I Put My Star War Here

- because of the galactic civil war, the republic has been a brewing shitstorm for years and padmé fears that any minute now that shit is going to fall and hit the proverbial fan, but no one wants to believe her

- it’s also become glaringly apparent that the GAR is being run inefficiently, the jedi are too few, the republic is out of money, there are sentient rights violations left and right, a myriad of “necessary evils” padmé feels worse about with every passing day, and a sinking suspicion that at least one high level politician or military personnel are in league with the separatists… but no one can agree on ANYTHING and she can only do so much as a single senator. she needs help, and no one in the republic is able to provide it the way she needs it

- meanwhile, thrawn wants to study and research the Republic to benefit the Ascendancy and prepare for the looming threats to his people, but he is blocked by the syndicures because the Ascendancy refuses to start a fight, and they most definitely refuse to engage with aliens

- he meets padmé and anakin during alliances. padme realizes he’s a brilliant, if socially inept, commander, and when he says he believes there is a threat coming for them all, she realizes she could use him. she offers him a deal that will satisfy both sides: marry her. then she will classify as a mitt by marriage (she hopes), and be able to converse with the Ascendancy. More importantly, he would be able to enter the Republic. He can study the Republic in exchange for (covertly) helping her root out the problems in the Republic, and in so doing reshape the republic so that the Republic will be strong enough to be an ally when the Ascendancy is attacked (as he so fears it will be)

- meanwhile maul, in an attempt to get at obi wan, designs to kidnap and kill padmé (who he also partially blames for his ruined life) only to get his ass snatched up by thrawn who knows an asset when he sees one — even if that asset is absolutely deranged in the brains

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typical shipping conventions have zero usefulness when Thrass is involved. So I guess this is thraulage-and-a-thrass because honestly HOW.

Also squishy Zabrak faces. I had much fun drawing. Savage better be careful or Maul’s gonna put his eye out. 

@smarsupial your wish is my command. Now with more Thrass. 

@ihavealotoffeelings r u reading my mind, is that what this is, because I’m feelin’ you 100% yes all of the above A++ would awwwwh again. 

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I mean, Maul isn’t an idiot, despite being raised as Sidious’ attack dog. The guy maneuvered himself into a position of power on Mandalore and almost convinced Ahsoka to join him. If you think about it, it almost seems like a bid to escape- he knows Palpatine is about to become an emperor of the whole goddamn galaxy and conveniently makes himself a ruler of the one system of neutral planets to the war. Then sees a chance to oppose Palpatine with someone else and jumps on the opportunity. Every time there was a chance to direct his focus into opposing Sidious, it’s almost as if he regains clarity and focus and it always, always, goes bad for him. (It’s still damn brave for a while.) Palpatine must be such a big figure, such a powerful entity, in his mind.

Now, since Maul is not an idiot, he must know. He must know that Obi-Wan objectively didn’t do anything wrong or personally against him by defending himself and winning. His desperation all circles back to Palpatine. He lost his position as an useful tool of Palpatine and he knows how dangerous that is for him, and his encounter with Obi-Wan is what begins that period of vulnerability towards the real threat. Due to his upbringing as a Sith, the last thing Maul would ever want to feel is vulnerable and out of control, so can he acknowledge that he is terrified of Sidious? Fuck no! So he centers his vendetta on Obi-Wan. Years hidden in that junkyard and at least that objective must have seemed marginally possible.

And he, I think, acknowledges it at the very end, cradled in Obi-Wan’s arms. Obi-Wan just killed him, really, and if it were ever understandable to hold seething rage, it would probably be then. He includes Obi-Wan into his desire for closure, instead. He asks about the Chosen One- the one fated to bring balance, destroy the Dark Side, destroy Sidious, and makes a last plea to the universe. “He will avenge us.”

The star wars universe is diverse in types of species and how they look, but it's still safe to say that over 50% of them are humanoid or more human like. So humanoid tend to be the beauty standard.

Attributes like strength, combat prowess and agility are attractive in various cultures that we get to know in the universe- nightbrothers themselves included.

Skin color is very variable too, but there's a tendency for shades of blue/green or colder colors, red and black stand out a lot, specially with the black being tattoos, something that's also presented in varied cultures.

No matter the universe, intelligence is always attractive. But an intelligence that it's applicable to various types of situations; strategic, combat, political, historical, cultural, etc... is even more attractive.

So Maul, as a red skinned humanoid with complex tattoos patterns that also stand out a lot, extremely well versed fighter, strategist and well educated in various aspects would arguably be actually really attractive!

People joke about him being ugly but that's because we compare him to our boring beauty patterns, in an expanded universe like star wars! That man is pretty! He's handsome!

so much of maul’s inability to escape his ouroborous mindset is his utter disdain for conflicting view points. every lightsider who tells him to let go of his hate is sneered at and ignored, because how could they possibly understand? they’re blinded by the Light. even when non-Light side force users say the same, maul’s dismisses them. i read this as, among other things, a defense mechanism. to admit they could have a point is to admit he could be wrong about how he’s attacking his problems, and if the how is wrong, maybe the what, why, and who are, too. maul’s entire self is tied to his sense of purpose. he was chosen as a sith lord’s apprentice. he is an assassin and leader of men born to master and wield the dark side. he was born for glorious purpose and he clings to that even when he’s discarded and in a fucking hole. in wrath of maul, he comments that “everyone seems to have a purpose for me” when talzin and sidious are at odds about what to do with him. he hates being jerked around without control, but he submits to the positions he’s placed in, not just to survive, but because deep down he craves to have a purpose. a reason for everything he’s done and had done to him and will yet come his way. that purpose is inextricably linked to using the dark side.

so in a way, to question his refusal to let go and move on is to question his hatred. his hatred is his connection to the dark side, and his strong connection to it, at the end of the day, is his purpose. he cannot let go of revenge any easier than he can decide to stop breathing. it is more than what he does; it’s what he’s wired to do. he’s like a dark side expert. he’s not taking feedback from people whose only experience with it is from textbooks or fighting against it. i imagine he sees jedi advocating against the dark side as, like, someone telling you you’re doing something wrong because they read a headline about it. a lightsider lacks the connection to the subject material to give their statement enough sway to make him reconsider.

i digress. enter: mace windu.

the man is a jedi through and through but his relationship to the dark side is a tiny bit different due to his vaapad form. you have to understand the dark side to know how to reflect it and turn it against your opponent. if they were to meet, i see a rare opportunity for maul to interact with someone who would not only call him on his bullshit in no uncertain terms, but function as a mirror of what maul could have been if he hasn’t been scooped by sidious: a diligent, powerful, respected master. i think that would piss maul all the way off, doubly so when he tries and fails to kill mace and the man is just as cutting with his words with kenobi while also being even more willing to beat maul into next Tuesday without blinking. like, mace is probably never gonna be the guy who is compassionate to a dark side user; he’s firm in his values. but there is maybe more understanding of how one falls, though he doesn’t excuse what happens after. and i think maul is at the end of the day seeking some understanding from other people although he will deny that til his dying breath. there’s also, like, something of the stern but caring father in mace that i think would appeal to maul’s completely fucked inner child. hell no he would never say or act on it or even be aware of it in this case, but you don’t have to be aware of your inner child for it to guide you after something.

— Dave Filoni from and Interview with IGN talking about Savage Opress meeting his end and what that meant for Maul (via finish-the-clone-wars)

GOOD TO KNOW.