: Re: Casually inserting sexual orientation EDIT: Many people who are attempting to answer this question are severely misinterpreting the circumstances and setting of the book, so here is some information

@Holmes449

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So how can I believably and casually show that Eris swings both ways ...
EDITED: After clarification from the OP, my first example won't work; the protagonists are too young (~16). However, the answer is roughly the same:
Casually! Have a conversation between Eris and Caspian, or Eris and a friend. And (in the modern world), I'd put aside the "confusion", teenagers in a modern secular city understand same-sex attraction just fine.
An Example: At 16/17 I assume the characters are juniors in high school, eleventh grade in the USA. This would be set in a private conversation, although walking together outdoors is private enough. I put this after a first kiss; for modern times that might be on a first date. If this is the most intimate they've each been with another, that would justify their willingness to be open.

Caspian asked, "Have you ever kissed before? I mean, before me."
"No. Until I met you, my biggest crush was on Elly in the eighth grade. I had dreams about kissing that girl."
Caspian laughed. "Oh, wow. Well, we have that in common. Did you dream about me?"
"Yes. A lot. Have you kissed anybody? Before me?"
"You are my first. I mean besides dreams."
Eris laughed. "Well, it's hard for me to compete with dreams."
"Not so hard," Caspian said. "It's like if you never had ice cream and you keep dreaming about having ice cream, and then you really have ice cream, it's a million times better than you could imagine. I'll choose the real you any day."

Again, the conversation is casual romantic talk. Caspian is only casually surprised Eris admits to her biggest crush being on a girl, and Eris doesn't hesitate to reveal that fact.
The final sentence actually foreshadows the later triangle. Caspian means it in a romantic sense, but Eris has already revealed her dreams of hooking up with Elly, so applied to that, Caspian's assertion that reality can far exceed her dream of a same-sex relationship will, in some sense, come to pass. She will fall in love with Marina.

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