There we were, pondering the remains of a vanquished pizza before turning our attentions to the supercritical cake-shaped mass of chocolate menacing us from the center of the table. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the conversation that kept the kids there, but they were making a good show of it.

It’s also times like these when you get the nerve to ask things, things you feel like you ought to know about your friends, but somehow, never had the nerve to ask. Devon decided it was time:

“So,” she began, “I’m kind of embarrassed, but I have to ask…” 

Emmy smiled reassuringly. “Yes?”

Devon hesitated, but regained her composure and blurted it out: “Ninjas or Pirates?”

Emmy didn’t bat an eye: “Ninjas. In a second.”

“Ninjas or Samurai?”

“Ninjas. Duh.”

Another pause.

“Ninjas or unicorns?” We’d skipped right over the whole zombies-vs-unicorns thing. Clearly that was too 2010.

“Ninjas.” Emmy was starting to look bored.

“Care Bears?”

“What? Versus Ninjas?” This time she had to think, but came down on the side of Ninjas again.

Mike and I decided to weigh in – we weren’t so sure. I mean, ninjas have throwing stars and all, but Care Bears have a range weapon. They could just set up a perimeter and hold it. There wasn’t a lot of literature on the respective ranges of throwing stars vs rainbows, though, which would make all the difference.

Jill called time-out for some clarification on the whole Care Bear rainbow thing. You see, according to Wikipedia, 

Caution: contemplating the semantic implications of a “stare” emanating from one’s “tummy” may be hazardous to your health. Don’t do it.

So then, Teletubbies – where did they fit in? What did they radiate from the TVs in their bellies, and how would they do against zombies?

At some point, I’m sad to say, the conversation turned silly. There was mention of a Barbie vs My Little Pony cage match, and somehow tribbles came into the conversation. Fortunately, the chocolate kicked in shortly after, and I don’t remember much else.