#Catholic Center Party

[tmarshconnors]

"History has its own way of dealing with individuals, as well as with nations."

Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk was a German national conservative, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as the vice-chancellor under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1934.

Born: 29 October 1879, Werl, Germany

Died: 2 May 1969 (age 89 years), Sasbach, Germany

Chancellor of Germany: Franz von Papen served as the Chancellor of Germany from June to November 1932. His tenure was marked by political instability and economic difficulties during the final years of the Weimar Republic.

2) Role in Hitler's Rise to Power: Von Papen played a crucial role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power. As Vice Chancellor under Hitler in 1933, von Papen and other conservative elites believed they could control and moderate Hitler's policies. This miscalculation contributed significantly to the consolidation of Nazi power.

3) Diplomatic Career: After being sidelined by the Nazi regime, von Papen served as Germany's ambassador to Austria (1934-1938) and later to Turkey (1939-1944). In Austria, he was instrumental in facilitating the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938.

4) Acquittal at Nuremberg Trials: Despite his involvement with the Nazi regime, von Papen was acquitted at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. The tribunal found insufficient evidence to convict him of war crimes, although he was later denazified by a German court and sentenced to eight years in a labor camp, a sentence which was soon reduced, and he was released.

5) Post-War Life: After his release, von Papen published his memoirs, "Der Wahrheit eine Gasse" ("Memoirs") in 1952, offering his perspective on his political career and the events of the era. He lived a relatively quiet life in West Germany until his death in 1969.

[firefighter-diazbuckley]

i know that i’m an outlier in this but why the fuck is everything in college so late

[mapsontheweb]

The Chinese concentration camp archipelago

by cartesdhistoire/instagram

« Atlas historique mondial », Les Arènes, 2e éd., 2023

2,047 / 5,000 There are two types of detention centers in China: laojiao, under the Public Security, and laogai, under the Ministry of Justice.

Laojiao is a form of administrative punishment imposed solely on people who have committed minor offenses. The term of internment cannot exceed four years. There are an estimated 300,000 prisoners (drug addicts, prostitutes and their clients, petty criminals) in over 300 camps.

Urban prisons and laogai, located in the countryside, include prisons for inmates sentenced to six months to twenty years, the aim of which is to reform the inmates through labor. It is estimated that there are 8 million prisoners in a thousand camps that resort to torture and degrading treatment. Starvation is common, leading to widely documented cases of cannibalism.

Laojiao, like laogai, uses prisoners for economic purposes and, like the Soviet gulag or the Cuban UMAP (Military Units for Aid to Production), it is one of the instruments of the power's territorial planning choices (major construction sites, pioneer fronts).

Beyond forced labor, Harry Wu, a Catholic dissident detained from 1960 to 1979 in the laogai, and founder in 1992 of the Laogai Research Foundation which made this system of camps more widely known in the West, reveals that the Chinese authorities collect organs from prisoners in order to transplant them onto members of the Chinese Communist Party.

It is estimated that 10 million prisoners and internees were held during each year of Mao's reign. 50 million prisoners are said to have passed through these camps since the communists came to power in 1949 and 20 million died there (cold, hunger, disease, fatigue, summary executions, etc.).

This concentration camp system created in 1951 still exists, as do other types of arbitrary detention called “black prisons” (hotels, disused offices, drug rehabilitation centers) where people are humiliated, beaten and tortured.

[theehorsepusssy]

The old hood

A. Cucina! Cucina! Was a shitty chain restaurant I managed at the Rose Garden arena (1997-2004) paid well, free food. I weighed nearly 300 lbs

B. Red Lion Hotel parking lot. Where I had to park on game days. Busted smoking pot out of a beer can with my boss. Huge rats and feral cats. Surprised I didn't get fired....or rabies.

C. Memorial Coliseum. I dropped The Red Hot Chili Peppers spaghetti take out order and had to run back to restaurant to replace. Took it back unaccompanied, was waved thru and wandered around backstage trying to find who to give it to. Nearly ended up on stage holding a take out pan of spaghetti during Give It AwayNow

D. Jags was a bar in the hotel where I would go play Video Poker when I was too tweaked to be around customers at my job. It eventually became a Detox center and sober house years later. Fucked a couple straight guys who liked to get freaky for meth hanging out near here

E. Budget motel. Had sleazy sex here a couple times in 90s

F. Warehouse where they held Mr Drummer leather 1990 maybe. my friend stood me up and I was alone.....on acid . There was a sex party afterward-$20 . Large room covered in unrolled black garbage bags. Coil's Hellraiser soundtrack played. I was tripping balls. Saw guys climbing up on a dudes wheelchair and face fucking him. Saw someone getting fisted for first time. Was told to leave while getting a titty twister from leather daddy. Years later, my friend turned the downstairs into Dirty Little Secret salon/spa and that stupid Eagles song "dirty little secret, dirty little lies, dirty little fingers in everybody's pies" gets stuck in my head and I think of the aforementioned fisting I witnessed

G. Walgreens I went to daily. Where to buy needles with a side of eye roll because I would confuse my insulin size order with the dope size other order. No ATM fees there.

H. Head Shop across from Franks Noodle House. Lousy meth pipe selection. If any. Dunno. I never smoked it always some trick would whine that they would only smoke and we'd end up here.

I. Lloyd Center mall. The bottom level bathroom was a decent place to poop when I was homeless for a while

J. The park I had registered as my "home" when I was homeless.

K. The hotel where I went to a Craigslist sex party and the host had a suitcase full of Ethyl Chloride cans and huffed so much we thought he died for a moment. Half the guys attending kept repeating " I'm straight, I've never done this before" I wish I had a camera

L. My mom worked here. I avoided these blocks for years, afraid of bumping into her while I was high

M. Tony Roma's Ribs. This was an occasional night out for me and Robert 1992-95. There used to be street whores on MLK back then

N. Hotel to party at. Call girls worked this one hard. You could still smoke in the rooms

O. The Red Robin I worked at for 2 weeks 1996. Worst job ever. I was told to learn to steal cuz no one tips. It was true

P. Courtyard Marriot. I would use lobby ATM for dope money if I was in a hurry. Met a online hookup there many years earlier who used a fake pic. Got there and dude was like 500lbs and asks if I can give him some meth and i ask how much he want to spend and fat boy gets all cheap and wants free and I'm thinking if I want to try and rob him before a moment of clarity and I leave

Q. The McDonald I got "groceries" at the last year I was using. I ate maybe once a week. I weighed 150lbs. It's by a Burger King that never had any customers the 20 years I was in the area. Is it a mirage? Is it haunted? Is it a money laundering front?

R. The 7/11 where I bought Camel Lights and Diet Mt Dew everyday. The old owners would whip out their shotguns when robbed. The new owners just let the robbers take the money

S. The seminary and Catholic church. You would see priests with unaccompanied minors at the Wendys across street. Suspicious. One night I was out smoking a cigarette and all the Catholics came marching out of the church playing Jesus dress up for Easter and the parade passed me and one dude thought I looked destitute and whipped out some cash for me and all Bless You my child or some shit. I was gonna give it back but went up to 7/11 for cigarettes and Diet Mt Dew. Thanks Jesus!

T. The Merrick. Casa de Horsepussy 2009-2016. 90% of all those old pics I post are on that block

U. Serene Court (a.k.a. Syringe Court) apartments.Used to be cheapest apartments in downtown area when I first moved here. Was exotic to cross the river from downtown proper to buy a bag of crank in this spooky old place

V. The Yards. I had an employee who sold pot lived here. I had to fire him. It was awkward as fuck

W. The Greyhound station was where to find heroin from someone who sold to someone I knew. Probably an open fent market these days

X. The Main Post Office. I had a meth dealer 2002ish that would mail tweak to NYC cuz those people would pay ridiculous price for an 8ball. He would get nervous about going in saying he was too high and have me mail it. Only later did he tell me what was in package

Y. Fancy loft area where one time I was having very intense drug induced roll play sex with some guy and he was veering into some script where I was his wife who drugged his beer and yeah, ok but then I think he just wanted a beer but it was all blurred reality with the sex game and I put 2 Zyprexa in his beer bottle and dude went down...hard. I had to dress him and get him back to his loft but he was practically dead from the sedatives and I didn't know where he lived exactly and just kind of rolled him out the car onto the curb off Lovejoy and sped off at 4am.

Z. My dad worked at some building under the 405. I lived a few blocks up the street and would find other routes to walk to the arena for fear of running into him

[cuntess-carmilla]

TERFs from the imperial core have this fantasy that global south feminists and global south women in general MUST universally agree with them at least in principle of "women = born with a dyadic vulva" as if their views on gender weren't inherently colonial and white supremacist, and as if Latin América specifically isn't at the forefront worldwide regarding the trans liberation movement.

Yeah, yeah, Spain passed a nice little bill that makes it easier for trans people there to change their name and gender marker legally (genuinely happy for the Spaniard trans community), but they're like, anywhere between 4-8 years late to the party compared to Argentina, Chile and México.

Even within like, colonized global north nations as is the case between Scotland and England, it was Scotland that tried to pass a similar bill recently (and was stopped by its imperialist relation to England), not the other way around.

I'd also really appreciate if TERFs stopped calling their feminism "marxist". Maybe, MAYBE some of you idiots have marxist views when it comes to economics (and you're all still closer to fascists in every political regard than not, ask your queen Tumblr user celestia!), but your feminist analysis doesn't come from marxist class-centered analysis -- which requires us to agree that class is constructed through power and culture for the sake of oppressive resource and labor distribution, rather than being inherent qualities or the natural order -- it comes from pretty fucking Catholic and reactionary views on gender and sex that can't be divorced from gender-essentialism and bio-essentialism, and ignore any sane or hopeful analysis on concrete oppression.

In other words, get fucked.

[buddiebeginz]

I really wish some of you would realize that when actors agree to do these kinds of interviews most of the questions are preapproved before hand. There will at the very least be some kind of conversation between the actor's team and the interviewer about what questions they may not want asked. So if 911 and Abc really wanted to focus on Tommy and Buck and stop talking about Buddie (which would make the most sense if Buddie was never happening) I’m positive they'd stop answering questions about Buddie.

Also Oliver could have answered that question about Buddie in many different ways he especially could have done more to downplay Buddie happening if he didn't think it was ever in the cards. He's always been very careful to not try and get our hopes up.

He made it a point though to talk about how much chemistry Buck and Eddie (and him and Ryan have) have and said "there's stuff there" between them. He also talked about how if Buddie were to happen he wants the story to be done carefully so as not to perpetuate any queer stereotypes. He literally could have just kept his answer short and sweet and said like he's done in the past that he gets why people ship them and he's open to whatever happens next on the show but he didn't. I just don't believe he would have given such an in depth answer about Buddie if he thought the show was never going there.

Also like was pointed out in this post Oliver's body language was very telling in that part of the interview. He's also usually pretty articulate and he was searching for what to say there and it definitely felt like he was a bit guarded about how he answered so as not to give anything away.

The other thing I think some of you have to realize about will they/won't they storylines is up until the show decides to show their hand they're going to let the audience think that the story is going in one direction. So right now they want us to think that Buck is with Tommy and Eddie is straight.

But they've also been laying down the bread crumbs that will eventually lead to Buddie going canon. Buck's whole bi awakening was centered around Eddie and Eddie has been connected to things ever since. They had Eddie show up to Buck's first date. They had Buck more upset that he lied to Eddie than the fact that his date with Tommy didn't go well. They had Maddie talk about Buck having something he needed to tell Eddie. They had the coming out scene with Buddie mimic the kiss scene with Tommy in some ways. They have Buddie showing up to the bachelor party/wedding in a couples costume when Buck is supposed to be going with Tommy.

Then they're starting to lay the pieces for Eddie's Catholic guilt storyline which will ultimately (likely) lead to a coming out storyline for him as well.

Please do not let any of the interviews and articles get you down or make you jump ship. I’m more convinced than ever that Buddie is happening. I also don’t believe for one minute that Tommy is Buck’s forever love. That person is Eddie. We just have to be patient and let the story play out. We are closer than we have ever been before to seeing our couple together for real.

[fireheartwraith]

What is Festa Junina?

You may have heard the brazilian cc's talking about throwing a festa junina in the server, but what is it exactly?

Festa Junina translates to June's Party, and its origins go back to pagan midsummer and harvest celebrations. Time went on and it mixed with catholic beliefs, especially those centered around Saint Anthony, Saint Peter, and Saint John the Baptist (which is why it is also known as São João).

The tradition was brought to Brazil with colonization. It's no longer a summer fest since it's winter, but you can still see the influence (maybe the bonfires are part of it).

Nowadays, Festa Junina is known for the traditional square dancing and the food — seriously, the food is amazing (look up pamonha, cural, canjica, pé-de-moleque, bolo de fubá, cuzcuz nordestino... damn I'm hungry)! Most of it is made with corn or peanuts. Mulled wine is also a must! People dress in a "country" fashion, with straw hats, puffy dresses, and drawn freckles and mustaches. Everything is VERY colorful.

School kids will put on shows (known as quadrilhas), which usually include a "wedding" comedy sketch. In my high school, the twist was that the best man was in love with the groom. It was very dramatic. I loved it.

Here are some pictures and traditional songs! I wish we could get a mod with the foods to the server or something, but just the skins and decorations will already be so much fun!

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 30

January 30, 1965

Historical Context

Winston Churchill's funeral was on a scale befitting his place in history as the prime minister who guided Britain to victory during World War II. He died on January 24, 1965, having lived to the age of 90. The government had been planning extensively for his funeral in the years before his death, and it had to be revised several times as Churchill kept living, leading Lord Mountbatten to remark that "the pallbearers kept dying and Churchill kept living." It became the largest state funeral in history. Representatives from over 120 countries attended the ceremony in London, including Queen Elizabeth II, for whom Churchill was reportedly her favorite prime minister. The funeral itself was watched by 350 million people on television. After his death on January 24, the Queen sent his wife Clementine Churchill a letter saying "The whole world is the poorer by the loss of his many-sided genius while the survival of this country and the sister nations of the Commonwealth, in the face of the greatest danger that has ever threatened them, will be a perpetual memorial to his leadership, his vision and indomitable courage". Vast numbers of dignitaries attended the funeral, including wartime colleagues Dwight D. Eisenhower and Charles de Gaulle as well as several past British prime ministers.

1859 – Edward Martyn was born on this date. (d.1923); Martyn was the first president of Sinn Féin, the Irish republican movement's political party, which he co-founded with Arthur Griffith, serving from 1904 to 1908. He was homosexual and the son of a wealthy Catholic family from Tillyra Castle in County Galway.

A pillar of the Celtic Renaissance, in 1899 Martyn co-founded, with the poet W.B. Yeats, what became Ireland's famous national theater, The Abbey, the Irish Literary Theatre (1899), which was part of the nationalist revival of interest in Ireland's Gaelic literary history. He was a cousin and friend to George Moore, the Irish novelist, though their relationship was often antagonistic.

Violently opposed to British rule in Ireland, he was the center of a court case in 1905 as the result of an off-the-cuff remark in which he stated that "All Irishmen who join the English army ought to be flogged". He died in 1923, unmarried, and after donating his body to science, was buried at his own request in a pauper's grave.

Martyn was outed by his friend George Moore, a prolific novelist, critic, and polemicist, in his three-volume memoir "Hail and Farewell" (published between 1911 and 1914), which entertained its readers but infuriated his former friend. Moore himself said of these memoirs, "Dublin is now divided into two sets; one half is afraid it will be in the book, and the other is afraid that it won't".

Moore, who was attracted to the handsome young Yeats, later fell in love with the celebrated French painter Edouard Manet, who painted three portraits of him. Moore was influenced by the homosexual Oxford critic Walter Pater, and Moore's 1886 work, A Drama in Muslin, contained references to Lesbianism. Moore's 1887 novel, A Mere Accident, also has a homosexual theme and its central character is again based on Martyn.

1889 – Joseph Fielding Smith (d.1964) was presiding patriarch and a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1942 until 1946.

Smith was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of a LDS Church apostle. He went to school at the University of Utah. In 1929, he married Ruth Pingree. Together they had 7 children.

At the age of 43, Smith was ordained a high priest and Patriarch to the Church on 8 October 1942 by Church President Heber J. Grant. He served but four years before it was reported by the church that he had requested to be released from his position. His request was granted by Church President George Albert Smith on 6 October 1946, with the church announcing that Smith was released for reasons of "ill health." After Smith's death it was discovered that the patriarch had been involved in a homosexual affair with a 21-year-old U.S. Navy sailor, who was also a Latter-day Saint.

After being released, Smith took his family to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he continued to raise his family. For a time, Smith was not allowed to hold any position in the church, but reportedly was "treated with compassion." In 1957, Smith was again allowed to serve in the church after he had forsaken his homosexual behavior.

1948 – Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi, India by a Hindu religious extremist. Gandhi had ended British rule in India through nonviolent resistance.

"Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being," he stated in 1926.

His teachings were used during many of the Gay demonstrations of the 60s and 70s and were a major influence on Martin Luther King, through his gay cohort and fellow organizer, Bayard Rustin, who studied with Gandhi and brought the idea of satyagraha (a synthesis of the Sanskrit words Satya (meaning "truth") and Agraha ("insistence", or "holding firmly to") back to the American civil rights movement Today, the Gay Christian group Soulforce continues the uses Gandhi's non violence practices in its demonstrations against Christian churches that discriminate against GLBT people.

1951 – A California appellate court upholds the oral copulation conviction of a man based on police looking into the window of a restroom.

1961 – The New Mexico House of Representatives votes 37-28 in favor of a revised criminal code that includes a repeal of the state's sodomy law. This is the first vote by a U.S. legislative body to repeal a sodomy law. This bill refers to sodomitical relations as "variant sexual practice," something unique in U.S. history.

1981 – Fernando Grostein Andrade, born in São Paulo, is a Brazilian filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, director of photography, and media entrepreneur. He is a columnist for VEJA magazine and the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

His best-known work is the documentary Quebrando o Tabu, which discusses alternative policies to the War on Drugs and features former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso as well as former US presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, infectologist Drauzio Varella and writer Paulo Coelho.

In 2012, in partnership with Sun Dog Pictures, owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, the documentary was adapted into an international version which was narrated by actor Morgan Freeman. The project has spun off into the largest online platform in defense for human rights, with over 15 million followers between Facebook and Instagram.

Abe, his most recent movie, was selected to the Sundance Film Festival in 2019, and stars Noah Schnapp and Seu Jorge.

Fernando was also selected a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2019. He is a founder of Spray Media, which produces content for cinema as well as YouTube and branded content. Other works include the documentary Wandering Heart, with Caetano Veloso, and a number of publicity campaign for big brands such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Volkswagen.

Fernando is the son of PhD urbanist Marta Dora Grostein and journalist Mario Escobar de Andrade, director of Playboy magazine in Brazil, who died in 1991. He is brother, on his mother's side, of the TV host Luciano Huck. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his husband, actor Fernando Siqueira.

2003 – On this date Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage, with some restrictions. According to the Belgian Official Journal, approximately 300 same-sex couples were married between June 2003 and April 2004 (245 in 2003 and 55 in 2004). This constituted 1.2 percent of the total number of marriages in Belgium during that period. Two thirds of the married couples were gay male couples; the remainder were lesbian couples. On 22 July 2005, the Belgian government announced that a total of 2,442 same-sex marriages had taken place in the country since the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples two and a half years earlier.

[leftistfeminista]

Women march with a "BFA" armband, the Allendista Women's Brigade, on September 4, 1973, along Alameda, in front of the Catholic University, towards La Moneda. The last march, just days before the 9/11 coup.

Young woman marching in a column of the Socialist Party/Socialist Youth, in the center of Santiago, San Diego Street.

[mariacallous]

An activist for marriage equality and a philanthropist and photographer are among the Jewish recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal, a civilian honor bestowed by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Biden is awarding the medal to 20 people in total, including former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who stood out in recent years — and drew ire from her own party — for her outspoken condemnation of the pro-Donald Trump Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Biden will also give the honor to former Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Ted Kaufman. Kaufman’s father was Jewish but he was raised Catholic.

The other recipients include Bobby Sager, a Jewish photographer and philanthropist who focuses on education and creating opportunity for low-income people abroad, including Palestinian women artisans. In 2017, Sager also gave an address on Yom Kippur at the Vilna Shul in Boston, a historic synagogue that now serves as a Jewish cultural center. He spoke about how his son celebrated his bar mitzvah at the synagogue and about the institution’s “potential as an engine for Jewish tradition, Jewish thought and Jewish action.”

Another recipient is Evan Wolfson, a lawyer and leading activist for marriage equality. In a statement about Wolfson, the White House commended his decades of advocacy for same-sex marriage and  said he “worked with singular focus and untiring optimism to change not just the law, but society—pioneering a political playbook for change and sharing its lessons, even now, with countless causes worldwide.”

[sickofthistoxicshit]

Here's the thing, I have nothing against Lou/Tommy, but the accessive enthusiasm of him returning and everyone already talking about him showing up for next season,

Which if any of you watched for the last 7 seasons, it is very possible because writers love to drag temps over to the next seasons because apparently breakups are for season beginners, mostly (except for taylor),

is very off-putting.

1. Because the dude literally just showed up and they haven't even had one worthy make out session to even call it a situationship.

2. Buck hurt Eddie physically to get into Tommy's mouth and pants, which ruined it for me from the start tbh and Tommy had nothing to do with it, he was just there.

3. Buck has made Maddie's day, his coming out party - that is a big NO in my book. Because one, dude you literally came out, what if you decide eventually that you don't want this or don't want this with this specific first-guy-ever anymore? And two SHE IS YOUR SISTER THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS HAVE HER LEAVE ON HER HONEYMOON BEFORE YOU KILL YOUR PARENTS OF A HEART- ATTACK.

Even if they "seem accepting" to Buck’s face, this takes time to process, something better revealed in time and in private, once one is sure. Not thinking and talking about this the whole wedding!

And yes, I know, Buck is impulsive, but think for a second, would you want your baby brother to hijacke your wedding after so long of planning it? I know I would have killed him.

Would have told him in advance that if he's bringing his new boyfriend to my wedding, he better tell our parents first. Because this is my fucking day!

I love Buck, but his self-centered personality rubs me the wrong way this season.

Maybe because I wanted to see him growing the fuck up after 7 years and so many traumas and experiences and therapy that he went through, but nope, same old Buck, only instead of the dating the girl who gave him attention, he's seeing the guy who gave him attention.

It's annoying, it's off putting and frankly I am so mad at the writers and Tim for this because these characters deserved better.

And don't talk to me about representation because Shonda did the bi representation in Station 19 perfectly to the point that I was bummed that Travis and Eli didn't end up as endgame even though I loved Emmett with Travis.

Again somehow the 911 writers managed to taint for me what should have been and amazing experience, independent completely of buddie, but no they managed to not only mix Eddie and Buck with Tommy, the whole thing came at the expense of Eddie, physically and mentally, because not only did Buck not apologized to Eddie, Eddie also lost his new friend who now fawns over Buck.

So screw this storyline, I hate it and I hate how everyone is OK with everything that happened in the story, just because Buck is doing a dude(kissing really, there was no doing yet).

There's a lot of blocking in my future, most are just ppl who either came in now because of bi Buck or those who came from other disappointing fandoms and are just here for the rep not the actual story.

But some of us have been here since S1, we want the rep, but we want it to be complimenting, we want to fall in love with the character before it turns into a LI, we want the emotion, the connection, the obvious love building over several years.

Like Casey and Gabby and Severide and Stella, like Maya and Carina, like Travis and Emmett (even though I liked Eli better for him) like Sullivan and Natasha.

I want an emotional payout, give up the surprises, and the wrecked trucks and ships, just tell a good story!

And for the love of all that's holy, enough with the last-minute changes, those never turn out well in the long run. They literally started from scratch when they made the switch between Eddie and Buck.

Also in my opinion, Eddie had a LOT more chemistry with Lou/Tommy than Buck. It would have made so much more sense, in the catholic guilt and internal homophobia department, the nun and supposedly commitment issues was weak at best.

It could have been epic. 😩

And yes, Buck could have started the season single, no harm in that, maybe make him, I don't know, actually growing into something that he would like without someone else to pet his ego? Go back to therapy, work for the LT. exams, be interim captain, realize his worth and learn to love himself for him, not because someone else gave him attention and that made him preen, get him somewhere worthy. Even lessons with Tommy without involving Eddie in this would have been great.

Just something that shows character development, because up until now all I get is S2/S3 Buck and I've seen that movie before, I want my money back.

I realize this is harsh, and normally, I would stick to the light and fun and ignore the rest, but this had to be said out loud so I can go back to that.

That being said, as I said, I will watch Madney wedding purely for Madney. Anything else is just a bonus. I can't wait for that bachelor party and see wth happens to Chimney.

Happy Monday, my loves. ❤️

[guess-my-next-obsession]

Peña’s Anatomy, Chapter Fifteen:

pairing: doctor!javier peña x resident!reader (Lucky)

rating: E (18+ ONLY, oral sex (m&f rec), 69, unprotected piv, very light sprinkles of angst, talks of surgery)

wc: 3.4k

series masterlist | javier masterlist

Tonight was the night of Javier’s cousin’s wedding in Laredo. After the relatively modest ceremony held at the local Catholic church, his entire extended family was packed inside of the local community center, the party so crowded that half of the attendees were forced to celebrate outside in the dirt lot, but no one seemed to mind.

You very quickly were swept away by Javi’s younger family members, the teenage girls elated to have another woman in the family given that it seemed to be a male dominated one.

“So,” Gina, a fifteen year old cousin of Javi’s on his mother’s side, started. “When are you and Javi getting married?”

“Oh, I don’t know about all that,” you chuckled. Gina looked at you appalled before looking at the three other girls at your table. “I’m not saying I don’t want to—I just mean—you know—some people are happy enough without getting married.”

“My mom would kill me if I didn’t get married,” Irene, a twelve year old cousin, chimed in with a shake of her head. “Wouldn’t your mom want you to get married?”

“Probably,” you chuckled. “But part of being a grown up means I don’t have to listen to what she wants.”

The girls shared a look as though they were having a revelation.

“Hola, mija,” Chucho appeared from behind you, his hand patting your shoulder as he stood by your chair. “These three getting all the chisme about you and Javi?”

“Chisme?” you asked.

“Gossip,” he replied with a smile before looking to his nieces. “You’re treating her nice, right? I wouldn’t want to have to go tell on you to your mothers—“

“Cálmate, tío,” Gina chuckled. “We were just asking about her and Javi getting married.”

“Oh?” Chucho turned to you with a hopeful smile, making you laugh as you shook your head at him. “What, you don’t want to be a Peña?”

“Can you all leave her alone?” Javi came over with two beers, smiling as he sat down in the empty seat beside you and placed your drink down.

“They’re peer pressuring me,” you informed, making the girls giggle.

“Oh yeah, about what?”

“About getting married to you.” Javi choked on his beer, his reaction pulling a hearty laugh from his father as he sat down beside his son.

“Gina, this is all you, I bet.” Javi looked to his cousin with playfully narrowed eyes.

“You don’t care about getting married?” she asked with a sassy bob of her head.

“No,” he replied, mimicking her attitude.

“Well I do,” Irene chimed in.

“You’re too young to be thinking about marriage,” he countered. “Think about school.”

“School sucks,” Gina said, scrunching her nose.

“School gets you money,” he replied. “Money’ll treat you better than any of these boys around here.”

“Not Jorge,” she countered.

“Who’s Jorge?” Chucho and Javi asked in unison, their protective streak making an appearance.

You smiled as you watched their back and forth, your eyes glued to Javi’s profile as he kept the argument playful, this side of him so rarely brought out. Reaching your hand over to his leg, you gave him a squeeze, unintentionally bringing his eyes to yours. He tilted his head at you and gave you a smitten smile before leaning over to kiss your cheek.

“You having a good time?” he asked, whispering into your ear. You nodded sincerely and lifted your hand to rub over his back through the red flannel he was wearing. “You wanna dance?”

You chuckled at the idea of Javi getting on the dance floor but agreed nonetheless. Excusing yourself, you made it out onto the dance floor in time for the DJ to switch to a slow song, “You Look So Good In Love” by George Strait playing through the speakers.

“I didn’t know you were so light on your feet,” you murmured into his ear as he held you close, swaying you around the dance floor. Javi chuckled into your ear before pressing a kiss there, his hand resting on the small of your back.

“I come full of surprises, bebita,” he whispered back. “Thank you for coming here with me. I know my family—“

“Is wonderful,” you interrupted. “They’re full of life and attitude and fun. They’re real. The total opposite of my family.”

“Speaking of…when do I get to meet the rest of them? I know your mom and dad aren’t fans, but your little sister could be.”

“Funny you bring it up. She called me a couple days ago asking to come visit.”

“And what did you say?”

“I told her I’d talk to you about it.” Lifting your head off his shoulder, you looked up at him with a smile. “Would you be alright with that?”

“Bebita,” he tilted his head and chuckled. “Of course I’m alright with that. I wanna meet the only family member you claim.”

You laughed and nodded before resting your head on his shoulder again.

“I’ll let her know she can come down in a few weeks. After Mickey and I come back from our trip.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Your dream vacation to Dallas fucking Texas.”

“Scared I’m gonna meet a cowboy and run off?”

“Scared you’re plotting something,” he mumbled against the sliver of exposed skin on your shoulder. You swallowed your guilt over lying and remained silent. “Mm, no response isn’t a good response.”

“Javi,” you chuckled. “There’s no plotting. It was all Mickey’s idea, I’m just going along to have some fun.”

“Mmhm,” he hummed, skepticism thick in his tone. “Whatever you say, gorgeous.”

Back at Chucho’s house, the three of you sat in the backyard around a fire, McCartney fast asleep inside on the couch now that Chucho had been charmed enough by the pup to let him on the furniture.

“How’s working together going now that you’re on Javi’s service again?” Chucho asked from across the fire.

“She’s loving it,” Javi interjected, giving you a smirk.

“Is that right?”

“I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying I’m loving it—“ You returned a smirk and an eye roll to your boyfriend. “Javi’s really loving giving me all of the work he doesn’t want to do.”

“Javi,” Chucho feigned disapproval and shook his head at his son.

“You’re the only one I trust not to fuck shit up,” he said, looking over at you with more love than you ever saw in his eyes before. The wedding and you meeting his extended family for the first time must’ve had him feeling extra romantic, it surely was making you feel that way, at least. Blushing, you smiled down at your nearly empty beer bottle and swirled the liquid around, your mind already spinning with thoughts of getting your hands on him, desperate to show him just how glad you were to be this close to him—to be the only one he trusted not to “fuck shit up”.

“Well kids, I think it’s time for this old man to go on to bed,” Chucho stood up with a grunt and hobbled over to the patio door, wishing the two of you goodnight before disappearing into the house.

“Only one you trust not to fuck shit up, huh?” You lifted your eyes to his with a grin on your face, finding him already looking at you with a lazy but adoring smile.

“Mmhm,” he nodded. “With everything.”

You bit your lip, your smile creeping up to your eyes as the two of you entered a stare off, each eager to see which one of you would break first.

“You look good right now, bebita,” Javi husked, his eyes scanning down your frame, admiring the way you looked in his hoodie, before lifting again.

“Yeah?” you purred, enjoying the lust in his eyes.

“You gonna make me beg for it, baby?” he asked, low and sultry, the sound going straight to your cunt. “You know I hate begging.”

“You always beg for me when I ask you to,” you countered. Javi’s dimple made an appearance as he chuckled.

“Yeah, I do.” Javi took the final swig of his beer and set it down on the dirt beside his chair before sitting up and walking over to you. You looked up at him as he bent down to hover his lips over yours, his left hand cradling your jaw. “I wanna taste you so bad, bebita. Please let me have a taste.”

“Love it when you beg,” you purred, pulling him down for a real kiss, one that had him almost tipping you back in your patio chair from the force of it. “Inside.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, helping you into your feet and giving your ass a swat as you jogged to the sliding glass door. Javier was so excited as he followed you through the dining and living room to the stairs that he banged his knee on a side table, a yelp of pain sounding out in the otherwise silent home.

“Shh, careful,” you scolded in a giggled whisper. “You’re gonna wake your dad up.”

“My dad sleeps like a rock,” he said, limping towards you as you stood at the bottom of the stairs. With his hands on your waist, he leaned in to bury his face in your neck, pressing a kiss there. “Go on, baby. Let me take in the view.”

“Oh, the view of my ass in your sweatpants? I think you’ll be disappointed.”

“Given that I’ve been staring at it all night, I disagree,” he smirked, tapping your ass again. “Go on.”

You grinned from over your shoulder as you ascended the staircase while he stood there watching, his eyes glued to the exaggerated sway of your hips. With a laugh, you stuck it out for him at the top of the stairs and gasped as you heard him not so quietly running up to chase you into his bedroom. His arms wrapped around your waist in front of his door, your giggles fading into soft hums of contentment as he used one hand to hold you to him and the other to open the door, his face buried in the nook of your neck.

“I love you,” he mumbled against your pulse. You spun around in his arms as he continued walking you to the foot of his bed, your arms crossing around his neck. With a smile, you studied him for a moment. His lidded eyes, his uncombed hair, the way his flannel had become unbuttoned at the top over the course of the night. You admired the pink of his lips, parted as he watched you watch him, and the patchy beard he’d grown at your request.

“I love you, Jav,” you whispered, eyes lifting to meet his dark and deep ones. “But I don’t want you to fuck me like you love me tonight.”

“No?” he grinned, leaning in to tickle your neck with his beard. “What do you want me to fuck you like, then, bebita?”

“Like a whore,” you whispered into his ear, earning a groan from somewhere deep in his chest. Javi bit into your neck and gripped your hips so hard you’d have to check for marks in the morning, tugging a whine from you. His tongue soothed the mark on your pulse with his tongue before dragging it up to nip at your earlobe, your arms covered with chills from the greedy attention of his mouth.

“I want the taste you promised me,” he husked, raspy and deep. “But I also want to feel your lips around me.”

“We can make that happen.” Javi pulled back with a devilish grin and let his lust-drunk eyes settle on yours as you reached for the button on his jeans, a reverent held in his almost-black irises. Javi’s eyes fell to watch as you pulled him out of his jeans and pumped him in your palm until he was fully hard.

“Fuck,” he moaned, looking back into your eyes. “Take your clothes off, bebita.”

You obeyed immediately, shedding your layers while Javi shimmined out of his jeans and flannel. Positioning himself flat on his back in the middle of his bed, he flashed a grin your way and beckoned you closer with his finger. You left a trail of kisses along his legs, his stomach, his chest, until you reached his lips, a smile wide on yours as you leaned down to take his bottom lip between your teeth. Javi hissed and gripped your hips, pulling your cunt down to rest against his heavy length until you were hissing too.

“You fucking own me, bebita,” he growled, leaving a love bite on your chin. “You know that?”

“Maybe I need a little reminding,” you purred, pecking his lips one more time before turning around and lowering your cunt over his mouth. Javi hummed as he laid beneath you, tugging you down until you were flush against his mouth, your hips rocking to feel his flattened tongue beneath you. “Fuck, we should do this more.”

Javi’s response was too mumbled, but judging from the way he drank you down like a man starving, you assumed he agreed. Leaning over his body, you gripped his heavy length in your hand, pumping him up and down until a few beads of arousal gathered at his tip. With a smile, you leaned in to taste him, Javi’s hips thrusting upwards at the contact.

“You want my tongue?” you asked teasingly.

“Please,” he managed from beneath you. Grinning, you kissed his hip before moving back to his cock, wrapping your lips around the tip and sucking. “Fuck yes.”

You tasted each other in unison, his tongue and lips worked you higher and higher as you aimed to keep him on the edge with your own. On shaking thighs, you rode his face without inhibition, his groans into your core only spurring you on.

“Javi, I’m gonna—“

“Uh-uh.” Javi pushed you forward and guided your hips to hover over his cock. “Cum on it.”

With a moan, you gripped his cock and held it still as you sat down on him in reverse cowgirl, Javi’s hands gripping the globes of your ass as you sank all the way down.

“Fuck,” you panted, your hands gripping his thighs as you allowed yourself to adjust to his size. Javi didn’t give you much of a break, though, his hands gripping your hips, guiding you up and down his cock. “Jav—so deep. Shit.”

“Yeah it is, baby,” he husked, and without seeing him, you could hear the smirk on his face. “Taking me so fucking well.”

“Feels so good like this,” you mewled, dropping your knees to the mattress once your legs grew tired of squatting. Leaning forward to lay over his legs, Javi continued to guide your ass up and down his length, using you like a toy. “Javi—shit.”

You were soaked, you could feel the evidence of it every time he slammed you down onto his cock, the wet squelch sounding extra vulgar in the silence of the night.

“Baby, fuck,” he whined, squeezing your ass hard enough to leave marks.

Without warning, Javi pulled you off his cock so that he could scramble to his knees, keeping his chest pressed tightly to your back as he sat you on his lap. You whined at the deep spot he was hitting at this angle and leaned your head back against his collarbone. Javi speared up into you enough to make your breasts bounce, his hand finding its way down the front of your body to your clit, stroking over it in circles.

“I’m gonna cum soon, baby,” he warned, pressing his lips to your cheek as you tried to keep your moans quiet. “Need you to cum for me.”

“Please,” you whispered, gripping his arm as it rested across your chest to keep you close to his frame.

Javi groaned and continued rocking in and out of you in time with his fingers stroking your clit until the dam finally burst.

“Jav—“ You lifted your hand to cover your mouth as you cried out his name, bending forward as your body shook. Javi wasn’t far behind you, his hips fucking you into the mattress until he was spilling deep. He left a soft, gentle kisses all over the heated skin of your shoulders as his heart pounded against you. “That was good.”

“Better than good,” he rasped, lifting his weight off you and pulling out with a hiss.

You watched him get up and walk butt naked into the en-suite to grab a washcloth. He dampened it and carried it over to you, allowing you to pluck it from his hands and clean yourself even though he would’ve gladly done it himself. Instead, he came to lay beside you, kissing every inch of skin he could find as his hands traversed your curves.

“I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Lucky,” Javi whispered, the moon lighting up the side of his face as you turned to look him in the eye. “I don’t care how we do it, I just…want to do it.”

You smiled, a warmth that you’d only ever felt with him washing over you as you tossed the washcloth into the hamper in the corner of the room and rolled over to lay on his chest.

“I want that too, Javi,” you whispered. “Only with you.”

It finally was the day of your departure for Mickey’s surgery, Javi trusting you with the Audi and his heart as he hugged you goodbye in the driveway.

“Please be safe,” he mumbled against your temple. “Don’t let the terminally ill pregnant woman peer pressure you into anything too wild.”

You laughed and nodded, pulling back enough to hold his face in your hands and look him in the eye. “I promise to be safe.”

“I love you, Lucky,” he whispered, leaning in for a tender kiss. “Me and McCartney are gonna be sick missing you.”

“Promise me you won’t sit inside all weekend sulking.” Javi looked away guiltily, bringing a grin to your face. “Javi. Call up Steve or something. Go play poker with the Chief.”

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes. “I’ll ask Steve to go to breakfast tomorrow.”

“There ya go!” You leaned up to press another kiss to his lips before looking back at the car where Mickey already sat, waiting patiently. “We should get on the road before it gets dark.”

“Okay,” he nodded, still pouring a bit as he walked you to the car. “Call me when you get settled?”

“I promise.” With a pinch of his chin, you sank down into the driver’s seat and let him come down for one more kiss as he shut the door for you. “Love you.”

“Love you, Lucky,” he turned to Mickey and gave her a friendly smile and a nod. “Have fun, you two.”

Closing the door and tapping the roof of the car, Javi stepped back into the house, your heart following him.

“Alright,” you exhaled, turning to Mickey as you backed out of the driveway. “Ready?”

“Are you ready?” she asked, smirking at you. “Don’t wanna suck his dick one more time before we head out?”

“Already did before you got here,” you quipped.

“What are you gonna tell him? I mean, eventually he’s gonna find out the real reason.”

“Yes, but by then you’ll have already been saved. So not much room for argument,” you assured, though worry swirled in your gut.

“If I get saved,” she corrected.

“Mick, if you’re not certain about this—“

“No, no,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I am sure. I just…love being negative.”

“I’ve gathered that.” Smiling, you reached over and patted her knee. “It’s gonna go fine, Mick.”

“You really believe that?” she asked, looking at you like she was begging. Even though you were sick with worry over it, how could you look her in the eye and tell her that?

“Yeah. I do.”

•

•

•

•

•

[thatseventiesbitch]

Fictober 5 - "It's a new day, let's go"

"Come on, Leia. We're gonna be late to homeroom again." Nikki impatiently shoved at Leia's backpack, as if she could move her along faster.

But the smaller girl's chunky Doc Martens dragged along the sidewalk, resistant. Nikki dropped her arms, exasperated, and headed off to the upperclassmen entrance. The others gathered around Leia.

"I can't go in there again," Leia moaned. She nodded at Point Place High School, looming ahead of them. "Not after what happened yesterday."

Ozzie sucked on his upper teeth. "It was pretty embarrassing," he agreed.

"I slipped on a banana peel in front of the entire cafeteria. A banana peel. What am I, a cartoon?"

"You sound like a cartoon," Ozzie muttered under his breath.

"Oh, gee willikers!" Leia exclaimed. They'd reached the entrance way of the school, and a large insect scuttled away from their feet. "That's the biggest roach I've ever seen!"

“The biggest roach you’ve seen yet,” Gwen pointed out. “There are some pretty gnarly ones in the locker rooms. Welcome to public school, Leia!”Gwen grinned, and threw her arm around Leia's shoulders.

Leia shuddered. There weren't many things she missed about the private, Catholic school her parents sent her to in Chicago - not the nuns, or the uniforms, or the daily mass. But she did miss being in a place she understood, a place where she knew the rules of the game. This was a world where everything was new to her. At least she had her friends here to show her the ropes.

"Leia!"

She perked up when she heard his voice. That was one other, important thing that was here. Her boyfriend.

Jay bounded up to the gang, knocking Gwen's arm off Leia's shoulder so he could hold her instead. Gwen threw him a nasty glare.

"Wanna walk to homeroom with our hands in each other's back pockets?"

Leia gazed at Jay dreamily. Hearts were practically popping from her eyes. They both missed Gwen's eye roll.

"Yeah," she breathed.

They wrapped their arms around each other and started to walk towards Mrs. Buchinski's room, but a horde of jocks swarmed them before they got too far.

"Hey look," one laughed. He was pointing at Leia. "It's banana split!" The other boys all roared in approval. Leia blushed.

"Oh, get killed Greg." Gwen slammed into Greg, shoulder checking him easily into a locker. His cronies chuckled nervously. "It would do us all a favor," she snarled.

Greg fixed his preppy clothing, popping his shirt collar pointedly at Gwen. Then he jerked his chin at Jay.

"She's dating you?" Greg smirked. "Can't say I'm surprised." He nodded to one of his cronies. "How many times has Klumsy Kelso fallen off the water tower, again?"

"Gotta be at least a dozen."

"Actually, it's sixteen times." Jay responded just as coldly, his jaw set. "That's a Point Place record."

"Jay - " Leia tugged at his arm. "Let's just go."

"Try not to trip on anything on your way to class!" Greg called after them. The other students in the hallway snickered.

"Try not to cry too much about your mom's pill addiction, Greg!" Gwen retaliated, causing an 'oooooh' to ripple through the hallway. They tore away.

"You can't show them any weakness, Leia," Gwen coached. "It's a dog-eat-dog world out here." Jay and Ozzie nodded along.

Leia's face contorted in fear. "Don't show my weakness? Gwen, I'm all weakness!"

"Like a little bunny," Ozzie agreed, shaking his head sympathetically.

They'd reached the door to Leia and Jay's homeroom. Gwen grabbed Leia by the shoulders assertively.

"Oh, no you're not." She shook Leia roughly. "Show me the Leia who blackmailed Mama into giving us the tap."

Jay joined in. "Yeah. Show me the Leia who intimidated Party Animal into signing Nate's belt."

Gwen tapped the center of Leia's forehead. "Show me the Leia who convinced her mom to let her stay here. Twice."

Her friends' words were working. Leia felt her self-confidence growing. "You really think I can do this?" she checked, her eyes flickering hopefully to Gwen's. "You really think it will be okay, that they won't laugh at me?"

Gwen returned her eager look with a smirk.

"Oh, I didn't say they're not going to laugh at you." She patted her best friend's shoulder. "I just said you can handle it."

Leia wavered. "B-but yesterday - "

"It's a new day, Leia. Let's go."

Jay's hand slid through hers, and somehow, she felt ready for anything.

[cannibalindsm]

For Sebastien's birthday the Massier family goes all out and throws a huge party and gets him a bajillion gifts but Carl's birthday happens to fall on Christmas so his Catholic Parents don't celebrate because it's the Lords birthday so OBVIOUSLY he can't be the center of attention on Jesus Christs birthday. He can be patient and wait.

[atuats-sidechick]

Helloo ask game time 🦢🐯

5. TV show of the year?

14.Favorite book you read this year?

20.What’s something you learned this year?

23.If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

25.Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

I know that you did but still asking this ifffff you perhaps feel like talking about one of them?👀

Yaaaay! Thank you for the ask <3

5. So, I said "Hollywood" in the other ask, but "Night Country" also deserves to be mentioned. It's super tense, it has terrible womenTM, it's open eneded, and most important of all: *it's so fucking gay!* Again, this one has some very serious themes, but isn't didactic. And, again, TW for SA! And body horror!

14. "Wicked", for sure! I LOVE Maguire's descriptions. His writing is so vivid! And I love how sort of chaotic the book is, how the book tells the story of Elphaba's life from birth to death, but the narrative doesn't give her life a great purpose, she's not a chosen one, there's no hero's journey, etc

20. On a personal level, that I actually love exercising if the *vibes* are chill and non-judgemental LOL

On a fun fact level, that you can by seeds of a lot of highly toxic plants off amazon 🤫

23. "The prozac is finally gonna *truly* kick in this year! You're about to have the calmest, happiest, year of your life so far, babe, enjoy!"

25. Oh gosh gwkwbqkwgskqh it was a year of many ocs! But, ok, I know I've told you about her already, but the other characters are even less clear in my mind, so...

Eliza is a middle aged, unremarkable politian who leans center-right. She'd love to get a chance to run for mayor, but to do that, she needs to win the intra-party election, and she's leaning farther right to get support within the party. She's also no stranger to some purple and pinkwashing 😬 oh, yeah, she's bi! And besides that, she's a perfectionist and a control freak. I love her. But I do need to give her more positive traits, cause so far she's running on sass, good looks, and some of my favorite tropes, so... not a well rounded character yet!

I also need to work on her professional background, career, etc. But, let's see... she's upper middle-class, was raised catholic and raised her kids more or less catholic (private schools etc), though she's non-practicing... hmnn she doesn't really like dogs and that's important for the story? LOL

Awwww cute sculptures!!!

Have a pygmy hippo! <3

[odinsblog]

“How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine?” Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski wrote on X. “Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations.”

Leaders in Ukraine vehemently rejected Pope Francis’s suggestion of negotiations with Russia to bring an end to the war — his use of the words “white flag” drawing particular scorn — reiterating that the country would never surrender.

In a recent interview, Francis used the term “white flag,” repeating the words of a journalist, which some read as a call to surrender.

President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the pope without naming him in his nightly address Sunday.

Praising Ukrainian chaplains on the front line, Zelensky said: “This is what the church is — it is together with people, not two and a half thousand kilometers away somewhere, virtually mediating between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the Vatican to support the Ukrainian people “in their just struggle for their lives,” writing: “Our flag is blue and yellow. Under it, we live, die, and triumph. We will not raise any other flags.” He thanked Francis for his prayers for peace and urged him to visit Ukraine.

The pope’s remarks were made in an interview with Swiss broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse, recorded in February, part of which was released Saturday. The full interview is set to air March 20.

According to a transcript translated and shared by the Vatican news agency, interviewer Lorenzo Buccella asked Francis: “In Ukraine, some call for the courage of surrender, of the white flag. But others say that this would legitimize the stronger party. What do you think?”

Francis responded by saying that, in his opinion, the stronger side is the one “who has the courage of the white flag, to negotiate.”

The controversy prompted a clarification from the Vatican.

“The Pope uses the term white flag, and responds by picking up the image proposed by the interviewer, to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement, adding that the Pope stated that negotiations are never a “surrender.”

Though he has often condemned the war in Ukraine, Francis has provoked debate within the church over whether his messaging on the conflict has been too cautious and too focused on maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. His supporters argue that maintaining neutrality has long been at the center of Holy See diplomacy.

In May 2023, after his first private meeting with Francis following the outbreak of war, Zelensky said any peace formula “must be Ukrainian” and any role of the Vatican must be in service to Ukraine’s peace formula.

Ukrainian church leaders and Ukraine’s allies, too, pushed back against the pope’s latest remarks.

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church, told a prayer gathering in New York that no one in Ukraine “even thinks of surrendering,” the same day that part of the interview was released. A later statement by church leaders said they would not “dwell” on the pope’s remarks and instead emphasized that Ukraine is a victim of Russia’s aggression.

“How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine?” Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski wrote on X. “Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations.”

(continue reading)