#Hing-spice-los-angeles

[uwuwriting]

Yandere ex w/ Midoriya and Bakugou

Request: Can I request some headcanons about Deku, Bakugou annnddd whoever else you'd like with reader and they are currently dating

Reaction to reaching you from your crazy ex boyfriend who is...very powerful and has managed to corner you, alone. You're scared, you're a civilian.

" oh shh. Don't cry baby, i'm here. Now that I'm here, you're all mine, now that you're done being silly. You and me forever"

( thought that'd get the creepy factor)

I'm just a sucker for rescue missions. I'm just so interested in how they'd approach that situation, how they'd comfort reader afterwards

Thank you. For reading this if you don't do this

Which is totally fine! - anonymous

Bruh rescue missions are just *chef’s kiss*. I’ve been having a mini Deku and Bakugou infatuation and I just wanna see more fics with these cuties and their civilian s/os. Like legit there aren’t enough fics with quirkless/civilian readers out there and I’m sad. Love ya.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: stalking, attempted kidnapping, mentions of toxic past relationships, being chased, eventual fluff in the form of comfort, TW BEWARE. 

Midoriya Izuku/ Pro hero! Deku

-Izuku believed you were an angel walking on earth. 

-He met you in the brink of death *literally* when you stitched him up and stabbed an IV into his arm. 

-It was love at first sight for him tbh and he is proud to admit it too. 

-Soon enough -and after many many more visits to the hospital so he can be treated by dr. L/N- he asked you out and now you’re living together. 

-He knows about your ex and he hates him for what he did to you. 

-He has coaxed you into relaxing many nights after you’ve had terrible nightmares about your ex finding you again and this time not only putting your freedom on the line but also Izuku’s safety. 

-You know he is a pro hero and all but you can’t stop seeing him on your apartment floor, unmoving with your ex looming over him. 

-He is always there to chase that horrible darkness away and replace it with the warmth of his love. 

-So as time passed, thoughts of your ex became less and less frequent until they stopped popping up throughout the day all together and you were happy with that. 

-Then the universe decided that it should serve you with a good old traumatizing experience to spice things up. 

-You were walking home after your shift at the hospital was over, exhausted out of your mind when you felt the hairs at the back of your neck rise.

-It was like a sixth sense, knowing that something was up. 

- “Y/n-chan~”

-Your blood ran cold at the familiar voice, your mind going blank as you quickly fished out your phone dialing Izuku’s number while speeding up. 

- “Hey angel w-”

- “Izu he is here. H-he is f-following me.” 

-You heard his feet hitting the pavement on the other line as he ran down the busy street, completely forgetting about the patrol he was on. 

- “Where are you angel?”

-Sharing your location with him you took a sharp turn and into a convenience store, walking to the very back and hiding behind a few shelves, your eyes glazing over as you heard the sliding doors ding as your ex stepped inside not even a minute after you. 

-When did he get so close?

- “Izu please.” 

- “I’m almost there Y/N, I’ll protect you I promise.” 

-You held your breath as footsteps got closer, Izuku’s breathing keeping you grounded as they echoed through the other line. 

-Dipping behind another shelf you zigzagged through the aisles hoping to lose him as you slowly and quietly made your way to the entrance, your plan being to run outside and find Izuku. 

-Your plan though was cute short when an arm wrapped tightly around your waist bringing you flush with a sturdy chest, your ex’s head dipping into your hair and breathing in your scent in an exaggerated sniff. 

- “You like the chase Y/N-chan~? I’ve got you now.” 

-Izuku’s panicked voice could be heard coming from your phone as he listened to your ex talking to you. 

-A whimper of your actual boyfriend’s name left your lips in an attempt to get away from him but his grip on you tightened making a sob escape you as tears cascaded down your cheeks, too many awful memories of your past relationship flooding your mind. 

-You wanted your Izuku. 

- “Aww baby don’t cry. And my name isn’t Izuku so don’t make that silly little mistake again because it doesn’t make me happy when you call out other men’s names. I got you now and everything will be back to normal in no time. Just you and me my sweet Y/N.” 

-You thrashed around, your hands clawing at the arm wrapped around your waist and the other one that was holding your chin. 

-In your panic you didn’t even hear the ding of the store’s doors as your boyfriend stepped in, eyes immediately locking on your crying features and the outer fear in your eyes as you ex tried kissing your neck.  

-It took him mere seconds to untangle you from your ex’s grasp and pull you safely into his chest, a punch flying right into your attackers jaw as he fell to the floor with a loud thud. 

-His hands went immediately to cradle your head near his chest, rubbing soothing circles on your back as you sobs wracked through your body. 

- “Shh angel, it’s me I’m right here shh. He can’t hurt you Y/N.” 

-Police sirens echoed outside as a few officers poured through the double doors, Izuku scooping you up and taking you outside trudging the familiar road to your shared apartment. 

-You wouldn’t let go of his hero costume as he calmly set you on your shared bed, whispering to you that he was only going to the closet to help you both change. 

-It took him a lot of time to actually calm you down and when he managed it he called his agency to inform them that he would be taking the day off. 

-The only thing he could do after that was hold you as close to his chest as he possibly could, reassuring you that he wouldn’t be coming anywhere close to you from now on that he was officially gone. 

Bakugou Katsuki/ Pro Hero! Dynamight

-It was a stupid argument that escalated and now he found himself crashing at Kirishima’s. 

-You two hadn’t talked for about a week now and Bakugou feared that you had had enough of him and you would break up if he called. 

-He felt awful.

-He just wanted to go back home to you, kiss you, hug you, be back in his normal routine with the love of his life but no he had to be stubborn and push you to your limits with a silly argument that he doesn’t even remember what the fuck it was about. 

-It was the third sleepless night for him and he couldn’t stop his brain from drifting to you and what you might be doing. 

-You on the other hand were terrified out of your mind. 

-Not long after Katsuki stormed out of your apartment you had started getting texts from an unknown number saying things like “He is finally gone” and “Now we can be together again dolly.” 

-The nickname had sent shivers down your spine, memories of your toxic/yandere ex flooding your mind. 

-Katsuki had helped you run away from him and heal after those dark days. 

-Walking to the kindergarten you worked at became a constant threat.

-You were always looking behind your shoulder for anyone who might be following you, coming very close to calling Katsuki more than once when you thought that you had caught a whiff of your ex. 

-You began asking your coworkers to walk home with you using the excuse that it felt kinda lonely walking alone.

-Things reached a tipping point when the photos started coming in. 

-Photos of you in your class helping the kids, on your way to the station to catch your train every morning and even from inside your own house. 

-Photos of you putting on one of Katsuki’s hoodies was filled with manic scribbles of the word stop as a big red circle was drawn around your boyfriend’s sweatshirt. 

-It terrified you and you wanted nothing else than to call Katsuki and beg him to come back. 

-But despite it all your worthless pride and ego got in the way convincing you that you would fight your ex with your own two hands. 

-All those thoughts were tossed out the window when you heard your ex’s voice outside your apartment’s door on a late Friday night. 

- “Dolly open the door~” 

-In less than a second you had pushed the kitchen table in front of the door, your fingers hastily dialing Katsuki’s number, tears already streaming down your cheeks as your ex pounded at the front door, his voice and pleas becoming more and more aggressive as the seconds ticked by. 

-Two agonizing minutes passed before Bakugou answered, his gruff voice reaching your ears from the other line as he answered with a short “What”

- “Katsu please h-he is trying to get in. H-he is at the d-door. I-I don’t know what to do.” 

- “Baby lock yourself in our room and try to barricade the door. After that hide I’ll be there before you know it.”

-You could hear a door slamming shut and his hasty steps coming through the other line. 

-Doing as you were told you locked your bedroom door, pushing your dresser in front of it as more bangs came from the front door the legs of the kitchen table scraping the floor as the door almost rattled off its hinges. 

-Ducking underneath your bed you let out a few whines to which Katsuki answered with reassuring words. 

- “I’m almost there baby, I’ll save you. Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry baby. I should be home with you right now keeping you safe from that lunatic. I’m sorry I love you so much.” 

- “Katsu please hurry please. I-I’m so scared. Please.” 

- “I can see our building don’t worry-” 

-A loud thud came from the kitchen and only a few seconds later something rammed into the bedroom door ripping another whimper from your throat. 

- “Oh my god Katsu he’s in our house!!” 

- “Y/N, dolly, why are you making this so difficult my love? I just want” *thud* “to love you” *thud* “the way you” *thud* “DESERVE!”

-In one finally push your dresser was finally knocked over as the door creaked slightly open, your ex squeezing through the crack a laugh and a breathy moan of your name escaping his lips as he stepped inside.  

- “Katsuki I lo-” 

-The only thing that Katsuki could hear was your scream as he barreled up the stairs to your apartment. 

-He was gonna skin that bastard alive for hurting you and then he would skin himself alive for allowing this to happen. 

-He will never forget the look of pure terror in your eyes as you ex was pining you on the floor, your eyes darting through the room desperately searching for a way to escape this. 

-Katsuki tackled your assailant, straddling his waist as he let punch after punch connect with the bastard's face as you cowered to the far corner of the room. 

-After a few minutes of relentless punching your ex was knocked out cold while Katsuki was cradling you to his chest, rubbing circles onto your scalp as you sobbed in his chest. 

-You don’t remember much of what happened later, too exhausted to process anything and too comfortable in Katsuki’s arms as he led you to Kirishima’s house to spend the night. 

-He refused to take you to a hotel, he thought you would feel safer in a familiar environment. 

-Kiri left you two alone as Katsuki prepared a bath and a change of clothes. 

- “Katsu…” 

-His name left your lips as a mere whisper and it broke his heart. 

- “I can’t go back to our house...He had been in there….he had taken pictures I-I” 

- “Shh it’s alright. It was getting kinda small for us anyways. Shh Don’t worry about it.” 

- “I’m sorry Katsu, I’m so sorry.” 

-It would take a lot of hard work to build up your sense of safety and he knew it but he was ready to give it his all for you. 

- “No need to apologize baby. You know I would do anything for you and your safety and I’ll be here next to you now matter what. I love you and I will never stop. You kinda have my wrapped around your finger, woman.” 

-You let out a weak giggle followed by an “I love you” of your own and a little peck on the lips, as you snuggled close to him, his arms bringing you safely to his chest in a way to calm your nerves. 

-You really did have wrapped around your finger.

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[liquor-and-intellect]

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? H.S AU part three: you should see me in a crown

Jay is force to be reckoned with. She does what she wants and the consequences aren’t as bad she’d expect. She stays out late, drinks with her friends and sleeps with Kai- who may or may not have a girlfriend.

When Jay meets Harry, her life seems to slow down. Feelings start to slip through the hard exterior that she’s worked so hard to build. She could finally learn to be vulnerable and overcome the scars left by her childhood that she didn’t realize went to deep.

Follows Billie Eilish’s Album.

part three: you should see me in a crown

“Tell me which one is worse

Living or dying first

Sleeping inside a hearse

I don't dream”

- you should see me in a crown//Billie Eilish

*warning: mentions of drug use and trauma*

Little bare feet padded across the hardwood floor, making their way down the hallway. She was silent as she knew her mother would get upset when she would get out of bed past her bedtime.

But she was up because she couldn’t sleep. She remembered the days when she was younger- five or so- and her father would read her a book until her small body would succumb to the embrace of unconsciousness. She missed that. Her heart ached at that memory; she didn’t understand what she did wrong to make him act so differently sometimes.

She had heard the front door open while she’d been staring at the glowing stars on her ceiling. The time was 2:03 am, she knew this because her Barbie clock said so. When she heard his familiar grunt, she knew she wanted him to read her a book like the good old days. That’s the words she would use.

She had it planned out in her head as she crept down the hallway. Her nightgown with the words “princess” on the front making a swishing noise as she moved, and she prayed her mom would not hear.

Her father wasn’t in the living room by the door, but she heard a thump in the bathroom, so she made her way towards it. She could wait for him if she needed to.

The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, the light casting a small projection into the dark hallway.

She pressed her hand to the frame. “Daddy?” she whispered.

The door made a creak that would have woken the dead as she pushed it open and she almost froze thinking of how upset her mother would be. She wouldn’t be able to play on the computer for a week.

She couldn’t stop the squeaking hinges as it hit the wall of the bathroom and her jaw froze in shock.

Laying on the bathroom floor was her daddy. A needle protruding from his arm with deep bruises around it, like the needle she gets when she visits the doctor.

Did he need a shot? she wondered. Was my daddy sick?

She noticed the pill bottle in his hand, but paid no attention to it because it meant nothing to her at the time, it wouldn’t be until later that she would realize that her desire to be around people who used would just prove that subconsciously she wanted to feel closer to her father.

The little girl was ten. The police would argue with her mother later that she should have been old enough to know to get help when she saw him initially. She should have known to get help when she witnessed her daddy convulse on the ground and the foam escape past the lips that used to kiss her on the forehead. She should have known to get help when he stilled and his body became cold and his blue eyes that held the color of the ocean just like her own, rolled into the back of his head.

She should have known.

But whether she did or not, she still didn’t move until the early morning hours where her mother found her sound asleep on her deceased father’s chest, hoping and praying that her daddy would wake up.

The screams of her mother that echoed through her skull that day would make it hard for her to even listen to her mother speak for the rest of her life.

 I woke up with a sheen of cold sweat layered over my face.

There was no jerking of limbs or dramatic gasps of air when I awoke from my nightmare. It happened too often for me to be surprised of what I would see every time I closed my eyes.

It didn’t mean it would hurt any less though.

I sat up, rolling my shoulders back and massaging the everlasting knot in my neck that I had grown accustomed to.

Here’s what we are going to do, I told myself, as I filed away the hurt and pain of that day that I never let myself feel unless it was in the naked hours of the morning, we are going to channel this energy into something else. We are not going to think of that day.

So what did I tell myself next?

That I was going to make today my bitch.

 With no ill intentions on my part, but rather lack of patience, I snapped at Hunter this morning as she asked excessive questions about how she acted last night.

She stopped talking after that.

She knew me well enough to not push me when I was in these moods and for that I was grateful. I wasn’t completely unaware that I was somewhat of an enigma to my friends. They knew Jay, the Jay that lived here in Los Angeles. The one that waited tables and drove them home. They knew nothing about my past or where I came from. Every time they had asked personal questions, I would be quick to shut down the conversation. They learned swiftly within our relationship that vulnerability and transparency were not traits that I was welcomed to.

“I just felt like we had a lot in common, you know?” Hunter told Winnie at our kitchen counter as I sat mindlessly flipping through a magazine.

Winnie had woken up not long ago and had shuffled her feet loudly to the kitchen where she poured a cup of coffee. Hunter and her had been talking quietly across the counter.

I snorted. “Please, all you shared was that ashtray.” It came out wrong, but I wasn’t in the mood for correcting myself. She could take whatever she wanted from my remark.

Winnie rolled her eyes, tugging a strand of her blonde hair as she leaned forward on her elbows. “Jay,” she scolded. “you don’t have to be such a bitch.”

I widened my eyes at her. “Bitch? You forget if it wasn’t for me, you two wouldn’t even had made it home,” I snapped back, the venom I laced into my voice had colored my words.

Hunter sunk further back into her seat. She hated confrontation.

Winnie threw her hands up in the air. “Then don’t fucking come then!” Her voice rose an octave. “It’s not like you have any fun anyway. You’re too busy being a prude and sitting there judging us like you’re somehow better than us. At least we aren’t sleeping with a guy who has a girlfriend.” She pushed a thumb to her temple as if the crescendo her voice took added to the pain that her hangover was providing.

Bite my tongue.

I reveled in her silence as she waited for me to respond, to come back at her even harder—but that wasn’t even my ammo. Sure, I was fire and spice a majority of the time, but I knew when to bide my time correctly and her silence was my favorite sound that I have ever heard her make in that moment.

I stood up and walked out of the room.

I didn’t have time for this shit.

Later, we would make up and talk this out. She had been holding this in for a long time and I had mostly provoked the situation—which I should have felt bad for. But today, I did not.

…

Seven p.m. came too quickly.

A majority of my afternoon was spent pacing my room nervously. I didn’t go on dates very often, we usually just skipped the semantics and went straight to the bedroom. Especially since I started sleeping with Kai, I hadn’t had the desire to look for anyone else to take home, so I was a little rusty when it came to the world of dating.

What was I supposed to expect from this event? Were we going to go to his place after and have sex? Did he think that I was girlfriend material? What exactly did he see in me that was so interesting with me provoking his coworker and scrubbing a cheap wine stain off my pants in a house full of cigarette smoke?

I tried to push those thoughts to the back of my mind and remind myself who I was. I didn’t believe in love, I didn’t date, but I do live impulsively and recklessly enough to actually go tonight.

Well, I would have canceled had I had his phone number.

But his car was coming to a stop in front of my apartment and I was standing in my window in my nice lacey camisole with an over-large gray cardigan hanging off my shoulders and I couldn’t bring my feet to move.

What the hell was I doing?

Harry didn’t know my thoughts, but he got out of the car and walked to the front door—long legs and all— as if it was completely natural. Clean white sneakers adorned his feet and his arms were snug underneath a jean jacket and he looked damn good.

I sighed as I heard the knock on the door.

I didn’t recognize this nervous mess of a person I was. So, I did the only thing I knew how to do and slipped on my leather heeled boots and strolled to the door as if I had zero fucks about anything in the world.

Make ‘em bow, I told myself as I plastered a smirk on my face and opened the door.

His appearance almost made me falter- almost. If I thought Harry looked good from the window, he was absolutely breathtaking standing in front of me.

His hair was it’s usual mess of curls but by the way it dipped slightly to the side, I could tell that he had meticulously placed it that way. He pushed a hand through it. “Wow,” he breathed. “you look great.” I had almost forgotten about the accent.

Almost.

Not waiting for him, I closed the door behind me and waltzed around him. “You should see me in a crown then,” I called over my shoulder, the clicking of my boots echoing off the sidewalk as his laughter trailed behind me.

…

“So, I really want to hear more about you.”

I glanced up from the plate of grilled chicken marsala I was enjoying, noticing Harry’s green eyes landing on me with intent from across the table.

After I had settled myself into his car—not giving him a chance to open the door for me—he had brought me to a nice American styled café that overlooked the beach. Besides nightlife, I hadn’t ventured out into L.A very much since moving a couple years ago. So the light breeze of the night and the scent of the salty air was refreshing and surprisingly made me feel somewhat lighter.

“I don’t really talk about my past,” I answered, punctuating my sentencing with a fork in my mouth.

He smiled. He had a way of taking my rude, sarcastic remarks and finding them interesting. “I didn’t ask about your past,” he breathed. “I asked about you- the present.” The Edison bulbs that hung above us glittered in his irises as his gaze rested upon me.

I quirked an eyebrow. “Isn’t someone’s past the most important thing about them? Like, what has made them… Them?”

Harry shook his head, causing a strand of hair to fall in front his green eyes. He brushed it back. “I totally disagree. A person is not defined by their past.”

I snorted at that statement. A person had to be defined by their past. Those mistakes, sins, regrets… They weave your vary soul. The stain those past offenses caused on you was not something that could just be washed away with a couple sleepless nights and a guilty conscience. You can’t just remove that part of yourself—just like you couldn’t remove half of your heart and live to talk about it.

“You don’t believe that?” he asked and the look in his eyes made me feel like this was a piece of me that he was trying his hardest to figure out.

He shouldn’t waste his time.

I shook my head. “Of course, I don’t.”

Maybe he felt my discomfort from the way I shifted in my chair, because he changed the subject. “What’s your full name?” he asked.

“Jay Elise Holland.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Jay isn’t short for anything?”

“No it is not, Harold.”

The laugh that slipped past his lips erupted deep from his belly and it made me feel… warm. He threw his head back and his eyes screwed shut as his shoulders shook. I didn’t even think it was that funny, but the way his chuckle floated across the table of a candle and chicken dish to my receptive ears delighted me in a way that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

My cheeks rose as a tug of a smile played on my lips.

He took note of it, letting his gaze take in the small smile. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything further about it.

I quickly changed the subject. “So, when did you move to L.A.?” I asked.

He cocked his head to the side. “Me and my mum moved ‘ere when I was seventeen,” he said, taking a long sip of his water, his green eyes twinkling with unknown mischief.

“Why?” I asked. It was blunt, but I didn’t care.

He breathed out a light laughed and looked down. I swore a rosy color appeared on his cheeks and my heart soared slightly. “I can’t tell you. This is a first date and it is too embarrassing,” he finally chuckled, looking back up at me.

My fork made a clink as I set it on the table. I crossed my arms and leaned closer. “You have my full attention now.”

Harry groaned, running a hand down his face as he looked everywhere but me. “Okay, so like… fuck,” he grumbled. “This is so embarrassing. You know boy bands, right?”

I nodded slowly, not following his connection.

He took a deep breath. “I moved ‘ere because my mum wanted me to… like… audition for one.” He scratched the back of his head.  

I pursed my lips. “And did you get the part?”

Reluctantly, he shook his head. “No,” he responded bashfully. “I didn’t, but we stayed anyways and I went to uni- or college-  for marketing and the rest is history.” Broad shoulders shrugged.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out in a sigh. “That…” I searched for the right word. “is definitely something.” I settled with.

He chuckled at that and I couldn’t help but let a breathy laugh out as well. I had never heard so much chuckling in such a small span of time.

“What kind of music do you listen to?” he asked, pushing his empty plate away from and settling back in the chair.

I opened my mouth to speak and then shut it right back. I didn’t know the answer to that question. In my mind, I couldn’t think of the last time I had played music for the fun of it. The complicated answer was that I didn’t listen to music because I didn’t like to experience what it made me feel… so in the end, I just stopped. When I was younger, I loved music. I would dance in my living room with bare dirty feet and recite every word to the Top 100… Now?

The simple answer, “I actually don’t listen to much music.”

Harry tried with every atom in his body to not let the shock show on his face, but it was there and extremely evident. His deep, elongated words formed a shocked sentence of “You… you’re joking, right?”

I shrugged and looked down to pick at my fingernails. “Why would I fucking joke about that?” I mumbled. It was hard not to ice my words over, but I did it anyways.

A breath through his nose filled his chest, but he didn’t waver from my coldness. “You just haven’t found what you liked yet.”

Harry was quick to warm up my icy demeanor as he swiftly paid for our food. I still felt a pinprick of guilt that I wasn’t the type of human who didn’t listen to music. If we were being honest, I didn’t know how to. It didn’t stop me from wishing that in that moment I could have been different, just so Harry could relate to me a bit more.

Who the fuck was I?

We walked along the beach, sand kicking up at our shins as we continued with the low-tide shore. The sun was already down, but the glowing of the nightlife above the boardwalk glittered off the receding waves. They also found themselves reflecting in Harry’s eyes.

“Coffee or tea?” Harry asked, filling the silence.

“Huh?”

“I just want to know more about you—and since you seem to be wanting to know more about yourself as well, I thought I’d do us both a favor.”

I snorted. “Coffee.”

He nodded. “Makes sense.”

I stopped. “What does that mean?”

He took a couple steps before realizing I was now behind him. When he turned towards me, the breeze blew his hair across his face. “You are a coffee person. Coffee people are usually more mysterious.”

“It’s a drink,” I retorted.

“It’s a fact,” he argued back.                                                                                

I continued walking.

“Blue or green?” he continued.

I thought of the color of his eyes, of new beginnings and growth. “Green.”

“If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what is one thing in the world you would do?” his voice hummed like a lullaby.

“Be a different person.”

…

We spent the rest of the night talking and while nothing substantial about myself was revealed to him, the conversation maintained. About work, school, my roommate and friends and Harry’s neighbors. They were loud on Fridays but quiet on Sundays, watered their garden on Mondays but forgot about it on Wednesdays. Harry was observant and that small part of him greatly intrigued me.

Our steps scraped the sidewalk as he walked me to my front door around midnight. I didn’t know what he expected from me after buying my food and spending the evening alongside me.

“Do you want to… come in?” I asked, almost sheepishly although I wouldn’t admit it.

He gave me a smile. “Jay,” he gasped. “this is a first date.” Harry punctuated the sentence with a wink.

I laughed, turning fully to face him and taking in the way he looked in the streetlamp of my townhouse.

Then, he caught me off guard.

Harry took a step toward me, putting a tentative hand on my cheek to encourage me forward just slightly. A small movement that resulted in his lips grazing mine and a dusty suitcase of butterflies opening itself up in my stomach and taking flight through the marrow of my bones. It was exhilarating. I found myself leaning further into it, enjoying the gentle way he kissed me as if I would shatter into a thousand pieces.

Harry allowed me to deepen it further, my hand finding its way to his hip as our lips slid over one another. I grazed my tongue against his gently, causing his breath to hitch slightly as I felt the reverberations through his lips.

He pulled back to soon, catching his breath and letting his gaze fall over me. Exhale. “I’ll see you soon, Jay,” he whispered to me, letting his hand fall from my cheek, a smile playing on his lips, and backing away from me to his car.

I watched him shut the door and pull away from the curb, a dopey smile on my face. When I realized I was smiling, I also realized why I had been in such a bad mood this morning. How my soul was black and stained and I could never forget about it. How people like me would never be deserving of people like Harry.

The hard exterior glazed itself over my eyes like a film.

I had to fucking forget about him. I had to.

The self-destruction that usually took over when good things happened was settling in my bones once more. I knew the signs too well and I still couldn’t stop it.

Grabbing a bottle of vodka from the cabinet, I took the stairs to my room one by one. All I could see was the blood of my father on the marble, reminding me why I couldn’t be happy. Taunting me, encouraging me to fully self-destruct and never come back.

I got to my room and sent a simple text.

You up?

Kai quickly responded. They always did.  

“ Visions I vandalize Cold in my kingdom size Fell for these ocean eyes “

[diezeitdreht]

What will make your "slice of life/city rp" different if you make it, we already had several slice of life city rps die within the last 2-3 months. Everyone loves them AT FIRST then they disappear. How will you plan to stay?

I’ve noticed this too and it’s so sad to see that happen. I’ve actually been thinking about this specific issue, and I’m thinking I’ll add a bit more to it in terms of a plot as opposed to being totally slice of life.

I’ve always loved the undercurrent of a story that helps bring the muses to life outside of wandering the streets and meeting people. I’ll explain it briefly here and let me know what you (and any other lurkers!) think.

I’m working off the concept of trinkets, those little things we carry with us that seem of little value in the eyes of others but mean so very much to their owner. Each muse with have a trinket (a symbol of their baggage) as decided by their mun, with a focus on the established relationships between the muses (see next paragraph for clarification). I know, this is skewing away from the completely free world of other slice of life rpgs, but bare with me. Now with that being said, the group will still provide a sense of openness.

So what’s up with these “relationships”/connections then, right? The idea is still in its beginning stages, but I think it’d be interesting to provide available relationships to applicants in which they choose from preestablished connections. They’ll range from being family members or past romantic partners to simply having attended the same university or that they both visit the same coffee shop every morning. They’ll be genderless, meaning they won’t hinge on muses needing to be male, female, etc. The extent to which these connections are explored is totally up to the mun/muse, but it will help add meat to the story from the start. An example may be simply be “muse a and muse b have worked at the same company together for years”. From there the muns can decide how well they know each other, if they get along, what their jobs are, etc.

The big takeaway is that all characters will be connected to each other via some degree of separation, but will be connected nonetheless.

I’d like to implement an apartment and home system as well, so there will be options of homes, single unit apartments, multi-room apartments, etc. I imagine this being set in Los Angeles, a place I’ve lived for some time now and have grown to see the magic in every nook and cranny of. So they will be split into neighborhoods (as they are in any other city rpgs) and the choice of one or more buildings in said neighborhoods. This again provides instant connections and tension/plot possibilities. (*I’ve also considered setting it in Seoul, but that’s currently TBD.)

I’d like to start relatively small (although depending on interest it can be opened up to a larger group) as to effectively incubate the group and grow those connections and plots. I’ve been sketching out a story arc as well, which will be most effective when the characters are closely knit so that everyone is effected in one way or another.

Hello, what about these trinkets?

They/muse’s baggage will be used as plot devices to aid the main story arc, adding a bit of spice to the mix. They’ll also be opportunities for muses to interact with each other’s baggage by mentioning and holding their actual trinkets.

I know is this fairly different than the initial idea, but I’m rather excited for this prospective concept, and I hope others are open to and interested in it as well!

[ongames]

Lead Poisons Children In L.A. Neighborhoods Rich And Poor

With its century-old Spanish-style homes tucked behind immaculately trimmed hedges, San Marino, California, is among the most coveted spots to live in the Los Angeles area.

Its public schools rank top in the state, attracting families affiliated with CalTech, the elite university blocks away. The city’s zoning rules promote a healthy lifestyle, barring fast food chains.

Home values in L.A. County census tract 4641, in the heart of San Marino and 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, can rival those in Beverly Hills. The current average listing price: $2.9 million.

But the area has another, unsettling distinction, unknown to residents and city leaders until now: More than 17 percent of small children tested here have shown elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to previously undisclosed L.A. County health data.

That far exceeds the 5 percent rate of children who tested high for lead in Flint, Michigan, during the peak of that city’s water contamination crisis.

The local blood test data, obtained through a records request from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, shows two neighboring San Marino census tracts are among the hotspots for childhood lead exposure in the L.A. area.

San Marino is hardly alone. Across sprawling L.A. County, more than 15,000 children under age 6 tested high for lead between 2011 and 2015. In all, Reuters identified 323 neighborhood areas where the rate of elevated tests was at least as high as in Flint. In 26 of them – including the two in San Marino, and some in economically stressed areas – the rate was at least twice Flint’s.

The data stunned San Marino Mayor Richard Sun, who said he wasn’t aware of any poisoning cases in the community.

“This is a very serious matter, and as the mayor, I really want to further explore it,” Sun said upon reviewing the numbers presented by Reuters. During an interview at City Hall, he directed city officials to investigate potential sources of exposure.

THOUSANDS OF U.S. LEAD HOTSPOTS

The L.A.-area findings are part of an ongoing Reuters examination of hidden lead hazards nationwide. Since last year, the news agency has identified more than 3,300 U.S. neighborhood areas with documented childhood lead poisoning rates double those found in Flint. Studies based on previously available data, surveying broad child populations across entire states or counties, usually couldn’t pinpoint these communities.

Despite decades of U.S. progress in curbing lead poisoning, millions of children remain at risk. Flint’s disaster is just one example of a preventable public health crisis that continues in hotspots coast to coast, Reuters has found.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for elevated lead is 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Children who test at or above that threshold warrant a public health response, the agency says. Even a slight elevation can reduce IQ and stunt childhood development. There’s no safe level of lead in children’s bodies.

In San Marino, old lead-based paint is likely the main source of exposure, county health officials said, but they added that imported food, medicine or pottery from China could also be a factor. About 80 percent of San Marino homes were built before 1960, and the community has a large Asian population, U.S. Census data show.

Exposure from old paint, drinking water and soil are widely researched. Other risks – including some candies, ceramics, spices or remedies containing lead from China, Mexico, India and other countries – are less known.

The L.A. blood data covers nearly 1,550 census tracts, or county subdivisions, each with an average population around 4,000. It shows the number of small children tested in each tract, and how many tested high.

In California, the exposure risks children face can vary wildly by neighborhood. Many L.A. areas have little or no documented lead poisoning. Countywide, 2 percent of children tested high. But in hundreds of areas, the rate is far higher. Reuters crunched the data, and neighborhood-level results can be explored on an interactive map.

In the trouble areas, old housing is commonplace. Nearly half of L.A. County’s homes were built before 1960. Lead was banned from household paint in 1978, but old paint can peel, chip, or pulverize into toxic dust.

Children are often exposed in decrepit housing. But in some U.S. areas, nearly a third of lead poisoning cases can be linked to home renovation projects, said Mary Jean Brown, a public health specialist at Harvard University and former director of the CDC’s lead prevention program.

San Marino residents take pride in preserving their historic homes. Among the measures Mayor Sun wants to consider: An ordinance to ensure safe practices any time home repairs or renovations could disturb lead paint.

Poverty is another predictor of lead poisoning, and many of L.A.’s danger zones are concentrated in low-income or gentrifying areas near downtown and on the city’s densely populated South Side.

In one low-income area of South L.A., Reuters met with the family of Kendra Nicole Rojas, a three-year-old recently diagnosed with lead poisoning, only to find that 63 other small children living within a six block radius have also tested high.

“A lot of people don’t even think of the West Coast as a place where kids get poisoned,” said Linda Kite, executive director at L.A.-based Healthy Homes Collaborative. “The biggest problem we have is medical apathy. Many doctors don’t test children for lead.”

The findings highlight a need for greater medical surveillance, abatement and awareness in the health-conscious county of 10 million, public health specialists said.

The county and city of Los Angeles have dedicated lead prevention programs that work with at-risk families. When a child’s blood levels persist above 10 micrograms per deciliter – double the CDC threshold – the family receives a home inspection, nurse visits and follow-up.

The effects of lead poisoning are irreversible, and the programs’ broader goal is to prevent any exposure. But success hinges on many actors, and assistance from agencies such as the CDC, the department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Like other regions, L.A. faces a looming hurdle in attacking hazards: President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposals would sharply cut funds for many lead-related programs.

“We’re aware of lots of areas where homes or soil contain significant levels of lead, and those can represent an urgent need to act,” said Maurice Pantoja, chief environmental health specialist for the county program. “Any fewer resources toward poisoning prevention would be a tragedy.”

A POISONED HOME

Just a few miles west of San Marino, in South Pasadena, one boy’s poisoning serves as a cautionary tale.

In an old, pastel-colored home on Hope Street, an infant named Connor was exposed to lead paint and dust in 2012.

The property is owned by California’s Department of Transportation, Caltrans, which had plans to expand a freeway in the area. Its floors were coated in chipping lead paint. During a bathroom repair, a crew showed up in “hazmat suits,” said tenant Cynthia Wright, Connor’s grandmother.

But as the crew worked, stripping toxic paint from walls and fixtures and unleashing plumes of dust, they told the family there was no need to leave the home, Wright said.

That was an unfortunate lapse, the state agency acknowledged. “There were errors in handling communications regarding this property and Caltrans has revised its business practices,” spokeswoman Lauren Wonder said, leading to “greater vigilance.”

Connor continued crawling around the floors. At age one, he began missing developmental milestones. Suddenly, he lost the ability to use the few words he could say.

When his mother, Heather Nolan, had him tested for lead, the result was almost five-fold the CDC threshold. Lead levels often peak among children ages one to two, when they are increasingly mobile and have hand-to-mouth behaviors.

Now six, Connor needs speech and occupational therapy up to five times a week. He hasn’t been able to integrate in a mainstream classroom.

“It’s not an easy road,” his grandmother said. “I would tell anyone in an old home, you really need to be aware of the risks.”

In 2015, the family settled a landmark lawsuit against Caltrans for $10 million. Wright still lives in the home, which has been remediated.

POOR PROSPECTS

Amid an affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles, many renters don’t confront landlords to fix lead paint hazards, fearing eviction if they raise the alarm, said Kite, the healthy homes advocate. That helps explain why so many children in south and central L.A. test high.

Karla Rojas, 26, was living with her extended family on 30th Street in a low-income area of South L.A. last year when her toddler, Kendra, started getting chronic bouts of illness.

Mother and daughter slept on the floor, near a bookshelf where an inspector later found flaking lead paint. Tested at the local St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, Kendra’s result came back at several times the CDC threshold.

Once county officials got involved, the landlord repainted the shelf and other areas where lead was found. Still, terrified her daughter’s exposure would continue, Rojas moved out.

“When you read about what lead can do, it makes me fear for her future,” said Rojas, watching three-year-old Kendra play with two new pet rabbits.

Exposure is common in the area, said Jeff Sanchez, a consultant at public health research firm Impact Assessment, which works with L.A.’s prevention program. Around the neighborhood, code inspectors have cited at least 35 percent of residential properties for chipping or peeling paint violations over a four-year period.

Paint isn’t the only peril. A mile and a half east, in Vernon, the now shuttered Exide Technologies battery-recycling plant spewed noxious emissions for decades, polluting soil in thousands of properties with lead residue. A planned $175 million cleanup will rely in part on children’s blood tests to determine which properties should be sanitized first. Past testing has shown that children living close to the plant are at heightened risk.

Yet California, like Michigan, doesn’t require lead screening for all children, leaving many untested.

Prompted in part by Reuters’ previous coverage, California cities and lawmakers are pushing new initiatives to protect children.

Bill Quirk, chair of the state legislature’s Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, recently introduced a bill to require screening for all small children.

“I strongly support blood lead testing,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who represents part of L.A. County. “It’s important that residents have information about the threats they may face in their communities.”

‘DON’T WORRY, HE’S NOT AT RISK’

California’s current policy is to test children with known risk factors, including those enrolled in government assistance programs for the poor like Medicaid. The protocol, applied unevenly by healthcare providers, can miss poisoned kids.

In 2013, when apparel designer Amanda Gries and her husband, a Hollywood film editor, rented a home in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood, she was pregnant with son Wyatt, now 3. The century-old mansion was in a rapidly gentrifying area south of downtown, near landmarks such as the Staples Center and the University of Southern California.

Gries, concerned about peeling paint and dust in the home, urged a pediatrician to screen Wyatt before his first birthday.

“The doctor didn’t want to test,” Gries said. “The message was, ‘Don’t worry, he’s not at risk.’ It was like he didn’t fit the profile.”

Gries insisted, and her fears were confirmed when Wyatt tested at nearly double the CDC’s elevated threshold. An inspection found lead in dust on the floor of Wyatt’s bedroom at 30 times the federal hazard level.

The family moved out quickly and searched citywide before settling into a home on L.A.’s west side, chosen because no lead was detected inside. Wyatt is bright and energetic, Gries said, but has impulsive behaviors. He needs occupational therapy for sensory issues, at nearly $200 per session.

Keeping Wyatt away from lead hazards and feeding him a special diet are part of the Gries’ daily routine. Poor nutrition can worsen lead poisoning, allowing children’s bodies to absorb more of the heavy metal.

“All we can do is hope he’s okay,” said Gries.

(Additional reporting by M.B. Pell)

  (Editing by Ronnie Greene)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Lead Poisons Children In L.A. Neighborhoods Rich And Poor published first on http://ift.tt/2lnpciY

[yes-dal456]

Lead Poisons Children In L.A. Neighborhoods Rich And Poor

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With its century-old Spanish-style homes tucked behind immaculately trimmed hedges, San Marino, California, is among the most coveted spots to live in the Los Angeles area.

Its public schools rank top in the state, attracting families affiliated with CalTech, the elite university blocks away. The city’s zoning rules promote a healthy lifestyle, barring fast food chains.

Home values in L.A. County census tract 4641, in the heart of San Marino and 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, can rival those in Beverly Hills. The current average listing price: $2.9 million.

But the area has another, unsettling distinction, unknown to residents and city leaders until now: More than 17 percent of small children tested here have shown elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to previously undisclosed L.A. County health data.

That far exceeds the 5 percent rate of children who tested high for lead in Flint, Michigan, during the peak of that city’s water contamination crisis.

The local blood test data, obtained through a records request from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, shows two neighboring San Marino census tracts are among the hotspots for childhood lead exposure in the L.A. area.

San Marino is hardly alone. Across sprawling L.A. County, more than 15,000 children under age 6 tested high for lead between 2011 and 2015. In all, Reuters identified 323 neighborhood areas where the rate of elevated tests was at least as high as in Flint. In 26 of them – including the two in San Marino, and some in economically stressed areas – the rate was at least twice Flint’s.

The data stunned San Marino Mayor Richard Sun, who said he wasn’t aware of any poisoning cases in the community.

“This is a very serious matter, and as the mayor, I really want to further explore it,” Sun said upon reviewing the numbers presented by Reuters. During an interview at City Hall, he directed city officials to investigate potential sources of exposure.

THOUSANDS OF U.S. LEAD HOTSPOTS

The L.A.-area findings are part of an ongoing Reuters examination of hidden lead hazards nationwide. Since last year, the news agency has identified more than 3,300 U.S. neighborhood areas with documented childhood lead poisoning rates double those found in Flint. Studies based on previously available data, surveying broad child populations across entire states or counties, usually couldn’t pinpoint these communities.

Despite decades of U.S. progress in curbing lead poisoning, millions of children remain at risk. Flint’s disaster is just one example of a preventable public health crisis that continues in hotspots coast to coast, Reuters has found.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for elevated lead is 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Children who test at or above that threshold warrant a public health response, the agency says. Even a slight elevation can reduce IQ and stunt childhood development. There’s no safe level of lead in children’s bodies.

In San Marino, old lead-based paint is likely the main source of exposure, county health officials said, but they added that imported food, medicine or pottery from China could also be a factor. About 80 percent of San Marino homes were built before 1960, and the community has a large Asian population, U.S. Census data show.

Exposure from old paint, drinking water and soil are widely researched. Other risks – including some candies, ceramics, spices or remedies containing lead from China, Mexico, India and other countries – are less known.

The L.A. blood data covers nearly 1,550 census tracts, or county subdivisions, each with an average population around 4,000. It shows the number of small children tested in each tract, and how many tested high.

In California, the exposure risks children face can vary wildly by neighborhood. Many L.A. areas have little or no documented lead poisoning. Countywide, 2 percent of children tested high. But in hundreds of areas, the rate is far higher. Reuters crunched the data, and neighborhood-level results can be explored on an interactive map.

In the trouble areas, old housing is commonplace. Nearly half of L.A. County’s homes were built before 1960. Lead was banned from household paint in 1978, but old paint can peel, chip, or pulverize into toxic dust.

Children are often exposed in decrepit housing. But in some U.S. areas, nearly a third of lead poisoning cases can be linked to home renovation projects, said Mary Jean Brown, a public health specialist at Harvard University and former director of the CDC’s lead prevention program.

San Marino residents take pride in preserving their historic homes. Among the measures Mayor Sun wants to consider: An ordinance to ensure safe practices any time home repairs or renovations could disturb lead paint.

Poverty is another predictor of lead poisoning, and many of L.A.’s danger zones are concentrated in low-income or gentrifying areas near downtown and on the city’s densely populated South Side.

In one low-income area of South L.A., Reuters met with the family of Kendra Nicole Rojas, a three-year-old recently diagnosed with lead poisoning, only to find that 63 other small children living within a six block radius have also tested high.

“A lot of people don’t even think of the West Coast as a place where kids get poisoned,” said Linda Kite, executive director at L.A.-based Healthy Homes Collaborative. “The biggest problem we have is medical apathy. Many doctors don’t test children for lead.”

The findings highlight a need for greater medical surveillance, abatement and awareness in the health-conscious county of 10 million, public health specialists said.

The county and city of Los Angeles have dedicated lead prevention programs that work with at-risk families. When a child’s blood levels persist above 10 micrograms per deciliter – double the CDC threshold – the family receives a home inspection, nurse visits and follow-up.

The effects of lead poisoning are irreversible, and the programs’ broader goal is to prevent any exposure. But success hinges on many actors, and assistance from agencies such as the CDC, the department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Like other regions, L.A. faces a looming hurdle in attacking hazards: President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposals would sharply cut funds for many lead-related programs.

“We’re aware of lots of areas where homes or soil contain significant levels of lead, and those can represent an urgent need to act,” said Maurice Pantoja, chief environmental health specialist for the county program. “Any fewer resources toward poisoning prevention would be a tragedy.”

A POISONED HOME

Just a few miles west of San Marino, in South Pasadena, one boy’s poisoning serves as a cautionary tale.

In an old, pastel-colored home on Hope Street, an infant named Connor was exposed to lead paint and dust in 2012.

The property is owned by California’s Department of Transportation, Caltrans, which had plans to expand a freeway in the area. Its floors were coated in chipping lead paint. During a bathroom repair, a crew showed up in “hazmat suits,” said tenant Cynthia Wright, Connor’s grandmother.

But as the crew worked, stripping toxic paint from walls and fixtures and unleashing plumes of dust, they told the family there was no need to leave the home, Wright said.

That was an unfortunate lapse, the state agency acknowledged. “There were errors in handling communications regarding this property and Caltrans has revised its business practices,” spokeswoman Lauren Wonder said, leading to “greater vigilance.”

Connor continued crawling around the floors. At age one, he began missing developmental milestones. Suddenly, he lost the ability to use the few words he could say.

When his mother, Heather Nolan, had him tested for lead, the result was almost five-fold the CDC threshold. Lead levels often peak among children ages one to two, when they are increasingly mobile and have hand-to-mouth behaviors.

Now six, Connor needs speech and occupational therapy up to five times a week. He hasn’t been able to integrate in a mainstream classroom.

“It’s not an easy road,” his grandmother said. “I would tell anyone in an old home, you really need to be aware of the risks.”

In 2015, the family settled a landmark lawsuit against Caltrans for $10 million. Wright still lives in the home, which has been remediated.

POOR PROSPECTS

Amid an affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles, many renters don’t confront landlords to fix lead paint hazards, fearing eviction if they raise the alarm, said Kite, the healthy homes advocate. That helps explain why so many children in south and central L.A. test high.

Karla Rojas, 26, was living with her extended family on 30th Street in a low-income area of South L.A. last year when her toddler, Kendra, started getting chronic bouts of illness.

Mother and daughter slept on the floor, near a bookshelf where an inspector later found flaking lead paint. Tested at the local St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, Kendra’s result came back at several times the CDC threshold.

Once county officials got involved, the landlord repainted the shelf and other areas where lead was found. Still, terrified her daughter’s exposure would continue, Rojas moved out.

“When you read about what lead can do, it makes me fear for her future,” said Rojas, watching three-year-old Kendra play with two new pet rabbits.

Exposure is common in the area, said Jeff Sanchez, a consultant at public health research firm Impact Assessment, which works with L.A.’s prevention program. Around the neighborhood, code inspectors have cited at least 35 percent of residential properties for chipping or peeling paint violations over a four-year period.

Paint isn’t the only peril. A mile and a half east, in Vernon, the now shuttered Exide Technologies battery-recycling plant spewed noxious emissions for decades, polluting soil in thousands of properties with lead residue. A planned $175 million cleanup will rely in part on children’s blood tests to determine which properties should be sanitized first. Past testing has shown that children living close to the plant are at heightened risk.

Yet California, like Michigan, doesn’t require lead screening for all children, leaving many untested.

Prompted in part by Reuters’ previous coverage, California cities and lawmakers are pushing new initiatives to protect children.

Bill Quirk, chair of the state legislature’s Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, recently introduced a bill to require screening for all small children.

“I strongly support blood lead testing,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who represents part of L.A. County. “It’s important that residents have information about the threats they may face in their communities.”

‘DON’T WORRY, HE’S NOT AT RISK’

California’s current policy is to test children with known risk factors, including those enrolled in government assistance programs for the poor like Medicaid. The protocol, applied unevenly by healthcare providers, can miss poisoned kids.

In 2013, when apparel designer Amanda Gries and her husband, a Hollywood film editor, rented a home in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood, she was pregnant with son Wyatt, now 3. The century-old mansion was in a rapidly gentrifying area south of downtown, near landmarks such as the Staples Center and the University of Southern California.

Gries, concerned about peeling paint and dust in the home, urged a pediatrician to screen Wyatt before his first birthday.

“The doctor didn’t want to test,” Gries said. “The message was, ‘Don’t worry, he’s not at risk.’ It was like he didn’t fit the profile.”

Gries insisted, and her fears were confirmed when Wyatt tested at nearly double the CDC’s elevated threshold. An inspection found lead in dust on the floor of Wyatt’s bedroom at 30 times the federal hazard level.

The family moved out quickly and searched citywide before settling into a home on L.A.’s west side, chosen because no lead was detected inside. Wyatt is bright and energetic, Gries said, but has impulsive behaviors. He needs occupational therapy for sensory issues, at nearly $200 per session.

Keeping Wyatt away from lead hazards and feeding him a special diet are part of the Gries’ daily routine. Poor nutrition can worsen lead poisoning, allowing children’s bodies to absorb more of the heavy metal.

“All we can do is hope he’s okay,” said Gries.

(Additional reporting by M.B. Pell)

  (Editing by Ronnie Greene)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from http://ift.tt/2pHYuVl from Blogger http://ift.tt/2oVdy1P

[imreviewblog]

Lead Poisons Children In L.A. Neighborhoods Rich And Poor

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With its century-old Spanish-style homes tucked behind immaculately trimmed hedges, San Marino, California, is among the most coveted spots to live in the Los Angeles area.

Its public schools rank top in the state, attracting families affiliated with CalTech, the elite university blocks away. The city’s zoning rules promote a healthy lifestyle, barring fast food chains.

Home values in L.A. County census tract 4641, in the heart of San Marino and 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, can rival those in Beverly Hills. The current average listing price: $2.9 million.

But the area has another, unsettling distinction, unknown to residents and city leaders until now: More than 17 percent of small children tested here have shown elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to previously undisclosed L.A. County health data.

That far exceeds the 5 percent rate of children who tested high for lead in Flint, Michigan, during the peak of that city’s water contamination crisis.

The local blood test data, obtained through a records request from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, shows two neighboring San Marino census tracts are among the hotspots for childhood lead exposure in the L.A. area.

San Marino is hardly alone. Across sprawling L.A. County, more than 15,000 children under age 6 tested high for lead between 2011 and 2015. In all, Reuters identified 323 neighborhood areas where the rate of elevated tests was at least as high as in Flint. In 26 of them – including the two in San Marino, and some in economically stressed areas – the rate was at least twice Flint’s.

The data stunned San Marino Mayor Richard Sun, who said he wasn’t aware of any poisoning cases in the community.

“This is a very serious matter, and as the mayor, I really want to further explore it,” Sun said upon reviewing the numbers presented by Reuters. During an interview at City Hall, he directed city officials to investigate potential sources of exposure.

THOUSANDS OF U.S. LEAD HOTSPOTS

The L.A.-area findings are part of an ongoing Reuters examination of hidden lead hazards nationwide. Since last year, the news agency has identified more than 3,300 U.S. neighborhood areas with documented childhood lead poisoning rates double those found in Flint. Studies based on previously available data, surveying broad child populations across entire states or counties, usually couldn’t pinpoint these communities.

Despite decades of U.S. progress in curbing lead poisoning, millions of children remain at risk. Flint’s disaster is just one example of a preventable public health crisis that continues in hotspots coast to coast, Reuters has found.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for elevated lead is 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Children who test at or above that threshold warrant a public health response, the agency says. Even a slight elevation can reduce IQ and stunt childhood development. There’s no safe level of lead in children’s bodies.

In San Marino, old lead-based paint is likely the main source of exposure, county health officials said, but they added that imported food, medicine or pottery from China could also be a factor. About 80 percent of San Marino homes were built before 1960, and the community has a large Asian population, U.S. Census data show.

Exposure from old paint, drinking water and soil are widely researched. Other risks – including some candies, ceramics, spices or remedies containing lead from China, Mexico, India and other countries – are less known.

The L.A. blood data covers nearly 1,550 census tracts, or county subdivisions, each with an average population around 4,000. It shows the number of small children tested in each tract, and how many tested high.

In California, the exposure risks children face can vary wildly by neighborhood. Many L.A. areas have little or no documented lead poisoning. Countywide, 2 percent of children tested high. But in hundreds of areas, the rate is far higher. Reuters crunched the data, and neighborhood-level results can be explored on an interactive map.

In the trouble areas, old housing is commonplace. Nearly half of L.A. County’s homes were built before 1960. Lead was banned from household paint in 1978, but old paint can peel, chip, or pulverize into toxic dust.

Children are often exposed in decrepit housing. But in some U.S. areas, nearly a third of lead poisoning cases can be linked to home renovation projects, said Mary Jean Brown, a public health specialist at Harvard University and former director of the CDC’s lead prevention program.

San Marino residents take pride in preserving their historic homes. Among the measures Mayor Sun wants to consider: An ordinance to ensure safe practices any time home repairs or renovations could disturb lead paint.

Poverty is another predictor of lead poisoning, and many of L.A.’s danger zones are concentrated in low-income or gentrifying areas near downtown and on the city’s densely populated South Side.

In one low-income area of South L.A., Reuters met with the family of Kendra Nicole Rojas, a three-year-old recently diagnosed with lead poisoning, only to find that 63 other small children living within a six block radius have also tested high.

“A lot of people don’t even think of the West Coast as a place where kids get poisoned,” said Linda Kite, executive director at L.A.-based Healthy Homes Collaborative. “The biggest problem we have is medical apathy. Many doctors don’t test children for lead.”

The findings highlight a need for greater medical surveillance, abatement and awareness in the health-conscious county of 10 million, public health specialists said.

The county and city of Los Angeles have dedicated lead prevention programs that work with at-risk families. When a child’s blood levels persist above 10 micrograms per deciliter – double the CDC threshold – the family receives a home inspection, nurse visits and follow-up.

The effects of lead poisoning are irreversible, and the programs’ broader goal is to prevent any exposure. But success hinges on many actors, and assistance from agencies such as the CDC, the department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Like other regions, L.A. faces a looming hurdle in attacking hazards: President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposals would sharply cut funds for many lead-related programs.

“We’re aware of lots of areas where homes or soil contain significant levels of lead, and those can represent an urgent need to act,” said Maurice Pantoja, chief environmental health specialist for the county program. “Any fewer resources toward poisoning prevention would be a tragedy.”

A POISONED HOME

Just a few miles west of San Marino, in South Pasadena, one boy’s poisoning serves as a cautionary tale.

In an old, pastel-colored home on Hope Street, an infant named Connor was exposed to lead paint and dust in 2012.

The property is owned by California’s Department of Transportation, Caltrans, which had plans to expand a freeway in the area. Its floors were coated in chipping lead paint. During a bathroom repair, a crew showed up in “hazmat suits,” said tenant Cynthia Wright, Connor’s grandmother.

But as the crew worked, stripping toxic paint from walls and fixtures and unleashing plumes of dust, they told the family there was no need to leave the home, Wright said.

That was an unfortunate lapse, the state agency acknowledged. “There were errors in handling communications regarding this property and Caltrans has revised its business practices,” spokeswoman Lauren Wonder said, leading to “greater vigilance.”

Connor continued crawling around the floors. At age one, he began missing developmental milestones. Suddenly, he lost the ability to use the few words he could say.

When his mother, Heather Nolan, had him tested for lead, the result was almost five-fold the CDC threshold. Lead levels often peak among children ages one to two, when they are increasingly mobile and have hand-to-mouth behaviors.

Now six, Connor needs speech and occupational therapy up to five times a week. He hasn’t been able to integrate in a mainstream classroom.

“It’s not an easy road,” his grandmother said. “I would tell anyone in an old home, you really need to be aware of the risks.”

In 2015, the family settled a landmark lawsuit against Caltrans for $10 million. Wright still lives in the home, which has been remediated.

POOR PROSPECTS

Amid an affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles, many renters don’t confront landlords to fix lead paint hazards, fearing eviction if they raise the alarm, said Kite, the healthy homes advocate. That helps explain why so many children in south and central L.A. test high.

Karla Rojas, 26, was living with her extended family on 30th Street in a low-income area of South L.A. last year when her toddler, Kendra, started getting chronic bouts of illness.

Mother and daughter slept on the floor, near a bookshelf where an inspector later found flaking lead paint. Tested at the local St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, Kendra’s result came back at several times the CDC threshold.

Once county officials got involved, the landlord repainted the shelf and other areas where lead was found. Still, terrified her daughter’s exposure would continue, Rojas moved out.

“When you read about what lead can do, it makes me fear for her future,” said Rojas, watching three-year-old Kendra play with two new pet rabbits.

Exposure is common in the area, said Jeff Sanchez, a consultant at public health research firm Impact Assessment, which works with L.A.’s prevention program. Around the neighborhood, code inspectors have cited at least 35 percent of residential properties for chipping or peeling paint violations over a four-year period.

Paint isn’t the only peril. A mile and a half east, in Vernon, the now shuttered Exide Technologies battery-recycling plant spewed noxious emissions for decades, polluting soil in thousands of properties with lead residue. A planned $175 million cleanup will rely in part on children’s blood tests to determine which properties should be sanitized first. Past testing has shown that children living close to the plant are at heightened risk.

Yet California, like Michigan, doesn’t require lead screening for all children, leaving many untested.

Prompted in part by Reuters’ previous coverage, California cities and lawmakers are pushing new initiatives to protect children.

Bill Quirk, chair of the state legislature’s Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, recently introduced a bill to require screening for all small children.

“I strongly support blood lead testing,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who represents part of L.A. County. “It’s important that residents have information about the threats they may face in their communities.”

‘DON’T WORRY, HE’S NOT AT RISK’

California’s current policy is to test children with known risk factors, including those enrolled in government assistance programs for the poor like Medicaid. The protocol, applied unevenly by healthcare providers, can miss poisoned kids.

In 2013, when apparel designer Amanda Gries and her husband, a Hollywood film editor, rented a home in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood, she was pregnant with son Wyatt, now 3. The century-old mansion was in a rapidly gentrifying area south of downtown, near landmarks such as the Staples Center and the University of Southern California.

Gries, concerned about peeling paint and dust in the home, urged a pediatrician to screen Wyatt before his first birthday.

“The doctor didn’t want to test,” Gries said. “The message was, ‘Don’t worry, he’s not at risk.’ It was like he didn’t fit the profile.”

Gries insisted, and her fears were confirmed when Wyatt tested at nearly double the CDC’s elevated threshold. An inspection found lead in dust on the floor of Wyatt’s bedroom at 30 times the federal hazard level.

The family moved out quickly and searched citywide before settling into a home on L.A.’s west side, chosen because no lead was detected inside. Wyatt is bright and energetic, Gries said, but has impulsive behaviors. He needs occupational therapy for sensory issues, at nearly $200 per session.

Keeping Wyatt away from lead hazards and feeding him a special diet are part of the Gries’ daily routine. Poor nutrition can worsen lead poisoning, allowing children’s bodies to absorb more of the heavy metal.

“All we can do is hope he’s okay,” said Gries.

(Additional reporting by M.B. Pell)

  (Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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