The Return by Karen Papazian

A lone paladin returns home to find her temple aflame, undead abominations swarming the ashes, and with only her in the way to stop this plague from spreading. 

When the last creature is put to rest, she leaves her blade as memorial to those lost.

i learned that the destruction of Hiroshima was caused by only half a gram of matter being converted to energy: the weight of a butterfly (x)

26-9-21

A demonstration against the draft. New York City, NY. 1965.

Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos

Following orders

I walk the battlefield, the guns long since quiet. Maybe a stray gunshot off in the distance but the war is very much over. The battle-worn field in front of me.  

I walk into what once was the battlefield, rubble cracking and sliding under my boot. This place has been what seems like my home for the past year, and the final resting place for Human and Zavok alike.

"Whos there." A voice says from behind a piece of rubble. I start walking towards it

I walk around the debris and see him. A Zavok soldier, his insectoid frame pinned to the destroyed wall by a piece of rebar sticking out of his abdomen. His gun in front of him, just out of reach.

"that's unfortunate," I say, pointing towards his injury. "Yeah, I guess it is," he replies with strain in his voice. I kick the gun even further away from him and then sit across from him on another piece of rubble.

"Who are you?" He asks as he gazes upon my clothing.  Its black cloth hanging loosely around me. "I have many names in many different cultures. Hel, Thanatos, 4999, Hades, Apophis, or even the grim reaper."

"What's your actual name then?" He asks with a bit of strain on his voice. "I dont have one."

We sit in silence for some time until he speaks up. "I regret it you know."

I raise my eyebrow at what he says. "I mean, I was just doing what I was told. If I didn't, who knows what would've happened to me." He says.

"Just following orders?" I scoff. "I've walked many battlefields in my time, every time I did many of them would cling to my boots and beg, 'I was just following orders, they were the enemy.' I've met countless souls on their deathbeds. But you are just the one more in a long line of monsters."

"What was I supposed to do?" He shouts. "Disobey. Not follow the orders of monsters. Millions of innocent people are dead for no other reason than they were different."

"Im one man, what could've I done to stop it?" He asks desperately. In a chillingly calm voice, I continue. "You are right, your one man, there was nothing you could do. But you didn't have to join them, You could've sat by and done nothing, or help the innocent people, but instead, you helped them continue doing it."

"I've seen countless atrocities you couldn't even fathom. Genocide after genocide I watched the humans perpetrate. When I followed them to the stars I thought it would stop. It seems I was wrong." I stand up and walk towards him, my hand outstretched towards him. "Be at peace in this final moment, for the place after may be far worse."

I wait a moment and he bows his head towards me, accepting his fate. "May the gods have mercy on your soul," I say as I put my hand on his head, snuffing out the flame in his eyes.

I turn around and continue walking into the battlefield, looking for more souls to help cross over. As is the job of Death.

Reminder that the Geneva Convention was *not* the first time anyone thought about morality in connection to warfare. The concept of war crimes for example dates back to at least the 15th century, if not earlier.

The Geneva Convention not existing in the Grishaverse doesn’t mean that they don’t have a conception of things that are seen as heinous even in the context of warfare. In fact, we know they do! It’s explicitly discussed in RoW and mentioned in the earlier books.

1995

“This Kobold fixes tanks and trucks on the front lines. What are YOU doing for the war effort?” Kobold’s are often recruited into the engineering corps for various nations. Being unable to shoulder a rifle do to their weight and size, many instead find themselves repairing weapons, vehicles, and building fortifications. 

Me and my friend played genesis together and i had to doodle the bros

he said what he said

baroque in the 21st century

Almost 200 people were murdered in Armenia in 3 days and y'all are still ignoring us.

This is not a war, this is a massacre Azerbaijan and Turkey are committing against the Armenian people.

Turkey's president literally admitted that he wants to finish what his ancestors started. He wants to commit another genocide, and this time he wants to kill us all.

Silence is violence

A North Vietnamese Army officer laughs at the peace symbol necklace of a captured American soldier, 1973