maul forces himself through horrible pain, just like he was conditioned to do by sidious in all his flashbacks. he is even running up a straight wall on a badly injured leg, a direct parallel to the exercise he had to do as a small boy.

what especially hurts is how mad he is at himself for feeling pain 😦 it might have made him “strong” by sith standards, but he’s not impervious to pain. forcing himself through it even puts him at a disadvantage during his first duel with qui gon

god this is just completely sick

what really gets me about this story is how palpatine only dressed maul in appropriately warm clothing so nearly murder and terrifying him.

AND that, as always, maul is still heartbreakingly desperate for his master’s praise and approval 😦