[You can practically hear the shudder in his voice.]
When two trollth fuck- gender doethn't matter- we put the genetic material produced into a pail. That'sth then given to an Imperial drone, which ith not a bee, and the drone taketh it to the Mother Grub.
The Mother Grub then taketh all the genetic material in, thwirls it around in her a bit, and then produceth eggth with it which hatch into grubth. The grubth then have to thurvive getting out of the breeding cavernth and are picked up by a luthuth- eth thound there- which ith a kind of wild animal which varieth depending on the grub. Eventually, the grub pupateth and they look more like the trollth you thee around here.
[Might as well explain the whole thing, after all.]
[Silence. Dead silence. That's because Bruce is staring in horror at the opposite wall, completely and utterly unable to find words. Wait. Maybe he's not understanding this.]
You.. have sex, put your.. 'genetic material' into a bucket, then give it to a large grub who turns it somehow into an egg, while you're trying to get out of some sort of suicidally dangerous caverns. And your troll babies are born as grubs -- right, your race is insect based-- and you call us inefficient!?
[It's actually kind of funny to listen to that stunned silence, but at least Psii has the presence of mind not to laugh right now.]
At leatht our procreation ithn't limited to male and femaleth, and we don't have to thee the rethult for the retht of our liveth let alone carry it in our own bodieth. Thtill creepy, Bruce! And the Mother Grub taketh in everyone'th genetic material at the thame time and layth a lot of eggth, not jutht one.
...The cavernth are thort of dumb, but, well. A lot of people think if you don't thurvive them, you weren't meant to go far anyway. They get made into jelly and paint and thtuff.
...I think... we're just going to have to say that both of our races have very different methods of breeding, both which have upsides and downsides, and leave it at that.
[That is Bruce being incredibly diplomatic right there!]
Maybe if you think about it this way, we just don't have a... grub-period outside of the egg, which is the mother. Baby humans look fairly similar to adults except in size. They have fingers and toes and hair and limbs.
[YEP DISTINCTLY HORRIFIED NOW. He almost doesn't catch that question.]
Oh, uh... Thorry, I don't actually know. It wath never really important to know, you know? Not for me or the majority of trollth. It'sh too far back for me to remember, either. You have to have your firtht pupation, 'tho, where you grow up and have fingerth and crap.
[Something occurs to him, and there's the sound of snapping fingers.]
Dolorotha would know! Actually, probably any jadeblood, but definitely Dolo.
Yeah. Jadebloodth are conthidered midblooded, but they're altho about ath rare ath any highblood. Becauthe of that, they're bathically cornered into one role- taking care of the Mother Grub and watching over the eggth.
[There's an awkward pause, and then, a bit sulkily but trying not to be-]
[...oh. Bruce feels a bolt of guilt run through him as he realizes that he had misheard through the lisp. Damn it. He really didn't mean to insult Psii like that or embarrass him.]
Dolorosa. I... that's my fault, I misheard over the phone. Do you have her number you could send me? I'd like to speak to her, when I have a chance. [And to meet more of the trolls as well. He's only met the pair of them and he finds it quite fascinating.]
I didn't realize that a jadeblood would end up sort of their own rank due to their rarity. It seems on first glance that it would range somewhere just in the middle and that was it.
Then I hope you never get to tell me about her. [Not wanting any more of Psii's friends to be brought here. It's terrible, somehow worse when friends and family are brought into this hell.]
It's... still something that I'm getting used to. I lived someone with a caste system before, but I was born into a free world that doesn't. It's still difficult to wrap my mind around.
[His tone is suddenly firm about this, almost aggressive in a way. There'a a pause, and he sighs a bit.]
Ath fucked up ath everything ith here... It'sh thtill better than back home for me and my friendth. And I'd rather have her here where me and Di could be there for her.
[This... this is better than their home? The very idea sinks into Bruce and leaves a bad taste in his mouth, that the torture and hell that is the Box still could be better than someone's home.]
I... I'm sorry. This shouldn't be better than anyone's home. This shouldn't be. [He honestly doesn't even know what to say in the face of this revelation.]
Psii... if you have any more questions about human biology... don't hesitate to ask. [Lame, and he knows it, but what else can he say?]
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Re: Voice
Date: Wed, Feb. 11th, 2015 06:59 pm (UTC)From:[You can practically hear the shudder in his voice.]
When two trollth fuck- gender doethn't matter- we put the genetic material produced into a pail. That'sth then given to an Imperial drone, which ith not a bee, and the drone taketh it to the Mother Grub.
The Mother Grub then taketh all the genetic material in, thwirls it around in her a bit, and then produceth eggth with it which hatch into grubth. The grubth then have to thurvive getting out of the breeding cavernth and are picked up by a luthuth- eth thound there- which ith a kind of wild animal which varieth depending on the grub. Eventually, the grub pupateth and they look more like the trollth you thee around here.
[Might as well explain the whole thing, after all.]
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 04:19 pm (UTC)From:You.. have sex, put your.. 'genetic material' into a bucket, then give it to a large grub who turns it somehow into an egg, while you're trying to get out of some sort of suicidally dangerous caverns. And your troll babies are born as grubs -- right, your race is insect based-- and you call us inefficient!?
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 05:33 pm (UTC)From:At leatht our procreation ithn't limited to male and femaleth, and we don't have to thee the rethult for the retht of our liveth let alone carry it in our own bodieth. Thtill creepy, Bruce! And the Mother Grub taketh in everyone'th genetic material at the thame time and layth a lot of eggth, not jutht one.
...The cavernth are thort of dumb, but, well. A lot of people think if you don't thurvive them, you weren't meant to go far anyway. They get made into jelly and paint and thtuff.
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 05:36 pm (UTC)From:[That is Bruce being incredibly diplomatic right there!]
Maybe if you think about it this way, we just don't have a... grub-period outside of the egg, which is the mother. Baby humans look fairly similar to adults except in size. They have fingers and toes and hair and limbs.
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 05:42 pm (UTC)From:[He's starting to sound even more worried again.]
How long doeth thith whole thing even latht?
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 05:46 pm (UTC)From:...How long does it take from ah, combining genetic materials to a troll spawn being considered ... a troll instead of a newborn grub?
Forgive me if that term is wrong- ah...
Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 12th, 2015 05:58 pm (UTC)From:[YEP DISTINCTLY HORRIFIED NOW. He almost doesn't catch that question.]
Oh, uh... Thorry, I don't actually know. It wath never really important to know, you know? Not for me or the majority of trollth. It'sh too far back for me to remember, either. You have to have your firtht pupation, 'tho, where you grow up and have fingerth and crap.
[Something occurs to him, and there's the sound of snapping fingers.]
Dolorotha would know! Actually, probably any jadeblood, but definitely Dolo.
Re: Voice
Date: Fri, Feb. 13th, 2015 03:27 pm (UTC)From:Is Dolorotha a jadeblood? [Wondering what he would be dealing with if he texted this person.]
I think I'm glad we don't have any kind of worm-like stage, to be honest. At least outside of our mothers.
Re: Voice
Date: Fri, Feb. 13th, 2015 05:29 pm (UTC)From:[There's an awkward pause, and then, a bit sulkily but trying not to be-]
Dolorotha with an eth, Bruce.
Re: Voice
Date: Sun, Feb. 15th, 2015 12:51 pm (UTC)From:Dolorosa. I... that's my fault, I misheard over the phone. Do you have her number you could send me? I'd like to speak to her, when I have a chance. [And to meet more of the trolls as well. He's only met the pair of them and he finds it quite fascinating.]
I didn't realize that a jadeblood would end up sort of their own rank due to their rarity. It seems on first glance that it would range somewhere just in the middle and that was it.
Re: Voice
Date: Sun, Feb. 15th, 2015 06:56 pm (UTC)From:[And considering that now just about all of them have showed up here, well, maybe it's more a matter of 'when'.]
Yeah, the hemothpectrum ithn't alwayth too cut and dry. Weird bullthit can be found in jutht about any cathte.
Re: Voice
Date: Mon, Feb. 16th, 2015 09:31 pm (UTC)From:It's... still something that I'm getting used to. I lived someone with a caste system before, but I was born into a free world that doesn't. It's still difficult to wrap my mind around.
Re: Voice
Date: Mon, Feb. 16th, 2015 09:37 pm (UTC)From:[His tone is suddenly firm about this, almost aggressive in a way. There'a a pause, and he sighs a bit.]
Ath fucked up ath everything ith here... It'sh thtill better than back home for me and my friendth. And I'd rather have her here where me and Di could be there for her.
Re: Voice
Date: Wed, Feb. 18th, 2015 02:05 pm (UTC)From:I... I'm sorry. This shouldn't be better than anyone's home. This shouldn't be. [He honestly doesn't even know what to say in the face of this revelation.]
Psii... if you have any more questions about human biology... don't hesitate to ask. [Lame, and he knows it, but what else can he say?]
Re: Voice
Date: Wed, Feb. 18th, 2015 04:42 pm (UTC)From:Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 19th, 2015 03:50 pm (UTC)From:Don't worry. Remember, you're teaching me as well.
Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 19th, 2015 05:32 pm (UTC)From:Re: Voice
Date: Thu, Feb. 19th, 2015 05:43 pm (UTC)From:[Well, that had been strange. Very... very strange.]