#Luigi Toni

[marcogiovenale]

esce il nuovo numero (22) di 'sud'

Esce il numero 22 della rivista “Sud” diretta da Francesco Forlani. Ci sono due racconti inediti di Pascale Privey e Pia Petersen in traduzione italiana (a cura di Luigi Toni). Ci sono alcuni “objets” inediti di Marco Giovenale. Poi tante altre “cose, atlanti, lime, soglie, coppe, chiodi”. Dentro ci sono: Fernando Arrabal, Giuseppe Catenacci (Cento anni di Raffaele La Capria), Gianni Biondillo,…

[pianokantzart]

tongue

[cazzyf1]

This is our last dance

An ode to classic f1

[digitalfountains]

Toni Garrn by Luigi & Iango

- Lui Magazine, December 2015/January 2016

[luigikittykat]

I've decided to draw the Mario Family from the movie, as well as gave some of the members headcanon names!

Here is a non-text version and a couple o close ups

Some other headcanons I've come up with in the cut! (I just copy and pasted what I wrote on DeviantArt)

It's confirmed that Maurizio, Tony and Arthur are brothers, so it's clear that Lucy and Marie married into the family. My headcanon is that Marie married Arthur and had Nicola while Tony is single and ready to mingle. Stefano, along with his deceased wife, were immigrants from Sicily and Southern Italy respectively, making Maurizio, Arthur, and Tony second gen immigrants, and Mario, Luigi and Nicola third gen. Nicola is a little over a decade younger than Mario and Luigi.

I gave Tony green eyes because I thought he had green eyes to match Luigi's appearance in the Mario cartoons, but then realized it was just his glasses lens being tinted yellow. I still like that idea, so I went with it.

My headcanon for this particular piece is that Mario and Luigi's plumbing business became so successful since the incident that they surprised the family with a trip to Sicily...and maaaaybe they also have a few Mushroom Kingdom coins to cover some expenses...hey, gold is gold, right? 

[coffeecat1983]

Drabble Prompt #37: "You have my word" (Nonverbal Mario mini fic)

     "Gio, just give him time, you know he's done this since they were little."      "I know, Mar, but he's a grown man now. He doesn't need to act like a toddler!"

   The words were muffled through the bedroom door but hit as if they had been said to his face. Mario recoiled at the sting, drawing his legs up to his chest as he slid back against his headboard. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the continuing conversation from down the hall.    His mother was right, he had done this since he and Luigi were kids. He couldn't help it. Things just got to be too much and he shut down. It was easy, not speaking aloud when you had a twin who could tell your every thought and feeling even when out of the room.    He cringed, hiding his face as the door creaked, expecting Giovanni to come in and insist he come out for dinner.      "Hey." The soft voice, soothing and ever a comfort made him look up. His little brother came in, shutting the door behind him before going over and sitting on the edge of the bed.      "You okay?"    No.      "TV static again?" Luigi asked gently, putting an arm around his shoulders.    A faint nod. Mario had once described the sensation in his mind when he shut down as a constant, intruding noise like the static on an old TV screen, and the description stuck. Luigi dug in his pocket and pulled out his music player. "Maybe some music?" he suggested. Mario thought it over and shook his head. Even the suggestion of extra sound right now was too much. He leaned against his twin and Luigi held him close, offering comfort as the disagreement down the hall became louder, growing with their father's frustrations.    The sound brought up an old memory Mario fought to keep hidden...

   He was ten-years-old and it was Sunday evening with the family all gathered for dinner. He and Luigi were playing in the living room and could hear the adults talking around the dining room table. Giovanni brought up a phone call from the bros teacher.      "Not talkin' in class, they say he's ignoring the teacher. Luigi's gotta talk for him. It's ridiculous!"      "Ah c'mon Gio," Tony chose his words carefully, "I did that for Art when we were kids, and he started talkin' more on his own once we got older."      "That's different. You're the older brother, you're supposed to watch out for him, But Mario's older, he shouldn't depend so much on Luigi to-"    Padding footsteps interrupted him as Mario ran past and towards the bros room with Luigi right behind him calling for him to wait up.

     "And work? How can he keep up at the wrecking crew like this?" Giovanni's voice broke past the memories.      "Arthur works at the garage just fine." Marianna pointed out.      "Mario's not Art! He's worse!"    A sob and Luigi felt hot tears drip onto his neck. He hugged Mario tighter.      "Don't listen to them, big bro." Luigi began rubbing his back. "They don't know you like I do."    He shifted, making his older brother look him in the eyes.      "I don't care what anyone says, I'll talk for you for as long as you need me to." he gave a faint smile. "You might say, you have my word.”    Mario let out a tearful laugh and hugged him again.    I love you, Lu. And thank you.

END

By "CC"

(written as a test to try my hand at nonverbal Mario)

[multicolour-ink]

Pre Canon prompt:

Mama Mario goes in for her ultrasound and finds out she's having twins.

But when she's shown the sonogram, she sees something that even baffles the technician: how the two fetuses seem to be hugging each other.

She takes the video and shows it to the family, with whatever reactions you want them to have.

And when she comes back for the other ultrasounds, it keeps happening. They may change positions or one may switch to hugging other, but there's always something like that going on.

And then, for the ending, when they're born, I'd LOVE for this to connect to Don’t Let Go, where you mentioned a memory of them seeing each other for the first time.

Request - Non Prompt

Whist I have mentioned I do not do requests, I did want to do this idea very badly, and only if someone sent it as a request. So here we are! Hope you like this @jellyfishinc!

Mentions of babies in the womb and various other pregancy related stuff.

Please note I am not an obstetrician, nor do I know that much about pregnancy or what is normally expected to be seen during an ultrasound, besides what I have read and been told.

Takes place pre-Mario Movie verse.

Mama Mario is called 'Mia' (as is headcanoned by the fandom)

- - -

I've Never Left Your Side

It was quite a joyous occasion, to say the least!

The moment the now soon to be parents had announced that they were expecting, the whole house was filled with the cheers and cries of elation! Marie had hugged Mia, Arthur had burst into tears, while Tony had joked about "getting a hole in one", until his eldest brother had threatened to throw him out the door!

"We must get ready for the new bambino!", said the now soon to be Nonno, who had neither cheered nor cried, but had sat there grinning ear to ear at the news.

Everyone had of course wanted to pitch in. Marie even taking the soon to be parents (and Arthur much to his reluctance) out to the baby stores.

* * *

It wasn't until they had to go to their first scan, at 12 weeks, did things really take a surprise!

"Well", said the obstetrician. "It seems to me everything is looking healthy. And by such wonderful luck, you're having twins!"

He pointed out the two moving shapes on the screen to the still stunned parents. Mia was clutching her husband's hand, her smile instantly wide and tears wetting her cheeks. The man who sat beside her was dumbfounded.

Two babies. Two babies. Who were there as dark shapes on the monitor (later Papa would admit that they looked like jelly beans to him). It was so much to take in.

The obstetrician carefully moved the scanner around on the woman's bump, so the he could get a slightly better look at the twins.

And what he saw made the obstetrician raise an eyebrow. One of the foetuses seemed to be "reaching" for the other, an arm outstretched to the full. The other was also reaching out, but seemingly more timidly. It was as if they were both expecting to hold hands.

""Well, they seem to know the other is there", chuckled the obstetrician. Congratulations you two."

The parents were beaming.

The two hugged each other before they drove back home, and Mia clutched the print of the ultrasound close to her heart the whole way.

* * *

They knew they weren't going to hear the end of it when they told everyone. And as expected, when they made the announcement at dinner, the uproar was tremendous.

Arthur burst out laughing so loud that Marie had to hit him on the back so he wouldn't choke on his wine. Tony spluttered and nudged his older brother.

"Hey he got two holes in one!"

His brother turned very red, and after a quick glance at his wife's expression that told him 'no it wasn't a good idea to consider throwing Tony out onto incoming traffic', he settled down, and informed the family that they would need to get two of everything, and that they would find out the gender on the next scan.

* * *

The next weeks passed by in a blur. Everyone was busy chipping in to provide any necessary means for the babies. As for the expectant mother, she had been surprisingly taking it all in her stride. Despite the occasional nausea and uncomfortableness, she was still beaming through it all. And she would always be rubbing her stomach and talking to the babies quietly when she had down time.

He husband on the other hand, had proven to be quite the mother hen during all this! He would call from work every 2 hours, asking if she was alright, and would promise to bring her whatever she needed. Of course things went a bit too far when he stole the sheets from all of the family beds, and was not able to replace them on account of the fact he had stolen every other piece of bedding from the cupboard.

It also didn't help that his work colleagues had frightened him with tales of their own children's births, and stuff about blood, and other terrifying things that could happen. Naturally they were just playing around, but it had frightened the soon to be father so much, that it took a call to the obstetrician to debunk these ridiculous claims. He had calmed down after that. A little.

He came back from work one day to find his wife sitting on the couch, her hands pressed gently on her tummy, smiling fondly.

She smiled up at him as he came in.

"Come feel", she whispered.

He eagerly came over. Sitting beside her, he gently pressed his larger palm onto her stomach. Instantly, he felt the tiny patter of movement, and his eyes shone.

His wife took a look at the first ultrasound photo.

"Do you think they will get along?", she asked.

He hesitated, unsure how to reply. But before he could think of anything, she turned to him and grinned.

"I think they will", she said. "I think they love each other already.

He husband smiled back and took her in his arms.

* * *

The second, and last, scan was to be more nerve-racking.

"Looks like everything is going smoothly", said the obstetrician as he moved the scanner around.

"This is the baby that will be born first", he said, pointing to the screen. "A bit bigger than the other, but not too much difference."

Then he suddenly frowned.

"That's...a little unusual", he said.

The parents leaned forward. What they saw was an extraordinary sight. The two babies, now at 24 weeks and not yet fully developed, seemed to be pressed against each other. The larger twin, for as tight as the room in there was, had its head angled in a way that its forehead was very close to the other twin's. The smaller twin in turn, was snuggled close to their sibling.

As the three of them watched, the smaller twin began to squirm, almost like they were having a bad dream. But the larger twin (to their astonishment) raised a hand and moved it slowly and carefully against the space near its twin's head. And all at once, the smaller twin became still and calm.

The three adults in the room were silent. Then Mia turned to her husband, and he knew immediately what she was thinking.

"They won't be able to feel each other", explained the obstetrician. "I doubt they are even aware of each other's touch yet. It's more likely the shared space and weight of each other they are aware of."

"Please can we take a copy with us?", the woman pleaded.

"Of course, smiled the obstetrician.

"Would you be able to tell us the gender?", Papa blurted out, almost forgetting in the rush of excitement.

"Certainly!", replied the obstetrician.

He ran some more scans, took some readings, then he turned to the expectant parents.

"Well", he said, his smile gentle. "You two are having twin boys."

* * *

The lead up to the birth was yet another blur. As soon as the whole household was aware that twin boys were arriving, the excitement was even more abuzz.

Mia had taken to spending the last months of her pregnancy making matching hats for her sons. One red, one green. Both with initials for the chosen names the parents (and by extension the rest of the family) had agreed on.

Her husband had come back from work one evening to find her once again working on this project.

"You need to rest", he fretted. "The doctor said you need your strength when...", he trailed off.

"I'm fine", Mia laughed. "I am tired, but I will go to bed as soon as I finish this stitching."

Her husband sat across from her. He continued to watch as she sewed the initial (an M) on the red hat.

"I wonder what they will be like", he said. A smile crept under his moustache.

Mia stopped her work, and put her hand onto her stomach. She closed her eyes, then opened them again with a content sigh.

"I think...they'll have each other."

Her husband frowned. Then he spotted the printout of the last scan lying beside her.

He hesitated.

"The doctor did say that they can't really feel each other. I mean...it is unusual. But one of the guys at work...well he was saying that his friend had twins and...well they didn't get along. They still don't. I mean, they are siblings, they get along like that, but they were different...and..."

"Whatever they are like", said Mia, dragging her husband out of his thoughts, "Whatever they choose to be as people, we will love them. And I know they will love each other."

She held out her hand. She couldn't lean forward now due to her vast stomach, so her husband leaned forward instead, and gently clasped her hand in his own.

She rubbed her stomach again

"I just...have this feeling. I feel like...they know each other already..."

Her husband didn't have anything else to add, and just sat with her in content silence.

* * *

The new papa was crying.

His sons. Their sons, were perfect.

After many hours of labour and frantic panic, they were here. Lying side by side in their mother's arms, sleeping peacefully.

"They're beautiful", Mia cried, as her husband gently stroked his large finger down each of the twin's cheeks.

"And they have each other", her husband smiled.

Both the twins seemed to stir. Then very slowly, they opened their eyes for the first time, and peered at each other.

Neither parent could ever say what kind of exchange was happening between them, but as the babies smiled and took each other in, they seemed to say

"Hi. I know you."

[aviscranio]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

[anomaly1003]

Gotta give the uncles some love too ❤️💛💙

Canon or not, Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur are twins in my book!

[dragon-fly34]

//~Super Mario Roleswap AU~// (Facts and Headcanons)

-Peach and Daisy are cousins, but many people ask if they are sisters, that's why their business is called Peach sisters.

-When Teressa (Tatanga) kidnapped Luigi, she didn't want to take the mushroom kingdom, because she knew that Bowsetta (Bowser) loved Mario and wanted the mushroom kingdom, so she chose Sarasaland.

-Mario and Luigi's family has a real monarchy, meaning their father rules the Mushroom Kingdom, Uncle Arthur rules Sarasaland and Uncle Tony rules the Flower Kingdom.

-King Boo is the only one who doesn't change gender in this AU, he switches places with Hellen Gravely, so they are called Queen Hellen and Boo.

-When the brothers were 6 years old, that's when Bowsette (Bowser) met Mario and fell in love with him.

-Before Teressa met Luigi, she was already a childhood friend of Bowsetta.

-Waluigi loves Piranha plants, he has had one in his observatory since he arrived in the galaxies.

-Queen Hellen has the power to turn people into statues (She turned Peach into a statue 3 times).

-When someone talks bad about Peach, Daisy immediately becomes angry. But when it's with Daisy, Peach can end the person right away.

[marcogiovenale]

"la scrittura multiforme di emilio villa": a breve l’articolo di luigi toni su طِرْسْ Terss.

da https://t.ly/gUu2 Français ci-dessous النصّ العربيّ أسفله La scrittura multiforme del critico e poeta Emilio Villa è sempre stata all’insegna dell’opera nell’azione e non nella rappresentazione. La parola non deve ripetere l’opera, duplicarla, ma accettare il caos della creazione. L’arte è vitalità e differenza, libertà della creazione e dalle resistenze che le si oppongono. L’arte o è libertà…

[pianokantzart]

hi! Do you have any screenshots of the dinner scene of the mario movie? or that other scene where they experience the table shaking during breakfast? :)

I'm all over it

[tigers-eyes-26]

Aftermath Chapter 2

The front door of the apartment opened. The boys’ mama announced to Peach, “Benvenuta a Casa nostra. Welcome to our home!” A little girl with a pink hat ran out of the kitchen. She looked behind the group of relatives expectantly. Her face fell when it was only Princess Peach who had come to the house.

“Where’s the gorilla?! The giant turtles!? Or the mushroom people?!”

“They decided to stay behind.” The Princess explained.

“Aw nuts!” the girl crossed her arms disappointed. She returned to the Kitchen.

The Princess raised her eyebrow at the exchange.

“That’s just Marilyn our baby cousin, once she gets to know you more, she will think you are cool.”

Mario and Luigi hung their hats and took off their gloves. Peach took off her gloves too. She felt so overdressed. In the living room was their Nonno.

“No. no?”

“Ah no, hehe Nonno. It means grandfather.” Luigi explained.

Everyone in the family stopped to give him a kiss on the cheek before they dispersed to the kitchen and other places in the house. He was watching TV, the news blared loudly at him. He hardly acknowledged the greetings of the family. Peach wondered if he could even see with his bushy white eyebrows. Luigi turned the TV off and yelled into his Nono’s ear. “QUESTA E PEACH!”

The elderly man swatted Luigi, “non imprecare contro di me!” he chastised.

“NO! IL SUO NOME E PEACH!” Luigi gestured to Peach.

“Le Ragazza in bianco?”

“SI!” The brothers both exclaimed.

The elderly man raised his eyebrows and finally focused on what was going around him. He looked at Peach in her wedding dress with Mario at her side. Peach smiled and waved unsure if she should do anything else. The old man gestured at Mario incredulously. “Tis tai per sposare?? E NON ME L’HAI DETTO!?”  Peach jumped when the old man started to yell.

Mario waived both his hands to dismiss whatever his Nonno had said. “No! LEI E SOLO UN’AMICA!”

the old man scoffed. “Amica…” he gestured for Peach to come closer. She did. Nonno grabbed her face and pulled her closer so he could see her. Peach squeaked in surprise. “Bellissima.” He commented. Once his inspection was done, he looked at Mario. “Faresti melglio a sposarla, nipote.” Mario rolled his eyes at his grandfather. The Patriarch of the family grabbed one of Peach’s hands and shook it heartily. “Benvenuta alla casa nostra!”

“Um…” she cleared her throat. “THANK YOU…. IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU!”

He gave her a smile and shooed them off to the dining room.

Peach leaned over to Mario. “Did he understand me?”

Mario smirked. “He knows English. He had to to get a job here. He used to be a boxing coach. He’s just old and doesn’t wanna anymore.”

Marie, their red-headed aunt rushed out of the kitchen into the dining room to meet Peach. “Cognata told me you need a change of clothes.” She eyed Peach up and down. “Yeah, you are about my size.” She took Peach by the arm and guided her upstairs. They passed a dark room, “That’s the boys room.” Then walked through another door. It had a queen bed and a pink twin bed. The red headed woman opened a closet and started to dig. Peach was loaned a simple light purple sundress. “I only wear this on Easter Sundays so you can borrow it.” She also was given some white and pink tennis shoes. “After having a kid, I hardly have time to go for a run.”

Coming down from the stairs Peach saw the brothers lying on the couch their Nonno nowhere to be seen. “Good” she thought “they need rest.”

Over dinner Peach was placed in between Mario and Luigi. There were questions fired back and forth. Peach wanted to know everything about this world and the family, and they wanted to get to know her and test her. With how much chatter was going on it was amazing that anyone finished their plate. But they did the food was just too good not to finish.

After dinner Mario tried to gather some plates. His mom stopped him. “No. no. no. three have done too much today. Off to bed with you!”

Peach was allowed to take a shower first, in the small bathroom that was in between Arthur’s family bedroom and the brother’s bedroom. She was loaned a large red T-shirt with Brooklyn written on the front and some gym shorts to sleep in.

Peach was given Marilyn’s bed. Marilyn would sleep with her mother and her father Arthur would sleep on the family room couch. Peach learned that on the third floor was the brother’s parent’s room, then Uncle Tony and Nonno shared a room. She was told it was because Tony and Nonno snored the loudest.  

It was all quite cozy and quaint. Peach thought about the brother’s family and about the many toads who had raised her. She thought about how the colors differed from her world and this one. She thought about how nothing floated in the air. There wasn’t any magic or power ups to help the people out of the crumbling houses. Her head was so full of thoughts that the buzzing lulled her asleep.

Princess Peach woke up to amazing smells. How long had she slept? Her surroundings were unfamiliar, but as she woke up more, she remembered the events of yesterday. She got dressed in the purple sundress and headed downstairs. Nonno was again set in front of the TV. She could hear someone cleaning dishes in the kitchen. In the dining room food was set out but no one was at the table. The rest of the family had probably gone off to work or school. She wondered how long she had slept.

“OH! Sit down Princessa. Eat!” The brother’s mom paused doing the dishes and came out with a kettle of hot water. “I didn’t know if you drink tea or coffee. I have both.”

“Thank you” Peach sat down. “Tea please.” The matriarch poured them both tea and sat down with Peach.

“Did you sleep good?”

“Yes, thank you for letting me into your house.”

“Well of course! Any friend of my boys is welcome here anytime….. except maybe Jimmy Rossi he’s a punk!”

Peach smiled thinking about the life the boys had before going down the warp pipe. Peach asked about their lives and their mother happily got out a photobook and gushed about them. About an hour into the enlightening conversation there was a creak indicating someone was coming down the stairs. Mario and Luigi sleepily joined the table. Their mother went to brew some coffee for them.

“Hey what have you got there?” Luigi commented on the book Peach held. She quickly held it up to her chest to hide its contents from the boys. Only the outside of the book had the words ‘Mario and Luigi’s Photos’

Mario slung his head back and placed his hands over his face. “MAAaaaa! Have you been sharing embarrassing stories again?!”

“The Princessa wanted to know how you two grew up!” She defended.

The family members went back and forth in Italian. Peach smiled and placed the photobook on her lap. She placed a hand on both the boys’ shoulders. “It’s ok I did ask. I won’t tell anyone about these stories.”

Mario pointed a finger at her. “If you tell DK I’m dead! He would never let me live it down!”

“I won’t tell DK I promise” she held up one hand while the other one over her heart.

“You can’t even tell Toad!”

Peach faltered a little. “But he would love to hear all about your childhood!”

“But he’s a motor mouth the whole kingdom would know by the end of the day!”

Peach held both her hands up in a diplomatic way. “How about you tell me the stories I can share. My toads will want to know about their new heroes after all.”

Mario slumped down and crossed his arms. “Fine.”

Peach took the photo book from her lap and laid it on the table so all could see.

They continued story telling as they cleaned up breakfast. The boys got ready for the day, they kissed their mom and Nonno goodbye and the three of them headed back to the disaster site.

Peach got an update from Toad and DK that the night was quiet. None of the surrendered army tried to escape and the first responders had gotten the last person out of the rubble. None tried to trespass the roped off area during the night.

The two then asked how Peaches night was. Toad was jumping up and down with excitement and DK wanted to know if their family was as embarrassing as Mario was. The only reply she could give them before diving back into her duties was “It was nice.”

The two groaned. “You gotta give us more than that Princess!”

She smiled. “Later maybe.” With that she walked toward one of the neighborhood leaders to ask how his people were doing.

----------

Author’s notes: Also sorry for the Italian I do not know Italian, I know Tagalog. If there is anything I need to change please let me know.

Chapter 1:

[digitalfountains]

Toni Garrn by Luigi & Iango

- Lui Magazine, December 2015/January 2016

[reggiejworkshop]

Inktober 2023: (Days 29 through 31)

meant to post these last night, but these are the last few Inktober pieces to do this month!

As fun as it was working on all of these pieces, it feels so good to finally be able to be done with this challenge.

And funny enough, for once, I had several more prompt ideas I had planned on doing but hadn't gotten around to. I might end up drawing those as extras later this month. Hope you all enjoyed these!

[coffeecat1983]

Prompt #77 "There's nothing wrong with you." (Selectively Mute Mario mini fic)

A gift for @stripetkattelalala54 who gave the idea of Arthur teaching Mario sign language. I do hope to build on this AU even further.

#77 “There is nothing wrong with you.”

   It was the 4th of July and the family had gathered on the rooftop to have a BBQ and watch the fireworks. Steaks sizzled on the grill as Giovanni carefully tended to them, adding his secret seasonings. At the same time he was keeping watch on his sons.    Mario and Luigi were seated on a picnic blanket with their food and a board game had been set up. Giovanni's oldest kept hesitating and looking up at the sky.      "He's nervous, huh?" Tony said as he joined Giovanni.      "Yeah. I don't know how this is gonna go. With Luigi afraid of storms and Mario doesn't like loud noises as it is, ah, maybe I shouldn't have suggested they come out this year."    Folding his arms, Tony thought it over. "Lu likes fireworks though, he's been out with em before. Maybe seein' him be brave will help Mario."    As if on cue, someone set off a whistling firecracker. The sound screeched in the night air with the resulting popping echoing like gunfire off the buildings, Mario dropped the board game piece and clapped his hands over his ears.

   A streak of yellow and white shot past the men at the grill. Kneeling, Arthur held his arms out and Mario latched on to him, hiding his face in the brightly checkered shirt.      "Easy, kid, easy." the rough voice was a comfort as another firecracker went off. Turning to Luigi, his free hand moving as he spoke.      "Okay?"    The younger nephew paused and remembering what he had been taught, spoke and motioned with his fist.      "Yes." While it was true Arthur was selectively mute just as Mario was, he had lost his hearing entirely in one ear, and partially in the other from a childhood illness. It was thought this was the illness that also gave him his rough voice, having scarred his vocal cords.    Taking two fingers, he tapped on Mario's shoulder to make him look up at him. Getting up, Arthur guided him over to the railing and kneeled again. He pointed up to the sky then tapped Mario again, his signal to get his attention.    Making a new motion the young boy hadn't seen before, he spoke.      "Fireworks." he said. "Loud. Pretty like Christmas lights." His nephew took this in. He liked Christmas, the decorations were pleasing to look at and he loved the lights the most.      "Fireworks are loud." he said, trying to mimic the sign Arthur had just showed him. He knew loud, he had learned that easily when spending the night with his bro at the twins basement apartment. With Arthur playing the stereo and teaching them to feel the vibrations in their feet and hands, it was signed many times over and the bros picked it up quickly.

   The show at the river began. Luigi raced over and the two held on to each other, neither looking up as more fireworks went off. Arthur let out a low chuckle and as Tony wandered over, he tapped their shoulders.      "Look up. You'll like it." Arthur said without signing.    It was Luigi who dared to look up first. His quiet 'whoa' made Mario look up and the two stood, transfixed as colors and light danced in the sky.      "Neat, aren't they?" Tony spoke and signed, long ago having learned how with his twin.      "Pretty." Mario signed, too memorized to say it out loud. The twins stood, Tony putting an arm around his little brother as they looked up together with the bros still sitting at their feet.       "Brings back memories," Salvatore said as he watched them. "Good to see my little troubles helping the boys."      "I just wish Mario wasn't like this." Giovanni said.       "Don't ever let me catch you telling Mario that you wish that." Salvatore said, a hint of anger and pain in his voice.     "It's not like I don't love my boys, Papa! But I remember how hard it was on Art, how hard it still is." Giovanni said. "I just, I don't understand why this happens, and why both are like this. You know he's going to ask someday, ask why others aren't like him." Giovanni rubbed at his temples. "Then what? What do I say?"    Salvatore looked to the little group, remembering when Arthur had come to him.      "Papa, they call me bad names at school. Am I broken, like teacher says?"      "Then you tell him the same thing I told Arthur. 'There is nothing wrong with you'."

END

By "CC"