it's for a bacteriology thesis, clearly

Nino is all about that sealife motif

I like the terns

"you're the best!" after a simple unremarkable action, when all her life Mani felt she has to prove the value of her existence.
"you are quite reliable, after all" when most of Nino's life is about lying before being lied to, it makes him believe he has a future and community

... but that's where the worldbuilding and spice(lol) is

it's also poverty-to-poverty communication (also canon) (both are the author's projection)

20/20
Fin.