#riptide beaker

[helpmeimblorboing]

Sneak Peek of a chapter from my story that probably won't make it's way into the final draft of either version - Crimson or Crimson Redux (feat : Tumblr's shitty formatting)

The next day, Riptide found himself shuffling uneasily inside a local bus, shooting wary glances at anyone wearing anything even slightly resembling the Deathbringer’s threefold cross... or, for that matter, anything that seemed just a bit too white to be wearing on a public bus, no matter how clean the interior was

A long pause, and then he pulled out his phone, scrolling down to the last text Serenity had sent him, about ten minutes ago, in that awkward, clipped way of someone clearly uncomfortable with texting, who was making a valiant attempt at trying anyways

Serenity (6:46 PM): Got us a booth 🎉

Serenity (6:47 PM): Restaurant’s p cool. You should see it

Right. The restaurant they were going to. Because they were going there. On a date. Riptide sucked in a sharp breath through pursed lips at the thought, feeling his heart hammer in his chest, as his fingers pulled up the keyboard, tapping out a rapid response

Riptide (6:57 PM): I still don’t know why we have to go at different times -_-

Riptide (6:57 PM): I mean, we live in the same hotel suite...

Serenity (6:58 PM): It’s about the vibes, Riptide

Riptide bit back a faint huff of laughter at that, looking at it for a second, imagining the way the skin at the corner of his lips folded when he smiled, the sparkle that glinted in the depths of his eyes when he laughed, like a new winter’s frost

Riptide (6:59 PM): Vibes ?

Serenity (7:00 PM): If we’re doing this, we’re doing this properly

Riptide bit back a smile, chewing slightly at the inside of his cheek as he tries to think up a response. Before he can, however, a new message pings into the chat

Serenity (7:01 PM): ❤️

Even if he’s getting used to this, to the way Serenity peppers his messages with heart emojis , it still makes his heart pound. Makes his belly twist. Especially the red one. It felt like an... official declaration, or something – you are my boyfriend. I love you

And that ? That made his breath speed up

Riptide (7:03 PM): ❤️

After a few long seconds of silence, Serenity messages him his location in the restaurant – a Cheesecake Factory, apparently one of the very few brands of the old, pre-parahuman world, to remain extant without collapsing in on itself or expanding outwards into a global empire – and asks him his drink choice so he can go ahead and order it for him

“Sorry if I eat all the bread before you get here”, Riptide receives as the bus rattles to a halt in front of the glass-and-steel facade of a boutique that stood within walking distance of the Cheesecake Factory, both of them set a ways away from the majority of the city, overlooking it’s jagged skyscrapers and glinting glass-and-steel monoliths

He smiles and sends him a middle finger, before pocketing the phone

The restaurant, Riptide can’t help but notice when he finally gets there, is packed to the gills, people bustling about basically every single table, packed so close together that it’s difficult for him to maneuver past them. He does manage, somehow, but it’s still difficult

It’s fancy too, fancier than any restaurant Riptide’s ever been too – mostly because he never really went to restaurants. His mother wasn’t the “eating out” type. He’s got on something he threw together in about twenty minutes that afternoon, and even though everyone else is dressed in tourist shit, red-faced and sweaty from a day of sightseeing, he feels weirdly underdressed

It was called the Cheesecake Factory, for God’s sake. It’s interior should look like a local McDonalds, not the lobby of the Ritz, all dim and marble-y and orange

It takes him a moment to locate Serenity, seated in a two-person booth in one dark corner of the restaurant, idly poking at the basket of bread kept in the middle of his table, occasionally looking over to give the tall glass of something red beside it long, meandering looks. The shadows splayed about him were darker than usual – seems like he wasn’t the only one nervous about this date

He looks great, good enough that Riptide’s heart catches on his throat for a moment, dressed in dark wash jeans that clung sinfully to the lithe length of his legs, black dress shoes that looked ridiculously out of place on his feet, and a khaki green T-shirt that stretched over his chest tightly, leaving very little to the imagination. Black bands of cloth snaked their way up the curving lengths of his exposed arms, effectively hiding his wrists from view. Riptide just watches him for a few seconds, chewing at his bottom lip as he sees him reach forward to take a sip of the tall red glass, before setting it down and peering at it like it was a particularly enthralling puzzle

At last, he blows out a breath, shakes and flexes his hands to steel himself, and slowly makes his way over to the table

When he’s two booths away, Serenity looks up from the tall glass of red he’s examining intently, and spots him, his lips curling into a smile so beautiful that Riptide forgets how to breathe for a moment

“Hey”, he greets, standing up – and shreds of the shadows he had unconsciously summoned around him seemed to cling to his torso in thin, translucent flakes of sooty ash as he did, “You made it”

Riptide smiles back, leaning forward to press a kiss to the other man’s forehead, right in the furrow between his eyebrows, Serenity’s skin warm as a furnace under his lips, before finally breaking away and murmuring, “Course I did”

A long pause, and then Serenity reaches forward with one hand to pull Riptide into a quick hug, his face pressed into the smooth fabric of his T-shirt. The smell of men’s bodywash and some kind of flowery detergent fills Riptide’s nose, and there are strong arms wrapped around his torso, and he was fairly certain his heart was beating hard enough that everyone in the restaurant could hear it

He blows out a breath through his nose as Serenity finally releases him

“You smell good”, he says, sounding a twinge nervous, shuffling his feet idly. He looks up, and the orange lights of the Factory catch his face at just the right angle, glinting about his features like the halo of a saint, and Riptide just wants to grab his face and kiss the life out of him

But he doesn’t, much to his own dismay

He intead just raises his eyebrows at the other man in a meaningful gesture. Tilts his head slightly in a wordless acknowledgement, before shuffling awkwardly over to his seat to sit down

But just before he can, Serenity leans in and gives him a quick press of a kiss that’s probably meant for his lips but instead ends up landing on the space right under his nose. A flash of fire sears its way through the nerves of his face, and he feels the tops of his cheeks brighten with a scarlet blush, even as Serenity snickers his way out of the kiss, whatever mouthwash he had used that morning hitting Riptide in the face with the smell of spearmint gum

A moment later, they’re seated, both blushing like a couple of kids on a first date – which, Riptide supposed, they were – and Riptide reaches forward to poke at the bread basket, only to find it half-empty

He levels a look at Serenity, lifting his eyebrows, the corner of his mouth twitching into a crooked grin, “Really ?”

Serenity simply shrugged, lips curving into a ghost of a smile, sweet enough to give Riptide calories, “I did warn ya”

Another pause, and then Serenity awkwardly clears his throat into the silence, before waving at the glass of tall and red that had been set on his table, drops of condensation peppering the surface with a hazy translucence, “Is raspberry lemonade made of raspberry or lemon ?”

Riptide blinked. That was... a terrible ice-breaker, so much so that he couldn’t keep the faint huff of laughter that welled up at the base of his heart off his lips. Reaching forward, he picks up a piece of bread – something fancy, white and hard-shelled- idly passing it from hand to hand, even as he looks up to shoot Serenity a look that was no doubt unbearably fond, “Both, I think”

Serenity leans back, turning to give the glass of raspberry lemonade a wondering look, peering into its redness like it held the secrets of the universe, his lips parted in an “O” of surprise. The light reflecting off of his face ignites it’s sharp lines into shades so striking that Riptide was half-certain he was going insane

After a moment, Serenity seems to catch onto the fact that Riptide was staring, shooting him a smirk that sent a rush of fire blazing an ashy trail down the skin of his torso. Adrenaline rips through him at the sight, and his lips are moving before he can even comprehend it fully

“Can I kiss you ?”, his voice is breathless. Fragile and reverent, like a prayer in a temple

“You can do anything you want to me”, Serenity’s response is more neutral, even as he rises from his seat in one fluid motion, walking over to Riptide and dipping down. It’s a good thing he’s already seated, because he’s fairly certain his legs were too weak to support his body weight at the moment

Riptide is a bit too eager and lifts his face forward too much. Their foreheads knock together and he lets out a hiss at the sting. They readjust and their lips finally meet. Serenity giggles against his mouth and Riptide lets the sound fill up the hollow of his chest. Wants to hold it there, like a shrine houses the divine, and keep it safe forever.

He wonders vaguely if they should be doing this somewhere more private, feels the searing pulse of hundreds of eyes on them both, but that only serves to send more adrenalin through his veins – Serenity isn’t ashamed of me. Serenity’s willing to do this in front of an audience of this size. The thought is gone completely when Serenity’s lips opens up under this, replaced with a searing buzz at the meeting of hot tongues. It sets something in his stomach alight.

Serenity lifts a knee between Riptide’s thighs to press their bodies closer. The kiss deepens and Riptide feels nothing in the world except all the points their two bodies are connected. Heat and desire rip through his flushed skin like a forest fire.

And then it’s over, and Serenity gently, slowly, breaks away, shooting Riptide a phantom half-grin, before turning to stalk back over to his own seat, lounging carelessly in it, a smug grin pulling at his lips as he glances up at Riptide’s expression, dizzy from the ecstasy he’s just now beginning to come down off

“So”, he begins in a low drawl, and Riptide notices his lips, flushed-red and swollen with the remnants of their kiss, “what do you want to order ?”

Riptide pauses his buzzing, leachy thoughts. Stares at him. His lips part, “Oh my god, you asshole”

“What ?”, Serenity’s cheeks puff out in an indignant pout, and Riptide wants to reach across the table, grab him by the tantalizingly low V-neck of his shirt and kiss him until he’s a moaning mess, but he doesn’t – because enough people were levelling scandalized looks at them already without pouring twenty more cans of gasoline on the fire, “You liked it, didn’t you ?”

“That doesn’t – you can’t...”, Riptide sputters for a moment, cheeks lava-red, and lava-hot, “Fuck you”

“If you insist”, he shoots him a suggestive grin across the table and Riptide’s face was about to melt clean off, “Though I suspect you’d rather I don’t do it here, huh ?”

He reaches forward to playfully smack Serenity across the shoulder, only to falter and feel his breath catch painfully in his throat as the other man easily catches it, lacing their fingers together, something light and happy bursting across his face at the touch.

His stomach twists, that romance-twist that flushes his skin and makes him sweat, and as he looks down at their hands, he goes a little breathless, too, because he can’t believe that he’s holding a man’s hand in public.

He can’t believe that he’s holding his boyfriend’s hand in public.

He can’t believe that he has a boyfriend.

And from the stunned, breathy gasp that slips through Serenity’s lips, neither can he. A long pause, and then the other man’s thump rubs a small circle over the skin that stretched between his thumb and pointer, snapping him out of his thoughts

“Whatcha thinking about ?”, Serenity hummed, sounding a little breathless, a little excited. Riptide could relate

Riptide pauses. Thinks about saying “You”. Decides it’s too sappy to say in public. Remembers that they had made out in public not five seconds ago. Decides that hiding your emotions is for chumps, “You”

Serenity’s breath catches in his throat in a faint “hic” of noise, and he looks up with eyes so full of adorable surprise that Riptide desperately wants to kiss him again. A long second, and then the corners of his eyes go soft, so soft, so kind, “Is that... Is that good ?”

Riptide smiles, this stupidly gentle thing, and pulls the other man’s hand a little closer, causing him to lean forward, before he tilts down and pecks a kiss to Serenity’s warm, bony wrist--so quick, so soft, it’s almost like it never happened.

“Asshole”, he murmurs into the skin, in an almost reflex reaction to the kiss, and Serenity squeezes his hand, and Riptide chews his bottom lip and looks up at him with an expression that he thinks probably reveals all, if you know what you’re looking at

The service is slow, which isn’t surprising considering the restaurant’s so full.

The two of them play with each other’s fingers, even turning it into a thumb war once, as they talk about work and movies and music. Well, work. Mostly coded. Encrypted. Idly, Riptide wonders what the restaurant-full of people thought about their cousin Edna, who had apparently been through enough to put most veterans’ PTSD to shame

Even more idly, he wonders if they should come up with a better code name for Eagle

When the food comes – cake, because of course it is, it’s the fucking Cheesecake Factory, it was practically a capital offense to not order cake – they each give their connected hands a long mournful look

It was a single slice of Oreo Dream Extreme, which Riptide privately thought looked like a cookie drowned in frosting, but whatever, and the waitress brings two forks with it, giving them a fond look as she turns to leave. He wonders if she witnessed the kiss, too, or if they were just that obvious

Serenity looks at Riptide and plays with his fork, clearly thinking about how he’s having cake with his boyfriend, how the waitress had smiled at them like it was perfectly fine for him to have something like this. His eyes glisten slightly, and before Riptide is aware of it, he’s already reaching over the table to wipe away his tears

Serenity gives him a bashfully wide-eyed look, and it’s all Riptide can do to not stutter as he grumbles out, “Yeah, yeah, fuck off”

They eat the cake slice together, fucking around the whole time, battling forks, fighting over the Oreo on top, and debating who gets the mousse – it was Serenity for both, since Riptide was convinced he looked too thin to be in any way healthy.

“I’m just saying”, Riptide began, waving his frosting-dusted fork in a manner that could only be described as “pointed”, “you’re way too thin !! When’s the last time you ate properly ? 1995 ?”

“Oh my God”, Serenity let out a theatrical groan, stabbing disgruntedly at his share of the cake for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes and slicing off a miniscule triangle of mousse, shoving it in his mouth in one fluid motion, “There !! Happy ?”

Riptide smiles, a soft, curling thing, and he means it as he says, “Very”

They shuffle out of the Cheesecake Factory, stepping out into the cold night air. Evidently, it had started raining sometime earlier that night, a sprinkling, quick thing, for the ground is slick and shiny in the sun-yellow of the street lamps, and the earth is drenched in the sharp scent of coastal petrichor

The earth splashed below their feet as they walked, the wet, puddly stones reflecting the night sky above, peppered with the thin, pale pinpricks of the burning stars, the brilliant silver stamp of the moon, burning as a brand in the stillness of the night. Inky darkness pools in thick, viscous puddles all about them

They talk for a moment, but Serenity seems... different, somehow. Subdued, and distant, as if his mind were a thousand miles away, or years in the past. It takes only a few moments for the conversation to peter out into still silence, and Serenity barely seems to notice

So they remain in silence as they trudge down the street, broken only by the faint horns of cars on the expressway, laughter from far away. The distant noises of humanity

Nocturnal light spills down from the heavens, pouring over them both, all celestial and night-thin. It clings to the edges of Serenity’s form like the heavens themselves can’t help but worship this boy, the early-autumn-moon laying him in her silver silks and the stars kissing his hair, his long lashes.

Riptide’s breath catches in his throat and he averts his eyes. Looks back. Averts his eyes. Clenches his jaw

Serenity’s eyes are on him, and it’s almost unbearable. Riptide’s gaze skitters away, but he can still hear the gentle sawing of Serenity’s voice, as the raven-haired boy speaks, slow and shy, as if terrified of rejection – as if rejection, now, would shatter him irreversibly, “I...I wanted to show you something”

Riptide’s heart stutters in his chest at the soft plaintiveness in that melodious voice, and his eyes flick back upwards to alight on Serenity’s too-wide, too-eager ones. The other boy shapes starkly against the dark, all hard, bright edges. Starlight kisses his hair and the early-autumn moon lays him in silver. An otherworldly thing, he looks, a creature of sharped steel and sorrow. His hands are in his pockets.

They’re surrounded in street lamps, and not much else – a small outcropping in the sidewalk, jutting over the brink, thrusting out into the too-cold night air, the cityscape glimmering up at them from the bank of shadows at the base of the hill, shaded in warm contrasts, its popping colors glowing neon in the darkness. The noises of humanity are muted to almost nothingness here, rendered soft and silent ripples in the air

However, where they stand, lies only the slow, puddling smeariness of sodium vapor, and the trickling, inspid blue-silver of the stars. To his left stands Serenity, and darkness seems to puddle in great shadowy pools about his feet.

His lips part, colored a dried-rose pink in the soft light of the street lamps, yellow lamplight puddling in the sharp hollows of his face like liquid gold, “When I was young...”, he begins, in a soft, feathered voice, and Riptide’s breath catches in his throat again, “I was alone. Well, no... not..”, he drew in a rattling breath, before conceding, “...not entirely. Caz was there. Always there. But there was only so much she could do. Mostly ? I was alone. And so I... came up with this world. An endless sandy beach. Endless sun. Waves lapping at the seashore. And I escaped there... whenever”, the words clung to his throat like rotting flesh, “...everything... got too much”

A long momen, and then he chanced a glance upwards, eyes meeting Riptide’s confused gaze. His lips quirked further upwards, “Caz believed it was a... metaphorical thing. Psychological. Imaginary”, he shook his head, a slow, measured motion, “...she was wrong”

Riptide paused. Blinked, as a cool breeze wafted past their face, scented with salt and seaspray, fresh and sweet and warm, tinged with the heat of the sun. The sun, that was nowhere to be spotted in the sky. A moment, and his eyes blew wide, his lips curving into an “O” of surprise

He had heard of this before. A second trigger. When the host suffers such incredible, indescribable pain, that the universe itself seems to take pity on them, to grant them a secondary power. Riptide isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry

Serenity’s lips twisted wryly, his head dropping into an almost-miserable-looking smile, as his hands flex, before abruptly moving. His fingers rise and the street lamps bleed gold and yellow and white all over them. Shaded in their smeared glow, he looks like a burning thing

His voice is faint, but it carries, echoing through the crags and crevices of the hillside, off the concrete planes and sharp, cutting corners of the brutalist buildings that surround them. Somewhere in the distance, a phantom bell tolls, loud and resonant, “The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echo the truth that all life must end”

His fingers twist, thumbs and the very tips of his index fingers pressing together, the rest of his fingers splayed apart. The curving whorls inscribed into their soft-looking pads darken, leaking shadow down his arms in trickling threads of pale gray, fuzzy and hazy, like a build-up of dust, “The color of the sala flower reveals that to flourish is to fall”

His fingers press together, splaying out to make way for his palms. The threads of dusty gray seem to darken, somewhat, and Riptide catches a whiff of something cold and sweet in the air, ice water and strawberry rot, “The strong do not endure, a dream on the night of spring”

And finally, he pulls his hands apart, fingers of each hand stiff and rigid, pressed together like a Hamsa, the palms floating about five inches apart. His lips part, and a boundless darkness seemed to swirl inside his mouth, writhing shadows pressing against the backs of his teeth. At least, that’s what Riptide saw, before a hazy grayness seemed to envelop everything in a bank of thick, smokey fog. It obscured his vision, but still Riptide could make out the hard edges of Serenity’s figure through its hazy opaqueness. It dampened all noise, but still Riptide could hear the final line of the incantation, sharp and clear as if Serenity had spoken it directly into his ear, “The dauntless must wither, to become dust in the wind”

When the hazy grayness finally recedes, the first thing Riptide notices is the brightness that lay against Serenity’s skin – not the smeary glare of the street lamps, but something warmer, softer. Daylight, that puddled lazily against his form, ran down his sharp edges in trails of honey gold, highlighting him and flowing about his form like the halo of a saint

Serenity looks softer, in this cloudy lighting. It sands his sharp edges and dusts his colors into something more pastel. The black of his hair shades gray, and the striking edges of his features become less stark. Even the worried line of his frown looks soft like this. His lips are dried-rose pink.

The second thing he notices is the fact that there was sand beneath his feet, shifting as he shifted in place, as the hazy grayness of Serenity’s powers withdrew to linger at the corners of his vision in barely-visible splotches of feathered blurriness

As his eyes dropped, he noticed the stretch of sand that lay beneath his feet, shining like gold in the brilliant sun, curving off into the distance – a never-ending beach – dotted with palm trees that were almost certainly out-of-place here. To his right stood the lush greenery of an endless forest, colors rich and green, almost abnormally so

His powers told him that there was no water here, but to his left, an endless ocean lapped at the curving edge of the beach, surface held as smooth and polished as a mirror, gleaming sapphire in the golden sun, not even a ripple spreading across its surface. In fact, it looked like it was barely moving at all

But there was something off. The blue of the water was too bright, the yellow of the sand too pale, the green of the forest too smeared-together. And, as his eyes rise to where Serenity was pointedly looking away from him, a faint dusting of pink peppering the high tops of his cheeks, the sun was too smooth, less a burning star, and more a ball of molten gold hanging in the sky

The sun, that hung high in the sky, and yet poured down none of its burning fire. The sun, that at this time of the day should be coloring the sky a burning blue-raspberry, but instead was embedded into a sky as fleshy and pink as a sunrise

The whole thing looked like a child’s approximation of a beach. The whole thing looked like something a child, hurt and alone, would come up with as an escape from all his pain

This wasn’t a real beach, and this wasn’t a real world. This was something... inner. Almost like a....

His lips part, but Serenity beats him to the chase, “Make a Jujutsu Kaisen reference and I will kick you out”, he warns, and his voice is candy-soft and sweet. Riptide feels his heart warm at its sound

“Alright, alright”, he huffs out a quiet laugh, the sound echoing oddly in the not-real beach air, before shuffling slightly, feeling the imaginary sand shift around his feet, “Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t use...”, he gestures vaguely, “...this... as a Domain Expansion more often”

“Can’t”, Serenity muttered, refusing to meet Riptide’s eyes, his blush deepening into streaks of crimson, lying dark and gleaming against his pale skin, “Only people I.... t-trust”, his voice caught on that word, and Riptide felt his heart stutter slightly, “...can be brought in here”

Riptide stared wordlessly for a moment, his chest feeling tight and painful, before a single, choked-off sound slipped past his lips, “Oh”

“Yeah”, Serenity scratched sheepishly at the back of his head, and the air seemed to smear around his arm as he moved it, space distorting into blurry ripples of smeared graininess, like he were moving his arm through water, the colors of the backdrop running together like drips and trails of wet paint on a painting, greens melding with yellows with blues.

A moment later, the colors seemed to straighten out, the bleed petering out into nothing, ripples smoothing out like wrinkles in cloth, until finally, the undisturbed vista of the beach stared back at him once more

“I’ve”, his eyes flicker over to the other man, and Riptide can’t help but suck in a sharp breath at the sheer beauty of them. Here, in his own little world, the molten gold of his illusory sun glinted off the ice-blue of his irises, making them gleam, sharp and cold and brilliant, like the edge of shattered glass, like all the ocean, all at once, like the galaxy, but blue. His eyes are multilayered, made of reflections and refractions, fragmented shades of blue. Honed. Intense. Unlike every other part of him, his eyes are not softened in the cloudy lighting, they remain severe as ever, bright and sharp as the edge of shattered glass.

Because they reflected the truth of him – all that hurt and cold and pain he kept pressed down and hidden in his heart, like trying to hold back the flood. Because Serenity had always considered himself Atlas, trying to hold up the sky. But the sky was not a holdable thing

His lips part, dried-rose curves lifting into a faint ‘O’, delicate and fragile, “I’ve never brought anyone... here, before. Never been able to bring anyone here, before.Never... trusted anyone enough for it”. His eyes are fixed on Riptide, as if he still wasn’t entirely able to reconcile this – the sight of someone else, standing in the gates of his soul, submerged in the depths of his heart

Serenity looked away for a moment, staring out, across the boundless blue of his ocean, red peppering the high arches of his cheekbones, before finally turning back to him, “Yeah”, he said, after a long moment, “I...I... trust you. Riptide, I... I....”, his voice falters, before he seems to steel himself, “...I love you”

Something wet slicked against Riptide’s skin, and the ice-water strawberry-rot scent of the air took on a freezing quality. The cool touch of the water seems to snap Serenity out of his trance-like state, and one of his hand lifted to his face, coming away glistening wet, “...ah. It’s raining again”

Riptide blinked, trying his best to ignore the catch of his heart in the hollow his chest, the way it stuttered against the bars of his ribcage, beating out a staccato pulse of desire and love and longing, grateful for the distraction, “Rain ?”

“This beach is an illusory realm”, Serenity said, his voice soft and faint, more water slicking soundlessly against his skin, his khaki-green T-shirt streaked with dark streaks of wet, “How permeable the barriers to it are depends almost entirely on what I want”

“And you... didn’t block out the rainfall ?”

“No”, he shook his head, a stuttery, faint motion, looking up to meet Riptide’s eyes, his voice catching for a moment, before continuing, “I... it seemed rather pointless. We’re only becase... well, because I wanted to... show you. My soul. My self. My heart. Because you... um... you showed me yours. Yesterday”

Riptide simply stares for a moment. His heart feels so full that he’s sure he’s seconds from drowning in it. The water trickling against his skin is cool and icy, a stark contrast to endless rose-pink of the perpetual sunset sky, the molten golden sphere of the sun

Serenity looks pointedly away, “Sorry, that’s... I guess that’s pretty cheesy, huh ? Igno-“

And then Riptide was moving forward, before Serenity could react, and his lips were dipping down to press against Serenity’s, soft and gentle, and Serenity tasted so good against his tongue, sweet like strawberry lip-balm, and the rich bite of the chocolate cake they had just had, and the other man’s lips were parting under his, and –

And there were flowers blooming at his feet, brushing against his ankles, impossibly pushing their green stems and brilliant petals through the golden sands, the rubied bleed of red rose, the golden gleam of ambrosia, the deep purple of aster, and a hundred feathered white silhouettes of balsam.

He draws back, breaking the kiss apart, much to his own dismay, “I love you too”, his heart catches in his throat. For a moment, Serenity looks stunned

All around them, the golden sands of the beach are dusted a faint rose-quartz in the perpetual sunset. Pink like dried rose. Pink like valentine’s hearts. Pink like the blush suffusing Serenity’s pale skin

And before Riptide could part his lips, could ask if Serenity was okay with that, his lips are on his, sweet and sharp and cold, “I love you like that too”, he says into the corner of Riptide’s lips, and he feels like crying, “I love you too”

And overhead, the fleshy pink of the sky splits apart, edges hazy and gray as it slowly separates into a receding dome to reveal the stormy sky beyond, rendered in patchy blacks and grays. The cold scent of rain grew stronger, but Riptide hardly cared. All that existed in the world was the softness of Serenity’s lips on his, his earthen scent, his soft skin. All that mattered was him

Overhead, a shower of glittering water dripped down onto them, slicking against their skin, though the sand at their feet remained as dry as ever, a curtain of glistening wetness, rendered in translucent rainbows from the molten gold sunlight passing  through its thin surface

And in the distance, a thundercrack sounds, and white flashes of lightning fork through the black patchy clouds, spearing the final traces of the illusory beach, burning it up, as the sand beneath Riptide’s feet fades into wet, puddly stone, and suddenly they’re standing by the corner of the street once again, and Serenity’s lips are on Riptide’s and his back is pressing into the railing keeping them from falling of the cliff, the metal sharp and cold through the thin, wet fabric of his T-shirt

The rain building in the clouds begins to spill over. It’s no longer just a sprinkle. All around them, the asphalt tap-tap-taps with droplets. The sky isn’t a holdable thing, it’s liquid, it’s storms and rain. And if Serenity kept trying to hold him up, he would surely drown

But that was fine. His eyes closed, and he pressed hard into the kiss, tasting the iced strawberry taste of Serenity’s tongue against his, cool and sharp, sweet as chocolate. That was fine. His fist clenched, and the raindrops hammering against them froze in mid-air, hanging like crystal beads inches from their skin

That was fine, because Riptide was there, would always be there, to breathe air into his lungs, to protect him, like he protected so many

Axiomatic truths were things that were so sure, so true, so known, that they were the philosophical baseline. They were the things you could be sure of, when you were sure of nothing else. When the solid truths of your world – parents are meant to protect their kids, children are meant to be loved – start to fall away, you could always rely on them

Here are some of them, some of the truths that Riptide relies on. The sun will always rise. The tide will always fall. And Riptide will always love Serenity

[angerydj]

*plays cheesy love song*

[andilovetowrite]

Tough Love (Part 1)

Peter Parker x Enemy!Reader

Summary: Peter Parker and you have always had a tense relationship, but there was always a line that you wouldn’t pass. What happens when one day you do, and there are horrible repercussions? Will you and Peter make up, or will it be endgame for you?

Warnings: Curse words, shouting, crying, hurtful comments. Quite a lot of angst but sprinkles of fluff as well.

Here is the request it is based on!

Here is my Masterlist as well, in case you wanna check out my fanfics :)

Word Count: 1.5k

“Oh, good morning Y/N!”, Peter said in a sickly sweet voice. Turning around to look at him, you faked a smile, ignoring as your heart fluttered at the sight of the brown-haired boy.

“It was a good morning Peter”, you answered back, picking up some books from your locker as MJ and Ned made their way over to the two of you.

“Hey guys!”Ned exclaimed, leaning over to tell Peter about how they were going to spend the rest of their virgin day, while you caught up with MJ.

“So...nor you or Peter are dead, so a good morning?”, she asked, smirking. You rolled your eyes, muttering under your breath.

“Uh huh, and the day is young. You don’t know what might happen to...say, some certain annoying turds”, you said, glancing at Peter as his jaw clenched.

“Oh please, I could squash you like a bug!”, he said, flexing his arms, smirking at you. You knew Peter was Spiderman...you were the first one to find out actually. Seriously though, you wouldn’t know how many times he left his backpack open for everyone to see. One day, you had just peeked in to….um, put something in his bag, when you saw the Spiderman suit. There could have been two explanations for it. Either he was a cosplayer or he was really Spiderman.

Sadly, when you looked at him the next day and found bruises on his arms and neck...you knew he was indeed Spiderman. But even if he was a mutant-freak superhero, you didn’t mind pissing him off every now and then. And what was he going to do to you anyway? You are an Avenger as well, and everyone knew that you would win in a fight anyday…

“Really Parker? I heard your Aunt threw a banana at you and it hit you in the face. Don’t act as if you can detect whether or not I will push you off a building-”

“I’m Spiderman love”, Peter said, winking obnoxiously at you.

“And I’m Riptide!”

“Sure, and controlling water can help you in the air right?”

“-Fine, I’ll push you in the pool. Spiders can’t swim, can they?”

Peter looked shocked for a second, but then fired back. “Uh huh, and remember. Super reflexes. I heard annoying nerds can’t swim either!”

You laughed, knowing what you were going to say next was going to make him so flustered. “Please! It’ll be the only time you have gotten any girl wet!”

And it had the exact reaction you were hoping for. Peter’s face turned red as he went into a blushing, stuttery mess. You smirked, knowing you had won this round before you turned around, walking away with MJ while you heard Ned laugh in the background.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m getting sick of it, Ned!”, MJ said, pulling Ned aside.

“What?”, he asked, too busy staring at whatever Gwen was wearing today. MJ sighed, snapping her fingers in front of him.

“Hey! Concentrate”, she said, quickly checking her phone. “We only have a couple minutes. So you and I both know Y/N and Peter are obviously in love with each other right?”

That got his attention. “What- yeah yeah. I even tried to talk to Peter about it, but he shut it down the minute I brought her up”

MJ nodded, her head deep in thought. “Y/N does the same, but she always blushes when they call each other those disgusting nicknames...and not to mention how much time she spends staring at him”

Ned agreed, as a plan started formulating in his mind. “What if...we make them talk to each other, nicely. Say, if they were stuck in a closet together?”

MJ frowned. “What about Peter and Y/N’s powers? They can easily knock down the door?”

“Web?”Ned suggested, pulling open Peter’s locker as he pulled out a small beaker with white liquid in it.

“How much time do we have?”, MJ asked, glancing at the clock.

“I think Peter said about 2 hours”

MJ smiled, looking at the empty classroom at the end of the hallway. “Well then...we are going to finally stop this petty rivalry once and for all…”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey guys”, MJ said, pulling you and Peter. Confused, you struggled in her grip.

“MJ, where are we going?”, you asked skeptically, not knowing why she would pull you right after class...along with Peter?

“Uh, you’ll see”, she said as we entered Mr Harrison’s classroom, which was pitch black and empty. Seeing the open closet at the end, you suddenly understood what she was gonna do.

“Nuh uh!”, you said, pulling away, as Peter did the same.

“We aren’t going in there”, he said, crossing his arms as MJ sighed.

“I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy, so…”, MJ said, whistling, “I got some help”

All of a sudden, you felt the wind get knocked out of you as a body slammed into your side, pushing you into the closet with Peter. Falling in, you heard the door click shut as you and Peter were shut in darkness.

Standing up, you ran to the door, trying to open it, but it was jammed shut. “What the heck?”, you muttered as Ned laughed from outside.

“It’s Peter’s WEB!”, he yelled as MJ continued.

“You two make up and stop this stupid fight of yours, and in two hours, we will let you out!”

You sighed as Peter tried opening the door, eventually sighing and sitting down. You stared at him, and scoffed. You weren’t gonna get out for the next two hours anyway, and you did want to stop fighting with Peter at some point, so why not now?

“I’m sorry Par-Peter...I guess I have been a bit of a bitch since I met you”, you said, looking at Peter as a smile broke on his face.

“It’s fine. I haven’t been the best either-”

“Understatement”, you muttered, laughing.

“I’m sorry...seriously.” You and Peter smiled at each other, and for the first time, you could feel some type of friendship forming. But as your luck would have it, something had to go wrong…

“Yeah, I did quite a lot of dumb things. Thank god we ended that!”Peter said, making you confused.

“Wait, what did you do?”

“Uh, nothing”, he said, eyes widening as you stepped closer.

“Paker”, you said threateningly.

“Um, so one time, I may have told Mr Stark to leave you out on the mission because you went to a party the night before-”

“What the fuck?”, you asked, starting to get mad, “when was it?”

“Uh, a-about 2 weeks ago”, he said weakly.

“PETER! THAT WAS THE MISSION WHERE DAD SAID HE SAW MY MOM!”, you yelled, thinking that your father knew that was going to happen, so he left you behind. But in reality, you could’ve met her! You could have met your mother!

“I’m sorry-”

“WE KEPT THE RIVALRY TO THE SCHOOL PARKER! NOT TO FAMILY”, you shouted, anger bubbling through you. Expecting Peter to apologize, you were shocked when he chuckled humorlessly.

“Oh please! Since when do you care about that-”

“Oh no”, MJ muttered, staring at Ned as you and Peter began arguing.

“No, you shut up! Why the heck can’t you just stay out of my face!”, you yelled at Peter from inside the closet.

“OH! Well maybe because you insist on coming into everyone’s life! Can’t you just mind your damn business?!”Peter yelled back, a small twinge of guilt eating it’s way into his mind when he saw you take a step back.

“What the hell is your problem?”, you shouted, pushing him.

“You are my damn problem! You are the most insufferable person on this planet!”

“Don’t you dare say that! I was the reason you ever got this job Parker. No one even cares about you!”

“Mr Stark-”

“He doesn’t care either. WHy do you think my dad would even be on Youtube!? And just by chance come across a stupid video of you?!”

“Th-that’s not true, he wouldn’t lie-”

You laughed cruelly, poking your finger into his chest. “I was the one who showed him the video Parker, and you know what? I shouldn’t have! Everybody’s life would be a 100 times better if you never existed!”

As soon as you said that, you closed your mouth, shocked at what you said. You didn’t mean it. Of course you didn’t. But Peter definitely thought so, as his eyes filled up with tears.

“Pete-”

“No. I think you made your point pretty clear”, he mumbled, pushing away the droplets of water with the back of his palm. He moved towards the door, a broken sob exiting from his throat as he pulled the door open with all his strength, unhinging it.

“Peter-”, MJ started, but he just nudged past her, running out of the school. MJ and Ned turned to look at you as you stood there, eyes bloodshot and staring after Peter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was so fun to write! Thank you to the anon who requested this. There is a part 2 which will be out in a while, so I hope this is a good cliffhanger. Thanks for reading this, and if you liked it, you can reblog it, so more people can see it! See you next time :)

Taglist: @idkatee @eternalscribblesforthesoul @loudbluepancake @poisondevotion @scram1326 @t-hollanderr @305weasley @starknik22 @marvelfansworld @lou-la-lou @lomlparker @marvelfansworld @wowitsel @vanteguccir@fullcheesecakeengineer @ladykxxx08 @allegras-sunflower@a–1–1–3

[archive-archives]

Coming in April!

NEW 2020 1080p HD masters                                                                               JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS IN OUTER SPACE

Run Time             352:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs        DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio       1.33:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    COLOR

Disc Configuration 2 BD 50

 Rock stars Josie and the Pussycats are out of this world...literally! When the bumbling Alexandra accidentally launches Josie and the gang into outer space, they travel through the galaxy searching for a path back to Earth. Along the way, they meet cat people, robot monsters, evil dictators, space pirates and plenty of strange creatures, including their new companion Bleep, voiced by Hanna-Barbera legend Don Messick. Fortunately, everyone’s a fan of Josie and the Pussycats, including aliens! Rocket through the universe with your favorite superstars as they save the day, sing some songs and have a hip-happenin’ good time in a 2-disc, 16-episode Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space complete series collection that hits all the right notes!

                                                                                                                                NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of preservation film elements!       

GREEN DOLPHIN STREET

Run Time             141:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs:       DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio:      1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    BLACK & WHITE

Disc Configuration           BD 50

Special Features: Lux Radio Theater Broadcast;  Theatrical Trailer (HD)    

                                                                        The Academy Award® winner about star-crossed love that spans the years – and the globe. After her triumph as the lunchroom temptress in the crime classic The Postman Always Rings Twice, Lana Turner expanded her range with Green Dolphin Street. Set in 19th century Europe and New Zealand, this sweeping romance tells the story of two beautiful sisters, one headstrong (Turner) and one gentle (Donna Reed), and of the man (Richard Hart) who marries one even though he loves the other. The film’s riptides of emotion are matched by breathtaking physical tumult: a fierce Maori uprising plus a catastrophic earthquake and tidal wave that earned the film a 1947 Oscar® for special effects. With its dramatic story and spectacular visuals, Green Dolphin Street drew huge audiences for epic moviemaking, being one of the top-ten box office hits of the year.

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of Nitrate preservation elements!               

BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940    

Run Time             102:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs:       DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio:      1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    BLACK & WHITE

Disc Configuration           BD 50

Special Features: Making-of Featurette: "Begin the Beguine" (hosted by Ann Miller); "Our Gang Comedies: The Big Premiere"; MGM Cartoon: "The Milky Way" ; Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)

 The job – a career breakthrough – is supposed to go to hoofer Johnny Brett, but a mix-up in names gives it to his partner. Another example of Broadway hopes dashed? Not when Johnny is played by Fred Astaire. Sparkling Cole Porter songs, clever comedy and dance legends Astaire and Eleanor Powell make the final Broadway Melody (co-starring George Murphy) a film to remember. Powell’s nautical “All Ashore" routine (a/k/a I Am the Captain”), Astaire’s blissful “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” and Fred & Eleanor's elaborate routine to Cole Porter's classic "I Concentrate On You" are more than enough to please any fan. But they’re just a warm-up for the leads to tap one finale number into immortality: “Begin the Beguine,” introduced by Frank Sinatra in That’s Entertainment! with, “You can wait around and hope, but you’ll never see the likes of this again.”                                                                                     

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from a new 4K restoration of the last-known surviving nitrate Technicolor print!

DOCTOR X (1932)            

Run Time             76:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs:       DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio:      1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color      COLOR; BLACK & WHITE

Disc Configuration           BD 50

Special Features: Alternate B&W version of feature; DOCTOR X (HD): UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette (HD); New documentary: "Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz (HD); New feature commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode; Archival feature commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive. Original B&W Theatrical Trailer (HD)             

 Is there a (mad) doctor in the house? “Yes!” shrieks Doctor X, filmed in rare two-strip Technicolor®. An eminent scientist aims to solve a murder spree by re-creating the crimes in a lab filled with all the dials, gizmos, bubbling beakers and crackling electrostatic charges essential to the genre. Lionel Atwill is Doctor Xavier, pre-King Kong scream queen Fay Wray is a distressed damsel and Lee Tracy snaps newshound patter, all under the direction of renowned Michael Curtiz. The new two-color Technicolor master was restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Foundation. Also includes the separately filmed B&W version (which has been restored and restored from its original nitrate camera negative) originally intended for small U.S. markets and International distribution, and which has been out of distribution for over 30 years.

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of original nitrate Technicolor negatives!       

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950)

Run Time             107:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Sound Quality    DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English

Aspect Ratio       1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    COLOR

Disc Configuration           BD 50

Special Features: Susan Lucci retrospective & intro piece (from 2000 DVD release); Outtakes: Let’s Go West Again-Betty Hutton, Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly-Judy Garland, I’m an Indian, Too-Judy Garland,  Colonel Buffalo Bill with Howard Keel and Frank Morgan; Stereo audio pre-recording session tracks including There’s No Business Like Show Business featuring Judy Garland; Theatrical Re-issue Trailer (HD)

 Betty Hutton (as Annie Oakley) and Howard Keel (as Frank Butler) star in this sharpshootin’ funfest based on the 1,147-performance Broadway smash boasting Irving Berlin’s beloved score, including “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” “I Got the Sun in the Morning” and the anthemic “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” As produced by Arthur Freed, directed by George Sidney, and seen and heard in this new remastered HD presentation, this lavish, spirited production showcases songs and performances with bull’s-eye precision, earning an Oscar®* for adaptation scoring. The story is a brawling boy-meets-girl-meets-buckshot rivalry. But love finally triumphs when Annie proves that, yes, you can get a man with a gun!                                                                    

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master!                                                                                 QUICK CHANGE (1990)

Run Time             88:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Sound Quality    DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English

Aspect Ratio       1.85:1, 16 X 9 WIDESCREEN

Product Color    COLOR

Disc Configuration           BD 25

Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer

 The star of Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day headlines and codirects this uproarious Big Apple heist-and-pursuit caper. Bill Murray plays Grimm, a frazzled urbanite who disguises himself as a clown – and sets out to rob a bank. Geena Davis and Randy Quaid play accomplices in Grimm’s daring scheme and Jason Robards is the blustery cop caught up in Grimm’s “Clown Day Afternoon.” Swiping a million bucks is a snap compared to getting out of town. Grimm and cohorts commandeer a car, a cab, a bus, a baggage tram and a plane (and encounter future stars Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub in hilarious supporting roles) to make what becomes a less-than-merry escape. But for comedy lovers, Quick Change is a ticket to ride!                                                                                                 

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of best surviving nitrate preservation elements!            EACH DAWN I DIE (1939)

Run Time             92:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs:       DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio:      1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    BLACK & WHITE

Disc Configuration           BD 50    

Special Features: Warner Night at the Movies including 1939 Short Subjects Gallery: Vintage Newsreel,  WB Technicolor Short: "A Day at Santa Anita", WB Cartoon: "Detouring America"; Restrospective featurette: "Stool Pigeons and Pine Overcoats: The Language of Gangster Films" ; Feature Commentary by Film Historian Haden Guest; Breakdowns of 1939: Studio Blooper Reel; WB Cartoon: "Each Dawn I Crow"; Radio show w/George Raft & Franchot Tone; Trailer for "Wings of the Navy" and Original Theatrical Trailer for Each Dawn I Die (HD)  

 Framed for manslaughter after he breaks a story about city corruption, reporter Frank Ross is sure he’ll prove his innocence and walk out of prison a free man. But that’s not how the system works at Rocky Point Penitentiary. There, cellblock guards are vicious, the jute-mill labor is endless, and the powers Ross fought on the outside conspire to keep him in. Frank’s hope is turned to hopelessness. And he’s starting to crack. Two of the screen’s famed tough guys star in this prison movie that casts a reform-minded eye on the brutalizing effects of life in the slammer. James Cagney “hits a white-hot peak as [Ross,] the embittered, stir-crazy fall guy” (Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide). And George Raft (Cagney’s friend since their vaudeville days) portrays racketeer Hood Stacey, who may hold the key to springing Ross.                               

 NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of best surviving preservation elements!                 

ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939)

Run Time             102:00

Subtitles               English SDH

Audio Specs:       DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English, MONO - English

Aspect Ratio:      1.37:1 4x3 FULL FRAME

Product Color    BLACK & WHITE

Disc Configuration           BD 50    

Special Features: M-G-M Musical Short: Love on Tap; Classic M-G-M Cartoon: The Bookworm

 Dum-Dum, Wacky, Creeps, Fingers: They’re just a few of the hoodlums in the world of amateur sleuths and professional bon vivants Nick and Nora Charles. And now there’s a new hood: parenthood. A birthday – make that boithday – party that some of da boys hold for infant Nick Jr. is part of the fun in this third film in the witty series. The case begins when the Charles family arrives for a weekend with a Long Island industrialist who fears someone wants to kill him. Sure enough, his fears come true. Nick (William Powell) is among the suspects. Asta scrams with what may be the murder weapon. And Nora (Myrna Loy) has her own ideas about the case and sneaks off to a nightclub to ferret out a clue. “Madam, how long have you been leading this double life?” Nick asks. “Just since we’ve been married,” she replies.

[tourist-destinations]

List of Best Water Parks in Dubai

Thanks to its numerous unique tourist attractions, Dubai is one of the top international holiday destinations. Be it sightseeing or entertainment, there is plenty of options in the golden city of Dubai. The city has some world-class amusement parks in the world, including water parks. As Dubai's climate is always warmer, one can visit the water parks throughout the year. Moreover, the water parks in Dubai are about more than just a few pools and slides. On the other hand, it is home to some of the best water parks in the world, some of which include record-breaking slides and attractions. With this note, let us look at the list of the best water parks in Dubai.

Wild Wadi Water Park

Considered the most iconic water park in Dubai, Wild Wadi Water Park is one of the oldest water parks in the city. The park's theme is based on Juha, a popular character in Arabian folklore. Although the theme of Wild Wadi is based on the past, there is nothing old about the park's slides, pools, and attractions. You will find three pools and more than 17 water slides here.

The star attraction of the place is Jumeirah Sceirah, a 108-foot-tall water slide. Beaker's Bay is also the largest wave pool in the region. Burj Surj, Master Blasters, Tantrum Alley, Wipeout and Riptide, etc., are other attractions to look out for. Children will love spending time in Juha’s Dhow and Lagoon, which has more than 100 water activities, racing slides, five regular slides, and fun water guns. Wild Wadi Water Park is in the Jumeriah area, near Burj Al Arab, and guests staying at one of the Jumeirah hotels get complimentary tickets to this water park.

Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park

Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park is spread around 42 acres, making it the largest water park in the world. Located on Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest artificial island, Atlantis Water Park is home to more than 105 slides, pools, and attractions. One of the most popular attractions here is Leap of Faith, a 9-story tall. It also has the longest water slide in the world, Aquaconda. The water park also offers some fantastic experiences besides the slides and pools. You can also try shark safari, shark snorkeling, and cownose feeding here. The water park also gives access to a private beach, where you can indulge in various water sports and activities. The Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park is a part of Hotel Atlantis the Palm and offers aquarium tour and dolphin experiences. If you are not a guest at Hotel Atlantis the Palm, you can get Atlantis Aquaventure water park tickets online to visit this place.

Legoland Water Park

There is no dearth of water parks in Dubai for adults, with a few slides and attractions for little ones. But if you want to go to a water park made exclusively for the little ones, Legoland Water Park is the best choice. A LEGO-based water park, it is meant for kids between the ages of 2 and 12 years. This water park has over 40 family-friendly rides, some ideal for toddlers. The Duplo Splash Safari, Joker Soaker, Lego Slide Racers, Lego Wave Pool, Splash ‘N’ Swirl, Red Rush, Twist ‘N’ Spin, Tidal Tube, Splash, Out, Twin Chasers, etc., are a few of the attractions to look forward to at the Legoland Water Park. You can also build a raft using large LEGO blocks and float on the lazy river. The Legoland Water Park is a part of Dubai Parks & Resorts, home to three other theme parks.

Aqua Fun Water Park

One of the most unique water parks in Dubai, Aqua Fun Water Park is the largest inflatable water park in the world. Covering an area of 2700 square meters, the Aqua Fun Water Park is located on the Persian Gulf. Designed to spell DUBAI (when viewed above), the Aqua Fun Water Park offers more than 100 games and obstacles involving climbing, sliding, swinging, and balancing. This is a great place to enjoy competition and challenges with family and friends. You will have a great time sliding on water slides and maneuvering through various steps, jumps, and ramps. Aqua Fun is located on The Beach, opposite JBR.

Jungle Bay

The Jungle Bay Water Park will be perfect for a relaxing but fun day at a water park. Although smaller than most other water parks in Dubai, Jungle Bay, with its blue and white color code, has some fun rides for kids and adults that will keep you engaged and entertained. Mini Multi-Lane, Ramp Slide, Pool Slider, Aquatube, Life Floor, Pool Sider, Aquaplay, Kids’ Wave Pool, Wave & Lazy, etc., are some of the best attractions. The star attraction of this water park is the lighthouse which houses all the slides. The little ones will have the time of their lives at Aquaplay, a splash park. Jungle Bay is located inside The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina and Le Meridien.

Splash N Party

If your kids love splashing and playing in the water, take them to Splash N Party for the ultimate splashing fun. Ideal for kids under the age of 12 years, Splash N Party is home to a fun pool with tunnels, slides, climbing frames, a zipline, and a huge splash area. The park area is pretty and colorful, making it attractive to the little ones. While you can visit the park anytime during the year, Splash N Party is ideal for hosting birthday parties as well. The place offers in-house catering services, ensuring a well-planned birthday for your little one. Splash N Party is located on Al Safa in Jumeirah.

Conclusion

The water parks in Dubai promise fun and entertainment for the entire family. Although you may not find a cheap water park in Dubai, booking online or in advance will ensure you get a good deal on the tickets. So, visit one of the water parks mentioned above during your holiday in Dubai.

[helpmeimblorboing]

Sneak Peek of a chapter from my story that probably won't make it's way into the final draft of either version - Crimson or Crimson Redux (feat : Tumblr's shitty formatting)

The night air stretches stale and unpleasant, iced with rainwater, as Serenity stumbles out into the hall, pulling out the dark rectangle of his phone as he did, slumping down on one of the couches, the fabric catching roughly against the soft of his skin

The moonlight canted in through the big bay windows, glistening sharp and bright against the ledge outside and pooling shapelessly on the windowsill inside, dripping onto the floor, covering everything in molten silver.

The sight scraped painfully against the already raw and tender walls of Serenity’s heart – a silver cross necklace, strung around his throat, tight enough to strangle, the silver gleam of church candles across the rippling surface of a goblet of holy water, prayers and pleading, pain and pain

His shadows curled up the sides of the bay window with an almost unconscious flex of his power, curling low and dark across the shadow of the bay windows, darkening the flat stone of the windowsill to a pitch blank, swallowing up the moonlight like a greedy, gaping maw

Serenity had always hated color. Throughout his childhood, color had only meant pain – the red of fresh wounds, the scaled cream of a leather-bound Bible, the dark brown of a holy cross, the cracked black on yellowy-white of the words that had sealed his fate centuries before his birth – man shall not lie with man as he does with woman

His fingers drummed idly against the warm metal of his phone’s sides, as his eyes rising to linger on the dark, shadowy image of the night sky beyond the reinforced glass – the pinprick stars, the coin-stamp moon, and behind them all, the silver haze of a great arm, impossibly long and impossibly wide, curling behind them all, a river that could never be crossed

He remembered the scent of fresh-cut grass, the blades tickling his bare back, the sun pouring its smeared gold light across the naked, scarred torso of the boy sitting up beside him, bracing himself with one hand planted firmly in the dirt, even as the other reached for the sky

The visible arm of our galaxy, as observed in a moonless night sky, is known as the River of Heaven. A silver stream bending along the horizon, too far and vast for us to ever swim across.

I’d like to see it someday.

The light pollution of most cities did not allow for stargazing. The average child’s world does not have a glittery, star-sewn ceiling. The less spoken about the fact they were looking up at a daylit sky, the better. But still, that sunny afternoon, the proverbial arm of the galaxy showed itself to them anyway, their eyes following the river of light, stars pouring into the universe’s ocean, reaching for the horizon.

And tonight, with the skies washed clear of smoke and debris by the freak rainstorm that had occurred mere moments prior, the hazy, silver trail of the river of heaven revealed itself to him again, bending along the darkness of domed night sky in a stream of gleaming, sparkling white

Serenity bit idly at the corner of his lips, before looking down at his phone once more, gleaming white light casting a smeared, grainy light across his chin and the tops of his cheeks.

He had never liked texting. It felt wrong, tapping out a message instead of speaking it, so Fang and Riptide were his only Whatsapp contacts, for the sole reason that for the longest time since leaving Fang’s side, he wasn’t sure he would be able to cope with hearing his voice

Fang

12/12/2014

S : I’m sorry

F : I know

01/01/2015

F : Happy New Year

28/01/2015

F : Happy birthday

12/04/2015

S : This cat looks like you

S : [image]

29/06/2015

F : I missyuoi

F : Fcuk you

F : Fuck

S : Are you drunk ?

F : Why did you ?

F : Why ?

S : Can you drink some water for me please ?

S : Fang ?

F : For you

F : anythig

F : miss you

S : You keep your painkillers in the bathroom,

S : behind the mirror

S : Can you go get them for me ?

F : Yeh

S : Put them on your bedside table with a glass of water

F : Done

F : am i good

S : You always are

F : Then hwy dint you stay

S : Go to sleep, Fang

F : nooooo

F : Fcuk yuo

30/06/2015

F : Sorry

S : Don’t be

17/07/2015

S : Happy birthday

F : Thank you

19/07/2015

S : I miss you

28/01/2016

F : Happy birthday

17/07/2016

S : Happy birthday

29/12/2016

S : I’ve met someone

S : [image]

F : He looks

F : Kind

28/01/2017

F : Happy birthday

17/07/2017

S : Happy birthday

28/01/2018

F : Happy birthday

17/07/2018

S : Happy birthday

01/01/2019

S : Happy New Year

And that was it. That was where the messages, stilted and fractured, indicative of the rift that had begun to grow between them over the years, came to an end. Serenity sucks in a breath that sounds oddly strained, as if filtered through a mesh of tears, before starting to tap out a new message, his thumbs feeling odd against the smooth plastic of the screen cover, unwieldy and clumsy

12/09/2019

S : I’m sorry

F : All these years and we’re right back here again

Serenity sucked in a sharp breath, closed his eyes to suppressed the prickling at their corners, before slowly letting it out hiss out through his clenched teeth, and tapping out a response

S : I’m sorry

S : I took him out on date

S : [image]

A long pause stretched between the two message, painful, each passing second scraping oddly across the bones of Serenity’s ribcage, before -

F : I’m glad

F : He’s good for you

F : Better than I was, at least

It was funny, Serenity mused, as his fingers pressed hard into the warm metal of his phone case, how he could still, if he only tried a bit harder, remember the way Fang’s skin curled at the corners of his lips when he smiled. Or the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed, not the harsh, oily bark he had adopted in later years, but the way he laughed in the beginning, bright and clear and like nothing would ever go wrong ever again

It was like reading a language he was no longer fluent in but still knew how to speak. There was a time he thought he’d know Fang forever, and a time he thought they’d be together forever. Now, however...

S : It was nice

S : What we were, when we were us

S : It was nice, wasn’t it ?

S : However it ended

F : It was

The darkness pooled at his feet, soft and dusty. Overhead, the River of Heaven flowed along its unchangable track, bending acros the horizon in a haze of curling silver. For a long time, he stared at the message, the quiet confirmation, that the love had been there, one time. That it had been there, and it changed nothing. And it saved no one. Because the forces against it were far too great. But it was there, at one time

The scent of blood pooled in his sinuses, sharp and unyielding, a reminder of what had drawn them so far apart, clashing horribly with his sun-soaked memories of grass blades and rustling leaves, the hum of enduring life sounding from all about them, the river of stars winding its way through the sky high above them

For a long moment, his fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to say next. If there even was anything he could say next – anything that would even come close to encapsulating the enormity of the beast stirring in the hollow of his chest, slavering and doglike

And so, he reverted back to the response that seemed easiest, the coward’s way out, to relay the words that swilled in the depths of his throat, pressed down his tongue, heavy as a leaden weight

S : I’m sorry

S : For how we ended

F : So am I

He still remembered the way he had been, right at the beginning. The sloped silhouette of his shoulders, the charcoal smudge of his hair, the lower of his gaze—hazy like scenery from a previous lifetime. A hand held out, a promise spoken into the blood-soaked air of a massacred town – we who are alone in this world must comfort each other

And the eye smile.

That eye smile. The haloed image of Fang with his Cupid’s bow hidden over his teeth, , distant as a shaken dream, pasted on the corkboard of Serenity’s mind front and center. The bulletin never changes. Even with the flyers and the events, the reminders and the announcements—Serenity just sees Fang. A single peeling missing poster clinging on with nothing but a few tacks the wind has yet to blow loose.

Perhaps there would be a day, when he could say Fang’s name, and mean him, and not the ruination he left in his wake. The man who went from dream to reality to memory. But not today. Today, he was a wound in Serenity, among the endless folds of his soul, unstemmable, a tidal wave of acrid, rotten blood

And, Serenity knew, his existence was just as much a gash on Fang, too. A weakspot, a chink in each of their endless layers of armor. And perhaps that was for the best, in a way. One could not live their life untouchable. Life was vulnerability. Life was pain

Fang was a flash of violence that defined the great majority of Serenity’s life, that gave the endless, roiling tides of his self meaning, and purpose, and boundaries. Blood that spilled endlessly, joyfully, across the white chrysanthemum garden of Serenity’s life, turning every flower it touched from the ghost-pale of mourning grief to the red spider lilies of violent wrath

But every tide must eventually run out. Every river has a mouth. Even the River of Heaven ended somewhere.

And even the endless stream of brilliant crimson blood that was Fang, that delectable promise of revenge, of ripping down the heavens that had defiled him and hurt him so... even that grew rotten and sluggish and black eventually

He didn’t know when the rot had started to spread. When Fang shifted away from being his Fang, with the crescented eyes and the lopsided grin, creature of passion and fire , to this cold, sharklike being of spite and hate. Perhaps it never had

Perhaps his Fang was still waiting for him to find him again, under the trappings of pain and misery La Comedienne bound himself in. Maybe it was Serenity who had lost sight of Fang, of the River of Heaven they had wanted to see together

Perhaps they still shared that dream, in secret. Perhaps they still shared the ambition that had bound them together, all those years ago

Perhaps they were, perhaps they had always been, two fish swimming in opposite currents, searching for the same ocean.

But it was useless to cling to the unchanging dead, Serenity knew. And useless to cling to a past that would never return. And so, he gritted his teeth, and shook off the final, stubborn remnants of the hiraeth that had defined his life for five years, and clicked off of Fang’s chat log, opening up another one, newer, fresher, dripping with a love and joy not yet rendered rotten and blackened by the jaws of time

Riptide

R : Tonight was really fun

R : Let’s do it again sometimes

A long moment, and then Serenity released a shaky, strained exhale, pulling up the keyboard, his fingers hovering over it for a few moments, before tapping out a response, each muted click an exorcism of past ghosts

S : Yes

S : Let’s

A moment, and then, in a fit of recklessness, his heart catching in his throat, hammering against the bars of his ribcage, he tacks on

S : I love you

He watches with bated breath as the tick marks beside the three messages appear, first in light grayscale against the tan background, before popping abruptly into a bubble of blue. A loading icon appears beside Riptide’s name, circling for one second, two, before...

R : I love you too