lexa buys (a) fish.

Fanwork
Title:	lexa buys (a) fish.
Creator:	ClarkeGriffinTexts
Date(s):	November 24, 2015
Medium:
Fandom:	The 100
External Links:	original post (archive link)
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lexa buys (a) fish. is a Clexa text au that went viral on social media after people outside of the fandom mistook it for a real text conversation. It gave rise to the shared fanon character of Fish the Dog in the Clexa fandom.

The fictional texts were originally posted on November 24, 2015, by ClarkeGriffinTexts on Tumblr, reimagining the post-apocalyptic femslash ship of Clexa from The 100 as a married couple in a modern setting. In the text exchange, Lexa tells Clarke about the new puppy that she and their two children are bringing home from the pet store. Clarke isn't happy because Lexa was supposed to bring home a pet fish, though Lexa assures her that the puppy is named Fish.

The post was a hit within the Clexa fandom, but soon people outside of the fandom were also sharing the screenshots, mistaking Clarke and Lexa for real people, and Clarke for a man.

From BuzzFeed:

The post went viral on Friday, November 27th, and has since been retweeted and shared thousands of times on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, all with some variation of the hashtag "#relationshipgoals" and the caption "Me as a wife" or "Me to my husband".

However, this isn't a straight couple- or even a real couple.

According to Hypable, one Facebook post had "more than 650,000 shares, with people going crazy debating the issue and declaring their loyalty to either #ClarketheHusband or #LexatheWife." The texts also made their way to Reddit where they were noticed and shared by the British tabloids Daily Star, Daily Mirror, and The Sun, with the publications also mistaking the texts for a real conversation between a husband and wife. The Daily Mail also picked up on the story, though they were able to figure out that the texts came from a Clexa AU.

Summary of Events

Even celebrities like FKA twigs have shared the text au, mistaking it for a real conversation between a husband and wife.

Replying to a confused anon, a Clexa fan on Tumblr explained the situation:

Hey there! It kind of blew out of proportion x)

There was a texting au post about Clexa, where Lexa goes with their kids to buy a goldfish and ends up buying a dog named Fish. She tells Clarke and the blonde has an interesting reaction.

...

But yeah, then the heteros got ahold of it and thought it was real and that it was a wife called Lexa talking to a husband called Clarke (heteronormativity!) and turned it into some #marriagegoalz ethical discussion kind of thing.

And then, the Daily Star, as the great paper that it is (looking at all the libel and contempt of court cases they lost rn), shared the story as an actual serious article. Which honestly, just hire me instead? At least I’d fact-check the story...

And at some point, Jason shared and commented it too and it's been a crazy couple of days x) people created mock Clarke the Husband and Lexa the Wife accounts and there have been hashtags flying around mocking the straight heteronormative people that stole the post and made it into some idiotic real straight couple convo instead of the fanmade texting au between a lesbian and a bisexual girl that it was.

Hope that answers your question! :)

The Texts

Fan Reactions

Many Clexa fans were amused by the misunderstanding:

@stillforyoo tweeted:

#UniteWithClarkeTheHusband
Meninists freaking out over a story about fictional lesbians by hormonal teen lesbians.

lesbian-revolt wrote:

The Clexa Fish text AU finally appeared on my Facebook newsfeed this is the best im dying 😂😂😂 been waiting for this for months

dykerheights wrote:

does anyone else remember when the Straights on facebook thought screenshots of fanmade clexa text conversation about a dog named fish was a real life conversation between a straight, married couple and it went viral and there were like new articles and polls written about it and no one realised that it was actually a fictional gay ship because i do

stormywords wrote:

The way that Clarke/Lexa, Fish the puppy, text message manip went viral and spread to the Heterosexuals™ is truly iconic

The fandom poked fun at the public's assumption that Clarke is a man:

@evanxbrie tweeted:

Clarke is 100% heterosexual and 100% a man, I don't know what you're talking about. #ClarkeTheHusband #The100

@Qlonesbian tweeted:

The year is 2052.

#Clarkethehusband just strikes again.

duchessofyetiville

Honestly don't know who Lexa and Clarke are, but I am Lexa and he is my Clarke.

Some played along by pretending to take either Clarke the Husband or Lexa's side in the argument over Fish, using hashtags such as #UniteWithClarkeTheHusband and #justiceforlexa:

@clarkethehubby tweeted:

All I wanted was a fucking goldfish

@sapphiclexa tweeted:

Remember when Lexa and #ClarkeTheHusband got married and weren't fighting over Fish The Dog?

@fioridiIuna tweeted:

guys but kelly has a logic
#UniteWithClarkeTheHusband #JusticeForClarkeTheHusband

Kelly Grover

Well, he is technically a gold Fish - his name is Fish and he is a golden retriever.

@evanxbrie tweeted:

Poor Fish....all he wanted was a home and he came into this shit show. #UniteWithClarkeTheHusband #justiceforlexa #fishthedog #The100

@alyciasdebnm tweeted:

y'all can't blame lexa for getting a dog instead of a fish! fishes are ugly boring creatures #justiceforlexa !!

@thedognamedfish tweeted:

CLARKE THE HUSBAND IS AN ANIMAL ABUSER DONT STAND WITH THIS MAN #UniteWithClarkeTheHusband

Fanworks

After the texts went viral, Fish the dog became a fanon character in his own right (similar to Elyza Lex) and occasionally appears in Clexa fanworks.

Fanfic

Clexa fics:

• A Fish Out of Water by gamergirl929 - Getting ready to turn in after a long day, the last thing Lexa Woods expected on that rainy Friday night is to find a frantic, soaked blonde knocking on the front door of Woods Animal Hospital.
• Fish by camping_trash_44 - Clarke wakes up to find herself in a strange bed, then rushes to leave to avoid the impending complications of her one night stand with a certain green-eyed brunette. She meets a small bundle of golden haired joy on her escape though that changes the game.

Fish has even appeared in fics from other TV fandoms.

• All the city lights (but only one matters) by Caskettmyheart - "Sleeping on the clock, miss Luthor? I know I work well into the night but you should know better ;) - Supergirl - PS: lock your balcony door next time." AKA A concerned friend, a nighttime call and... where there's fire, there's - a dog? (Kara/Lena - Supergirl)
• The one where Alicia meets Elyza by melchellington - The family is barricaded inside a large department store with a seemingly never ending onslaught of walkers. Elyza shows up, saves them all and maybe sticks around to teach them a thing or two about surviving in the real world. (Alicia Clark/Elyza Lex - Fear the Walking Dead)

Fanart

• "Happy Holidays from Lexa, Fish and #Clarkethehusband" by PapurrCat
• "beanie buddies" by sango-blep
• "some collab Clexa art for you all" by sango-blep and molliemashstash
• A Clexa Christmas (ft. Fish) by clexa-fanart.