properly communicate how she feels leads her to these kinds of outbursts, where she writes an incredibly hurtful song to the princess and destroys her device. Princess Bubblegum's philosophy can be articulated in a single line. His responsibility demands sacrifice. When the moment she was born, Bonnebel Bubblegum has always taken care of others. Her sweet brother, Nettie, would be the first to feel that care and the candy citizens follow. But before the candy kingdom and the crown, it was just Bonnie. For hundreds of years, she scavenged the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was ooo, yearning for companionship for people like her, so she created her own family. Her uncle, Gumball, would eventually threaten Bonnebel's sense of control when his individuality blossomed, as he desired to create apartment complexes and sell apparel. And to it, she would say that, this isn't what I made you to be. Though Bubblegum wished for her family to be real, to have agency, that agency had to be within the realm of what she found acceptable. Though Bubblegum was only a child, this experience of her own family turning against her and conspiring to eliminate her was a memory that would be burned into her psyche. This informed her future decisions. It informed the type of person she would come to be. It would inform her desire to have all the candy citizens to be, quote, happy and unburdened. Using her dumb-dumb juice on her citizens, she would create a group of people, a family to protect and control. As the only sentient, intelligent entity around for much of her formative years, Bubblegum desires tremendous control over situations because she's so used to controlling everything for her and Nettie. She needs control because she fears what could happen if she's not the one in charge. She's so used to fixing everything. It's one of the reasons why she has problems with Marcelli. PB is so logic-based, so scientifically wired, that she rarely considers the desires or emotions of others, only focusing on whether an action is good for them or not. In addition, she can be mean and particularly harsh with her words. In that argument in Obsidian, Princess Bubblegum calls Marcelli monster trash, an emotionally unintelligent choice, because for Marcelli, that word has defined so much of her life. In this argument, the vampire also asks Bubblegum why she brought her along, and Bubblegum retorts that she never invited her, and that she doesn't have time for, a line that the girl with abandoned issues takes personally. At this stage in their lives, these characters were clearly not ready to be together. So when Adventure Time's main story begins, we meet these two characters during their separation. As any relationship goes, their issues were greater than this one argument. My first thoughts upon rewatching it came from the Nightosphere were that Marcelli's father, Hansen, is a bit like Bubblegum in a way. PB is someone who is wholly committed and dedicated to her work. Hansen is the same. The ruler of the Nightosphere barely has time to even visit his daughter if he's not summoned. And much like Bubblegum, they're too put their work over any of their personal relationships. And we see in Obsidian, Marcelli constantly vying for PB's attention. She's always occupied with something else. This reminder might have been extra painful for the vampire. In the early series, the vampire queen has her fair share of meanness as well. When Go With Me, Marcelli pranks Finn by telling him that fun is the way to princess Bubblegum's heart. PB notoriously never has time for fun. Meanwhile, Marcelli never had any of the responsibilities that PB had. Marcelli then insists that the princess is a brain lord who was born. And she has Finn bring wolves to the princess's door. What was missing only adds fuel to this fire. Marcelli begins the episode by making off-color remarks to Bubblegum, alluding to her type A nature. Just keep it cool. Got that princess? Hmph. When Marcelli is crude and abrasive, saying that she'll drink the red out of her pretty pink face, Bubblegum finds that distasteful. Their contrasting identities in this episode are apparent. Marcelli's lyrics in I'm Not Your Problem reveals much more of her frustrations after hundreds of years apart. Marcelli highlights that she does not see PB in the way that her citizens do. Like subjects to a god, Marcelli chastises Bubblegum for removing their intelligence. This can also be linked to Marcelli calling PB a dictator in her song, Woke Up. I'm Not Your Problem is filled with tons of anger, but it only buries genuine pain felt by the vampire queen. Marcelli mentions how she genuinely believes that Bubblegum just doesn't like her and doesn't like being around her. Bubblegum refuses to change who she is, pointing out her morality and her immaturity, believing that she is not sweet enough for the princess of the vibrant and colorful Candy Kingdom. And later in the episode, she would go on to point out how Bubblegum wanted her to be perfect. In the second verse, Marcelli is so hurt that she even apologizes for her very existence. But despite it all, for some reason, the vampire still desires to be on good terms with the princess. She doesn't feel like she should be the one apologizing, but if that means being with Bubblegum again, she'll do it. This is just another relationship that she's confused by, similar to the one of her and her father's. However, after this, the two argue once again about Bubblegum's expectations of the vampire. Marcelli tearfully responds to their argument by spitting on Princess Bubblegum. Again, Marcelli has a hard time conveying her feelings, and she often resorts to harmful behaviors like shown here, running away, or her music, instead of communicating her issues. At the end of the episode, however, Princess Bubblegum reveals that she sleeps in the shirt that Marcelli gave her, which also has sentimental value for her. PB doesn't say it, but that gesture alone indicates that she feels similar to Marcelli. The fact that Marcelli hangs around the entire episode without having anything taken from her proves that she is ready to make amends, ending the episode and their relationship on better terms than before. The two end up growing from this episode, and their relationship turns a bit more positive in the following episodes we see them together. In the sky which we see that very shirt that Princess Bubblegum wakes up in, and takes a massive whiff of each morning, coupled with a picture of her and Marcelli taped her closet door that she sees every single day. The love and appreciation they have for each other has not faltered, and when the vampire asks for help, she knows that it must be important and PB accepts. To me, this is a big deal, considering how much significance Princess Bubblegum places on protecting and being there for the Candy Kingdom, so her choosing to help Marcelli over them says a lot. And through this episode, a small detail to note is how comfortable the two are together. The subtle moments where Marcelli holds on to Bubblegum's arm, how she whisks her away, and even the banter all feel familiar. These are two characters who are, despite their issues, very comfortable with each other. When Bubblegum finds out that it was all for the vampire queen to retrieve Hambo, she's displeased. Bubblegum, through all of their time spent together, still doesn't understand nor value the attachment that Marcelli has with Hambo, calling it a regular old teddy bear, and calling the bear replaceable, bringing Marcelli the tears. There is a lack of empathy from Bubblegum on this subject, in line with her logical, scientific, emotionally distant brain. However, she still decides to continue to help Marcelli, recognizing her friend's distressed state. Bonnebel redeems herself, trading her favorite t-shirt for Hambo, sacrificing it for Marcelli. Maja says that the shirt had more affection in it than Hambo. Throughout the series, Bubblegum makes tremendous strides as an individual, and in Pajama War, she recognizes how much her work has prevented her from simply existing, and she shows a desire to do more of that. Of course, after this, the Candy people would end up voting for the King of Oo over her to become leader of the Candy Kingdom. Following the loss of her kingdom, Marcelli and Bonne take center stage once more in environments. To continue on PB's growth, brushing shoulders with the death at the hands of the Lich in the second season, heightened Princess Bubblegum's iron grip on her kingdom. She would create Goliad as her future protector, her surveillance of the kingdom was beefed up, and her overall stress over her people increased. Her desire for control grew, her fear grew. But as it became detrimental to her, PB expressed her need to be more, quote, chill, as she rarely got the chance to step away from her people out of fear. Along with this, Bonnebelle expresses her desire to be less mean, again efforts to grow as an individual, but desiring to be more chill never meant losing her entire kingdom, and so she has to come to terms with not being in control environments. In this episode, Bubblegum holds it all together, until her unstable base comes crashing down. Beginning with Marcelline jogging her memory about the type of person she used to be, the type of fun they used to have. She sees herself in her handwriting, versus who she is now. As Marcelline calls her always prepared, she snaps. Bonnebelle sees how much she's changed, and how that change was essentially for nothing. Her relationships, her own personal identity, everything was sacrificed to the candy kingdom, and now it's all catching up to her. The varmins are just another thing she cannot control. At the beginning of this episode, she fears losing her pumpkin patch, just like she lost her home, her people, her hat, her family, and Marcelline. And Bonnebelle finally breaks down. She finally lets herself feel. But while she did shut everything and everyone out for her work, Marcelline just being there is Bonne's proof that not everything was lost, and that despite her failures, it doesn't fully reflect who she is as a person. Marcelline is the only person to whom PB could have exposed her feelings to. This is the first and only time in the series when we see Bonnebelle so honest and emotional. The princess probably hates that she broke down, but the fact that she felt comfortable enough to do so in front of Marcelline is so telling. Bubblegum is always taking care of others. She's always doing the caring, the protecting, the cuddling. It reminded me of the finale when Marcelline mentions how she was so worried every single day about Bubblegum whenever they were apart because she wasn't there to protect the princess. The very princess who wants to protect everyone else needs someone too. She too needs to feel protected, but the fact that she can finally be honest with herself, the fact that she can admit that she's crazy tired and that she needs rest and that she needs someone, is monumental growth. Bubblegum finally let Marcelline in, and the vampire queen is now someone she can rely on forever. Stakes plays a similar role, but this time for Marcelline, as Bubblegum becomes crucial for Marcelline's journey of growth and acceptance. She is the one who performs and helps her with the procedure of removing her vampirism and ultimately takes care of her every step of the way. PB calls Marcelline her best friend in this series, and we even see her cry when Marcelline is affected by her poison injury. Marcelline ultimately accepts her fate as the vampire queen, and her eight-episode journey helps her realize that although everything returns to its natural state in the grand scheme of things, that does not mean that things do not change. This idea of everything stays, a song and a story about change, to me, describes Marcelline and Bubblegum's relationship quite well. Bubblegum losing her kingdom or Marcelline becoming mortal, those were two aspects of their lives that have been reverted back to their natural state, just like the two of them are meant to be together, even though they were apart for a while. But with minor changes to who they are as people, and a dedication to each other, they are now able to make their relationship work. As Bonneville returns to her post, she becomes a much more relaxed leader, treating her citizens' individuality not with punishment, but with praise. Like she does with Banana Guard 16, in ketchup, in obsidian, and in the finale, Marcelline is much more willing to confront her complicated past and open up about her emotions. She's able to make these difficult choices for the people she loves. To me, this relationship makes the most sense in the little moments. In this post-apocalyptic world where nothing really makes sense, they are all trying every day to find their bearings and come to terms with this changing world, and come to terms with everything and everyone they've lost. In the midst of all that chaos, Marcelline and Peebee just want somebody to be by their side. They want someone who wears their favorite t-shirt, someone who carries strawberry lip balm. They want a shoulder to sleep on for just 15 minutes. And it's those moments of familiarity that I love the most. It's all the different nicknames Marcelline comes up with for Peebee. It's the fun banter, the constant physical touch. Marcelline's love language of touch is so clear, she's always holding on to Bonneville in some way, and bubblegum's his acts of service, embodied by how she will do anything for Marcelline. And hang out with the man she despises, and she'll even call him by the name Marcy wants her to. She'll go out and rescue a teddy bear for her. At the end of it all, these two characters have chosen love in an isolating land, and they have opened their hearts to all the possibilities. The land of ooh for both of them has been a lonely, lonely place. It has plagued both of their stories for so long. Centuries they've spent apart because of their differences. Centuries they've spent so much time searching for companionship, whether it was with humans, with Ash, because without her mother, without Simon, she had no one. Bubblegum of course grew up without anyone like her, for such an extended period of her life. They've both been through their fair share of betrayal by people they thought loved them. So for them to choose love again and again, even after hurting each other and having been hurt by others, says a lot about these characters. Although staying in a cabin together for a few days is extra meaningful, even if it feels like mere seconds in the grand scheme of things, because those are the moments that they will never forget. As their story closes in Obsidian, we get a sneak peek of what life looks like. We get a look at the tiny sacrifices they've made for each other. Princess Bubblegum in this special is never seen interacting with the Candy Kingdom. She's dedicated a lot more time to simply being with Marceline. And Marceline, while of course not equal, usually sleeps floating, but now she's committed to sleeping in a bed, so she may sleep alongside Princess Bubblegum. In the actual episode, the two learn acceptance. For Bubblegum, it's in accepting Marceline's past and her traumas, recognizing that yes, Marceline ran away from her, but she never got angry or upset with Marceline, instead giving her space to grow, to come back to explain herself. And also, accepting that she doesn't always need to be the smartest person in the room or to fix everything. Marceline definitely makes it known to her that she doesn't need to be perfect, nor does she want her to. And for Marcy, in classic Marceline fashion, she writes a song to make sense of everything that she's been feeling. In Monster, she writes that she initially feared becoming vulnerable. She feared committing herself to a future with PB, because she still always feels like a monster. She is afraid that she will lose her edge. She fears the pain that love has burned her with time and again. But Princess Bubblegum has helped her accept that she is deserving of love. That she can be loved in the way that she needs. And in the song's final chorus, she loves the fact that Bondabel is the pink in her cheeks. She loves that she makes her soft. And she accepts her newfound vulnerability and tenderness, in exchange for the rage and the fear that she once had. I think it's so cool to see characters who are in theory so old, who've lived thousands of years, but who are still actively searching for ways to grow, to evolve, to heal. They are actively trying to be better to each other. They have forever to improve, but they choose the present to do so. Growth and healing is a lifelong journey. Also, the way they met, Marceline throwing PB that sweaty ass t-shirt, and PB absolutely fangirling over it, what an insane origin story, of course in the best way possible. Happy Valentine's Day.