#anyway its like. the money argument does make more sense to me than the 'ur not allowed to engage with it at all'

[starlightomatic]

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[potatowitch]

finding out that the star wars sequel series was written on the fly rather than actually planned out makes so much fucking sense but also pisses me off EVEN MORE because i watched the force awakens in 2016 and within a day of leaving the cinema had a fully fleshed out idea in my head of the direction the next two films would take and the plot points they would cover, all brainstormed in the shower. 16 year old me was more capable of writing a cohesive storyline than disney was. so here you are - i rewrote the sequels to be ten times better than what disney actually gave us. enjoy.

- after rey finds luke they train for a bit then he's like "gotta tell u something. u ever heard of mara jade? she's ur mum" "wait weren't u two dating for a bit" "yeah" "does that mean ur...." "...yeah"

- "why did u leave me on jakku?" "i didnt. she did. i only just learned u existed i wouldve come for u" "oh."

- "...can i call u dad or" "i would be honored if u did"

- meanwhile at the resistance base leia realises finn is force sensitive, gives him her old lightsaber she had in the comics

- because come on. rewatch the force awakens and tell me that man aint fuckin feeling the "shitloads of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced" when starkiller goes off

- and he picks up a lightsaber and instinctively knows how to use it?

- also: two main heroes in a star wars film being a queer coded woman and a queer coded black man.

- and the whole "used to be a stormtrooper and defected, becomes a jedi" is a TOTALLY NEW storyline? not some tired old "white boy villain is a dick for three movies then suddenly turns Good TM right at the end" trope

- make rey explicitly asexual. she's beautiful and smart and got abs that make everyone who sees them MELT but she is NOT INTERESTED in anything but JUSTICE and PLATONIC HUGS

- finn and poe are also making out because come on, disney, if u wanted to show you're becoming more progressive having a loving interracial gay romance is the fucking easiest way to do it. BB8 has two dads and they share The Jacket

- turns out finn is a kenobi because u cannot tell me obi wan didnt Fuck. jedi code says "dont form attachments" but watch the clone wars - obi wan plays fast and loose w the jedi code at the best of times. now we got a skywalker and a kenobi working together being best buds again, THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.

- the destruction of starkiller has crippled the first order. don't fucking look at me like "the resistance just won a major, VERY VISIBLE victory but OOO no somehow they're still very low on numbers and infrastructure" NO. the public destruction of starkiller has earned the resistance an influx of allies. the republic has started publicly supporting them. the first order spent years building that thing and now not only is all that time, effort and MONEY gone, they lost a shitload of staff and military personnel when it blew up

- "the first order is rich" is a plot point I DO NOT UNDERSTAND because it directly contradicts what's going on in the expanded universe books. the first order was built from remnants of the empire that had been banished to the outer reaches of the galaxy to live out of broken down, shitty old star destroyers.

- it's the reason hux, who was raised in a decrepit old academy in the ass end of the universe by an abusive father, is SO anti republic. in his head, it's the reason he starved as a child. it's the reason his mother is dead. it's the reason he had to be raised by a father that beat him. his hatred for the republic is PERSONAL

- disney learn how to write a good villain challenge? hux EASILY could have been terrifying AND sympathetic

- hux and kylo now have to deal with how absolutely PISSED snoke is that both of them failed with starkiller. hux gets force choked and threatened. kylo gets snoke very painfully rooting around in his head. it is emphasised that snoke's relationship with these two is downright abusive.

- somewhere in there, they realise that the whole five years they've known each other snoke has been deliberately pitting them against each other and sneakily forcing them to undermine each other's authority

- they realise it was snoke's shitty leadership that lead to the destruction of starkiller. they realise that maybe they'd be better off on their own

- the two of them plot to murder snoke themselves. while this is happening, the resistance is happily building an army, gathering resources, and forming alliances. luke and rey have reunited with the resistance and now rey and finn are both happily training with luke.

- snoke dies. hux decides to take the mantle of emperor. kylo LETS HIM because he realises he doesn't know shit about fuck when it comes to leading anything more than his knights. has a crisis of confidence about how useful he actually is, then hux decides he wants to keep the knights of ren around as his personal "fuck up the resistance" squad.

- the two of them working together turn out to be fucking terrifying, competent villains. the films have short, five to ten minute sections where they explore their VERY SIMILAR traumas to make them sympathetic WITHOUT making them seem like "uwu they're not actually bad people" because THEY'RE STILL AWFUL GENOCIDAL MASS MURDERERS

- on the kylo trauma side: it's made obvious in the books that from about age 6 snoke has been in his head deliberately grooming him away from his family. make that obvious in the films. make its impact on kylo obvious in how unsure of himself he actually is. don't make his "redemption arc" one where he suddenly goes light side. give him a bastardisation arc where he realises his whole life he has never made a choice - and then make THE FIRST ORDER his choice. (it is the wrong choice! emphasise that! but make him MAKE THAT CHOICE)

- the resistance thinks they're doing well. they have two new jedi. they've seen very little of the first order outside of small operations that they've been squashing. they think "hm. starkiller's loss must have crippled them. we're doing well!"

- until they learn actually. they've got an emperor now. and the commander of the knights of ren is INCREDIBLY loyal to him. the first order is PISSED OFF and VENGEFUL. they're back with a force. they've started invading and subjugating planets even with their forces cut as thin as they are because hux is a military mastermind and kylo and the knights of ren are a fucking TERRIFYING unit in combat.

- also why did disney decide to present hux in the films as a weak pissbaby when he probably topped his class in all combat situations and fights dirty in close quarters. man can SNIPE. man will bite your fucking finger off if you manage to disarm him. he is a 6 foot beanpole and he will kick your ass

- kylo has a crisis about actually having to kill his mother, uncle and cousin. he still feels a bit bad about han - despite everything, he still loves them and is struggling. he actually confides in his knights about this. we get to see that the knights of ren have a found family dynamic with their commander and they comfort him.

- kylo realises it will be painful to murder the last of his bio family but it must be done, because he's come around to hux's view that the resistance and the republic are standing in the way of true peace in the galaxy. he actually believes that reinstating an empire is the best thing for the galaxy. this makes him a more effective villain because he actually believes what he's doing is right.

- more stormtroopers defect to the resistance. finn is there to welcome them and help them adjust. there's a couple of lowkey force sensitive troopers in there too. we learn more about how horrible, soul crushing and traumatic stormtrooper training is. this is a good way to keep painting the first order as an organisation that violates human rights and the geneva convention at every turn.

- the first order makes up for this loss of troops in picking up recruits from the planets they've taken over in the outer rim because they've been providing stability. again - it is SO EASY to write the first order as sympathetic villains WHO ARE STILL FASCIST ASSHOLES. this would've been such a good opportunity to show the moral argument between stability vs freedom. show the flaws in the republic because they do exist!! we see that throughout the ENTIRE expanded universe! every iteration of the republic fails in some way!

- the fight against the first order becomes increasingly more difficult, but they're actually on pretty even ground. it doesn't make sense to me that disney decided to go for the route of "the resistance should've been squished easily by the might of the first order but uwu kylo can't make up his mind and thats what saves them!" that is not a compelling storyline! they are relatively evenly matched and the resistance only JUST comes out on top!

- kylo kills luke in actual combat, not just "luke randomly dissolves for ... no good reason?". this hits the resistance HARD. rey and finn have to struggle with their desire for revenge. leia realises her son is beyond help. it nearly breaks her. she has a moment where she feels like she has lost everything. poe has to step in to remind her she still has him. it is revealed that he joined the resistance after the first order killed his family HORRIBLY when he was a teenager and he and leia sort of have a mother/son relationship.

- this is also a good way to juxtapose hux and kylo. they took their trauma and it made them awful. poe takes his trauma and it makes him kind. it makes him want to protect people from what he went through. also gets rid of the "haha we made the latino man have a drug dealer background" bullshit that disney did

- poe also has to comfort his boyfriend and best friend and remind them that they are fighting to make the galaxy a better place, NOT for revenge. then they have a discussion about "yeah, don't make revenge your main priority, but the jedi were a bit wrong in saying that you shouldn't enjoy it anyway. it's going to feel good to fucking murder kylo and that's okay". acknowledgement that the old jedi code was garbage and too restrictive for actual PEOPLE to follow it.

- kylo still can't kill leia or chewie. we get flashbacks of her singing to him, braiding his hair, comforting him after nightmares. we see baby ben riding on chewie's shoulders. seeing the conflict between kylo recognising his family loved him and still choosing to be a villain would have RUINED ME. he tells hux this, expecting hux to shoot him for it. hux understands - he had a mother, once. the republic killed her.

- (they actually didn't. she was an imperial slave and was probably left behind when an imperial settlement was being razed. the only reason hux actually survived was because he was his father's only heir. there's a whole spiel in the books about brendol going "this kid is a piece of shit bastard i dont want him" and imperial officials being like "the empire needs kids. go pick him up")

- hux decides to kill leia instead. he nearly dies doing so because woman is STILL a force to be reckoned with even at this age. remember she is actually trained to use a lightsaber AND guns. the only reason hux doesn't die? kylo steps in at the last minute and kills his own mother. he's made his choice. he mourns, and then he steels. there is nothing left to pull him to the light side anymore.

- anakin has given up trying to bring his grandson to the light from beyond the grave. him and obi wan are focusing their force ghost attention on rey and finn. now luke and leia are both there too. we get the same "all my jedi ancestors are rooting for me" moment that disney gave us, except now it's shared between rey and finn.

- the two of them plus chewie cut through the knights of ren until they get to kylo. he kicks the living shit out of them, but they manage to kill him. rey earns some gnarly, sexy scars. chewie needs a hug and goddamn does he get one.

- poe is the one to kill hux. he's not just doing it for the galaxy, he's doing it for leia. the first order already stole his first family from him. he won't lose his second family to them. bonus points if BB8 joins the fight and like ... tases hux in the leg a few times.

- we get some gratuitous "c3p0 and r2 are sneaking through an imperial base and fucking shit up but like, badly because 3p0 never stops talking" scenes

- you want to bring rose tico into it? she's head of the resistance's infiltration team. she's with the droids taking down shields, stabbing people in the back, freeing prisoners, stealing plans, sowing chaos. she's the one who finally takes down phasma.

- without their emperor and the knights of ren, the new empire crumbles pretty quickly. the resistance has taken HEAVY losses but they have won. we get a very beautiful funeral scene for luke and leia. there's a gorgeous group hug between finn, rey, poe, chewie and bb8. poe and finn smooch against the sunset.

- we see finn and rey going into crystal caves to get kyber crystals. poe, chewie, bb8, r2 and 3P0 wait outside the cave in the falcon for them to be done picking up their crystals, then we see finn and rey inside the falcon building their new lightsabers with guidance from a bunch of force ghosts. we get to see that rey has chosen to decorate the inside of the falcon with a bunch of potted plants so she can be surrounded by greenery at all time. the found family aesthetic is STRONG

- rey builds a saber pike. it comes out golden. finn builds a standard single blade saber that comes out white, like ahsoka's. gold to emphasise protection of the weak and the perfect blend of combat and scholarly pursuits. white to emphasise free will from both the jedi and the sith. it is emphasised that these two will NOT be your traditional jedi.

- we see an epilogue where poe is working to help shift the republic's focus from political squabbling to actually protecting its citizens. he leads reconstruction efforts, helps establish more of a presence in the outer rim, constantly fights for moving resources from protecting the republic's assests to providing food, shelter and safety to its citizens.

- finn is constantly by his side. we see him protecting his new husband, on the front lines destroying remnants of the empire and the first order, and using his combat prowess to absolutely murder slave owners.

- rey has taken to training new force sensitives with chewie by her side, however she recognises the jedi code has been failing force sensistives for millennia, and instead her teachings are more aligned with the grey jedi philosophy. she recognises that people feel anger, hate, grief - and that they are all valid emotions. it's what you choose to do with them that is important.

- she actively encourages personal connection, believing that loving your friends and family is righteous and the true path to the light side. her apprentices all adore her, and she is always there for them - she'll listen to their worries, from something as small as "i am 13 years old and my first crush just rejected me" to "i am a former slave coming to you after the first order murdered my family and tortured me. i am having nightmares and am afraid of the anger i feel".

- she encourages apprentices to stay in contact with their family, and she becomes that family for the ones who have lost theirs.

- you get the feeling that this time, peace in the galaxy is actually going to last. anakin, obi wan, luke and leia look on from the Force in pride at their children and grandchildren. they did good. they can finally rest.

- the sequels have made personal choice a major theme. finn chooses to defect. poe and rey choose to be kind, when they have every reason not to be. hux and kylo make the wrong choices. there's no flip flopping like a dead fish between good and evil until the very last second. the lines between kindness and freedom and hatred and subjugation are clearly drawn again and again.

- i sit in the cinema after the screen goes black and i weep. i am satisfied. this was a fitting end for a franchise i have loved for most of my life.

[coalessscence]

one of my favorite worst things to Think About are the ways herb’s casually neglectful childhood sometimes just....surfaces in the every day world of his life now. and since his whole shtick is my childhood was perfect my father is basically god and i have absolutely no parent issues idk what ur talking abt, he winds up having to flail, having to learn on the way down, and try to keep up a cover that he knew all along. which, usually, doesn’t work, and just makes it all the more sad. here’s a few examples i’ve thought of because i don’t love myself:

someone around the station gets stuck with something metal and comments they might need a tetanus shot. herb was definitely never taken to the doctor’s for a checkup and regular vaccinations as a child, and since he works daytime hours lucille takes the kids while he’s at work, so he literally has never had a shot and he doesn’t fully understand what vaccines are, aside from cultural osmosis, so he asks in telling confusion, “what’s that supposed to mean?” @piper-aileen-lenox specifically, thnx for making me think of this and ruining my life xx

when herb and lucille moved in together (i imagine they were engaged but maybe not married just yet) lucille made it clear to her rather sexist fiance that she was expecting him to tow the line around the house just as much as her, which he agreed to, except when she asked him to do the grocery shopping thinking that was a harmless thing he could do (not like she’d trust him to actually get the dishes clean or fold her clothes so they don’t wrinkle). they almost never had food consistently in the house growing up and if they did eat full meals, they only had the food for THAT MEAL around because 1. herb sr. and ruby (herb’s parents) lived an erratic lifestyle of little to no money or a whole lot of money but only for a second because it was burning a hole in herb sr.’s pocket, and because 2. ruby quickly learned spending money on food ahead was pointless because either herb sr. hecked off somewhere w/o warning and it went bad, or his deadbeat friends hung around and ate it all, so she only bought for that day if they had the money for anything. but since no one was ever around to TEACH herb anything and he figured most things out on his own, herb doesn’t understand all this and he literally thinks you’re not supposed to by food until you run out or that you have to throw out whatever you have left at the end of the week because....... who knows ???? that’s just what he thought. it caused multiple arguments early into herb and lucille’s relationship before she figured it out and explained it to him because he didn’t know well enough to ask.

when herb and lucille’s first child, bunny, was born, he had to be shown how to hold a baby by the doctor. he had literally never held or even interacted with a baby before until that moment. he had no siblings (that he knew of), he had no friends as a child because if he wasn’t the bully he was the target and he was an ass just like dear old dad so no one liked him anyway, and he had 0 other family. lucille realized in that moment as she watched his palpable confusion when she extended their newborn child to him that he was going to have a lot of learning and growing to do. she hoped he was ready for it.

god that time there was a station fam barbecue early into herb’s wkrp career and someone, maybe mr. carlson, is like ‘WHO WANTS TO BE THE GRILL MASTER’ like its a big deal and everyone is like oh it has to be herb bc he’s the newest out of us and hes aware all the men see it as a status symbol and he CAN’T be less of a man than another man bc Ego (tm) so hes like of course im the grill master !!! and then panics for the next thirty minutes because he’s literally never even stood next to a grill let alone used one HOW DOES IT WORK the first fifteen minutes he doesnt even have the gas on rip

when herb was, like, 15, he taught himself how to drive a car because one of his “friends” (peers who was a bully that he called a friend and hung out with to stop also getting bullied but who was still bullying him anyway, herb was just brainwashed into thinking that’s what friendship is) wanted them to go out cruising and herb wanted to be a Cool Guy and not look like a chump so he lied and said he could drive. they got pulled over, because of course they did, and herb got in big trouble for you know, driving w/o a licences. the kicker though is that herb didn’t fucking know you can’t drive without a license or that licenses and road tests and drivers ed were even a THING because he literally raised himself and no one ever  t a u g h t   h i m   a n y t h i n g. anyways his dad got called home to deal with it from wherever he was away at at the time and he got in big trouble for interrupting dear old dad’s work anyways so :) what a healthy family

surprisingly, herb DID know how to cook the basics. grilled cheese, pasta, stir fries, a couple casseroles. lucille asked him about it because he was always such a Gender Roles (tm) type of man who wouldn’t even wear a brighter shade of red than like. maroon. in case it got loosely contaminated with the concept of the color pink and he’d have to change his name and move to alaska. so why was he doing a “ womans job “ (cooking) and herb just looked confused and said “what, guys don’t cook?” she told him that no, they usually didn’t and would have laughed at her if she tried to make them, and he laughed awkwardly and absently stirred the pot on the stove and shrugged in mild confusion. “that’s weird. if i didn’t cook i’d have... starved, i guess.”

the bad news is his cooking wasnt GREAT and lucille was happy to take over because again.........self taught. and he has one (1) brain cell so. not Great

LITERALLY DIDN’T KNOW ALL CLOTHES DON’T HAVE TO BE DRY CLEANED. his dad literally wore clothes that had to be dry cleaned Every Day (and we wonder why the tarlek family was short on the food budget god) (and they were ugly clothes too akdhfjfg) and ofc if ruby washed her clothes, it was while herb was at school. he dry cleaned so many clothes that do Not Make Sense to dry clean in college before he slowly figured that out.

did not know what an allowance was. bunny asked him for one and not willing to seem stupid to his swift daughter he told her to ‘ask her mother’, who thought it was hecking weird that her money obsessed husband would say that, so she asked him why and after several long minutes he just shrugged helplessly and said “what’s an allowance?”

don’t even get me started on herb and lucille planning their wedding ( ‘what kind of stuff should we put on the gift register?’ “put on the WHAT?”  ‘what are we going to put on top of the cake?’ “there’s gonna be CAKE?”  ‘i can’t wait for daddy to walk down the isle with me, it’ll mean a lot to him’ “your DAD is gonna walk you down the isle....?? but you’re marrying ME, right?”   ) also herb not knowing the wedding look of the bride is supposed to be a Secret and barging into the room w a question or smth while lucille and her bridesmaids are getting ready, and everyone is hella miffed and he’s like WHAT i’ve seen her naked before and theyre all like THATS NOT THE POINT HERB

herb did Not Know about seasonal allergies. he just........didn’t know. he just thought god hated him and every spring and fall his head sprung a leak. and the whole time he was growing up no one A. listened to him complain about them and put 2 and 2 together, nor B. just taught him about basic first aid stuff in general for that matter he doesnt know shit. anyways, then lucille was like why are you such a tough guy just stop complaining and take some medicine for your stupid allergies and he was like take some what for my what now

ANYWAYS herb’s mom left while he was v young and he doesn’t remember much about her. herb’s dad was literally   n e v e r   home. the people herb’s dad left him with would work for obscenely low amounts of pay or owed herb sr. money and largely used all the money for their own food, drugs, alcohol, or other more unsightly business, and left herb alone to fend for himself. this is the disaster human that that produced, thanks, family dynamics! don’t abandon your children, kids, thanks for coming to my ted talk

[kinsbin]

Theme Parks and Fireworks

Title: Theme Parks and Fireworks Ship: Alexys/John Doe [Joker] [Self Insert/Canon] Word Count: 2595 Summary: John is determined to take Alexys out on a fun, romantic date. And what better place to do so then an amusement park? Rollercoasters, ice cream, and games...It sounds like the ideal date, but, will she think so?

A/N: A commission for @bad-blue-moon-rising! Sometimes you just need a classic carnival date with ur bf man.

Alexys gazed around the open area, the tips of her toes straining under her weight as she searched desperately for the man she was supposed to meet. While the late night and the weekday date kept the majority of amusement park goers at bay, there was no denying that it was still busy. Couples bustled around her, the chattering of their teeth combined with the echo of theme-park music playing high over speakers around her made her feel trapped despite being out in the open. Anxiety welled and lowered every so often as nerves and excitement combined into the perfect cacophony on the inside of her heart.

It was the first time that John had suggested they go out together on a date in public. Rather, it wasn’t the first time he suggested it. He had suggested it many, many times at a constant rate as they lay together in the safety of either her apartment or his home, fingers entwined while they rested on one another’s shoulders. One thing or another kept coming up to stop them from doing so, of course. A crime scene had John lay low. Work kept Alexys busy, or Bruce Wayne had a particularly free day to spend with his best friend...There was always an excused that felt heavy in their hearts as it kept them from doing things they said that they longed to do with each other.

This weekend, of course, was different. This weekend...they were both free.

Unable to choose the place to go, they had literally filled a small bowl up with scraps of paper and shook it up. John said it would be fun to allow chance to take them wherever it wanted them to go. It was only after she pulled out the note that said ‘amusement park’ that he revealed to her that, in fact, just about all of them had said ‘amusement park’. “I really wanted to go to an amusement park,” Was John’s subtle argument that had Alexys giggling with delight at how sheepishly adorable it all was. Her laughter brightened him up as he leaned forward to find her lips, kissing them as they began to plan their day out.

And now there she was, standing nervously as she waited for John to join her. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, she second guessed it all with terror in her mind, maybe they had out to reschedule it for another day. There were still so many people, maybe he got lost. Maybe he-

“Alexys!”

A familiar voiced sung her name out with complete adoration. Alexys followed its tone with her eyes, wide and hopeful as she picked out a waving hand through the crowd. She felt her own smile grow in relief upon her lips as she pushed through as politely as she could to get to the man reaching for her. John, on the opposite end of the spectrum, seemed to have no qualms with powering through whoever dared get in his way in an effort to make it towards Alexys.

When they were united, he gripped at her hips and brought her into a kiss, lips forming into smiles as they both laughed while John twirled her around and off of her feet. Her hands, in turn, found their way around John’s neck and held on tight as he swept her up in his greeting. He loved hearing the muffle of her laughter as he kissed her. Feeling the smile on Alexys’ lips as he surprised her was, by far, the greatest thing he had ever felt in his life. John could feel his heart beating ten times faster in his chest than he had thought physically possible. God, was this what being in love felt like? It only made him want to smile more. To make HER smile more as he finally put her down and held her hands to his own chest, eyes twinkling with excitement at the stimulation the world around them provided.

“Sorry I was late,” He informed while simultaneously gazing around at the park before him, “Traffic was absolutely horrible! There was this guy on the freeway and an overthrown pizza cart, it was a nightmare-Oh my god is that a rollercoaster with two loops?!”

Alexys whipped her head around, eyes wide with shock at the sudden change of conversation. Sure enough, the park’s major attraction shone in view of the colorful lights slowly beginning to shine on, enhancing the already mystical feeling of the world they were in. The screams of those riding it could be heard from where they stood, the ground shaking as nearby roller coasters flew by the both of them with practiced, mechanical ease. Alexys could feel her heart thump in the center of her throat, nerves and excitement overwhelming her senses as she looked back at John. She grinned and him and he grinned back, the decision in their minds clear as their thoughts seemed to harmonize together in the base of their stems.

Oh they were getting on that coaster.

The journey to it, of course, would take them all across the park. Alexys was not against stopping at every colorful game and miniature ride that caught their attention and John, oh, John welcomed it. Though their shared goal remained the daunting coaster inching its way closer to them with each and every step, it was easy to drown yourself in the colorful booths that people hyped up. The prizes and the park’s lights were easy to disappear into with every passing moment.

A hand touched at her shoulder, pausing her movements in favor of turning to face her date. John’s eyes were fixated on something else, his gaze locked hard on something far to the side of their original route. She followed his gaze carefully, watching as it lead up to one of the more traditional carnival games in the area. The smiling clown faces winked brightly back at the both of them, animatronic giggles echoing against it as they hummed along to carnival music. Children and adults alike aimed water guns into the center of their faces, the fastest ones filling up the balloons over their head until they burst with water, spraying down near the carnie manager, who laughed and declared the winner.

His eyes tore away to stare at Alexys, the single pleading word in his eyes that she saw with such clearness it almost made her smile with adoration at just how sweet it was for him to ask the permission:

‘Please?’

“We GOTTA try it.” Was her only response.

John laughed, his grin returning two-fold as his hand moved to grip at her own. Alexys smiled, fingers entwined together with his  as the two tugged one another gently along. They arrived in record time, each step feeling like two with the way John chose to jump and move as eagerly as he did. The wonder he found in a world that always felt like it was going to disappear warmed Alexys’ heart. She felt her stomach churn with butterflies and love as she watched him practically dive into the seat of one of the booths, ordering two tries for her and him with a smile so wide it practically stretched his face. Alexys jumped into the seat at her side just in time to witness the face of the booth manager contorted in the stereotypical teenage eye roll that signaled they simply weren’t paid enough to complain about any of this.

“If I win,” John hummed playfully, “You need to buy us ice cream, okay?”

“You mean if I win,” Alexys challenged back with a laugh, “You buy us ice cream AND I get to keep the cool stuffed animal we get.”

“In your dreams,” John snorted, shutting one eye and sticking his tongue out comedically, “I am a trained marksman. A creature of perfect aim. There’s no way you could beat me at my own home game...It was meant for me.”

HIs dramatic money was put where his mouth was when the game started, the balloons filling and filling with endless fuel until at last one burst form the seams. Alexys gasped as water was sprayed down on her, the buzzer above her head signaling her the winner. John gasped, but the look of shock morphed into a laugh and grin as he clapped for her, the prize of one large stuffed bear being handed down in her fingertips. Over the stuffed animal, Alexys grinned wide at her partner.

“What was that about winning again, expert marksman sir?”

“Clearly I’m out of practice,” John huffed dramatically, hand over his heart as he puffed out his chest, “Green Arrow who? I would have won that if your beauty hadn’t distracted me.”

A blush coated her face and Alexys wheezed, hiding her face in the bear’s soft purple fur as John laughed at her reaction, reaching out to stroke her hair with a kiss to her temple. “How about some ice cream to cool that cute face down?”

“Chocolate with extra sprinkles.” Alexys declared in a mumble, using the fur to continue hiding her smile. John saw it anyways, though, and smiled back.

A bought of ice cream altar and the two were walking hand in hand, cones held between grips of their free ones and the bear Alexys had one was huddled between them as she tried to eat her ice cream over it’s massive amalgamation of fur. He couldn’t help but admire how adorable she was, tucked together in his hand with ice cream and a prize almost as big as she was. His face heated up to immeasurable heat as he observed her, grin breaking on his lips as he sighed dreamily at the way she brushed some of her hair out of her face so she could enjoy the ice cream more.

God, he really was in love wasn’t he?

“Oh! John look!” Alexys’ eyes widened and her mouth split into a grin as she pointed down at the massive roller coaster they had initially seen upon their arrival, “It’s there! And the line is short, we have to try it!”

In response, John’s eyes widened with delight as well. Finishing their ice creams as fast as they could, the two made their way to the rollercoaster. Sure enough, they were put on in the next batch of riders, shoes and bear placed in a small and nondescript cubby that the security team kept on the sides for unallowed objects. The strap was put over their bodies, locked in place with a mechanical clicking noise before the announcement of safety blared monotonously over the edge of the speakers around them.

When the ride finally began moving, the lurch in Alexys’ stomach as full fledged and shocking. Her eyes widened as she realized what they were doing. Where they were going. What felt fun in theory was now unnerving in practice to say the least. Her breath quickened as they moved higher and higher, her grip tightening on the ride’s safety bar as she swallowed and looked around. The top was inching closer and, with it, the view of the entire park was breathtaking. Visible from end to end, it shone under them like an ocean of lights and sounds, making everything seem so small compared to where they were.

A hand found hers once again, fingers gripping her own. Alexys turned to face John with wide eyes. He was smiling at her. As the wind whipped against his messy hair, he gazed with such adoration that it almost...surprised her. How could he look so calm when they were so high up? How could he look at her like that? Before she could ask more questions to him in panic, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips, slow and sweet. It tasted like vanilla ice cream and rainbow sprinkles, same as his ice cream order a moment after.

“You look so cute,” He murmured with a grin, “On the top of a roller coaster. I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love.”

There was a moment where she considered getting the words out in return, a smile or giggle...Instead the rollercoaster tipped forward and her stomach went with it, drowning in screaming and laughter as the ride took over both of their senses. Twists and turns lurched them back and forth, filling their minds with adrenaline as both found the courage to wave their hands high above their heads, cheering as the loops sent them careening through the air. Alexys felt the blood in her cheeks as she laughed, bright and excited. Airy and delightful.

The ride came to a halt. Getting out of it was a more dizzying task than not, the both of them stumbling over one another through fits of giggles and light banter as they hugged one another through the exit, bear and shoes back in hand as they escaped the thralls of the park for a moment in favor of sitting down to organize themselves again.

“That was,” Alexys breathed as she tried to find the words through her smile, “intense! And fun, I was so terrified but it was so worth it.”

“Sometimes you need a little adrenaline rush,” John returned, leaning his shoulder on hers with a heavy sigh. She leaned back, eyes shutting for a moment to enjoy the warmth of his form at her side. He was so soft...so kind...and to kiss her on the top of a rollercoaster? It made her smile remembering it.

“Oh, Alexys, look!”

Her eyes opened in time to catch the explosions of light dancing across the sky as the late night fireworks show of the park began to unfold. Each rocket bathed them in several different colors upon their dissipation. She felt her jaw drop in awe at the shapes and sights they created before her eyes. Each display made her stomach clench with delight. Her eyes trailing from the light to the man at her side, she felt her face heat up to see John staring at her. His lips were parted in an awed smile, his eyes narrowed at her in a careful glance.

“Thank-you,” He smiled with sincerity, “For doing this with me...I can’t imagine anyone else I’d want to go on a date like this with.”

Date...though they didn’t use the word out loud, its sudden appearance made Alexys smile with approval. How wonderful it was to have that man to herself...to have that laughter and that sincerity all to her.

Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss with equal excitement, their hearts pouring into one another as they shared the moment under the fireworks, the sparks of the world above matching what they felt between one another. It felt like the pieces of a puzzle falling. It felt like the end of a perfect night.

When John pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers. The two sat like that for a while, smiles bright on their faces as he held her hand in his own, bringing it up to kiss her knuckles while taking in a deep breath and sighing gently.

“I love you,” He murmured, “More than rollercoasters and ice cream, I love you Alexys.”

Alexys giggled at the comparison, moving forward to peck his cheek.

“And I love you too.”

To their proclamations, a chorus of fireworks exploded as the grand finale of the park’s last showing.

An explosive end to a perfect night.