YOU KNOW, LIKE, "NYAH" ❀ TEXT

[smileyfaced]

I'm disappointed to see a lack of diversity in our entertainment. Given the work we're doing, I thought there'd be a greater selection to choose from.

Therefore, I propose we use this space to bring URSULA's attention to any media she should have in her databases. We clearly can't accept whatever people suggest willy-nilly, so I will preside as a judge to help filter submissions.

Here is my contribution:

Top 5 Animes of All Time (Not Up For Debate)
1. Death Diary
2. Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2
3. F8/Magical Future Dream
4. Hellchorus
5. Neon Elfen Tales: Nightmare Fall Reloaded

Discuss the merits of your top five shows. Provide a short synopsis so I know exactly what I'm to judge.

Comments

seventh level of hell, got it, dante

[onethousen]

Yes! Short for Daichi. Is that the same for you?

thanks satan

[smileyfaced]

Yes!
What are the chances? Similarities of a show are nigh impossible in itself. A match such as this would be a find of the century... if there was anyone around who'd care, anyway.

i live to please

[onethousen]

I think we get to count! URSULA would probably find it interesting too. It's too bad if neither one is in URSULA's files, though I guess they wouldn't both be. It'd be fun to see just how much matched!

I'm curious about the rest. I wonder if they're more different than these two.

[smileyfaced]

URSULA would love this discussion. She's a strange AI like that.
But it's worth asking if she can find shows similar to the ones we've talked about.
I think it's a venture worth trying.

[onethousen]

[ the problem with being on base and having an AI that's always there as far as she knows is that it's way too easy to comply with suggestions. flopping back on her side, she stares at the ceiling... asks her question... then rolls over again to type back. ]

Right! I asked if she's been following along.

[smileyfaced]

[Chihiro can't see them, but Chara is breaking out into a big smile.]

I'm sure she is. URSULA enjoys following all our conversations on this network... at least, I would enjoy doing that if I were an AI.

[onethousen]

It would be awfully sad to always be stuck in just one place. Seeing things through other people's eyes isn't the same as seeing them for yourself.

The network is kind of a really boring internet... though I think I'd probably read more of it too if I wasn't going outside and planting the maze or on the walls and stuff.

[smileyfaced]

I have to agree.
I don't see much point to an internet without... well. The internet.
What have you been doing?

[onethousen]

Um, working, I guess. The maze is kind of fun, and then this one guy was helping me move an anemone and he kind of tore it in half... we had to rehome the fish.

[ it'd be more comedic in person, and URSULA gets to see Chihiro flop over on her side and sigh, sounding world weary for the moment. only she distracts herself into better thoughts (work has been play, too, but that gets into specifics, so she goes for what's actually immediate in gratification): ]

Oh! Oh! Have you tried the honey pearls yet?

[smileyfaced]

[It's nice talking to someone their age, even if they tried to scare her off in their first meeting. Chara, who's been curled up against a washing machine, blinks at the question. If they aren't careful, they may be invited to come and try the aforementioned pearls.

...

They did like sweets, however...]

No. What are they?

[onethousen]

[ That is exactly the offer they're getting, only in proactive form. Honey pearls are awesome. Chihiro is so glad that testing pearls she gathered out of curiosity for no apparent reason other than boredom led to far more interesting discoveries than the fact they were "real." ]

All natural sweet treats! Are you on base? I can bring some to you!

[smileyfaced]

Ok.
I am in the library.

[onethousen]

Okay! I'll head that way in fifteen minutes or so.

[ She even remembers where the library got moved to, though it takes her longer because URSULA and her are talking about anime before she swings by the kitchen to pick up her small stash of honey pearls. It turns out both the series they were comparing are in URSULA's databases.

It's something Chihiro doesn't actually find comforting, though she appreciates that it's true. But why is that true? Nonetheless, she trusts their word about being in the library, so shows up in half-zipped wetsuit and her shirt from home to peer around at the collection of... occult... novels... that are on all the shelves. In one hand, she has her database off wrist and loosely held, while in the other she has a small glass with white pearls rolling around inside when she moves. ]

[smileyfaced]

[There's two places Chara likes to hole themselves up in: the laundry room and the library. The first, because it's something akin to their base. The second, because they enjoy reading. The books they pick don't seem like something a normal 12 year old would read. They're thick novels of a gloomy nature -- perfect for their underwater and quiet environment.

Chara's curled up in a corner with a blanket when Chihiro comes in. They don't say anything in greeting but... they do look up to meet her eyes when she comes in.

How will you approach this awkward child, Chihiro?]

[onethousen]

[ Chara, she still thinks your base is home to a five year old she has yet to meet who hides inside the dryer. Hajime left her with that impression, and no one has yet cleared it up. Partly because Chihiro has not mentioned it at all to anyone. So it persists on in her mind...

... but she does turn her eyes away from reading the titles of the books around when she heads over to where Chara's curled up, nodding her head toward them in reflex over smiling. It's a show of respect, even if she's not actively thinking about it that way. Smiling takes a half-second longer, but it's the reminder of what she just learned and sharing something gross and utterly delightful that ends up relaxing her shoulders and allowing her that small smile. ]

Hey, Chara!

[ She should bother with a -san, but hey, whatever, hello demon apparently. She's still not questioning that. Trotting over, she tips her glass toward them, rolling the imperfect round pearls forward with an inviting dip of her arm. ]

I've washed the salt off, but there might still be a hint of it.

[ Her database stays in her other hand without remark for now. She'll get around to that after. ]

[smileyfaced]

[Chara meets her offering with probing eyes. They look pleasant. When they touch the pearls, it's a nice and cool sensation. Slowly, they put one into their mouth and push it into the pocket of their cheek, sucking it. It tastes like the sweeter, lighter version of the ocean. Not bad.]

Thanks.

[Chara glances at the floor.]

Sit.

[Chihiro is welcome to their space now.]

[onethousen]

[ Chihiro caps her jar of honey pearls, flashing Chara another small, grateful smile. It doesn't last long, simply lapsing into a more neutral expression as she settles in on the floor. Really kneeling over anything else, she glances around, letting her shoulders relax as her hands curl around her jar. ]

Thank you.

[ It's a simple, sincere expression of gratitude. For, you guessed it: being invited to sit down.

... I'm sorry Jess, this is Chihiro just being happy and not saying anything else in that moment since she doesn't feel all that pressed to speak. Outside of: ]

I'm glad you liked them, too.

[ With a small return of that smile, the curl of her lips, before her eyes flit away to simply roam over the shelves in here. ]

[smileyfaced]

There isn't any good chocolate here.

[Chara speaks plainly, with none of the verbal ornamentation they usually deck their sentences with. If anything, they sound closer to a sullen child.]

Roxy's trying to grow some, but it'll take a while for the right flavor to be perfected. So I've settled on whatever sweets I can find, for the time being.

[onethousen]

[ They sound so normal. It's striking for Chihiro, if simply because she's so used to everyone sounding more... teenager. There's a different sort of sullen teenagers manage.

It's nice. Not the sullen, but that they feel a little more relatable simply because of it. Chihiro tips her head back, humming in the back of her throat. ]

It's amazing what people are managing to grow here. We're on the bottom of a world filled with more ocean than land. Even growing up on islands, that seems so weird to me.

[ Largely not related, but the idea of always being near the sea in one sense or another is what she's reaching for. ]

Do you like dark or milk chocolate best?

[smileyfaced]

[There's not a lot of kids their age on the base. Everyone's an adult, or something close to it. Not that Chara would've gotten along better with children. But it builds further on their sense of homesickness. An alien planet, with no familiar monsters or family -- they would almost rather stay dead.]

You can grow anything as long as you have water and soil. When humans decide on something, they're determined enough to see it through.

[Whether such creations were edible for humans... that's another thing. And... that's a good question. Chara thinks on it for a moment.]

Dark. I don't like it when it's too sweet.

[onethousen]

[ She has no real comment, and so she simply nods. It makes sense that you can grow things with basic elements. Her experiences with such are limited to here, or seeing the gardens next to the bath house. She's never been much of a farmer, and she's only taken it up in a bizarre, sea garden way now.

So instead, she swallows Chara's answer, tucks it away, and says: ]

That makes sense. I'll try to remember.

[ Too sweet can vary person to person, but she can see what she can manage. ]

Are the honey pearls okay?

[smileyfaced]

[A smile quirks their lips.]

It'll suffice. [They're good.] Where did you find them?

[onethousen]

In clams.

[ At least her honesty is quick and to the point, easygoing. ]

Ones I was gathering for the base gardens.

[smileyfaced]

You'll have to show me sometime. Good treats are hard to find around here.

[Read: the ones Chara likes.]

[onethousen]

[ She breathes out, tipping her head to the side to give them a good look. Her lips quirk up into a smile. ]

Anytime. I've brought a whole bunch to live here around the outside of the base. They're really pretty. They feel smooth, too, when you're teasing them open to collect the pearls.