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sayruq · 6 months ago

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Ramallah, May 13, 2024—Israeli forces used three Palestinian boys as human shields in the northern occupied West Bank last week.Karam, 13, Mohammad, 12, and Ibrahim, 14, were used as human shields by Israeli forces in separate incidents during an Israeli military incursion into Tulkarem refugee camp on May 6, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. In all three incidents, armed Israeli soldiers forced the boys to walk in front of them as soldiers searched Palestinian homes and neighborhoods in Tulkarem refugee camp, and in two cases, Israeli forces fired weapons positioned on the boys’ shoulders. “International law is explicit and absolutely prohibits the use of children as human shields by armed forces or armed groups," said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli forces intentionally putting a child in grave danger in order to shield themselves constitutes a war crime.” Around 30 Israeli soldiers entered 13-year-old Karam’s home on the morning of May 6, located on the third floor of an apartment building. Israeli forces isolated Karam’s family in one room and forced Karam to walk in front of them, open the doors to each room, and enter it before them. Then, Israeli forces moved Karam and his family to the fourth floor of the building, where the rest of the building’s residents were held.Israeli forces then took Karam to the building’s staircase, where they were accompanied by a “huge military dog,” as Karam told DCIP. While they were walking, one soldier placed his rifle on Karam’s right shoulder and fired two shots toward an apartment in the building. "I was crying and shaking in fear, and whenever I begged the soldiers to stop, they would scream at me and order me to be silent," Karam said."After the soldiers searched the apartments of the building that I was entering before them, I asked them while crying where they were taking me. One of them answered me in Arabic that they would take me with them to show them the way, in addition to opening the doors of the neighboring houses and entering before they did." When Karam and the Israeli soldiers arrived at the first floor of the building, where his grandmother lives, she began yelling at them and asking them to release him, so they returned him to the fourth floor. Karam’s grandmother was unable to climb the stairs to the fourth floor due to her age and health and Israeli forces permitted her to stay on the first floor. "While we were climbing up the stairs, three soldiers assaulted me severely with black sticks that they had. They beat me on my lower limbs and my back for about five minutes, while they were telling me that I was a terrorist. When I reached the fourth floor, I was exhausted and could not stand as a result of the beating and fear. I was kept with the residents of the building until around 7 p.m., during which the soldiers did not allow us to eat anything," Karam told DCIP.

12-year-old Mohammad told DCIP that his family decided to go to their relatives' house in Tulkarem refugee camp after they heard that Israeli forces had besieged the camp so they would not be alone. Their relatives' house was an apartment located on the second story of a residential building. Around 8 a.m. on May 6, Israeli soldiers entered the apartment and ordered everyone to leave, and when they saw Mohammad, they took him away from his family, despite his mother's pleas and desperate attempts to free him. "I was left alone with the soldiers after they ordered my mother and siblings to go up to the fourth floor of the building. I started crying and shaking in fear because I did not know what they would do to me. They were armed, masked, and had frightening appearances. They had a huge military dog that made terrifying sounds," Mohammad told DCIP. "After that, the soldiers told me to knock on the doors of the apartments in the building, while they were standing behind me at a fairly short distance, and to ask the residents to come out, and this is what I did. When we reached the door of one of the apartments, there was no one inside, so the soldiers blew up the door and forced me to go inside alone and check and search it. After I told them that it was empty, they entered it, while I remained held by one of the soldiers at the door," Mohammad added. "While I was held in the hallway, the soldier guarding me assaulted me with a wooden stick for about 10 minutes. He hit me on my head and back. After the soldiers left the apartment, they took me to the fourth floor, during which one of them hit me with his hands on my head, and I fell on my face. One soldier also put his rifle on my shoulder and fired several bullets at the ceiling of the staircase. They kept me with them for about two hours, during which I was crying out of fear, terror, and pain. I begged them a lot to no avail. When we reached the fourth floor, I was searched before I was held with the rest of the building's residents until about 7 p.m., without being allowed to have anything to eat,” Mohammad said.

14-year-old Ibrahim was in his family’s home in Tulkarem refugee camp around 9:30 a.m. on May 6 when Israeli soldiers entered and searched their house. “A number of soldiers took me to one of the rooms and began interrogating me about the whereabouts of wanted men. When I told them that I did not know anything, one of them threatened me in Arabic and said that he would shoot me if I did talk, after which he slapped me and kicked me for a few minutes. Then, my hands were cuffed behind my back with a plastic tie, and I was taken outside and forced to walk in front of the soldiers,” Ibrahim told DCIP. “I was trembling because of intense fear and terror,” Ibrahim said. “At first, I thought they wanted to arrest me, but they told me to walk in front of them in the alleys of the Sawalma neighborhood in the camp. They would hide in the alleys and tell me to see if there was anyone around. After that, they untied my hands, and whenever we passed a house or building, they would instruct me to enter and ask the residents to come out. Then they would raid those houses and tell me to open the doors into different rooms.” After about two hours, Ibrahim was taken to one of the houses in the camp and held there with the residents until Israeli forces withdrew from Tulkarem refugee camp.

Since 2000, DCIP has documented 34 cases involving Palestinian children being used as human shields by the Israeli army. Last year, Israeli forces used four young children in Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, near Jericho in the occupied West Bank, as human shields.

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queer-geordie-nerd · 3 months ago

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It’s actually truly frightening that we’ve gotten to so extreme a point that there are people who are genuinely and in all seriousness blaming the UK riots on “Zionists.” It’s like people’s brains switch off entirely when they get the chance to demonise Jews or Israel for something, anything. This is what happens after 10 months of constant, unchecked antisemitism and just plain ignorance about Zionism on the left - they’re the evil boogeymen behind literally everything, which is so obviously an antisemitic conspiracy theory as old as time that I can’t believe people are still uncritically perpetuating. Although, I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

The English Defense League are a bunch of uneducated, violent, far right white nationalists who believe that there’s some secret Muslim takeover going on and were whipped into their current frenzy by their (wrong as it turns out) belief that a Muslim immigrant was responsible for the deaths of the little girls in Southport. Rather than supporting the families and community affected, they decided that the best thing to do was to rampage through cities up and down the country, setting police cars and buildings on fire (including refugee accommodation), smashing windows, targeting literally anyone who isn’t white, “protesting” outside mosques and putting dozens of police officers in hospital.

These riots have less than fuck all to do with Zionists or Israel. I can guarantee you the EDL hates Jews as much as they hate Muslims and literally any individual who isn’t a white Brit and they would be appalled at the idea they were in league with them. Use some critical thinking skills, for fuck sake.

#uk politics #edl #uk riots #antisemitism #islamophobia

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inlovewithpandora · 6 months ago

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ꕥ — Found Someone Better / Forest Meets Reef

Artists — Tonowari x fem!avatar!reader

Genre — Chapter Two

Lyrics — Coming into Metkayina territory has you anxious, scared that they won’t except you and your son but those thoughts are pushed out the way when the Olo’eyktan accepts you with open arms, while having his eye on you at the same time.

Music Advisory — Pre-Atwow, slight angst in the beginning (from Jake & Neytiri), fluff, widow!tonowari, implied/undertones of flirting (from Tonowari & Reader); the character Ralak is @zestys-stuff’s oc and will be depicted as Tonowari’s best friend.

Duration — 3.5-3.7k

Index — Uniltìrantokx - dreamwalker/avatar・Uturu - a Na'vi tradition stating that any refugee seeking sanctuary must be granted safe harbor・Vey - food・Mawey - calm ・Karyu - teacher

Words From Artist — Chapter Two is finally here! Thank you to everyone who commented, liked, and reblogged part one! I appreciate all the love and support! I hope y’all enjoy and always feel free to comment and reblog, I love reading y’all reactions!

Current Platforms — Chapter One ・ Series M.list ・Series Taglist・Main M.list

Village life is now settling down, meaning families are now returning to their homes so they can rest and recover from today’s activities. As Jake and Neytiri walk home with the kids trailing behind them she can’t help but think about how harshly she’s been treating you lately. She feels bad because she knows that over the years all you’ve done is love her purely and she nor Jake have been reciprocating that.

Neytiri knows she can’t change Jake’s actions, he’s far too stubborn to muster up any regretful emotions but she can at least acknowledge her mistakes and apologize for her own actions. When she gets home she wants to talk things out with you in hopes to change your relationship around for the better.

After a few more steps the family finally makes it home and the kids start running around looking for you. “Mama!” Neteyam shouts while running throughout the marui, wanting to greet you with a hug. When Neteyam doesn’t hear your voice or footsteps it makes him wonder where you could be. “Where is Mama?” Neytiri can only respond with a simple answer, telling him you’re probably out gathering fruits for dinner even though she doesn’t know your whereabouts either.

Neytiri’s mind starts reeling with memories from throughout the day, trying to remember if she’s seen you since she and Jake left early to start their clan duties as leaders. “Jake, have you seen y/n today?” Jake shakes his head no, not being much of any help, making her hiss in annoyance at his lack of care about you.

“Mom, what does this say?” Kiri runs toward Neytiri with an open letter in hand, making her brow bones fur in confusion as to what it could be. As her eyes scan the letter, taking in the mixture of english and na’vi words that are written on the paper, tears begin to pool her eyes which grabbed Jake’s attention, making him wonder what could be so bad that it brought her to tears. “What does it say?”

The Tsakarem quickly tells the children to go to their room so she could talk to Jake alone and not scare or worry them. Once she sees the kids are gone Neytiri walks over to Jake and clings to him, letting her emotions take over. A shaky breath parts from her lips before she burst into tears, feeling like her world was crumbling at her feet. She didn’t mean for this to happen, for things to get so bad and cause you to do something drastic like this but now it was too late, too late to repair the relationship you once had. “She’s gone, Jake. y/n and Lo’ak are gone!”

—

After an eight hour flight and dealing with a restless child you finally reach the coastal reefs. As you’re getting closer you’re riddled with nerves but you put on a strong face for Lo’ak, not wanting him to see you rattled with the new environment. The most frightening part about this whole situation is worrying if the Metkayina would be kind enough to let you and Lo’ak seek refuge with them, especially since both of you are considered demons in the eyes of the Na’vi.

Once you fly over the atoll you notice how the pattern of water goes from rough to calm and how the dark blue to color shifts to nearly crystal clear. From your perspective you begin to see an island, humongous trees erupting out of the water, holding together the structure of multiple homes, and multiple palm trees scattered across different areas of the sand. Your nose begins to fill with the scent of salt water, the windy breeze is blowing through your hair, and the sun is beginning to warm your skin.

All of these changes in the atmosphere makes you realize you finally made it to Awa’atlu, the place Mo’at described to you vividly. When you fly over the seawater lagoons you can see multiple Reef Na’vi averting their gaze from their duties to you, making them dive into the water so they can quickly get to shore to figure out why you’re invading their lands. The sound of a horn being blown rings through the air, causing a sleeping Lo’ak to stir in your arms and eventually open his eyes. The sound is familiar to you, it’s a universal sound used in all Na’vi clans when the village needs to be notified of something.

Hufwe lands on a strip of sand, finally able to rest her aching wings from the tiresome journey. She lets out a screeching sound before clawing her nails into the sand. You disconnect your queue and gracefully slide off the back of your ikran, doing a quick stretch so you can release the tension in your muscles. You place your hands under Lo’ak’s armpits and raise him off your ikran and place him onto the ground. “Mawey, okay?” You kneel in front of him and begin to straighten his clothing and fix his hair that became a little messy along the ride, wanting him to look his best in front of the Metkayina. He nods in response, making you smile before grabbing his hand and walking toward the crowd of people.

The Metkayina can’t help but stare at you and your son, of course they’re curious to why you’re here but most of all it’s because of how different your appearance is from theirs. There’s plenty of chatter and whispers among the Metkayina, questions and concerns bouncing between the clan members. The crowd is getting louder but once a loud husky voice shouts throughout the area everyone silences themselves. “What is the meaning of this?” People immediately begin to disperse to make a path for their Olo’eyktan who’s dressed in traditional leader clothing, carrying a large spear into his hand, making an entrance on a large aquatic creature. You start using your context clues and realize it’s Tonowari, the fierce warrior, respected leader, and well-spoken statesman Mo’at told you about.

You and him exchange a formal Na’vi greeting, slightly dipping forward and your hands touching your forehead as a sign of respect before he speaks. “Why have you and the little one come to us?” He inquires as he looks between you and Lo’ak with softened eyes.

“We come seeking uturu, Olo’eyktan.” You say in the most confident voice you can muster, feeling slightly intimidated by his presence. Even though he was tall and had an authoritative demeanor you can tell he’s a kind man and you’re hoping he will show some of that kindness today and allow you to live in his village.

“Why?”

“I no longer want to live in the forest. I don’t feel safe there anymore so I gathered my things and brought my son, hoping to create a new life here.” As you speak you feel Lo’ak’s tail curl around your leg, something he always does when he’s near you and feeling nervous or anxious. When you pick him up he immediately clings to you, resting his head on one shoulder and placing his arm around the other.

Tonowari takes in you and Lo’ak features, noticing your thin tails, skinny arms and legs, and lack of fins. In his eyes your bodies were weak which means you will be slow in the water. “We are Reef people, you are Forest people, your skills will mean nothing here.” He knows it will be hard for you both to keep up, especially since your physique is accommodated for forest activities instead of aquatic.

While Tonowari contemplates on your capabilities, some of the villagers decide to outburst their concerns. “They aren’t even true Na’vi!” A random man shouts amongst the crowd of people. “They have demon blood, you can’t possibly let them live among us!” A woman angrily yells out while pointing at you and your son’s four-fingered hands, making the crowd of Metkayina surrounding you gasp in shock.

You wince at their comments, knowing that their words can make or break Tonowari’s decision. “I know I was once a sky person but now I’m Na’vi, I’m willing to adapt and do whatever it takes to fit in here.” With each word your voice begins to tremble and the exhaustion in your eyes is beginning to become overshadowed by tears. You’re practically begging him to accept you at this point, if he turns you away you will have to go search for another clan and you don’t know where to look. “I promise we will hold our weight and not cause any problems. All I ask is a sanctuary for me and my son, I just want to keep him safe.”

Tonowari lets out a sigh as your words run a mile a minute around his head, thinking about your request. Making this decision is difficult for him to make on his own, usually he would have his mate Ronal to share the burden of decision making with but she unfortunately went to live among Eywa years ago. He often thinks about what she would do or say in situations like this and that’s what helps guide his decision of you staying.

“This young woman and child will stay with us. We will provide them with food and shelter. We will help them find a role in the clan and learn our ways. We will treat them as our brothers and sisters, if there is anyone who is not treating them with respect and kindness they will be dealt with accordingly.” As Tonowari speaks he turns to look at the crowd of people, placing heavy emphasis on his last sentence so everyone is aware. Hearing the sternness in his voice the clan shows no objection or resistance, making him end his speech with a content nod. Even though he’s still curious to the true reason you were here and still processing your surprise arrival, he’s still willing to welcome you with open arms and to save his questions until you settle in.

When you hear his statement you finally release the anxiety induced breath you’re holding and let out a sigh of relief before immediately showing your appreciation. “Thank you Olo’eyktan, you will not regret your decision.” You can’t possibly express the gratitude you currently feel, now that he’s allowed you to stay the hard part is over, you can finally have a shot at a happy life again. He returns a smile your way before telling some of his warriors to go grab your belongings from your ikran. Once they collect everything they ask you to follow them, leading you into the direction of an empty marui, your new home.

—

The sound of birds chirping and waves crashing against the sand were powerful, it was something you would have to get used to but you know the adjustment won’t be hard. Your marui is near the heart of the village, giving you easy access to anything nearby. You love how all the mauri’s are placed above the reef, allowing you to see the beautiful oceanic creatures as you walk along the spongy pathways.

As you watch Lo’ak play with his toy Toruk beside you, making his own screeching noises to bring his imagination to life, your heart swells with joy knowing that you were able to achieve your goal, moving him into a safe environment. Your family is now miles away from the Olo’eyktan and Tsakarem of the Omatikaya clan and you can’t be more rejoiceful. When you hear the sound of footsteps coming toward the entryway of your marui your head turns swiftly, wondering who it could be since you aren’t expecting visitors.

“Hello, y/n. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Tonowari saunters inside with his children trailing behind him, a boy and a girl.

“No, not at all. What brings you by?”

“I wanted to introduce your son to my children, Tsireya and Ao’nung, they will help guide him in learning the way of water from a child’s perspective.” Tonowari places his hand behind their backs, slightly pushing them forward, silently encouraging them to go and talk to Lo’ak.

You think it’s sweet that Tonowari’s children are going to help him navigate learning the ways of water because you want him to be social with the village children and make new friends and who’s better to be friends with than the Olo’eyktan’s children. “It’s nice to meet you both.” You flash a smile towards the little ones before looking at Lo’ak, waiting for him to introduce himself.

Once your son tells them his name and all three of them move in the corner of the room and begin to talk and play amongst themselves, trying to get familiar with one another which gives you and Tonowari an opportunity to talk. “I really want to say thank you again for accepting me and Lo’ak into the clan, I’m beyond grateful.” You’ve expressed your gratitude every time you see him throughout the village because you truly can’t thank him enough, his kindness truly saved your life.

“No need to thank me, I did what any man with a good heart would do.” As both of you continue talking he begins to admire your features, your wide yellow eyes and the eyebrows that frame them, your black braided hair that reaches the middle of your back, adorned with wooden beads, and your four fingers. He’s heard plenty of stories about how the Omatikaya accepted humans into their lives to create Uniltìrantokx but he never thought he would meet one in his lifetime.

“Well, I appreciate it a lot Olo’eyktan-”

“Please, call me Tonowari.” His statement catches you off guard, you’re used to a man demanding respect with the title of Olo’eyktan so you assumed he would want to always be called by his title. You nod your head slightly with a small smile, making a mental note to call him by his birth name.

“I also brought along some clothes that are more suitable for the water.” He walks outside and within a few seconds he comes back inside with a basket in his hand, filled with child-sized loincloths for Lo’ak and matching sets of bra tops and loincloths for you. Everything was embellished with seashells, beads, flowers, and anything else that Eywa provides as decorations.

You grab the basket from him and place it on your wooden table, placing your hands inside and start rummaging through to look at each piece of clothing. “Thank you, these are beautiful. I can barely decide which one I should wear first.” You chuckle softly to yourself, knowing that when it comes to clothes you have a tendency of being indecisive.

“How about this one?” Tonowari places his hand in the basket, going to grab the top he thinks will look appealing against your dark blue skin. When he finally locates it he goes to wrap his hand around it but he stops when he feels something warm against his skin. He shifts his gaze downward and that’s when he finds the source of warmth, your hand tangled together with his.

When it registers in both of your minds what’s happening you lift your head, causing your golden orbs to lock with his oceanic eyes. This goes on for a few seconds, staring into each other’s eyes with a light blush on your face. The moment would’ve lasted forever but the sound of the children’s laughter brought you both back to reality. “I think this one is pretty.” You say in a tone that’s barely above a whisper, trying to keep yourself at ease while Tonowari towers over you. “I will wear it when I come to communal dinner tonight.”

“Well, I will leave so you can get ready.” Tonowari turns his head and beckons for his children to come, telling them it was time to go home. He leads them outside the marui and before he turns to walk along the spongy pathways he looks at you one last time with a small smile, making your blush even more apparent. When he’s fully out of your line of sight you let out a sigh, feeling like you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of him. If Tonowari makes you feel like this with the smallest interaction you don’t know what you’re going to do during lengthy conversations.

—

Tonowari is sitting with some of the hunters when you arrive at the beach for communal dinner. Lo’ak was walking beside you but once he saw Ao’nung, Tsireya, and the other children sitting together he ran off to be with them, leaving you by yourself. When Tonowari notices you, sitting down by yourself with a shell plate filled with grilled fish and cubed fruit, wearing the golden colored reef macrame top he recommended, he can’t pry his eyes from you no matter how much he tries.

He’s trying his best to not make it noticeable to the hunters around him and it’s working, no one noticed, except for his right hand man, Ralak. He can see a small twinkle in Tonowari’s eye, the same look that casted upon his face whenever he saw Ronal. Ralak doesn’t want to bring it up in front of everyone but he’s definitely making a mental note of it so he could bring it up later.

He can tell Tonowari wants to come up to you, he just assumes he needs a little nudge. Since they are sitting beside each other he places his hand on his shoulder, gesturing his head in your direction. “Go to her.” When Tonowari hears his statement he scrunches his eyebrow bones, wondering how he knew you were on his mind.

Tonowari decides to listen to his best friend and come up to you, hoping that the conversation will go smoothly. “It seems like you're enjoying your vey.” He predicts while taking the empty seat next to you, surprising you in the process. You didn’t expect him to come up to you, especially while he was talking to the other hunters which made you assume it was an important conversation.

“Yes I am, this fish is very tasty, better than what I used to hunt back in the forest.” The different spices you’re tasting were mouth watering, the food is delicious, the best seafood you’ve tasted in a long time. You wipe your mouth with a cloth you always keep in your pouch, wanting to make sure your face is free of any crumbs while speaking.

“Feel free to take as much as you like, we have plenty to go around.” When Tonowari finishes his sentence he notices your gaze is on your son who was eating and laughing with the other Na’vi children. “Your son will have a good life here. We have plenty of things to occupy him, the karyu’s are wonderful at teaching the children the skills and abilities they need and he has plenty of opportunities to make friends even though it seems like he’s made some already.”

“Yeah it does, I’m so glad he’s already adjusting to life here.” a smile spreads on your face, happy that the children were accepting him despite his differences.

“Soon you will adjust as well and a good way to start is with learning our ways, do you know how to swim?”

“Only in shallow waters.” Your swimming skills weren’t the best but they were decent enough when you lived in the forest and only had to deal with rivers and lakes but now since you’re living in the reefs you need to be able to reach the depths of the ocean.

“Well, you need to reach all levels of the ocean to properly be one of the people. I will meet you tomorrow near the shore at sunrise.” Tonowari was willing to teach you himself, even though there are many qualified people who can do the same thing. Most would say he’s just being the kind man Ewya molded him to be but in reality he’s doing this so he could be closer to you.

“I will be there.” You’re excited to learn from Tonowari and gain more knowledge about the Metkayina since you were a scientist at heart but you know it won’t be easy, especially since you’ve been so programmed with how things were done in the forest. Rewiring your brain to make room for the way of water is going to come with its challenges but you know you’re capable of doing it.

When the clan conversations begin to simmer down everyone starts making their way home, ready to spend the rest of their evening with their families. When the kids walk over to you and Tonowari, yawning and rubbing their eyes, the two of you knew it was time to call it a night so they could rest. “C’mon, Lo’ak. Let’s get you home.” Lo’ak, Ao’nung, and Tsireya exchange goodbyes before you pick him up and start walking down the beach and toward your dwelling.

As you disappeared into the shadows of the night Tonowari began walking his own children home. As he walked along the bouncy pathways he began to anticipate his lesson with you tomorrow, he couldn’t wait to teach you the way of his people, he was excited to see you again, up close and personal.

Previous — Chapter One ・Next — Chapter Three

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probablyasocialecologist · 1 year ago

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We search for God on this land. Theologically, philosophically, we ask: Where is God when we suffer? How do we explain his silence? But away from philosophy and existential questions. In this land, even God is a victim of oppression, death, the war machine, and colonialism. We see the Son of God on this land crying out the same question on the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why do you let me be tortured? Crucified? God suffers with the people of this land, sharing the same fate with us. As Mitri Al-Raheb wrote in his article “Theology in the Palestinian Context,” which appeared in an Arabic book I edited: “As for the God of this land, he is not like all the gods... His land is plowed with iron... His temples are destroyed by fire ... His people are trampled underfoot, and He does not move a muscle. The God of this earth is hidden from view. You search for His traces but do not see them. You long for Him to split the heavens and come down to see. To listen, to be compassionate, to be saved. The God of this land does not repel brutal armies, but rather shares one fate with his people. His house is demolished. His son is crucified. But his mystery does not perish. Rather, he rises from the ashes, and with the refugees you see him. He walks, and in the dark of the night he raises springs of hope. Without this God, Palestine remains a scorched land ... it remains a field of destruction. But if God tramples its foundations, he will only make it a holy land, a land in whose hills the good news of peace resounds.” Beloved, in these difficult times let us comfort ourselves with God’s presence amid pain, and even amid death, for Jesus is no stranger to pain, arrest, torture, and death. He walks with us in our pain. God is under the rubble in Gaza. He is with the frightened and the refugees. He is in the operating room. This is our consolation. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death.

#palestine #gaza #israel

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grimalkenkid · 2 months ago

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“The Kind of Person I Wanted Back Then”

(Had a burst of inspiration thanks to @havanillas art of Aventurine with a baby, so have this angsty-yet-hopeful Drabble! Enjoy?)

Aventurine knew his place; he was a tool for the Strategic Investment Department to deploy in situations deemed too risky or underhanded for any of the other Stonehearts. He was basically disposable, a pawn who was nevertheless useful if he could turn the tides at a pivotal moment. So it came as little surprise when Diamond sent him to once again “offer” the IPC’s aid to a particularly stubborn border planet that refused to ally with the Amber Lord against the Antimatter Legion.

Even from orbit, Aventurine saw the scorched craters where once-thriving cities stood, though the sight couldn’t hold a candle to the devastation he witnessed firsthand in his opinion. Of course, he would offer his sympathies or condolences when he met with their leader, but he wouldn’t sugarcoat anything. If Diamond thought a gentle touch would get through their thick skulls, then he would’ve sent Topaz.

The negotiation went about as well as expected. Their leader was a tough, old soldier, determined to maintain his people’s independence. However, Aventurine had seen enough of the crumbling masonry and hastily-set tents along the outskirts to sense the cracks in the man’s resolve.

“Give the IPC a controlling share in the planet’s geothermal energy market, and you’ll have the Preservation’s protection.” The words burned his tongue, bitter and acrid.

Like they should have protected the Avgin…

Aventurine left the meeting having given the leader a few offers to ponder and many possibilities to chew on. He was certain they’d come around and agree to the IPC’s terms. Eventually, everyone did.

There were few casinos still operating within the city, having lost most of their clientele to leisure activities less reliant on luck. A shame, Aventurine thought, and so he returned to the small space-port, texting Stelle to pester her into playing online poker. They were two hands deep when a laser-scorched shuttle made an abrupt landing nearby.

Dozens of injured civilians and soldiers rushed out. Aventurine hung back, keeping out of their way as they undoubtedly hurried to the nearest hospital or, more likely, a first aid kit. He tried not to think of how powerless he was right then. For all his wealth, he couldn’t actually protect anyone. Only the IPC could wield that kind of power, and he was little more than their puppet.

With a heavy-hearted sigh, Aventurine tried to turn his attention back to his game, but a lone figure lagging behind the rest of the refugees caught his gaze first. It was a small child, his awkward gait a sign that he had just barely learned to walk. He stumbled about aimlessly, his wide eyes watery and darting everywhere. Before a single thought formed in his head, Aventurine had already pocketed his phone and strode over to the confused child.

The instant the child saw Aventurine approaching him, he abandoned his wandering and stumbled as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the only adult who even seemed to notice him. Aventurine knelt down in front of the kid, his heart nearly stopping as he saw his eyes clearly, with the distinctly two-colored irises of a Sigonian.

“Where are your—?” Aventurine started, but his question would have to wait as the kid slammed into his chest, clawing at his waistcoat and sobbing as only a frightened child could.

Whatever questions Aventurine had could wait. He slowly brought his hands up and wrapped the poor kid in an awkward hug. He wasn’t supposed to be the one who offered comfort, shouldn’t be the one people trusted. Wasn’t supposed to be a person, just a tool, a pawn. And yet this kid was clinging to him like a lifeline. The least Aventurine could do was give him reassurance in return.

He patted the kid’s head, speaking softly until his tears dried and his breathing grew steady. Only then did Aventurine lift him into his arms, whispering a comforting lie as he returned to the city,

“Now, let’s go find your parents.”

Hours later, and Aventurine had the answer he’d known all along. The kid’s parents were dead, and no one would take him in. Of course they wouldn’t; why would anyone take in a Sigonian? To do so would be asking to invite a future thief and liar into one’s house.

But Aventurine was already a liar. A murder. A loser.

As the kid fell asleep in his arms, Aventurine returned to his ship, shutting himself away from the prying eyes of his subordinates. He sat down in the first chair he saw and finally let his own tears fall.

“I’ll take care of you,” he swore with all the kindness and tenderness that remained in his scarred heart. “I won’t leave you to fend for yourself. I’ll protect you… I promise.”

And he meant it.

#hsr #honkai star rail #hsr aventurine #fanfiction #Grim’s writing #Grim’s Drabble #i wrote this instead of sleeping #have some Aventurine introspection and maybe some cynicism #at this point I’m not sure what this qualifies as #I just hope y’all enjoy it #maybe I’ll get back to writing my stelleratiorine fic after this #one can only hope #canon typical violence #violence mentioned

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