#there is a child

[o-wise-corvid]

Chapter 3

He’d never been held like this. Carried. Moved. Yes. But this is different. The man’s hands were strong, gentle and make Maul feel safe. Nothing could touch him here. He hoped.

The man’s name. Mace. Mace and Maul. The same sounds. Maul liked that. He didn’t know why. Tired, physically and emotionally, the little boy leaned his head over onto Mace’s shoulder.

The Jedi let him.

A skinny, but strong, arm looped around Mace’s neck. The Jedi let him.

And when Maul fell asleep before ever seeing food, the Jedi let him do that too. All day.

Waking up on the Jedi’s chest was strange. Maul had never been close to another person before. Not this way. He liked it, how gently the world around seemed to have made up its mind to treat him. But it was strange.

Sitting up in the dark, Maul watched the Jedi sleep. He didn’t look anything like The Man. That was good. Then Maul’s stomach cramped and he pressed a hand over it. He was hungry. Which was hard to believe with how much food he’d been fed since coming to this place. Every day. Several times. Did everyone here eat this way? So much.

Slowly, he slipped off the sleeping man and crept toward the door, peering out curiously. Maul felt he should stay with the Jedi; Mace would keep him safe. He wasn’t sure why he felt so sure of that, but he was.

But… he was so hungry.

“Hey… you okay?”

Maul jumped, almost crying out in fright. Another person peered out at him from another room down the hall. This one had hair. Dark. And dark eyes. They smiled. “I’m Depa. Mace is my Master. I’m his Padawan… you’re Maul. He let me see you but you were asleep.”

The… person stepped into Maul’s full view and he tilted his head. This one was even more different than Mace. Younger. Smaller. But… built differently. “You… are different,” was all he could whisper. Depa grinned, her nose wrinkling. Maul liked that. He smiled a little, too, bashfully.

“I’m a girl. Have… have you ever seen a girl before?” Maul shook his head. “What is a girl?”

The girl paused, seeming to not know how to answer. Then she shrugged. “Well, many people use the word to indicate females. You’re a male. So you’d be called a boy. I’m a female. So, I am called girl.”

She walked over and crouched down; she was a good bit taller than him. “I sense you’re hungry… You want a snack?”

“Snack?”

“It means “a little something to eat”. But not enough for a full meal.” The girl held out her hand, giving a little “come here” waggle.

Maul hesitated. The thing in Mace that connected with and instantly comforted… it wasn’t here. But… she was with Mace. So. Maybe that meant she would also keep Maul safe?

She seemed nice.

Not like The Man.

And she had snacks.

So Maul took her hand.

Depa beamed when she saw him. Maul wasn’t an exceptionally tall man. But neither was he short. She could remember the teasing she’d gotten the day he’d surpassed her by an inch. Oh, the boy had been so proud.

The two Jedi eyed one another mutely for a moment, ignoring the bustle of the spaceport around them. And then Depa launched herself into Maul’s arms.

He caught her, chuckling. That was a relief. After he’d taken the path of a Shadow, she’d feared their relationship would wither. Most Shadows cut their ties with Temple life; even their Masters seldom heard from them. But Maul kept in touch with her. And with Mace. And his criticism of the Order was never aimed at them. No. No, Maul loved them. She knew that, deep inside herself.

“Oh, I’ve missed you,” Depa confessed, reaching up to touch Maul’s face. As always, gestures of affection gave him pause but he softened almost immediately. “You’re not eating enough. Are you sleeping well?”

“Depa, if you inquire about my bowel movements I will simply have to leave.” But he was grinning at her, having delivered his greeting in that ridiculously polished voice of his. “You have become a ditherer. They should find you a Padawan soon to relieve that.”

“Oh shut up, old man.” The two laughed and embraced again, not caring at the stares and whispers their interactions were arousing. Depa had learned long ago that Maul needed things that the usual practices of the Order would not provide. Master Windu had explained as much. And to be honest, she preferred this. There should be no reason that she couldn’t love Maul as a little brother. Greet him as family.

They were family.

“Come. You’ll stay with me and Master? He would’ve met you himself but he’s very busy.”

Maul wrapped Depa’s arm about his, patting her hand securely. “Of course. I… I have missed you, sister.”

Depa blushed at the title. Maul didn’t often use the word. That made it all the more precious. “Are you well? You know we both worry when the comms are so hard to send.”

“I am well.” The words were assuring. And while Maul did look tired, Depa knew that was frequent. She also knew he’d probably been restless with anxiety about returning to Coruscant. “The gang activity on Savareen wasn’t difficult to quell. Simple and swift. When you contacted me, I was about to visit Tatooine. The Hutts can always use a little meddling with.”

“You, Maul? A meddler?”

“Shocking, I am sure.” Upon arriving to the Temple, Depa kept her firm grip on Maul’s arm.

The Jedi were not a monolith. There were conservative and liberal movements within their ranks, as well as those like Maul. Those outside. Their unlucky lot was that both sides looked down upon them. They walked their own path, not that of reform or tradition.

Yan Dooku, on his way elsewhere in the Temple, paused and eyed the pair. Maul’s jaw tightened, the muscle jumping out under his skin like a rope being snapped taught.

“Ignore him,” Depa cautioned.

“Tell the old fart to stop eyeing me like I’m some kind of well-bred livestock.”

Master Dooku didn’t break his elegant, noble’s stride. But his meticulously shaped brows curved in displeasure.

“Ignore him, Maul. You don’t want Mace to see you like that.” Depa nodded when the Zabrak’s shoulders relaxed and he nodded.

“Come on. I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Maul snipped, poking Depa in the cheek.

She laughed. And they hurried on. “Of course. Why do you think I know where all the snacks are?”

[motherofplatypus]

This is how many bullets they shot on a fucking kid.

[crow-caller]

as a child there's nothing cooler than a kid who gets subjected to evil experiments and gains special abilities. it's even cooler if these abilities also cause unfathomable suffering to use/against others. children love stories like this.

[intersectionalpraxis]

"Gaza now has the largest population of child amputees in the world." [@/abrahammatar on X. June 5th, 2024.]

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[beaft]

a small child came into the café today and asked to buy a chocolate truffle. he tapped a credit card on the reader and it did not go through, mainly because it was not a credit card but in fact a junior cinema pass. i gently explained he couldn't use that to buy things in shops and he looked so gutted that i was like "...but just this once you can have it for free, don't tell my boss though" he said thank you and walked out with his truffle and as he went i heard him chuckling to himself and saying "yes..... yes!!!!!" like the sickos comic

[littlelightfish]

Funny things I found out playing with language setting in Netflix while looking episode 15:

Chilchuck's scream sounds HAUNTED in brazilian portuguese. Give it a try if you can.

(You can hear it here)

In spanish dub, Senshi says: "tocó mis senos de hombre", which means "he touched my man boobs" in Spanish. And I think that's the best dub line one so far.

[marzipanandminutiae]

As someone who works with social history for a living, I feel like I’m the aggressive opposite of an anti-vaxxer

I fucking LOVE vaccines, friends. Give me the science stab. I’m so ready. it’s a beautiful day to not die of a Bajillion and one diseases that carried off like half the population before they had even reached age 10, and a significant portion before they made it to old age, 150 years ago

I go to the old cemetery. I see the vast numbers of infant and child and young adult graves. And then I go to my doctor and get injected with Potion of Fuck That Noise. This is beautiful and miraculous and I do not remotely understand how some people can reject it – not just for themselves, but for their children

[eyeonpalestine]

[sabertoothwalrus]

don't ask him about that it's private

[veramitar]

Young overlords ready to paint the neighborhood red.

Minimaniacs Artboard 1 | 2

[themetalhiro]

Jealous types.

[virtualplushy]

i love re-consuming media i used to love when i was younger. like wow! child me still is in me i am holding her hand and keeping her safe and doing her favorite things with her!!!!

[venpyr]

"don't mass reblog/like :/" coward. fool. somebody just went through and liked and reblogged 64 things from my blog in the span of half an hour at most. and i've never felt more alive in my life

[samerpal]

🚨Trapped Family in Gaza Appeals for Help to Survive🚨 🕊️🇵🇸 🍉🌹

Hi 👋 my friends My name is Samer Abu Ras, and I am reaching out to you with a heavy heart and shattered hopes after the war in Gaza destroyed my life and my family’s. Our days were once filled with peace and security, but now we are homeless, without shelter or income, facing a bleak future. My wife Shorouq and our three children are suffering from psychological and health traumas due to this catastrophe. We lost our home and our jobs, and now we seek warmth in cold streets.

“Please note, The goal of our fundraising campaign is to raise $43,000, which is = equivalent to 450,000 SEK.

My friends, the currency used in the fundraising campaign is the Swedish Krona (SEK), and every 50 SEK is equivalent to 5 USD.”

10$ = 100 SEK

50$= 500 SEK

100$= 1000 SEK

200$= 2000 SEK

My original story link

🕊️🇵🇸Member at Gaza vetters🇵🇸🕊️

🇵🇸🍉🌹🇵🇸🍉🌹🇵🇸🌺🍉🌺🍉🇵🇸🌹🌺🇵🇸🍉🌺

My children 🧒 👧 , who once lived in safety, are now gripped by fear and displacement. As a father, I feel deep sorrow and helplessness for not being able to protect them. Today, I am making a humanitarian plea, asking for assistance to rebuild our lives and find a safe and stable environment. Every donation, no matter how small, will make a significant difference in our lives.

Let us make hope triumph over despair and restore smiles and dignity to my family.

Thank you to everyone who listens to my plea and offers a helping hand and donation to change our future for the better.

With heartfelt gratitude and appreciation

Note our campaign vetted by

@sar-soor @el-shab-hussein @nabulsi @ibtisams

Verification source: number 196 on users el-shab-hussein and nabulsi's master list

Attached is my Instagram account, my friends, for more information and details.

@schoolhater 🌹@victoriawhimsey 🌹

@pocketsizedquasar-2 🌹

@turtletoria 🌹 @rinnie

@ut-against-genocide 🌹

@ethanscrocs 🌹 @punkitt-is-here 🌹 @plomegranate 🌹 @gazavetters 🌹