Nah, no need to play this one coyly: despite there being only about three years' difference in their ages, Shirley's more like a surrogate mother figure (or at least a very mom-like big sister) to Lucchini. She's there because she's worried as hell, they're very close; but not in that way.

>--Lucchini, after all, has made it a point to
>not grow up, and I'm not sure Shirley has expressed an interest in
>either gender on camera yet

Canonically, I can't recall any particular evidence of bias in either direction on Shirley's part. She seems to be Too Busy For That generally, albeit not in a driven-self-denial sort of way; she's just doin' other stuff. Lacking official direction (or even much in the way of insinuation) on this point, I'm proceeding under the assumption that she's a 1 or 2 on the Kinsey scale and just happens to be on a show where men are mostly invisible. :)

>--but her monumental fuckup in the last
>installment might get her to grow up a little if anything can...
>
>I'd say it's about time.

That was, in fact, one of the notions behind the development of that segment, although, obviously, it's nowhere near played out yet. The trick is to let her grow without losing what makes her who she is in the process. Stay tuned.

>Also, Neuroi-chan. I have no notion what the manga says about the
>Neuroi, but I doubt they'll come up with an explanation half as good
>as what we'll eventually see in this story. But the parallels with the
>Fleet of Fog are...undeniable, aren't they?

In fairness, there are only so many ways to play the inscrutable-semi-polymorphous-alien-blowin'-stuff-up-machine card. :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.