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I agree; my main point was that koorime don't live forever. They definitely would die faster if they were exposed to other species (although it depends on who they're exposed to; humans and more intelligent demons would probably rather exploit their powers than murder them initially). While that is a factor, it seemed to me that the quote was talking about their natural lifespan regardless of outside factors including weather, other demons, disease, etc.

(Ooh, a disease would TOTALLY wipe the koorime out if one managed to penetrate. Perhaps that's part of why they don't allow people to leave/return to the island? Plot bunny free for adoption!)

True...although an epidemic might be fun...even better were Yomi to be affected.(Me no like Yomi, he's a jackass!)

Sorry I've been absent for a while, stuff came up, an hour's turn is really not long enough!
Yeah, you guys really are shedding some light on the topic, here I was being paranoid! xd

It was the anime version. and that's what started this whole forum in the first place. 3nodding
I thought that the elder was up to no good outside of the glacial realm. Then something came up about rite of passage into death. and now we're all confused! biggrin

On the other hand, the elders of the village seem to have total authority over the others of the island and are turned to for advice. They seem like they'd have to be fairly old - so a lifespan longer than a typical human's, at least - to gain all that experience and power.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if most Koorime had suicidal tendencies.

I definitely figure they live longer than humans do. I just also figure they probably don't live as long as most demons. The series throws around 1000+ demons who are still in their prime, but that just doesn't read right to me for the koorime, given the population thing.

Them having suicidal tendencies would not be at all surprising, with the rigidity of their culture. I think the idea may have been explored in fic a time or two that I've seen; I'll have to go hunting for those again.

That was Hiei's observation about it in the anime, too.


EDIT: Sorry, at work; in-depth responses are curtailed. I'm referring to my recollection that that's why he decided not to kill all of them -- because they were, in his estimation, already dead, as they had stagnated to the point of lifelessness.

(I just had this image in my head immediately after I posted about Hiei waxing poetic on dystopian societies, and it made me snort-laugh. xd )

I agree, but even tracking him down and getting him to converse would be interesting in and of itself...
As far as what she'll do when he dies...probably mourn his death for a few centuries, keep his memory in her heart, and make new friends to ease the pain.

AHHH! So many responses! xD


I like this idea. There's actually a VERY interesting series of one-shots all about the Koorimes. I'll link them. (:

A Koorime's Natural Death: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3091711/1/
Koorime Burials: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2848147/1/

(There's another one that describes someones take on the ACTUAL origin of the Koorimes, but since it's irrelevant...)

Maybe it's just that I like the idea of Rui JUST coming to power, a new leader, with that whole burden of a society on her, when Hiei, the ghost of her past, returns.



My take on this is "no." From my understanding, Hina's trip was a violation of Koorime laws that eventually led to her death, but she did not take that trip with the intent of fulfilling the death ritual, I believe, because it seems that the walk outside the village would only occur when a Koorime had reached VERY old age and wouldn't survive long outside the world anyways. Hina was very young and spry. Her leaving was a violation to customs, not a walk to her death.

(OH! Plot bunny! Young Koorime, not understanding the actual death ritual and yearning for death, begin to walk outside the city limits and explore the world below in groups. They're introduced to the demon world...OH! And possibly start a new civilization, eventually ending the Koorime isolation! biggrin )




Oh. My. Gosh. THAT WOULD BE SO EPIC! Although, I would like to bring up that the Koorime, and other isolated parties would probably be the only ones affected, since D and C-class demons are able to freely traverse the Kakai Barrier, thus constantly introducing new pathogens to the demon environment. Epidemics can REALLY only occur in isolated parties, like the Amerindians when the Europeans came.

However, the idea of the Koorime population being wiped out by a disease is something else! And chew on this: Yukina's been roaming about demon AND human world for a while. Everything's set, really, for a Koorime epidemic.

Koorime Population Control

I believe borderline_mary did some work on this a while back... (hi! biggrin )
And she and Wyndi are right, there would have to be SOME form of population control in order to sustain the Koorimes. Otherwise, they'd just get TOO big for their little island...
Hmmm...something doesn't seem right though. Rui seemed REALLY upset, and like, shocked about what happened to Hiei. It could've just been that it was her BEST FRIEND'S child, but at the same time, it just doesn't seem to fit with a mindset of, you know, pushing people off cliffs to keep the population in the green or regular sacrifices or something like that...

I noticed that within the Koorime village, from what we've seen of it, the only aged people were the council of elders. Perhaps once a Koorime reaches a certain, they're disposed of, or something. In one of my favorite TV shows, a team of space explorers came across a civilization where, at the age of 25, people were sacrificed. They believed that if they did this, they would not be culled by the Wraith (scary alien-human hybrids...feed on humans.) Which was true to an extent...They were protected by a force-field that only extended to a certain radius. The population had to be controlled as to not extend BEYOND that radius. However, all knowledge of the force-field had been loss in its entirety.

Anywho, slightly off topic. I know that in many ancient civilizations, human sacrifices were made regularly to gods as a means to ensure good harvest and what-not. Maybe Koorime could make sacrifices as a means to ensure there continuous safety from the world below. Or heck, even to make sure their island continues to float! (how DOES it do that anyways? Does anyone have any information?)



Oh yes! Please link! biggrin
Seeing as no one seemed to shaken up by Hina killing herself (although it may just be because she was deemed a felon), that could point to suicide being a common occurrence among the Koorime.

And yes. The first thing I thought of when I was introduced to the Koorime was how it REEKED of dystopia. HONESTLY, the whole early mindset of the Koorime pioneers (so to speak), of "Hey! Men are savage and there's too much bloodshed and nasty stuff in the world...let's isolate ourselves! Then everything will be just fine and dandy!" yeah...no bueno.




What Would Happen After our Favorite Humans Die?: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3186516/1/

But new idea! She lives at Genkai's right? Perhaps she'll go on to train humans who come to her. (: (I think Yusuke might actually have fun with that!)

Or, I could also see her being a diplomat between Spirit and Demon World. I'm sure Koenma would be happy to find a use for her. (: