![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
video | un: sds
[ The video comes to life with awkward fiddling, catching glimpses of a dimly lit bedroom and what looks like blank canvases leaning against a paled, paneled wall before she gets her omni set where she'd like. She steps into view and takes a seat on the floor, close enough to the camera to make out the bags beneath her eyes. She fidgets, suddenly unsure of what she's even doing. ]
Last month, right? That was fun. [ Her grin is more of a grimace and she rolls her eyes to emphasize the sarcasm that drips from her lips. It had not been fun, not one lick, but it had been painfully eye-opening. She licks her lips. ] Made me realize some things, though. Namely that I need a teacher of some sort, specifically for... [ She hesitates. She's not sure what to call them because she's never given them a label before. ] Psychic powers, I guess?
It’s not blood-related or anything. It’s complicated and personal but I’ve always had them. I just couldn’t use them. [ To put it very, very simply. ] And when I say psychic powers I’m talking telekinesis and prophetic nightmares. Things like that. [ There's more but those are harder to say out loud. ]
I don’t have much control over them. [ In a lot of ways, she’s scared of them. They’re not the reason Alessa was brought to the attention of the Order, that was just her birth and Dahlia's refusal to name a father, but they’d made it so much worse. ] I don’t really use them consciously. They just. Happen. Usually when I’m afraid or angry or overwhelmed. [ Which seems like it's going to happen a lot here. ]
And I need control over them. Not just because they’d be useful but so I don’t hurt someone on accident. [ It's so she can hurt people on purpose.
She leans forward to turn off the video but seems to realize something and adds: ] Oh, and my name's Sharon Da Silva. If there's someone that can help, I'd... really appreciate it.
[ And off the feed goes. ]
Last month, right? That was fun. [ Her grin is more of a grimace and she rolls her eyes to emphasize the sarcasm that drips from her lips. It had not been fun, not one lick, but it had been painfully eye-opening. She licks her lips. ] Made me realize some things, though. Namely that I need a teacher of some sort, specifically for... [ She hesitates. She's not sure what to call them because she's never given them a label before. ] Psychic powers, I guess?
It’s not blood-related or anything. It’s complicated and personal but I’ve always had them. I just couldn’t use them. [ To put it very, very simply. ] And when I say psychic powers I’m talking telekinesis and prophetic nightmares. Things like that. [ There's more but those are harder to say out loud. ]
I don’t have much control over them. [ In a lot of ways, she’s scared of them. They’re not the reason Alessa was brought to the attention of the Order, that was just her birth and Dahlia's refusal to name a father, but they’d made it so much worse. ] I don’t really use them consciously. They just. Happen. Usually when I’m afraid or angry or overwhelmed. [ Which seems like it's going to happen a lot here. ]
And I need control over them. Not just because they’d be useful but so I don’t hurt someone on accident. [ It's so she can hurt people on purpose.
She leans forward to turn off the video but seems to realize something and adds: ] Oh, and my name's Sharon Da Silva. If there's someone that can help, I'd... really appreciate it.
[ And off the feed goes. ]
Video; un: darkness
But then she says her name. That gives him pause as he turns on the video, his demonic features at odds with the low, smoky, and soft-spoken voice that he possesses.]
You're Rose's daughter.
[That reels him in very quickly on any plans Maul might have been having for the girl. He likes Rose quite a bit and she was immensely kind to him when he'd been turned into a small, scared child thanks to the shedding ceremony. He's not one to forget a kindness like that done to him. So while he doesn't stop plotting entirely, his effort to talk to Sharon has a much more genuine and sincere note in it.]
All of what you have said echoes what happened in my life to an uncanny degree. My powers are very similar in execution. I am Darth Maul, a Dark Lord of the Sith. My powers come from something called the Force, which is an energy field produced by all living things that can be manipulated by those sensitive to it. There is a Light Side and a Dark Side, which is not the same thing as good and evil, which I'm sure you're familiar with.
[Rose has told him just enough about that creepy cult that had manipulated her daughter for Maul know it was an eerie parallel to what goes on in his own life.]
The Dark Side believes in using our emotions and passion to fuel our abilities. The Dark is forever changing, never stagnant, promoting new growth in its acolytes. If you would like, I would be happy to teach you what I know.
no subject
The moment Maul mentions the Dark Side, her expression twitches, blue eyes flashing with discomfort but it fades quickly, replaced with a hesitant curiosity as he continues. He was right; she was all too familiar. The Order used terms like dark and evil interchangeably to the point that the association has stuck with her, even now so long after Alessa's burning. Worse yet, it's influenced how she views herself and her powers.
It's the way he speaks of the Dark Side of this Force that really catches her attention, though. She sits up a little taller, her interest clearly piqued. She's always been driven by feeling and her powers were always at their height when her emotions were running high; sometimes, it felt as if they fueled one another. It'd be nice to have control of that. ]
That sounds right up my alley, honestly. Yeah. [ A nod accompanies the words. Once, and then again, more certain: ] Yeah, I'd like that.
What should I know about this... Dark Side? About learning from you? [ She wants to know what to expect. ]
no subject
[He pauses. Maul's not very introspective despite wearing his emotions on his sleeve and he's never much thought about exactly what his personality is like as a teacher. But he does know he enjoys it. Thinking about it now, he realizes that the type of teacher he's always strived to be is the exact opposite of his master. Darth Sidious was cruel and sadistic, breaking Maul down so he could mold him into what he wanted him to be, which is a weapon. While Maul may be interested how the power of those around him can ultimately benefit his own agenda, he's nowhere near as heartless as his master was as a teacher.]
I do not go easy on my students. I will make you work as hard as I think is necessary to get to the point where you need to be. And that will be difficult for you. But I will also not push you past where I think your limits are.
no subject
He doesn't sugarcoat anything and while Sharon appreciates it, it does intimidate her some. She's careful not to let it show. ]
I can handle difficult but if I ever think something's too much, I will speak up. [ She won't whine or cry about it but she won't be quiet, either, and if he's going to teach her, he should know that. She pauses thoughtfully. ] You've taught people before, so I know you've got experience [ That's clearly important to her. ], but have you taught people who have powers different than yours? Other than Force sensitive people, I mean.
no subject
Finally, he focuses back in on her and nods.]
Yes, I do. There was a young girl when I first arrived in the town previous to this one named Eleven, El for short. She too had been treated very badly by people who should have been looking out for her and instead used her for power. She had very powerful telekinesis and a few other abilities. I taught her how to control them better by harnessing her emotions. After a time, I saw her as my apprentice, before she eventually departed the town.
[Maul shakes his head as if trying to rid himself of the thought of the young girl he'd come to care about so much, one of the first in Deerington.]
My point is that I have taught people who are not Force sensitive but have powers beyond those of normal sentient beings, so I will likely be able to help you as well.
no subject
Before she responds, she switches the feed to private. her next words are cool and somewhat detached as if she's creating distance. ]
How much has my mom told you? [ She'll need to talk to Rose and determine how many people she's spoken to about Alessa and Silent Hill. She'd never try to stop Rose from speaking about the events that happened, however, because it's her mother's story, too. But she needs to know who knows and how much. ]
no subject
Just a little back when she first arrived and was first searching for you. That there were those of a religion that preached of being on the light and who used that as an excuse to hurt other people including you. They thought you were dark and evil simply because you had powers that seemed to be unnatural. That is something I can sympathize with all too much.
[He pauses thinking of what else she'd told him.]
She also mentioned something about you having multiple names but didn't really explain that clearly.
no subject
The fact Maul can sympathize with what he's been told is enough to make her feel some sense of trust. She's never met someone who would even be capable of understanding what she's gone through, let alone sympathize or relate, and that goes a very long way with her. ]
They were called The Order of Valtiel, though mom would have known them as The Brethren. Same religion, just a different sect of it. They saw... [ She gets stuck on something a moment in her head. She's always separated herself from what Alessa suffered. They were the same person now with the same experiences but it's always been easier for Sharon to view Alessa's pain as something that happened to someone else. ] They saw me as the embodiment of sin. Sin incarnate. Never mind I was a child. I'd never hurt anyone. I never fought back when they hurt me. I never made trouble. [ She has to pause, her jaw tightening until the pressure starts to hurt. She didn't do anything to deserve the things they'd done to her. Even the final straw hadn't been her fault. ]
When I showed powers, they became even crueler. It was as if my powers were a sign that they were right about me. They tried to... [ Burning. The burning. She can still smell the fire. ] They tried to sacrifice me but I was more powerful than they'd expected. [ Her shielded expression darkens, lids half-closed. Her voice turns to a whisper and there's a hint of satisfaction in her next words. ] I hurt them. I made them suffer for what they did. I trapped them away from the world, trapped them in my worst nightmare. Made them feel the fear they'd made me feel for years.
I trapped myself, too, though. For years and years. And years. I was going to be trapped with them forever but I didn't want that for myself. So, I created another version of myself from myself. From everything I thought was good or innocent left inside of me. [ Her powers go beyond simple telekinesis and precognition. She's capable of splitting her soul and twisting reality. It's a large part of why she's seeking someone to help her. ]
My mom told you I had multiple names but it was more than that: I was multiple people. I was Alessa and I was Sharon.
cw: physical and mental child abuse, food deprivation, child death
For a moment, when he hears that she can do something as fantastical creating different people that remain herself, a small and ugly part of himself that has Sidious' voice whispers of what could be done with a power like that. Then he shoves it back down and tells it to shut up. His master fears death above all else and he'd massacre half the galaxy if he could have found out a way to do what Sharon knows how to. But Maul? He's never feared death. Sidious had beat that fear out of him long ago and so he has no use for immortality of the body. Only, perhaps, of the kind where the legend of a person lives on long after they are dead. Yes, that's what Maul would want if offered any form of immortality.
He pauses when she is done, thinking over his words very carefully.]
I know most people would be horrified to hear you did such a thing, tell you that it was wrong and you should have "risen above it" or some such nonsense. But I am not one of them. They hurt you, an innocent, very badly and so they suffered the consequences of their actions. People like that cannot keep letting their evil trample over the mind and body of a young child forever. Eventually, it will turn back on them tormentors and they will be forced to pay the price.
[He pauses again. He doesn't tell this story to many people but she's earned a level of trust from him as well.]
When I was a very young child living on my home planet, the man who would become my master visited and manipulated my mother, made her believe he would give her great power if she obeyed him. To that end, she left me in the care of a Nightbrother, one of the males of our species. This is often done with young kits but this man should have never raised any kit. He was a cruel, brutal man who delighted in nothing more than beating me on a daily basis. If I cried, he hit me all the harder. He had two sons and they were just as horrible as their father. If he wasn't beating me, they were the ones doing it. They starved me and hurt me for months on end until I had grown angry enough to feel the Dark Side in all its power.
One day, they locked me in the house, saying I wasn't allowed to attend a fighting tournament that was to decide who would become the apprentice of a very powerful man. I broke out, and when I arrived there and saw the man was the one who had told my mother to leave me in the Nightbrother's care, I snapped. In my anger, I reached out with the Force and choked the two boys until they lay dead in the dirt. The Nightbrother, enraged at what I had done to his children, grabbed a whip intent on punishing me. I then choked him, despite his pleas for mercy, until he lay as lifeless as his sons on the ground. This is what the man had wanted all along, to put hate into my heart, and he declared that I was his new apprentice, which is what he had decided from the start. He cast my mother aside and took me away. She resisted when she realized how she'd been deceived and told him he would never take me. But it was no use. When my master wants something, he gets it. And so I was forcibly stolen away from my home and the family that I loved there, not to see them for many, many years.
[He pauses, eyes far away as he remembers those long ago memories, things he hasn't thought about in decades. They're painful to think upon even now.]
My point is that I can sympathize with what happened to you in your past. And I will help you control the powers you possess now if you will let me.
;;;; maul omg i had no idea his backstory was so rough my heart
When he begins to tell his story, she listens with rapt attention. She doesn't bother to try and hide the flicker of anger as he goes into details. No one deserves to suffer such cruelty and to learn that it was his Master that caused all this? Sharon had the chance to hurt the people that hurt her even if it resulted in her own suffering; Maul had to live and obey the man who started his. ]
If you'd reacted any other way to what I'd told you, I don't think I'd have wanted you to help me. [ He understands. He understands. He understands. She never knew how much that mattered until then. ] I never really expected anyone to... to get it, you know? My mom's the only one who has ever understood, who has never judged me for any of it.
Of course I'd like your help. [ As if there could be no doubt now. And then, softly: ] Thank you for telling me. That man and his sons deserved to die but I'm... I'm sorry that man became your master. You didn't deserve that.
[ If his Master had been willing to do those things to acquire him, she can only imagine the horrific things he suffered at his hands or was forced to do by him through the years. ] You deserved better.
I just found out about this backstory revealed in new canon recently myself and MY HEART TOO!! ;_;
You sound very much like your mother. She..... [Maul swallows for a moment, reining in the emotion in his voice.] .....she said something very similar to me once.
[Maul had been in the form of a child at the time and he had needed to hear that, knowing that he deserved better than the horrifying treatment Sidious had put him through until he was conditioned to believe it was all normal. He'd cried and cried in Rose's arms until he'd cried himself right out. That isn't something he's been able to forget, even once returned to the form of an adult.
Then he shakes himself in the same manner a dog shaking off water would, casting aside emotions that will serve him no purpose at this time. Before, he would have shoved them away and never looked at them again, but as of late he's been taking out emotions he sets aside and examining them later on at his leisure to see what motives lie behind the way he answers instinctually to certain things.]
Feel free to come by my home anytime in the late mornings or afternoon. That is when I commence lessons to whoever wants to be present for them.
he deserved so much better ah if we ever get a sidious sharon will throw hands on siiight
Her mother knew all too well what a child hurt by the world can become. She had accepted Alessa and Sharon as they were, darkness and all, and had even helped her in taking revenge against the men and women who had hurt her. There was no doubt that she'd do the same for anyone else; that she'd feel rage and sorrow at their plight and take it on as if it were her own. She was a Mother through and through. ]
I'm not really a morning so... Afternoons it is. [ She'll come by in the afternoons and will do so almost religiously. ] Thank you again. [ Warm and sincere. ] Not just for being willing to help me but... for listening.
[ Maul has made a lasting positive impression on Sharon. ]
Light him on fire, Sharon! 😈
It was my pleasure.
[He hopes he will see Sharon again soon. She is a most interesting individual and he feels they can learn a lot from one another. After all, teaching is a two-way street.]