#||mail: rook kast||

[mayxthexforce]

rook. do you think that you could rule mandalore?? if not, what does your type of leader look like??

"I have no intention or need to take that responsibility, so we will never know if I would make the cut as a Mand'alor. Not that the bar is that high as of late.

The last few Mand'alors we've had lacked determination and strength. They want power, sure, but that doesn't cut it when they couldn't even seize that power, always needing someone else backing them up: the Jedi, the Republic, that separatist count. We need someone who can take the reins and actually shoulder the weight of them, without someone standing behind them doing it for them. Because sooner than later, the 'helping hand' becomes the puppeteer, pulling the Mand'alor's strings until they become disposable. Just look at what happened to Vizsla with Maul."

[dawfydd]

Still feeling rubbish with my voice (even by my standards) barely there, and shattered after yesterdays trip to London for an MRI (and I didn’t even do any of the driving!). But, whilst I’ve been sat here feeling sorry for myself I’ve made a start building the Shadow Collective box for Star Wars Legion, with Mail, Rook Kast, Gar Saxon and the Mandalorian Super-Commandos. Oh, and one B Fett making a guest appearance. Overall very nice builds. I’ve tried for as few horned heads as poss as I want to be able to use these alongside the Clan Wren kit and the headgear of Maul Loyalists would not go down well. Kinda disappointed that the rules for Mercenaries dont let you run a pure Mando force, but maybe that’s something the upcoming Din Djarin & Grogu pack might rectify…. (at Lyneham, Wiltshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfHMliKNp5T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[maulieber]

My thoughts on Phantom Apprentice

Warning, VERY unpopular opinions, swearing & spoilers, proceed under your own responsibility.

I think this episode’s providing us with a fucking lot of information, in a very subtle way, so this is going to be hella long.

Maul’s anxiety and frustration

First, we come to see a Maul that’s anxious, very anxious about Sidious plan. He’s like acknowledging the plan is actually going to be executed and he’s suddenly realizing the vastness of it and the implications it has. And probably, that it will affect him as well, since he’s no longer a sith apprentice and thus the order to kill the jedi will also include kill Maul.

I LOVED his pause between the Darth and the Sidious, because it shows us two things. First, he’s fucking scared of sidious and with good reason, because he’s perhaps the only one in the whole galaxy that actually knows him and knows what he is capable of doing. Second, because of the plan itself. I honestly think Maul realizes that the plan’s fucking crazy and that he must warn and actually help other force users to stop Sidious.

Ahsoka’s blindness

The problem: since he’s the baddy, no one listens to him. I liked how Ahsoka was at first like “ok, I see your point, let’s do it”, until anakin pops up in the conversation, then she’s just in denial and completely blinded about him and then she turns against Maul. this is plain stupid on her. Especially because Kenobi had already told her that Anakin had killed Dooku, thus giving her a reason to doubt of Anakin’s pure heart. 

We see Maul completely desperate to find someone to actually listen and help him, and the only one that shows up, Ahsoka, isn’t willing to help in the end. I bet Ahsoka in the end will feel very guilty because Maul was fucking right and she could’ve done something to help and she just didn’t.

Anyway. 

Recruitment speech

In my humble opinion, I don’t really think Maul was actually recruiting Ahsoka to be an apprentice. I think he was just saying ‘let’s team up’, and then we’ll see what happens.  I think this is clear in the fact that he says “the padawan needs a lesson”. He called her a padawan, thus implying he’s not making her his apprentice, and also, calling her short-minded by putting her in her former role as a jedi padawan, when he knows she had left the order.

The syndicates

Maul tells the syndicates leaders to hide. This is very important, but we’ll get on it later.

Gar Saxon

Ok so to me Gar Saxon is by far the one that lost the most in these events. First, I think he’s really the most loyal to Maul, the way some kind of lawful-good characters are, following their leader because he ultimately thinks he’s the right one. He even customized his armor to put the horns on it, like holy shit, he admires Maul to death. 

Maul ultimately betrays him, I think it’s actually a part of his plan. Probably Saxon feels so betrayed it makes him join the Empire in return, instead of fighting for Maul’s followers. Remember Saxon’s the Empire’s puppet after this events until he gets killed in Rebels.

Rook Kast

Well everyone knows Rook’s a favourite of mine. I think she’s an interesting character and probably much closer to Maul than anyone. With this I’m not implying there’s any kind of romantic involvement (i’d love to, though), but anyway I think she’s his right hand and the only one Maul trusts enough to share his complete plan with. 

Also I believe she’s the one waiting for him at the ship, so you know. She already saved him one in Son of Dathomir (also, did you notice there was a reference to it in the episode??) and she’s doing it again because she’s probably her bodyguard.

She is also the spokesman with the syndicates, as we see in the end of Son of Dathomir and in the previous episode, when Almec tells her to call the syndicates and put them to date.

Bo Katan

Funny, we see her complaining about the “occupying forces” in Mandalore. BITCH YOU BROUGHT THEM THERE WHAT DID YOU EXPECT. YOU ARE RUNINING MANDALORE, NOW FUCKING SWALLOW THAT.

Almec

He was obviously going to be killed. I never liked this character much, but I kind of respect him more ever since last episode when he actually fighted Bo-Katan like a fucking boss in spite of how old he is.

Maul and Kenobi

This is totally a random thought I keep having, but I kind of believe Kenobi knows Maul’s plan. My guess is that he thinks he can handle Anakin on his own, thus he sends Ahsoka to help Maul deal with Sidious? 

Also, there’s something Sam Witwer said about “something that we didn’t know happened happening”, and it hasn’t been revealed yet. I have a few theories on it but I prefer to share them in another post.

Maul’s paradigm swift

This is the really important point in the episode. Here we see Maul actually being mercyful (sparing Jesse’s life, for fuck’s sake!!!!!!!!!!!!), and actually letting bo-katan go help their soldiers occupying Mandalore. This is really something new to him. I was honestly impressed. Also, in this scene we get to see hints of Rebels Maul, I think he subtly is playing a joke on both Ahsoka and Bo-Katan in the way he speaks to them. 

Also, we see him trying to do what’s correct. It’s obvious he’s terrified of Sidious. It’s obvious he’s not happy doing this, he’s anxious and we get to see him truly desperate. But still, he keeps trying. He says his plan was to lure kenobi, since kenobi isn’t there, he tries to talk to ahsoka. He even offers her a second chance, allowing her to joing him and escape with him in his ship. 

Honestly, perhaps he hopes that, after killing Sidious, he’d try to have the Galaxy under his ruling, but i don’t think it’s hinted at all, it’s just Ahsoka saying it and nothing more. He’s like WHAT THE FUCK I’M PUTTING MY LIFE IN THIS GIRL.

The ‘let me die’ line

That’s when he has the mental breakdown. I honestly don’t think he’s suicidal or that he had planned on dying in this battle at all. My thoughts are that he’s just so frustrated about his plans not working out the way he wanted, and Ahsoka don’t listening, even he warned her, even he’s trying FOR ONCE to do what’s correct. 

He’s just venting his rage and throwing a tantrum. I’m sure he’ll regain his composure in the next episode and he’ll still try to do what’s correct.

Also there’s lot of self-killing in this show (for example, the first time the Death Wath is presented), and recklessly putting one’s life on threat for the greater good (in like, every fucking episode?). This is definetely NOT a kid’s show. There is a lot of death, drama and blood here. 

****

Ok this was long and I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff.

I think this adds a lot of depth to The Twin Suns. If I’m right and Kenobi knew about his plan, no wonder Maul would feel betrayed. I hope we get more insight on this soon.

What I liked:

Maul trying to be a hero and not being so good at it, but I think it adds humanity to his character and that’s what I love.

Maul sparing Jesse’s life

Gar Saxon being so loyal

Rook Kast speaking. Anything Rook does is fine to me.

Maul being emotional and frustrated. Again, I think this adds to his character. I confess this is what I wanted to see.

What I didn’t like:

Maul betraying Saxon, in spite of him saying “die well, Mandalorian”, like acknowledging his creed and his way. 

Almec being killed. Not good.

Bo Katan. Man I hate her. I hate her so much.

I’m still not happy about how the Republic army is in Mandalore illegally and nobody complained about it. Guys, that’s plain imperialism, colonialism and fascism. You can call it the way you want, but you can’t deny the truth.

Man I can’t wait for next episode. If my theory is true I’ll fucking die. I’LL FUCKING YELL AND YOU GUYS WILL HEAR ME.

Thaks for reading. I hope you understand these are my personal thoughts and opinions and I’m not willing to receive hate mail like I did with my thoughts on last episode, so if you just don’t like what I write feel free to unfollow and block me. 

[mayxthexforce]

maulkie actually means everything to maul. genuinely. his existence changes maul in a way he didn’t think possible. while his need to get revenge against sidious is still very much a driving force for him, his need to keep maulkie safe is stronger. initially he thinks maulkie could be a key part of helping him take down sidious. now the thought of losing maulkie is more terrifying than the thought of facing sidious alone (he’s not dumb tho so he’s not gonna do that either). maulkie is the first person maul truly cares about since savage and he has no intentions of repeating the same mistakes he did with his brother. BUT ALSO. i think the relationship with maulkie is gonna fuck up his connection to the force bc he’s essentially (trying) to let go of his revenge needs for maulkie’s benefit. SO HIS LITTLE PRINCE MEANS EVERYTHING TO HIM.

quinlan,,, the first time maul lets his need for companionship win. for one night,, but it was worth it lol. he’s reaping the benefits of kilindi and komari coming before him bc while maul is good at living in denial about both situations, the need to have what he lost is still there. maul is so terrible at letting his guard down around anyone, but quinlan is so good at getting him to do it anyway. touching him without any intentions of hurting him. loving him and being devoted to him with no catch, no ulterior motives, just wanting the feelings to be reciprocated. i know we were joking about the power imbalance ships ndkfnjfknjgk but this is actually the first relationship he’s experienced without that imbalance. they’re equals and maul doesn’t (usually) feel the need to assert dominance like dear old daddy palps always taught him. 

i’ve rambled now but he loves his kids too. cal and galen are his little guys. they’re a big deal for him too bc they’re the first time he has the position to train how he was trained, to punish how he was punished but he can’t. he can’t put someone through the same things he was put through.

FERAL. maul thinks feral was born with the instructions to purposely piss him off everyday. but he loves him. would do anything for him. i love the relationship arcs they go through and feral ultimately being the voice of reason.

and finally maul respects rook which is saying a lot considering how he treats most of his… soldiers?? employees???? while he will direct her towards potential death should he need to, he would always prefer it if she didn’t die.

What does my Muse mean to yours?

I love this so much AAAAAAAAAAAAA

Maulkie loves Maul. He looks up to him both as an example that someone can walk away from Sidious and live, which gives him more hopes for the future than he ever thought he'd get to have, as a cautionary tale on what to avoid doing (don't go after Obi-Wan Kenobi, basically), and also as the father he never thought could want him considering he was created to kill him. He's learning so much from Maul and is really grateful.

Quinlan feels safe with Maul, which is a little ironic considering everyone is constantly telling him that Maul is incredibly dangerous. But Maul is the first person he's felt he's an equal to, Maul doesn't judge him for his 'crazy' thoughts or because he fell to the dark side and committed atrocities.

Cal and Galen both have different approaches to being mentored by Maul. Cal was used to the boogeyman-like tales about Darth Maul all through the clone wars and even before that, but then he meets Maul and it's... different, Maul is far from a good person, but he's trying to be a Master to Cal. As for Galen... well, he's used to his mentors being Vader, who was quite neglectful, distant and violent when it came to training him, and Proxy, who was supportive and his only comfort... when his primary directive wasn't making him try to kill Galen; but Maul is different from Vader, and Galen sees a lot of himself on Maul- like Maul is the adult version of the child taken away from his family by a Sith that Galen is.

Feral grew up in Maul's shadow, actually meeting him was something he never thought he'd get to do and it's... strange. He's not disappointed, far from it. It's actually a breath of fresh air to see that Maul is just some guy. Yes, he's powerful and he's different, but he's also just a mortal Zabrak just like him- one that Feral feels he can actually teach some things to, mostly about their culture and heritage.

Rook admires Maul. Ironically, he brought her hope that perhaps Mandalore could go back to its former glory. Perhaps the Death Watch was not the way, but Maul's lead was by far better than Vizsla's. Even if he had ulterior motives, he had actual goals and was ambitious and determined to reach them, not just wanting the throne because some ancestors of his used to sit on it. She also respects strength and Maul is the strongest person she's ever met, so it's easy to follow him.

[mayxthexforce]

@mutatiio said

Rook thought about it. She was partly surprised that he cared about her opinion on Gar- but then again, she'd known him far longer than Maul had, perhaps it had something to do with that. Either way, she was never one to hold her thoughts back or sugarcoat her opinion. So, having been asked for it, she didn't hesitate.

"It depends." she stared at the doorway Saxon had just disappeared through before her gaze turned to Maul. The modulator in her helmet turned her tone from thoughtful to something that bordered on slightly monotone. Either way, it didn't really do the subject any disservement. "I trust him to shoot a clanker or a trooper if necessary, I trust him to be a good getaway pilot if the situation calls for it, and I trust him to hack into a device if the need arises. But that's about it. I wouldn't trust him any farther than I can throw him and he's quite heavy, his body weight combined with the weight of the beskar... I don't think I'd be able to throw him that far."

Solidarity was the way of Mandalorians, but there wasn't much of that ideology left nowadays. In times of war, it was easy to put yourself before others- Rook wouldn't virtue signal, she was also guilty of that, but at least she admitted it and -at least- when she was loyal to someone, she didn't try to climb higher than her station if that someone she was loyal to so happened to be above her. She couldn't say the same about Gar.

Anything good she could say about him had already been said: he could shoot an enemy without hesitation, he could be a decent pilot and he could hack into certain systems.

He could not be trusted for much else than that, unless one wanted to end up disillusioned or worse.

"He wants to be a leader, but he doesn't much care about leading. I could respect that if only he was honest about it, but he is not. I'm mostly waiting to see if he dares to do anything. He's an opportunist, a scavenger, not a predator," her helmeted head tilted slightly to the side. "I'm curious... What prompted you to suddenly doubt his loyalty, Lord Maul?"

[mayxthexforce]

@mutatiio said:

maul & kast + ⚔️

Send me “⚔️“ for my muse to defend yours from an attack.

The Spire, the so-called 'impregnable' prison, pride of the Empire, didn't stand a chance against just two of Kast's explosive charges strategically placed against one of its third floor walls. But she could see why this place gave people the idea that it was impossible to escape from, it was located in an area of Stygeon Prime —a permanently cold planet with temperatures so low it could easily be a worthy opponent to Hott on a particularly bad weather day— that so happened to be as high above sea level as a building could be built, surrounded by cliffs, in the middle of a mountain range.

Still, they hyped up this place so much as the worst place you could end up at that she'd hoped for more of a challenge to break into– then again, Rook doubted that many people were trying to get inside the prison.

But she and Gar had a reason: they'd followed the ship that took Lord Maul all the way here.

The place was full of droids, yet another reason why it was probably believed to be impenetrable. But simple battle droids didn't stand much of a chance against two Mandalorian super commandos out on a mission– after all, Mandalorians didn't ever accept defeat, it wasn't even considered as a possible outcome whenever they charged into battle. When one fights a Mandalorian, either the Mandalorian wins or everyone involved loses. That was the way. So nothing could stop them from reaching the seventh floor.

Seeing the state that Separatist scum had left their leader in made Rook's blood boil, her gloves creaked as she clenched her fists so right that her fingers went numb. If she wasn't wearing her gloves, the whiteness of her knuckles would have been very visible.

"Lord Maul," she breathed out, angry yet feeling some relief because at least he's alive. "We will get you out of here."

The plan was that Gar would get Maul down while she created an exit on whichever wall she could blow a hole through the easiest, and Rook would have been more than happy to stick to it. But she set the charge and readied her vambrace to blow it up when the time came, once they got Maul off the containment device and away from the range of explosion, and Saxon had yet to finish getting him free from that damn thing. The droids reached that floor and, of course, their prison guard programming made them go from 'stop the intruders' to 'stop the prisoner from escaping'. Her blood ran cold as she watched one of the B2 series battle droids aim its blaster directly at Maul, and she didn't hesitate.

Kast jumped in the way, her back to Lord Maul and. The blaster bolts hit her chest, pauldrons and helmet in close succession. Her beskar prevented her body from taking any damage, but while beskar sent the energy bouncing off like a rubber ball thrown at a stone wall, it didn't absorb the force of the impact. It rattled her to the bone, knocking the air out of her lungs and forcing her to suck it back in through gritted teeth, leaving a tension in her body that threatened to turn into a full body ache. Rook could worry about that later. Shooting was more important right now.

And shoot she did, and she wasn't the only one. Saxon joined her in getting rid of the threat. Any other time, she'd have appreciated the extra blaster, but not right now. Not when he should be working on that stupid energy containment cell. Her helmet turned in Gar's direction.

"Get out of my way." she didn't wait to see if he'd listen, pushing past him.

Perhaps it was not her place, but someone had to get him moving and it was only him, her and Maul here, and they had to get Maul out of there. She had far less patience than Gar, and so she didn't bother wasting time in the careful approach. Instead, she brought her blaster out once more and shot the cables that connected the panel to the cell, ripping its power source from its roots. Gar was by Maul's side in a second, trying to help their Mand'alor back to his feet. They kept him between them, protective as they helped him move away from the explosive charge Kast didn't waste time to blow up. Then, she shot a zipline through the freshly-made exit.

"Alright, everyone out!"