"Oh, yes, a neat social order where any troll who cannot find their two destined concupiscent partners while they're still barely out of wigglerhood can expect to be culled the moment the drones show up. Where any relationship that doesn't fit within a strict category must be pared down, made 'acceptable', even at the cost of doing harm. Where pailing is really only a way to stay alive for another breeding cycle, and sex is not a right but an obligation. I see now. How very sensible."

The slight edge to his voice has darkened, is dripping with venom. One of his greatest problems with Alternian culture, beyond its violence and divisiveness, is how it turned romance into a way to further divide people and enact a quiet genocide on those who didn't conform well enough.

"There is no such thing as proper romance. There is only people who care for each other and want to express that care in the way that works best for them. I am not mistaken, I am not mixed up, and on top of that I never asked you to attempt to police my love life. Why does it bother you so much?"