and then they fell. [rakuen revolution opening post]

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

Ah, I remember now. It's... a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her. The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess. No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep. Mechanical, monotonous.

"Next stop: Rakuen City. This train terminates here. The next stop is Rakuen. All change." The train rocks steadily as it winds its way through white drifts of now. Sunlight streams through the window, heating the air and making the seats almost uncomfortably warm. A puff of steam from the train winds its way lazily past the windows when the wind is right.

It's strangely difficult to shake off the sleep; the rhythm of the train seems to lull you back into slumber and the air is warm and heavy, making it hard to keep hold of a thought. Finally, though, the nausea settles, the last of the dream fades and you can take in your surroundings. And, perhaps more importantly, those around you in a similar state.

"We have arrived at Rakuen City. All passengers must leave the train. This train is terminating here. This is Rakuen."

Comments

[hugling]

[okay maybe holding hands is not... the best idea. Teddy lets go, but he leaves his hand right next to Sollux's on the seat, in case he changes his mind.]

Cool. Where are you from?

[sciioniic]

[withdraws his hand kind of gratefully]

[shrugs]

Alternia. Which you'd probably know if you'd ever been invaded by us, so I'm guessing you're from a totally different plane of reality, or something.

[hugling]

[he just wants to help]

Yeah, I guess so. I'm from earth. Mostly. I mean, I grew up there.

[sciioniic]

[huh.]

That's the humans' planet, right?

[hugling]

[kind of shrugs.]

Well, people who aren't human live there too. But mostly it's humans, yeah.

[sciioniic]

Oh, really? I wasn't really paying much attention when we, uh... [he shrugs again.] Are you a human?

[hugling]

Nah, I'm an alien. Or, two different aliens. I was raised as a human, though. It's a little complicated. What do you call yourselves on Alternia?

[sciioniic]

I'm a troll, and I'm pretty sure humans are aliens too, but OK, whatever.

– Wait, two different aliens? What does that even mean?

[hugling]

[Teddy takes a deep breath. He wouldn't normally get into this much detail, but the kid with the gray skin seems less likely to be weirded out by his ridiculously confusing life story.]

Not on Earth they're not. But, uh. My birth mother was a Skrull, and my father was Kree, and then my mother had one of her attendants smuggle me away after I... hatched, and I grew up on Earth.

By the way, where I come from trolls usually live under bridges. Or on the internet.

[sciioniic]

[blinks]

[pointlessly]

OK, I have no idea what a father is. Is that some kind of alien thing? Like your other genetic donor or something?

[hugling]

[can you even blink without eyeballs]

Uh, yeah. Do you guys not have parents?

[sciioniic]

[not very well.]

Uhh, yeah, but not like ... wait, are parents, like, a ... reproduction thing, for your species?

[his facial expression suggests that he finds this idea weird and kind of repellent.]

[hugling]

Uh, well, mostly? I mean they're both pretty... war-based cultures, really big on the conquering, so maybe not the most, you know, the nicest parents, generally. And humans are really big on family, it's a huge deal.

[sciioniic]

... Yeah, trolls were pretty big on conquering too. But we used to just be raised by lusii. Like, these big monsters that you have to take care of once you start getting more competent at basic household tasks than they are. Eheheh. Not that that takes all that long.

[hugling]

Huh. That's... pretty different. Some humans adopt babies and raise them instead of their biological parents. And not everyone has two parents, lots of people on Earth have one or zero or like, four or five, because they get divorced and stuff. But everyone has to have two... genetic donors, I guess. Unless you're a clone.

[sciioniic]

[blank look]

Huh. Okay. Well, I guess technically I'm a clone, but most trolls are spawned from the mother grub's vast genetic slurry... [he trails off and grimaces a little...]

[hugling]

Vast genetic... slurry. [also grimaces.] That's, um. That's... great? Uhhhh.

[he is trying really hard to be culturally sensitive but. ewwwwwwww.]

[sciioniic]

[Sollux really does not seem offended. He shrugs.]

Yeah, it's pretty gross.

[hugling]

I guess I'm not really one to talk, human reproduction is really gross too. And Skrulls lay eggs, which is just. [more grimacing.] Maybe all reproduction is just destined to be super disgusting.

[sciioniic]

Eheheh, I guess so. Aren't humans, like, mammals? That's got to be seriously awful.

[VIVIPAROUS MAMMAL REPRODUCTION? EW.]

[hugling]

Yeah, it's... um. I had to watch a video when I was in ninth grade, and I'm basically scarred for life. Do they have the movie Alien on Alternia? It's like that.

[D:]