first alteration

[grimauspistice]

[ The mirror activates, revealing a slender young girl lightly touching its surface. She looks slightly different than your average human - candy corn horns, gray skin, yellow eyes, and black lips will do that to you - but overall, she looks remarkably humanoid. She hasn't yet changed out of the white shift, and yet her clothes are nowhere in sight

Comments

[video]

[border_phantasm]

We may or may not have come here in dreams, but even if we have it does not mean this place is itself a dream.

Nevermind that this might not be a planet at all.

[video]

[grimauspistice]

[ A bit of a pause before she responds - she's still getting used to this vine thing! ]

That certainly seems rational. Dreams are not necessarily mutually exclusive with what is real. At least, as far as I've seen.

[ A slight wrinkle of confusion flits across her features. This human is certainly being confusing! ] How so?

[video]

[border_phantasm]

This place seems more like a pocket dimension, if that term means anything to you.

[video]

[grimauspistice]

Would that be similar to an alternate universe? Forgive my lack of expertise with the subject.

[thetrueblow]

No idea what planet it is.

There's gardens here, it's run by someone named the Queen of Hearts, and men aren't allowed.

[video]

[grimauspistice]

As unhelpful as this information may be, thank you very much for the attempt.

[ -wait what. ] Actually, I'm temporarily retracting my previous statement. Do you have any idea why men wouldn't be allowed?

[thetrueblow]

Ideas, but no evidence.

[grimauspistice]

Ideas are still worth consideration. Evidence is simply preferable in this case.

[hotshot_momma]

If you have any information on that, I'd love to hear it. I can share what I know.

And this probably isn't a dream.

[Video]

[grimauspistice]

Nothing more than the knowledge I'd had previous to my arrival. And that some people think it's not a planet at all.

May I ask why you say that?

Re: [Video]

[hotshot_momma]

I've spend the better part of three years learning to recognize when I'm dreaming and fighting things that manipulate nightmares.

This is not a dream.

[Video]

[grimauspistice]

You seem extremely confident in this statement. I would simply like to suggest that perhaps dreaming in your universe is slightly different than it is in ours.

[gentlecuteside]

I...assumed Earth. I don't have anyway of knowing for sure, though.

...what are you, anyway?

[video]

[grimauspistice]

No, you really don't. With the sheer volume of any given universe, and the even grander number of universes, the likelihood that we are anywhere near some tiny little human rock in a tiny human solar system in a single iteration of that universe is infinitesimally small. It'd probably be a better idea to avoid assumptions like that. Just a suggestion.

I'm a troll. Alternians such as myself happen to be the constituents of one of the most ancient civilizations in the galaxy. Then again, with only twelve of us left in the universe, I'm unsure that we really qualify as civilization material.

I assume you're another one of the humans?

[video]

[gentlecuteside]

[...Amamiya isn't sure she likes Kanaya's tone. She sounds like a bit of a know-it-all]

Well, of course. And why would I even think of that? Nobody's ever been further out than the moon, after all.

[video]

[grimauspistice]

[ She's actually quite helpful for a troll! She just... tends to get irritable and snarky quickly when compared to humans. Right now, though, she definitely doesn't sound like a know-it-all. Somewhat surprised, even. ]

Humans have only made it to the moon? I assume that you mean Earth's evidently singular moon, as well.

[ Voice ] Third time is the charm -_-

[marsmakeup]

I'm not certain this is a dream, though that's certainly a possibility. [Thoughtful Rei is thoughtful.]

[ Voice ]

[grimauspistice]

[ A bit of a pause - some murmuring can be heard, but nothing more - and then it comes back on in voice format. ]

I have no way of being certain in my musings either. It simply seemed like a rational explanation for an otherwise mystifying phenomenon.

[ Voice ]

[marsmakeup]

There doesn't seem to be anything reasonable about it. We've been abducted for some reason. A friend and I are going to work on getting some answers, though.

I'm Rei Hino, by the way.

[ Voice ]

[grimauspistice]

That seems like an effective course of an action. At least to some extent.

I'm Kanaya Maryam. A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure.