The (Reasonably Ultimate) Maul Rec List: Part 1
Are you tired of certain Sith (or ex-Sith) Lords being turned into a two dimensional villain with precisely one scene in the story, but for some reason people feel like they need to tag his name in it anyway??Ā Are you tired of him being used, abused, mischaracterized ā as in, acting in a way so contradictory to canon that he might as well be a puppet and is unrecognizable as himself ā and otherwise just poorly handled?Ā Well.Ā Here I am to fix that.
Most of these are going to be purely Maul-centric, but occasionally I might rec one that isnāt, just for how well-written he actually was during it.Ā Iāll mark those.
I dunno how many of these posts Iām gonna do, but probably at least six or seven.Ā Anyway.Ā On with the show.Ā These are not in any particular order of how muchĀ I recommend them, by the way.
Runaways by dimtraces :: T-M, Series :: 4 stories and counting :: in progress
Authorās summary:Ā Mother Talzin sends out Savage on a mission to retrieve Maul years before the invasion of Naboo begins, but her chosen tool has loyalties of his own. It changes everything and nothing.
Warnings: Loads of consent issues, both in the sense of what happened to Savage by the hands of the Nightsisters, but also what happens to him later because he has no grasp of agency.Ā Violence and loss of body parts.
Why Iām reccing it:Ā I probably would run out of space to list the reasons, but.Ā The style is beautiful; thereās almost a lyricism to the prose.Ā The back-and-forth, past-present-future style does well to keep a reader hooked, and to also paint a much broader picture of the events.Ā Both Maul and Savage are characterized beautifully, but special props on Savageās characterization; this story gets into his mind and shows what an incredibly complicated and sadĀ story his actually is.Ā The whole thing, as a character study, is so good that I cite it as a sourceĀ when discussing my own characterization.
My own opinion: Those above reasons are part of it, but thereās more, too.Ā The scene-setting is beautiful.Ā The psychology is well-thought out.Ā This is absolutely the definitive cautionary tale for what happens when you free Maul without any kind of checks and balances, and where a case of someone ā in this tale, Savage ā having the best of intentions results in collateral damage.Ā Less than there might have been, so far, but this is definitely not a story that flinches away from the reality of stealing a Sith apprentice who has no socialization except the worst kind.Ā It weaves together the long-term results of child abuse and draws a very honest conclusion as to what those are.Ā And have I mentioned that the writing is just flat-out beautiful?Ā Ā If you, for even a second, felt bad for Savage and/or Maul, you absolutely need to read this series.Ā And itās not every day that you get such a poignant and detailed psychological study in story form.
Journeyman by NemonusĀ :: T :: 53K+, 12 chapters :: finished
Authorās summary:Ā Abandoned by Sidious, Darth Maul tries to find his place by retracing his steps in the wake of his brotherās death.
Why Iām reccing it: The world building is the strongest parts of this story, by far; the scenes and atmosphere are likewise. Thereās a high level of maturity to the writing, too; this is a pretty quiet story, in terms of actual events and high action and suspense, but there is an adult ā as in grown-up ā quality to the prose and plot both.
My own opinion: There are some strong elements to this story, as stated above.Ā Itās definitely a journey, albeit one thatās told almost in a detached manner.Ā You get the impression that Maul is both severely depressed and severely lost, but he doesnāt actually explicitly present as such despite it; his reactions and actions are pretty muted and detached.Ā Nonetheless, it is the kind of story that youāll read from start to finish and there are plenty of scenes that were painted so well that they linger after youāre done.Ā If youāre looking for a solid tale that doesnāt take many risks but does have some thought provoking passages, you canāt go wrong with this one.
Power by GalactiqueĀ :: M :: 667 words :: finished
Authorās summary:Ā Palpatine has other uses for his apprentice.
Warnings: Itās not rape, itās not actually quite sexual, but it does definitely seem to have elements of both of those, so proceed with due caution.Ā
Why Iām reccing it: Itās really freaking dark. Just to be honest.Ā Spot-on nailing of Sideousās brand of sociopathic sadism.
My own opinion:Ā What I just typed onto the tin.Ā I can see Sideous doing something like this, especially in the year or so leading up to The Phantom Menace.Ā I can also see Maul pretty much passively taking it, too, by that time, because by then heās been so conditioned that it wouldnāt disrupt his thought-of position.Ā Sideous strikes me absolutely as being a genuine sadist and a genuine sociopath, so I wouldnāt put it remotely past him to do shit like this to either reward himself or to sate an urge.
Twin Suns: Altered Destiny by shadowmaatĀ :: T :: 3824 words, 2 chapters :: in progress
Authorās summary:Ā Maul and Obi-Wan have a much more involved conversation which might affect how things turned out.
Why Iām reccing it: Because Iām totally down with AUs of Twin Suns, of course.Ā But beyond that, the concept of Maul and Obi-Wan actually having to discussĀ the things that they have done and the things that have happened is one that canāt really be recommended enough.Ā The characterization is solid, the use of atmosphere is likewise, and itās an easy read in terms of flow.Ā Clean prose.
My own opinion: I pretty much love everything shadowmaat does, but specifically with this story, I love how well the sheer weariness but strength of both Obi-Wan and Maul are portrayed.Ā These guys are tired, theyāve had a hard time of it, and you can feel that.Ā But at the same time, thereās a quieter strength there that remains, as well.Ā Maul, especially, comes across as being absolutely worn out by life, which is fair enough given the life heās lived ā and a large chunk of that not even of his own choosing ā and I love the second chapter, where heās sick with sunstroke and in and out of awareness, and how he processes that and also how he tries to pretend heās not incredibly messed up by his little walk through the desert.Ā I also love the very matter-of-fact and quietly kindĀ way that Obi-Wan deals with having his old enemy under his roof and care; he doesnāt take the opportunity to beat Maul up mentally or physically, just kind of handles him with a sort of dry, matter-of-fact patience.Ā Thereās a lot of promise for the end of that second chapter, too; I am definitely hoping for more to read down the road, and I think any reader will be, too.
