#waytelem

[a-dragons-journal]

unrelated to the previous post plurality is also funny because obviously my syscovery is going into my waytelem, my songcord, and the way I’ve chosen to open that stanza is just. Lie si oe Vìrìtienur, which is a perfectly sensible sentence in Na’vi, but because lie si doesn’t translate perfectly back to English, the translation comes out as “I experience Viridian,” which. fuck dude I sure do. that sure is one way to describe that awakening experience LMAO

[dragonofpandora]

Finally got my hands on the Way of Water Visual Dictionary! Oh, the songcord detail shots. Songcord detail shots my beloved.

Some analysis:

It's interesting to me that the order of beads from closed end to loose end seems... inconsistent, although I suspect this is a mistake, not a feature. Lo'ak's seems reversed from Ronal's and Neteyam's, as the bead representing the sawtute arrival is very close to the closed end, which seems to be the more recent end on the other two we can establish chronology for (which makes more sense, since I think you'd need to leave the end loose to add more cordage as you go along).

Ronal's is weirdly short compared to the other adults' (Jake DNI, see below), but considering how close Tsireya's birth is to the recent end - that being, the last bead - despite being like sixteen years ago or whatever, that may be an indication that she has higher standards than average for what makes it into her way to begin with.

Jake's is also short compared to Neytiri's and Tonowari's, but I think he may or may not be recording events from his life pre-Pandora within it - or if he is, he may only be doing it in broad strokes.

There's a common theme of spirals/twists in the spacers between the event beads, especially in the Omatikaya aywaytelem - they're also present in the Metkayina aywaytelem, but there are more straight lines of cord as well. The way the cord itself is woven is just as decorative and beautiful, and probably meaningful, as the major beads; something to keep in mind when making my own.

Spacing between large beads, which I can only assume are event beads, is inconsistent, maybe indicating how much time passed between them? Or maybe indicating when a "chorus" happens, and you don't put a "chorus" between each verse?

Ao'nung's waytelem begins with a charm right at the start, without a "tail" above it, which the others don't seem to have - seems like an optional thing, since it's not a common theme with the Metkayina compared to the Omatikaya.

Spider does have a waytelem!!!! I really wish I could find a shot in the movie that shows the whole thing clearly, but I just can't seem to :\ Fucked up that everybody else's is shown in its entirety, even if not given a detail shot, except his.

In that vein, worth noting that Norm, despite carrying and wearing a lot of Olangi and Omatikaya garb and accessories, does not appear to have a waytelem - it's clear from that that Spider considers himself part of the People where Norm still considers himself human at the core.

[thewanderingbleu]

Was talking to Lo'tunwi in the pandora alterhuman server and we just unlocked memories together by talking about our songcords 😭 Eywa is mighty, indeed.

On that topic, though, I remembered that my songcord started with this sort of blue and/or rainbow moonstone? and how that's like, a very rare gem to come across in the forest. now I'm emotional for two reasons

[iccarian]

 ‍ anakin shouldn't let him do this. he shouldn't let him get so close, shouldn't let commander cody commit treason against their new empire, shouldn't let obi - wan live. but he cannot find it in himself — he cannot find vader, for even the dark lord has fled from the dead - star dragon — to move into action. he watches his former master much like the prey watches their hunter; cornered, waiting for the final strike. even now, he is still too weak.

 ‍ obi - wan kenobi lays his hand upon anakin's heart, and the dragon stops. dead, cold. and then he can feel the blood pumping through his veins again. he can hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. and he can feel the jedi crying out across the galaxy, ten thousand knights betrayed by their most trusted companions. he gasps, a gutteral expelling of the pain clawing up his throat. he is . . . warm, for the first time in years. his own warmth. but with that, comes the realization of the cloud the dark side has cast over the force for years. darth sidious. the chancellor. he played them all like dejarik for years. and all along . . . anakin has been his key piece. everything has led up to this.

 ‍ ❝ i've failed. ❞ and he is still so angry. how can he still be lost, after everything he has done? after everything he thought he had decided? his open hand clasps over obi - wan's tightly, trembling all the way down his spine. distantly, he wonders; how long has obi - wan known? ❝ i've failed, ❞ anakin repeats, tears trailing down his cheeks. but his gaze levels over the jedi's shoulder, on the clone fighting with all his might not to succumb to his programming. and the younglings? they can't possibly make it out of the temple on their own.

 ‍ one thing at a time. ‍ if anakin thinks of everything that is happening, everything he has caused, he's afraid of erupting. ❝ . . . but i know how to keep others from doing the same. ❞ it's too late, a part of him whispers. you can't save them. he has no reason to trust you. but still obi - wan stands before him, never attempting to attack. and he realizes suddenly why sidious had tried so hard to get rid of him.

 ‍ anakin skywalker will do anything for his loved ones. even commit unforgivable atrocities. but obi - wan kenobi grounds him.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ yes, that he knows. the annihilation, the betrayal; he can feel commander cody's heart wavering, his own conflict screaming through the bond they have forged over the years. so many people he loved turning their backs on him, on them. why? why at this moment, when they were so close to being free of war? . . . peace was so close. peace and happiness and something so new, he couldn't imagine it. now, he stands between two men ┉  two men he loved, trusted, intended to spend his life with ┉ but now it seems their thoughts have shifted to harmful intent. if he is to die, he supposes that it being at either of their hands is better than dying to the hands of a stranger. behind him, he can almost hear teeth gritting as cody struggles to not pull the trigger of his blaster. another step toward anakin, hand outstretched as if to halt him. ❝ I was your master, anakin. and I was your brother . . . ❞ blue eyes search a familiar face and find his brother's features but a lack of familiarity; he is eclipsed by the darkness they have always fought to keep at bay. and the clones. the clones. this is all shifting the balance; they will drown in death before the night is done, and he is to blame for not realizing sooner the path anakin was walking. ❝ the order is wrong, anakin. and so was I. I know this now . . . I understand now. you must realize that this is not something padmé would want, ani. all of this.  we can leave. together. ❞ his heart aches at the thought of abandoning his people, their people. but maybe this is the only way. he should've realized the flaws of the order before. his head tilts, gesturing for the younglings to start to move toward the exit. he's so close to anakin now that opening his hand fully causes his palm to press flatly to the other's chest.  ❝ I understand your love, anakin. I have felt the same for someone. ❞ satine, yes but he also chances a glance over his shoulder at the clone commander struggling against the manipulation enveloping his mind. ❝ and I am sorry for ever speaking to you in a way that made you feel that love was a crime.  ❞

[tarsyu]

i’ll make this my last eclipse post but i’m thinking ab my own culture’s beliefs about the eclipse, what it symbolizes, our traditions surrounding what we do for it, and tying that to maybe what different clans on pandora probably would think about the eclipses they regularly experience… so i’m gonna rant ab my thoughts a little below

this has made me think about the differences skorakstxey would note in traditions and beliefs towards eclipses among the omatikaya, anurai, tawkami, metkayina, and also would he even remember what the sarentu believed about them? would he have to connect to a tarsyu so entu, his direct ancestor, could give him the answers he seeks?

would maybe a clan like the anurai take the time during eclipses to perform certain rituals regarding their worship and reverence of thanators? im getting this idea from the fact in the events that led entu to become the first toruk makto, he spent the night in the anurai clan’s territory, and during the night, the clan performed their ritual of constructing a thanator totem. so perhaps the moments of ‘darkness’ (not truly darkness as we experienced it, due to pandora’s luminescence) would be more meaningful?

i’m sure the clans tie the eclipses back to eywa as well, i’m just also sure that they must be very meaningful in different ways to na’vi and i feel like these experiences especially would stick with skora while telling his stories of traveling around pandora

[loakstahni]

Litx Te Suli Tsyeyk'itan's Waytelem

The old one ⬆⬆ The new one⬆⬆

Bit of information under the cut✨

Everything is in order on how it is on the songcord.

Vipperwolf claw

The Vipperwolf claw was found the day Litx was found by Neytiri. See my Fic Found for info on that.

Neteyam & Kiri's blood incased in amber.

Jake gave Litx both of these so he could have something for the birth of his siblings.😊

The Animal tooth.

The Animal tooth was found the day Lo'ak was born, Mo'at took Kiri, Neteyam and Litx out on a walk while Neytiri gave birth and Litx found a tooth!✨

River rocks.

The river rocks Litx added once his bandages were taken off. I'm not sure if it would take two-three years for something like a deep face wound to heal, but whatever-😅

The wooden beads.

Litx and Neteyam carved these beads during Tuk's birth, cause you'know- Jake did the same thing during Lo'ak's birth so why not?😂

The fish bones.

The fish bones are from his first time fishing with Neteyam and Jake.

Jagged stone

The Jagged stone he found while at the Hallelujah mountains taming his Ikran, Tak.

The arrow chip.

The arrow chip is from his first hunt, which unlike Jake who killed a Sturmbeast, Litx got a Yerik.

Purple-blue snail shell.

The shell was gifted to him by Tuk after he (barely) made it through his Uniltaron. What's a better way of telling your brother "I'm glad your still alive!" By giving him a shell. Right?

The broken pink sea-shell.

The broken pink sea shell Litx found while walking along the beach with Tuk the morning after joing the Metkeyina.

The pearl.

Jake found the pearl and gave it to Litx after Litx tamed his Tsurak.

Wooden Needle tip.

The needle tip is from when Litx got his first Tattoo, which is one his right forearm.

Empty bullet casing.

The Empty bullet casing is from the battle at Three Brother's Rock, the battle that nearly took his brother. #Neteyamlives✊.

Fruit seeds.

The seeds are from Fruit Litx was picking the day he met Nanui, who is @snomoscribbles Oc.

Nanui's hair.

The hair is from the night Litx and Nanui formed Tsaheylu and became mates. (Ofc he asked if he could cut off a tiny bit of hair)

Tompa and Tovakì's blood incased in amber.

Tompa and Tovakì are Nanui and Litx's children. Tompa was born during a Rain storm and Tovakì was born at Dawn.

That's it so far! I'll keep updating his songcord as I make up his background and life✨

[lopsidedghoul]

My Waytelem//Songcord ask didn’t get eaten by tumblr or break again, did It ?

((If It didn’t you can delete this ask, just wanted to check)).

it did get eaten:(

[capn-atlas]

I’ve already send this exact same ask to someone else before ((It was @//lopsidedghoul and It broke Its Inbox)), but have this anyways because I wanna gush about these things more but already basically wrote everything I could think of about It.

Anyways, behold me Info-dumping about this one random ass thing of Na’vi culture for way too long.

The Waytelem

Called Songcord In english.

There are, to my knowledge, two different types of Waytelem. The personal ones, as well as the communal ones.

Like the english name says, these cords are sung. Basically, different parts of the woven cord are different parts of the song.

These cords are the main source of record-keeping, similar to how we use writing ((because Na’vi don’t traditionally use writing)). This goes a lot more for a communal Waytelem than a more personal one, since those get buried together with the Na’vi they belong to after death.

The cords are made with all kinds of things, such as pieces of bones, wood, stones, feathers, fur, hair, and various other materials. These materials are then strung into a long twine or thread, making the Waytelem. These cords are expanded continuously, with every Important life even a new pice gets added to the cord. Every bead, pice of bone, and feather how some kind of meaning to the one the cord belongs to.

It’s not really known who constructs the larger communal cords, or how the process of making them goes.

When exactly one starts keeping their Waytelem Is also never mentioned, though they do start very young and their caretakers likely help the younger Na’vi with constructing them. The caretakers never make a Waytelem for their children, only ever help ((or at least I’m assuming that’s how It works, It’s never actually fully explained anywhere. I could be wrong, and the parents likely do make the beginnings but they’re child chooses what goes onto the cord)).

We know that Tuk, who Is 7, already has a Songcord, so personally think that a Na’vi child starts working on their Waytelem once they are old enough ((or ready enough, which might depend a bit on the child, but I don’t think they’re Is like a set age where It’s said “you are old enough for your Waytelem now”)) but the caretakers majorly help with the construction until the child can take over completely.

The exact significance of each piece on the Waytelem Is only known by the Na’vi It belongs to and the close ones they choose to share It with.

When a Na’vi dies their close ones sing the dead Na’vis Songcord at their funeral, after which the Individual gets buried with their cord.

Even though a Na’vi child’s Waytelem Is often short In length, when they ask someone to sing It to them the song Is often surprisingly long and filled with tales of adventures. A child’s parents may sing a bit of different version closer to the truth.

Example of a Waytelem:

Example of a piece of a Waytelem being sung:

https://youtu.be/nvyiTCqkx8U?si=BozCs4R8WrHRpfPJ

that’s actually really interesting. I can’t listen to it rn bc I’m in the car

Behold

but I will!! I bet it’s pretty

[ao3feed-tf2ships]

new guests

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/49036066 by HellgirlFurrys04 after becoming a chief leader, Medic receives an unusual visit Words: 1657, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English Series: Part 1 of Sat'ro Fortress

Fandoms: Team Fortress 2, Original Work

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Medic (Team Fortress 2), Heavy (Team Fortress 2), Original Female Character(s), Pyro (Team Fortress 2), Scout (Team Fortress 2)

Relationships: Heavy/Medic (Team Fortress 2), Medic (Team Fortress 2)/Original Female Character(s), Heavy (Team Fortress 2)/Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: World Travel, Sea Monsters, Ocean, Training, Married Couple, Married Characters, Ikran | Mountain Banshees (Avatar - Cameron), Spirit Animals, Sharks, Autistic Pyro (Team Fortress 2), Smart Heavy (Team Fortress 2), Sweet Medic (Team Fortress 2), Culture, Mpreg, Goddesses, Trees, Tree Climbing, Home, Homecoming, Life Partners, Waytelem | Songcords (Avatar - Cameron), purr, Belly Dancing, barefeet, Alternate Universe

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/49036066

[sairzlegends]

Kaltxì ma frapo! Ayngaru lu fpom srak? Oeru lu ngeyn. Oe tìmok OmatiCon 24 mesrram, trram sì fitrr! Tsaw oene zamawprrte'! Oel ultxaramun mip ayeylan, tìkangkem si mì oeyä waytelem, aminan rel arusikx lì'ukìngn, yamune interviews sì hu oeyä olo' wäsul mì ayfpeio! Oel so'ha OmatiCon zìsìtay!

Oeng yamune Karyu Pawl, Stephen Lang, Joshua Izzo, Evan Stern hu Hanneke Talbot sì Alicia Vela-Bailey. Oeru samunu yune ayfo!

Na zìsìt sìmalew, oeyä pamrel sweylu tsan'ul.

Irayo, ma 'eylan!

Hayalovay!!

Hello everyone! How are you all? I am tired. I was at OmatiCon 24 the day before yesterday, yesterday and today! I enjoyed it! I met new friends, worked on my songcord, read movie lines, listened to interviews and compete in challenges with my clan! I am excited for OmatiCon next year!

We listened to Teacher Paul (Frommer), Stephen Lang, Joshua Izzo, Evan Stern with Hanneke Talbot and Alicia Vela-Bailey!

As the year continues, my writing will improve.

Thank you, my friends!

Until next time!

[nattikay]

Ok, update on Na'vi language in FoP!

I just got to a point in the story with a new cutscene featuring actual spoken Na'vi dialogue, the first one I've seen since the opening. It featured a snippet of a Sarentu song along with a brief conversation.

I'll start with the conversation because with the exception of one word I'm pretty confident I've transcribed it correctly:

Player: Sa'nu? Mommy?

Kataru: Nga lumpe lu txen nìmun, ma 'evi? Zene hivahaw! Why are you awake again, kiddo? You must sleep!

Player: Tsmuke peseng? Where sister?

Kataru: Aha'ri wrrkolä fte [lima?] sivunu por. Aha'ri went out to enjoy the moot.

Kataru: Sunu ngar oey waytelem kefyak! You like my songcord, huh?

Kataru: Trro layu ngaru lora waytelem agim fte vurit ngeyä piveng. Someday you will have a long beautiful songcord to tell your story.

Fairly straightforward. The only bit I'm unsure about is in that fourth line there's a word I'm not familiar with; based on the subtitles I assume it refers to what the characters call the "moot" in English (hence the translation) but idk what the actual Na'vi word is supposed to be. Sounds like "lima" but I can't be sure...might be something we have to wait for a vocab update from KP for 😅

The other bit of spoken Na'vi we got in this scene was a snippet of a Sarentu song sung by Kataru. I am not particularly confident about this transcription, but this is my best guess for the time being.

Awnga lu Sarentu, Eywaru si kìte'e. Ngar awnga yivora'. 'ite rutxe... We are Sarentu, we serve Eywa. We win to you (for you?). Daughter, please....

"Awnga lu Sarentu" is pretty obvious lol, but the rest of it, like I said, I'm unsure about, for these reasons:

Eywaru si kìte'e: the syllables don't quite match with that last word; it sounds more like "kìt'a" but that's not a word (as far as we know). The meaning of kìte'e si (with the si part flipped around, which is usually not allowed but can happen in songs and poetry) makes sense though, and I couldn't find another (known) word that fits closer, so I'm going with this for now.

Ngar awnga yivora': on this one the sounds seem to fit very well, the grammar just feels a little funky ("win to you"?) BUT, as mentioned in the previous bit, songs and poetry can play a little loose with grammar so idk.

'ite rutxe: Similar to the above, the sounds fit moderately well but grammar is holding me up (if I'm hearing the words right, there should technically be a ma in there since the daughter is being addressed. But, of course, song/poetry loose rules so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

.

...all that said, I could be totally wrong about these!! It's just my current best guess. Maybe later KP will give us the official lyrics like he did for Neytiri's songcord ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

sooooo that's all for the spoken Na'vi/actual Na'vi dialogue so far! I'm glad to report that I'm still pretty impressed with it on that front!...however, there are just a few issues with some of the written Na'vi that sometimes crops up as names etc., so lemme just correct those real quick:

"ma'yawntu", something the character Nefika says a lot, should be spelled ma yawntu (two separate words, no tìftang). The voice actress pronounces it correctly, it's just spelled wrong in the subtitles for some reason (and this particular misspelling is such a fanfic level mistake that I'm really kinda annoyed it's in here but 😅 w/e)

The name "Eetu", based on how the characters pronounce it, should be spelled Itu. Even if we're assuming a dialect that allows doubled vowels (Reef does, Forest does not), "Eetu" in Na'vi would be pronounced "eh-eh-tu" (three syllables, with each e sounding like the word "set"), NOT "ee-tu" (two syllables with the double e sounding like "see".

The name "P'asuk" should be spelled Pasuk (no tìftang). "P'asuk" is not even pronounceable (remember that tìftang is an actual letter that affects pronunciation, not just a cool decoration that can be sprinkled in anywhere for ✨aesthetic✨).

On which note, last but not least (for now), the clan name Zeswa should also not be spelled with a tìftang. This one's inconsistent; some places spell it correctly while others (even within the same page!) throw in an illegal tìftang for some reason (Zes'wa).

That's all for now, will add more if and when there is more to add!

so I started playing the new Frontiers of Pandora game last night, and was pleasantly surprised that not only did the opening cutscene feature a few lines of spoken Na'vi dialogue, but said dialogue was actually pretty accurate!! Good job game!!

Here’s the lines transcribed as far as I can tell:

Aha'ri: Plltxe po nìtsleng! He speaks falsely/he lies! Player: Ma tsmuke, ftang! Sister, stop!

-

Aha'ri: Ma Nor? Ma Nor, tìtxen si. Awnga ngahu, tam. Nor? Nor, wake up. We [are] with you, it’s ok. Nor: Tsat oel uniltsola nìmun…tsatxon a fol awngat kämolunge. I dreamed about it again…that night they took us.

-

Aha'ri: Awnga kä ne kelku! We go home! Player: Za'u, ma Teylan. Oeng kivä ne kelku. Come, Teylan. We [may] go home.

[thewanderingbleu]

In my life, one's waytelem shared the same chorus as their parents. Though the specifics are fuzzy: I believe a daughter's waytelem would have the same chorus as their mother, and the son their father's. Considering that's similar to how our names are structured, it makes sense.

[tarsyu]

𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄  [ … ]   𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄,

bold what applies - italicise sometimes.   repost,  don’t reblog.

fights honourably / fights dirty

prefers close - quarters / prefers range

chats during / goes silent

low pain tolerance / high pain tolerance

attacks in bursts / attacks steadily

goes for the kill / aims to disarm / fights defensively / strikes first

is provoked easily / provokes their opponent / teases

gets visibly frustrated / shouts while attacking

uses strategy / focuses on the battle / experiences conflicting thoughts during battle

rushes in recklessly / tries to read their opponent before engaging

fights wildly / fights calmly / fights apathetically / fights with anger / fights with excitement

fights because they have to / fights because they want to

fights without regard to wounds / runs away when wounded / hides wounds / takes a blow to protect another

prefers a blade / prefers a gun / prefers hand to hand combat / prefers a bow / prefers a shield / prefers a personalised weapon / prefers magic alchemy or spells

their greatest weakness is physical / their greatest weakness is mental / their greatest weakness is emotional

transforms for battle / fights as they appear

relies on strength / doubts their strength / relies on speed

uses everything they have / proceeds with caution / hides their full potential

exhausts quickly / has high stamina

behaves arrogantly / brags after landing a hit / belittles their abilities

uses psychological tactics / uses brute strength

avoids civilians / strikes down civilians

damages surroundings / avoids damaging surroundings

signature fighting style / makes it up as they go

mastered skill - set / learning their skill - set

messy fighter / elegant fighter

accepts defeat / refuses defeat / begs for mercy

compliments their opponent / insults their opponent

uses unnecessary movements / moves efficiently / barely moves

prefers to dodge / prefers to block

defends their blindside / has no blindside / leaves blindsides vulnerable

uses all available advantages / strictly uses one main method

plays around / holds back / fights ruthlessly / shows mercy

waits for an opponent to be ready / strikes when opponent isn’t ready

fears death / fears pain / fears killing

has ptsd / avoids fighting

has lost a fight / has won a fight

has killed / refuses to kill

wants to die standing / would succumb slowly

tagged by : @sayitan <3

tagging : @prvtocol (if bri would ever fight…), @nuclearspring (any muse), @bellytochin (chief), @celesteye, @seasmoon, and all my moots

[loakstahni]

The perfect pillows

based on this post because its cute!

Agedup!Neteyam x fem!Metkeyina! Reader

Warnings ⚠: established relationship, kissing, thigh nibbling, slight suggestive content.

Word dictionary: ma - in place to point out who one is speaking to. Sevin - pretty. Flrr- gentle/easy. Yawne - loved one/beloved. waytelem-songcord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neteyam hums gently, running his large hands through your inky black hair, gently scratching your scalp as your head is laid in his lap.

"Comfortable..?" He purrs, his eyes gazing down into yours. You nod gently, turning your head to lay a soft kiss on the inside of his thigh. "Vary comfortable.." You purr, your thick tail slowly swishing between your legs.

"Ma sevin.." Neteyam mumbles, a slight blush dusting across his cheeks. "You smell good, 'teyam.." You hum, pressing heated kisses on the insides of his thighs, nibbling gently. "flrr.." He breaths out, his long tail wagging behind him, thumping agaisnt the woven mat.

You smirk agaisnt his thigh, gently kneading at the surprisingly soft and squishy flesh. "Ma yawne.. I'd stop before something happens." He mumbles, glancing away with a deeper blush. You giggle, feeling something hard poking at the side of your head, knowing damn well that it wasn't his waytelem that was woven into his loincloth.

[nattikay]

Na'vi transcription for those who want it!

Kataru, singing: ...var awnga yivora, nìt'iluke...

Player: Sa'nu?

Kataru: Nga lumpe lu txen nìmun, ma 'evi? Zene hivahaw!

Player: Tsmuke peseng?

Kataru: Aha'ri wrrkolä fte [lima?] sivunu por. Sunu ngar oey waytelem kefyak? Trro layu ngar lora waytelem angim fte vurit ngeyä piveng.

⚠︎︎AFOP Spoilers⚠︎︎

Kataru ♡︎

[iccarian]

@waytelem: ❛ we can make our own way. please, come with me. ❜ gib the platonic obiani.

 ‍ when he breathes, he breathes fire –– from the crevice of his furnace heart, where the dragon nestles within. vader was brought forth to slay it, and he has slayed many already, so why does he still burn? he burns when he looks at obi-wan across from him, lit by the luminescent lights of coruscant — and the blaring red of blaster fire in the distance. master, friend, brother. he wasn't supposed to be here. he wasn't supposed to be alive — anakin wasn't supposed to face him.

 ‍ 〝 there is no other way. 〞 fingers tight around the hilt of his saber, deactivated for now, he pulls his gaze away from the jedi and tries to inhale through the fumes swirling in his lungs. in doing so, he looks at the younglings. huddled in the far corners of the room, confused and petrified. the force — it cries out, overwhelming. the only other time he's felt so much pain was when his mother died. when he knelt before darth sidious and promised himself his apprentice. unbidden, his eyes are drawn back to obi-wan. 〝 what other way? 〞 demanding, pleading. how can he turn back now?

 ‍ 〝 obi-wan — 〞 and his voice catches here, wheezes through the smoke spewing from him. and then it quiets, a twisted remnant of the desperate boy he was, and is. there is no dragon. there is no vader. there is only you. 〝 if I don't save padmé . . . 〞