subnautica | [OPEN MINGLE: SEPT 8-16]

[ The totally normal strength of a ten year old is mighty indeed... but only when buoyed by water. ]

... If you like?

[ She's not going to turn down assistance when freely offered, so here, have the sea star offered out toward him. He'll find it's not that heavy, because of its thin nature, but "not that" is relative to, you know. Carrying a blanket of about equivalent mass. ]

I'm bringing this one to come live around the base. The whole place seems to feel better when it's got more of nature kind of in touch with it.

[ Oh no, it's -- not actually heavy at all. Well. Now he feels a little bit silly, but he's not going to take back the offer. He does at least try to gather up all those long spindly arms as best he can, if only to keep himself from tripping over them. ]

Ehh, so -- we're taking this to the labs? [ That's the only place he knows of off the top of his head where there's nonhuma-- non-crewmember life. He still remembers that tiger plant from his first day. ] Or d'you have somewhere else in mind?

[ She cants her head to the side, looking upward to think about where it would be best placed... really, what aesthetic sense does she have? (Whatever she throws together, to be honest.) ]

I was thinking outside, near the lower levels? You know, where you can kind of see out to where the base is attached to the ocean floor.

So, like part of the scenery... like we're setting up an underwater garden? Look outside, and there's something to look at other than just water?

[ Maybe zoo is a better word for it, but even knowing that a sea star is an animal, it's not like they particularly act the part. The one in Nagisa's arms isn't putting up any real sort of fight. ]

In that case, maybe we should get at least two...

[ Her nod is accompanied by a thoughtful glance to the sea star in his arms. Her plan had been to bring at least three back... it'll be much quicker if she's not hauling these giants on her own. Plus it's an opportunity to spend time around someone else, which appeals to her not wanting to be alone and isolated. (She likes being near the base with all the moving and restructuring going on.) ]

Two or even more... maybe three or seven? There's more than enough room, I think. Plus they come in different colours.

[ If you have at least two, there will probably be more than two eventually, probably... but maybe let's not say that to the 10 year old. (And never mind Nagisa is only a few years older.) Instead he nods, pondering their options. ]

We can start with three, and see how that looks? If it seems too empty, there's always the option of going back for more. But we don't wanna crowd them too much, either.

[ Wow, she understands the facts of life! She just, well, doesn't care about how they pertain to people. It's largely unimportant to her life goals at the moment. That and she has no idea how quick or slow a sea star reproduces anyway. Alien sea stars... even more of an unknown! ]

Mm! Three is a good number. We can get this one settled in, then go back for the other two. Is that okay?

[ There is a time and a place to discuss biology and now is not the time. Not that Nagisa knows how Earth sea stars reproduce. The important thing here, though, is the project at hand. ]

That's fine -- we can get an idea of the layout if we do that. Maybe we'll find something else to add while we're out there too.

[ That merits a sharp nod of her head. He's making nice, reasonable suggestions, which is an immense relief to a ten year old who doesn't want to have to make all the suggestions on her own. ]

Okay! Let me show you where I was going earlier...

[ Ultimately she'll lead him outside the base to the region she'd been thinking would be good sea star hangouts. Near sand, where they could feed, by the parts of the base that secured it to the seabed, and near where edible waste could be placed back out as food for the living garden, once it's planted. ... Okay, she's not so sure about that part, but it might work. Maybe. ]

What do you think about right around here? Sea stars seem to like climbing things back home, when they weren't just in the tidepools by the shore.

[ He looks the place over: it's clear she's been thinking about it, and it seems only fair to give it the same consideration. It's not like he knows much about sea stars in general -- he'll trust that they'll be able to find their own food, wherever they're put. ]

This looks good... we could probably bring some rocks over too? If we leave them here and they start climbing on the base itself, they won't be as visible from the windows. [ Except maybe as long tentacles over the windows, which seems less than ideal. ] Big ones, so there's lots of room.

[ How is a different story. There was that one guy who was thinking about building tanks, maybe they could ask him. ]

[ Chihiro nods, liking the suggestions. Though huh... ]

If they want to climb on the base, that's okay. I kind of want some things doing that? The dreams.... that whole dream world. Have you been in it?

[ Getting sidelined asking after one source of her inspiration behind her sudden uptick in gardening activities. ]

I think you're right about moving rocks over. Is there anyone you have in mind? We could probably ask over the database, too, to not interrupt people's thoughts... though it doesn't need to happen right away. People are busy getting the base in order like the architect is asking.

Dream world? [ That probably answers that.

But for her question, he ends up just shrugging a little. ] I met a guy who was building stuff -- he was tinkering with jet-skis, he'd probably be able to make something.

[ And also, it'd probably be a good way to redirect that guy's energies before he actually tries fusing a human and a tank and create some frankenstein centank thing. ]

Maybe sketch it out first, so you have an idea of what you want the end to look like.

It's an interesting place. Things look different there than when we're awake, of course, but it makes sense when you're dreaming.

[ Which of course it does, but that's a terrible explanation of no help whatsoever. She's not sure which guy he's talking about, but that's because she knows of at least three guys who tinker with machines. #multitudes ]

Hm... Is there a way of sketching on the database, or do we have paper for that stuff on base?

[ At least we don't have to worry about SkyNet here. ...well, probably we don't. ]

Ah -- about that --

[ Because Nagisa's learned to never go anywhere without his trusty notebook, even when he thinks he's going on some top-secret field trip slash mission. He digs it out, along with a pen, and holds these out. ]

There should still be about half of it left.

[ Is this when we learn Ishmael the robot has a friend called SkyNet... his offer has her perking up, reaching out to accept the pen and marveling at how he managed all that and the sea star — making it look relatively easy! (At times she's easily impressed.) ]

Really? Are you sure?

[ She has to check, regardless of having accepted the notebook. ]

[ SkyNet, the great white whale to the robot Ishmael, ]

It's fine, really. I'll figure something out if I need more pages after you're done.

[ If she flips through it while looking for the blanks, she's going to see a very strange < A HREF="http://classwarfare.dreamwidth.org/831.html">list, with probably a lot more than what's on that link. ]

[ Leaving us with the immortal question of... But Who Is Ahab? ]

Mm, thank you! I'll make sure to use only what's necessary.

[ What an odd list of words and phrases to come across... her eyes skim over part of it as she looks for the first blank page to carefully pull out. Maybe he's involved in a long term research project about...

... nope, she's got no idea. Carefully pulling out a page, she picks up the pencil and closes the notebook to use the harder back to start sketching. It's rough, and she's no expert when it comes to artistry, but she's fairly accurate in getting the basic idea down on paper. ]

What do you think of something like this?

[ Turning to show him what she's sketched out. ]

Edited 2016-09-27 04:19 (UTC)

[ He leans to take a look. It's not like he's any real judge of architecture or layouts himself, but as long as the roughly similar shapes are there, it's at least something he can figure out by looking at it. Hm. ]

Here-- may I?

[ He takes the pen back to make a few adjustments. Maybe curve the garden a bit more here, maybe leave a little extra room for any more sea stars there, and that's about it. ]

I think it's a good start. We can probably adjust if we need to as we go.

[ She observes as he makes his suggested changes, nodding as he goes. It all looks reasonable to her, and better thought through than her initial rough sketch. ]

That's what I've been needing to do outside. You're right, it'll work out for us. Maybe we can put the first sea star over here?

[ She reaches out and taps on the page; one of the locations that requires the least amount of moving things around on their parts. ]

That works! Want to now?

[ He's a lot more cheerful with a plan, that's for sure. And he's all for less juggling around of the sea star's long dangling arms; if nothing else, it seems like a good idea to do less work for the first one and look it over, rather than do a lot of pointless extra busywork. ]

Mm!

[ A quick nod of her head, setting off like that's all one needed to do in order to prep this poor sea star for its new home and chill-space. Which by now may not be inaccurate. ]

Thank you for helping with all of this.

I'm glad to!

[ He kind of blurts it, then looks sheepish as he follows her. ]

I feel like I've been kind of just kicking my feet since I got here. It's nice to be able do something.

Mm! I thought I was alone feeling that way. It's nice to know I'm not.

[ Though with a look back up at him, she offers: ]

Um, the work here is probably going to take more than just days. Weeks, even. Is that... If it's anything you're interested in, it'd be nice to have the help, sometimes.

[ He brightens a little, as much as he's trying to stay polite. ]

--I'd be interested! I mean. I'd definitely feel bad if I just helped this once and never again, and it really would be nice to have something to do...

[ Something that's not just kind of idly planning assassination plans in an unfamiliar space. ]

[ She relaxes, her pleasure spontaneous and without guise or attempt to hold back. ]

Great! That's such a relief...

[ She flashes him a big smile. ]

I was worried I'd be trying to do most of this on my own. I'd do my best, but it goes a lot faster with friends helping too. Then we can both help design how things look. Which is even nicer.

[ That idea that they're building and working as a community, even if this group is presently numbered at two. Chihiro is looking for places and ways to fit in and belong. To her, this is a little piece of that greater sense of belonging. ]

Any suggestions you have are ones I'd really like hearing as we go!

[OPEN MINGLE: SEPT 8-16]

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