Despite the fact that the two of them had committed to intense, Survivor style montage conditioning, Finn and Marceline had only met a few times over those two and a half days. Finn still had had a lot to do before the show, for one thing. Invitations were important, his first priority being his girlfriend who had taken an interest in his new hobby. After that though, there had been a substantial amount of people that he still wanted to be there, even if they would only add to his mildly-debilitating performance anxiety. On the other hand, he hadn't finished writing his song, and had needed some time alone for that. Marceline had needed to go shopping again. That and she had gone to visit her dad. She wasn't quite sure which was worse.
Looking out over the crowd, Finn saw that most of his guests had indeed shown up. Jake and Lady Rainicorn were sitting close to the front, and waved upon seeing him. A few of their children—not that you could really call them that anymore— had accompanied them as well. Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig were also there, the former of whom was handing out home-baked apple pies to the other attendees. Desert Princess and the former goblin king, Xergiok, were coincidentally seated next to each other, which would make for some interesting and unusual conversation.
Night had recently fallen, and the last of the light was draining rapidly from the sky. Princess Bubblegum found something incredibly appealing—almost romantic—about the nighttime, and as such organized many of the kingdom's community events after dusk. She made her appearance that night modestly, foregoing her crown and other royal accouterments for baggy sweatpants and an old T-shirt that had seen better days. The princess of the Candy Kingdom moved about the sea of personalities effortlessly, stopping to socialize and commune with her citizens for indeterminate periods of time.
As the show would not begin for another twenty minutes or so, Finn had more or less been left to his own devices. He certainly could've joined the rest of society and greeted everyone who had traveled from the furthest reaches of Ooo to see him specifically, or—and of course, this was the option he had chosen—he could also hang back and obsess neurotically over his upcoming act and the massive audience he'd be scrutinized by. The other participants flitted about wispily backstage in a well-choreographed dance of organization, assisting each other when necessary, all making ready for what would hopefully be their big moment.
(Transition)
Marceline was not in the back row. In fact, she was behind the back row, two steps removed from everyone else. The notion of sitting was not a particularly appealing one. Instead, her indifference towards gravity would allow for one additionally seated patron, whatever that was worth. On a less philanthropic note, she also had no burning desire to be trapped in suffocating proximity between two presumably loud and obnoxious strangers.
"…Hey!"
She looked around, momentarily confused. The voice was completely unrecognizable, and she briefly wondered if whoever it was was even speaking to her. All of that became irrelevant upon glimpsing her newfound company, upon which her eyes nearly dislodged themselves from their sockets to flee indiscriminately. A humanoid inferno was approaching her now, a creature of nightmarish design and dubious intent unconceivable in even the darkest pits of the Nightosphere. It waved exuberantly and began its immutable charge. Marceline screamed internally.
Flame Princess approached the terrified vampire and smiled with appropriate warmth, considering her namesake.
"You must be Marceline," She said. "Finn's told me a lot about you."
The mental scream did not cease, but did lower slightly in timbre.
"…And you must be…his…girlfriend?" Finn had mentioned that he was seeing someone before, but he never used her name—not that Marceline had ever followed up—and had never described her at length. Now she saw why.
"Yeah," The non-metaphorically radiant youth confirmed. "My name's Flame Princess, but everyone just calls me FP. I'd shake your hand, but I'd probably incinerate you."
Marceline shuddered. She tried to put her mortal terror aside for a moment though.
"Wait, so, your name's Flame Princess? Like, your first name is Flame and your last is Princess?"
"Well, no…but my dad makes everyone call me that. He says it's more intimidating than Mollie. He says it's harder to make friends with someone that doesn't have a name." She delivered all of this delightful information with a broad, implacable smile etched into her face.
"…Right," Marceline tried to process the strangeness of her new acquaintance, well aware of the irony involving her own...unconventional upbringing. "So, I guess you came to see Finn then, huh?"
"Yeah. It was really nice of you to teach him. And you didn't charge him anything, either! I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it."
"Hey, don't even worry about it. Me and him go back a long way."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of inquisitive murmuring. Distant spotlights flooded the stage, rousing the previously restrained alacrity of Bubblegum's congregation.
"It's starting," FP stated, in a sort of hushed reverence. "Would you like to sit next to me?"
Marceline considered her proposition fearfully. "Uhh…maybe near you?"
Princess Bubblegum whispered apologies for the unfinished conversations and hastily made her way to the platform. The first 'hello' was tenuous and half-certain, a trial run for the questionable microphone stand she had yet to meet the acquaintance of.
"…Hello! Greetings, all. I am immeasurably proud to welcome you to the second annual Candy Kingdom talent show. Our first show was…pretty lame, to be perfectly honest, but that was mainly due to the fact that I gave everyone literally zero notice and only invited my close friends and...the people who live on my block. Oh well. But isn't that what next year is for? You have a slops prototype so the next whatchamacallit can be ten times better. This time around I invited the whole flippin' kingdom, and gave you all a month in advance to get ready. So you have no excuse not to astound us with spectacular displays of otherworldly awesomeness. Truly, my loyal peeps, whoever remains standing tonight in this gauntlet of creativity and ability, we all win. The contestants for taking part in something bigger than themselves, and us for getting to witness it all. This night will—"
Someone down below interjected loudly, bringing the chorus of soft, polite mutterings grinding to a halt.
"All right, we get it already. Let's go!"
At this the princess paused for a moment, and tilted her head thoughtfully. And then:
"You know, you're right, random candy citizen in the front row. This show isn't about me flappin' mah lips; it's about the talent themselves. And without further ado, here they are!"
Marceline stretched out lazily and scoffed.
"That's Bonnie for you. She's a real character, all right."
(Transition)
The night was long, and populated by bizarre individuals presenting equally bizarre displays of abnormality. Finn hadn't expected his would be the only musical act, and as predicted, there were at least a few. Among them there were a handful of bands of various genres and a singer/songwriter or two. Thankfully he didn't have to compete with any other rappers—at least not yet—although there was a group of spoken word poets that was pretty impressive. There were contestants who could have a conversation backwards and those that were capable of escaping figurative coffins that would've made Houdini blush.
There were contestants that had been born the show; men and women and creatures of all shapes and sizes that could remove limbs without harm, or wink in and out of existence. And then there were the miscellaneous ones. The individuals who, in all likelihood, shouldn't even have bothered showing up (that was something no one had the heart to tell them). The whistlers, the triangle soloists, the ventriloquists that couldn't throw their voices; the young men of ambiguous age that go onstage to deliver non-rhyming, non-rhythmic treatises on just how much they love their mothers.
But inevitably, it would be his turn. It was easy enough to passively judge the others who had come and gone, but soon he would be under the gun, and all humor would drain from the situation. Regardless of how he chose to mentally prepare himself, once he walked out under the glare of the lights and the people, whatever remained of his confidence would melt away.
And before he knew it, he was staring out at those same people, being blinded by those same lights.
"Uhhh…hi," He began. "My name is Finn, and this is my song." He placed down his faithful boombox, which contained within it a last minute production by a one Marceline the Vampire Queen. He found it surprisingly good, all things considered: cleanly mixed and infused with a personalized style. That basic structure the two of them had discussed oozed from the speakers and Finn raised the mic to his lips.
Princess Bubblegum / I know that you're too old for me
And not just cuz it's told to me / it's partially
Cuz you're close to me / And maybe we're just meant to be
Friends anyway / who is saying destiny
Is reserved for the star/ crossed and if you think I'm love/ lost
Then maybe change your definition / my brother Plato
Would agree there's really nothing / missing
Video game lunches and castles / of sand mean as much as
Little boy crushes and holding / your hand
Love is love / and I love spending time / together
Rain or shine / company precedes the weather
And who really cares/ that I keep a lock of your hair
And that sometimes I might / watch or just stare
I just think / you're pretty and nice
I know that you are wise / so I will ask your advice
Getting to protect you / I can't put a price
On that junk / so don't ask me twice
He hadn't even gotten to the part about her yet, and Marceline was already substantially embarrassed. The lights followed Finn as he moved across the stage, the human boy keeping decent rhythm as he went.
"This next verse is for my totally math girlfriend," He announced, and Flame Princess attempted fruitlessly to disappear into her seat. She pretended like she didn't recognize the awkward, tube-shaped child waving to her.
You were my se/cond love but no less potent
Stoked my heart's/ coals stay the cold ocean
I can stand your heat/ forego the sun lotion
The girl whose brash/ness brought out my emotion
When we met/ there was an immediate connection
When we came together/ via natural selection
You have a spirit/ that is dangerous and exciting
And a personality/ that is warm and inviting
Your father will whisper/ his words of evil
Doesn't appreciate/ the importance of being people
We all have rights/ man, and you're no different
Can't live for him/ and if that makes friction
I'll say it right to his face/ and fight for your freedom
To stop my advance/ he'll need a legion
Of his strongest men other/wise I'll leave him with lesions
Teach him a less/on without leaving you grieving
His audience seemed to be responding positively to his words and presence, or most of it anyway. He started his third verse then, which Marceline hoped would be his last.
Topping the list/ of my three favorite girls
Marceline/ best teacher in the world
You're the reason I'm rappin'/ here, but that ain't what I'm talkin'/ bout
We express/ ourselves with a whisper or/ a shout
You taught me not to trust/ first impressions
But not in any/ of our tutoring sessions
A homewrecker and a demon/ you seemed to be lame
But turned out to be a rad/ical dame that plays games
And if I had been too/ quick to assign blame
Never would've fell in love/ with the princess of flame
There's this grumpy/ frosty old geezer
Little did I know/ that he had been beleague/red
Back when he was a no/ble fostering achiever
You turned a skeptical young boy/ to a believer
In the goodness of pe/ople that was anything but meager
In understanding/ I was a minor leaguer
To solve life's mysteries/ man was I ever eager
And the fact that this is second/-hand doesn't make it cheaper
The sense of closure and exhilaration Finn felt after concluding his performance was only doubled by the immediate ovation he received. Almost—but not quite—forgetting one of the most important things his teacher had shared with him, he promptly dropped his mic, turned on his heel and strode aloofly backstage. Upon passing beyond the curtain, Finn was assailed by smaller-scale adulation from stage workers and competition alike. As a hero, he was used to the praise, so he didn't let it go to his head. Even so, it all felt exceptionally good. He felt as if he had achieved a great personal victory, even if he got no acknowledgement from the contest's judges. Then he saw the face of the only person whose opinion really mattered emerge pale and stoic from the darkness.
"Marceline, hey—" He faltered, her expression just now registering. "…What's up?"
"Finn…what were you thinking?"
As much as he wanted to question it, he thought it would better to just let her speak.
"…And after everything. I would've thought we were on the same page. I mean, we were all out there for Grod's sake."
Try as he might to find his voice, Finn could only manage to stand there unhappily and shrink under her accusatory tone.
"You really need to learn something about respect, kid. I—" She stumbled about her words in her frustration. "—I mean—do you have anything to say in your defense?"
The best he could do was a strained and muted apology.
"You're unbelievable," Marceline said, with genuine disgust in her eyes. "Enjoy the rest of your night, I guess."
With that, she walked off, not particularly concerned about the direction in which she went. Finn was left feeling more confused than anything else, though regret and self-loathing were prominent as well. The Vampire Queen's presence was replaced by those of Princess Bubblegum and his girlfriend, the latter of whom smiled half-heartedly and waved.
The candy monarch approached him judiciously, her expression non-judgmental but displeased all the same.
"Sorry, Finn," She said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Did I…do something wrong?"
"It wasn't really your fault, but there was a reason she was upset, yes."
He plopped himself gelatinously down on the floor, frowning intently.
"That song was…maybe a bit too personal. And while I, myself, by this point am used to your, erm, eccentricities, it did make me a little uncomfortable."
He ascended from his internal miasma for a brief moment to acknowledge his other visitor.
"FP…did I donk you up with this too?"
The look on her face said enough, but she confirmed his suspicions regardless.
"…Finn, My dad is probably gonna have you executed now…I don't think I want to come to another of these shows. Sorry."
Though the young boy's disheartenment was palpable, it took only an instant for his spirit to right itself, along with the rest of his body. He stood up straight, fists clenched tight, sheer determination emanating from his pores.
"Thanks ladies," He said. "You have shown me the error of my ways, and now, I'm gonna fix things. To the extreme."
Flame Princess got chills. Or whatever it was that fire people got in that circumstance.