#Texas Lockdown

[artworktragedy]

TDCJ State Wide Prison Lock Down- Updates

With my dearest loved one in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) state prison, and TDCJ prisons being on a state wide lock down, it is crucial for my sanity and maybe yours that I post updates. There are many concerns I have for my loved one with and I am going to try and keep this page updated with what is going on with the state wide TDCJ prison situation Texas … Below is an update…

[cor-lapis]

I LOVE IT WHEN WOLFGIRLS FIGHT WITH SWORDS

[theapachevikingnomadfromhell]

On today's episode I will be discussing the homelessness epidemic in post pandemic America. I will read an article regarding the issues of pandemic aid expiring and contributing to the homeless issue, another article regarding the inaccurate point in time counts by Housing and Urban Development, as well as read an essay I wrote about homelessness in post-pandemic America. This channel is supported directly by the generous donations of the listeners and viewers like you. You can send donations to me directly to my cash app, chime, PayPal and venmo to rockinrobsa210. You can also join my patreon to become a patron for special perks at 210x2 Productions. Thank you very much for your support. #Youtube #youtuber #thevoiceforthevoicelesspodcast #supportcontentcreators #supportsmallchannels #CashApp #chime #paypal #Venmo #rockinrobsa210 #patreon #210x2productions #ThankYouVeryMuch #homeless #homelessness #waronthehomeless #sanantonio #texas #viral #viralvideo #viralshorts #viralshorts #viralshort #viralreels #covid19 #coronavirus #pandemic #lockdowns

Link to the National Homelessness Law Center-

https://homelesslaw.org/human-rights/

[noxrynne]

i turn 29 in 3 days but i feel like im on an up trajectory for the first time in a very long time

[todaywecelebrate]

Happy Zoom Cat Lawyer Day!

source

I AM BEGGING YOU TO WATCH THIS WITH SOUND 😂😂😂

[forcedschool]

Lessons not learned in the COVID wars Part 2

Part 1 is here.

Lesson 3: The oppression and the lies that were accepted by the public showed a profound lack of critical thinking and exposed the level of cowardice and corruption of many social institutions. Even now, the COVID jabs continue to wreak havoc on our people. The evidence is overwhelming and easily found by anyone who cares to look, but it is still suppressed by corporate media.

Romans 12 calls us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Sadly, the opposite occurred with the vast majority of churches. Perhaps part of that problem is the politically convenient misinterpretation of Romans 13 where we are called to be obedient to authority. Any government that rewards evil and punishes good should obviously be resisted. Any government that violates the Constitution through demands that people submit to injections, close businesses and restricts assembly, movement (and even breathing!) for a concocted "emergency" has lost its delegated authority from God in those areas.

Where are the calls for justice and the warnings against the continued genocidal “recommendations” and remaining mandates? In the future, how will our churches respond to proposed climate lockdowns or other "emergencies?" I think we have a fairly good idea.

Lesson score on resisting a sociopathic government: Fail

Homework: The original structure of our government was given to us through the providence of God and the sacrifices of our ancestors. As government corruption becomes more evident and flagrant, we are told to simply accept it and be good citizens—with “good” being defined by state actors who betray the Constitution. So, what shall we do?

For those of us who have recovered from our public school indoctrination, it would seem obvious at this point that we should not look to so-called “leaders” wherever they may reside and instead look to our collective power of “do not comply.” It takes courage to be among the first to say no to unlawful government actions. The New Testament presents our ultimate role model and He was fearless. Jesus practiced civil disobedience and so should we when our government violates our laws and our civil rights.

[vanteguccir]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⁺ ♱ .ᐟㅤㅤ──────── 𝓣𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝓒𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒, chris sturniolo.

⠀★　𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗍, 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝖻 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖼𝗈𝖿𝖿𝖾𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗂𝗇 !

ㅤㅤ❝ ㅤ don't overthink, because your mind is very⠀powerful　.

(⠀links⠀) ─── main masterlist && chris masterlist

‹ 𝓒𝖧𝖱𝖨𝖲 𝑂𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲 › : : : enjoy !

01. starve and die　─　when Nick and Matt test positive for covid and Chris has to go into lockdown to prevent catching the virus, who will look after them?

02. watching you read　─　where Y/N read her book while Chris's streaming, but Chris's biggest hobby is watching his girlfriend read.

03. truth or eat　─　where Y/N participates in the TRUTH OR EAT video from behind the camera.

04. guess who's who　─　where Y/N participates in the new Sturniolo Triplets tiktok, but doesn't actually appear in it.

05. sleeping prank　─　where Nick pranks Chris and Y/N while they are sleeping.

06. texas is so cold　─　where Y/N and the triplets decide to go out for dinner at a pizzeria, but Y/N is cold and Chris becomes her personal heater.

07. tiktok trends | part 2 | part 3 | part 4　─　4 times that Y/N and Chris made a couple's trend on tiktok.

08. can you sing for me?　─　where Y/N is a worldwide famous singer, but her favorite thing in the world is hearing Chris singing just for her.

09. it's noted　─　where Y/N is part of the Sturniolo Triplets fandom and makes videos about them on TikTok. After years of creating content, one of her videos seems to catch the attention of none other than Chris.

10. cooking together　─　where Y/N teaches Chris how to cook a typical sweet from her country.

11. safari girl　─　where Y/N is the tour guide for the Sturniolo Triplets on their safari trip.

12. her exception　─　where Y/N is shy and Chris loves to tease her for that.

13. sleepwalker in love　─　where Chris returns home after recording another car video with his brothers and finds his girlfriend sleepwalking in their living room.

14. best friend's plan　─　where Y/N has a secret crush on Chris, not imagining that the feeling is reciprocated. But her best friend, Nick, has a plan to put them together.

15. 8 minutes of cute moments　─　where a fan made an 8-minute video with a compilation of Chris and Y/N being in love.

16. baking blind, deaf and mute　─　where Y/N participates in the Baking Blind, Deaf and Mute video, but things don't go as planned.

17. in control　─　where Chris commands Y/N to stay still while he fucks her, but she can't seem to obey.

18. drunk and in love　─　where Y/N goes out with her friends for a girls' night and comes home drunk, so Chris has to take care of her.

19. always yours　─　where Y/N and Chris are secretly in love, but Chris is the one that acts shy around her; OR 4 times Chris loved Y/N from afar and 1 time he didn't.

20. all too well　─　where Chris misplace his priorities.

21. academic validation　─　where Y/N's obsession for good grades and academic validation leads her to neglect her own self.

22. loving without restrictions　─　where Y/N and Chris have been keeping their relationship a secret for just over a year until one day where Y/N feels ready to announce it; OR, where Y/N and Chris soft launch their relationship.

23. fake smile　─　where Chris records a TikTok with Tara after many requests from both fandoms, but fans reacted contrary to what he expected, generating questioning thoughts in Y/N.

24. girls like girls and boys　─　where Y/N goes through a journey of self-discovery when questioning her sexuality, leading to her feeling fear of losing Chris.

25. 5 cute little moments　─　where Chris is deeply in love with Y/N and isn't ashamed to show it; OR, 5 cute little moments between Chris and Y/N.

26. labyrinth　─　where Y/N tries to save their relationship, but Chris's fear of commitment seems to stop them from moving forward.

27. vogue beauty secrets　─　where the world-famous actress and model, Y/N, is invited by Vogue to record a video of her Beauty Secrets, but during the recording, Chris, her boyfriend, decides to make a brief appearance.

28. fighting her for a trend　─　where Chris has the idea of doing the famous TikTok trend "fighting my girlfriend in front of my brothers" with Y/N, just to see Nick and Matt's reaction.

29. apocalypse　─　where Chris takes care of Y/N after they make love.

30. over again　─　where Y/N is caught between the past and the present, struggling to forget her love for Chris while trying to move on with Alex, but things don't go as planned.

31. trying and rating bad baby food　─　where Chris and Y/N's daughter makes an appearance in the Trying and Rating Bad Baby Food video.

32. jealous boy　─　where, during a party, a man who doesn't know how to take "no" for an answer hits on Y/N, receiving an angry and jealous Chris in return.

33. only girl (in the world)　─　where Chris takes Y/N for his trip to Las Vegas with his brothers, and in the middle of neon lights and late-night walks, Chris’s and Y/N get lost in love and lust.

34. holiday echoes　─　where the triplets head back to Boston for the holidays and Chris, a bit drunk and nostalgic, ends up alone on the streets and stops at their old childhood home. Acting without thinking, he writes a small - and very random - note on a napkin and slips it through the door, without realizing Y/N now lives there and is feeling kinda lonely.

35. birthday boy　─　when Chris is starting to come to terms with the horrible idea that he will have to spend his birthday away from Y/N, a surprise takes him, literally, by surprise.

36. the sexual tension between Chris and Y/N　─　where a fan creates a 6-minute video with all the sexual tension moments between Chris and Y/N.

37. too much　─　where Matt and Nick say some hurtful things to Chris during a fight, bringing his insecurities to life and causing him to turn to his anchor, Y/N.

38. boston for thanksgiving　─　where Y/N goes back to Boston with Chris and his brothers for Thanksgiving.

39. midnight company　─　while filming a car video, the triplets witness a girl - Y/N - arguing with her boyfriend. When he smashes her phone and leaves her alone at midnight in the middle of a random parking lot, Chris steps in.

40. marry her anyway　─　where the triplets and Y/N are going to a friend's wedding and with that a TikTok is recorded and sweet promises are made.

41. grammys 2025　─　where Y/N, worldwide famous singer, goes to the Grammys 2025 and brings Chris as her pair for the first time.

(　All rights reserved © 2025 𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐑. Please do not copy, rewrite, or translate my works, template, or theme on Tumblr or any other platform.　)

[vomitdodger]

This story is several years in the making and slowly coming to light. The details of which are truly astounding.

Short version:

Texas outlaws transgender surgery

TCH, the largest hospital system in Texas, says “ok we stopped the surgeries”

TCH falsified data, claims, surgeries and every other deceit possible to continue the surgeries. And manipulate federal funding to do so. This went on for many months, (years?) in the open atmosphere of the hospital.

The chief surgeon of transgender surgery gives a Grand Rounds lecture to the hospital staff on the Trans surgeries they are continually doing. An open admission of breaking the law and the hospital lying.

A single surgeon among multiple hundreds of people in the know, steps forward as a whistleblower. His house is subsequently raided twice. Once with guns drawn and his life now in turmoil. Slowly other people (as above) are coming forward.

Jordan Peterson interviewed the initial whistleblower and it’s fantastic. He talks how the permissive environment for this lunacy evolved from Covid lockdowns to trans surgery. The interview is long but amazing. If you live in Texas you should be very interested in this. The entire medico-legal system of the state is at risk.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped counting Covid-19 cases, according to wastewater data—which emerged early on as an accurate tracker of the ebbs and flows of the virus—we are currently in one of the biggest surges of the pandemic, amid the spread of a new variant, JN-1, as the virus keeps mutating. More than three-quarters of U.S. hospital beds are currently in use due to Covid hospitalizations. Uptake of the most recent booster shot, which should help to protect against the new variant and lower the risk of severe cases and the odds of getting long Covid, hovers around 19 percent. Meanwhile, the most recent White House response to a question about whether they had any guidance for hospitals, some of which have brought back mitigation protocols in response to the most recent Covid spike, came courtesy of press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: “Hospitals, communities, states, they have to make their own decisions. That’s not something we get involved in,” she replied, appearing exasperated. “We are in possibly the second-biggest surge of the pandemic if you look at wastewater levels,” said Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, who runs a long-Covid clinic at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and has had ongoing Covid symptoms since August 2022. “There is no urgency to this. No news. No discussion in Congress. There is no education.”

[...]

Since the Biden administration declared the end of the national emergency in May, Americans across the political spectrum have largely followed the example set by the government and entirely disposed of any level of Covid precautions. Liberal and left-wing outlets have participated in the normalizing of Covid too, dismissing or even ostracizing people who still take precautions as if they are tin-hat conspiracy theorists. “We can’t be in lockdown forever,” has become a common refrain, as if wearing a mask on the subway constitutes “lockdown.” In September, Biden himself participated in the spread of this kind of harmful disinformation when he declared the pandemic “over” on 60 Minutes. “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks,” he said. “Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.” This is, essentially, governing via “vibes”—so much for “following the science.”

[...]

The consequences of discarding all Covid precautions are becoming clearer, as more people get repeated infections and long-term symptoms, amid an alarming spike in heart problems among healthy young people. People are getting sick more often not due to the myth of “immunity debt,” which posits that the lack of exposure to other people during lockdown has made people less able to fight off infections (three years later), but because Covid weakens the immune system. Each time someone contracts Covid, the odds of long-term complications increase.

[soft-pine]

spn20rewatch: 2.19 folsom prison blues

SAM: Dean, does it ... bother you at all, how easily you seem to fit in here? DEAN: No, not really.

there is so much emotional weight and depth to dean's reply here! this whole season, being wanted by the police has been a theme for him. from being threatened with both the death penalty and an extra-judicial sacrificial-lambing in 2.07 to being more on the cops' radar in 2.08:

SAM: So much for our low profile. You've got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Fed's database. DEAN: Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something. SAM: Dean, it's not funny. Makes the job harder, we've gotta be more careful now. DEAN: Well, what do they got on you? SAM: I'm sure they just haven't posted it yet. DEAN: No accessory? Nothing? SAM: Shut up.

to henriksen specifically fixating on dean in 2.12:

HENRIKSEN: Trust me, Dean's a greater risk to 'em than we are. ROBARDS: This is crazy. HENRIKSEN: Crazy's in there. And I just hung up on it.

to the aftermath of the bank situation being dean, once again, more on the radar than sam (2.13):

DEAN: What am I supposed to do? I mean, you've got me on lockdown here, I'm bored out of my skull. SAM: Hey, you were the bank robber on the eleven o'clock news, not me. 

so is it any wonder that dean, whose entire life at this point is shaped by criminal charges for things done entirely out of necessity, is sympathetic to the other inmates?

DEAN: Innocent people are dead. Four so far. SAM: Yeah, innocent. DEAN: You from Texas all of a sudden? Just because these people are in jail, doesn't mean they deserve to die. If we don't stop this thing, people are going to continue to die.

dean knows full well he's in prison because the system doesn't recognize half the real things going on in the world. why should it be any different for these people? he doesn't think he's different from anyone else, he really just doesn't. god i love him!

some other little marvels from this ep:

DEAN: Man, I am freaking velvety smooth.

playing this on a loop in my head i love him i love him i love him!!!

DEAN: I call top bunk! [DEAN’s roommate scoffs and places his things on the top bunk.] DEAN: Okay.

hmm..... makes you think.

less fun is how deacon unsettles me. i don't know. i don't tend to like john's friends and just...

DEAN: Deacon, you are beating the holy hell out of me, man. DEACON: Sorry, Dean. I thought I was going easy on you. Just, uh, trying to make it look real.

i don't love it. i don't love it.

and i don't like the way this episode sets up 2.22 so well. dean uses his body as a punching bag here with abandon. he antagonizes tiny as a distraction and literally the only component of the plan is for tiny to beat the shit out of him while sam sneaks around. he consistently just has to take deacon beating him up to keep his and deacon's cover. this pattern of dean seeing himself as bait/punching bag/disposable is certainly one of the most consistent ones throughout supernatural. i've said before and i'll say again, it's brutal to realize how many times the plan literally is to just let dean get beat to hell to distract someone/thing.

the end of season 2 really is a very specific and sad march of dean studies that bring us to 2.22.

but last but not least, i love how mutual the obsession is between henriksen and dean!!

DEAN: You know, I almost wish I could see Henriksen's face.

like okay... they're literally obsessed with each otherrrrrrr!

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Fic Update: Gentle On My Mind

Chapter 15 is out now!

Summary:

Buck's life is thrown off balance when his parents come to visit.

Snippet:

“That’s… That’s tomorrow,” Buck says. “You’re just telling me now?”

“Well, you know, you were in Texas,” Maddie admits. “And, I wasn’t completely sure they were coming.”

“Well,” Buck sighs. “Unfortunately, Mads, that’s too last minute notice. I already have plans.”

“Buck,” Shannon chides.

“What plans?” Maddie asks. 

“I’m watching Jane,” Buck says. “Eddie and Shannon both have super important plans.”

Hell, a car wash would be an important plan, if it got Buck out of this. 

“Oh,” Maddie says. “Well bring her. It’s just dinner.”

Buck’s eyes bulge. “Bring Jane to meet our parents.” 

“Yeah,” Maddie shrugs. “Mom loves babies. Jane is an angel. It’ll be fine.”

Buck looks at Shannon for help. He tries to convey, don’t let your child be exposed to the cold vacuum of my parents’ presence. She doesn’t seem to understand. 

“Works for me,” Shannon says. “She’s a lockdown baby, after all. Good to meet more people in a safe setting.”

---

Tagging:

@epicbuddieficrecs @theotherbuckley @sevenweeksofunrepression @slowlyfoggydestiny @goldenbcnes

@diazsdimples @exhuastedpigeon @aquamarineglitter @loserdiaz @steadfastsaturnsrings

@your-catfish-friend @incorrect9-1-1 @hawaiianlove808 @babytrapperdiaz @watchyourbuck

@lyricfulloflight @tizniz @aroeddiediaz @estheticpotaeto @buckleybabyblues

@buddieswhvre @l0v3t0hat3y0u @mage8 @theautumnbard @lightningmcqueer28

@kultiras @inell @mrs-f-darcy @spencers1nonlygf @nibblyssacrifice

@thetommoway-oioii @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @buddiekinard @sazanahashi @air-enthusiast

As always, let me know if you'd like to be added to my writing updates tags :)

[leothil]

fic recs: archive edition 24

It is indeed Monday again, and this week our beloved weewoo show returns to us! Let us cast our eyes back to late 2021 and the plethora of amazing fics that were published as 5A was airing!

Previous posts can be found here!

you were a stranger in my phonebook I was acting like I knew by Anonymous (@buddienights) When Buck finds his TA on Grindr he doesn't mean to do anything about it, but when the study guide is incomprehensible and his emails go unanswered, well, what's a boy to do? 12.7k words, rated E

your summer sun forever by @hattalove Buck tries his best to settle into his relationship with Taylor, because she said she loved him, so things are going well, right? But while the words and the theory is there, the practise feels like it's missing. At the same time, Eddie is making sure that Buck feels included in his and Christopher's lives. And Buck slowly starts to realize the difference between a love for show and one actually felt. 7.7k words, rated T

to keep still holy (your kiss upon my mouth) by iphigenias (@oatflatwhite) A collection of kiss prompts originally published on tumblr, all in Liz's impeccable style. Ten chapters, each perfectly bite sized. 10.5k words, rated T

Holding out for Something More (Stuck in Reverse) by allisonRW96 (@homerforsure) Picks up as Buck starts therapy when covid lockdown eases up, and continues through the 118's Texas trip and their visit to the Diaz parents on the way home. A beautiful deep-dive into Buck's head at a sensitive point in his life, and we get to see Eddie with his parents through Buck's eyes. It's the third part of the slightly canon-divergent Long Way Home series that starts at 3x18, but can be read as a standalone (I do recommend reading the whole series though!). 26.7k words, rated T

Happy reading, and remember to leave the authors kudos and comments!

[lover-of-mine]

could you please tell us more about why you think chris would freak out? 😊

Okay, I have been thinking this since 4x08 with Chris freaking out about the idea of Eddie dating in general. But the bottom line is, Chris has a delicious shade of abandonment issues. Eddie wasn't there when he was a baby, Shannon left, and then she died, his grandparents were as constant in his life as his mother and now he only sees them every once in a while, Isabel was constant in LA but she's back in Texas now, you can even make an argument that he felt left by Buck during the lawsuit, because while I do think Eddie was hiding behind Chris to say he missed Buck, Chris was attached enough to Buck to feel the fact that Buck suddenly disappeared a for a while (I like to believe Buck showed up at the house with a pile of legos and a bear like the one they won before the tsunami after, but, well, from a kid's perspective as month is a year, it might've been enough to create something there anyway), especially with everything that had happened to Christopher that year, Shannon dying, the tsunami, Chris worrying about Eddie's state of mind, Chris was at the barbecue and we have no idea what he saw or didn't see about Buck throwing up blood, so he had enough traumatic experiences in quick succession to do something to his brain before he was even 10. We also have a layer to play with if the show decides to go there, but the long-term effects of lockdown on a child were a lot more intense than in someone with a fully developed brain because their lives shut down and they didn't have the tools to deal with it and a child needs the interaction with other people and they were not getting that, and if adults struggled with it, imagine how a 10 yo with a first responder parent who couldn't stay with him felt, ykwim? We see that manifesting in season 4, Chris is scared that dating means leaving, he thinks that Eddie bringing someone into their lives just means someone else who will leave him. And we saw at the beginning of the season that he still believes that to be true. He has that moment of it's okay to play around because it doesn't matter if they love you, they will leave anyway. Chris most likely doesn't remember most of life in Texas with Shannon, and even when he's old enough to understand the circumstances around Shannon leaving, it will still have scarred him forever. And that kid has lived through one parent dying, the other in a hospital when he wasn't allowed to visit due to covid, and a constant safe adult he literally saw in a hospital bed. It doesn't matter if the show ever states Buck in a parental position for Chris before he becomes "stepdad Buck", Buck is one of the two safe adults Chris runs to in a crisis, exemplified by the way even though he's being raised by two first responders, his instinct when Eddie had his breakdown was not to call 911, it was to call Buck. We have enough to speculate that yes, Chris sees Buck as a parent in some degree, but we do know for a fact that Buck is an adult Chris trusts.

So, we have Chris with the mother of all abandonment issues of the show, which is saying something considering who he's up against, we have Eddie and Buck being the two constants when it comes to adults, and just the general concept of safety that he has had in the past few years, so Eddie and Buck are the two people Chris is scared the most to lose, Eddie for obvious reasons, and we see that reflected with Buck with him forcing Eddie and Carla to let him visit him so he can beg Buck to come back. But Chris is also watching both Eddie and Buck FUMBLE through romantic relationships. Like, they are BAD at romantic relationships, and, like, even Taylor was brought into Chris' life and then vanished, I'm not saying he got particularly attached to Taylor, but she was in his house, she lived with Buck, for an 11 yo that's as serious as it's gonna get, and then that ended too. So what Chris is picking up here is that romantic love means people leaving. Like, that was literally the conclusion he reached on his own when it came to dating. He understands that Shannon loved them and that there was love between Eddie and Shannon, but he only thought about the way she left that love. We also have everything about Marisol. Everything about her is about babysitting Chris, so he has a decent relationship with her, and she was moving in. I doubt that Chris didn't know that, but that's another development that got canceled and we know Marisol is not here to stay, so yet another relationship Eddie completely fumbled.

So take all that and put it next to the idea of Eddie and Buck becoming a couple. We know buddie is endgame. We outsiders with all the information watching as all-seeing gods waiting for them to just get their shit together know that when they get together, there's no separating them, that's it. Chris doesn't know that. He knows he loves Eddie. He knows he loves Buck. He knows none of them ever managed to make a romantic relationship work. And he thinks that romantic love means leaving. So Eddie and Buck dating means losing Buck. The only conclusion Chris is gonna reach here is "Buck is gonna leave" so he's gonna freak out. He's a teenager. Half of being that age is feeling things too intensely and the other half is reacting as intensely. He reacted like that to the idea of Ana and it wasn't even about someone he knew yet. Chris having The Tamtrun about Eddie dating someone he loves makes perfect sense. Because Chris doesn't know what a successful relationship looks like, sure, there are his grandparents, but he's not around them enough, and even then his grandfather travels a lot for work anyway so what would he have seen when he was kid, and a kid learns love from their parents. Eddie and Shannon were a disaster from Chris pov. They loved each other but she still left, so what does it take for a relationship to work? Because isn't it the thing we teach kids with fairytales and stuff? That love conquers it all? But he understands enough to know that's not true. Chris may know Buck and Eddie love each other in some degree, the same way he knows he loves Buck, and the same way he knows Buck loves him, but the instinct there would be to fight the change in their relationship because he doesn't want Buck to leave. If everyone Eddie or Buck dated disappeared from his life, what's stopping Buck from leaving him if they break up? Most likely scenario is that he would get big mad at Buck because the change in the dynamic will trigger his abandonment issues, and he's 13, so he's not gonna be rational about it. And that would create some interesting tension in the way that when Chris is mad at his parents, he opens up to Buck, if he's mad at Eddie and Buck, who is he gonna open up to? This is absolutely the type of thing that would make their dynamic stronger in the long run, but it would take a minute for Chris to get to the point where he's ready to talk about the fact that he's scared of the change, it would even take him a minute to probably get to that conclusion himself, because again, the horrors of being 13 are real. Chris himself might struggle to figure out why does the idea make him mad. And Buck and Eddie can't reassure him if they don't know what's wrong. They can't promise they won't break up either. So how do they navigate that?

Because Chris is the priority, they would never do anything that would hurt Chris intentionally, but I also think they would be like "I don't want to break up because he's mad" because that would be proving Chris' fear that they won't stay together right. And I kinda think this is the only route they can go with Chris' reaction because this isn't some "my divorced parents are getting back together" situation, Chris has no reason to hope for Buck and Eddie to get together, so I don't see how he would've already processed that. Sure, if they had gotten together when Chris was 10, he probably would've been a lot more chill about it, but Chris as a teenager? He's gonna freak out. That's literally the only logical conclusion here. And considering the beginning of the season, and the way he was handling dating, AND the way he opened up about it to Buck, all the pieces for that to happen are on the table. Buck has a relationship with Chris outside of Eddie, and obviously, Buck and Eddie are, yk, *motions vaguely* but actually getting Buck and Eddie together would add tension to the existing dynamic between the 3 of them. And it is a way to add conflict to buddie without adding the idea that they don't love each other or don't know how to handle the switch or might not be good at being a couple, because navigating this situation would just prove how solid they are. It's all there. The question is if they are gonna go for it or not.

[books]

Writer Spotlight: Elise Hu

We recently met with Elise Hu (@elisegoeseast) to discuss her illuminating title, Flawless—Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital. Elise is a journalist, podcaster, and media start-up founder. She’s the host of TED Talks Daily and host-at-large at NPR, where she spent nearly a decade as a reporter. As an international correspondent, she has reported stories from more than a dozen countries and opened NPR’s first-ever Seoul bureau in 2015. Previously, Elise helped found The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital start-up, after stops at many stations as a television news reporter. Her journalism work has won the national Edward R. Murrow and duPont Columbia awards, among others. An honors graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she lives in Los Angeles.

Can you begin by telling us a little bit about how Flawless came to be and what made you want to write about K-beauty?

It’s my unfinished business from my time in Seoul. Especially in the last year I spent living in Korea, I was constantly chasing the latest geopolitical headlines (namely, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s big moves that year). It meant I didn’t get to delve into my nagging frustrations of feeling second-class as an Asian woman in Korea and the under-reported experiences of South Korean women at the time. They were staging record-setting women’s rights rallies during my time abroad in response to a stark gender divide in Korea. It is one of the world’s most influential countries (and the 10th largest economy) and ranks shockingly low on gender equality metrics. That imbalance really shows up in what’s expected of how women should look and behave. Flawless explores the intersection of gender politics and beauty standards.

Flawless punctuates reportage with life writing, anchoring the research within your subjective context as someone who lived in the middle of it but also had an outside eye on it. Was this a conscious decision before you began writing? 

I planned to have fewer of my personal stories in the book, actually. Originally, I wanted to be embedded with South Korean women and girls who would illustrate the social issues I was investigating, but I wound up being the narrative thread because of the pandemic. The lockdowns and two years of long, mandatory quarantines in South Korea meant that traveling there and staying for a while to report and build on-the-ground relationships was nearly impossible. I also have three small children in LA, so the embedding plan was scuttled real fast.

One of the central questions the book asks of globalized society at large, corporations, and various communities is, “What is beauty for?” How has your response to this question changed while producing Flawless? 

I think I’ve gotten simultaneously more optimistic and cynical about it. More cynical in that the more I researched beauty, the more I understood physical beauty as a class performance—humans have long used it to get into rooms—more power in relationships, social communities, economically, or all of the above at once. And, as a class performance, those with the most resources usually have the most access to doing the work it takes (spending the money) to look the part, which is marginalizing for everyone else and keeps lower classes in a cycle of wanting and reaching. On the flip side, I’m more optimistic about what beauty is for, in that I have learned to separate beauty from appearance: I think of beauty in the way I think about love or truth, these universal—and largely spiritual—ideas that we all seek, that feed our souls. And that’s a way to frame beauty that isn’t tied in with overt consumerism or having to modify ourselves at all. 

This is your first book—has anything surprised you in the publishing or publicity process for Flawless?

I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed recording my own audiobook! I felt most in flow and joyful doing that more than anything else. Each sentence I read aloud was exactly the way I heard it in my head when I wrote it, which is such a privilege to have been able to do as an author.

Do you have a favorite reaction from a reader? 

I don’t know if it’s the favorite, but recency bias is a factor—I just got a DM this week from a woman writing about how the book helped put into words so much of what she felt and experienced, despite the fact she is not ethnically Korean, or in Korea, which is the setting of most of the book. It means a lot to me that reporting or art can connect us and illuminate shared experiences…in this case, learning to be more embodied and okay with however we look. 

As a writer, journalist, and mother—how did you practice self-care when juggling work commitments, social life, and the creative processes of writing and editing?

I juggled by relying on my loved ones. I don’t think self-care can exist without caring for one another, and that means asking people in our circles for help. A lot of boba dates, long walks, laughter-filled phone calls, and random weekend trips really got me through the arduous project of book writing (more painful than childbirth, emotionally speaking). 

What is your writing routine like, and how did the process differ from your other reporting work? Did you pick up any habits that you’ve held on to? 

My book writing routine was very meandering, whereas my broadcast reporting and writing are quite linear. I have tight deadlines for news, so it’s wham, bam, and the piece is out. With the book, I had two years to turn in a manuscript. I spent the year of lockdowns in “incubation mode,” where I consumed a lot of books, white papers, articles, and some films and podcasts, just taking in a lot of ideas to see where they might collide with each other and raise questions worth reporting on, letting them swim around in the swamp of my brain. When I was ready to write, I had a freelance editor, the indefatigable Carrie Frye, break my book outline into chunks so I could focus on smaller objectives and specific deadlines. Chunking the book so it didn’t seem like such a massive undertaking helped a lot. As for the writing, I never got to do a writer’s retreat or some idyllic cabin getaway to write. I wrote in the in-between moments—a one or two hour window when I had a break from the TED conference (which I attend every year as a TED host) or in those moments after the kids’ bedtime and before my own. One good habit I got into was getting away from my computer at midday. I’m really good about making lunch dates or going for a run to break up the monotony of staring at my screen all day long.

What’s good advice you’ve received about journalism that you would pass on to anyone just starting out?

All good reporting comes from great questions. Start with a clear question you seek to answer in your story, project, or book, and stay true to it and your quest to answer it. Once you are clear on what the thing is about, you won’t risk wandering too far from your focal point.

Thanks to Elise for answering our questions! You can follow her over at @elisegoeseast and check out her book Flawless here!

[eddiesgmcsierra1500denali]

I cannot wait until march when ryan is hopefully doing eddie/chris/texas interviews and inevitably says some insane shit about buck's eddietexas spiral and/or buddie.

alternatively it would be hilarious if they just continued keeping him on lockdown

[shiftingmegs]

♡♡ Nepo Baby DR ♡♡

No one asked but i felt like sharing. Here are some details from my Script. ♡

Things i scripted out:

♡ Writers and Actors Strike ( 'Everybody in the industry gets paid fairly')

♡ "The Winchesters" cancellation (ok this may look silly but i was a fan of the show [ it fixed a lot of problems the OG "Supernatural" had and it was fun.] Being honest? It was like 80% bc i want to see where they were going and 20% pettiness)

♡ TV Shows getting cancelled with a cliffhanger (They still get cancelled but they get one last season just to finish the storyline [ this cliffhanger season normally has the same number of episodes as the other seasons or less])

Things i kept from this Reality:

♡ Covid Pandamic ( my scripted first shift scenario is be waking up in my texas bedroom at the start of the Lockdown, i wanted to script it as a way for me to connect with my siblings, my father and my stepmom [Yes i know that technically Eleanor always existed and already have this connection, but it will be my first time being aware of that reality])

♡ Meaningless Internet drama that everyone gets way too into it

♡ Summer time Daylight saving time (This is just because my country doesn’t have it anymore)

Things i scripted for ego:

♡ I am considered one of the best actress of my generation

♡ Everything i'm on is a massive sucess

♡ No one in my family gets hate comments