VISUAL ; SEELIE LOCKED.

[sangilak]

[ when the visual feed starts, there’s a bright green snout poking at the locket, and korra’s voice can be heard in the background — soft, encouraging. “it’s how we keep in contact, rizhao,” she says. satisfied, the dragon slithers away to mako — currently sitting on the floor with a conspicuous collection of bowls of black powder, paper tubes, and clay — and climbs right on top of him, all thirty feet of her piled on his shoulders, looped under his arms, and all over his lap. the locket swings around, catching a glimpse of one asami sato at a carved wooden table, looking over some small parts that look like clockwork gears with a hand to her chin. she seems Very Interested in what she’s doing, so we’ll leave her alone for now and get to the focus of what this post is really about:

korra comes into view, fixing the angle of the locket before setting it down. she’s about to start talking when a great white head comes into view, and naga drops herself down next to korra, chin on the girl’s lap. as korra relaxes, she begins to address the network, ]

I hope everyone’s feeling better — did anyone find out what caused that silver stuff to spread? How it got started? There seemed to be a lot of different cures, but…

[ that’s not really what she wanted to talk about, so she lets that thought drift off, leaning back and drawing her hand between naga’s ears for a second before she continues. ]

We’ve got a lot of new people, don’t we. [ and she doesn’t seem happy about that, oh no. ] My name is Korra, you can find me out on the Western Road if you ever need to travel to Redgate or the University — but you don’t wanna go to Daonna, trust me. You’re more likely to end up dead than actually accomplishing anything.


[ she’s really no good at this, this talking off-the-cuff thing. maybe she should’ve written this all down beforehand… ]

Look, I don’t know how much everyone else has been told, but I do know that Queen Solais isn’t in the sharing type when it comes to what the Seelie court’s objective is. Sure, they say it’s “justice and the order of nature,” but I think it’s important that everyone knows what that means. No dancing around the subject, no ducking the harsh reality.

There’s a Void out there and it’s eating away at the world — all worlds. It signals the end of everything that we know, and it’s our job as Seelie shardholders to let it run its course. [ she adds quickly, trying to be reassuring; ] I know that sounds scary. No one likes thinking about the “end,” no matter what the “end” is, but it’s important to realize that everything has an end, just as everything has a beginning.

[ she takes in a breath and sits up straighter. korra reeeeally hates talking about all this philosophical mumbo-jumbo, so the fact that she’s even trying speaks volumes about how important she feels this is. ]

My teachers taught me that everything comes in cycles. Spring to summer, to fall, to winter; old years to new. Even an Avatar’s life isn’t forever — we have to protect ourselves and our Avatar spirit so that the next Avatar can balance and change the world as they see fit.

This Void — it’s not the end of everything, it’s just the end of this cycle, and it’s important that we keep it intact. From this end, new worlds will form; maybe even our own worlds again. I don’t know how many worlds are familiar with ‘reincarnation,’ but where I’m from, it’s real, and I believe the worlds eaten by the Void will come back. Maybe in different forms, maybe the same. It’s important to remember that this is something that will benefit every world that we come from.

[ her fingers curl at naga’s crown, and the polar beardog lets out a soft whine at korra’s sudden tensing. tipping her big head back, naga licks at korra’s face, and korra rests a hand against her dog’s cheek. ]

The Unseelie don’t see it that way. The court’s main objective is killing every Seelie from every world, regardless of whether they can stop the Void or not. They think all life is precious except for those who disagree with them. [ there’s venom seeping into korra’s voice at that, and it’s clear exactly how she feels about the unseelie ideals. ] I heard from someone in the Unseelie court just what they planned on doing, so if you know anyone in the Unseelie court, that won’t protect you. If they win, you’re dead, and that’s it, that’s the end. No chance of you being reborn in your world again because if the cycle doesn’t continue, I believe that every world will eventually die. [ korra has no way of proving this, but this is what she fears. if the unseelie win and interrupt the cycle, if the natural order gets corrupted, then what happens? do things just peter out? or does everything go on to become stagnant. ] Change can bring about balance or it can destroy everything we believe in and want to protect. Change is good, and sometimes, change is necessary — but not like this.

A lot of the Unseelie are probably scared of the Void, and I’d believe that some of the Seelie are, too. [ korra is, though she won’t admit that. ] I know the natives are. Some kill shardbearers, a lot of them are in Daonna. They’re scared of the Void and scared of us, so if you meet any Drabwurld natives, please don’t give them a reason to hurt you. Some of them will still try and you should defend yourselves against them… but a lot of them just want to live their lives as peacefully as they can in spite of the war going on around them.

[ silence falls between her and naga, and in the background, the dragon picks up her head and trills softly in korra’s direction; a gentle whalesong. ]

I think I flapped my gums enough, but if anyone has questions, I’ll answer them.

Comments

visual;

[dicktionary]

Hey. [ he gives her a wave and a small smile. ] Thanks for that.

The Void's the common enemy, right? I was trying to figure this out with Hermione too, but, like... If the Void eats everything, everything is gone. If the Seelie win, everything's gone too. What's the difference?

[sangilak]

Don't mention it.

[ she says so with a lopsided grin, before continuing. ]

Well... no. I think the Seelie are fighting on a side with the Void, to let nature run its course. This world's time is over, and new ones will take over. The Seelie want everything to start over again; the Unseelie just care about themselves.

action;

[uptowngirl]

[ Sometime during Korra's announcement, Asami had slowed her tinkering with the gears of the locket, eventually stopping entirely towards the end. When it's clear that she's finished, Asami pushes herself away from the table and makes her way over to the Avatar and her best friend. ]

You've spent a lot of time thinking about this, haven't you?

[ Though her eyes are on Korra, she does make a point to give Naga a few friendly head scratches. ]

action;

[sangilak]

[ she looks up at asami, grinning a little ]

Yeah, two years is a long time to think about this sorta stuff. [ naga tips her head back and licks at asami's palm, her tail wagging. ] I wanted to tell you about this sooner, but things got so crazy.

video;

[babbylon]

What a stirring speech you've given.

[Gilgamesh listened to approximately half of it. A quarter. Maybe. Wine's more important, obviously.]

You believe your fellows will simply march to their own end? It's a very inhuman attitude to assume.

video;

[sangilak]

[ oh spirits, it's this dude. why can't she throw him at more horsemen. ]

What? Of course not! That's why they needed to know. Solais would be happy with everyone in this place just going forward with what they've been told to fight for, but they need to know what that means—

[ beat ]

... You didn't listen at all, did you?

audio;

[aslandish]

In the last audience, prior to his passing, High-King Ridire did confirm worlds would be reborn at the Beginning of a new age.

I do not believe he was mistaken.

audio;

[sangilak]

[ though the void is still an absolutely terrifying thing to face, hearing this does bring her some measure of comfort. ]

He'd know, right? [ jesus lion she's so happy for your +1, though she wants everyone to make up their mind for themselves whether they want to fight for the seelie side or not. ] I wonder how many worlds he's seen created.

audio;

[judicatus]

[ It's the dragon that holds Gabranth's attention first — the very same dragon, he's certain, he'd encountered in the midst of the attack on the Citadel. A curious sight, indeed.

But then he hears the rest of what Korra has to say, and while he doesn't make a habit of engaging with those on the locket network, he finds himself unable to hold his tongue. ]

And should the Seelie march to victory, once our worlds are reborn — if our worlds are reborn — so too shall we march to war again. Is this the cycle you wish to preserve? That we should die for this world, only to fight and suffer and die for it yet again?

[ His voice is more weary than biting; he hasn't yet recovered what will he lost to the silver curse. But he won't let her words go unchallenged. ]

audio;

[sangilak]

What makes you think they won't?

[ it's safe to say that korra was... sort of expecting an answer like this, but that doesn't mean she's prepared for it. ]

Why do you think that war is the only option?

Video

[theincredibleherc]

[Hercules has a very, very grim expression on his face. He understands this perfectly fine. His own world has such a cycle, one that his friend had fought hard to break. And this...he cannot agree with it. Not after what Asgard went through.]

We have such cycles in my world. Or...had. Some realms are caught in them, while others are not. [Asgard vs Olympus for example.]

You are certain that is the court's goal, Korra?

action;

[dicktionary]

[ Dick catches what Hercules says as he rounds the corner and makes a thoughtful sound, jogging a bit to catch up with his friend, tapping his arm to catch his attention. ]

Hey. Your world has cycles like this?

videooo;

[sangilak]

[ see? see, this is why she wants people to know. korra followed the fairies that led her here thinking that she was going to help save someone's life, or something equally naive. she had no idea what she was getting into because no one bothered to tell her.

and when she brought it up to the queen? solais took away her friend's powers, sealed off what made mako a whole person, and shortened his lifespan. korra doesn't want anyone else to go through that, and though she might not like the queen, korra is bound by her honor as the avatar and beliefs to protect their goals. ]

Yeah. The queen, Solais, she told me.

[ if hercules decides he wants nothing to do with the seelie court, korra can respect that. he is, for better or for worse, her friend, and she'll respect what he sees is right for him as long as it doesn't hurt others. ]

video;

[undeterrable]

[It's a lot to take in, especially for someone who's only been here a few weeks, but Terra is attentive, if not deep in thought.]

How do we know that's what the Void is going to do? I didn't sense anything from it when I was down in Leathann.

video;

[sangilak]

[ but that's a curious reply, and korra can only answer this question with a question before she can go on explaining how she views things: ]

"Sense"? What do you mean?

visual.

[nap]

[ Okay so this is a whole lot of shit he doesn't care about.

... Alright, it's a lot of shit he doesn't want to care about. But having the outline of what these fuckers want is more helpful than most of the shit he's gotten from them so far. ]

So if we let this Void run through, how fast would it kill off the worlds? [ He doesn't want to die. He doesn't want his friends to die. It's not even a fear, really... it's just a fact. Once he's gone, he doesn't care as much what happens to it. ] Does it mean that if we all dropped our damn weapons and let it do it's shit, everything would die and start over immediately? Across the board of universes?

visual.

[sangilak]

I don't think it's that simple, but the Void is coming up faster. Last year, we couldn't see it at all.

Now, if you go down to Leathann, you can see it just off the shore. It ate away a volcano a couple months ago, despite a lot of people trying to save it.

[Video]

[prissykid]

[The more Joshua listens to what Korra's saying, the more he sees how it parallels a decision he'd made about his own world.]

The cycle of death and rebirth, a very common theme in mythologies in my world. The phoenix who bursts into flame at the end of its life, only to reform in its ashes as a chick, is the more famous story. It's a story that continues even in the modern day of my world, though. People who'd died trying to survive a week playing the Reapers' Game and regain a second chance at life at the end of it.

[He looks thoughtful.]

Change is what makes life move, makes it unique to the person who lives. We need chaos as much as we need order. At the same time, it's why we have conflict. How can it not?

It does make it hard to see the bigger picture beyond the world we came from. It affects not only this one and the one we know, but the countless other worlds that exist. The reincarnation of the worlds may mean that we come right back to the war between order and chaos. It's the side-effect of free will, isn't it? Even gods are chained to this never-ending cycle.

I wonder if, perhaps, the true goal the Unseelie are working towards is the one that frees us from the cycle permanently. If they wish to throw us into a final death in which there's no coming back from.

[sangilak]

[ korra's quiet, her express attentive as joshua speaks. she might not have the ability to tell when people are divine or not, but there's something about the way this kid talks that reminds her of sifu tenzin when he's trying to be wise. the only difference is, joshua actually sounds like it.

well, until he gets to the end, and then korra just looks baffled. ]

... Doesn't that go against everything they claim to be fighting for? [ she thought the point was that they wanted to live at the expense of everything else. why would they want to kill everyone permanently? ]

[dreamcatcher]

What if you think both sides are bullshit? Because sorry, they are.

( hard to get Emma involved in a cause that she was literally forced into, and she's not buying that destroying everything in a factory reset is the right course of action. on the other hand, genocide is never great, so apparently Emma can't align happily with either side. )

Nobody here talks about getting out. All this talk about sides and war, and nothing about how we were kidnapped to be soldiers in a war that we didn't want to be involved in.

[sangilak]

[ part of korra bristles at that because she's still human, and humans miscommunicate. she can't help but feel that's a slight against her beliefs, even though she won't pursue that line of thought right now. ]

I think that all depends on who you're talking to. I've been here for two years, and I've known people who have been here for hundreds. Some people jump to the cause and others...

[ others like bolin, and korra's eyes turn down for a moment. he was never cut out for war, but he did everything he could to make sure the natives were looked after and his friends were defended. ]

... they do what they can.

[ there's absolutely no way korra is going to mention the third option while she's on the lockets: remove your shard and live your life. because yeah, korra thinks that one's pretty much bullshit too, and she's also very sure that solais would have her head on a gold platter for suggesting that to someone of her court. ]

video.

[brainiest]

This sounds a lot like what Tarz told me.

[ She had revisited those memories, using her pensieve. She recites it now, her voice not wavering. ]

'All the worlds that have been lost, they can be reborn again should the Seelie have their victory. All the millions of lives lost will not have been in vain; for life will come again after us. We will have fought to preserve the future's worlds, and all the families that may grow in them, their friendships, all in hope that they may have peace.'

[ Closing her eyes, Hermione breathes out. ]

Do you really think we're doing the right thing?

Re: video.

[dicktionary]

...Is the Seelie victory the same as the Void eating everything? Or does the Void present a third side to the war? I dunno...

[ He makes a frustrated sound. ]

You told me it was the Shard, but like... Where does the Void go in all of this? I'm not saying you're wrong, but just, just. "They can be reborn again should the Seelie have their victory," how do we know they won't if the Unseelie win? And, and... If the Seelie win, is that like pressing the big red 'detonate' button? Isn't that ending our lives prematurely?

Video

[starspangled]

So where is the lie?

[No, really. Where is it.]

I don't know much about reincarnation, and the only cycle I know is war. Whenever or wherever I go, it seems to be there. [That one, Steve wouldn't mind breaking. (But there's always that little whisper, 'who would you be without it?')] I also know what it feels like to live past your time, and if mine needs to be up to give someone else a chance, then so be it.

But I don't feel okay making that call for everyone, not just because of some rock in my chest that they say makes me special. I get here and this war isn't exactly what they told me either.

At the end of the day, I can't just sit back and watch that thing destroy the world, even if it isn't mine.

[sangilak]

[ korra's quiet for a moment, letting steve speak his piece before she can say anything. and she has to choose her words carefully — she wants to rant and rave and snarl and say that it's unfair for the monarchs to place so much on the shoulders of these people who don't believe in this cause and don't want to fight for it. it's incredibly unfair to pressgang people into service and then basically tell them "ayyyy you're fucked if you don't wanna fight, might as well remove your shard and go on your way!"

that's one of the major parts that gets under her skin.

but she can't say as much over the lockets (and steve might pick up on this because even though they've only talked a couple times, there's that stubborn, fiery streak a mile wide that they both share), and so she says, carefully: ]

And no one should force you to.

video;

[parallels]

Some people believe in reincarnation where I'm from. People used to think our world was going to end and be reborn again too. It's all complicated science stuff.

[She waves a hand in the air. She's a space traveler but no astrophysicist. But the idea of the void and of life and death and rebirth have vexed her ever since she heard about it. She's desperate for an end to the war but the idea somehow doesn't seem as clear as she wishes it were.]

But it's not appealing, the idea of fading into nothing. Even if it's nature's course. We spend a lot of time fighting against nature back home. It's what's allowed us to survive. [Then she shrugs, twisting her fingers together.] If we're in a cycle. And if the void is the cause of rebirth... isn't the danger that the war will start all over again. It might be the end of this war but not the end of all war. Thus making it only a temporary pause even if the idea of ending war is overall appealing.

video;

[sangilak]

[ korra offers clara a slight shrug ]

Doesn't seem so complicated to me. [ the mathematics, the chemistry, everything else that comes with the science stuff, yeah, she'd get lost in that. but the overall picture of what science is trying to paint, she'd get with no problem. ] ...But I'm not trying to stop the war, not this time. [ at home, knowing the full extent of her power, she could do anything she wanted. she could throw a literal mountain or dig a chasm so deep that it prevented warring sides from meeting. but here in the drabwurld, she's limited. ] I believe that at the start of the next cycle there's gonna be a chance that the war can be prevented. It's too late to stop it this time — I'm worried that if the Unseelie win, we'll permanently lose those worlds already taken by the Void. But when they come back, we can start again. We can try something different at the beginning.

[ it's. perhaps foolishly naive and optimistic, but korra's always been that way. ]

...Have you seen it? The Void, I mean.

[kamalleable]

[ The idea of reincarnation, at least to some effect isn't new to Kamala, but the idea of all the words being destroyed, rebuilt however, is new. She knows she's part of this group, where their ideals are all the same, but still, destroying her home wasn't something she was interested in. ]

Wait, so, the Unseelie wanna destroy the Void? How do they know that'll save everything?

[dicktionary]

...Wait, they want to destroy the Void?

video; open for thread jacking

[notyetlegend]

Not all th' Unseelie want it that way or are like that.

[Gentle reminder to Korra, and to anyone else beginning to think like that. Merida shakes her head, taking a break from training her students and sitting down for once. She rests her head on her hand, pausing here.]

I was Unseelie, if anyone has any questions, an' I left Caer Scima as soon as I could with a couple of friends I had made. I know that not everyone thinks that way, but I'll tell th' lot of you what I told someone else; just like there are some Seelie who are bad, there's Unseelie who genuinely have good intentions. Much like you, they didn't have much of a choice in bein' brought here - they get thrown into a sack an' dragged to th' Drabwurld by imps - an' some want a different way.

[Here she can't say anymore, but Merida brushes her fingers against the hawk feather braided in her hair for comfort.]

Seelie an' Unseelie aren't all that different. It's all in th' way they do things.

video;

[sangilak]

[ there's a soft grin when she sees merida, though korra feels a little embarrassed that she wasn't more clear. she was so caught up in making sure that the seelie knew what was expected of them that maybe she pushed a little too hard on the unseelie side of things.

of course she knows not every unseelie is bad — she felt very strongly about jack, after all — just as not every seelie is good. but... ]

I was wondering when you'd show up. [ it was merida who pretty much kick-started korra's development, honestly. ] I know not every Unseelie would want something like that, but the question is, do they know? I heard it right from Morla herself [ via eren ] that every Seelie would be killed at their hands if they won.

And if they don't know... they need to.

video.

[ex_maelstroms207]

[ she's... young, and it's the first thing which he notices, just as he always takes note of the more youthful parties which have been drawn into this conflict. children shouldn't have to fight (just as that boy should not have had to), but for all his sorrows (and if he's honest, there is anger in him as well), his mood lifts as she speaks.

and she speaks well, rather reminding him of someone.

instead of touching upon war, of the disparity between Seelie and Unseelie, he'll ask: ]

Do you know for certain, then, how it is that the Void came to be? Is it merely a construct of nature, or is it a thing crafted by mortal hands? I, myself, am something of the former. My kind are responsible for maintaining the balance between the realms of the Living and the Dead, and we have long since come to wear a cloak of infamy because of it.

[ a lowering of his head. ]

...not at all unlike the Void, perhaps.

video.

[sangilak]

[ it would be surprising to korra to hear that someone thought she spoke well — she feels it all came out rather jumbled, if sincere. she usually has people write these things down for her before she shares it with a large amount of people, but at least she spoke from her heart, right?

she listens to him speak, lips pressing together at the questions he poses. ]

I... I don't know. I want to believe it's part of nature, something the world needs to balance itself out. When my home experienced Harmonic Convergence and began a new era of light, an entire nation popped up out of nowhere because the world was trying to balance itself. [ there's a long history in that, but she won't bore him.

korra never wanted to be the bridge between the spirits and humans, if only because she didn't have any spiritual talent. she had a wealth of spiritual power but up until she learned of raava and her connection to the spirits themselves, korra never thought twice about it. she just wanted to do good in the world. ] I don't see how that would make you "infamous," [ korra says, leaning back in her chair. ] You just have to do what's needed for the world.

Video (this is so late i'm sorry)

[thisismyforest]

[Aisling still isn't very tech-savvy, so she hasn't quite gotten the hang of how to use the lockets yet, but this doesn't escape her notice. She takes a while to think about Korra's words before replying.]

I'm used to things changing, or ending. The whole world, though...I don't know if I'll live long enough to see that or not. [It's a pretty scary thought, all things considered.] But if it really can all come back in the end...

video; YOU'RE NOT LATE <3

[sangilak]

[ and after korra's talked with lancelot and aslan on the subject, she feels better sharing this information: ]

This world's reaching its end here and now, regardless of the Void. [ but this girl looks so young, and korra makes sure to keep her words gentle. ] But that's not a bad thing, just life. And if the Void is allowed to do it's thing, then the worlds, even the ones already taken by the Void, will be reborn.

[ there's a pause though, before: ]

I know it's scary — a lot of people are scared, and that's okay.