eachdraidh | BACKDATED TO DUSK ON THE 7TH | BOTH COURTS -> SEELIE LOCKED

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BACKDATED TO DUSK ON THE 7TH | BOTH COURTS -> SEELIE LOCKED | VIDEO

OPEN TO BOTH COURTS

[...ahh, Kayneth, you're supposed to hate modernity! You're not supposed to be taking a video of the Jabberwhelp flying off like some kind of tourist with an iPhone and showing it off to everyone with a locket!

...actually, from his audible breathing, it's pretty clear that he's not taking a casual approach to this. After a moment or so, he can be heard muttering to himself...]

...yes, you might as well take "mutually assured destruction" up a notch by ensuring it lays everything to waste... did the Americans and Soviets think of anything quite this absolutely mad? Ah, one of them probably considered something...

[...he pauses, as though he remembered something...]

... oh, for the love of --- just a moment.

[He sighs angrily, ends the feed to both courts, and then opens up again for Seelie only.]

SEELIE LOCKED

...apologies for all that, it was a bit difficult not to get caught up in the moment of watching victory go absolutely pear shaped. It was best to warn everyone Seelie, and at least a video will show you what we're dealing with.

Anyway, that's the absolute horror that was unleashed from the ruins of Caer Scima just a moment ago... I've got absolutely no idea what that hideous thing is, but it's certainly something. I wanted to try and hunt it down, but...

[He turns the locket down to his hand, where his usually nice looking coat and gloves are looking like they've been left out in the rain for about a decade.]

...well, I'm eternally grateful for the fact that I can heal, because my flesh suffered roughly the same effects when I started getting too close to it. I have absolutely no idea where it's going now, but our prospects aren't looking fantastic if it crosses our paths. I wouldn't advise fighting it if you don't have anything you can use at range --- or at all, really, until we find out what in God's name it is and how to kill it.

...anyway, those of us at Scima won't be here too much longer at all, I'd imagine. I'd be happy to discuss something with someone who might know what's going on with this... perhaps when we're back in Seelie territory.

[...he goes back to mumbling as he begins shutting the locket.]

Ugh, what an absolute mess...

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Well, the Seelie also used to have some sort of living weapon of our own, apparently... "used to" being the key word there.

And that is a point, certainly. I know if I were in the Unseelie monarchs' place, I would've had some sort of trap set up... something a bit more sporting and less senselessly destructive, of course. I'd imagine that thing was supposed to be let out at some point, but perhaps some bugs needed to be worked out...

Well, if the world's gonna end if we all die, why not speed up the process? Thought that's what your team wanted. [He shrugs his shoulders kind of obnoxiously.]

What happened to your big weapon?

[...huh.

gently... locks this, then, in case he learns some interesting deets here]

...the entire world, or just your end of it? I've never gotten a clear answer on what bringing order entails, exactly.

I've been told it died rather horribly, actually.

[...that doesn't actually seem like classified knowledge so you know, shrug]

[The locking is curious, and Jason mentally adjusts accordingly. What information he's getting is something he doesn't want anyone to know he's gained.]

Why would it just be our end of it? What do you think the Seelie are fighting for? Y'know, I thought this was common knowledge, but then I thought that was hard to believe. Why would so many idiots be fighting to kill themselves off? It just doesn't make sense.

[jesus fucking christ]

...yes, I really do wonder about that. It's not exactly surprising that our monarchs would strive to keep that a secret if that indeed were the case... however, do you really know that you're being told the truth? It could easily be propaganda.

Not that I'm dismissing the idea outright, of course. I'm not fool enough to believe the Seelie monarchs are blameless, because quite honestly you don't get to run a superpower without crushing a few skulls... but opposing armies do have a tendency to demonize the other sides.

The idea of hitting the reset button and starting anew—it's present in a lot of myths. A lot of people aim for it. Christianity sets it up with the rapture. Those who don't deserve to enter heaven are finally left behind. And then there's the matter of Ragnarok. End of the world because everything's left to crap. And that's the thing—[He pauses here purely for dramatic effect.]

I heard that this world is fucked. That hitting reset might be necessary with the disappearing lands. I haven't called in a second resource on that one, so I have my doubts.

But honestly, what were you told? What made you want to fight? Was it that we were just so awful that you couldn't hold back? You thought you were righteous? [All of the words are ... properly emphasized. He's almost enjoying this.]

...wait, are we talking about that strange fundamentalist train of thought here...? I've heard things have been getting a bit dicey, so Ragnarok is perhaps a good comparison, but does anybody really believe in the Rapture outside of the American South...?

[YOU YANKS ARE FUCKING WEIRD, THAT'S CLEARLY HIS HANGUP HERE]

Anyway, that does seem to be the opinion of some of those on the Seelie side... probably to make it easier to fight like butchers than gentlemen, because it's far easier to kill when you're thinking of the other side as vermin.

But to be honest, it's really nothing personal on my end. I did what I was tasked to do, and I don't believe in doing a shoddy job regardless of circumstances.

Different worlds. Different strokes. I should've been a little more aware. [But come on, the Book of Revelations is the Book of Revelations. Then again, he knows some people aren't going to even know what the hell that is, so he'll have to adjust this explanation next time. Duly noted.]

So you do a good job. I understand the logic. Some people are just built that way. [He's not too far from it himself.] But you just thought this whole transdimensional conflict was over ... what? Political squabbles? [That's got to be where the Cold War analogy came in, right?] I can understand the self-justification. I can understand any of that. I don't understand taking a battlefield where you might die without knowing the why.

Oh, no, I know what you're talking about. I suppose I may have been assuming you were talking about the more literal theological interpretation than the looser one that most doctrines go with.

Well, "glory" is always an answer, isn't it? It has been since the dawn of time. The average soldier usually doesn't care much for the politics of things --- they just fight because someone at the top of the chain tells them to, and they may as well make a name for themselves. Coupling it with an ideology is really a more recent thing, unless the enemy is slightly more foreign than the next country over.

[He just nods to the first half of the statement. He understands the difference.]

I've played the blind little soldier before myself. I made excuses upon excuses, and it turned out badly. [Jason Todd rests here. That kind of badly. But most people don't jump to "he died" rather than "he lost a limb" or something less terrible than absolute death, and he isn't going to spell it out. Hiro picking up the puzzle pieces is enough.] But I had that moment where I realized I was blind. I opened my eyes. What's gonna happen to the Seelie when that happens? [He asks it out of curiosity, but the truth is, he wants it to happen. It's part of his motivation behind this conversation in the first place.] Though I suppose it's a matter if if, not when, if it hasn't happened yet. As I understand it, I'm a little late to the game.

And there is a game. Get the shards. Save your world. There's that empty promise that we've been granted upon our arrival if we listen. That could be worth all the duty and glory and attempts on your life, too. Who cares about the rationality? [He's just spitting out ideas with all of that.]

Oh, I imagine it will be something of a blow to the monarchs when they find out. I was never not suspicious of them, but playing their game at least seemed to be worth something.

Anyway... I wouldn't necessarily turn on them, but I'd imagine it would cause plenty of Seelie to take more of a neutral path than anything else. There are enough advocates for a neutral means of proceeding here, but it's difficult to say how that would turn out. For all we know, a neutral faction would draw little attention if it was small, but if it started dragging too many people away from their factions, what would happen?

Neutrality could have its upsides, if it was accomplishing anything, too. If you're going neutral just because you don't like the approach of the different monarchs, wouldn't that just make you selfish? Childish? [He rolls his shoulders back in consideration.]

And so far, no one's presented me a reason as to why the Unseelie trying to stop everything from going to hell is such a bad thing. If that's our propaganda, so be it—but I'll take it hook, line, and sinker for now.

Because why not? [It also has goals, and while Jason has no problem setting out on his own path, their goals align with his goals.

Things are nice that way.]

...Not really? It's going to be a long time before a neutral faction would be able to accomplish anything, given that the monarchs have been playing this game longer than anyone here has, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to look for other avenues if you think the monarchs' positions are utter nonsense.

Honestly, though, it seems like you're better off landing in Unseelie from the start --- I can approve of your monarchs' position, personally, but I'd rather have a scenario where committing high treason didn't have a very strong possibility of dying horribly and getting my world destroyed at the hands of the people I'm defecting to.

[It's the lack of headway that makes Jason think that neutrality isn't exactly the best of ideas. He wonders if that might change in the future. How many Seelie will stand with their ideals by what they just did? He's curious about it.]

I don't fault you for that. Of course, playing it neutral could keep you from committing high treason. I don't wanna see my world end either, but from my perspective, even if I ran a different road, it'd happen anyway. I don't have much of a choice in the matter.

That's something of a running theme in this world so far, isn't it? It's hard not to feel like you're involved in some sort of catch-22 regardless of where you end up, given that you're just some sort of pawn in someone else's game.

True.

[Said like there's a "but," and that's because there is a but. After a beat, he asks:]

But what if you knew you could have a choice to participate in all of this? Be a hero of the multiverse, with all the bells and whistles attached.

Wouldn't it be tempting?

Having a choice would have been nice, actually, and some reassurances that things back home would be fine. I'm quite certain I'm not the only person who had very important things going on, after all.

But... well, yes, I'd definitely do it.

Yeah, I think a lot of people would. Of course, you're also fighting on the catch-22 side. How can you have reassurance about home when you don't have reassurance at all? It's confusing, but eh, not my problem.

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