#culture-bearer

[coolerdracula]

my last reblog about ASL made me wonder about Palestinian Sign Language. I don't have much time to delve into it right now, but I did find a lengthy 2020 journal article about PSL, written by Mahmoud A. M. Abdel-Fattaha and Khalil M. I. Alawnah for the International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change. here is a direct link to read it.

[brokoala-soup]

my healing arc will be the story of me mending my relationship with the colour pink

[mali-umkin]

I present to you two formulas that are different in form but virtually identical:

Self-help + mindfulness + karma + self-enlightenment + yoga = white bhuddism

Bonus points: astrology, psychedelics

Dancing around the fire + "ancestral" + any Celtic symbol + fairies + paganism + holistic living = Celtic spirituality

Bonus points: LOTR stuff, ogham, crystals, manifestation

[neechees]

That Ukrainian guy was invited to be up front at a grand entry??? Like are we just inviting influencers to join grand entry purely bc they're influencers?? Ok

[meistoshi]

assorted alola things because it's highly relevant right now. i will obviously not make anyone adhere to all of this, my only sticking point is satoshi being alola's first champion, but this is all base blog canon, mixing anime with a bit of game canon; i'm open to being loosey goosey with aspects of junk.

after becoming alola's first champion, satoshi stayed for another year to help with setting up the league as a recurring annual event, as well as to assist in ultra beast outbreaks & lend a hand where he could with aether in light of lusamine's. uh. pr disaster let's say.

restructured the preliminaries for the league from a 100+ free-for-all battle royal into first-come-first-fought 3v1 battle royals, extending the length of the conference but providing more safety for the trainers & a clearer view of the battles themselves, as well as adding entertainment value with more battles & extending how much time people might spend exploring & spending at local stalls.

ensured there are no requirements for entry beyond three battle-ready pokémon up until the top4 & six battle-ready pokémon for the quarter-, semi-, & finals ; only those seeking to challenge the champion directly are required to have completed the island trial challenge. the pokémon do not necessarily need to be caught or be legally registered to the trainer, but they need to be registered in some capacity as the chosen roster prior to battle.

satoshi returned for the third season to defend his title against kaki, that year's victor. as the previous year's conference victor, the exhibition match will be kaki vs champion.

satoshi left majority of league responsibility in the hands of kukui & the kahunas, up until recently.

due to talks with people more critical of the pokémon league, & particularly the alolan league's establishing, satoshi's switched a large amount of his attention to doubling down on making the league compatible with alolan tradition & the region's general conditions.

he's currently entirely caught up on what the aether foundation has been up to as far as anything digitally documented goes thanks to rotom — the dex's overenthusiasm & disregard for what counts as "confidential" means it's informed satoshi of these contents as well.

satoshi is on amicable-to-friendly terms with majority of team skull & doesn't hide or shy away from any advocacy for them, & is not quiet about rooting for any of them, especially ree.

he's likewise open about his favor with the alolan guardian deities, & is proud of his rivalry with kapu-kokeko. the rivalry is very common knowledge among melemele locals, & it's extremely public knowledge that the deity challenged satoshi & pikachu at the end of the first league's exhibition match & that, in a clash of z move versus z move, pikachu's 10mil volts defeated kapu kokeko's guardian de alola.

satoshi has come to terms with the fact that the choice of current conference location was an error on kukui's part & has advocated with him & members of the league association for the conference to be moved ; his past experiences on pasio have heavily inspired him to suggest creating an artifical island not far from aether paradise, also in the area roughly equal distance from all the islands' ports. preparations are still under way, but satoshi hopes for this to be completed in time for the 5th league season.

while staying in the region, satoshi has continued to live with kukui & burnet, & the recent addition of their son lei, & apart from the obvious pikachu, has both his alolan pokémon team on call & lucario, as well as other pokémon brought to alola, battle intent or not, & pokémon recently caught in the region ; while it remains with the other flying ride pokémon, satoshi's arranged for his ride gaburias to be entirely registered to him during his stays in the region, though it's free for anyone to page when he's elsewhere.

[vveakfish]

in love with how the gods are depicted in the Iliad

[goinggoats]

tamsyn muir is NEVER living down none houses with left grief

[cigaretteparfum]

i just clocked why sometimes but not all the time when i see someone being like, "yes but this group isnt the one doing this" or something along those lines, i get so annoyed but again, only sometimes.

like for example if someone's saying like, idk, "girls got the not like other girls syndrome bc they want to be accepted by guys around them" and someone swoop in being, "guys werent the one making them do that though" am more or less just like. yea. yea, i get what the op was saying but this commenter isnt wrong and thus not annoying.

but if the op was like, "our culture and society place so much value in male approval that a lot of girls developed not like other girls syndrome for that approval" and then a person swoops in giving the same counter as before am like, oh my god shut up literally reread the whole thing again.

cause like, am personally more of the mindset that if youre speaking in public thats on you to minimise as much potential misunderstanding as possible. i mean it's also still on you on private convos but like those are usually more with people you already know so it's whatever, they prolly already got what you meant. and unless the person is a massive asshole clarification is prolly just "huh wdym" "like, this, yknow??" kinda deal. but in public, or with strangers, since they dont know anything about you, and with the tendency of people easier to get confrontational, disclaimers or just clear phrasing in general is like, a courtesy ig. less headache for you too; if someone misunderstands what you said it's easier to be like, "i literally cannot be any clearer than this, this is a you problem" when you've communicated what you meant well enough.

which is why am not exactly a fan of generalisation in public/strangers. like, unless it's pretty clear that it wasnt meant to be taken seriously. i get what people mean when they say stuff like, idk, "men aint shit" but also like ... if you say that unironically, and in what's supposed to be a genuine/serious convo about stuff, and you dont elaborate further.... like i get what youre getting at but also people saying, "not all men" arent wrong either. and i'll be honest as much as i dont disagree with the sentiment behind the slogan and why it came to be at all, whenever these things happen and the usual debate ensues am just like. this is silly. it's silly. am sorry. none of you are having the same conversation with one another. yes, sorry, the person saying not all men was correct actually. no, you werent talking about that, but ostensibly by the phrasing you were. so just. have fun now, i guess.

so when, now, the person is clearly not talking about men, or any group, let alone generalising anyone, and is instead pointing out to the larger entity that affects everyone by making things harder for one group and easier for another ... but not talking about individuals ... to have someone swooping in to be like "not all men/[insert any other demographic]" it's like. youre the silly one here actually. youre clowning so hard but no one attends your gig. sad. embarrassing. literally no one is talking about that. if someone points out the system benefits you thats not someone pointing their finger at you. this isnt about you. like legitimately shut up.

yknow???

[culturaldiversityday]

Digital technologies and AI : culture and arts education at the helm of the technology frontier.

Digital transformation is taking place at a prolific pace, generating new forms of learning, creating and communicating across platforms and borders. The acceleration of AI has also led to rethinking how this is bearing upon culture and arts education. Bringing to the forefront some of the decisive issues surrounding technology, this session shines a light on the opportunities, as well as the digital divide, adverse impacts and evolving prospects.

[coolerdracula]

it would be really cool if there was a piece of media where DID wasn’t used for its shock factor

[vigilantdesert]

25 !!

Memoriesssss - Accepting

Gerudo birthdays were generally understated. They celebrated everyone's continued survival with the New Year, so an individual's birthday was mostly spent in reflection. There were, however, a few milestones that were marked with more ceremony. The fifth birthday, a milestone in its own right as those who lasted this long generally lived to adulthood, was also the age at which a Gerudo was inherited. It was a common misconception outside the tribe that she was a full citizen at this point - this was untrue, as she couldn't fight, hold council, or pay tax. However, in the event of her mother's death, she could hold the family's possessions rather than have them returned to the tribe at large.

For an aquulifan, it was even more important - it was the age at which she could rule in her mother's absence.

The nation had been lucky. They hadn't had a child chieftain in over three hundred years, due in no small part to their continued prosperity and relative peace. Even still, little Urbosa's fifth birthday was a ceremonial undertaking.

She'd practiced it with Romah many times, but ceremonies like this still made her nervous. She enjoyed the attention, but she was fully aware that every capital citizen, as well as many who had traveled from out of town to see their aquulifan come of inheritance. She waited at the back of the temple, wetting her lips while she still could. It was a nervous habit her mother couldn't quite break her of. She held a silver goblet with both hands. Her thumb and index fingers couldn't wrap around the lip of the cup, and it was heavier than one might have expected. It actually made it easier for her, in her mind. She had to focus on the cup, not just spilling it.

The priestess at the alter continued her song, torches flickering around them. Hundreds of Gerudo of all ages lined the halls of the temple; far more waited outside. All waiting on her.

She licked her lips again, eyes darting between the two priestesses to either side of her. One glanced back at her with what she imagined was a sympathetic smile. The others were just as focused as Urbosa herself and didn't seem to notice her hesitancy.

Finally, the head priestess came to the line that signaled the aquulifan's arrival. Urbosa's feet suddenly felt leaden as she took her first step. The water in the goblet sloshed dangerously. She took a breath, realizing she hadn't done so in quite a while, and made another attempt.

This one was more successful, allowing her to put one foot in front of the other until, before she noticed, she stood in front of her noble Mother. Her chin tilted up mechanically, the words of the priestess's song holding no meaning after having heard them so many times. She dropped one knee, holding the goblet as high above her head as she could. Romah was an enormously tall woman, even for the giants of the desert, and she had to bend her knees to reach.

Urbosa wouldn't know this until years later, as her gaze immediately dropped to the floor ahead of her.

The water droplets poured over her head washed away without sensation, as did her mother taking over the song. She had finished her part in the ceremony - at least, the difficult part. She would be carted around afterwards, doubtlessly, but all she had to do now was try not to sweat too much in the ceremonial clothing. The rest of the day was difficult to remember, but Urbosa doubted she would ever forget her anointing day.

[zenaidamacrouras1]

I made a slide show for my staff call today here you can pretend you work for me:

I also talked about the importance of culture-bearers and creating art. In the civil rights movement, they sang. In the queer movement, they danced. Folks facing the worst things throughout history have kept their dignity and humanity through art, love and community. Through finding joy when they were not supposed to. The autocrat’s goals are fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation. We combat that through community, through staying human, through honesty and transparency and making art.

"The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe" There is power is in our vulnerability, in our grief, especially when we feel it together as a community. The other side of grief is love. If we didn't love, we wouldn't grieve.

Go take a nap, a walk, or make some art. The problems will keep a bit.

[blueiscoool]

Man Discovers 900-Year-Old Stone Carving Beneath His House in Germany

The rare picture stone may depict Otto of Bamberg, the bishop who helped spread Christianity throughout the region.

During a recent home renovation in Klotzow, Germany, a man stumbled upon something unexpected: a three-foot-long bildstein, or picture stone, dating to the 12th century.

The boulder features a carved figure draped in robes with a cross in front of his body. Experts think it may represent Otto of Bamberg, the bishop and missionary credited with spreading Christianity to the region. It’s also the only known picture stone to depict a figure with a cross.

Klotzow is a village located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a state in northern Germany. According to a statement from the state’s culture ministry, a resident named Peter Wittenberg discovered the stone while working on his home’s foundations. The large artifact was buried just a few centimeters below the surface.

Wittenberg, who knew he had found something special, reported his discovery to officials. Experts moved it to the city of Schwerin, where researchers could conduct a careful examination.

“The significance of this find cannot be overestimated,” says Detlef Jantzen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s chief archaeologist, in the statement. “The new find from Klotzow is the only one that could depict a Christian dignitary. Now, we are going to try to learn more about the stone’s original location.”

Carved picture stones first appeared in the 4th century and were produced through the 12th century. They featured a rich variety of artistic styles, and many of them served as memorials to individuals who had died. According to the culture ministry, picture stones that reveal evidence of Christianization are especially rare.

Born in 1060, Otto of Bamberg dedicated his life to converting populations in an area known as Pomerania, located in parts of present-day Germany and Poland. According to some accounts, the number of people he baptized may be in the tens of thousands.

“With this exceptionally significant find, we can add another important piece to the mosaic of our country’s history,” says Bettina Martin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s culture minister, in the statement. “Bishop Otto of Bamberg undertook his first missionary journey to Pomerania in 1124. The fact that a picture stone from this period has now been found exactly 900 years later is an extremely fortunate circumstance.”

There are only around 20 known picture stones in the region today, as Jantzen tells Live Science’s Laura Geggel. He thinks the figure’s shawl and cross could be a pallium, a religious cloth worn by the pope, archbishops and some bishops.

“Otto received the pallium from Pope Paschalis II,” Jantzen adds. “When Otto was traveling in Pomerania in 1124 and 1128, he was the first and only possible bearer of a pallium at that time in that area.”

Specialists in Schwerin are currently examining and documenting the stone artifact. When they’re done, officials hope to display it in Klotzow, where it was found.

“The finder deserves thanks and the highest recognition for reporting his discovery immediately,” says Martin in the statement. “The experts from the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation and the local monument protection authority will now take care of securing and further examining this one-of-a-kind find.”

By Julia Binswanger.

[skyscrapergods]

Are there such things as minor gods? Things like how Aphrodite is the main goddess of love and related things, but the Erotes are all gods and goddesses of more specific parts of Aphrodite's domain.

There are entities that come to represent a concept in their local community. The less people who know and venerate them, the less powerful they are. There are many names for boosted creatures: saints, partially ascended, demigods, etc. The world is massive and each part has its own culture.

Twilight was already growing taller and longer before Celestia supercharged the process and made her into a Godling. Godlings cannot go back to how they were before, but they can try their hardest to remove themself from the concept of their godhood and hope they don't grow any further.

An example of a venerated creature would be Rain Shine, matriarch of the Kirin and Conduit of Silence. She is taller and more powerful than the other kirin, but no one thinks of her as a god.

Hierarchy of Ascension

Patron

This pony (or griffin or dragon etc) is known for their association with a certain trait, concept, material, area, personality, etc. You wouldn't yet call this their "domain" and most people are unaware there is anything magical going on.

Rarity - fashion. She is well known as a fashionista, and her garments give an extra sparkle of inspiration and self love to their wearers. There are many of these in the world.

Zecora - exotic wilderness. Everyone thinks of her as foreign and strange but capable and kind. She is adept at using folk remedies and navigating the Everfree Forest with ease.

Spearhead - Subjective art. This royal guard-turned-artist builds strange compositions that many ponies find confusing. But he is skilled at evoking emotion with seemingly random shapes.

Conduit

People who are changed by their domain, and have notable power relating to it.

Rain Shine - Silence. She is more powerful when no one is speaking. Her magic caused already health-compromised kirin to lose their voices.

Trouble Shoes - Bad luck. Thought of as being a massive clumsy screwup, that is what he became.

Fleur de Lis and others with a similar build - We will have to do more research on their actual domain.

Sassy Saddles - conduit of sweatshops apparently

Thorax - Leadership that values the people rather than the self

Shining Armor - Protection

Bastian

Significant changes and powerful magic that can last through the ages. Lifespans extended but they are still mortal. Physical changes tend to manifest during highly magical moments, and can fade afterward. Known by hundreds of mortals.

The Pillars of Equestria, and later, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

Pinkie Pie - Chaos

Harbinger

Extremely powerful creatures who are on their way to a natural ascension to godhood. They Can be killed, but if their power continues to grow they will become immortal. They can start to take on other domains as people attribute more concepts to them. Known by millions of mortals.

Sombra - He has his own chapter, to be released.

Queen Chrysalis - Terrified Reverence. Ruling through fear. Selfishness and taxes. She thinks she is the Harbinger of love, of course.

Tirek - Habinger of helplessness. He makes everyone feel terrified and unable to act.

Dragon Lord - Powerful and massive leader of dragons. This is a form of near-godhood that can be transferred from one dragon lord to the next. Usually this transition is peaceful, with the old lord announcing the new one to dragons of the world. But history is stained with the blood of battles for the title. The Lord is whoever dragons believe to be their ruler. One historically successful way to achieve this belief is to kill the old one. Thankfully, modern dragon law includes term limits.

Deity

Alicorn Post | Gods Tag

Immortal beings that are many many times their original size. Massive, powerful magic that is interwoven into the fabric of reality. Gods have multiple concepts in their domains, usually related to each other in some way. This includes "positive" gods taking on "negative" traits as part of their domain.

Known by hundreds of millions to billions of mortals.

Discord - Chaos and disharmony. He is a dimensional interloper that has gained notoriety and thus power in this dimension as well as his own.

Celestia - The sun, sky, and daytime. Main Post | Tag

Drawback: Burns

Luna - The moon, the night, and dreams. Main Post | Tag

Drawback: Nightmares

Twilight (future) - Friendship and connection. Main Post | Tag

Cadance - Romantic love and family. Main Post | Tag

Boabab (oc) - Life. The beginning, the planet

Novo - The Ocean

Godling

Godlings are creatures who have been ascended through the acts of another god. They have skipped the slow growing power gain. Instead, they manifest godlike traits while still keeping their small size. The God who ascended them will usually announce the new Godling to their followers, which immediately gains the Godling a congregation and begins their ascent rapidly. They have varying levels of power and control over their domain.

Twilight (current day) - Friendship.

Cadance (formerly) - Romantic Love

Cozy Glow (temporary) - Chaos

Sunburst - Unknown. Main Post | Tag

Flurry Heart (current day, born as a godling) - Unknown

Of course, this is just putting names to the laws of magic that govern our world. And magic, as we know, does not follow rules we try to set. If you were to ask a lorekeeper from the other side of the world or in the ocean, you would hear very different interpretations of the same system.

[meistoshi]

amazing friend, person and writer!! a joy to write with and lots of fun to talk to ooc too!! c: ALSO AMAZINGLY WELL THOUGHT OUT HEADCANONS!!

[seneon]

IN MEMORY, YOU LIVE ──── ghost¡touya × fem¡reader.

about. in which, the dead lives by the memories of the living, and you're here to remember his soul. touya is deceased soldier from WWII. reader is a christian who prays. this is a bittersweet romance with religious themes, japanese culture, and lots of dialogues. touya might be ooc in some parts. inspired by coco and a whisker away. wc of 3100+

notes. in commemoration of all souls day, in which i celebrate. honestly i wrote this after remembering a sunday school class i had about purgatory and prayers LMAO. so it's kinda self indulgent. i miss my grandfather dawg.

THE SUN KISSED YOUR SKIN as your eyes are shielded shut from the bright sunlight. with your palms pressed against each other and your thumbs making a small cross, prayers ran down your tongue in a quiet voice.

time isn't of essence. it never was, especially when you spend your time praying. forget about time whenever you pray, it was never important. they could drag out to minutes and to hours and you would forget all about time as if it never existed in the first place.

with your knee that started to numb after having kneeled on one cold pavement for so long, you finally moved to sit, your eyes slowly opening to land on the tomb laid out right in front of you.

it's an unknown tomb, belonging to a soul whose history or family you do not know of. there's only a name, dates, and a simple insignia of the military carved onto the stone of the tomb.

touya todoroki, the name bearer of this tomb.

this disheveled tomb is covered in nothing but mere grass and dirt that stains it dirty. you tried your best to clean it up. it seems it's been here for a few decades and no one in his lineage exists to care for it anymore.

what a bittersweet ending. a soldier of the military army decades ago is left to rot in his grave and to have his existence wiped off from the face of the earth. not even an image of him continues to live on in this world.

touya todoroki must be sad to be forgotten.

“. . . . all this i ask through Christ my Lord, amen,” you gave the grave a little bow before signing a cross to end the prayer. then for the rest of the morning up until the twelfth hour, you sit in silence to gaze upon the tomb of this forgotten man, soft strings of words flows out.

heaven knows why you are so attached to this specific tomb. you remembered it as clear as day— how you happen to be walking by in boredom after praying to your deceased ancestors for all souls day. your feet carried you to the path back home, but it felt as if your soul was being pulled by the strings of the tomb bearer.

curiousity strikes you in that moment, like a spear that was driven through your chest to keep you steady. this man— touya todoroki, his tomb and the area is so unkempt you knew it was untouched for decades. he must've lost all ties with his family.

it's the fourteenth hour now. you've eaten your fair share while absentmindedly staring at the grave of the unknown. to not come across as rude to the dead, you left a fresh box of soba noodles and a clean set of chopsticks beside the candles which had been melted over the course of a few hours.

“i bid you good-bye now, mr touya todoroki,” you softly said and stood up to brush the cemetery dirt off your clothes. with one last glance that promises the dead that you will return for the next visit, you turned your feet away.

yet you could not even blink. not even a second passed. it felt as if the speed of light did not exist at that moment. your footsteps walked into a world that did not exist before up until a few milliseconds ago.

your heart fell from a cliff into a pit of fear as you are now greeted with a rather mountainous view. fogs and mists veil the atmosphere, along with a single torii gate in sight as your eyes travel everywhere but behind you.

all because you felt a presence right where your blind spot is. a presence so heavy that you felt eyes burning into your clothes to carve your bare skin with piercing eyes underneath with its gaze.

“leaving so soon?” a deep voice echoes through your ears as you slowly turn your head at where you heard the voice coming from. your throat is dry as your sights are landed on a man sitting on the tomb of touya todoroki, the deceased soldier who has no more place in this world.

“g-get off there,” you choked out, fingers curling to compress any visible fear that might crawl up to twitch at your nerves.

the man simply tilts his head at your words. he's so attractive, handsome. your very first few thoughts about this mysterious man. white hair, scars that gnaws deep into his skin, that turquoise eyes.

if anything, this man is the epitome of magazine beauty. his choice of clothing is odd though, who still wears army clothing these days?

“and why should i get off?”

“because that grave belongs to somebody.”

a chuckle escapes from that man's lips as he leaned his arms on his knees, eyes digging his existence into your presence. “i am that somebody. this is my grave. don't you see that? you talk to me all the time when you come to this shitty graveyard.”

��you're ly—”

“you just prayed for my forgotten soul, sat down, and stared to me for at least two hours. what lie are you speaking of?”

your silence hugs you tight as his words slowly sinks into your mind, finding solace in your soul as you tilted your own head and let out a small “oh.”

“mr touya todoroki? why are you visible, and speaking to me now?”

curiousity clearly reeks in your question and tone as the said man stood up from his tomb, his figure enveloping you as if you are nothing but a mere rat when a cat is chasing your tail.

“because… sweet praying girl, you're either dead, or in the process of dying.”

where's the sun when you need it to give you a sweet, warm hug? where's the brightness of the day that kisses your skin so gently? where is the light of day in this foggy, misty area?

when you looked behind touya, only his grave seemed to exist in this cold, mountainous place. the same old grave that you always sit or squat in front of to offer up the humblest of prayers. you don't even know this soul, yet you still pray for his soul to be free and for God's mercy to be poured upon touya.

now the utter reality is slowly being punctured into your mind. it felt like rocks being thrown at your head, then boulders slowly falling down the top of the mountain to crush your skull as reality sets in.

“walk with me as i brief you about the land of the dead. well at least, this land of the dead belongs to the eastern asians. explains why it's all fogs and mists and mountains,” touya walked ahead of you, his hand moving to wear his military cap, covering his beautiful white hair.

you could recognise that cap anywhere. it's the pillar of a japanese soldier's uniform. the star in the middle is all you needed to know that this man is of honour. or at least, honourable in some ways.

“when you say i’m either dead or dying, how do i know of it? what does that even mean?” your feet carried you to walk beside touya.

“if you're dead, you'd know what impacted you at the last second before you wake up here. when you're dying, you're connected to the dead. heavily connected.”

the dead man walks through a forest. he seems to know so much of this place, having spent probably decades in this afterlife. his presence is quite strong, you can feel him as if he were a real, living being. touya seems to read your mind with your little analysis.

“your prayers have brought me back,” touya said and held up a falling tree branch, ushering you to walk ahead before he went after you and dropped his hands.

“how? also, i don't think i have been impacted. i simply took a step away from your grave and suddenly i’m met with this .. mysteriously new place.”

the man proceeds his journey ahead, leading you to wherever he desires as you follow behind, millions of questions swarming your mind.

“when you die, you live again in the afterlife with the memories of you back in the living world. if nobody remembers you, you disappear for some shitty reason. and why you are here? well i don't know. figure it out yourself as you spend the rest of your day here.”

touya's chin gestured towards the clearing of view from the forest. it's now set into a view of a busy village. it's still afternoon, you supposed, since the day is still bright and just a tad bit warmer now than the mountain.

as rural as it can get, everyone who exists in this moment seemed to wear clothing throughout history, some even foreign to you.

there's a descending staircase that seemed to stretch on forever. yet touya still walks down anyways, expecting you to trail behind him as he leads you into this village that has buildings and homes stacked up everywhere.

there's a tree, similar to yggdrasil of the norse, the tree of life. which is connected to the heavens and earth. this tree, however, seems to provide shelter for every soul wandering into the land of the dead.

“it's like… a super duper big treehouse…” you murmured under your breath, taking in the sight of this worldly view as you descended the staircase and slowly presented yourself to the afterlife.

“it's where the dead people live. unlike the mexican afterlife which has sprinting colours and music and all the cultural stuff, we have a rather calming afterlife. just like how every eastern asians prefers it.”

after what felt like over a decade of descending, your footsteps came to a halt. first step onto the ground, and the sky is all dark with warm lights that emitted the atmosphere. it was breathtaking. that was all it meant to you and all you could say in this moment. your eyes widened in awe, lips curving upwards in a huge smile.

at first, you expected to be greeted with the agonising pain of tiredness from descending, but there was only peace and tranquility. this scenery that brought you all kinds of warmth on the inside had sucked in any negativity you were feeling— both physically and mentally.

“dead people things,” touya reminded you as he marched forward to immediately blend into the crowd of dead souls and busy streets. “mr touya, wait!”

“catch up, praying girl. or i’ll lose you easily,” he glanced back, and his words went straight to your heart. they're meant to mean that he'll lose you easily in the crowd and this busy afterlife, but to you it sounded more personal. like when you were leaving his grave just a moment ago but ended up here.

you apologised and quickly went to his side to hold his sleeves so your distance wouldn't be separated again. touya's traditional, you assumed, since he's not the type to let girls hang on his sleeves.

he must be quite reserved and stoic back in history, considering the way he tugged you off his sleeves to hold your hands in a loose grip instead. “don't let go,” he said as you nodded in compliance, squeezing his hands a little tighter as touya led you through the bustling streets.

the two of you walked, walked, and walked for what seemed like forever in this solace of a giant tree until he stopped in front of the foot of the giant tree. you paused to admire the size for a moment, the roots spreading down into the earth and possibly even touching the opening of hell.

touya walked, and you followed, approaching the edge of a big lake that surrounded the tree as if to protect it. much to your displeasure, he unhooked his hands from you, leaning down to look at his reflection at the surface of the lake. you followed him, looking at your own reflection, before stealing a glance at his reflection.

such a reflection that speaks of sorrow and silent suffering. it tugs at your heartstrings how a soul could look so sad.

“sit down,” touya says, and you obey to sit with him on the grass, gazes still locked onto yourselves in the water.

“this is the lake of prayers. it's where every prayer ever said to a soul is stored,” he explains. “each soul has a colour assigned to you. it wraps around the prayers like a glowing ball of light.”

“what is your colour, then?”

touya leans forward to dip his fingers into the waters. very quickly, a small amount of ball-like glows of turquoise surfaced from the bottom to surround his fingers, gently dancing in the water. he then caught a glow and allowed the ball-like shape to melt in his palms.

words fell onto his palm, overflowing onto the grass as your voice filled both your ears, causing your eyes to slightly widen.

“it's my voice..” you trailed off and touched the grass where your prayers have spilled onto.

“yes. your voice. your prayers,” he allows the ball to fully melt before he reaches into the waters to take out a few more, all of them melting onto the grass. and all of them echo the faint sound of your voice. down until the last glow.

“they're all your prayers,” turquoise eyes attempt to seek comfort in your own eyes as you look at the todoroki. “you're the only living being that prayed for me,” touya's voice drops to a whisper and you frown at his words.

lonely soldier whom no other living being prayed for, touya todoroki. his existence is only relevant after so long where you randomly stumbled upon his disheveled grave.

“but that's— that's not fair,” your reply is soft, and touya finds that comforting. “why, mr touya? this is awfully sad.”

“it isn't when you serve in the military and die in war. all you get is a name on your tombstone. they won't even retrieve your body from the battlefield.”

you watched as the man closes his fist after all the words have melted and he dips his whole hand into the waters to wash off the words.

“as i said before, i was about to fade away in forgotten memories, but you, sweet praying girl. you brought me back here.”

there's an unexplainable feeling that starts to swell deep inside your heart at this man's words. he's a random soul you just happen to keep praying for when you pass by his grave. it looked like nobody prays for him, so you took up the simple act of doing so.

but to hear as he utters such words out from his mouth, it makes you want to clench at your heart and squeeze it until it explodes.

“this isn't heaven or hell, right?” your question makes touya nod. “this is purgatory. the waiting room that lies between heaven and hell. this is where all prayers are heard, and where all sins and judgements are accessed. this is the garden for sinners.”

“how long have you been here?”

“longer than i could count.”

his hands are retrieved from the waters as he flicks them dry, shifting just a bit so he sits next to you with his gaze on the tree. “its not very nice to be forgotten. especially if you're the last one standing on the battlefield before being betrayed by your own army.”

you glanced at him. “betrayed by your own army…?”

“i’m a colonel, serving as the leader of my regiment. touya todoroki, as you know. to lead my regiment onto the battlefield and to be the last man standing before the other colonels strikes you down is hell. these scars all over me will always be a painful memory. i hate them.”

just a few minutes with touya was all it took to know all about him and his life. what a truly sorrowful story his life has led him on. the more you listen, the more your heart twists with sympathy.

he was a soul you didn't even know existed, yet now as he speaks of this large tree of life that rests, you can't help but feel the desperate need to embrace him. so as he runs his mouth, you shift close to wrap your arms around him, cradling his head to your chest like he is a child of some sort.

to feel a hug in what felt like an eternity definitely has touya freezing in shock, eyes widening as he stops speaking.

“it's okay,” you whispered, and he crumbled beneath you, his body melting into your warm embrace and his eyes shutting to wrap his own arms around your figure.

“nobody deserves to be forgotten. that's for sure. even in life or death, no one should be left alone,” you softly said, words wrapping around touya like a comforting veil as he lets your voice bring him to his own peace and tranquility.

when your fingers weaved themselves into his soft and snowy white hair, he let out a contented hum. it's so overwhelming for him that he can do nothing but bask in your sweet comforting embrace. you feel like your prayers which have been uttered to him back in the world of the living.

touya feels as if he doesn't need to wait for another eternity in purgatory just to disintegrate into nothing anymore.

“what's your name? touya asks you as he stands across from you. it's hours later, you believe, and you're back at where you first stepped foot in.

“it's y/n,” you replied, and he nodded. his fingers slithered to curl around your fading ones, having spent so long on this other side has caused your existence to be comfortable as if you are one of the dead. his thumbs brushes against your knuckles before he steps closer to lean to your level.

“thank you, y/n. for everything,” he leans close to gently press his lips onto yours before pulling away, a smile forming onto his scarred face. his fingers uncurled and he gently pushes you towards the torii gate.

“go. the living awaits you.”

you looked at him one last time before smiling on your own. “i won't ever forget you, touya. it's a promise. i hope to see you again.”

“me too. farewell now, y/n. and thank you again.”

as you step through the torii gate, the scene of the misty mountain disappears into the living world where the graveyard still exists. your eyes immediately travelled back to touya's place of resting, feeling a small smile forming on your face.

your fingers which have gone back to normal gently touched his tomb, letting your touch linger for a moment before you leaned down to kiss his tombstone, saying your farewells before walking away.

the memories of touya todoroki lives on, along with the lingering kiss on your lips which makes your eyes grow glossy at those memories. it appears your soul is just very attached to his, granting you one visit before touya takes his next step in the afterlife.

© SENEON 2024 ♰ do not repost, alter, or translate.