#Angel Park music photography | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

strawberryfairi · 5 months

Text

Synopsis✨: The story of how you catch heavy feelings for the hot photography student, Shuji Hanma…even though you already have the perfect (fake) boyfriend.

Pairings: Photography Student! Shuji Hanma X Dance Major! Black Fem 🤎 Reader (ANYONE CAN READ🧚🏾‍♀️) Content: Drama, lots of denial, angst, sneaky link, lots of cheating, mutual pining, unserious Shuji, controlling parents, forced relationships, romance, fighting, porn with a good plot vibes, intense sexual tension, etc (just find out the rest lol)

w.c: 5.8k💠 Released: April 15, 2024

Previous | Next... | Chapters Masterlist

NOTE🧚🏾‍♀️: This chapter gets kind of intense y'all so...you have been warned. (I'm trynna get in my angst bag a little, ok? I'm tryin' somethin new)

C.W: TRIGGER WARNING! Angst (nothing really dark though), illegal drugs mentioned, mentions of date rape/sexual assault, reader has a seizure, "Rape Kit" (Sexual Assault Forensic Exam) Mentioned, Best Friend Keisuke Baji is supportive!!!

9; Pain 疼痛

Later That Night

You're in a familiar setting, sitting comfortably in the back of Shuji's car with soft music in the back, one arm wrapped around you while the other holds his cigarette. He went and took you to another scenic area near a public park, but there's no one else around, just the two of you here.

"The sky looks so pretty." You murmur blissfully, staring out of the window. Shuji lets out an airy, short chuckle, taking a quick drag. "You say that every time we're like this."

You raise a brow for a second, surprised that he had made such an observation. "I probably do. I really like the night sky." You hum with a little shrug. "Why?" He mumbles softly.

"Why? Mmm, I guess I just really love space. I love the stars, the moon; it reminds me of how vast the world is. There's so much more up there. If I could, I'd definitely go to space to see what it's like." You ramble in a dreamy tone, eyes glued to the radiant stars and half moon up in the sky.

"That seems like fun. I'd wanna see Jupiter." He says.

"Because of the storms, right?! I know!" You beam, getting randomly excited.

"But you know what's crazy? There's still so much about earth we don't even know. Like we barely know anything about the ocean." He says with a curious tone.

"Oh my gosh, facts. The abyss fish are kinda scary too!" You nod.

"Abyss fish?" He chuckles with a raised brow.

"Yeah, that's what I call 'em. Who really takes the time to figure out all their real names?" You giggle.

"Oh, I thought you meant like a specific fish called the abyss fish." He laughs.

The two of you laugh together for a little while before falling into another moment of tranquil silence.

"You know, I'm actually glad I left that event with you." You sigh, breaking the silence.

"Really?" He asks in a knowing tone.

"Mhm." You nod. "Even though you stress me out, I...really do like being around you." You admit, tone soft and just a little bit shy. The corner of Shuji's lips tilt upwards at your words.

"Well look at you finally being honest." He chuckles, leaning over for a kiss that makes your heart flutter in your chest. His tongue skillfully works its way past your lips, his free hand pulling you closer. You both pull away just a little after a moment, two small smiles on each of your faces.

"Could I...be more honest then?" You ask hesitantly, your heart beating wildly in your chest.

"Definitely be more honest, angel." He nods with a lustful glint in his eyes. You pull your dress up as far as it could go, then carefully sit yourself down onto his lap, straddling him. Shuji's hand rests low on your hip, the other putting out his cigarette against the little ash tray to the right of him.

"I want you; and I don't wanna wait till we get to your place." You confess softly, looking him right in the eyes.

"I'm all yours, pretty girl." He answers, his hand reaching towards the spaghetti straps tied into a bow at the back of your neck. His words give you all kinds of butterflies throughout your stomach. If only he really was yours, then the looming weight of knowing this thing between you two would eventually end would be long gone.

Your lips meet his as he pulls the string of your halter, letting down the entire top half of your dress. A soft moan slips past your lips, vibrating against his as your own hands get to work, impatiently reaching for the buttons of his top.

The Next Day

You had received a surprising text from your mom early this afternoon, wanting to talk to you face to face for once after her 3pm meeting. You already knew deep down what this was about. It was time for her "review" of how you did during the event last night. Honestly you've been shitting bricks in the past few hours before you'd have to go and meet her, praying to God she didn't find out you snuck off with Shuji.

But unfortunately, that was exactly what she wanted to talk about...

"There was a toast held at the end of the event, but I didn't see you with Ken. Now that I think about it, I barely saw you with Ken at all last night. Then at one point you were just nowhere to be found altogether."

Your heart sinks to the pit of your stomach. She knows...

"Remember, I had sent a text saying I got a migraine?" You ask shakily, cursing at yourself for the way you looked so nervous...so obvious. Her expression stays stony, she didn't believe you for a second.

"Is that why you were running like crazy out of the back of the mansion, and with some boy on top of that?" She questions knowingly, folding her hands over her dark wood desk.

You could feel the color leave your face as her words ring and echo throughout your mind. "Ma, he's just a friend." You assure. How did she even see you guys leave together?!

"I bet he is, Y/N." The way she says your name makes you flinch. There was not an ounce of affection in her tone. "Have you been sleeping with him?" She interrogates, her eyes on fire with anger.

Every question she asks she obviously already knows the answer to, so what's the point in even trying to lie? If you say no you'll just piss her off even more. At this point your bags might as well already be packed and waiting outside of your dorm with the suite key resting right on top.

"I-I'm sorry..." You murmur, your eyes already starting to blur with tears. Your face feels so hot, and your heart is pounding against your chest. Your mom let's out a dry chuckle, shaking her head as she looks down at her hands.

"I can't even look at you right now. Have you lost your mind?!" She seethes, still shaking her head in disappointment. Your heart clenches in your chest at her harsh words. You wanted to argue, maybe yell and tell her off, but you couldn't. The embarrassment of being caught, and by your mother of all people, is eating you alive.

"Help me understand something, are you here to dance or are you here to just fool around and sleep with whoever you feel like?" She asks bitterly, finally looking up at you. Now that one cut deep. Your brows couldn't help but furrow slightly in offense. What's she trying to say, you're not putting in any work and just running around campus whoring it up?!

"I'm here to dance." You respond, your voice shaking with too many high intensity emotions swirling around at a time. "That's not what it seemed like last night-

"Ma, you aren't even ever around me to see how much work I do." You cut in, trying to keep your tone as respectful as possible, "I-..I don't wanna be with Ken." You finally admit. A single rapid tear falls down your cheek as you look up at your mom with pleading eyes. "I don't care about him! I can still do great in school without having to be with him-

"We've already been through why the two of you need to stay together!" She yells over you. You jump at her tone, eyes going wide. She's never yelled at you like this before, not ever.

"You are supposed to be perfect, do you hear me?! I told you what would happen if I caught you fooling around-

"Ma!"

"No, you're done, Y/N! You're not gonna waste my time and money messing around all through college-

"But I'm not! I haven't even failed a single class!" You throw your hands up exasperatedly.

"But you missed one! And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because of a "migraine"." She chides. How did she even know that...?

"I-..missing one class and failing a class isn't the same thing! You literally said last night I'm one of the top dancers at this school! Ma, you really thought in the whole four years of me being here that I wouldn't eventually meet someone I actually like over Ken?! I can't help how I feel about someone!" You rant through frustrated tears, not even registering the fact that you went and verbally acknowledged that you have genuine feelings for Shuji. "I just don't understand why I have to be with Ken specifically in order to be perfect or successful! I can do this without him! He's the one falling apart! Why isn't he here?!"

"Ken isn't the one causing problems! Ken was exactly where he was supposed to be last night, and Ken doesn't complain about why he needs to be with you!" She argues.

You let out a puff of frustrated air, wiping your tears with the backs of your hands. What the hell does it matter if I wasn't at the last few moments of the donor event?! You're pretty sure Mr. Fujioka is not having a heart attack and freaking out over the fact that one person happened to not be there for the toast. Ken is so lucky you aren't the throw folks under the bus type, because if you wanted to you could air him out right to both of your parents. You're over here taking the full heat when he's not even in the clear himself. He should be standing here right next to you.

"I'm telling you Y/N, if I catch you with that boy or any other boy that isn't Ken again, you're packing your bags, do you understand?" She threatens, her tone low and as serious as it gets. You look to the side angrily, opting for a simple head nod and short "Yes" before making your way out of her office.

You'd wandered off around campus, finding a secluded spot in the dance department staircase near the girls locker room way in the back hallway, crying to yourself pitifully with your head resting on your knees. You put your phone on 'do not disturb', not wanting to be bothered by anyone's text or calls or social media notifications.

Almost a bit over thirty minutes had gone by with you sitting there sulking on the steps, until the sensation of someone patting your right shoulder startled you. You jump, letting out a mix between a yelp and a deep gasp as you look up.

A familiar face is sitting on the stairs next to you, but there's no name you could begin to even think of to attach to it. You look him over with a scrutinizing gaze, eyes trailing down from his medium length hair, black framed glasses, and those dirty converse sneakers.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You seemed down so I figured I'd come and comfort you." The guy shrugs with a small smile. Your heart instantly sinks to your feet. This was that same exact guy from the water fountain a hot minute ago! The uneasy feeling you'd felt from back then was back with full force, sitting on your shoulders like weights.

"Uhhh, thanks. I-I was kinda hoping I could actually be left alone for a while though..." You answer cautiously yet too emotionally exhausted to really shield the annoyance in your tone. "Oh, I understand. But, I also wanted to tell you that you had left your water bottle in the hallway the last time I saw you; so I thought I'd hand it back to you." He chuckles awkwardly, revealing your bright pink water bottle from behind him.

Wait, what?

The cogs immediately start turning in your head. You were a thousand percent sure you didn't leave your water bottle, and in the hallway of all places?! You have a few other water bottles in different colors, so sometimes it can be a little hard to keep up with which one you have at a time...but never have you ever left an item just sitting in a hallway.

"Oh, thank you. I...guess I didn't even realize I'd lost it." You answer apprehensively with an awkward chuckle, slowly taking the bottle from him as you wipe some of the left over tears off your cheeks.

"No problem! I filled it up with water and everything; good as new." He beams, gesturing towards the bottle. It was indeed filled all the way to the brim, ice cold, just as you like it...

"I see." You say softly, lifting the rubber straw and taking a few big sips just to cool off from the argument you had earlier. "Uuum, to be honest I feel bad 'cause I can't really remember what your name was." You give him an apologetic smile.

"Fumihiro Miyagawa. My name's kind of easy to forget, huh?" He jokes awkwardly.

"No no, I just-..I can just be forgetful sometimes; I'm sorry." You stammer, trying not to offend him any further.

"It's alright, I understand." He shrugs, adjusting his glasses. Then the two of you fall into a deep silence, making your skin crawl.

"Uhh, well do you have any classes today?" You ask, feeling more uncomfortable by the silence than when he speaks.

"No, I'm free all day today. That's why I was able to come find you." He replies pleasantly. The words "come find you" didn't sit well for some reason. You weren't in a very conspicuous spot, as this staircase just leads up to an equipment room near the girls locker room. How'd he even think to come search over here?

Then there's the night you ran into this guy in the first place. He was by the girls locker room that time too. It's not like it would make sense, as the mens' locker room is on the whole opposite side of the hallway, down by the entrance of the dance department building. It was separated for the purpose of keeping everyone safe.

Safe....yeah that's the word. You don't feel safe around him.

"Oh ok." You nod slowly, "Are you also a dance major?"

"Me?! No no, I'm the epitome of ungraceful; nothing like you." He chuckles, giving you a sharp chill that went down your spine. You chuckle a little in response, though it came out slightly forced and extremely stiff. That last part didn't really sit right, nor was it flattering.

Nothing like me...

What does he mean nothing like you?

Wait wait, let's not jump to conclusions...

"Well, I should probably get going." You state before standing up and taking another few sips from your water bottle, "Thanks again for bringing back my bottle, uh, Miyagawa." You smile politely with a short wave goodbye, not even bothering to wait for his response as you make your way out of the now creepy staircase.

You head out of the dance department building and decide to just take a little mind-calming walk around campus before heading back to your dorm suite. It was ironically a very sunny, clear skied day, the complete opposite of how you were feeling.

"Maybe I could see what Kei's doing..." You whisper to yourself. It's been a good while since the last time you got to talk to Keisuke, and it wasn't for the best of reasons. It would be good to have some time with a trusted friend. You whip out your phone, sending him a quick "Imu🥺 let's hang" text.

Best Friend #1👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏻 I was literally just thinkin bout u kid!!! I'm hangin by the lil fountain statue thingy near the gym wit some friends Come thru

Y/N Yaaaay🥹 I'm omw 🏃🏾‍♀️

You smile to yourself, placing your phone back in your pocket as you head over to the fountain by the gym. It's about eight minutes away from the dance department where you'd just come from, so it's not really a hike.

You take another sip of water from your bottle, rubbing your left eye with your other hand. "What the-..." You trail off, brows furrowing in heavy confusion.

What the hell was up with your vision? You slow your walking to a stop in the middle of the pavement, trying to rub your eyes without making them hurt from the pressure. After a bit of rubbing you just shake it off, assuming maybe it was just an oncoming headache or something and continue on to meet up with Keisuke.

It was the three of them hanging by the fountain, Keisuke, Hanma, and Kazutora. Keisuke was the second to spot you stumbling around a few feet away. Hanma had moved so fast Kei didn't even realize what the hell was his problem until he noticed you, and Kazutora was completely lost as he's the only one who doesn't know you.

"Hey. What the hell is goin' on with you?!" Shuji asks, more to himself than to you as you nearly collapse to the ground. Had he come even seconds later you would have fallen over right on the ground.

"Heeeey?" You mutter, brows furrowing, looking at him like you were trying to recognize who he was. Keisuke trails behind, finally coming up to you with his eyes filled with concern.

"What happened? Are you alright?!" He questions.

"I-I feel-...I feel like-..." You stutter, seemingly forgetting your sentence after the first two to three words every time you attempt to answer.

"Hey, is she ok? Did she faint?" Kazutora comes in last, looking you over.

There was a trail of your things leading to where you'd nearly collapsed, your phone a few feet away, and your water bottle sitting in the grass right next to the pavement.

"Hot. 'S hot..." You groan. It really was hot, like, excruciatingly hot. Then abruptly, you frown, weakly pushing yourself out of Shuji's arms. "Go 'way..." You mutter, barely able to keep yourself upright. "Whooooooaaaaa!" You outburst loudly, looking all around you with wide eyes. Everything looked particularly vibrant, but it was somehow kind of slowly spinning...or twisting? Maybe both. It was making you feel nauseous. Keisuke, Shuji, and Kazutora all exchange the same looks of realization.

"Should I call an ambulance?! Maybe we should get her to the hospital or something." Keisuke says worriedly. With a slurred "K bye" you attempt to walk off down the sidewalk, immediately toppling over.

"Hey hey hey! Hold on!" Shuji grabs you once again, this time picking you up in his arms to make sure you don't hurt yourself.

"Oooo! You-...you're so strong." You slur with a girly giggle, placing your hands over your cheeks with a wide smile.

"She's out of it." He shakes his head, looking at you with a frown.

"Let's take her to the hospital." Kazutora says, going and grabbing your phone and water bottle. Keisuke grabs his keys instantly, Shuji and Kazutora following close behind him as they head to the parking lot. "I feel sooooo nice." You hum blissfully, laying your head lazily against Shuji's chest.

"Shhh, don't talk." Shuji commands softly. The deep tone of his voice makes a sudden sensual chill go down your spine. "Mmmm, you're beautiful." You compliment, looking up at him with heavily lustful eyes. "I wanna have sex." You add flirtatiously with another giggle. Both Keisuke and Kazutora's mouths drop in astonishment, looking at you like you grew two more heads..

"What did you take?!" Shuji questions, looking down at you utterly bewildered. You stay quiet for a moment, then randomly...you black out, your entire body going limp in Shuji's arms.

You were out for a bit over two minutes before you jolt awake just as the guys made it to Keisuke's car. Soft, fearful whimpers escape your dry-feeling lips, looking around frantically as you didn't recognize where you were. "I-I'm scared! I'm scared!"

"I'm right here angel, I got you. We're gonna get you to the hospital, ok?" Shuji says softly, holding you close as he gets into the back. Kazutora stays up front with Keisuke.

"You think she might've gotten drugged?" Kazutora asks Kei in a hushed tone, looking over the water bottle you were carrying with a skeptical gaze. "Definitely. Nothing else makes sense." Keisuke answers instantly. He speeds out of the lot like a bat out of hell, using one hand on the steering wheel while the other searches up the fastest route to the nearest hospital on google maps.

You weren't conscious for too long, only a few short minutes of feeling nothing but pure anxiousness before you blacked out yet again.

"She keeps passing out." Shuji says worriedly, adjusting you to keep your head from falling back in a weird way. Then, practically giving him a heart attack, your body starts convulsing. His eyes go wide, nearly dropping you onto the seat of the car from the way your body's jerking so violently. "Y/N! Y/N!?" He calls out to you, but he honestly had zero clue what to do, too scared to do anything else in fear it might make things worse.

"Oh my god, she's havin' a seizure!" Kazutora gasps, looking back from the front passenger seat.

"Are you serious?! What the hell is going on?!" Keisuke facepalms.

"Hurry the fuck up, Baji!" Shuji shouts frantically.

"I'm going as fast as I can! We're gonna get pulled over if I go any faster!" 1 Hour Later

It was like a blur, everything that had happened. Just as Keisuke said, he was pulled over by the cops. He realized then it was stupid not to just call an ambulance, but thankfully, the police gave him an escort, letting him drive as fast as needed to get you to the hospital.

Once you all arrived they quickly took you back to the ER, leaving the three of them out in the waiting area to be questioned by the police. Kazutora, Shuji, and Keisuke alike all realized how bad of a look this probably was. Three guys with one girl who happens to be the only one drugged. Kazutora's questioning was the shortest, as he's just now meeting you therefore didn't have too much information on the matter. Next up was Keisuke.

"I'm her best friend. We go to the same school. The only reason I even found her like this was 'cause she had texted that she wanted to meet up and come hang with me." Keisuke explains calmly.

"So who are these guys?" The officer who's badge shows his name is Kimura asks.

"They're my friends. They were already with me when Y/N texted me. We were by our campus's water fountain outside."

"You ever want to be more than friends with her?" The officer questions bluntly.

"No, she's like family to me. She has a boyfriend already anyways." Kei shakes his head.

"And where's her boyfriend? That him?" Officer Kimura nods his head towards Shuji who happened to be carrying her inside the hospital.

"No no, her boyfriend's Ken Ryuguji. He also goes to our school, but he wasn't with her when she came to see me."

"Hm, alright. That's enough for now." Kimura nods.

Keisuke sighs exasperatedly, going back to his seat in the waiting room as the officer calls up Shuji next. With a tired huff, Shuji makes his way over to the officer standing by the hallway that the nurses had previously taken you down on a stretcher.

"I'm just gonna ask a few questions, alright?" Officer Kimura begins. "Are you close with the victim?"

Something about the officer calling you a victim made Shuji's heart sink to his feet. "...Kind of." He says wearily.

"I'll need something more specific than kind of. What's kind of?" Officer Kimura presses.

"We're close." He answers shortly.

"Friends?" The officer raises a brow.

"Yeah." Shuji sighs. He genuinely wasn't sure how to answer that question yet just went with friends as to keep things simple.

"Has there ever been a point you were more than friends? Ever dated before or thought about it?"

Shuji's jaw clenches in annoyance, already knowing where the officer was going with those questions.

"We're just friends." He clarifies again, his tone coming across a bit more sharp than he intended.

"Alright. Have you noticed anyone suspicious around her?" He asks, changing topics.

Shuji thinks for a second, but can't really think of any particular person. Usually when you're with him it's literally just the two of you, so there's never really a moment where other people are around.

"No." He answers, then pauses, brows furrowing in thought. "Wait..."

I'm at the water fountain fillin' up my bottle and all of a sudden this random ass, quiet ass guy just appeared.

It was just the weirdest thing ever, and the way he wasn't trynna let go of my hand...

"No wait. I-...she once told me about some guy that asked her on a date. She said she was really uncomfortable 'cause he wasn't letting go of her hand or something. But, that was weeks ago now." Shuji explains.

"Did she say anything else about him? His appearance? Where she met him?" Officer Kimura asks.

Shit...he couldn't remember all those tiny details. But for you, he'd do anything to remember every last bit.

"I think she said a water fountain was where he came up to her. She was about to go to dance practice, so she was in the dance department."

"Alright, that's good enough for now. Your friend brought the water bottle she had with her to the hospital. We have the nurses taking a sample and testing for any drugs in the water bottle, but it can be assumed that it was highly likely a date rape drug. We can't really investigate any further without the victim's consent though." Kimura informs.

Date rape drug....

Those three words from the officer's mouth rings loudly like alarm bells in Shuji's mind. "Wait, what?"

"Date rape drugs are popular as they have no scent or color, and most can easily dissolve into drinks going almost completely undetected." He adds. Shuji's heart sinks to his chest. All he can manage is a short head nod in response, feeling too sick to his stomach to give any sort of verbal reply.

"Depending on what kind of drug is in her system, it may take a while before any of you can see her. I'd stock up on snacks to hold you guys off if you're gonna stay till she wakes up." Officer Kimura suggests, giving Shuji an apologetic look and pat on the shoulder before heading over to his colleagues standing near the front desk of the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was so bright when your eyes finally fluttered open. Off white colored walls, and two women you couldn't recognize for the life of you. Once the brightness settled down a bit you could finally take in what was going on, and where you were.

"Y/N? Hi, you've been unconscious for some time. My name is Dr. Chen." A short haired brunette woman states with a soft smile, leaning over you. She's a nurse, you finally conclude, and the second woman was as well. The second nurse seems to be checking out your vitals on the annoying beeping machine. The beeps came around in fairly long spaced intervals, worrying you a little.

"W-what happened?" You ask wearily. Oof, you felt so nauseous.

"Unfortunately, we found a substantial amount of GHB in your system." She explains with an apologetic tone.

"What?!" Your heart sinks in your chest. You had zero clue what GHB meant, but clearly it didn't sound good. "What is that?"

"Gamma hydroxybutyrate, it's an illegal drug. It was mixed into your water bottle you were carrying with you today." Dr. Chen clarifies.

Your brows furrow in deep confusion, then a sudden heavy feeling of anxiousness washes over you as you realize you don't know what she's talking about.

"W-what water bottle? I don't-...I've never taken drugs. I don't have anything illegal-

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble with the police. We can begin a more thorough investigation with your con-

"Investigation?! W-What's going on?!" You ramble fearfully, your monitor to the right of you showing your heart rate starting to spike. Immediately your chest rises and falls rapidly, starting to hyperventilate as your memories seem damn near void. You couldn't remember anything from today, not even the shortest glimpse.

"Please, try to stay calm. It's normal not to remember anything, as that's one of the major effects of this drug. We're going to take this one step at a time." Dr. Chen assures in a calming tone.

Your vision blurs as involuntary hot tears start streaming down your face.

"Are you feeling any pain anywhere? Any pain around your lower body?"

It didn't go unnoticed by you the way she specifically inquired about your lower body being in pain. "N-no. I don't think I really feel anything right now." You answer shakily, attempting to stay calm but the fact that you were on some kind of drug and could barely feel your body just made everything ten times worse.

"Do your muscles feel tired? Relaxed? It's normal if your feeling fatigued."

Your brows furrow again, unable to keep up with her words even though it wasn't even much that she said. All of this was just too overwhelming.

"You're alright. Take as much time as you need to respond." She soothes. "For now there's no pain, yes?"

"Mhm." You nod as a few tears roll down your cheeks.

"Ok good. You have three friends here that have been waiting for you to wake up. Do you feel ready to see them?" Dr. Chen asks.

"Friends?"

"Yes, they're the ones that brought you here. Would you feel comfortable with seeing maybe just one at a time?" She suggests.

You nod hesitantly, not sure at all who these three friends are.

"Ok." She nods, then heads out of the room with the other nurse trailing behind her with a clipboard. A few minutes go by of silence, before finally someone walks in.

"Hey kid. You alright?"

You gasp, the tears you had went and wiped away restarting all over again. "Kei!" You sob, breaking down as he comes over and gives you an affectionate hug. It hurt you that you could barely manage to just raise your arms a little to wrap around him, still too drugged up to function.

"I'm scared..." You murmur weakly into his royal blue shirt.

"I know, me too, but you're gonna be alright." He comforts, resting his head on top of yours.

"I don't remember anything. I don't know what happened to me."

"You were drugged by someone. They put something in your water bottle you had with you; things got pretty bad for a second." He explains a bit vaguely, pulling away from the hug to go and sit on your little hospital bed. Keisuke didn't really want to go into too much detail about what happened to you just in case it might scare you even more.

"All I know is, you were literally on your way to come meet up with me by the fountain near the gym on campus and like...you just collapsed. Or well Hanma caught you but, had he not seen it, you would've went straight down." He adds softly.

"Ha-hanma?"

"Yeah, he's here too. I didn't know you knew him." Kei states with his brows furrowed. "He was really freakin' out about you, I was...shocked. I've never seen him like that."

"Is Ken here too?" You ask wearily. If Ken's here and sees Shuji it'll definitely be a problem, and you absolutely did not have the energy to deal with that situation.

"Uh no actually, it's just me, Hanma, and my friend Kazutora. You don't know him yet though."

"Thank God..." You sigh, a wave of relief washing over you at that. "How long have I been here? What day is it?"

"It hasn't been that long, like a few hours now. It's still Tuesday." He assures.

"Oh, Tuesday..." You nod slowly. It bothered you that you couldn't even remember at least what day it is. Would any memories of today even come back once the drug has fully left your system? You doubted it.

"Do you wanna see Hanma now? I can go get 'em?" Kei offers. "Cause...he really wants to see you." He adds, sounding shocked by his own words.

Before you could give a response, Dr. Chen walks back in, coming over to you on the other side of the hospital bed by the vitals monitor.

"I'm sorry, but could you give us one second? You can come back in or have another friend come in after, but I have a few personal questions for Y/N." Dr. Chen says politely.

"Yeah, yeah for sure. I'll be back, alright?" Kei says softly, giving you a friendly pat on your arm before heading out of the room. You frown watching him leave, heartbeat pounding just a bit harder as the anxiousness you were previously feeling starts to settle back in.

"GHB is a very common drug known as a date rape drug. We believe you may have been sexually assaulted."

Your blood runs cold all through your system, eyes going wide in terror. You we too frozen to even speak, it was like your mind was refusing to process and accept that. The fact that you couldn't even remember anything made it worse. You couldn't tell if this really happened or not, and if no memories come back, you really may never know.

"I'm truly very sorry about this." She states somberly with a heavy sigh. "So, Y/N, there's a few steps we could take depending on what you wanna do. The first option is a forensic exam where we can test for any STI's, pregnancy, sexual assault evidence, injuries, and things like that that can help you. For example, the water bottle your friend brought to the police is how we found where the drug came from. That's a great piece of evidence. We can also, with your consent, collect clothing items, as well as do some bodily tests for any other evidence should you choose to go forward with a police investigation." She explains slowly, her tone professional yet kind.

"The next option is that we can keep everything strictly confidential. No information will be released to the police if that's what you choose is the way you want to go. The only information they have about this is what they found out from your friends after they were questioned. They were pulled over while taking you here, so naturally the police wanted to ask them a few questions." She adds.

"But, if I don't tell the police anything, they won't figure out who did this, right?" You ask weakly.

"That's right, there'll be no investigation if you choose to keep this confidential." Dr. Chen nods.

"I'll-...I'll do the test then." You reply hesitantly.

"Ok, we'll get you started with that soon. You'll need to sign a few documents just giving your consent before we begin the process. In the meantime would you like for one of your friends to come back again? You can let them know what's going on if you feel comfortable." She suggests.

You simply nod in response, too busy trying to hold back the tears currently beginning to blur your vision.

"Alright." She gives you a small smile, then makes her way out of the room. As soon as she's gone you burst into light sobs, too weak to even wipe your own tears.

How did this happen....?

A/N🧚🏾‍♀️: Dang y'all...it got so dramatic. But I hope you guys enjoyed! BIG BOY BAJI IS A REAL ONE OK!!! Real best friend vibes!!! (Kazutora's real too)

#strawberryfairi🧚🏾‍♀️#a mile away ㊙️#shuji hanma #shuji hanma x black fem reader #shuji hanma x reader smut #Keisuke baji #ken ryuguji #kazutora hanemiya #shuji hanma x fem reader #tokyo rev #black fem reader #angst

24 notes · View notes

mylifeinsound · 11 months

Text

A Giant Dog Delivers a Ferocious Night of Rock 'n' Roll at Johnny Brenda's

On a crisp and starry night in Philadelphia, the electric vibes of Johnny Brenda’s played host to a musical explosion of epic proportions. A Giant Dog, a band hailing from Austin, Texas, took the stage with an air of gritty determination, leaving no doubt that they intended to rock the night away. This memorable evening was also graced by the opening band Dregs, another outfit from Austin, and…

View On WordPress

0 notes

rabbitcruiser · 8 months

Text

(Troyal) Garth Brooks was born on February 7, 1962.

4 notes · View notes

irotinmyroom · 3 months

Text

‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎INTRO POST

my name's dean or toby, whichever one u prefer more!!

i'm a minor but i don't mind adults interacting if ur not creepy!!

i'm bad at communicating with people a lot so if i'm a bit awkward, i'm sorrryyy!!

my pronouns r he/him (but i'm fine with any gender neutral pronouns too) and i'm bi and trans (ftm)!!

this blog is mostly reblogs (with occasional art of my own), and i am multifandom (with 1 main fandom at a time tho)

please let me know if i say something wrong or overstep boundaries!! if i do anything wrong, i wanna improve on it!!

FANDOMS, HOBBIES, MOVIES, TV SHOWS, BOOKS

‏‏‎ ‎ fandoms!!

‏‏‎ top interests rn is pressure (roblox game) and slenderverse!! i also rlly like deadplate, cold front, eloquent countenance, elevator hitch, and bittersweet sentence!! and other fandoms that i like are sally face, cry of fear, five nights at freddys, purpleverse, bendy and the ink ‏‏‎‏‏‏‎‏machine, nso,‏‎ ‏‏‎ddlc, + more !!

‏‏‎ ‎ hobbies / general interests

drawing, writing, reading, baking, photography, collecting soda can ‎‏‏‎tabs, slugs, snails, worms, rats/mice, spirituality, tarot, crystals, psychology, biblical angels, antidepressants

‏‏‎ ‎ movies

the lost boys, american psycho, ghostbusters (1984, 1989, 2021), beetlejuice, death proof, jaws, the outsiders, scream, nightmare on ‎‏‏‎elm street, halloween, children of the corn, saw ii, fnaf, it (1990), ‎‎‏‏‏‏silver bullet, little shop of horrors, spree, family (2018), and fanfic

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎television

inside job, breaking bad, scott pilgrim takes off, bojack horseman, south park, rick and morty, murder drones, young sheldon, kakegurui, supernatural

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎books

dirty heads - aaron dries, fnaf book series (all of them), bendy books ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎(all of them), marble hornets comics

‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎MUSIC

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎(beware, this is a LONG list)

mccafferty, the front bottoms, modern baseball, camping in alaska, marietta unamused dave, plainclothes, summerbruise, inconsistent, yawning, coping, the clippers, ashtray, pavement, foo fighters, sign crushes motorist, alex g, whirr, glare, blue smiley, slowdive, lsd and ‎‏‏‎the search for god, the white stripes, muse, weezer, car seat ‎headrest, title fight, deftones, eyedress, tv girl, arctic monkeys, mindless self indulgence, ayesha erotica, insane ‎‏‏clown posse, lemon demon, jukebox the ghost, will wood (and the ‎‏‏‎tapeworms), tally hall, miracle musical, that handsome devil, the ‎‏‏‎paper chase, the nighty nite, mook, animal collective, the dresden dolls, destroy boys, glass animals, stolen babies, stomach book, my ‎chemical romance, falling in reverse, escape the fate, three days grace, fall out boy, get scared, rob zombie, korn, slipknot, scars on broadway, soad, the 69 eyes, nine inch nails, millionares, brokencyde, ‎pierce the veil, ghost town, 3oh!3, radiohead, the cure, jack off jill, early ‎‏‏p!atd, tyler the creator, the left rights

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎my tiktok

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎my main spotify playlist

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎��‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎my pinterest

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎my spacehey

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎my twitter

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎pronouns.page

!! CREDITS TO @snailspng AND @saradika FOR THE BORDERS !! ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ !! thanks 2 my best friend @sir-twix-the-3d for the idea !!

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎LAST UPDATED 8/7/24

10 notes · View notes

victoriapedroza · 11 months

Text

Soltera at The Lodge Room

7.29.23

purgatorie on IG

1 note · View note

runwiththerain · 6 months

Text

okay okay im putting my oc rant to ash on here

these are summaries of my main characters in the wallflowers

its this small town au right. set in australia. basically a bunch of one shots set in the same universe. theres this main group of five characters. uhhh lets start with ollie. hes a classic trans guy, his middle name is jude so his group of friends call him oj or orange juice. he surfs so whenever he gets out of the water he has the cutest hair (it's platinum blonde and curly ish) and also he's in a band with some of his other friends (not the main characters) as the drummer. his music taste is like cavetown and all time low and waterparks and he has joint issues and is also autistic

next is park. they have a crush on ollie and vice versa and theyre so obliviously in love with each other. park is short for parker but no one of his friends really calls them that. they're non binary and love basketball and coding/robotics and also making short films. theyre depressed and also have dyscalculia. they moved to the town at age five from the philippines and and since they couldnt communicate well no one really talked to them until ollie did. park listens to anson seabra conan gray lauv alec benjamin

okay up next is leo. short for leonardo but none of his friends call him that. his five siblings call him angel cause his middle name is angelo. he's aroace and in one of the one shots he establishes a qpr with les (who you'll hear about next) who he's known his whole live and lives next door to and they have a treehouse in the park down the street thats just theirs to hang out in. he's a soccer player and loves woodworking and painting. he's dyslexic and bipolar and a massive marvel fan. leo likes ajr why dont we and top mainly

now, les. which is short for lesley. they are a genderfluid icon, especially with her outfits. he listens to girl in red, the neighbourhood, arctic monkeys, halsey. while theyre in a qpr with leo, they also have a crush on ella (next up and final). she knows a little french cause she's mauritian and her maman is teaching her it (her parents are wlw btw). she has two younger brothers who can be annoying but he loves them. he also plays soccer like leo, as well as trombone and he's in a jazz band, and finally ice hockey which is why he's at the ice rink with anna so much. they have adhd and anxiety and yeah

finally, ella. which is short for anneliese (which ik is weird). she has a bunch of nicknames that im not bothered to list. if you didn't know her you'd think she was straight but in fact she's a raging lesbian who 1. is oblivious to the fact that les has a crush on her and 2. has a massive crush on another girl who also figure skates at her rink. so yeah, she figure skates, and is also on student council and does photography so she and park work close together sometimes. her mum died of cancer so she lives with her dad and older sister and moved to their town when she was like 10. she has ocd and anorexia and listens to taylor swift and one direction mainly

#rwtr.txt #my wips #the wallflowers #ella rietvelt #les marie-walsh #leo de oliviera #park solis #ollie edwards

2 notes · View notes

tyforthevnm · 2 years

Text

L.S. Dunes: “We didn’t realise how much we needed this band until we started writing for it”

After two decades of interlinking friendship, L.S. Dunes saw five of emo and post-hardcore’s most respected figureheads finally get together. Rather than trading on old glories, however, debut LP Past Lives is about parrying their shared experience – from firebrand beginnings to fatherhood – into some of the coolest ‘dad rock’ the world has ever seen…

November 9, 2022 Words: Sam Law Photography: Nick Karp

Of the thousands of fans queued nearly a mile around Chicago’s Douglas Park on September 16, 2022, none were sure quite what to expect. From the Misfits to Jawbreaker, the Windy City’s annual Riot Fest has become world-renowned for facilitating the reunions of some of alternative music’s biggest names. This year, though, the gathered masses were jostling to see a band they’d only just heard of play their first-ever gig. Thrillingly, L.S. Dunes’ live debut did not disappoint.

“I’d already had the show in my head 100 times,” grins vocalist Anthony Green, with a relish that suggests he’s re-run it another 100 since. “Sure, we were a little nervous, but it was the same nervousness you feel before you kiss somebody for the first time. It was that excited anticipation. There was tension in the air, but it was a beautiful tension. The levee was about to break!”

Despite only one of the six songs performed on a dusty Rise Stage that blistering Friday afternoon having previously been released, there was an electricity in the air. Part of that was down to Anthony’s impossibly charismatic performance: exorcising demons, crowdsurfing headlong, daring us to keep up. Part of it was down to his bandmates – drummer Tucker Rule, bassist Tim Payne, guitarists Frank Iero and Travis Stever – keeping pedal firmly to the metal. Mostly, though, it was about five masters of their craft unlocking something untapped in each other.

“It was my favourite first show with any band that I’ve ever been in,” smiles Frank. “To be 40 and still be having these firsts is fantastic. We’d maybe played together only five or six times before that, and it’s not easy to have a first show outdoors at a festival, but I was like, ‘Hey, I trust these guys. I trust in the songs. It’s gonna be an experience!’ And it was fantastic. It went off like a riot.”

Catching up with three of L.S. Dunes six weeks down the line and just a couple before the arrival of feverishly anticipated debut LP Past Lives, the enthusiasm is undiminished. Frank fizzles during a flying visit home to New Jersey between My Chemical Romance’s two mega-headlines at Las Vegas emo gathering When We Were Young. Anthony and Tucker bounce off each other on break from Thursday’s autumn tour at Angels & Airwaves guitarist David Kennedy’s coffee shop in San Diego, sporadically interrupted by planes roaring into the nearby airport. “That was a big daddy…” the drummer delivers a running commentary. “That one had a little front propeller!”

On paper, no-one in L.S. Dunes needs this band. As well as his legacy with Pennsylvanian rockers Circa Survive, Anthony just started psychedelic side-project Fuckin Whatever with members of Grouplove and Taking Back Sunday, and is gathering momentum as a solo artist. Even aside from renewed commitments with MCR, Frank has a slew of ‘solo’ projects, with latest EP Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place dropping just last year. Travis remains a mainstay of Coheed And Cambria. Tim and Tucker have plenty on their plates with Thursday, with the latter also featuring on a slew of other releases including Frank’s EP. Collectively, they have over 100 years tenure in other outfits.

So why why start another?

According to its members, L.S. Dunes’ “addictive” qualities are threefold: connection, creation, camaraderie. As we pick at that mysterious band name, there’s a reluctance amongst the group to give too much away – a desire to keep some secrets for themselves – but Anthony reveals how the imagery of shifting sands resonated, and notes the serendipity of how their chosen title became an “accidental monogram” for LSD: a drug taken for those trying to achieve more dazzling inspiration and deeper connectedness, “with people, with nature”.

They liked the rhythm of the name, too, which reminded them of the literary initials used by esteemed authors. Like J.D. Salinger or W.B. Yeats? “Like R.L. Stine,” the frontman grins, with just a touch of mischief. Perhaps most telling is Frank’s observation that they often joked about how the L.S. stands for “low stress”.

“At the heart of it is the love of creating”

Hear Frank on how the band formed through a shared creative connection

Where most professional bands resemble multilateral marriage, built on a shared spark but inevitably burdened by expectation, responsibility and the need for compromise that comes with such personal and financial union, L.S. Dunes is an attempt to set those things aside in the name of breaking new ground. The project started with the working title ‘Dad Bods’ as an acknowledgement not just of the members’ cumulative wisdom and encroaching middle-age, but also that their growing real families come first. Their group chat was labelled ‘Father Dads’.

“No-one’s a ‘slacker’ or anything,” Frank elaborates. “Those conversations always happen in other bands. There’s none of that shit when it’s like, ‘Hey, guys, I gotta go take my kid to soccer.’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, I do too!’” With all their outside commitments laid on the table, it boils down to the well-informed faith that when one player needs to go and handle something else, there’s enough enjoyment and investment in the music that they will get back to it. And they always do.

“Not to say our other bands aren’t fun,” Anthony nods, “but there’s a sense that we can do things with this project – and get things from it, personally – that we can’t with our others.”

“We didn’t realise how much we needed this band until we started writing for it,” Tucker expands, offering a vivid metaphor. “When someone first drives through Denver, they stare out of their window, like, ‘Oh my God, look at those mountains!’ But someone who’s lived there a while can begin to take it for granted. That’s what music was to us. We are all in love with it – writing it, playing it, performing it – but this project made us fall back in love with it. Sometimes, you need that reminder. Sometimes, you need to fall back in love with things.”

When he first began work on L.S. Dunes’ vocals, Anthony had no idea who else was in the band.

“We didn’t know if or when touring was going to come back,” he shrugs, reliving early 2021’s darkest days of lockdown. “And, if it did, we didn’t know how it was going to feel, or what it was going to look like. I was just stuck at home losing my mind, trying to get people in my life to send me music, trying to have new stuff to work on all the time. Then when this came up, it was exactly what I needed. Tucker sent me the music across and I thought it was just him and some of his dad-friends from the neighbourhood he lives in. I was like, ‘Damn! Tucker’s friends are really good!’”

In reality, the shared history between the five members of what would become L.S. Dunes is almost too stubbornly complex to untangle. Frank, for instance, remembers looking up to Thursday as a kid starting out with Pencey Prep when they were his labelmates on Eyeball Records, and how MCR were asked to play their first “really big” show when Coheed had to pull out of a support slot for Jimmy Eat World at the Allentown Fairgrounds in August 2002. Anthony, meanwhile, cherishes memories of driving out to New Brunswick, Jersey City and Philadelphia as a fan to catch early Thursday house shows, before supporting My Chem extensively in Circa Survive throughout the mid-2000s. Talk of deeper collaboration had kicked around for the best part of those two decades. All it needed to come to fruition was the world grinding to a halt.

“It was one of those things you talk about,” Frank reflects. “But it doesn’t happen because you’re on tour, doing other things. We all have like 85 bands, and sometimes you just wanna hang out and not play. But the pandemic was the time when everyone stopped. Everyone was at home. Nobody knew what the fuck to do or how long we were going to be here. So we became each other’s lifeline and were like, ‘Hey, let’s start that band we’ve been talking about for 20 years.’”

“New music became that life-preserver,” agrees Anthony. “It put a light at the end of the tunnel.”

The pieces began to come together at some point in the autumn of 2020. Broadly, writing was as simple as a musical version of Pass The Story, with one person laying down the beginning of a song, then passing the instrumental along to be built upon. “It was very much an organic thing,” explains Frank, “like when you start a band in high school and call your friends. ‘Oh, I know this guy who plays this.’ Then you just get together in a room – well, a virtual room – and start swappin’ spit!”

Of the almost-complete compositions passed over to Anthony, his soon-to-be-bandmates presumed he would initially have a crack at the couple of sparser pieces, seeking space in which he could detonate his explosive vocals. Instead, he gravitated towards the busy three-and-a-half-minutes that would become Antibodies – the first track on which they had also completed work. That piece of symbolic serendipity, coupled with the sheer effort the vocalist put in, without knowledge of who else was involved, galvanised resolve.

“The ‘blind date’ kinda thing made it even cooler,” grins Frank. “As soon as we got the tracks back from Anthony, I knew that this was a band rather than just a fun project for during the pandemic.”

The next few months went by in a blur. Although there weren’t originally plans for an album, the bangers continued to mount up. The full quintet were forced to flesh-out their self-recording expertise, with Tim stepping up as a de facto in-house engineer. They convened in person for the first time at Frank’s place in mid-2021, confirming their chemistry beyond the digital realm. Time was booked with red hot hardcore heavyweight Will Yip to record at the end of that year. Even as they went into a Jersey City studio to complete preproduction, the songs were still pouring from them, with eventual debut single Permanent Rebellion being written in the last half-hour of that trip.

At a time when scheduling shitshows had become the norm, L.S. Dunes had found calm by going with the chaotic flow. A fall just before the finish line came perilously close to derailing things, though, when on August 1, with studio time just over a month away, Frank suffered a six-stringer’s nightmare after slipping from a ladder, breaking his right wrist and severely spraining his left.

“To be totally frank...” the guitarist pauses with a wry smirk, before correcting himself to match the weight of his story. “To be serious, I didn’t know if I’d be able to play again. Everything exploded in that fuckin’ wrist. It was a real serious break. It was nerve-wracking. But it was something that I wouldn’t let myself say out loud because it was also super-scary. Not to get too serious, but I said to the doctor, ‘If you think that I’m not going to be able to play again, just leave me on the table, because there’s no point in waking me up. I can’t not play. I have to. And if you’re not the guy who can fix this, we need to find someone who can.’ I was meant to record in September, but my session moved to December, three weeks after my last surgery, with the stitches still in my arm. It was like my Through The Wire. Anthony had to wait for me. That’s why this record took so long!”

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to play again”

Frank talks about the potentially life-changing impact of breaking his wrist

From its lunging intro to the dreamy curtain drop, the record was 100 per cent worth the wait. More than just a set of songs, though, Past Lives is a glimpse into how L.S. Dunes see themselves.

‘I’m not all my mistakes, no matter what they say about it…’ howls Anthony on the outstanding title-track, admitting today that although “we came to this project to do something new, in the process of doing that, we were sort of shaking off the dust, baggage and resentments from some of our other projects.

”L.S. Dunes is no ‘supergroup’. There is no album-padding filler here. The striking simplicity of Gordon Douglas Ball’s album art – five equal elements in perfect harmony – is very much on purpose. But it is the result of all those miles on the road leading to this point.

“I think it’s a moment in time,” reckons Frank. “It’s about the people involved in that room at that moment. And it’s a fine line. We’ve all been in touring bands, running the gamut of the successes and failures. We’ve lost friends. We’ve gone through it. All that shit that we’ve done has gotten us to this point. I’m proud of it. I wouldn’t change anything. But it also doesn’t mean that what comes next has anything to do with those experiences. Those were our past lives. This is the new thing.”

Indeed, hammering through the album’s 11 tracks, there are flickers of familiarity, but they’re in service of breaking new ground. The ‘lonely shadows’ and ‘lost souls’ of Grey Veins are wrapped around a masterful emo composition and massive chorus, destined to tug at heartstrings for years to come. Blender packs a little of the brooding post-hardcore of Thursday, but feels more texturally mature, with guitars set to stun. Grifter starts with the angularity of Circa Survive, but builds into a shadowy epic capable of holding up against the most grandiose compositions of Coheed or MCR have to offer. Then superb closer Sleep Cult does something totally unexpected: delivering Anthony’s treatise on “self-hatred and dealing with self-obsession” via 225 seconds of music that simultaneously pays homage to and woozily updates 1950s doo-wop.

There’s a willingness to speak harsh truths, too, most notably in garotte-sharp political observations of Bombsquad. “This band became a platform for me to really speak on a lot of those things,” the singer explains. “It’s about everything that was going on in our lives, from dealing with the depression and anxiety of the pandemic, to having to deal with a corrupt political system – the most corrupt empire that the world has ever seen – taking over, isolating and dividing us all.”

Perhaps most illustrative of the lot is searing album opener 2022. Back at Riot Fest, it was a number Anthony described as, “the most fucked-up song I ever wrote… about learning to get through shit, so that you don’t want to kill yourself every day.” Having started life as an acoustic confessional intended for a solo record (‘If I can't make it ’til 2022 / Least we'll see how much I can take’), the song was a designed to process the personal suffering and isolation he’d been dealing with over the last few years, but it took the input of his bandmates to properly realise its potential.

“On the original version, it felt like I was stuck in the hole of it,” Anthony explains. “Rather than make me feel better about the things I was writing, it made me relive a lot of stuff. So I sent it to Tucker and was like, ‘Yo, this is too sad, make it heavy!’ He alchemised what I’d written into something that felt much more triumphant: less like I’m digging myself into a hole and more like I’m digging myself out. Listening to it as the year is almost over, the emotion’s still there, but we did it: we made it through.”

“This band was built around making songs that feel good to play in every atmosphere”

Hear Anthony on the importance of taking L.S. Dunes on the road

So where do L.S. Dunes go from here? Throughout our chat, it’s reiterated that this shouldn’t be a one-off. The logistical effort to plan not just East and West Coast tours of the United States, but also a four-date UK run beginning at the Glasgow Garage on January 27, 2023 is evidence of their will to see this through. Festival dates for the following summer have begun to leak through. Anthony and Tucker make the tantalising observation that, if this record was what they were able to write with Zoom links and Dropboxes, who knows what they’ll deliver in the flesh.

Still, with the world accelerating into the post-COVID era, and other projects getting back up to speed (MCR, Coheed, Thursday and Anthony all have live dates booked within days of our chat) are there concerns about continuing to fit L.S. Dunes in alongside so many competing interests?

“Always,” shrugs Frank, with an easy grin. “But that’s with anything. Everyone has commitments, but everyone has commitments to everything: we all have families, other bands, we’re just doing our best to have the calendar to do it all in. And, so far, there hasn’t been a lot of push-back. I don’t mind the work at all – I live for it. But I don’t like planning shit. I’ll say yes to everything, then leave someone else to arrange it. But we all have great teams behind us – many of whom [overlap]. Everyone knows that we want to do this, and we’re doing it as a real band.”

“I would love for L.S. Dunes to become my main band,” Anthony stresses his enthusiasm. With Circa Survive recently confirming their ‘indefinite hiatus’, it feels like that might be a real possibility, though the timing of one band stopping as another starts, he insists, is purely coincidental. “It’s rare to find people that you connect with so well. Everything they send makes me want to keep writing. That’s a special thing. When you find it, you want to keep a hold of it and nurture it. We’re in a dance, right now, where the music has taken the lead. We’re just seeing where it goes.”

Tucker cracks another gleeful grin, even more buzzed as we end our chat than when we started.

“The stupidest thing to do when the music industry seemed to be dying during a global pandemic was to start another project. It’s all against the grain. We’re taking a risk, but we’re here for it. Everyone is always in search of that sick leather jacket that fits them just right. For us, this is it.”

Past Lives is released on November 11 via Fantasy Records

#ls dunes #interview #kerrang #nick karp #frank iero #anthony green #tucker rule #tim payne #travis stever #november 9 2022 #november 2022 #2022 #rica.archive

11 notes · View notes

crjupdates · 2 years

Text

Carly Rae Jepsen Has a Cynical Side

But she's still optimistic about love.

The Cut • Danielle Cohen • October 19, 2022

Photography by Tina Tyrell

Carly Rae Jepsen has a lot of feelings. If you’ve heard her songs, you know this: Intense crushes, first loves, and devastating breakups make up the musical vocabulary of the bubblegum-pop princess (or queen, if you ask her fans) who pours her heart into critically acclaimed records. In conversation, she’ll casually drop deep thoughts about romance between updates on her meditation journey (she just started) and riffs on Billie Holiday. “When you feel euphorically in love,” she tells me conspiratorially, “it feels like a miracle that’s happened only to you.” But Jepsen also knows she’s not the only one who feels this way. “It’s an extreme emotion that we experience privately but is universally shared,” she says of her most frequent subject.

When I meet Jepsen on a fall afternoon in New York, the light is glinting off her star-and-moon nail decals while she gestures wildly into the aisle of the Central Park Boathouse. Dressed in a black crepe turtleneck and a quilted jacket-and-short set, she stands out amid the Canon-toting tourists and uptown retirees sitting on the Boathouse’s back porch, overlooking the park’s lake. She is, to put it mildly, happy to be here. Her eyes, accented at the corners with little clusters of face sequins, widen incredulously when our salads arrive. She speaks quickly and a little breathlessly, as if she has too many thoughts to squeeze into a single sentence. At one point, our waiter tells her she looks like an actor from House of the Dragon, which she takes as a compliment — despite having never heard of the show.

She launches into a story about planning the So Nice Tour, which began in September and will incorporate songs from her fifth album, The Loneliest Time. “I was getting so fixated on the video-wall content and the placement of our hands and where the clouds were and the moon being timed right that I was talking a million miles a minute and losing my voice,” she tells me. “I had to give myself a real talking to, like, None of this will matter if you can’t sing!” She pauses briefly to marvel at the olive focaccia another uniformed waiter forks onto our plates. Her meticulously planned celestial-themed manicure, she explains, will come off the second she wraps the tour in February. “I can’t text. Everything comes out like a haiku.” Being back in New York is a treat for the Canadian native, who decided at the last minute to stay at the Plaza in order to give herself a brief respite from her first week of tour-bus coffee and corporate hotels. “Look at this!” she sighs, beaming and stretching her arm toward the rowboat-dotted water. “Look where we are right now! I didn’t know this existed.” Her giddiness makes our surroundings feel like a cross between a ’90s romantic comedy and an advertising campaign for the city. “Days like this make me want to move to New York,” she admits.

While she may be “coquettishly” browsing apartments here, Jepsen’s home base is Los Angeles. Amid the explosion of “Call Me Maybe,” the inescapable hit that made her a household name and tween birthday party staple, the musician left Vancouver and settled in California, where she’s been living since 2012 — though between tours and festivals, she confesses, it quickly became more like where her clothes lived. In the past decade, Jepsen has evolved into a more mature musician and earned herself a spot in the pantheon of low-key pop girls with passionate, if small, fan bases and plenty of clout with music critics. Her songs still clearly come from the same artist who sang “Call Me Maybe,” and for every deeply confessional lyric, there’s an irresistible hook that loops joyously in your head for days. But the candid uncoolness of her writing, full of yearning and the outlandish fantasies that come with having a crush on someone you barely know, is offset by a surprisingly indie-leaning roster of collaborators. (Dev Hynes and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij have both made appearances in her liner notes alongside more predictable pop writers such as Jack Antonoff.) In the world of Jepsen’s music, the emotions are just as big as the saxophone riffs, and your most desperate, heartbreaking thoughts can become glittery pop anthems to belt out in the shower.

The concept behind her new album stems from a deep-rooted feeling of discomfort. “It’s been a lifelong inquiry that I’ve had with myself about my relationship to loneliness,” Jepsen explains. “The idea that you have to be happy by yourself — like, ‘Go be alone and be happy!’ — that’s bullshit to me. You become really happy on your own when you know you have connections out there.” She finds isolation and connection to be two sides of the same coin: Being lonely can bring people together, hopefully through music like her own. “Loneliness is a similar thing to love,” she says, digging into her “insane” peach-cake dessert. “It’s felt everywhere by everyone at different moments in their life.”

The Loneliest Time is an extension of Jepsen’s familiar, infectious sound — but tinged with cynicism. She wrote most of it during the pre-vaccine months of the pandemic, quarantined at home in L.A. Having spent most of her adult life working, traveling, and recording, she was suddenly, undeniably, “home alone with the cat.” The existential-crisis questions rushed in: Was she happy being on the road this often? Did she need more balance? Was she connected enough with her family and friends? She ventured onto a dating app for the first time, which did not help her find love but did provide the inspiration for The Loneliest Time’s summer single, “Beach House,” a send-up of Tinder clichés. (“Boy No. 2 had a beautiful face / Highly agreed to go back to his place / His wife really had some impeccable taste,” she sings in an early verse.)

But Jepsen is quick to point out that, on “Beach House,” her cynicism is “very pointedly at the sharks and not the lovers.” If she’s sneaking fewer starry-eyed ideas about love into her music, it’s because she knows she’s not the only one experiencing those feelings. “I thought music was for escapism,” she says, but a recent James Taylor concert where she found herself having a cathartic cry made her realize something else: “It’s permission to feel whatever it is that you need to feel.” While she left that concert in a puddle of tears, you’re more likely to leave one of hershows bopping your head to a flawless pop earworm. Whether you want to dance or cry to your feelings, the outcome is the same: You’re feeling them to the fullest extent.

Jepsen is a notoriously prolific songwriter — she’s said to have written over 200 tracks for each of her two most recent albums, which she hones down to an album length through a complex system of sticky notes, poster board, and listening parties. But The Loneliest Time was different. Instead of writing on the road, where she solicits constant feedback from her band, she was at home plowing through ideas by herself (and, occasionally, on Zoom with her collaborators). She couldn’t go into a studio to record as often as she wanted, which meant she didn’t have her usual bounty of tracks to whittle down. Theseclusion ended up working to her advantage. “I thought what I was making was a little bit too strange to get right away,” she says tentatively, “and I didn’t want someone to stop me by saying a negative thing I wasn’t ready to take in yet. So my artwork itself had a lonely time.”

Once she shared the album with her label, she was surprised and a little panicked to find they liked the most personal tracks — ones she initially wrote “just for me” and would now, it seemed, be sharing with the world. Ahead of Coachella, where she debuted The Loneliest Time’s folksy lead single, “Western Wind,” she gathered her bandmates and had them check off their favorite tracks on a chart she’d drawn up. The results had very little in common genre-wise, but, she says, “they all came from a place sparked by loneliness.”

Jepsen thinks of The Loneliest Time as her most experimental project yet. The album ricochets from pop to folk to smooth disco, fully shifting into new genres rather than merely taking inspiration from them. There are plenty of Jepsen-style classics, too. The opening track, “Surrender My Heart,” is a straight shot of epic-sounding pop in which she sings about struggling to be vulnerable with a new partner. “Bends” also lives in the scarier parts of a new relationship (and is true to Jepsen’s recent experience: She just started seeing someone whom she says she’s slowly opening up to). “Here’s a jar of tears I cried,” she sings, “’cause I can feel the darkness sometimes too.” There’s a slow, bitter folk ballad ingeniously titled “Go Find Yourself or Whatever,” which digs painfully into the gutting parts of a breakup instead of making them sound victorious. The title track, which comes at the end of the album, steers back into optimism and sounds as if it should be played at an ’80s roller disco.

I wonder, amid all this exploration, if anything was deemed too out there for the final cut. Jepsen’s previous two records, Dedicated and Emotion, got their own B-side releases. Will The Loneliest Time get a bolder, weirder part two? “We’ll see,” she answers thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if the world’s ready for more of that indulgence.”

13 notes · View notes