Yes. [ Sorry, Fern. ] But... please just listen to me about this, alright? You know me. You know I would never do something like this without real cause.
We had to. We had to keep people safe. After Maul's rampage back in Deerington, when everyone was busy arguing over what to do — we chose to take action to try and protect people.
Maul has hurt a lot of people, Fern. He got to Peter, to Paimon. [ She... doesn't like talking about it. It still hurts. ] Paimon ended up attacking me.
[This is a lot to take in. He trusts Luna, one hundred percent, there's just the whole hurdle of curses and being controlled by them that sets off alarm bells in the Finn portion of his head. It makes him fearful, worried that if this was done to Maul he might be next.]
Geez, Luna.... [So he's, understandably, of two minds about this. Literally. It makes his head hurt.] Protecting people is one thing, but this is - it's scary.
[There. He's just going to put that out there, because he figures she'll understand why he thinks that and where he's coming from. Though, his tone shifts to surprise.]
Seriously? But isn't Paimon like, crazy attached to you? How the heck did he do that?
It was never something we took lightly, please know that. [ Curses are serious magic. Even Luna herself knows how devastating and awful they can be from her own experience. She can only try her best to assure. She can hear the fear in his voice, and she's sorry for it. Of course she knows. ]
Maul refused to take any responsibility for his own actions, wouldn't apologise. He never expressed remorse. [ It was the whole point of the curse. They weren't dooming him for eternity. ] His curse was supposed to be a lesson for him to learn — to help himself grow, be a better person. We told him right from the start how he would lift it. He would have to work for it, but we told him.
And in the meantime, it would mean he wouldn't hurt people.
[ There's a long pause. Luna takes a deep breath. Honestly that whole thing is... such a mess. ]
Maul got inside his head. He did something to him, made him wrong. Paimon smashed his way into my room in the middle of the night and ended up attacking me. [ Her voices wavers, her own upset can be heard — she sounds tearful. ] I didn't even realise it was him. I could have killed him, Fern.
[That isn't encouraging. That she did it at all is still causing spikes of fear in his mind, that she would be willing to do that far. Maybe he's wrong, maybe she doesn't get it.]
I get being frustrated and angry and wanting to do something, but...
[Buuuut he was like Maul back home, not taking responsibility for his actions. Heck, he still has trouble with that. He still doesn't think what he did to Finn was wrong -]
But curses aren't lessons. They aren't a good answer to anything - all they do is make things a million times worse.
[They're about as far from lessons as someone can get. He does pause when she says they told him how to lift it - it doesn't change the fact that they did it, though that they told him how to break it makes him wonder why Maul took eight months to do it.
At any rate, it certainly doesn't mean Maul is a saint.]
What the Glob?? That's just as messed up! [Seriously guys what the shit. Fern takes a minute to rub his temples, try to focus on the Tree Fort to calm down. Thorns are rising up on the backs of his hands, and that isn't a good sign.]
I can try to talk to him - Maul - and make sure he doesn't do that again. Maybe punch him for you guys, 'cause he deserves that at least.
[For real, it's the least he can do. As much as he isn't a fan of curses he's also really, really sensitive to someone getting inside someone else's head and screwing up them up.]
I'll - I'll make sure he doesn't hurt Paimon or Peter again, okay?
[Which is a huge thing to promise, but he can't stop himself here. He needs to do something.]
This wasn't about being frustrated or angry, this was about giving consequences for someone's actions. People can't just do whatever they want, hurt whoever they want and not have to deal with it. [ Which is exactly what Maul was doing. ] I'd never do something like this unless I really had to. I know how terrible curses can be, too.
[ She's faced magical torture curses before, she knows. ]
It's not as if we left him vulnerable, he could fight monsters and creatures. It was just to stop him attacking other people. Until he learned to feel remorse for his actions. Then it would be broken. [ In terms of curses, it was quite fair. They could have just permanently cursed to forever feel pain, with no end to it. They could have made sure he would never be able to defend himself against any sentient creature, no matter what.
Perhaps it might be something they can never agree on. She understands that. But that's... how it is, what they've done. She knows plenty of people won't agree with the curse, and that there would be consequences for it. She, Willow and John understood that.
There's a long sigh, Luna rubs at her eyes. She's exhausted. From all of this. If Fern wants to belatedly punch him for that then she can't exactly stop him. But perhaps it might continue to add to the fact that Maul's friends are upset with him. ]
At the very least, Maul has... tried to correct things there. He realised he did the wrong thing there. [ She will give him that. There might not be an apology for her, but he's at least acknowledges to Paimon he messed up. ] He's decided he would like be... a protector of them both. I don't trust him, and certainly not now with publicly threating me on the network.
[Fern chews on his lower lip. That sounds a whole lot like anger and frustration over someone not facing the consequences of their actions coalescing into a curse, but he doesn't argue with her. Even though he'll never, ever agree with using a curse as a way to make someone change, he does understand where she's coming from. He doesn't even have a good idea for an alternative to a curse, since right now it feels like Maul is immune to learning anything at all.
Especially when Maul apparently had a way out. Not an easy way out, mind you, but a very clear, straightforward one. He mulls that over for a few moments quietly.] So he found a loophole, 'cause there's no way he's feeling anything close to remorse right now. [That makes all of this a hundred times worse?? What the fuck??]
It's total dirtballs he's claiming that. You're right not to trust him. [He makes an exasperated noise.] I thought he was getting better. It took me forever to be okay with him after what he did to me and Varian, and part of me is still mad at him for it, but I thought he was improving. But all he's doing now is threatening you and hurting Usagi and Varian, and putting a huge bull's eye on himself. That's gotta hurt his brother, too.
[Someone like Savage might not admit it, but Fern knows what it's like to be so incredibly loyal to your brother and hurt by them at the same time. It isn't pleasant.]
I'm gonna try and make sure he doesn't hurt you. And I'm gonna see whether he actually means that about Paimon. [Though really, Maul just staying away from Peter and Paimon seems like the best option....] If he doesn't listen to me then maybe he'll listen to Reaper. Or Savage.
[This is the sound of him dragging his hands down his face.]
Orrrr maybe we just chuck the guy into the ocean and hope he squids out forever.
I've been talking to Usagi and— yes. He cheated his way out of it, essentially. [ And immediately took straight to the network to start making threats. Wonderful. She's still trying to get her head around what Usagi's told her, but he's done something, some other kind of magic to split himself apart and then... for some reason the curse had been fulfilled to grant him its end. ]
I'm sorry, Fern. I know this must be a lot harder on you. [ They get on, don't they? Even with Maul hurting them, he'd made progress from that. It's just... really kind of awful for him, along with Varian and Usagi. ]
I honestly thought it was a step in the right direction, even if I didn't completely trust him. It was honestly better than him terrorizing Peter every chance he got. But then with Varian and Usagi putting themselves on the line — [ There's a soft sigh, she shakes her head. ] I thought he might have been getting better, too.
I don't really know. I'm worried that he's just... going to try and use Paimon, somehow. But I know I can't just... ban Paimon from interacting with him. [ It wouldn't be right to. She respects Paimon, and she can only leave the decision with him. ]
That would be quite ideal, wouldn't it? [ She sounds despondent. She honestly doesn't know what she's going to do about Maul. She's quiet for a long time, and then: ] If something does happen to me. Look out for Peter and Paimon for me, alright?
[He makes a noise of frustration at that. Cool, so not only did he not learn anything, he actively worked against learning anything, then turned around and made things worse. Fern isn't the most moral person but even he can see the ridiculousness of the situation.]
It's - I dunno. It's not as hard on me as Usagi and V. They're the ones who've tried so hard to help him. They're not as good at recognizing when some people just suck and aren't worth it.
[So that's who he's really worried about, here, on top of Luna and Peter and Savage and Reaper.
He makes a noise like a sigh, wishing the ocean dump was a viable option.]
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We had to. We had to keep people safe. After Maul's rampage back in Deerington, when everyone was busy arguing over what to do — we chose to take action to try and protect people.
Maul has hurt a lot of people, Fern. He got to Peter, to Paimon. [ She... doesn't like talking about it. It still hurts. ] Paimon ended up attacking me.
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Geez, Luna.... [So he's, understandably, of two minds about this. Literally. It makes his head hurt.] Protecting people is one thing, but this is - it's scary.
[There. He's just going to put that out there, because he figures she'll understand why he thinks that and where he's coming from. Though, his tone shifts to surprise.]
Seriously? But isn't Paimon like, crazy attached to you? How the heck did he do that?
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Maul refused to take any responsibility for his own actions, wouldn't apologise. He never expressed remorse. [ It was the whole point of the curse. They weren't dooming him for eternity. ] His curse was supposed to be a lesson for him to learn — to help himself grow, be a better person. We told him right from the start how he would lift it. He would have to work for it, but we told him.
And in the meantime, it would mean he wouldn't hurt people.
[ There's a long pause. Luna takes a deep breath. Honestly that whole thing is... such a mess. ]
Maul got inside his head. He did something to him, made him wrong. Paimon smashed his way into my room in the middle of the night and ended up attacking me. [ Her voices wavers, her own upset can be heard — she sounds tearful. ] I didn't even realise it was him. I could have killed him, Fern.
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I get being frustrated and angry and wanting to do something, but...
[Buuuut he was like Maul back home, not taking responsibility for his actions. Heck, he still has trouble with that. He still doesn't think what he did to Finn was wrong -]
But curses aren't lessons. They aren't a good answer to anything - all they do is make things a million times worse.
[They're about as far from lessons as someone can get. He does pause when she says they told him how to lift it - it doesn't change the fact that they did it, though that they told him how to break it makes him wonder why Maul took eight months to do it.
At any rate, it certainly doesn't mean Maul is a saint.]
What the Glob?? That's just as messed up! [Seriously guys what the shit. Fern takes a minute to rub his temples, try to focus on the Tree Fort to calm down. Thorns are rising up on the backs of his hands, and that isn't a good sign.]
I can try to talk to him - Maul - and make sure he doesn't do that again. Maybe punch him for you guys, 'cause he deserves that at least.
[For real, it's the least he can do. As much as he isn't a fan of curses he's also really, really sensitive to someone getting inside someone else's head and screwing up them up.]
I'll - I'll make sure he doesn't hurt Paimon or Peter again, okay?
[Which is a huge thing to promise, but he can't stop himself here. He needs to do something.]
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[ She's faced magical torture curses before, she knows. ]
It's not as if we left him vulnerable, he could fight monsters and creatures. It was just to stop him attacking other people. Until he learned to feel remorse for his actions. Then it would be broken. [ In terms of curses, it was quite fair. They could have just permanently cursed to forever feel pain, with no end to it. They could have made sure he would never be able to defend himself against any sentient creature, no matter what.
Perhaps it might be something they can never agree on. She understands that. But that's... how it is, what they've done. She knows plenty of people won't agree with the curse, and that there would be consequences for it. She, Willow and John understood that.
There's a long sigh, Luna rubs at her eyes. She's exhausted. From all of this. If Fern wants to belatedly punch him for that then she can't exactly stop him. But perhaps it might continue to add to the fact that Maul's friends are upset with him. ]
At the very least, Maul has... tried to correct things there. He realised he did the wrong thing there. [ She will give him that. There might not be an apology for her, but he's at least acknowledges to Paimon he messed up. ] He's decided he would like be... a protector of them both. I don't trust him, and certainly not now with publicly threating me on the network.
[ And certainly not for the first time. ]
But I have to let Paimon make his own decisions.
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Especially when Maul apparently had a way out. Not an easy way out, mind you, but a very clear, straightforward one. He mulls that over for a few moments quietly.]
So he found a loophole, 'cause there's no way he's feeling anything close to remorse right now. [That makes all of this a hundred times worse?? What the fuck??]
It's total dirtballs he's claiming that. You're right not to trust him. [He makes an exasperated noise.] I thought he was getting better. It took me forever to be okay with him after what he did to me and Varian, and part of me is still mad at him for it, but I thought he was improving. But all he's doing now is threatening you and hurting Usagi and Varian, and putting a huge bull's eye on himself. That's gotta hurt his brother, too.
[Someone like Savage might not admit it, but Fern knows what it's like to be so incredibly loyal to your brother and hurt by them at the same time. It isn't pleasant.]
I'm gonna try and make sure he doesn't hurt you. And I'm gonna see whether he actually means that about Paimon. [Though really, Maul just staying away from Peter and Paimon seems like the best option....] If he doesn't listen to me then maybe he'll listen to Reaper. Or Savage.
[This is the sound of him dragging his hands down his face.]
Orrrr maybe we just chuck the guy into the ocean and hope he squids out forever.
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I'm sorry, Fern. I know this must be a lot harder on you. [ They get on, don't they? Even with Maul hurting them, he'd made progress from that. It's just... really kind of awful for him, along with Varian and Usagi. ]
I honestly thought it was a step in the right direction, even if I didn't completely trust him. It was honestly better than him terrorizing Peter every chance he got. But then with Varian and Usagi putting themselves on the line — [ There's a soft sigh, she shakes her head. ] I thought he might have been getting better, too.
I don't really know. I'm worried that he's just... going to try and use Paimon, somehow. But I know I can't just... ban Paimon from interacting with him. [ It wouldn't be right to. She respects Paimon, and she can only leave the decision with him. ]
That would be quite ideal, wouldn't it? [ She sounds despondent. She honestly doesn't know what she's going to do about Maul. She's quiet for a long time, and then: ] If something does happen to me. Look out for Peter and Paimon for me, alright?
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It's - I dunno. It's not as hard on me as Usagi and V. They're the ones who've tried so hard to help him. They're not as good at recognizing when some people just suck and aren't worth it.
[So that's who he's really worried about, here, on top of Luna and Peter and Savage and Reaper.
He makes a noise like a sigh, wishing the ocean dump was a viable option.]
I will, Luna. I promise.