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erectionsandtea · 3 years

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Poly party summer fun headcanons, part 2 ! 😀 (this got way too long so I’m posting it as it is, and if I get more ideas, or if you guys want to send me anything 😉, I’ll either reblog this post or make a new one.) Enjoy!

(part 1 can be found here)

Amusement park: (these are based on amusement parks I have been to since they're all I know, lol)

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

- they go early so they can do everything (twice) but they also stay until it gets dark bc El wants to see all the lights

- one of her favorite rides is the big ship that swings back and forth because it feels like flying

- Max, Lucas, and Dustin take El on her first roller coaster ride, and it's super scary but she also loves it (Robin and Nancy go, too)

Lucas and Dustin scream like little girls on the roller coaster and become the butt of many jokes about it (most of them from Max)

Max and Lucas would totally try to kiss for the roller coaster camera (idk why okay, stop me) but the photo would look absolutely ridiculous and Max’s hair is fuckin EvERYWHERE

El uses some of her money to buy a copy of the photo (she buys a copy of their photo from every ride, it's a lot of money, but the others help her out with it), and when she gets home, Will helps her make a collage of all the photos that she puts up in her room

- El also wants caricatures, but they don't have enough money for everyone (so she just gets one of herself). Will watches the artist, who gives him tips on how to do it so he can draw some for El later (and he totes does bc good brother vibes)

- they do the ferris wheel last bc it is super romantic (even more so at night), and everyone wants to go with everyone else. Max wants to go up every time someone else does bc she wants to try to spy on them, lol

Groups, in order from side to other side (sitting, not riding order):

for her very first time: Max/El/Mike (her two bffs, aka her bf and gf)

Mike/Will

Max/Lucas

Dustin/Suzie

El/Max/Lucas

El/Mike/Will

El/Mike

El/Max

the guy running the ferris wheel is just like “you kids again???” bc they keep just getting off the ride and going straight to the back of the line to go up again, but eventually they have to stop bc the park is literally about to close and they’ll be kicked out

- there's also a haunted house ride and El absolutely has to ride with Mike bc when she is scared or feels like she's in danger, he's always been the best at making her feel okay again. She clings to him throughout the ride, but ends up laughing at how cheesy not-scary most of the effects are.

- as exhilarating as the drop rides are, El doesn’t like going on them too much but she can do it like, once. maybe twice.

- Lucas and Max, and Dustin and Will, like that ride that’s like the ferris wheel except you’re in a cage and you can manipulate the cage (by spinning it and stuff) to take you upside down. Dustin and Max do it too much, like to an extreme, and Will and Lucas are like “stop, the world is literally spinning” and they’re very disoriented when they get off

- there’s a rapids ride, and since the rafts are big enough to hold 8 people, the whole party is able to go together in one, and then the teens can go together in another one. they totally get sprayed by bystanders.

- there's a shooting game (like where you go through a tunnel on a track, and targets pop up and you shoot them)

Lucas is the best and El rides with him bc the best should introduce the newbie, and she has so much fun, it's nothing like the guns she's experienced in her previous (lab) life.

Max and Dustin fight really hard to be second best.

Mike and Will go together and compared to the others, they suck, but that's okay they have fun anyway, and they joke about their own terribleness.

- Dustin buys those deep-fried snacks (you know the ones I mean) and he is literally the only person in the group that likes them (okay, not true, Robin can handle them, too)

El, against the advice of the others, wants to try those snacks bc she’s never heard of anything like that before, and the first time she takes a bite, her face goes through a range of like 10 emotions bc she’s being assaulted by flavors-

but after she manages to swallow it, she’s like “wow, that was amazing” and the others are like “...you serious??”

Mike is just like “that is disgusting and I’m not kissing you after that lol” and El is just like “but...why?” (he totes does tho, he doesn’t give a f, he’s kissing his gf bc he just can’t resist the cuteness)

Nancy, even though she doesn’t necessarily like it, can totally handle taking a bite and finishing it (like that beer from season 1) and Robin is like “that’s impressive, band geek” and Nancy’s just like “I’m not in band” (idk lol)

- El wanting to try EVERY food but the others have to cut her off bc it’s so expensive and she will get so sick

- Mike being a good bf and holding souvenirs bought by his bf and gf (Will totally buying a sweet little something for his awesome mom) (El totally doing the same thing to remind herself of Hopper, but she keeps it in her room instead)

- Lucas also being a good bf for the same reason but complaining about it, lol

- everyone goes on the log ride (you might know it as the flume) bc there isn’t a person on earth who doesn’t like that ride, and even tho she knows about the impending splash, El is still super surprised when it happens

Groups, in order (front to back):

El, Mike, Max, and Lucas (Max is explaining to El over Mike’s shoulder that “you absolutely HAVE TO be in the front, it’s the best way”)

Suzie, Dustin, Steve, and Robin (irrelevant but don’t tell me Robin sits in front of Steve, there’s no fuckin way, she’s not his gf, also Steve and Dustin just have to sit together bruh)

Will, Dustin (bc obvsly he goes on again), Nancy, and Jonathan

Mike has his arms around El like he thinks he’s going to protect her from the huge spray of water (but his skinny arms won’t protect shit lol) and he somehow manages to make a decent photo come out of him kissing her cheek while she is simultaneously screaming (good screaming)

- everyone loves the bumper cars (Jonathan and Suzie hang back tho, to hold everyone’s stuff and cheer from the side)

Max, as the only one (sans teens) who has actually driven a car before, rides with El so she can teach her how to do it

her and Lucas (with his passenger Will) are automatically in competition with one another (”you’re going down!” “no, YOU’RE going down!”)

Robin, riding by herself, goes after Steve and driver Nancy (who’s surprisingly good at this)

and Dustin (passenger Mike) gangs up with Robin to take on Steve and Nancy, which makes Nancy even more determined now to destroy both of them

Steve’s a little afraid of Nancy when she’s like this, lol

eventually Dustin and Robin are like “okay okay, we’ll stop! jesuschrist, how did you get so good at this??” (but also they are just in total awe of Nancy) and they just go after each other instead

- El doesn’t like spinning rides (too dizzy and they totally make her tummy “feel weird, like there’s a storm in it” “uh oh, you’re nauseous, El” “naw-shus?” “yeah, like sick, here, sit down for a minute”), but Will loves them and he’s there for her

- the sky ride (the one that takes you from end of the park to the other), groups:

Mike and Will on one side, Max and El on the other (the seats are basically little cabins, seats for 4 people)

Lucas and Dustin on one side, Jonathan and Steve on the other

Robin on one side (she totally takes up the whole double space, putting her leg up), Nancy and Suzie on the other

- carousel ride! (during the day)

El wants the prettiest horse

Max gets the most badass thing which is like...a wolf??

Lucas and Dustin ride only bc there’s a game where you can try to throw rings into a hole while going around (they each get one in by pure luck but otherwise suck). they don’t really care what animals they get, they just need ones that move up and down. Dustin gets a cat with a fish in his mouth, and Lucas ends up just picking a rabbit before everything is taken and he doesn’t have a choice anymore. The others fuckin laugh at the image of Lucas riding a rabbit

Suzie gets another horse

Will gets a lion which doesn’t move up and down but he’s okay with that, he’s kinda just going bc everyone else is

Mike gets stuck with a horse bc he was at the back of the group and by the time he gets there, every other non-horse animal is taken (but they joke about how he should have gotten the non-moving giraffe, taken by Steve, bc it’s so tall and gangly like him lol)

Nancy gets a horse

Robin takes the wild boar bc “dude that is the most badass animal on a carousel I have ever seen!”

Jonathan stays behind, no matter how much the others beg, but he takes lots of really good pictures (including the one time Dustin gets the ring in the hole and then cheering, then also him and Lucas high-fiving, and the various couples exchanging really cute looks, and El having the best time ever bc she’s never been on one of these before)

they go on the carousel one more time near the end of the night and this time Jonathan gives in and rides with them, but he sits in one of the benches that’s just there for the parents), and he still takes pictures as best he can without getting up and moving

- photo booth photos! (I’ll leave the silly face ones up to your imagination)

El and Max (one super close hug with faces pressed together, one kiss, one silly faces, and one smiles)

Will and Mike, but Max and El totally burst in for like, the last 1.5 pictures, it doesn’t ruin them tho, Mike and Will just ignore them (one nice smiles bc they’re like “what do we do??”, one hug, one kiss being interrupted by the girls in the background, one candid laughing while the girls wave at the camera)

Will and Mike again (one candid of Mike holding the curtain shut to make sure no interruptions and Will laughing, one kiss (non-interrupted), one silly faces, one just being super cute and close together and leaning on each other)

Max and Lucas (one smiles, one kiss, one of her pretending to look tough by putting him in a headlock or putting a fist next to his face like a punch, one that was supposed to be funny faces but instead is her looking off to the side where Mike has opened the curtain and stuck his head (with his tongue out) in as revenge and Lucas with that look of “dude, really??” on his face)

Dustin and Suzie (one kiss, one smiles, one nose-to-nose, one super close together leaning on each other cute)

Mike and El (one smiles, one kiss, one of him like surprise-trying to pull her into his lap kind of thing idk and her just looking super surprised but happy but also Max is in the background ruining YET ANOTHER picture, and one candid of them giggling about the previous picture with their foreheads pressed together almost nose-to-nose)

Mike and El again bc she wants non-interrupted photos (one with her actually sitting in his lap this time (she did this beforehand so he wouldn’t scare her again with the surprise-pulling thing), one of them pretending to look all hoity-toity like super models, one with her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist and they’re all close and cute sort of candid, and one just like the last one except they’re looking at the camera and smiling)

Will and Mike and El (one with Mike in the middle while his gf and bf give him a kiss on each cheek, one with El hanging over Mike’s shoulders in sort of a half-piggyback and he and Will are laughing, one with Mike and Will kissing while El makes a funny face at the camera, one of them all making funny faces at the camera)

Max and El and Mike (one with El in the middle, Max’s arms are around her waist almost dipping her backwards, her legs are up in the air (as far up as they can go in the tiny booth) and her head is tilting back onto Mike’s shoulder with his arms around her shoulders and he’s pressing a kiss to her hair, one with El kissing Mike’s cheek while he and Max make funny faces, one with Max behind them and her arms over both of their shoulders pulling them all close and their faces squished together with this super big cheesy grin while Mike is laughing at El’s funny face, one with Mike and El kissing and Max sitting next to them making the 👌🏻 symbol and winking at the camera, bc she just has to get sassy)

Bonus, more teens:

- Robin takes Steve on all the crazy rides (aka drags him, makes him go, etc.) They both get a little sick, but for her it's totally worth it (for him...not so much)

- Dustin and Robin get along hella bc he joins them on the crazy rides and is just @steve like “what are you, a pussy?”

- Nancy has to remind Jonathan that the kids will be FINE, and they don't need to hover around them all evening, "let's go enjoy ourselves"

- Nancy likes roller coasters, CHAnGE mY MInD

- Steve and Robin totally scream when they go on the drop ride together, except Robin’s scream is more “holy shit, exhilarating and so exciting! whooooo!” while Steve’s is more “this is fun but also I’m totally gonna die!!”

- Steve is a boss at those games where you have to throw something at/into/onto a target and he wins a stuffed animal

- Robin is p decent at those games too, but she’s not a match for the king (she comes close though, they actually turn it into a competition to see who can win more stuff)

- Nancy kicks butt at that game where you shoot a spray of water and make the target thing rise to the top or race or whatever (any shooting game, really), you know what I mean (Jonathan fucking fails, sorry Jonathan)

- Steve totally wins that game where you swing a mallet and try to ring the bell. Robin doesn’t win but she gets way closer than they thought she would and Steve’s “wtf”. Dustin is also stronger than he looks, and even tho he doesn't win, he can at least lift the (smaller) mallet, which is more than any of the others can do.

- Robin HAS to do that game where you try to climb the flat, almost horizontal rope ladder to the end and she doesn’t even make it halfway before she falls, but it’s hilarious

- Nancy also tries that game after some goading from the others, and she makes it farther than Robin (about halfway) but still fails fantastically. And then she takes a bow.

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biqherosix · 3 years

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hiiiiiiiiii do u write for the drgaon prince ??????????????????????? it’s totally not el spamming you again bc you deserve your ezran/callum x sister reader even if i’ll give it to you too

the secret life of katolis royalty - headcanons

prompt(s): the royal family uphold a proper, good reputation. but with you and your siblings, there are always bound to be a few secrets whether they're silly or not

pairing(s): familial! callum x fem! reader x ezran

fandom(s): the dragon prince

genre(s): fluff

warning(s): none (if there are, please feel free to point them out!)

other notes: hi el 🙄 anyway yes i write for dragon prince now because there is a lack of content in this fandom, especially for the royal siblings ! i want platonic goodness, and i'm getting it even if i have to make it myself. enjoy :) also reader may possibly be bi?? can be interpreted as whatever you'd like though !

- so you're three years older than callum, making you at least seven when ezran is born

- you're so protective, no doubt about it

- and callum doesn't mind because you're not overbearing (if anything callum is more protective of you and ezran than you are of your brothers)

- which is why callum never finds out about your little things with both soren and claudia (more like a kiss with claudia, dating soren, and then breaking up with soren to try shit out with claudia; spoiler alert you kinda miss soren as much as you love your magical perky girl)

- another reason is that cal has such a major crush on claudia before meeting rayla and you don't want him to feel bad upon finding out

- but let's be honest ezran finds out because he walked in on you making out with soren after exiting a secret tunnel

- ezran gossips with you more than you both like to admit because of this huge secret only the two of you now know

- but it brought you two closer and he's really happy about that because now he gets to cuddle into your side while he asks questions and spills the beans while you play with his hair lmao

- yk sometimes you even shit talk callum and his sword fighting and that definitely stays between the two of you (he always wonders why you two are giggling under the tree whenever he plays around with soren)

- but you love your brothers and they love you so !! freaking !! much !!

- y'all are attached to the hip, you can't be seen without one or the other

- most of the time it's your brothers doing your thing and brushing up your knowledge on royal etiquette because a part of you is anxious whenever your father talks about his royal wrongdoings

- he doesn't mean to worry you, he just wants you to be prepared (you were in fact, worried and unprepared when he died and you now had three mf children and a dragon egg to take care of)

- don't worry though because callum and ezran are here to save the day and will tell you how amazing you are for hours, it honestly passes the time very well

- okay but i gotta get this outta the way before i forget but callum is the epitome of the "you're doing amazing sweetie!" meme okay?? he is

- where he succeeds (magic, art, being awkward) you on the other hand lack and vice versa (you are badass okay? you can fight and spar properly thanks to your mother's extensive knowledge and even without a weapon you can pack a punch)

- rayla doesn't really understand how callum can be so happy and perky even when you suck at what you're doing

- but he's your baby brother and he loves hyping you up

- callum is your biggest hypeman and always has been it's a second nature to him, trust me if someone were to mention your name he'd never shut up !!

- like this one time you drew rayla and callum on a spare piece of paper callum gave you and it didn't really turn out the best but he still fake cried and attacked you in a hug

- he keeps it in his sketchbook and he's never letting that go, so rayla jokingly judges him for it and your boy ezran backs you up with callum

- "i don't see why you keep it, i mean it doesn't even look like us! we're like lil' stick figures" "art is contemporary, rayla. it can be anything you want it to be! isn't that right zym?" "ez is right, plus it doesn't look that bad! it's cute. look, she even drew me doing magic! her markings are so accurate" "callum, i don't even know what spell you're doing" "it's clearly aspiro! look at the wind" "they're lines!" "that's what art is all about!"

- baby gets so nervous when he and rayla kiss bc he obviously has to tell you and your opinion matters most to him; he's just scared bc rayla always teases you and you may not approve

- so he kept it a secret for a fat minute after telling ezran, ez is so annoyed bc he has to keep your soren secret and callum's??? at least bait and zym are there to listen (man relationships are hard)

- you just laugh because you saw it coming and the moment is just so wholesome !! you tackle rayla into a hug, welcoming her into the family with "bad drawings and all" bc she never lets you live it down fr fr

- but later that night callum can't sleep and he lets out everything because he never really told you about his crush in the first place like he feels really guilty because you're always so open with him and sometimes he has some walls up, like how he was with king harrow even if you're his biological sibling

- also you bet on your life that you would do anything to make sure callum was content with his life and so after his lil rant and your assurance he asks if you've ever felt that way before

- and you had to do it to em, so you tell him about soren and claudia

- "why didn't you tell me anything before?" "you liked claudia! i didn't want to be the reason for your heartache" "but you're my sister, you deserve to be happy. maybe you and soren can work out" "eh, we'll see. not gonna lie i was ready to go back for him after he almost killed that dragon. he looked pretty hurt but you looked way worse honestly" "hey! you're making my heart hurt here y/n." "that doesn't count because it was playful!"

- you end up going to sleep that night leaning on each other because that's what you've been doing all your life — leaning on each other and you don't want him to forget that !!!

- you also wake up the next morning with ezran in between you sleeping soundly, and rayla comes back to the three of you making funny faces and laughing like there was no tomorrow

- she didn't get it but the three of you did, it was a simple moment that you would all cherish even after ezran becomes king — perhaps it even makes you better as royals

- and from then on, there were no secrets, just a family trying to piece themselves together again after so much tragedy

#dragon prince #dragon prince imagine #tdp x reader #tdp imagine #the dragon prince #dragon prince x reader #prince callum #prince ezran #human rayla #tpd rayla #tdp callum #tdp ezran #tdp soren #tdp claudia #tdp harrow #soren x reader #callum x reader #daniza's fave characters are paying rent

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moonlit-imagines · 4 years

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Second Cousins?

Byers x second cousin!reader

warnings:

a/n: THIS IS SUCH A REACH LMAO BARE WITH ME I LITERALLY HAD TO LOOK AT A CHART btw you’re about jonathans age? ig? idk but this is NOT romantic that’s frickin gross. p.s. horowitz is winona ryders name

prompt:

You crawled out of bed to the sound of your dad screaming for you. What time was it?

12:38pm

Great. You slept the whole day and now you have to help your extended family move in immediately. You rolled off your mattress and scrambled to get some clothes. You hadn’t seen this side of the family since Christmas of 1978!

You’d regret not eating breakfast, but not yet. You walked outside, pushing your hair from your face and waiting for your family to exit their respective cars. Your “first-cousin-once-removed,” Joyce, got out first. (You just call her “Aunt Joyce”).

“Hey, guys! Long time no see.” She smiled. “Oh, my god, y/n. Is that you?” She walked up to you and gave you a hug.

“Hey there, Aunt Joyce. We’ve missed you a whole lot.” You looked over her shoulder and saw a younger girl, maybe 13 or 14. You’d never seen her in your life. Her eyes were definitely tear stained, her hair falling out of her scrunchie, and the sleeves on her flannel rolled up. “Who’s the girl?”

“Oh, uh, that would be El. She’s a...‘new addition’ to our family.” Joyce put in air quotes.

“Wicked. I’d love to get to know her better.” You stuck your hands in your pockets and watched the boys get out of their car. “I’d like to catch up with the boys, too. It’s been years. I mean, I know we talk on the phone every once in a blue moon, but this is so exciting! You guys are gonna be living with us now!”

“Only for a little while.” She sighed.

“We’ll make the most of it.” You gave her another hug and moved towards the boys.

“Jonny Byers. You got taller.” You joked with him.

“Bring it in.” He welcomed you with open arms.

“What’s up, kiddo?” You gave Will a high five. “You still drawing that cool ass art?”

“Yeah, I have a ‘portfolio’ now. Jonathan made me put one together.” Will snickered.

“Hey, artists need them. I have one for my pictures.” Jonathan reasoned.

“Well, Will, when you’re all settled in, you’re gonna have to sit me down and show me what you’ve got. You know, I still have that picture you drew me last time I saw you.” You told him.

“Really? I was like, seven.” He shook his head.

“Yeah, seven and truly gifted.” You turned your attention to your other “second cousin,” “And as for you, I’ve got all those old vinyls and some new ones, too. What about you?”

“I have more cassette’s than vinyls, but I’ll make sure we have time to share.” He punched your arm.

“That’s what I like to hear. Now let’s go help your mom and El unload the truck.” You turned around and Will and Jonathan followed you.

“Oh, you heard about El?” Will asked.

“Your mom said she was a ‘new addition to the family.’” You quoted.

“Yeah, that’s a pretty accurate description.” Will nodded. “She’s shy, I wouldn’t push her into conversation.”

“Noted.” You picked up a box and carried it inside. There were two spare rooms. One for Joyce and El and one for the boys. Good thing they didn’t mind sharing. You put the box into Joyce’s room, then headed right for the truck. The next box was labeled “HOPPER.” You lifted it up and an your way into the house, you ran into El.

“I can take that one.” She told you quietly.

“You sure?” You raised your eyebrows and she nodded. You handed her the box and went back to the truck.

“Hey, Horowitz, wanna help me grab this mattress?” Jonathan asked. You jogged up to hig and grabbed one side. “Got it? Alright, be careful.” You guys got the mattress inside, and then the other two.

“Alright, what’s next?” You asked.

“I’m actually kinda hungry.” Jonathan wiped the sweat off his forehead. “What about you?”

“Starving. Go round the gang up, I know a great place to get some lunch.” You told him. Jonathan went around and got all of the family together. There was only six of you. You, dad, Joyce, El, Jonathan, and Will. You all squeezed into one car and hit the road. Really, it was only a 10 minute drive.

“This was my Grandma Darlene’s favorite place to eat before she passed away. We always sit at her booth.” You told your cousins in the back seat. El was in between Joyce and your dad in the front. “Ooh! We’re here.”

You approached the door and your dad opened it up for everyone. You waved at the waitresses you had known so well and went to your usual spot. You each picked up a menu as the waitress asked for drinks.

Water for you, coffee for your dad, water for Jonathan, Sprite for Will, Diet Pepsi for Joyce, and lemonade for El.

“So, boys, what’s been going on in Hawkins? Any significant people or events you wanna talk about?” You questioned the boys.

“Well, Jonathan’s got a girlfriend who leaves lipstick marks all over his face.” Will taunted.

“Oh, shut it.” Jonathan pulled his straw up and took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, her name is Nancy. We’ve been together for almost a year. She’s a badass.”

“How so?” You bit down on a piece of ice.

“She’s determined to get what she wants. We had an internship at the local newspaper and she was an assistant, but she really wanted to be a reporter. She did every possible thing she could to do it. Followed stories, wrote them, suggested topics in meetings...” Jonathan gushed.

“And did she get to be a reporter?” You asked, turning your head sideways.

“No, she actually got us fired.” He chuckled. “But she stood up for herself, that’s why I love her.”

“She sounds great, will she be visiting you soon?” You asked him. “I’d love to show her the embarrassing pictures of us with marker all over our backs and faces when you lived here in ‘73. And the pictures of you pretending to be Super-Man. Can’t forget those ones.”

“Oh, my god, you still have those?” He laughed. “Yes, she’s visiting on Thanksgiving with her brother, Mike.” El’s head perked up. “Mike is Will’s best friend...and El’s boyfriend.”

“Is that so?” You smiled and turned to her. “What’s he like?”

“He’s...funny. And awkward. And a nerd.” She mumbled to you.

“He sounds very pleasant. Can’t wait to meet him.” You winked at her and she gave you a sweet little smile. You were very curious to hear what she had to say.

The waitress came back to take your orders. You and your dad got your usuals, Jonathan got a hamburger, El and Will got hot dogs, and Joyce got soup.

“You guys should try the rice pudding afterwards, it’s really good!” You told them and your dad rolled his eyes. “It is!”

“Pudding with rice in it?” El asked.

“Seriously, you gotta have some.” You told her. “I love it cold with cinnamon on it.” Your cousins were staring at you curiously. “C’mon, if you don’t eat it, I will.”

“Darlene loved her rice pudding.” Joyce chuckled. “You know, you look just like her.”

“I tell y/n that every day.” Your dad said. “It’s the eyes, I swear.”

“And the nose.” Joyce added.

“Oh, yeah.” Your dad agreed. The waitress came with rice pudding for everyone but your dad. Joyce ate it without a question, she had it every holiday with your grandma growing up. Your cousins (including El) stared at it hesitantly, then each took a bite. Jonathan remembered eating it once and hating it. Will spit it out. El took a second bite.

“Like it, El?” You asked.

“Not bad.” She actually managed to finish it.

“Sweet.” You did the same. “Anyone wanna make brownies tonight, or something?”

“Me!” El lit up. You were happy that she was warming up to you so fast.

“Sounds like a plan, we’ll make them from scratch.”

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lil-demi-boy · 3 years

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[BOOP] You've been BOOP'd! Gush about your 5 newest f/o's and your 5 oldest f/o's and pass the BOOP to 5 other self shippers!

Oh wow 10 whole gushes, I’ll go ahead n put this under a read more

I don’t fully remember who I’ve added in what order, but I know Jaime, Haemon, Ross, and Tybalt are new, and though I’ve had Hizashi for a while, I wanna talk about him too

So CL and I have made some more recent stuff about Jaime and Dan, like their first kiss being accidental- Like they trip into each other and make contact, but once they realize what just happened, they’re both v flustered and blooshy and require a good 5 minutes to calm down Though when they do finally kiss for realsies, it’s rly soft and sweet ;v; The slow burn is to die for n I love it

Haemon’s backstory has been expanded too! We figured he’d be from a rich family, though he’d have the type of parents who would get him what he wanted so he’d stay out of their hair. Unfortunately this gave him a complex, so now he tends to throw a fit when he doesn’t get what he wants, especially if he wants someone to date him- so that was fun to work out

As for Ross, he was originally called Chris P. by me n CL but then I was in the Eddsworld Patreon AMA (I got to talk to the real Bing and Matt and I’m still giddy abt it-) they said that Chris is actually named and modeled after a friend of theirs named Ross, so that character is just called Ross. I like his skeleton arm and taste in chicken.

Tybalt was one of my first islanders in Animal Crossing New Horizons! He and Tabby were so sweet to me when I first arrived, and though I don’t usually go for the jock types, Tybalt was always just so sweet and encouraging to me, I couldn’t help but fall in love with him ;v;

And Hizashi (aka Present Mic) has been on my list for a while, but I saw a comic of him recently that just made me fall deeper for him and really think about a relationship with him. He’s a DJ and clearly likes music, and music is one of my hyperfixations, so we would just be able to geek out about our favorite songs and make each other mixtapes and playlists and such,, he goode

As for oldest, if I can remember correctly, I believe they’re TP Link, Danny Fenton, Manny Rivera, Randy Cunningham, and N

Twilight Princess Link occupied my head rent free for years when I was younger- I’d take the TP guide book to school and read it over and over again, getting every bit of lore that I could from it, I’d draw Link all over the place, my proudest drawing at the time being when I tried to draw him in a certain pose from the book (and it impressed everyone around me, which was a Great Feeling). Nowadays I just admire him and am thankful for his existence

Danny Fenton was one that my mom would tease me about bc it was very obvious I had it bad for him when I was a kid. To the point I watched it any time it was on and wound up watching every episode without having to look them up- I just watched them when they came on and happened to catch them all (I also don’t get the hate for Phantom Planet like,,, they turned Earth invisible, that’s badass) Now I ship with him in an AU where he aged with me, so he’s 31 at this point. I’m still working on the AU though so I don’t have a lot of details in it aside from the fact that it’s a crossover AU with the rest of the Secret Trio + Manny from El Tigre

Speaking of which, Manny was another favorite of mine as a kid- I loved watching the show and drawing him and looking up cool AMVs n such once I got access to the internet. I always thought he and Frieda would be fun to be friends and hang out with Now in the Secret Trio AU, he’s 27, and although he does have a super hero alter ego, he’s not part of the team. Mostly because his identity isn’t a secret; everyone knows he’s El Tigre

Randy Cunningham was a later edition due to his show not coming out until 2012. Even then, I was so excited for it- I was fresh in an Invader Zim phase and I heard that Jhonen Vasquez did the character designs n such for the show, so ofc I had to watch it. And I loved it; Ben Schwartz’s voice and the stupid stuff Randy does and says just made me fall for him p much instantly. He’s probably one of the characters I drew the most ship art of at the time, now that I think about it In the current AU, he’s my age, 22 (I legit was stoked to be in the 9th grade at the same time as him, granted my school didn’t have a Tim Curry demon underneath it or a ninja to protect it but y’know) so he’s the youngest of the trio

And N I admittedly didn’t do a lot with when I was younger, I just kinda held on to him over the years. He’s really genuine and sweet though, and going on those ferris wheel rides with him in Black was something I dreamt of often =u=

Well this was super long- if you made it this far, thank you for reading all of that cause lord knows you didn’t have to

#thank you so much for the ask!!!#i don't usually get to gush like this ;u;#zombie [jaime]#[haemon]#[ross]#[tybalt]#talk too much [hizashi]#legend of steel [link]#[danny]#[manny]#go big or go home [randy]#run with the hunted [n]#Anonymous

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logh-icebergs · 7 years

Text

Episode 17: Before the Storm

January 797/488. As the Yang fleet settles into their new home on Iserlohn, Reinhard (and Oberstein) concoct a scheme to keep the Alliance out of their hair while they’re busy seizing power: plant a bitter, drunken, disgraced Alliance commander among two million prisoners of war they offer to exchange, armed with a sheaf of paper outlining apparently foolproof instructions for instigating a military coup d'etat. Despite immediately seeing through this plan, Yang can’t stop the exchange, so has to content himself with confiding his suspicions to Bucock. Kircheis visits Iserlohn to conduct the prisoner exchange, filling the fortress with dangerous levels of sexual energy, as literally no one (except Yang) can shut up about how hot he is.

Julian Explains It All

Can you believe it’s been a whole year since we started? Well, a year in-universe that is: It’s January of UC 797, a year since the Battle of Astate; and for no one is the passage of time more exciting than Julian, who at the age of almost-fifteen-thank-you-very-much is soooo much more grown up than the babyfaced thirteen-year-old we first saw making Yang tea back in episode 3—or so he is eager to believe.

“I’ll be fourteen-and-five-sixths later this week, Kircheis-kakka!”

This line and the line above deftly show Julian’s impatience to project himself into the future; the amazingly grown-up second in command of the entire Imperial fleet is after all not *so* much older than him.

Having talked his way into coming along to Iserlohn, Julian now has the official rank of gunzoku (軍属), “civilian in military employ” (if anyone knows a better/less clunky translation of that, let me know!), and gets to do important military things, like…

...taking marksmanship lessons from the leader of the Rosen Ritter—sweet, that’s pretty badass!—and...

...uh, right, also still making Yang tea actually. Of course.

Julian keeps a diary for the first several months of his time on Iserlohn, written by Tanaka as one of the side stories to the novels; and in fact some of the dialogue in this episode comes from that diary rather than the novels themselves. While of course the stories are not Official Icebergs Canon, episode 17 is the only Alliance episode that takes place fully during the time span of the diary, and Icebergs-canon or not the diary is too fucking adorable for me to resist peppering this post with quotes from it. It’s never been officially translated into English, so all translations are by me.

On Yang

“I accidentally only wrote about Yang so far. I should write about myself a bit.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, first entry, p. 12

Julian’s world revolves entirely around Yang. This has never been subtle: From the way he styles his clothes and body language to exactly match Yang’s, to his desire to emulate him by becoming a soldier, to his expression literally every time he looks at him, Julian’s idolization of Yang has been clear from the moment we first saw him.

As Elizabeth mentioned, Julian wears his heart on his sleeve; his expressions are almost always a clear window into his emotions, especially in a shot like this where no one is looking at him. That tiny smile as Yang grumbles about the party they just fled conveys so much affection.

The beautiful thing that happens when you stop relying on narrative shortcuts to define relationships is that the variety of different relationships you can depict blossoms into an infinite array. Julian and Yang’s situation certainly seems to defy simple description: Yang is Julian’s legal guardian; but as I’ve discussed, the language and affect Julian adopts around him are more those of an official subordinate of some kind than family, and indeed in his diary Julian uses words like “orderly” (従卒) or “disciple” (弟子) to refer to his role in Yang’s life. Between the two of them, Julian is both the caretaker and the protector: In episode 10 we saw him try to sooth Yang’s sour mood with tea, as well as rush to defend him physically when he’s attacked.

This gif will absolutely never get old.

Now that Julian’s older and stronger and discovering a talent for physical combat that Yang completely lacks, he’s even more eager to officially take on the role of protector/bodyguard. But there’s an awkward mismatch between Julian’s sincere desire to play this important (and adult) role, and Yang’s very “aww how cute” reactions.

Julian's aspirations get no help from the fansubbers' choice of translation for koitsu; I'd go with a simple "you..." here personally.

This “go keep watch” gimmick is so transparently a way to get rid of Julian for a few minutes that the seriousness of Julian’s nod breaks my heart a little.

Julian’s worship of Yang at this stage of his life is many things: overly intense in that way that emotions are at the age of I’ll-be-fifteen-this-year; more than a little unhealthy; and totally adorable. It’s unclear right now whether Julian himself sees his feelings as a crush; given his general lack of self-consciousness about it, my read is that he doesn’t. But it’s the sort of proto-crush/obsession that could easily become romantically tinged as he continues to grow up.

"Yang sucks at 3D chess." —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 68

On Frederica (...and also Yang)

As we follow Julian around Iserlohn early in the episode we find him accosting Frederica while she’s washing dishes, which means it’s time to introduce the Yang-Bechdel Test! Elizabeth has been using the Reinhard-Bechdel Test to measure whether Kircheis ever actually thinks about Annerose without simultaneously thinking of Reinhard (spoiler: he does not). Along the same lines, if we put Julian and Frederica in a room together, it’s not hard to guess the topic of conversation to which they will gravitate.

Here Julian seeks Frederica out to pick her memory about the events nine years ago on El Facil that launched Yang into his uncomfortable position of fame, and they end up giggling together over Yang’s lack of commanding presence, and speculating on how his life would have gone if he hadn’t become famous.

Like other El Facil flashbacks, this was redrawn for the DVD version to deny us this amazing vision of Yang choking on a sandwich. (Julian is speaking here.)

Bonding with Frederica by discussing Yang serves multiple purposes for Julian: He gets some insight into Yang’s past, since she met him many years before Julian did; and like his interest in Yang’s plans with Jessica in Thernusen, it lets him keep an eye on Yang’s potential love life. The friendship between Julian and Frederica is very sweet, but we’ll be continuing to keep track of how often they actually pass the Yang-Bechdel Test.

On Kircheis (and Dusty) (...and also Yang)

“The person standing at the front looked astonishingly good in the splendid Imperial uniform of metal on black fabric. He seemed about 30cm taller than me, towering above everyone else. Under his unusually red hair, his youthful face was both handsome and gentle. This was High Admiral Siegfried Kircheis.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 181

The Main Event of this episode is the prisoner exchange, the first direct contact we see between the Empire and the Alliance where no one is shooting at each other. From the moment Kircheis steps off of the Barbarossa (which must be making all the Alliance ships in the dock feel rather bad about themselves), all anyone in the whole fortress seems able to talk about is how attractive he is, starting with Dusty’s not-so-subtle dreamy gaze:

Along with Julian, Dusty’s expressions are usually quite transparent. Here he reacts to the other admirals’ shock at his mooning over an enemy commander with deflection, but come on. Dusty. We saw you.

After Julian and then Frederica both comment that Kircheis is super handsome, even Poplan and Schenkopp get in on the discussion, in an exchange the anime team felt was important enough to snag out of the diary.

“It may have been an attempt at modesty for Poplan that he didn’t say not as good-looking as himself. Perhaps due to their age difference, what Schenkopp said was more shameless.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 183-184. (Nah Julian, it’s just that Reinhard is so hot that even Poplan’s comfortable admitting it out loud.)

Okay to be fair, here we also see Julian and Frederica bond over how handsome Kircheis is and uh, how gay Poplan is...I guess that passes the test?

At the actual ceremony, a collection of NPC officers get in on the fun of staring in awe at Kircheis, but of course Julian and Dusty have front-row seats.

In a small-scale version of the technique we’ve seen before of drawing parallels to heteronormative relationships, the random women whispering in the background are repeating almost verbatim what Julian and Dusty both said just moments ago; we’re even focusing on Julian and Dusty in the foreground of the shot, as they gaze up at Kircheis. We get it, anime team, sheesh.

On his way out of the room, Kircheis notices Julian and speaks to him, or in Julian’s own words…

“As High Admiral Kircheis, who had been saying something to Admiral Yang, was exiting the room, the gaze from his blue eyes suddenly rested on me. He had a pleasant, kind voice. [...] I worked hard to keep my voice calm.”

“With a smile, High Admiral Kircheis turned his tall figure and walked away from me. I stood for a while in a daze. I couldn’t believe the second in command of the enemy fleet actually talked to me.”

“I felt strangely unsteady below the knees, like I was standing on a floor made of jelly. If Admiral Attenborough hadn’t pushed my shoulder, I might have just stood in the emptying assembly hall forever.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 182-183

I’m supposed to be doing incisive, below-the-surface analysis here, but the anime team made my job pretty pointless in this case. Even without the diary commentary, between Julian’s dazzled expressions and Dusty’s blatant teasing, there’s nothing to say here except that I agree guys: Kircheis is uhh, the real deal.

But if you’re worried, like Dusty, that Julian’s loyalty might actually be tested by his newfound infatuation, fear not; at the end of the day, Julian knows where his real affections lie.

“Anyway, isn’t everyone forgetting our own representative? Admiral Yang isn’t as dashing as High Admiral Kircheis, but his completely natural, unforced manners and expressions were really charming. [...] Even if Admiral Yang were to come face to face with Marquis Lohengramm, he would calmly maintain his composure and his own pace. I’m sure of it. For me, Admiral Yang is number one, always. So what Admiral Attenborough said when he pushed me, umm—I’d called it a ‘needless anxiety,’ totally impossible. Although, if Admiral Yang himself defected, that’s a different story.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 184

The Secret World of Paul von Oberstein

Meanwhile on Odin, bathed in dramatic sunset hues streaming through arched columns, Oberstein continues to find that (for some reason he still can’t entirely fathom) Reinhard’s treatment of Kircheis is the one topic on which his opinion is not welcome.

Echoing their very first interaction, in which Reinhard refused Oberstein’s request for Kircheis to leave the room (until Kircheis himself offered to comply), here Oberstein suggests that promoting Kircheis to second in command creates too much inequality among the admirals. Ever the utilitarian, Oberstein believes in using each person in the most logical and expedient way; promoting Kircheis above the other admirals, especially when Kircheis is clearly displeased with some of their recent strategies, goes against his sense of order.

Until now, Reinhard has held onto the belief that he can use Oberstein’s Machiavellianism to accomplish certain goals, while simultaneously maintaining his privileged working (and otherwise) relationship with Kircheis. But this is a delicate balancing act—Oberstein is less willing to drop his objections to a “number two” position among the admiralty than Reinhard anticipated, and Kircheis’s discomfort with Oberstein’s methods hasn’t abated even after the demonstrated success of Amlitzer.

Not surprisingly, it’s Oberstein who finally pushes Reinhard to snap and finds himself on the receiving end of some harsh words. Reinhard still doesn’t give in to any of Oberstein’s Kircheis-related demands, but his nerves are visibly frayed, and it’s clear that the fragile peace between the three of them can only last so long. Because this is LoGH and things are never simple when they can be headache-inducingly nuanced, Reinhard isn’t on his way to a trite “choose him or me” ultimatum—but there’s no doubt that he can no longer ignore the ever-widening chasm between his two closest advisors.

Stray Tidbits

The worldbuilding at the beginning of the episode is amazing, showing us around the many sides of the giant floating sphere that is Iserlohn. The fortress holds three million civilians, which is kind of weird—was there continuity in those civilian communities even as the fortress changed hands from the Empire to the Alliance? ...In any case, the “Gone with the Sun” movie poster is one of my favorite random background details. I also like how we get to see the main control room still under construction.

Julian, dear, you know I love you, but what in god’s name are you wearing? Is that like, a light purple sweatsuit? With a blue and yellow jacket? I support your fashion experiments but this one is a miss.

Keep the bag and shoes though, they’re working.

Yang reacting to coffee is everything. *shakes fist at DVD remasters*

“There is no coffee in our house. Even if we have guests who are on team coffee, Yang just gleefully makes them drink black tea.” —Julian’s Iserlohn Diary, p. 70

Yang and Kircheis interacting in person is a breathtaking moment, for the audience as well as for Julian. Reinhard and Yang have clearly admired each other as tacticians from the start, but Kircheis brings a more personal angle, actually articulating a wish that they could have been friends. Hmm do you think maybe this show thinks war is…...bad?

You need this Schenkopp gif in your life.

#Legend of Galactic Heroes #Legend of the Galactic Heroes #author: Rebecca #Alliance #Iserlohn #Julian #Yang #Frederica #Dusty #Kircheis #Oberstein #Julian's Iserlohn Diary #Yang-Bechdel Test #real deal

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dantediscoversfic · 7 years

Text

Chapter 11: Las dos Fridas

I wanted to meet Ari’s parents. But I soon realized I’d probably have to invite myself over since Ari had yet to suggest we go over to his house after one of our swimming lessons. It made sense, since my house was so much closer to the pool. It took him about 15 minutes to walk from his house and mine was half a block away. But still, I was curious to meet his family and see where he lived.

I wanted to see the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes every morning. What was his room like? What books did he have? What photos and posters were on the walls? What color was his toothbrush? Did his room smell like him? Did he look more like his mom or his dad? I knew his mom was a teacher and his dad was a mailman and that he had two older sisters, but that’s about all I knew about his family. And I wanted to know everything there was to know about Aristotle Mendoza and how he became the boy I couldn’t wait to see every day at the pool.

So one day after a swimming lesson, I told him I wanted to come over to his house and asked if that was ok. He didn’t look at me like I was a lunatic but he wasn’t exactly jumping up and down at the idea either.

“When?” he asked.

“I dunno. Later today?”

“Why?”

“I want to see where you come from.”

“I come from El Paso.”

“You know what I mean. You’ve met my dad and seen my house and my room, so it’s only a fair trade.”

He smiled at that and I knew I’d won him over. “Ok,” he said. “But my dad doesn’t get off work 'til 4:00pm. So if you want to meet him you should come over around then.”

“Ok. Deal.”

We walked to my house and said good-bye. It was nice to say good-bye knowing I’d see him again in just a few hours.

I told my dad I was going over to Ari’s house later that day to meet his parents and maybe stay for dinner. He suggested I bring them a gift. That’s the type of thing I never would have thought of and I’m glad my dad did because I wanted Ari’s parents to like me.

“What sort of gift?” I asked. “Like flowers? Or chocolates?”

“Flowers would be nice for his mother, and chocolate is universally accepted as one of the best presents a person can offer, but let’s see if there’s something a bit more personal you could bring them.”

“Personal?”

“Something that comes a little more from the heart.”

“Like what?”

“Something aligned with their interests, perhaps.”

“Well, all I really know is that his mom teaches and his dad’s a mailman.”

“And they’re Mexican, yes?”

“Yeah, well, the same way that you and Mom and I are Mexican, I guess.”

“I mean, Ari’s grandparents were born in Mexico?”

“Yeah.”

“How about you bring them the book Mexican Painters? Do they like art?”

“I’m not sure. Ari’s never said. The only art we’ve really talked about yet is comic book art.”

“Bring that book over to them. I think they’ll like it.”

“Ok, thanks, Dad.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went into the living room to take the book from its normal spot on our coffee table. I paged through it. I liked how thick and creamy the paper was. I liked how it smelled, too, if that makes any sense. Different types of books have different smells.

I looked for a long time at painting by Frida Kahlo called Las dos Fridas. It's a double self-portrait and a pretty badass painting. There are two of her sitting side by side with their hands clasped in the middle; behind them a stormy sky swirls ominously. The Frida on the right’s heart is outside of her body and connected by a long red vein to the Frida on the left. You can see straight through to her bones and muscles inside the empty cavity where her heart should be. She’s holding a pair of scissors in her lap and her white skirt is blood-stained. I read about how the painting was made the same year she divorced Diego Rivera, also a painter. The Frida on the right is holding a tiny painting of him.

If I were going to make a painting called The Two Dante's, I wondered what I would paint myself doing, holding or wearing. My heart has never been broken like Frida’s was when she painted this. But I think I understood the sadness even though I’d luckily never felt anything quite like it. I thought about why I used to want people to call me Dan and not Dante. I thought about not quite fitting in here at school or with my cousins in LA and Mexico. I thought about the Dante I kept a secret and the Dante I was around everyone else, including my parents and Ari.

I picked up the book. It was heavy. I liked that. It made the gift feel significant and I wanted it to be.

I went back to my dad’s office. “Should I wrap it? The book, I mean?”

My dad smiled. “I think you can bring it as is.”

“Ok, cool.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Don’t be. They’ll love you.”

“Thanks, Dad."

I took a shower and even borrowed a little bit of my dad’s cologne. I spent a few hours reading and drawing (I sketched out some ideas for The Two Dante's but didn’t quite like any of them) and then it was time to go over to Ari’s. I walked over instead of skateboarding because I had the art book with me and I wanted to keep looking at it during the walk over. I wondered what it was like to paint a huge mural like one of Diego Rivera’s; how long did it take, did he have helpers or did he paint the whole thing himself? Maybe my parents would take Ari and I to Mexico City sometime to see them in real life? I wondered if my mom and dad would let me paint a mural on the wall of my room someday. I liked the idea of an underwater scene with a colorful coral reef and sunlight filtering in through turquoise ripples and waves.

Ari’s house was ranch style, with stones and cacti in the yard instead of grass. He was lucky, no lawn mowing duty like me.

I knocked on the door and Ari let me in.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. We have a strict ‘No shirt, No shoes, No service’ policy here, so keep those suckers on,” he said and pointed to my shoes. I knew he was joking. He loved teasing me about my thing about not liking to keep my shoes on. I didn’t mind the teasing.

“Ok, I’ll keep them on just this once. Because I like you.”

His parents were both in the kitchen and he led me to them. His mom was cooking and his dad was reading the paper.

“I’m Dante Quintana,” I announced.

“He taught me how to swim,” Ari said. I thought maybe he was a little embarrassed about this, but I wasn’t sure why. “You said don’t drown—so I found someone to help me keep my promise.”

I realized this was possibly the first they’d heard of me. I tried to not let this new knowledge hurt my feelings.

I shook his dad’s hand and gave him the art book. “I brought you a gift.”

Ari’s dad wiped his hands on a napkin before opening the book up, even though they weren’t dirty to begin with. His mom peered over his shoulder at the book as he leafed through it. Both were smiling, which made me feel good. I liked their kitchen. It smelled like onions and garlic simmering in butter, which made my mouth water. I looked at Ari’s parents’ faces, trying to discern which features Ari had inherited from each of them. He had his mother’s full lips and well defined cheekbones but other than that I thought he took after his dad. They both hunched their shoulders the same way.

Ari’s dad looked up from the book and said, “Dante, this is really very generous, but I don’t think I can accept it.”

His parents looked at each other. My mind started racing. Maybe it was too fancy a gift? Would chocolates have been better after all? I could tell he liked the book, though, and I wanted him to keep it. “It’s about Mexican art. So you have to take it. My parents didn’t want me to come over here empty-handed. So you have to take it.” I wasn’t sure if guilt-tripping them into accepting my gift was the best route but I had to try, didn’t I?

Ari’s mom took the book and looked it over. “It’s a beautiful book. Thank you, Dante.”

“You should thank my dad. It was his idea.”

Ari’s dad smiled and said, “Thank your father for me, will you, Dante?”

Ari touched my shoulder. He looked…disconcerted. For the second time in less than five minutes, I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling. “Let’s go to my room.”

I thought Ari’s room would be crammed and over-run with clothes, books and comics like my room usually was. But it was entirely opposite of that. Sparse. Empty. Almost like what I imagined a prison cell would be like. But not sad or scary like a prison cell. Just blank like that.

“There’s nothing in your room,” I said.

“There’s a bed, a clock radio, a rocking chair, a bookcase, some books. That’s not nothing.”

“Nothing on the walls.”

“I took down my posters.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t like them.”

“You’re like a monk.”

(That seemed like a better way of describing his room than a prison cell).

“Yeah, Aristotle the monk.”

I pictured Ari in a long brown robe, sort of like Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. I guess I didn't know what modern day monks would wear. Monk fashion probably had no need to evolve since the 1300s.

“Don’t you have hobbies?”

“Sure. Staring at the blank walls.”

“Maybe you’ll be a priest.”

He sat down on his bed. “You have to believe in God to be a priest.”

“You don’t believe in God? Not even a little?”

“Maybe a little. But not a lot.”

This was new information to me. We hadn’t really had a chance to talk about God or spirituality yet. Coming here was making me realize that Ari was much more of an enigma than I had realized.

“So you’re an agnostic?”

“Sure. A Catholic agnostic.”

That was such a typically Ari thing to say that I started laughing out of pure relief.

“I didn’t say it to be funny,” he said with a kind of pout that made me smile even more.

“I know. But it is funny.”

“Do you think it’s bad—to doubt?”

I sat down on the bed next to him. It creaked a little and sagged under our combined weight so that we both sort of slid a little toward the center. “No. I think it’s smart.”

“I don’t think I’m so smart. Not like you, Dante.”

I hated the look he got in his eye right then, his warm brown eyes clouded over by self-doubt and self-deprecation. Ari was good at hiding that side of him. I’d seen it the very first day I saw him fend off those bike kids, how easy it was for him to put up a tough front. Now, in his empty room, with just the sunlight slanting in, casting half of his face in light and the other in shadow, it was like I could see both sides of him clearly: The Two Ari's.

“You are smart, Ari. Very smart. And anyway, being smart isn’t everything. People just make fun of you. My dad says it’s alright if people make fun of you. You know what he said to me? He said, ‘Dante, you’re an intellectual. That’s who you are. Don’t be ashamed of that.’”

We looked at each other. He jerked his head forward in the way he always did and the fringe of his hair covered over his eyes. Not for the first time I wished I could run my hands through his hair and sweep his bangs off to the side for him.

“Ari, I’m trying not to be ashamed.”

We were both quiet. He picked a little fuzz off his blanket. It was an afghan, hand-knit. I wondered if someone in his family had knit it for him. I had a white afghan my abuela had made for me as a baby blanket. I kept it in my memory box with my favorite stuffed animals and other mementos my mom knew I'd want to have when I was a grown up.

“So, when do I get to see pictures of baby Ari?” I asked.

He snorted. “Dream on. Not gonna happen.”

“What? There are pictures of me all over my house. I show you mine, you show me yours. Fair is fair, right?”

“I burned all the baby albums before you got here.”

“Liar.”

“Ok, you’re right. I buried them instead. Here, let me just get out the treasure map.”

#ari and dante fic #aaddtsotu

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