Video; un: darkness

[survivalthroughhate]

[The video starts off with Maul looking angry, as he usually does, and he starts in with no introduction or insults. There’s a definite sense one gets watching that he’s doing his best to keep himself from pissing off the population at large.]

It appears that recently there was a misunderstanding over who had killed someone named Flynn. I am here to make it clear that was not me. While I have no issues with being accused of things I have actually done, I won’t stand for people speculating that I am the cause of all your miseries here--

[He pauses, visibly restraining himself from saying anything further that he knows won’t help his cause here.]

--But no matter. I knew who actually did it and so I have brought the miscreant forth to tell you himself.

[He nods to someone off-screen and Savage comes forward with Anakin. He has his lightsaber pointed at his throat.

The effects of bloodsport and corruption have started leaving their marks on Anakin. Despite the lightsaber held against him, he’s still twitchy with pent up energy. In addition he’s flushed with fever. He stares at Maul blankly, not understanding what’s going on here.]

Are you going to kill me again?

[Maul shakes his head no, pointing to Venge who is currently broadcasting the video.]

Not if you cooperate. Now, tell the people here what you did at the Gate.

[He looks at Savage.]

Cut his hand off if he refuses to cooperate. I’ve no patience for playing games today.

[A smirk appeared on Savage’s lips, and he lowered the lit end of his saberstaff downwards to make it clear that the threat would be carried out without question. His mechanical hand tightened on Anakin to prevent much squirming.

Anakin winces as the metal parts in his hand grind together. Maintenance wasn’t as easy.]

So if I say whatever you want me to I get to go? [Turning directly to face the camera.] Whatever he said, it was me. It was all me. I did it.

[Maul nods in satisfaction. He figures that’s as good as they’re gonna get on any coherency from Anakin.]

There, you see? It wasn’t me.

[Then he turns to Savage.]

Let him go.

[Honestly, the fact Maul isn’t about to execute Anakin on the network is a bigger sign he’s sincere about this than anything else. He never would have been willing to let Anakin go after having to deal with such a problem a year or two ago.

Savage growled as he turned his saberstaff off, then moved to seize Anakin to drag him off screen to be set free. As promised.]

[Red=Maul, Blue=Anakin. Any of the three are available for replies!]

Comments

video | un: levi.

[venatik]

Mm. Well. Holding a man at the end of a weapon to get him to confess to a crime you're accused of still doesn't look good for anyone.

( Levi isn't sure how he feels about ... all this. He keeps up with the network, but doesn't always chime in. )

How would you feel if you saw the same display?

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul frowns. Oh look, the short man he'd fought at the Gate. Thrilling.]

No one would have believed me had I simply made a protest that I was innocent. And if you knew this pain of a Jedi at all, you'd know holding him at the end of a weapon is the only way to get him to do anything rational at all.

Video, UN: Wesson

[family_remains]

[Have they ever spoken before? No. Should he get involved in this? Also no.

And yet.]

You know he confessed on this network already. To a man called Yuri. He's shown me.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Who the hell is this man? Maul certainly doesn't know. Does it matter? Probably not.]

He didn't confess to the whole network-- [And that's where Maul saw the difference.] --and seemed very content to let the issue of mistaken identity continue into infinity until I did this. I wasn't about to let another witch hunt commence because everyone thought I did something I didn't actually do.

video; un:scifo

[thinkfirst]

[ The Flynn in question watches this, knowing that Anakin is in fact the one who killed him, knowing that he did in fact do all of it it—and yet. There is fear in this video, and violence, and none of it feels remotely like justice, enough that Flynn is sort of sick to his stomach, his face drawn and pale. Death hasn't been kind, but it hasn't been as cruel as it could have been.

Is this justice? A public confession, a threat to a man who seems petulant at best and actively unstable at worst? ]

Forcing a confession from someone on pain of violence and death does not ensure a fair or honest outcome. What you've done here makes a mockery of justice, and it certainly does not leave me trusting that you would not do something similar in the future.

On top of that, it was unnecessary. He has confessed, and even apologized.

[ Sort of. It still doesn't feel like any kind of justice, but Flynn has no idea what does, at this point. ]

Text; un: Reaper

[no_reload]

Justice?

I think you misunderstand the whole point here. It isn't about justice, since death isn't permanent in the first place. It's about people falsely assuming one person did the deed on a public network without an actual investigation of the evidence.

Maul is simply using the same means to clear his name as the people who said he committed the murder in the first place.

Video | Clickclickbloom

[onekindsoul]

[She feels a little bad for immediately thinking of him when Flynn died. But the signs were there.]

Uh- Great job on not doing a public execution over the network? We're making progress.

...That's uh- Not a great way to start the day.

But what did he mean by "kill me again?" Is that a recent thing? Or something we're trying to work past?

Voice; un: ...

[opress]

[Savage snorted as if pleased. Compliments!]

Brother can stay his hand as and when he chooses to.

And brother killed this one when he was going mad back in the other dream.

text; un: lowell

[vibing]

real showy
threatening someone is a great way to get them to confess
want him to say he fucked your mom too? bet he would if you threaten to cut off his dick

Voice; un: ...

[opress]

Mother isn't interested in humans. And she's dead.

Video | un: Diggs

[justoscar]

... making someone confess like this isn't going to get them to be truthful.

Just. Trust me on this.

[He knows how well that works-- intimately. ]

Voice;

[opress]

It is truthful.

We could have done a lot worse to him. He has all of his bits and pieces attached.

[Does he know he's not helping? Maybe. Does he care? No.]

text; un: doublehedgedsword

[laminae]

[Fern already got a name out of Flynn, so he knows Maul didn't do it and isn't lying. Presumably this guy is Anakin - Fern doesn't think Maul would go as far as to threaten some rando when the actual murderer's identity is public, that would just be dumb. Which means....]

you should've just killed him

[Stabbing solves everything. Everything.]

Voice; un: ...

[opress]

[Wait who is this words person? He hates text more and more.]

Brother was taking the higher road in this case. If you wish the opportunity, I can grab him back.

voice, un: Hino

[incandescentfaith]

[Lord in heaven, what is this nonsense. Rei watched it all with skepticism and a narrowed eye, wondering just what the fuck Maul has gotten himself mixed up in this time.

It seems like it's been mostly resolved, she notes, picking through the various comments before actually responding. Which she does in the mildest of voices]

...Maul, you truly need to work on presentation.

[survivalthroughhate]

Somehow, politely asking him to clear my name didn't work. Shocking, I know.

[Maul's apparently one with the sarcasm today.]

So stronger tactics were needed.

video; un: wulala

[royalfling]

[ Oh, boy... that's sure something, isn't it? That's concerning and scary and Wu really, really doesn't like it, but somehow he's become one of Maul's many "please be better for the love of all that's good and holy let us help you" people so here he is, on video, against his better judgement ]

Hey, um. Maul? In a, ah. Election campaign, people do tend to look at people's past histories, and you're really not doing a great job here trying to sell yourself. I think this is exactly why, ah, people have trouble trusting you? You know, just a note. Uh... bye!

[survivalthroughhate]

[Well, at least he's not executing people outright on the network like he promised to in Deerington. That's.....something, at least??]

What would you have suggested? Asking him nicely to tell the network what he'd done? I did and he ignored me like the fool he is. So this is the only way I knew how to deal with things to clear my name and stop having it be dragged through the mud. Simply telling people wouldn't have made them believe me. You know no one would have. Now you're saying having him confess won't make them believe me either. What, exactly then, was a good solution here?

text - UN: IceCream

[threelayers]

Hah, you guys didn't stab him.
I think some people might call that "Progress" that you didn't.
Not that I needed this.

I know what color your lightsaber is, after all.

[survivalthroughhate]

Yes, there seems to be a number of people that were already able to put together the real course of events.

Of course, most people here don't seem to be as smart as you are.

( video | un: kenobi )

[jedies]

[ well. disappointments all around and clearly visible from his face. ]

Really now.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul pointedly doesn't look at his Omen who is still recording himself on video. His soft voice contains an odd note, something that's always been lacking when Maul usually talks to Obi-Wan.]

I did not wish for it to come to this. I was hoping you wouldn't have to witness it.

video; un: aceofhearts

[exorion]

I've got no glimmer in this, but you know holding someone at lazerpoint isn't exactly the best way to get a believable confession, right?

[survivalthroughhate]

Do you have a better one when dealing with someone who has the approximate skull thickness of a stone wall? If so, do tell.

video, un:charon

[notimeforfailure]

We really go in for spectacles, don't we?

[at least he's
turning over a new leaf??????
is this what this is?]

I must ask: would it not have been much less painful to simply have Flynn explain it was not you who killed him?

You are a very unsubtle individual. I feel confident the dead man would be able to positively identify you as innocent.

[survivalthroughhate]

I've no idea what you're referring to.

[Ohhhhh yes, Maul is as dramatic as they come. It's not a Maul post unless it's filled to the brim with drama.]

I do my own dirty work. If my name needs to be cleared, I'm not going to trust a stranger to do that correctly.

Video, UN: Willow

[frogfear]

[Cool. Cool. He thought about what she said and decided to completely disregard it anyway. That's fine. She doesn't need to say she told him so when she warned him some might have a hard time believing a forced confession.

Still. Anakin was not publicly executed on the network. It's progress.]

Feel better now?

[Willow pauses for a moment, studying Anakin's fevered appearance. Maybe there's another explanation for his behaviour.]

Um. Is he okay? He looks... I dunno. Flu-ish?

[survivalthroughhate]

[She tried but Maul is gonna Maul, regardless of how anyone else tries to get him to behave.]

Immensely.

[He's not even being sarcastic. He feels much better after having all of this aired out in the open.]

I don't know what's wrong with him and I don't care.

[Maul's sympathy in this moment only extends so far.]

video; un: harbinger

[bolstafir]

[You know, originally Qrow wasn't gonna touch any of this with a ten-foot pole. But he's been watching some of this guy's replies with increasing judgment, and, well. If this guy hangs out with Ruby, he supposes whatever nonsense this guy is up to is at least some of his business.]

You know, if you really wanted to clear your name here, you could've just asked the dead guy to tell the network who killed him when he came back. This isn't accomplishing anything but satisfying yourself. That guy doesn't even seem all there right now.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul does not look happy seeing Qrow again. Now he's got to deal with another person sticking their nose in. Granted, he brought this on himself, so he can't complain too much.]

I'm not one to sit around and let other people solve my problems for me. I don't know the dead man and have no idea if he would have just made things worse with what he said. I don't trust strangers that much.

[Maul doesn't trust anyone really, save for a number of people that could have been counted on one clawed hand.]

video; un: Dr. Disraeli

[delilahs_death]

We've all only just arrived, and there's already a murder? How scandalous.

[survivalthroughhate]

Oh, let's not pretend you're not thrilled by this turn of events.

[He knows Jezebel well enough for that.]

[Video][UN:A_Wesker013]

[subject_013]

[Late night in a lab at The Lumenarium when the feed clicks on, perhaps by accident, given a black-tipped tail darting out of view, and Wesker can be seen prepping a blood donation for transfusion. He doesn't seem aware that he's on camera as he listens to this transmission.]

'Are you going to kill me again?' Interesting choice of words with a wealth of implications. Did this happen in this world's predecessor or somewhere else?

[At Maul's interrogation tactics, he might smirk a bit.]

Not always the most effective method, since some subjects will double-down on their silence or talk your ear off with nonsense. Or they'll say what they think you want to hear, even though it isn't the information you require.

[Someone has a habit of monologuing to an empty room.]

[survivalthroughhate]

I had no idea how fond you were of the sound of your own voice. [Maul smirks.] Oh, and by the way, your Omni is on.

video; un: theycallmehuntress

[crossbow_killer]

So, we haven't even been here for a month and we're already needing murder investigations, huh.

Great.

[survivalthroughhate]

At least for once it's not me causing them.

[Actually, Maul is with Helena on this. Couldn't even cool their heels before things got turned all the way back up to eleven on a scale of one to ten.]

video; UN: TripleJ

[kyley_b]

You know what?

I believe you.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul was just bracing himself for more scathing criticism, so to hear the complete opposite is a bit of a shock, and it shows on his face.]

You do? [A pause.] Why?

video | un: sharpshooter

[azurestar]

Okay, but why do you care if people think you killed, like, just one more guy in the list of the many guys you've killed? As one of those guys on that list I'd rate it like four out of five stars, hands down least painful death I've had.

[Yeah, he might also be a little bloodsport drunk. But the jaded-ness is pretty real.]

[survivalthroughhate]

I don't care when people want to accuse me of things I have actually done. I never denied I cut off Glitch's arm, and if someone asked me if I killed you, I'd answer yes without hesitation. But Anakin let a misunderstanding of who killed Flynn blossom in a full-blown case of mistaken identity and never bothered to correct it. Indeed, instead he encouraged it, letting me be the scapegoat for his actions.

I wasn't about to let people think I had killed the first person here and go on another witch hunt demanding my head or that I be punished yet again.

1/?

[lightthedarkness]

[Maul, Savage, and Anakin fighting? Must be a day ending in "y."]

2/?

[lightthedarkness]

[But alright fine, what's going on now?]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz watched this with interest, then replayed all of it in her head for a bit. This definitely seemed like something that would go over her head, but she understood enough from social cues what was happening.

For one thing, she knew Maul was telling the truth, had even said as much: Darth Maul would not have ever lied about any death he caused, whether it was on his own or assisted by the craziness of the town. But something else was also made clear by what she saw in this transmission too: Anakin knew enough to make himself seem bullied].

You know, he said just enough to make it seem like you were forcing him to do this, and he doesn't look well either. He even made you look worse by talking about how you killed him before.

I'm gonna guess this was back in Deerington? When it seemed like your "Master" was giving you orders?

[survivalthroughhate]

He's an idiot. He could have solved this all some time ago but chose to let it get to this point. I didn't want to escalate this but he ignored my attempt to make him see reason and correct this misunderstanding on his own.

[He scowls at the memory of that rampage, how he'd tried to Force choke Luz to death. Not his proudest moment.]

No, this was well before that debacle happened. Skywalker showed up in Deerington, and on his first day, he was brandishing his lightsaber at anyone who moved demanding they tell him the way out of Deerington. He was out-of-control so I had to kill him. If I hadn't, trust me when I say more than one person would have been dead by the end of that day.

un: trienemybest; video

[droptheious]

[Varian's pretty dang tired at this point. He's had an increasingly difficult month to settle into this new world and he watches the scene play out on his Omni with an air of resignation. This might as well happen. ]

Well. I'm glad to see you weren't to blame on this one and you've handled this better than usual. You could have worked on the execution a little better? Like maybe less public threatening and a little more calm, measured discussion? Plenty of people are yelling at you for that one already so I'm guessing you got that message. But I know this is a big step for you not to outright kill the guy on camera and then crow about it so...

Good start, room for improvement?

[survivalthroughhate]

[He's honestly waiting to hear a harsh reprimand from Varian, to hear how badly he messed this up yet again. So for Varian to tell him this wasn't a total disaster, that he's actually gone forward a step? That calms him down right away and even makes him happy.]

Coming from you, I'll take that. I think most people here still don't realize that this is just how I deal with problems. I've always outright killed them before so trying something new is completely out of my comfort zone. I was trying to be reasonable with this but I guess it didn't quite hit the mark. And I did try to talk to him first so that he could tell everyone himself. Skywalker ignored more so that's when I had to take things into my own hands.

text; un: dragongirl

[catchatting]

As your social media manager, I think this post was a misstep.

[survivalthroughhate]

YOU ARE NOT MY MANAGER!

[Ouch. That was at top volume, which for Maul means he could probably be heard in the next three states. Hopefully Zari didn't have the Omni anywhere close to her ears]

video; UN: childe

[monoceroscaeli]

[He's just clapping. Wow. He'd be lying if he didn't find this highly amusing. This is awesome.]

What a spectacular way to clear your name. You've really riled up the place- and I can only give you commendations for it. Did he get the chance to fight back before you struck him down?

[survivalthroughhate]

[......Is he being made fun of? Maul feels like he might be. His eyes narrow in suspicion as he tries to figure this out.]

Not really. My brother and I have developed a very effective way of surprising Jedi and incapacitating them before they can do much damage.