#removed L.A. members

[la-rp]

Due to inactivity or personal reasons, the following account(s) have been removed from L.A. Please unfollow:

@wewantsuki

@sheskarlae

[unknownperson246]

Hi!! could you do a Kelly Nickels X Fem reader fic where Y/N is one of his bandmates’ sister and they hook up right before they’re formally introduced to one another? very smutty! thank you! <3

hii im very sorry its late but here it is ❤️❤️

So Tight

Words: 1,112

Warnings: *smut* *cussing* *cheating* *cum play* *cum eating* *p in v* *teasing*

✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:*

Kelly Nickels was in your garage with your brother. Kelly Nickels was there to form a new band. He had fun with L. A Guns but they decided to quit so Kelly formed another band. He still didnt know all the supposed member's names and he didn't know anything about them. He was there to test the chemistry with all of the people who were chosen by him to be in his new band. They didnt have a name yet either. No one had any idea who anyone was. All the men knew Kelly from L.A Guns. It was like the forming of Velvet Revolver except no one knew each other. Kelly wanted them to be interested in the band instead of using Kelly.

“So why do you guys want to be in this band?” 

“I am here to have fun and to test how I like being a rockstar” one of the men spoke up. 

“I love rock and roll and want to be a guitarist,” Your brother said.

Kelly gruffed and he got frustrated. 

“Do you have any drinks?” Kelly asked your brother.

“Yeah there in the fridge. You can go up there and grab whatever you want” Your brother says calmly trying to show excitement that a rockstar is in his home asking for something to drink.

Kelly went up the stairs and saw your thongs along the stairs. He grabbed one and threw it back on the ground. He walked up to your fridge. He saw 6 bottles of beer neatly placed on the inside of the fridge door. He grabbed one taking the top off with his teeth. He closed the fridge door. He jumped when he saw your face. You hear the beer bottle cap fall on the ground. It makes a klink sound when it collides with the tile floor.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry I thought you were my boyfriend. You must be my brother's bandmate. I’m Y/N. He said he formed the band but I know thats bullshit. He is not that bright” You say smiling not knowing you scared him shitless. He introduces himself before speaking to you.

“I’m Kelly,” He says before he speaks again

“He told you that?” Kelly asks you raising his eyebrow.

“Yep,” You say.

“I mean I formed the band.  He might remain in the lineup” He tells you putting his beer bottle down on the countertop of the kitchen.

His back faces you. He takes small sips of his beer.

“Well, it was nice meeting you Y/N,” Kelly says as he walks towards the stairs that lead to the basement which leads him to your garage. 

“Wait. Kel” A nickname for him slips out of your mouth.

“Can I call you Kel?” You ask him.

“Sure,” Kelly says

“Do you have a wife?” You ask in a flirty voice.

“No.” He answers trying to leave.

“I saw you hold my thong.” You say.

He turns around and looks at you. His cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry” He immediately apologizes.

“You can make it up to me,” You say flirting with him.

“How?” He asks you.

“You know where this is heading,” You tell Kelly.

You approach him. You throw your arms around Kelly's back. You sink your teeth into Kelly's lower lip. You can low and soft groans from Kelly. Kelly holds your legs and you wrap your legs around him. He watches your thong with thin straps peek out from your v-line that are covered by your low-rise jeans. He holds your sides just above your hips which causes your crop top to show more of your upper body. He puts you on the countertop and undoes his pants. He grabs your shoulders and he takes you off. He turns you around so you're bending over the countertop. Your tits and stomach are pressed on the harsh marble countertop. You feel yourself getting wet by the second after he smacks your big ass unexpectedly. His hands go to the hem of your pants and he tugs downwards. He sees your thong. He pulls down on it. He removes his pants halfway making sure he has enough time to pull them back up in case anyone comes into the house. He looks over his shoulder anytime he heard a creak paranoid that someone was about to find them fucking in the kitchen. He tries to hide what he is doing. He puts his cock on your entrance. 

“You ready?” He asks you to make sure you're prepared to take him.

“Yeah,” you whine for him to hurry up.

He slowly slides his cock in teasing you. He feels your tight walls and starts to thrust inside of you quickly trying to make you both come quick. He holds your hips. You're too weak from him being inside of you so he holds on to your hips making you both collide with each other. He quickly slides in and out with ease.

Your fingernails scratch the countertops leaving several heavy and noticeable marks. He kept looking over his shoulder while thrusting. 

“Kel” you moan as your moist lips part.

“I’m going to come” you shriek. 

You feel your orgasm take full effect on your body. You try your best to not get knocked over by Kelly’s heavy movements. You feel him panting on the back of your neck. You purposely clench his cock with your pussy. 

“So tight” he pants. 

He takes his final thrusts. His head goes back and his legs shake as he holds your hips tight. He feels your come dripping on his cock. He withdraws and his come squirts on the kitchen floor. 

“Shit” you both laugh.

“Get a napkin,” Kelly says to you.

“There is no need for that,” you say while he watches you go on the floor and clean it all up with your tongue. 

You pull your pants up while cleaning his come on the dirty kitchen floor. He watches you in amusement.

“You ate my come!” He says smirking while pulling his pants up. 

“If I had the dick that had the come in it then I can eat it off the floor,” you say making eye contact while cleaning his come.  

You hear footsteps from the basement stairs and you quickly get up acting normal. Your brother watches you talking with Kelly. 

“I see where you’ve been,” your brother says to Kelly.

“Kelly this is Y/N and Y/N this is Kelly,” he says smiling having no idea of what you both just did on the kitchen counter. 

You both smile and shake hands as if nothing happened between the two of you. 

[hlficlibrary]

- HL Fic Library's Enemies to Lovers Fic Rec -

Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

♠️ the school of extraordinary lovers by stylinsoncity / @aliensingucci [M, 191k]

harry is a third-year witch and violinist at Laitswold, the only magical academy in the UK, with dreams of taking on the world, and hopefully breaking the centuries-old curse on his family while he's at it. he does not dream of facing off against his childhood rival and duet partner, but louis is back in town after six years abroad, so that's exactly what happens.

♠️ Paint Me In A Million Dreams by green_feelings / @greenfeelings [E, 112k]

Harry's one of Hollywood's biggest actors, has made a name for himself in prestigious films and lives the life of a superstar. There's just one thing missing to make it picture-perfect, but the one Harry's in love with is completely out of reach for him. Enter Louis, one of Hollywood's biggest actors himself, who just came out of the closet and taps new genres in the industry. When Louis sacks the role Harry auditioned for in Scorsese's next big film, their irrational feud starts. Who could have guessed it would get even worse when for promo season, their teams decide to present them as a couple for publicity?

In short, Harry's in love with someone and doesn't care about dating anyone else, Louis never felt home in L.A., Liam writes love songs for someone he shouldn't write love songs to, and Niall makes everything better with good food.

♠️ Flightless Bird by audreyhheart [E, 97k]

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

♠️ An Amazing Race Around the World (And to my Heart) by Thingssicant / @sunflowervolh [E, 89k]

“This year marks our thirtieth race around the world, thirty seasons of teams bound by friendship, family, and even some people who just band together for the chance at the prize. But this year, we want to remove that dynamic,” Phil said, rubbing his hands together gently.

The cameras were whirring around them, trying to get every shocked face and gasp from the teams. Louis could feel a ringing in his ears, a new nervousness he hadn’t felt during the entire journey to this competition.

He was sweating more now, more than he could blame on the California sun, as Phil started to read the names of the new teams, the members hugging their loved ones before joining a complete stranger in their new allotted spot.

Or an Amazing race Hate to Lovers au

♠️ Nothing But You On My Mind by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense [E, 83k]

Louis Tomlinson is a PR manager hired to improve the image of royal bad-boy Prince Harry Styles. Unfortunately for him, that means being faced with the Prince's constant innuendos, incessant dirty jokes, and relentless flirting. Louis just wants to make it to Princess Gemma's coronation; once she's crowned Queen, his contract is up and he never has to see the Prince again.

♠️ You Drive Me Round The Bend by TheCellarDoor / @donotdialnine [M, 77k]

In which Louis is a spoilt rich kid who’s always on the phone while he drives and Harry is a struggling musician making his way down the mountain. It’s just a matter of time before they crash and burn.

♠️ Don't Want Shelter by @kingsofeverything [E, 76k]

Louis and Harry have known each other all their lives. Friends as children, they danced around each other as teenagers, and have spent the last twenty-five years either screaming at each other or not speaking at all. Except for that one time ten years ago…

When Hurricane Nicole threatens the coast, they end up stuck together in their families' old vacation home that they begrudgingly co-own.

During the storm, and in the months after, they’re both forced to reevaluate their history and what they mean to each other.

♠️ this charade (was never going to last) by @scrunchyharry [E, 68k]

On the surface, CitizenX, an international caritative nonprofit, looked like any other nonprofit, funding humanitarian missions worldwide and striving to make the world a better place, one donation at a time.

At least, that was what Harry thought, until he was hired as a computer specialist for a spinoff agency called carish, whose true purpose was to reveal CitizenX’s tangled web of lies.

As if the whole ‘industrial spy’ business was not stressful enough, Harry found himself in a hatred-at-first-sight relationship with one of his new coworkers, Louis, a man intent on detesting Harry.

When the worst happened and Harry and Louis found themselves thrown together in hiding, with only each other to rely on, Harry never could have predicted the turn their relationship would take.

Nor could he anticipate that it would all be taken away from him and he would have to decide how far he was willing to go to get Louis back.

♠️ Why Can't It Be Like That by @taggiecb [E, 63k]

Louis Tomlinson, head of his local hospital's charity fund, suddenly finds himself in the heart of the Royal family when his mother marries the third son of the reigning monarch. Such an upset in lifestyle brings a lot of changes for Louis, one of them being the need for a stylist.

Enter Harry Styles, a cutting edge fashion stylist who loves his job and prides himself on his passion. The first time he sees Louis Tomlinson on the cover of a tabloid he wants to dress him, style him, make him as beautiful as Harry knows he could be. When he's hired to do just that, he knows this will be a perfect partnership. That is, until he actually meets the man.

A fashion AU with a royal twist, where Louis doesn't need a stylist, Harry's thrilled to have a real life Barbie doll, and they're both very wrong about each other.

♠️ somethin' bout you by @missandrogyny [E, 59k]

Of all the government agents in the world, Louis had to go and land the most charming one.

♠️ Counterbalance by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf [E, 44k]

Harry Styles loves two things: teaching ballet and racing motorcycles. Those two worlds collide when his greatest rival on the track, Louis “Tommo” Tomlinson brings his tiny siblings to Harry’s class.

♠️ Full Moon Dreaming by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom [E, 43k]

Every month, Full Moon Dreaming reveals a person’s soulmate. Sometimes it’s an object or a place, or for the lucky ones, the love of their life.

Louis has given up hope of dreaming of a person, resigned to living a life devoid of that kind of all-consuming love for another and receiving the same in return.

But when a new neighbour descends on Louis’ beloved Hanson Bay and moves into the other beach house, could all that be about to change?

♠️ make this feel like home by @soldouthaz [E, 43k]

The house on West 28th Street in London is twice the size of Louis', more expensive than the price of all of his house and car payments combined, and is falling apart at the seams.

♠️ The Truth of Hearts by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings [M, 42k]

After rising through the ranks to become one of Hollywood’s most celebrated alpha writers, the world is Harry’s oyster. Louis, another rising star alpha, is Harry’s greatest undoing, in more ways than one.

♠️ Staring Across the Room by @allwaswell16 [E, 26k]

Harry Styles has a great life. He’s a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library, he’s got wonderful friends, and he loves cooking, green tea, yoga, and his collection of bow ties. He doesn’t mind that his life seems a little structured, maybe even a little boring. But when Louis Tomlinson joins the library staff as the new Installation Coordinator, things become a lot less predictable. Louis gets under his skin right from the start, bossing Harry around, making noise during story time, and eating the last cupcake in the staff lounge. Louis may be almost offensively attractive, but Harry will not be succumbing to Louis Tomlinson’s charms, even if the rest of the library staff have.

♠️ Better Walk That (Pap) Walk, Baby by @fallinglikethis, @lululawrence [NR, 25k]

Harry sat and stared at the print in front of his eyes where the names Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles looked to be in neon lights. It made him think back to those early days when all they’d dreamt of was seeing their names lit up on the signs for popular venues. Back then, things had seemed so black and white. Their love had grown as their popularity had, fast and intense and overwhelming. Maybe that was part of the problem. They’d never anticipated having to weave their way through a love so all encompassing at that age, much less at the same time as navigating brand new careers they’d been lucky enough to be a part of.

Harry stared at the papers as if it wasn’t him who had just signed them. He could do this. He could. He could pretend he was still as in love with Louis Tomlinson as he had been all those years ago no problem. He was now an actor in addition to a musician for fuck’s sake, he could make this work.

Or the one where, after years filled with the anger and pain that accompany a bad breakup, Harry and Louis have to try to put it all behind them, at least for the cameras.

♠️ Like Gold by ishiplouis / @pocketsunshineharry [E, 17k]

Harry has been an Adviser for Royal Families since he was 24. From French to Russian families, he has travelled the world and handled difficult situations. That’s, at least, what he believed until a week into his new position as Adviser for his Royal Highness Prince Louis Tomlinson.

Royal AU where Harry is Prince Louis’ Adviser, and Louis is anything but helpful.

♠️ Can't Buy My Love, Can Buy Me Dinner by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13 [G, 9k]

Is it ethical to accept a dinner date for the free food? And will you hate me when I go anyway?

Fact 1: Louis hates Harry Styles. Fact 2: Louis is temporarily living off toast and spaghetti hoops. Fact 3: ...Louis may be semi-accidentally dating his worst enemy.

♠️ What a Difference a Day Makes by phdmama / @phd-mama [M, 3k]

Louis makes a squinched up angry face at the name. Harry. Fucking Harry Styles. They’d been in the same RA group as freshmen and when Louis’d made a perfectly tasteful penis joke, Harry had made… well probably exactly the same face Louis is making now and suggested that Louis was… something. Louis can’t even remember, but he knows that whatever it was that Harry said he was doing, he wasn’t doing it. He loves penises, for crying out loud! They’ve been nemesises? nemesies? ever since.

♠️ Stole My Heart by @haztobegood [NR, 2k]

“Oh my god, Niall.” The door slams shut as Harry rushes into the flat. He’s still panting from his rush to get away from the scene of his crime. “You won’t believe what just happened!”

Niall is sitting on the couch in their tiny living room. He looks up from his laptop. “What happened?”

“The worst thing. I’ll never recover. I just reached into a box of free samples outside that new chicken restaurant. Only it wasn’t free samples. It was a man. Holding a box of chicken nuggets. His chicken nuggets. I stole this man’s food, Niall!”

[macmanx]

About 20 members of the Writers Guild of America had been picketing outside Gate 8 at the corner of Barham Boulevard and Forest Lawn Drive, partially protected from the sun by some bushy trees along the sidewalk, leaving some to wonder if the studio giant trimmed the trees on purpose. Some people on social media had begun referring to the incident as "Treegate."

“Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia wrote in a thread on Twitter, noting that the trees in question are owned by the city and that any code violation could result in citations.

"Trees are essential to providing Angelenos with significant environmental and public health benefits, especially during a heatwave," Mejia wrote.

In a statement, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works said it did not "issue any tree trimming permits for 3801 Barham Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90068."

[canonicallyobserving911]

It's season 6 but there were only two “exciting emergencies” included within the first half of the season. 

#4 of What’s missing from season 6.

In addition to Maddie’s absence from firefam gatherings (related post), Halloween and Christmas episodes being removed from the lineup (related post) and the dwindling amount of believable 9-1-1 calls (related post); another thing that has been missing from episodes are the exciting emergencies.  9-1-1 is known for its’ dynamic and shocking emergencies that in the past were included in each season’s premier episode and other breathtaking emergencies were also intertwined into episodes for the rest of the season.  They represented one aspect of the show that prompted a number of viewers to start watching and those viewers convinced their family and friends to watch the show too.  However, during some portions of season 5 and for almost all of 6A, the BIG EMERGENCIES were replaced with lackluster ones that didn’t include the same action-packed excitement as those from seasons 1-4.  When episodes in 6A ended, audience members comments on social media kept implying that something was missing.  The missing element from 7 out of 9 episodes were the HUGE EMERGENCIES that caused most of them to start watching the show in the first place.  While every emergency doesn’t have to cover two and a half episodes like they did in seasons 2-3, they should at least be exciting and leave the audience on the edge of their seats so that they will return the following Monday to see what the show has planned next.  Lately, the excitement has dwindled along with the number of viewers who tune in each week.  For some of those who continue to watch, the show has gone from being a “must watch” on their entertainment priority list to an “I’ll watch it when and if I have some spare time”.  A few of the exciting emergencies that happened in previous seasons have been included below to illustrate how spectacular they were in comparison to the emergencies that were included in 6A.

Season 1

The plane crash in 1x4 “Worst Day Ever” was both chilling and heartbreaking.  The 118 saved as many passengers as they could and Bobby took it so hard that he relapsed. 

Season 2

The earthquake in 2x2 “7.1″ was not only realistic but it was also relatable because a number of people who reside in areas like L.A., might experience earthquakes on a regular basis. The 118 arrived with other first responders and did what they always do which was save as many people as they could.  Athena did an awesome job saving drivers who were trapped on the freeway.

The ladder truck explosion in 2x18 “This Life We Choose” was shocking and when the residents of L.A. helped the first responders lift the truck off of Buck’s leg, it illustrated how both the city’s residents and its’ first responders can work together during a crisis.

Season 3

The Tsunami that started at the end of 3x1 “Kids Today” but continued through 3x3 “The Searchers” was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST EMERGENCY 9-1-1 has aired to date.  It was magnificent, thrilling, exciting, heartbreaking and shocking because it had everything.  The audience was able to see the water rise and watch as it consumed everything that was in its path within a matter of seconds.  All of the main characters had an instrumental storyline that affected them, their families and the residents of L.A.  The Tsunami was the STORYLINE and the way it affected the mains determined their individual storylines along with the plots that were included within them.

The apartment fire in 3x16 “The One That Got Away” was one of the most exciting fires the 118 had been dispatched to and they all worked together to save everyone they could, including Buck and Eddie who jumped from the building next door so that Buck could do a rope rescue to save Gladys.

The train wreck in 3x18 “What’s Next?” was another chilling and realistic emergency that lasted the entire episode and it kept every member of the 118 working feverishly to save as many lives as they could.

Season 4

The dam break in 4x1 “The New Abnormal” resulted in a city bus being pushed by the water into the side of an office building which was interesting to see since it’s not an everyday occurrence.  The 118 was dispatched and Bobby risked his life to save a young man who was hesitant to get off the bus.

The drunk driver in 4x9 “Blindsided” caused a massive car pile-up on the freeway that injured and killed a lot of motorists.  The emergency was realistic and heartbreaking because car accidents are not uncommon.

Season 5

The hospital fire in 5x8 “Defend in Place” kept the audience on the edge of their seats especially when Buck, Eddie and other firefighters saved the babies from the nursery.  It was also informative for audience members who didn’t know that one of a fire captain’s commands includes “Defend in Place”. 

The Dispatch Center fire in 5x16 “May Day” was thrilling and it also included some moments where audience members had to hold their breaths especially after the roof fell on top of Bobby and May.  The 118 came in to save their captain and his daughter and Eddie got his answer from God to return to firefighting.

Season 6

The collapsed walkway in 6x2 “Crash and Learn” during the Happiness Convention was exciting but it could have been better if more than just the 118 had been dispatched to the call.  In previous seasons for big emergencies, there were always several firehouses on the scene similar to the way it was in 3x16 and 4x5 “Buck Begins”.

The lab explosion at Karen’s job in 6x6 “Tomorrow” was also exciting but the scene that included Karen calling 9-1-1 wasn’t even in the episode.  It was included at the end of 6x5 “Home Invasion” which means anyone who missed 6x5 also didn’t get to see the aftermath which took place inside of the lab that directly followed the explosion.

Lackluster Emergencies

The blimp emergency in 6x1 “Let the Games Begin” was BORING and that’s a shame because it really had the potential to be great.

The show promoted it via their promotional poster like there was going to be a lot of damage to the stadium and possibly some injuries that would have resulted from the crash BUT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN.

The wildfire that was teased in the promo for 6x9 “Red Flag” turned out to be a small brush fire that didn’t require an entire firehouse to be present to extinguish it.  The audience expected more but the fire was over in a few seconds and that’s a shame since it was the only fire the 118 fought during that half of the season.  The lab explosion in 6x6 had several small fires but they weren’t big fires like the ones that were included in 3x16, 5x8 or 5x16.

The issue associated with the lack of exciting emergencies in 6A could be attributed to the show no longer identifying emergencies as storylines the way they have done in the past.  The show changed the format and started treating emergencies like plot devices while giving season long storylines to one main character (related post) and in the process they’ve sacrificed attracting more viewers and stopped trying to retain their current ones.  Main characters’ storylines are decided then emergencies are included as an afterthought to force the NARRATIVE for a character’s arc so that it will go in a specific direction even if it doesn’t make sense.  An example of the format includes THE BLACKOUT that began in 5x1 “Panic” and ran through 5x3 “Desperate Measures”.  The emergency had the potential to be great but it fell flat with the audience because there were too many characters’ storylines added to force different narratives.  The hacker plot was added to give TayKay something to do ONSCREEN to prevent her from being seen as just “Buck’s girlfriend” which was completely unnecessary since she was a recurring character and not a main.  Also Jeffrey’s escape was added to the emergency so that Athena’s storyline, which had been practically forgotten since 3x17 “Powerless”, could be resolved even though it really wasn’t.  The blackout should have been the MAIN FOCUS for those three episodes but it wasn’t and that’s why it didn’t work.  The same thing is true for the “brush fire” that was promoted like it was going to be a “wildfire” in 6x9 “Red Flag” since the 118 were wearing their wildfire gear and it fell flat with the audience too just like the blimp emergency did because it was used as a plot device for Bobby’s 6B storyline since the fire was started as a possible coverup for Wendell’s murder.  The fire wasn’t huge and there wasn’t a need for all those firefighters to be present to put it out.  Actually, A-shift could have extinguished it all by themselves.  The Santa Ana winds were supposed to play a big part in the fire but it didn’t which left the audience feeling like ‘What was that? and Was that it?” when the episode ended.  Aside from the lab explosion which included several small fires in 6x6, it was one of the only fires the 118 fought this season and neither of those were on the same scale as previous fires that have been featured on the show.  Is the show suffering from budget constraints?  That’s a possibility since not only are the emergencies lackluster but the storylines have also taken a turn towards being anything other than mediocre.

In the real world, all emergencies are important but when a TV show captivates and grows its’ audience based on its BIG season premier emergencies along with more episode-based emergencies during the season, only to abruptly stop doing them, the audience is left feeling underwhelmed.  Even though there are emergencies included in almost every episode, 9-1-1 is a TV show about First Responders which means they should be responding to emergencies that are exciting, interesting and relatable.  No one wants to see a woman’s next door neighbor crawling through an underground tunnel so they can continue their love affair every time her husband leaves for work like the emergency that was included at the beginning of 6x2.  Hopefully in 6B the decision makers will go back to using the format that worked to keep the audience engaged because if they don’t, it’s likely they will lose even more viewers only to suffer the same fate as so many other TV shows have when they lost their way after being on the air for several years.

[sidleyparkhermit]

I’ve seen a lot of people post comments like the above — wishing to see the kinds of demonstrations for the 10/7 victims and the Jewish community that actually have been happening all over the world, but are pushed out of the news cycle by the noise. (The person wishing for one in London has missed at least two so far!)

So instead of more reporting on the hideous waves of antisemitism, right now I just want to compile a few of the beautiful crowds that have shown up for Israel in the time since the attacks. These events have been held in all the places in the western world that a lot of people think they “would never happen” in. Please let yourself browse these stories and internalize the humanity and compassion that truly does exist everywhere.

October 9:

October 10:

October 15:

October 22:

October 29:

November 5:

November 6:

Yesterday (November 12):

[onemaninthedark]

@lunarruled --- continued from here

"Even with him, maybe. I definitely owe you one. Or owe you twelve at this point. You always go around risking your life for strangers?" Maybe that was normal for werewolves, to feel some obligation to help out fellow members of their species, but he doubted it. Most of the wolves he'd run into were more than ready to give up anyone who wasn't a pack member the second he made a threat.

He nodded, eyeing her cut one more time. "Alright. Just make sure you do tell me. I'd feel like a real dick if you got yourself killed over saving my sorry ass." Especially after she'd lugged his sorry ass to the hotel room in the first place, and then volunteered to stay.

"If I were in it for the money, I have to say, I'd be doing a shit job. I'm pretty sure half of the motel rooms I've stayed in have had someone die in 'em. You're right, though, there's real money in this business. I once met a hunter who owned a penthouse in New York and an estate outside London, and had shares in a film studio in L.A. I'm not supposed to say which studio, but I think their main business is greeting cards." After a moment where he considered leaving his response there and completely dodging her question, he added, "You could say it's the second one. Just wasn't my vendetta." Okay, that wasn't much of an answer either, but at least it was the truth.

Aeson took another glance over the case sitting next to him. He pulled out the nail polish remover, then shook his head. "Shit, it's gonna take way more than this to clean up the blood we just spilled. Might have to break into this place's storage and see if they have a couple gallons of bleach and a hell of a lot of towels." Before he worried about covering their tracks, however, he pulled out an old flip phone and snapped a photo of the arachne's body. "Gotta have some proof to show the client," he explained.

[laconservancy]

Conversing with L.A. Conservancy Member and Volunteer Juliet Drinkard 

by Liz Leshin 

Young Juliet Drinkard with her parents in 1951.

Juliet Drinkard has always loved history, so much so that at the age of 16, she entered an essay-writing competition to highlight a significant African American in history. She chose mathematician and surveyor Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), won the contest, and was crowned Queen of Los Angeles’ “Miss Negro History Week” in 1969.

Then there’s the tour she organized and scripted for a family reunion in 1986 large enough to fill two tour buses that caravanned through many of Los Angeles’ historic areas, starting at Watts Towers, ending in Hollywood, and of course allowing for a shopping stop at Santee Alley. And although she moved out for years-long stretches, she still lives in the huge South Central house she was raised in, purchased by her parents in 1954, which she describes as “looking like a big ship.”

Although living in the home can be bittersweet now that her folks are gone, she has special memories of eating family meals looking out of the big picture windows of the breakfast room into the backyard at her father’s lush garden, which she says was “like being in a professional nursery.” 

The Drinkard Family Home.

Juliet’s family home was built in 1910, like many of the other houses in the neighborhood.  She describes her parents trying to modernize the house, painting the dark wood white, removing the coffered ceilings and some of the built-ins.  Juliet tried to convince her parents not to make these renovations.  She says that “Even at 11, I liked looking at older buildings,” both her own house and those of her relatives.  Juliet especially likes the opportunities that participating in Conservancy events offers to get inside of homes and other buildings that she wouldn’t otherwise have access to. 

Her parents both moved to Los Angeles from the south, her mother from Louisiana her father from Alabama.  Her father and his brother lived with their uncle, who “bought a tiny house on a street called “Success” in Compton,” notes Juliet.  Her parents met through an uncle on her mother’s side; they dated for a year and got married, spending their honeymoon night at the Clark Hotel on Central Avenue.  Juliet describes the special experience of being able to visit the Clark Hotel in the 1980s.  

Juliet’s commitment to historic preservation intensified when she started working in downtown Los Angeles in the 1970s.  “I went over to see the Bunker Hill area, and learned that the Victorian-era homes had been bulldozed.  I felt sick.  That area should have been preserved… something should have been done,” she says, adding “It’s important – that’s a part of the history of Los Angeles.” 

Newspaper clippings of 1969's "Negro History Week" where 16-year-old Juliet was named Queen.

With her passion for Los Angeles history, it was inevitable that Juliet would find her way to the Los Angeles Conservancy as a member and volunteer (her first assignment was the 2014 special tour We Heart Garden Apartments).  She supports the organization “to make a difference in preserving Los Angeles’ history.”  She loves to explore Los Angeles, and take friends and visitors to many places around town, with a special affection for historic locations.  She observes, “there’s so much to do and see in our own hometown!”   

One of Juliet’s favorite historic places to visit is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House.  She went to visit three times in a 7-year period before Covid.  She said every time she went, she saw something different, and just loved standing in the space and looking around to get the feeling of the place. 

Two of her other favorite historic locations in L.A. are Union Station and the Farmers Market, both formative places in her childhood that she still loves to visit. She describes going to the Farmers Market in the early 1960s as an 11 year old.  Her mother “worked for a lady whose apartment overlooked the Farmers Market,” and one time her mom gave her five dollars and let her explore the shops on her own.  She remembers how exciting that was. “I bought a little box of pastel chalks for $4.95,” which she says she still has to this day. 

She describes going to Union Station frequently with her parents when she was young, “starting in the 1950s; relatives were always coming and going.”  As a child, she would look through the window at the Fred Harvey restaurant – she wanted to go in but never did.  It was a real pleasure for her to volunteer when the L.A. Conservancy held an event to celebrate the grand opening of the Imperial Western Brewing Company in 2018, in the former Fred Harvey restaurant space, which had sat empty for decades.  She says, “My dream came true.  Over 60 years later, I’m walking through the door, sitting and eating inside.” 

Our sincere thanks to Juliet for sharing so many wonderful memories and family photos.

[toddlazarski]

“This Fool”

The A.V. Club

Nobody “Motherfucker”’s like Michael Imperioli. The mother is draaawn out, fired with the snarl of a just-pulled lawnmower, peppered with a deep intestinal rancor, the fucker coming almost as the release, the exhale, the purr of pissed incredulity as to whichever injustice the world has placed before him. In this case, it is Richard Branson, or, the “space knight motherfucker” who cheap-skated his donation to Hugs Not Thugs, the “fifth largest gangster rehabilitation center in Los Angeles,” that was founded by Imperioli’s Minister Leonard Payne. It is a welcome introduction to his character, and a delightful reintroduction to the livewire frustration bits Imperioli cooked up as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos. There he was one one of the key comedic pieces on one of the funniest comedies nobody was ever even entirely sure was a capital-C comedy.

As it happens, here he is one of the key comedic pieces on a show that leads with a much more troubling type of tone confusion. In the first two episodes of This Fool, a drive-by is played for chuckles, a gang brawl is treated with nostalgic revelry by former members slowed by time and life and sciatic nerve hangups, and “Don’t Text and Drive” displays across the screen as an epitaph with operatic flippancy.  

There’s also maybe a bigger conundrum facing the writer’s room, namely whether or not the comedy, in which Julio (Chris Estrada) counsels ex-cons, including his recently-released cousin, is actually, you know, funny. It certainly can be, as in the front-loaded first episode, where intimidating men with face tattoos perform trust falls, and Julio extolls the virtues of the place to a new arrival: “we remove more tattoos than anyone else in Los Angeles,” and offer “free legal counseling, solar panel installation classes.” Or, later, when he describes why there’s no reason he couldn’t be Bourdain: “I’ve eaten foy gray before.” To which his ex-girlfriend, Maggie, replies, “you don’t even know how to pronounce foy gray.” Imperioli, for his part, steals most every one of his scenes, especially striking an early chord on an extended lecture on failure, all wide eyes and faux wiseman profundity, his ability for humor amped by the ability to appear to take himself so stupidly serious.  

It can certainly also be, as many characters chide, repeatedly, anything seen as less than real, “corny.” A Salvadoran is irked by being called Mexican, a deceased friend nicknamed “Fatass” has, yes, “Fatass” inscribed on his urn. Vacillating between groan and cringe, Julio’s cousin, Luis (Frankie Quinones), peppers ceaseless ball-busting with “gay boy,” and the likes of “y’all talk more than the motherfucking View” or, somehow, “you need a Viagra?”  Perhaps it’s just more uneven than corny, more awkward than ha-ha, as smart as it is obvious, as oblivious as it is comfortable, taking real issues of modern L.A. — gun violence, gang culture — and setting them as backdrop thematic annoyances to be casually riffed on, as Bradley Newell might rap about the city on a Sublime track.      

Once the show settles though, finding a groove akin to the svelty Chicano Batman theme that opens each episode, and with the delightful reliance on old school Soul — Brenton Wood, Bill Withers — and palm trees and Dodgers decorum and shit-shooting around the dining room table with elderly relatives, a lived-in flow emerges, settling on a rhythm somewhere between a bilingual Modern Family and a less lesson-y Gentefied. The stakes are mostly low, it’s always sunny in South Central, even when meeting “at the park at sundown” for a brawl, and by the fourth episode even the tightest of TV reviewers may do very well to take Julio’s epiphany to heart: “how about this? I’ll stop being a little bitch.”

At that point anyone can appreciate the physical humor of, say, Julio giving his nephews fireworks to shoot off to distract the family so he can slink away from birthday engagements, or Luis putting Julio in a headlock to keep him in place while the family sings “Feliz Cumpleanos,” or an elaborate and preposterous slow-motion ball-kicking scene, an entire episode homage to Austin Powers.    

Estrada, who co-created the show and used his real life as inspiration, plays Julio with the same button-down, clean-shaven, subtly-pomaded nice guy turn that fills his standup comedian persona. He is mocked for having “lawyer hands,” is seen by his abuela as someone “always crying, just a little bit.” He is a man who sincerely and fully enjoys his pour-over coffee situation, coming off alternatively between sweet and cloying (“The life expectancy of a gangster on average is 24 years old, but the life expectancy of a punk ass bitch, 76 years old”), between big-hearted and petulant martyrdom, his use of “big dawg” renders him some varying mix of jovial and punch-worthy. As his on again, off-again ex, Michelle Ortiz breathes fire into the manic pixie ex-girlfriend template, with high-pitched outbursts turning to raunchily smitten tenderness. She steals/borrows Julio‘s Accord before berating him that the Check Engine light is on, she hits with lines like: “we’ve had sex in the backseat, it’s our car,” and interrupts‘s his date to get him to come over to help find a disappeared pet bunny, a la Annie Hall’s spider-in-the-bathroom scene, eventually trying to coax him to stay with, “I got Wendy’s.  In the obvious spirit of ying-yang buddy comedies, Luis seems overtly ex-con doltish, overplaying the easy parts, leaning brashly into the casual homophobia. It’s not 2005 anymore, as he is constantly reminded — “Tobey Maguire ain’t Spiderman no more” Julio tells him. But has he been in prison, or a coma? Were we still making Viagra jokes and asking “does that make your boyfriend jealous?” in 2005?  

Yes, it is a show about redemption. About tempering recidivism with good cupcake sales —  “people love buying cupcakes from ex-gang members, if girl scouts ever start getting face tattoos we’re fucked,” states Imperioli, in one of his many steely deadpans. And it is about family, however dumb and unfortunate they sometimes might be. So, the standard themes of any harmless Thursday night family sitcom. Of course you can watch it when you want, as one of the best back-and-forth’s, between Luis and his ex-fiance, reminds us:  

“You’re a fucking loser with a weird dick.” “Fuck you, curvy dicks are normal.” “You know Judge Judy will rule in my favor.” “Her show is over, idiot.” “She’s got a new one, idiot.” “What time? I wanna watch.” “It’s streaming so it’s available whenever.”  

Within such ping-pong banter is where This Fool finds its pocket. Like when Imperioli, uber-stoic, over-intense, gets asked about his documentary, “Game Set Hope,” a chronicle of an actual ping-pong tournament on “skid row.” A tag line at the bottom of the poster for the film that hangs in his office declares: “A film you might soon forget, but shouldn’t.” So it feels things might go here. While we seem past the peak of standup’s getting TV spots, this is the type to be lost in a sea of professionally funny shows. Once rhythm is achieved though, This Fool is joyously, even exceptionally hilarious because of what it is really about: who will watch your shitty documentary, even though they think there’s too much flute in the soundtrack; who cares enough to steal you toilet paper from work, even if it is single-ply; who makes you your favorite Tres Leches cake, even though you hate your birthday; who shows up for you, even if a “homegirl” stole their Honda; and it is about being there for your cousin, even when he won’t stop quoting Austin Powers.

[newstfionline]

Friday, August 30, 2024

Can Tech Executives Be Held Responsible for What Happens on Their Platforms? (NYT) This month, X closed its Brazil operations after one of its executives was threatened with arrest for not taking down certain content. Last year, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, pleaded guilty to federal money-laundering violations that took place on his cryptocurrency platform. In 2021, Twitter executives in India faced arrest over posts that the government wanted removed from the site. And on Saturday, Pavel Durov, who founded the online communications tool Telegram, was arrested in France as part of an investigation into the platform’s complicity in crimes including possession and distribution of child sexual abuse imagery. For years, internet company executives rarely faced personal liability in Western democracies for what took place on their platforms. But as law enforcement agencies, regulators and policymakers ramp up scrutiny of online platforms and exchanges, they are increasingly considering when to hold company leaders directly responsible. That shift was punctuated by Mr. Durov’s arrest over the weekend, raising questions over whether tech executives like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg also risk being arrested when they next set foot on European soil.

California has become a new center of political corruption (NYT) Jose Huizar, a former Los Angeles City Council member, is scheduled to report to prison this week to begin a 13-year sentence for tax evasion and racketeering. “He was the King Kong of L.A. City Hall for many, many years,” Mack E. Jenkins, chief of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, told the court. “And with his fall, a lot of devastation was left in his wake.” He is just one of 576 public officials in California who have been convicted over the past decade on federal corruption charges, outpacing states that are better known for influence-peddling like New York and Illinois.

Stealing to order (BBC) More than 430,000 shoplifting offences were recorded in England and Wales last year, the most since current police records began in 2003. And the British Retail Consortium reports a growing trend in "unscrupulous businesses taking on local product that has been stolen to order”. Ross, who has 15 convictions for shoplifting but has never been to prison, estimated he stole goods worth £300 ($395) every day, which he would then sell on to fund his crack cocaine and heroin addiction. He said perfume, cosmetics, alcohol and food were among the items he would regularly steal and sell on “as the cheapest wholesaler”. “If I had a bag full of stuff, I would know which shop to go to,” said Ross. “They’d take me into the back room, I’d lay it out on the floor and we would discuss a price.”

Surf before you worship at this church in Portugal (AP) Porto takes pride in its beaches, old churches covered in blue-and-white tiles and its famous port wine named after the city in northern Portugal. It’s also home to a different kind of church—located on its beachfront suburbs along the Atlantic coast near a fishing town known for some of the world’s largest waves. Parishioners attend in boardshorts, T-shirts, flip flops—even barefoot. They surf before they worship. Surf Church was established by a Brazilian-born Portuguese surfer and ordained Baptist pastor to spread the Gospel in a once-devoutly Catholic country—and top surfing destination—where about half of young people today say they have no religion. In less than a decade, it has grown from a few families to dozens of parishioners representing more than a dozen nationalities from across the world. Their motto: “ We love waves. We love Jesus.”

As the far right rises in Eastern Germany, companies struggle to attract skilled foreign workers (AP) Germany is facing a massive skilled labor shortage. Experts say that the country will need to hire about 400,000 skilled immigrants each year to maintain its economy, thanks to demographic decline and a shrinking workforce. Unfortunately, some parts of German society don’t care what the experts say. The far-right AfD party, which has focused on whipping up anti-immigrant sentiment to boost its support base, has garnered a massive amount of support, especially from rural Germans. “Even when there are no majorities so far, there are considerable minorities who vote for the AfD, either to express their protest or to openly express anti-immigration and anti-liberal positions,” said one German policy researcher. According to a recent poll of over 900 German firms, a majority of companies see the AfD as a risk to their workforces and garnering new investments in Germany. Recently, the International Monetary Fund rated Germany as the world’s worst-performing developed economy, adding to the economic worries in Berlin.

In Eastern Ukraine, Terrifying Bombardment and Near Total Destruction (NYT) In the darkness of the cellar in the eastern Ukrainian town of Toretsk, the soldiers did not know how close the Russian glide bombs were landing. But the sudden change in air pressure that accompanied bone-rattling booms testified to the bombs’ destructive force as they tore into nearby buildings. There are many ways to kill and be killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine, but Ukrainian soldiers say that glide bombs are perhaps the most terrifying. They are free-fall bombs, many left over from the Soviet era, but now outfitted with pop-out wings that feature satellite navigation, turning them into guided munitions. Referred to alternatively as “KABs” or “FABs,” they weigh between 500 and 6,000 pounds and are packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives. A single blast can reduce a high-rise apartment building to rubble and obliterate even concrete fortifications. In recent months, Russia has used the bombs to devastating effect, tilting the balance of fighting in eastern Ukraine in Moscow’s favor and allowing Russia to continue to make steady gains in Donetsk region. The bombs have also allowed Russian forces to raze whole towns and villages with ever greater speed.

Ukraine’s ‘flying furniture’ (BBC) Backed by Western tech and finance, Ukrainian firms are making hundreds of cheap one-way attack drones every month. Terminal Autonomy is producing more than 100 AQ400 Scythe long-range drones a month, with a range of 750km (465 miles). The company also makes hundreds of shorter range AQ100 Bayonet drones a month. It is one of at least three companies now producing drones in Ukraine at scale. The drones are made of wood and assembled in former furniture factories. Francisco Serra-Martins, a former Australian Army Royal Engineer, set up the company with his Ukrainian co-founder, backed by US finance. He describes his drones as "basically flying furniture—we assemble it like Ikea". The Bayonet drone costs a few thousand dollars. A Russian air defence missile used to shoot it down can cost more than $1m (£750,000). These drones have forced Russia to move aircraft to bases further away and reduce the frequency of their attacks.

Indian Doctors Lead Landmark Protests (Foreign Policy) For more than two weeks, doctors and medical workers have been protesting across India—the longest-running such movement in recent memory. The demonstrations were triggered by a horrific case of sexual violence at one of India’s oldest hospitals: On Aug. 9, a 31-year-old female trainee doctor was raped and killed at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The doctor had just completed a 36-hour shift and was resting in a seminar room. Police have arrested a hospital volunteer; however, the victim’s family alleges that she was gang-raped. In response to the killing, thousands of Indian doctors went on strike, declining to provide nonemergency medical care. In Kolkata, as protests continued this week, police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Sexual violence is a long-standing problem in India, but the Kolkata case has prompted unusual outrage, which protesters attribute to the shocking circumstances of the crime: The victim, sworn to caring for others and exhausted after a long shift, was targeted in a space where safety should have been guaranteed. Some female doctors say the tragedy underscores the prevalence of abuse of women in India’s medical system.

At Least 10 Killed as Israeli Military Steps Up West Bank Raids (NYT) Hundreds of Israeli troops backed by drones and armored vehicles carried out raids in the occupied West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Wednesday, a growing third front in conflicts that extend from the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip to southern Lebanon. At least 10 Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in what Israeli officials described as an ongoing operation targeting militants and concentrated in Jenin and Tulkarm, two West Bank cities that an Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said have become militant strongholds. The Israeli military said it had killed nine militants. The operation followed months of escalating Israeli raids in the occupied territory, where nearly three million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule. More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel, according to the United Nations, in violence involving both the Israeli military and extremist Jewish settlers. Israel has also arrested thousands of Palestinians suspected of involvement in armed groups.

Israel agreed to pauses in the war for polio vaccinations (NYT) Starting this weekend, Israel will temporarily pause its military operations in specific areas of Gaza to allow health workers to give polio vaccinations to about 640,000 children under the age of 10, according to the U.N. Israeli officials emphasized that the move was not the first step to a cease-fire, but rather an effort to stem a potential outbreak of the virus.

Food insecurity crisis (Foreign Policy) Namibia authorized the killing of more than 700 animals this week to help feed its population, nearly half of whom are facing acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations. The Environment, Forestry, and Tourism Ministry announced that hunters will cull 300 zebras, 100 wildebeests, 100 eland antelopes, 83 elephants, 60 buffaloes, 50 impalas, and 30 hippos “sourced from national parks and communal area with sustainable game numbers.” Namibia is facing its worst drought in 100 years due to this year’s record-breaking El Niño, which flooded some African countries and left others with extreme temperatures and drought. In May, the southern African country declared a state of emergency for the more than 1 million people struggling to obtain food and water. The drought has also caused high inflation and rising unemployment rates in Namibia as most households depend on crop and livestock farming.

African farmers are using private satellite data to improve crop yields (MIT Technology Review) Farmers in Africa are using space imaging to check in on the status of their crops, tapping into imaging from California satellite provider EOS to monitor the state of fields. Last year the company launched EOS SAT-1, which is solely for agriculture and has fees on the order of $1.90 per hectare per year, which makes it ideal for smaller farms and priced reasonably well for developing countries. Over 242,000 people in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the U.S. and Europe use the crop monitoring platform, with 53,000 joining the service last year.

Subsea fiber-optic cables (CSIS) Subsea fiber-optic cables, a critical information and telecommunications technology (ICT) infrastructure carrying more than 95 percent of international data, are becoming a highly consequential theater of great power competition between the United States, China, and other state actors such as Russia. The roughly 600 cables planned or currently operational worldwide, spanning approximately 1.2 million kilometers, are the world’s information superhighways and provide the high-bandwidth connections necessary to support the rise of cloud computing and integrated 5G networks, transmitting everything from streaming videos and financial transactions to diplomatic communications and essential intelligence. The scale and exposure of undersea infrastructure make it an easy target for saboteurs operating in the gray zone of “deniable attacks short of war.” In 2023, Taiwanese authorities accused two Chinese vessels in the area of cutting the only two submarine cables that supply internet to Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, plunging its 14,000 residents into digital isolation for six weeks. And in October 2023, a Baltic Sea telecom cable connecting Sweden and Estonia sustained damage at the same time as a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline and cable. An investigation focused on a Russian-flagged ship and a Chinese-owned vessel operating in the area as the likely sources of the alleged sabotage.

Accidental falls in the older adult population (Journalist’s Resource) Accidental falls are among the leading causes of injury and death among adults 65 years and older worldwide. Globally, some 684,000 people die from falls each year, and the death rates are highest among people aged 60 and older. About 37.3 million people each year require medical attention after a fall, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, more than 1 in 4 adults aged 65 or older fall each year, according to the National Institute on Aging. In 2022, health care spending for nonfatal falls among older adults was $80 billion, according to a 2024 study published in the journal Injury Prevention. Several factors, including exercising, managing medication, checking vision and making homes safer can help prevent falls among older adults. Removing fall hazards in the home—such as increasing lighting in dark hallways or adding railways to stairwells—reduced the number of falls by 38% among older adults.

[distilinfo]

L.A. Care Boosts Access & Cuts Prior Authorization Hassles

L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the U.S., has significantly improved patient access to care by removing 24% of its prior authorization requirements. This change, impacting specialty visits, lab tests, radiology, and durable medical equipment, aims to reduce delays and administrative burdens while enhancing timely care for over 2.5 million members. As part of a broader industry trend, other major payers like Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield have also reduced prior authorization demands, signaling a shift towards more patient-centered healthcare. L.A. Care’s initiative reflects a growing recognition of the need to balance necessary oversight with the imperative to provide swift, effective treatment. This move is particularly beneficial for vulnerable populations, ensuring they receive the care they need without unnecessary delays. For more updates on health plan industry trends, visit DistilINFO Healthplan.

Read more: https://distilinfo.com/healthplan/l-a-care-prior-authorization/

Discover the latest payers’ news updates with a single click. Follow DistilINFO HealthPlan and stay ahead with updates. Join our community today!

[la-rp]

Due to inactivity or personal reasons, the following account(s) have been removed from L.A. Please unfollow:

@xjordcn

@kthegoat

[neenadunn]

character name: Neena Wagner age & birthday: 25, August 8th, 1999 sign: Leo gender & pronouns: Cis woman, She/Her sexuality: bisexual place of birth & time in New Bellevoux: Born in Los Angeles, California and moved to New Bellevoux in 2009. Left for college in 2017 returned in May 2023 neighborhood: Downtown occupation: True Crime podcaster faceclaim: Simone Ashley family: Noah Dunn (brother), UTP Dunn and mother (parents)

CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY TWs: teen pregnancy, death

PAST

Neena often thinks of her birth as something far removed from her self. It is separate and has no tie to who she is, in her mind it is almost the same as being born from a surrogate or even an incubator. Neena’s birth mother gave birth to her at the tender age of 17 and quickly gave her up for adoption. Thankfully, a married couple who had just had the devastating news of no longer being able to have another child by birth were looking for the perfect final addition to their family. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn soon were linked to baby Neena in her Los Angeles orphanage and fate delivered them the perfect baby girl. The birth certificate may have said Neena Konar, but she’s never thought of that name as any importance to her - Dunn is her real name. Neena was taken home by the Dunns after all the paperwork was finished when she was only a few months old and to her, that was her real family. Growing up, Neena never looked at the Dunns as anything other than her real parents. They were the ones who wanted her when her own birth incubator did not. 

When Neena was still young, her father was still playing in his band and touring. Her father was a member of a popular rock band from the 80's and 90's often compared to Huey Lewis and the News, Bon Jovi, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Train and Weezer. There are many photos and videos of little baby Neena with her mother at his shows or in his arms for pap photos. And since her father retired when she was still in elementary school, she had something her older brother Noah never had, her father around for all of her childhood. Her parents doted on Neena while making sure to connect her with her culture. She attended classes and festivals and was raised to learn everything about her Indian background. While Neena appreciated that from her parents, she saw the Dunn’s culture as her own as well in addition. Both held meaning to her, and she never saw one above the other. She liked how it created a colorful tapestry for her background.  In 2009 when Neena was ten, her father fully retired from his band. For most of her childhood that she could remember he had slowly been doing less, his band was doing less tours, promoting the music less until they fully retired. By that point her brother was in college but her mother had wanted to raise Neena away from Los Angeles. She had grown up in a town called New Bellevoux in Louisiana before meeting her husband in college. Neena's mother had loved the town, and thought it was a better place to raise Neena than Los Angeles which she felt to be so fake. So the family moved to Louisiana while her brother stayed behind in L.A. to finish college. Her dad still did some reunion tours and appearances at events and on tv, but after the move he was pretty much entirely retired from the music scene.

Though Neena missed her friends and life in L.A. she grew to enjoy New Bellevoux. Neena was vivacious from a young age, and could often be described as dramatic and extra. Growing up, she was always the one to fill a room with her personality, and to be the center of attention. Neena tried almost every extracurricular activity she could and though she dropped a lot, she liked trying everything there was to offer. She took plenty of art classes, participated in theater in high school, was on the dance team, ran for student government and even was prom queen. Never one to fit into one box, Neena was popular, approachable and kind, but a wild child as well. She surely gave her parents many gray hairs as they struggled to raise her. Neena often snuck out of the Dunn house to attend parties, she was brought back drunk by the local cops, and even once got dared to steal a neighbor’s lawn mower and accidentally ended up with it in the lake in the person’s backyard drunk and laughing hysterically. Her parents tried to protect her as best they could with their connections, but she did face consequences with community service to keep her underage record clean. 

It was soon after her 18th birthday that Neena finally reached out to the orphanage to figure out who her birth mother was. She had often wondered who her birth mother was and what the circumstance of her adoption had been. But, she never had thought of the Dunns as anything but her real parents. Finding this woman would never replace them. Only fill out some questions she had. But, when she finally tracked down the woman, it only cemented how little this woman was even a birth mother, she’d been nothing but an incubator Neena was carried in. The woman had been shocked, and horrified to find Neena showing up. She’d been embarrassed and ashamed of her, scooting her away like she was some undesirable showing up on her doorstep to beg for her most prized position. Like she was a criminal. The woman had shooed Neena away, the big ring and big house of her family that had no idea about their mother’s teenage pregnancy. Eventually, Neena left in tears and swearing that the egg and sperm donators who created her were nothing but incubators who only served to get her to her real family - the Dunns. 

Eventually she did graduate high school and left to attend NYU in the fall. Neena majored in marketing and double minored to satisfy by her loves of art and history. She visited on some weekends, and was always glad to show her parents the city that had become her new home. She thrived, partying and living up to her glamorous and wild child reputation. Neena loved New York City and all the city had to offer, even when she got to see the underbelly this city still felt like a new home. After graduation, she got a marketing job over in Brooklyn and worked for almost a year before she figured out the 9-5 office job wasn’t for her. Even with the creative outlet of her job, she still felt stifled and boxed in. Was this really what she wanted for the next 80 years? Working day in and day out in the same cubicle, the same office, the same tasks that she just got to do all over again with a different project each week? She felt like she was drowning and quit after only six months. Neena stayed in New York since she wanted to, even without a job she knew her parents would support her while she figured out the next step. She did random things around the city, getting into minor modeling for a little while using her name and looks. She also invested in a friend's bar for a while too. And during this time she had continued to focus on her pet project, a true crime podcast.

While in college, Neena had started a true crime podcast just out of a fun hobby. It had done well, and during her time in her marketing job, she grew her following and started to market merch as well as a few paid episodes and even paid sponsorship. It was there during this period when she really started to focus on it that she realized she could make this her full time job and support herself. Starting off with a converted closet in her apartment, Neena started to record there before she eventually earned enough money to but a small studio herself in the city. With a job like this, she realized she could go wherever she wanted and Neena had been thinking of where she wanted to move next when the worst thing happened. 

Her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago in the summer of 2022. When the news first broke, Neena wanted to leave New York City and come home. But her parents told her it was fine. Her mom was going to fight it, and for a while she was doing good fighting it. Neena traveled home a lot, she saw her brother as well whenever he visited New Bellevoux. She was with her mom for appointments and chemo treatments. But she still stayed in New York because her parents told her it'd be okay. But then a year ago, her mother took a turn for the worse. Dropping everything Neena moved back to New Bellevoux to be closer to her mom. For six months her health deteriorated and Neena was by her side almost every day. And then the worse thing happened six months ago in January 2024. Her mother lost to the cancer and died.

PRESENT

Moving back to New York didn't feel right, not when she had just lost her mother. And she could do her podcast anywhere, and since it had gotten pretty popular by this time she knew she didn't want to drop it. So Neena decided to stay in New Bellevoux for a bit before she figured out what she wanted to do next. She got a condo downtown and still runs her podcast, True Crime and Chill. Her brother moved back around the same time she did, and now both siblings are there to support their family and each other.

A few months after moving back to New Bellevoux, Neena met Evren Osman. They started an on and off relationship and broke up a few times, including right after her mother's death. She's not sure if this will be anything long term, but for the moment Neena is enjoying being with the man, though most are opposed to their relationship, including her family. Neena doesn't have a plan for her career or her future or even any relationships, but for right now she's more than happy to stay in New Bellevoux with her family and keep doing her podcast.

[bllsbailey]

Pro-Hamas Agitators Whine Like Babies When Jews They Attacked Turn the Table on Them

As our RedState editor Bob Hoge reported, Palestinian Youth Movement L.A. and Code Pink L.A. organized a Pro-Hamas/"Free Palestine" protest outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles, just because. The Jewish synagogue members and participants fought back, and the protest escalated into violence, with eggs, pepper spray, and fists being thrown. Some people and journalists were thrown to the ground and kicked, while others were bludgeoned. 

Chaotic Scene Outside L.A. Synagogue As Pro-Hamas Assailants Attack Jews, Clash With LAPD

— Kosher🎗🧡 (@KosherCockney) June 24, 2024

The first headline that KTLA chose to publish about the protests was absolutely gobsmacking. "Protestors allegedly block synagogue's entrance in L.A." Seriously? The legacy media outlets barely gave this pogrom the time of day or the outrage that was given to the campus protests. 

It's Time for the DOJ to Prosecute Pro-Hamas Agitators as Domestic Violent Extremists

Social media accounts by journalists who were on the ground, like Cam Higby and Daniel Greenfield, represent the necessary documentation of this atrocity, as well as the determination of the Jewish neighborhood to rightly fight back. Everyone else in the media is now just catching up. Because these Pro-Hamas cretins were clearly the aggressors and the Jewish synagogue members defended themselves, the legacy press has no narrative to milk that advantages their pro-Palestine allegiance. Jewish volunteer security Magen Am was there in force and helped to allay some of the violence.

And the LAPD? According to Journalist Greenfield, after lingering for an hour (like they did at UCLA) and then blocking access so that the synagogue members could not safely get into the building, the LAPD finally pushed back on the pro-Hamas protestors, using pepper spray to subdue some.

Their line was broken, and the pro-Hamas thugs dispersed into the neighborhood, and some fled in their cars. Those who were left behind by their comrades got the beat down they deserved and then suddenly decided that the police were necessary after receiving a taste of what they were trying to dish out.

WATCH:

A demonstration organised against an Israeli real estate fair held at the Adas Torah shul devolved into chaos on Sunday with dozens of individuals punching each other in the street. Footage of the incident shows keffiyeh-clad demonstrators shoving men wearing yarmulkes and one man with blood streaming down his face.  Flags of the messianic wing of Chabad can be seen flying in the background.

Then there was this charming pair who travel with their toddler to protest for Palestine. It's sick. 

In another clip, a woman can be seen leaning out of the sunroof of a car and making making gun hand gestures and lifting her middle fingers at pro-Israel demonstrators. A group of police officers then approach her SUV with their guns raised, before she and a masked man exit the vehicle and surrender. After taking them away, officers then remove a child from the car.

WATCH:

Next to those journalists on the ground, the fullest coverage of what happened on Sunday has come from publications outside of the U.S., like The Jerusalem Post.

Activist and politician Sam Yerbi said that violent anti-Israel activists dispersed into Jewish neighborhoods "hunting Jews and causing more destruction and vandalism."  [Daniel] Greenfield had also said that anti-Israel activists had been roaming Pico-Robertson threatening people. Yerbi published a video on Instagram of a man in a Keffiyeh threatening residents with two bludgeons he retrieved from his car.  In another video he shared, community members intervened in anti-Israel vandalism of a kosher restaurant. Greenfield, Yerbi, and political consultant Noah Pollak, who had also been present, harshly criticized  the LAPD and Bass for their failure to prepare for and address the riot.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did exactly what cowardly former Mayor Eric Garcetti did in 2020 with the BLM riots. Buckled and asked the LAPD to stand down in the face of clearly provoked violence.

It took Bass many hours after the violence to even bother to issue a statement, in the wee small hours of the morning...  on X.

Today’s violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood today was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable. I’ve called on LAPD to provide additional patrols in the Pico-Robertson community as well as outside of houses of worship throughout the city. I’ll be meeting with Chief Choi tomorrow to further discuss the safety of Angelenos. I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence. Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable. I will be joining Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, the Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles Rabbi Noah Farkas and other law enforcement and faith leaders in a community meeting this week as we talk about steps forward, together. 

Journalist Cam Higby, who was attacked while covering the protests, blasted Governor Gavin Newsom for his faux outrage. Higby pointed out that these same people spearheading this violence had been arrested at the UCLA Pro-Hamas protests weeks back.

— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) June 24, 2024

Political consultant Noah Pollak called the lack of action on the part of Bass and the LAPD an "absolute disgrace." 

I was there today for an event at the shul. @LAPDHQ let the Hamas supporters take over the sidewalk in front of the shul and block its entrance. In fact, LAPD had formed a cordon around the front of the shul to keep Jews out and Hamas supporters in. I tried to enter with my kids through the front door and was turned away not by Hamas supporters but by the LAPD. Anyone who wanted to attend had to use a secret back entrance. @KarenBassLA and @LAPDHQ are an absolute disgrace -- it's clear the police have been instructed to help the Democratic Party street animals do their thuggery. They were definitely not there to protect the right of Jews to enter their shul.

Bass is reportedly meeting on Monday with Jewish and other faith leaders, as well as city officials, concerning Sunday's events. This post-crisis social is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. With the heightened awareness that no one is coming to save them, the Jewish people of Los Angeles and elsewhere will increasingly take action into their own hands to protect their lives and their synagogues. If one thinks Sunday's violence was disturbing, you have not seen the half of it.

[dramatisperscnae]

Verses - Kyle Rayner

Verse: Last Green Lantern – Mainverse – After being given a ring and zero instruction by a short blue alien in a red robe behind a bar in L.A., Kyle Rayner has become the last Green Lantern in the universe. It’s taken some time, but he’s proven himself not only a worthy ring-bearer but a solid addition to Earth’s roster of heroes, having held his own against the likes of Mongul and Grayven as well as working with both the Titans and the Justice League.

Verse: Torchbearer - Kyle Rayner kept the flame of the Lanterns burning even after Parallax destroyed the Corps and forced Kyle to destroy Oa itself in order to stop him. When Oa was restored Kyle gave up the power of Ion, the purest embodiment of Willpower itself, in order to revive the Guardians and - one day - restore the Corps itself. That day has now come to pass. Kyle is no longer the last Green Lantern; he is the reason they can now once again patrol the universe. With the added powers of the Starheart granted him by Jennie Hayden in her last moments, together with his renewed abilities as Ion, Kyle has been chosen by the Guardians to be their Torchbearer in more than merely name. It is his title, however informal; he will safeguard their powers and that of the Corps, should the unthinkable ever happen again. To that end and due to his powers and abilities, Kyle - as much as he remains a Lantern of Sector 2814 - has no actively assigned sector; instead he is called upon by the Guardians to deal with the…odder missions that might require a more specific touch.

Verse: Honor Guard - During the Sinestro Corps War Kyle had the power of Ion forcibly stripped from him by Sinestro himself, who wasted no time at all in infecting Kyle with Parallax. With the aid of Hal Jordan Kyle managed to free himself, but his position as Ion was permanently removed as the entity was bestowed upon a Lantern recruit named Sodam Yat. Instead, Kyle has been reinstated as a member of the Honor Guard, partnered with Guy Gardner. Whether this is a good or bad decision remains to be seen.

Verse: Multiverse Shenanigans - Various one-off or temporary 'verses Every possibility exists somewhere; the multiverse is a vast and unpredictable place where anything can - and does - happen. Primarily used for one-shot AUs, with potential for them to become established verses if they seem to be sticking!

Verse: Souls Bound in Light - Halkyle soulmate AU with 1rstflight

Verse: Misfits Bound - Jaykyle soulmate AU with redvenante

More to come as I read more of his story. pls to have patience ^^;;