deernet | Accidental Video; un: darkness

[CW: There is canon-style violence in the clips linked, which include a fight which ends in an implied beheading (not shown directly on-screen) and a character being impaled on a lightsaber.]

[The memory begins as Savage, Maul, and a purple-eyed man walk into a throne room. Maul, in all his dramatic glory, challenges the leader of Death Watch to a fight to the death, something he knows Pre Vizsla can't refuse. Maul is given his lightsaber, gives out an inhuman roar like a big cat would, and the fight begins.

For a while, it seems like Maul has bitten off more than he can chew. Vizsla is giving him a challenge and he's on the defense for a good portion of the fight. But Maul isn't stupid and this has all been planned out. He refrains from using his Force powers and even switches to his right hand, his non-dominant one several times in the fight, to make it a more even playing field. He's deliberately holding himself back. When the Death Watch leader shoots off tiny blades at hi, he laughs and it's clear Maul is enjoying himself. This fight is a lot of fun for him, and while Pre Vizsla may be a tough opponent, he's no match for the Sith Lord.

When Maul decides enough is enough, he grabs hold of the man's arm and brutally breaks it, making him drop his weapon. Then the Sith Lord brutally beats him down, kicking him so hard at one point that a tooth goes flying, until it's clear Maul is the winner. He calls the Darksaber to him. Vizsla, surprisingly, takes his impending death well. "Like you said, only the strongest shall rule," he says just before Maul slices his head cleanly off. He looks up and sees Savage smiling proudly at him, a rare expression to see from the younger Zabrak.

Half of Death Watch is quick to follow but the other half, lead by Vizsla's second-in-command Bo-Katan refuse. Maul orders them executed and the two sides begin to fight. As for Maul himself, he sits back on the throne. He is in command of Mandalore now, and by extension, his power in the galaxy has grown.

As the memory fades out, Maul's voice in the present can be heard as he talks to his Omen.]

Venge, what is that? What are you doi--

[And then it cuts out again as the second memory starts. Maul's in the same throne room but now it's night. He seems a little distracted. "Hmmm, I sense a presence. A presence I haven't felt since--" Then his eyes grow wide as he realizes who has arrived. "--Master!" There's more fear expressed in that one word than two years of living in Pthumerian-run towns could ever produce in Maul.

Then Darth Sidious strolls on in like he owns the place, casually strangling two Mandalorian guards as he does so. It's tempting for anyone who's heard about Sidious to be a little confused. This is the man who inspires such fear in Maul? This little old man wearing a dark robe who isn't even as tall as his adopted son? Maul immediately starts in about having done everything to make his way back to his master's side, hoping to buy time. Unfortunately, Sidious knows Maul far too well and can tell he's lying.

He starts in by using the Force to pin Maul and Savage to the windows before letting them go. Maul glances at Savage. This is going to be their toughest fight ever and they'll need to do their best if they want to have a hope of surviving it. When the three start dueling, it becomes apparent that Sidious has outclassed Maul and Savage just as much as Maul had outclassed Pre Vizsla in the last clip. He's enjoying this fight, smiling and laughing as he toys around with the brothers like they're a pair of novices.

At one point, Maul gets knocked out of the fight and he loses consciousness for about twenty seconds, the screen going dark before he staggers to his feet, his sight blurry and not quick to come back. Unfortunately, this costs him everything he holds dear. Sidious quickly gains the upper hand and impales Savage through the chest. Maul's face is one of devastation. "Brother...." He ignores Sidious and leaps to his brother's side.

Savage gasps out his last words. "Brother...I am an unworthy apprentice....I'm not like you....I never was...." Some people think Maul is a heartless bastard but that is proven incorrect as he looks like his hearts are breaking when his brother dies. All he can do is hold onto him as he slips away, knowing there's nothing he can do to stop it. He can't even bring himself to say how much his brother means to him, struck dumb by grief.

There's no time to mourn, however, for Sidious start taunting him. Maul turns back to his brother's killer and he's shaking with rage. This time when he goes after Sidious, the old man isn't smiling anymore. He's not just toying around as Maul fights him, he's actually having to put forth effort. He's pushed his former apprentice over the edge and this time Maul's determined to make him hurt. Those who know lightsaber forms will realize Maul's style of Jar'Kai, using two lightsabers at once, mirrors of that of Sidious' exactly. It was where he learned it, after all.

But his advantage doesn't last for long as Sidious overwhelms him once again. "Have mercy! Please! Please!" For those who know Maul, they might find it odd he's begging for mercy, his tone like that of a scared child. It's unlike the Sith Lord to ask an opponent to spare him. But that's not what he's asking. The mercy he wants is for Sidious to kill him, for he knows that anything the Sith Lord has planned for him is far worse than the sweet release of death would be. But he doesn't get it as Sidious tells him there is no mercy and continues to torture him with Force Lightning. The memory ends with Maul screaming in terror and pain.

Once again, Maul's voice in the present speaks up. This time, he's more aware of what has happened.]

What. Was. That?! Venge, how did that even happen? What did you do? Turn it off! Turn it--!

[And finally the feed cuts out.]

[OOC: An opening post to get the ball rolling for the player plot going on right now!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Maul's curled up on his bed,
Venge laying to one side in an attempt to comfort him while his Shuppet hovers quite literally off in the corner. Even Cranky, sensing his master's despondent mood, has cut the shenanigans and is just patting Maul gently on the arm.

He doesn't even look up when Usagi comes in, only calling out.]

I'm in here.

[She moves over to him and sits on the bed, resting one hand on his side.]

Do you want me to hold you? [She offered, not sure what Maul wanted physically but knowing she needed to be here.]

[He nods without saying anything, scooting over so she has room to get on the bed. Fortunately, it's large enough to hold both he and Savage, so Usagi hardly makes a dent in the vast space. When her arms close in around him, something seems to break inside of Maul and he just collapses in on himself, a strangled noise coming out of his throat like he's been stabbed through the hearts. Right now he doesn't have to be strong and he doesn't want to. All the grief and despair he hadn't been able to feel, hadn't allowed himself to feel after his brother's death all rise up and make their presence known.]

[She moves to get behind him, careful about not knocking into his metal legs. She wraps her arms around him and hugs him close to her chest, stroking his arm up and down. She pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Asking him if he was alright was pointless. Reminding him Palpatine wasn't here did not change that Palpatine still had his chains around Maul's mind.]

You can let it all out. [She whispered.]

I've got you.

[Those words are all it takes for Maul to start crying, the walls he's put up in his mind for so long crumbling down. He's never allowed himself to mourn his lost family, first Savage and then his mother. There has always been something else to do, and another thing, and another. Always he's said he'll save it for another day, but when that day comes, there's something else he has to deal with.

Now the day has finally come where he's looking at his brother's death again and the pain has overwhelmed him. He clutches Usagi's arm hard, almost painfully so, and just lets himself finally mourn the way he's always wanted to.]

[She can handle the pain, she's got a ridiculously high pain tolerance when needed. She says nothing beyond holding him, moving her other hand to rest atop the hand gripping her arm. Her thumb gently rubs along his skin as he cries.

So long as she is here, she will not let anything harm him. She will not allow anyone to hurt him. Palpatine himself could come through that door and she'd obliterate him before he uttered a syllable. Again and again and again until Trench found it pointless to regenerate him.

She let out a long breath to release the anger she was feeling, knowing it was from frustration about a situation in the past that she can literally do nothing about and can only help with the present. Maul's had enough anger in his life, whether thrown at him or on his behalf, it didn't matter, it didn't do anything to fix it.

So instead, she holds him, focusing on love and compassion and being present, being safe for him.]

[He needs this, a safe spot where he can just let his emotions out, feeling vulnerable without that constant gnawing sensation in the back of his mind that doing so will end up with him punished and hurting worse than ever before.

Now that he knows he won't end up worse off than before, he lets all his emotions out. His crying has a raw, unhinged quality to it, the way he hasn't allowed himself to cry in years. The pain inside just comes out, all the grief and sadness he's refused to let himself feel. Now it's making itself known and so he finally has to make room for it in his mind.

This was exactly how he'd felt when Sidious had killed Savage, he just hadn't been able to show it back then. Now those wounds, never fully healed, have come open again. But even as much as it hurts, there's something therapeutic in being able to feel Usagi against him, holding him full of love and compassion. This is something he never had back in his own galaxy, and as bad as he feels right now, this is the first signs of finally being able to move on from the trauma of losing his family that he's been feeling for years now.]

[She lets Maul cry and holds him until it's all out. She has no intention of letting go or going anywhere. She presses a small kiss to the back of his neck and then rests her forehead against his shoulder blades, maintaining an even breath even as her heart is breaking for her friend.

She would be the light in the darkness so he could find his way through the sorrow and the fear, holding out her hands when he stumbled or fell or took a step back and helping him get back up again, waiting patiently while until he was ready to take another step.]

[Usagi is as solid and steady as a rock, just what he needs right now. She's so close he can hear the beat of her heart, that slow thump thump thump of the single heart humans possess. He cries until he runs out of tears and can't produce them any longer. Then he just lets himself be wracked by the sobs which still come up until those too finally taper off.

When he's finally done, he wipes his eyes off on a sleeve and his nose as well before he leans back against Usagi. That had felt awful, truly one of the worst things that has happened to him in either Deerington or Trench. And yet.....and yet he doesn't feel nearly as bad as when he'd first started. Getting all of that out had been good for him, being able to rely on someone else to be the strong one for once so that he could give into his vulnerabilities.]

[She hears the sobs quiet, she knows the tears have ebbed, though another wave may come with time. She shifted and pressed a kiss to the back of his head.]

Do you need anything?

Just don’t leave me.

[He says, the words coming out as a soft plea. Right now, he’s emotionally fragile in a way he hasn’t allowed himself to be in years and years. He rubs at his eyes a little bit and sniffles, reduced to little more than the sad, scared child he’d been when Sidious had taken him away from Dathomir.]

Accidental Video; un: darkness

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject