#i keep saying i’m gonna pist it when i finish it but it’s bfjflfjwljwbevebflfidjsbdvfldjlsjdidkdbdjslkdjdodkdkd

[muckyschmuck]

I STARTEFD PAINTING THIS ELI PATCH LIKE A LONG TIME AGO AND I HAVE YET TO SEWED IT ON ANYTJING SHE JUST KIND OF STARES AT ME AND GETS CRAWLED ON MY BY SPIDERS SOMETIMES

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Hello here is an Auston one. Idk if you can tell but writing smut has been my coping mechanism of choice for quarantine. Also thought I should give some Auston love before my new Mitch series goes up. I promise I love Auston hes just so easy to make the bad guy.

---------------------------------------------------

What are your thoughts on tapes?" Auston asked out of the blue one day.

We were hanging out at his condo watching movies. Auston and I had been best friends for almost a year now so it was nothing to bring up weird or personal topics. We shared everything but this was a weird thing for me to talk about.

"I dunno. I've never really given them much thought."

"You know I mean sex tapes right?"

"Gee thank you captain obvious, couldn't get that on my own." I said sarcastically throwing a chip at his head.

"Alright I was just checking. Seems weird that you've never thought about it. You think about so much all the time."

"Yeah I don't know I guess I was never comfortable enough with anyone to even entertain the idea. What are your thoughts?"

"I think they're hot."

"How come?"

"Just the idea of having something so personal. Like something so private and intense to watch back whenever I want to. And I could remember exactly what was happening and exactly how it felt while I watch. Just catching a fleeting moment as a memory forever."

"How many of these things do you have casanova?" I teased bumping my thigh against him.

"I don't have any actually. Just want one I guess."

"Well I'm sure there are tons of girls who would love to be in a sex tape with the Auston Matthews."

"Yeah probably."

"Can't really blame em."

"Oh really? You one of them?" He asked winking making me blush and roll my eyes.

"Oh yes Aus, please let me be in your tape, I'm begging you." I said dramatically rolling to lay across his thighs with my hand over my forehead.

"You're an ass." He said laughing letting his hand fall on my hip so I was trapped on him.

"I get what you mean though. I horde memories in any way I can. I just never though of doing that on camera. Like what if it's not as hot as you think? What if you have a dumb sex face or something?"

"I'm deeply offended that you think I'd have an ugly sex face. Besides I wouldn't be watching me in the video. It would be more watching the girl take it. Like her reactions and faces are what I would want to watch. Who cares if I did even though I don't."

"Auston, you know you're gorgeous. Of course I don't seriously think you'd have an ugly sex face. Not that I thought about that before now. I'd be worried about it."

"I bet you look perfectly fine."

"Maybe."

"Nah you'd look so hot trying to catch your breath while taking dick, I'm sure of it."

"Oh yeah?" I asked feeling the whole energy of his room change.

"For sure babe. Squirming around, trying to find something to ground you while you get completely taken apart, stretched around a big dick. Fucking picture perfect (y/n)."

"Aus." I said quietly as he started rubbing his hand across my stomach applying a nice pressure when he just skirted the underside of my boob with his thumb. I closed my eyes as he continued.

"You're flexible I bet. Would look so good with your legs up on someone's shoulders while they pound into you."

"Mhm." I mumbled when he put his hand under my shirt. This might be going too far but I was too far gone to stop it.

"You like being full too so I bet you'd love being on top. You'd look so fucking gorgeous bouncing on cock baby. All tense legs, concentrated face, and bouncing tits right at eye level. I'd kill to see that." He had started running his hands over top of my bra adding and taking away pressure as he went. I let out a soft moan hoping he wouldn't catch it but I was not that lucky. "All your sounds too. Bet someone could get off just listening to your pretty moans like that."

"You that someone?" I asked teasing him once I'd found my voice again.

"I could be." He said quietly, as if he was afraid I'd spook if he talked any louder. I got up from where I was laying on him and crawled onto his lap being careful not to touch his crotch at all. I wrapped my arms around him and he grabbed my hips.

"Wanna find out?" I asked before taking his earlobe in my mouth to nibble on making him groan.

"Please." He said trying to bring my lips to his. They just barely brushed when I pulled back making him groan in annoyance. "I didn't take you for being patient enough in bed to tease."

"I'm really not. Just thought it'd be fun to make you squirm a little."

"Ass." He said with a smirk as he pulled me closer to him so I was sitting on his hard member. I moaned louder than before at the friction.

"So hard Aus."

"All because of you babe. All the thought of watching you fuck." He was guiding my movements on him groaning every once and a while. "Make a tape with me.."

"Auston!"

"What? That's why I brought it up. I want to make one with you." He gave me a deep kiss while I was still grinding myself on him. I got so lost in it that when we broke apart I didn't think at all.

"If you want to make one I guess we can."

"Baby really? You want to? Because I'll still fuck you, I won't just leave you wet and needy like this if you don't want to."

"Wow a gentleman."

"(Y/n) I'm serious. I want you so bad but I don't want to pressure you."

"Hey, I trust you. Let me give you this." I said giving him a kiss.

"Okay hang on a second." He flipped us over, gave me another kiss before getting off the bed and setting up a couple cameras in different angles.

"Aus, baby come here." I said when he was finished. I was kneeling on the bed and he came over to stand in front of me. I started with his shirt, slowly lifting it up and leaving kisses as I went. I left a hickey on his chest as I undid his pants and started pushing them and his boxers down together making me lick my lips.

"Like what you see baby?"

"I didn't expect you to be that big. You're so fucking gorgeous Aus." I brought him to my level to basically just shove my tongue in his mouth. Eventually he broke away and ripped the clothes off of me. His eyes and hands were everywhere.

"You look so much better than I imagined. God I'm gonna give it to you so good babygirl."

"Please give it to me Aus, please I need it." I begged as he come to lay on top of me. He kissed me again but it wasn't enough. I lifted my hips and tried to get friction against him.

"You want this dick don't you baby? Practically desperate for it already."

"I want it so bad. I don't need fingers I'm wet enough just get in me please."

"I dont want it to hurt."

"I want to feel you Auston. Even after this is done I want to feel it when I walk."

"Holy fuck. Okay, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure, love. Come on give it to me. Want your dick in me so bad. Destroy me Auston, please."

"You don't have to ask me twice." He said leaning down to kiss me. It was a wet, gross kiss but I loved it. He ran his fingers down my chest and I gasped breaking the kiss.

"Fucking pleeease. Stop making me wait."

"Love how you beg for it babygirl." He said sitting up between my legs while stroking himself. I tried to touch but he pinned my hands down with one of his while he still pumped himself over me. I whined and started squirming making him chuckle. "Be patient (y/n)."

"I caaaan't."

"You can and you will. You'll take what I give you when I give it to you."

"Then give it to me, what are you waiting for?"

"Just enjoying this." He said kissing up my neck.

"Wouldn't you rather enjoy the feeling of my tight, hot, wet pussy Aus?" I asked bringing his face to look me in my eyes.

"God don't look so innocent when you say that."

"I'm your good girl Auston. Fucking reward me."

"Good girls don't use language like that. Seems to me you're a bad girl. You know what bad girls get?"

"What?"

"They get fucking punished before they get rewarded."

I let out a shiver at his words and moaned a little. He smirked and ran his hands down my body gently before roughly turning me on my stomach. He ran his hands down from my shoulders to my ass where he squeezed and jiggled it a bit before letting a slap fall making me gasp.

"How many do you think you need to learn a lesson? 15? 20?"

"Yes."

"I asked two questions baby."

"You pick. You choose. Something please. Pretty please."

"Look at you. Begging to be punished too. Since you're begging you'll get 15. Count em for me darling."

I did as I was told and counted as Auston spanked me harder and harder as he went. I was dripping at the thought of Auston touching me like this, wanting me like this for so long. I had always wanted him and it was dizzying to know that he wanted me so bad that he wanted to film it so he can watch it back whenever he wants.

"Babe are you still with me?"

"Yeah, yeah sorry. I don't know what happened there." He turned me over and caressed my body kissing anywhere he could reach.

"Took your punishment so well (y/n)."

"Thank you Aus."

"Do you want to continue?"

"Auston Matthews if you don't put your dick inside me I'm actually going to lose my mind." That made him laugh as he leaned in to kiss me.

"Don't worry baby. You're gonna get it." He nipped at my bottom lip as he knelt between my legs. He grabbed his dick and started rubbing it along by folds making me whine.

"Please Aus, please, please, please."

"Shh you're okay, I've got you." He said soothingly as he started to push into me. "You're so wet babes. Who did that?"

"You did Auston. All you. The thought of you wanting me like I want you's got me all soaking wet for you baby."

"I've always wanted you. That's why I wanted to do this with you. Just so fucking hot." He put both my legs up on his shoulders effectively turning me into a pretzel. He gave a sharp thrust and I moaned loudly. He kept doing that at a quick pace keeping me moaning and whining as I got closer to finishing.

"Fuck Aus, I'm gonna cum."

"Yeah? Already? Shit baby that's so quick."

"God don't stop please." I pulled his body closer to mine before digging my fingers into his muscular butt. It worked as encouragement and he started pistoning into me.

"Fuck Auston Fuck!" I screamed letting myself cum all over his dick. I scratched his back making him hiss.

"I bet everyone in the building can hear you babygirl. You like everyone knowing who's making you feel this good?"

"Yeeesss." I hissed out calming down a bit.

"Think you can cum again baby? Be a good girl for me?"

"Yes. I can. Let me show you, I can do it."

"Okay baby show me."

"How do you want me, love?" I purred biting at his neck.

"Oh God. On your knees babe. Hands and knees." He pulled out of me making me whine and making him laugh.

"One second my needy baby, I'll be back in you in a minute."

I flipped over and leaned on my elbows spreading my legs and keeping ass up for Auston. I didn't know what I was expecting but it wasn't Auston slamming into me with no warning and giving me no time to catch my breath. I was a screaming, writhing mess of pleasure while he relentlessly fucked me. He kept smacking my ass. He stopped thrusting at one point and I whined.

"Auuustoon."

"Look at me baby."

I turned to look over my shoulder and barely registered that he was holding his phone. I started fucking myself on his cock while I looked at him.

"Please fuck me like that again Aus, please."

"You're so desperate for my cock huh baby?"

"Aus I need you to move, I'm close."

"I will if you keep your eyes on me. My good girl, close to coming for a second time for me."

"Please move Auston. I'm literally begging yo-oh holy fuck yes yes yes!" I screamed as he started pounding again.

"Can feel you tightening around me babes, you getting close?" I just let out a broken moan as a response making Auston grin. "C'mon (y/n) cum for me again."

He reached his hand between my legs and started rubbing hard. I came almost immediately clenching and yelling incoherently. I collapsed making Auston pull out while I caught my breath. While I did Auston was kissing my back and shoulders.

"You're so hot baby. So good for me."

"Wanna go again." I mumbled into the sheets.

"What baby?" He grunted as I pushed him over and climbed on top. I grabbed him by the base and lowered myself slowly onto him.

"You're not done so I'm not done." I said as our hips met and he was fully sheathed in me. He groaned loudly and dug his fingers so hard into my hips I was definitely going to have bruises in the morning. I convulsed a little and moaned at how much of a stretch it was.

"Fuck you feel so good."

"Gimme a minute please?"

"You okay?" He asked resting his forehead against mine to keep my focus and not move around.

"It's just a lot."

"Is it too much?"

"No I just thought I was stretched out enough that it wouldn't be this intense. I'm sorry just give me a second to adjust?"

"Of course baby." He kissed my forehead and just held me against him. "I'm surprised you're even trying to take it all like this. If it's too much tell me."

"I'm okay it's just a lot." I said raising a little and dropping back down. "Oh fuck that's good. You're gonna rearrange my guts Auston Matthews."

He helped me raise up and fall down at a good speed. I was quickly a mess again. Eventually I didn't need his help to keep rhythm and I was bouncing on his dick. He was roughly palming at my body anywhere and everywhere while he grunted, groaned, and growled in my ear.

"You gonna cum again babygirl? Three times for me?" I couldn't answer him. I had started to cry a little at how good it felt. I nodded at him and bounced slower, squeezing him when I went up. "Fuck I'm gonna cum soon baby. Especially if you keep doing that."

"Want your cum Aus. Fuck it into me."

Auston held me still and fucked up into me hard. I squealed and his pace faltered for a second.

"I'm so close baby." He started to fuck up again and I came with a choked out weak moan laying my head on his shoulder. As I was shaking through the rest of my orgasm Auston came in me. He rode out his high while holding me tight and kissing around my face. He lifted me a little to get his dick out of me. I whimpered a little at the loss. I didn't notice I was crying until he wiped a tear from my cheek. He laid me down and went to his bathroom to clean up. He brought me a wash cloth and cleaned me up too when he was done he slid my underwear back on and put one ogmf his sweaters on me. I was completely malleable and blissed out.

"You okay baby?" He asked coming back to the bed from somewhere in the room. He got back in and pulled me to sit on him. I completely melted into him and he wrapped both arms around me.

"M'okay."

"You sure sweetheart? You're still crying."

"It just felt so good Aus. That was incredible."

"Definitely the best sex I've ever had."

"Don't lie."

"Not lying babygirl. That was so far beyond anything I've done before this. I dont even know if we can classify those other times as sex."

"Shut up." I said blushing.

"And I've got it all captured. My first time with you will be with me forever."

"You'll get sick of it eventually."

"Never baby. I'm gonna watch that tape every night I'm away on the road."

"What about at home?"

"I'm hoping I was good enough for a repeat performance." He said with a smirk.

"Next time your gonna cum 3 times though. I want to see you cry from too much."

"We'll see baby."

[dreamlikeafangirl]

Perfect [Chapter 1]

Summary: Nico has been looking forward to this skiing trip. Spending a long weekend in the snow with his friends, and, most importantly, Levi - what could go wrong? (A lot, apparently.)

Pairing: Levi Schmitt x Nico Kim (Grey’s Anatomy), side Jolex

Warnings: fluff, angst, skiing, minor injuries

Words: 4k

credit for the screencap of Levi and Nico cuddling: mygreyscaps on tumblr

Read on AO3

———

It would be a perfect day, Nico could feel it in his fingertips.

As a surgeon, the body part he trusted most were his fingertips. Not his stomach, sometimes not even his brain. And his heart? At the moment, it was pounding so much, Nico could feel it, well, right down to his fingertips.

He was looking forward to skiing, the feeling of loose snow beneath his skis, the fresh cold air in his lungs, the adrenaline and of course, intimate togetherness with Levi in the evening. Simply put: A perfect day.

They had decided to visit a Ski field over a long weekend; Nico, his mentor and friend Link, Link’s childhood friend Jo and her husband, Alex. And, how could he forget, Levi. Glasses. Or Schmitt. But in reality just Levi. Levi, his boyfriend. Levi, who seemed to constantly smile, but even more often looked as if a warm gust of wind just hit him directly in the face – adorably bewildered. Levi, who would tell endless stories about himself that were so absurdly honest and funny, Nico would have silently accused anyone else of making them up. Levi, who could make Nico laugh just as fast as he started to bug him – but in a good way, of course. In a let-me-interrupt-you-with-a-kiss way.

When the group of five doctors left the cable car that morning, the sun was shining down on them like a white spotlight. The freshly fallen snow looked like cotton and cream. And the wind blew with the (non-existent) force of a light breeze.

“The weather is great today!” Alex exclaimed. He was carrying his skis over one shoulder, and because he was a gentleman, he was also carrying Jo’s snowboard. She stuck her face out towards the sun and smiled consentingly.

“Right?” Link caught up with them, his snowboard under his arm. “I can’t wait to hit the slopes.”

“Same here!” Nico said. “I bet the pistes are fantastic, now that everything is still smooth.”

“Spoken like a true winter sportsperson” Levi mumbled while leaning on his skis for support. He was looking incredibly cute today, with his hair peeping out from under his helmet and his skis that were so much shorter than Nico’s.

Nico patted him on the back, almost throwing him off-balance in his ski boots. “Just wait, you’ll get there.” He grinned. “Two days, and you’ll talk like that, too.”

Levi shook his head. “I doubt it.”

The five came to a stop at the edge of a small hill that led from the cable car station to the first slopes. There, they began to clip on their skis. Jo was the first to finish and, while waiting, surveyed the others with narrowed eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Link laughed and put on his snowboard goggles.

Jo eyed Levi thoroughly, before answering: “I’m just not at all used to seeing you in anything else than blue scrubs.”

Nico followed her eyes with his. Levi wore a ski suit that was black, grey, white, and yellow, grey boots, and a black helmet, all of which suited him perfectly. Having heard Jo, however, he looked a little uncertain.

“Oh, don’t listen to her” Nico whispered, leaning over to Levi. “You look amazing.”

Levi laughed unhappily. Nico just now noticed how pale he’d become. He seemed shaky and nervous.

“Are you alright?” Nico asked.

Levi nodded his head unconvincingly.

Meanwhile, Alex shouted: “Guys, let’s go!” He let out a loud cheer and then pushed himself off the edge of the hill. Jo followed right in his tracks, laughing out loud as the wind caught her loose hair.

Nico couldn’t wait to go after Alex, too. The bright snow, the clear sky, it enticed him. Link, grinning widely, exchanged looks with him one last time, before boarding off. He went down the hill in wide, confident turns, and Nico pursed his lips, almost in awe. Link was not only the best surgeon he knew, he was also the best snowboarder.

“You ready?” He asked Levi, only then noticing that his boyfriend was still fiddling with his bindings.

“Obviously not!” Levi replied sharply.

Nico bent down as much as his skis would let him helped Levi secure his boots to his skis. “Don’t want you getting hurt.” He said with a playful tone when they were finished.

Levi just shook his head in silence and used his ski poles to push himself towards the edge. When he reached it, he started to slide down. Nico looked after him, stunned for a second. Briefly, he asked himself if it was something he did wrong. Then he dropped the thought. Levi was probably just a little angry at himself for appearing slow in front of his colleagues.

Finally, Nico slipped over the edge of the hill. He spotted Jo, Alex, and Link at the start of one of the slopes, waiting. Levi was about halfway down. Nico copied his turns, but after two curves decided he was going to slow. So instead, he just went straight downhill. This caused him to quickly gain speed and the pressure of the wind against his face to increase. His surroundings began to blur slightly and then suddenly it was only him and his skies. It was almost like Nico had fallen into a trance, one that caused him to block out everything but the cold air all around his body and the swooshing sounds in his ear and the speed and the adrenaline that made his every nerve tingle with excitement and joy.

Oh, how he had missed this feeling. “Whoo-hoo!” Nico exclaimed and pushed one of his fists into the air. His friends came closer way too quickly for his taste. Why wasn’t this hill longer? Sighing internally, he forced himself to slow down.

“That. Was. Amazing!” He shouted towards Link.

His mentor nodded, an excited look in his eyes. “You were right, the snow is perfect. This is going to be a great day!”

Nico noticed Jo doing impatient little feet-tied-to-the-snowboard jumps towards the edge of the next slope, and Alex staring in the opposite direction, the one they all had just come from. His gaze was fixed on Levi, who was still making his way down the hill, taking noticeably more time than the rest of the group had.

“You think Schmitt is gonna be able to keep up?” Alex asked Nico.

He furrowed his brow and just let the question sit between them for a second. Then he said: “Of course he will. We’re all equals here, right Karev?”

Alex just nodded. “You can count on it.”

By now, Levi was catching up to them. When coming to a halt, he accidentally caught an edge and lost his balance.

“Whoa!” Nico quickly wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s waist, holding him up. “Easy.”

“You alright, Schmitt?” Link asked with a grin that was half-concerned and half-amused.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Levi hissed.

Nico bit his lip. If his boyfriend wasn’t going to have a good day, he wouldn’t have one either. And he wanted to. For himself, and for Levi.

———

The group advanced to the next edge. The first piste they had picked was marked red, which meant it wasn’t easy, but not very hard either. Link had opted to start with a blue one (blue meant easy), Jo, Alex and Nico wanted to do red and Levi had stayed out of the decision.

So, red slope it was. Nico risked a glance over the edge, realizing it started off with a pretty steep section, after which it became gradually flatter.

“Well, that first bit could’ve very well been marked black.” Link said. Black was the highest difficulty.

Nico clutched his ski poles. It didn’t matter, he was ready.

“Are you still up for it?” Jo asked.

Link shrugged. “It’s our first run for today, and we all haven’t skied in a while. I still think we should do another one first, but I’ll do what you guys are doing.”

“And here I thought you were afraid.” Jo grinned.

Link laughed. “Oh, you wish. Race you down?”

“What’s the winner get?”

“Let’s say, uh, bragging rights for the whole trip?”

“You’re up!”

They both jumped to the edge awkwardly with their snowboards, and then got into their starting positions. Alex counted: “Ready … set … GO!” And then the two plunged themselves down the hill.

Nico and Levi looked after them, Nico chuckling, Levi wide-eyed.

“I’m betting on Jo” Alex suddenly said in a challenging tone.

“Alright, my money’s on Link then” Nico replied, still chuckling, and held a hand out towards his colleague. They high-fived in their thick skiing gloves and grinned at each other.

“What are we betting on?”

“Whoever loses has to buy the drinks for tonight.”

“Deal.”

Levi was already standing at the edge, ready to start. “You guys coming?”

“Right behind you, babe.” Nico smiled and pushed himself towards him.

As anticipated, the piste started off pretty steep. Nico struggled to maintain balance from time to time, even with the still flawless snow beneath him. Link had been right; this was not the ideal slope to begin the day with. But before he could think too hard about it, the difficult part was already over.

He stopped by the side of the piste and looked back for the first time, noticing that Levi was not far behind him. In fact, he caught up with him only a few seconds later.

“Wow, now that was a wake-up call” Levi said, a little out of breath.

“Yeah” Nico replied. “I don’t think it can get much harder.”

“I can already feel my muscle aches forming!” Levi laughed.

Nico joined in, and so did Alex, who had arrived last of the three. “Let’s just hope it stops at muscle aches.” He grinned. “Because one of us, lying on top of an operating table by Monday, instead of standing beside it? I can already see it in front of my eyes.”

“Bailey would kill us” Nico smirked. “Remember how she wouldn’t even let us go on this trip at first? Because ‘risk of injury’? Besides, I have surgery scheduled for Monday.” Monday was the day they would all be going back to work.

Levi gave Nico a long precarious look with, before sliding off.

Nico, a little confused, looked after him for a second before turning to Alex. “Let’s see who’s gonna get those drinks, huh?”

“Absolutely!”

The rest of the slope was no problem for Nico. It was exactly the right width, his skies were going smoothly, and not many other people were there. Perfect conditions. Once again, the piste was over way too soon, ending at the entrance point of a chairlift.

Link and Jo were waiting there with snow sticking to their ski suits. Both had red cheeks and big smiles on their faces.

“So, who won?” Alex asked after stopping next to Jo.

Jo and Link exchanged a look before bursting out into laughter. “We may have crashed into each other at the last second.” Link finally said, brushing a bit of snow off his jacket. “No one got hurt though, no worries.”

“So it was close, obviously, but there is no winner” Jo added.

Nico, who stood beside them with Levi, shrugged at Alex. “Well, I guess we’ll have to go to bed thirsty.”

“We made a bet” Alex explained to the two racers, wrapping his arm around Jo. “Looser would’ve bought tonight’s drinks.”

“Had I known that I would have put more effort into it.” She said.

Link laughed. “I thought this was all you got.”

“Oh, not by a long shot.”

“This again?” Levi mumbled to himself.

“Levi’s right” Nico said. The others turned their heads towards the two. “Let’s not waste our time standing around. You two can continue your bragging match on the lift.”

Link laughed, playfully shoving Jo. “‘Match’ would imply that we are on one level, and I don’t think so.”

“Ooh, you are moving on thin ice, Atticus Lincoln!”

One chair of the lift could transport four persons, so Alex, Link, and Jo (who were still bickering) got on one, and Nico and Levi took the next.

When they were sitting comfortably, Nico took off his ski goggles. “Levi, are you having fun? Because I don’t feel like you do.”

“Why would you think that?” He asked defensively.

“Well, you’re reserved towards the others. And me. And you’re a lot quieter than usual.”

“It’s not easy drowning out all this talk about drinks and who’s faster and whatnot.”

“I … do you want me to apologize? What do you want to talk about?”

“Ugh!” Levi threw up his hands. “You’re not getting it!”

“What am I not getting?!” Nico asked, voice stern. Then, he took a deep breath, calming himself down. “You’re right.” He said then, slowly. “I’m sorry. I don’t get it. I’m not you, I don’t know how you feel.”

The hint of a smile appeared on Levi’s lips. “I forgot. I always have to spell everything out for you.”

“Come on, that is not fair” A smile started to form on Nico’s lips, too, and he leaned his helmet against Levi’s. “But for real. What’s going on?”

“The others … I feel like they are treating me like a child. Like I’m an intern, here, too. Judging my look. Asking me if I’m alright, just because I took it a little slower on the first hill. And did you notice how Doctor Karev started talking about how one of us might end up on an operating table? It was right after I mentioned muscle aches.”

Nico frowned. “He did ask me if I thought you could keep up with the rest of us.”

Levi straightened himself in his seat. “Who did? Karev?”

“Uh-huh.”

He huffed. “I may have not skied in a while, but I am at least as good as he is!”

Nico gave him a little kiss on the cheek (which turned out a bit difficult with the helmets, but still). “I know you are.”

Their chair was slowly reaching the top station. “We can separate the group if you want to” Nico said. “Let Jo and Link have their races, while you and I get some peace and quiet on another slope.”

“Link’s your buddy. And I know you like spending time with the others, too.” Levi gave him a smile. “This is your trip as well.”

“But I’m not happy if you’re not happy” Nico replied, just as the chairlift was approaching its end.

“You’re so corny!” Levi shook his head, trying to keep himself from giggling.

Then, they got off the chairlift and joined the other three, who were standing beside a giant map of the ski field.

“Alright, guys. We are here.” Alex said, pointing towards a spot on the map with one of his ski poles. “Which means we can either take this next blue slope or go for another red one.”

“Let’s do blue.” Link suggested.

Levi agreed with him, earning them both an amused look from Alex and Jo. “Are you guys tired?”

“Come on, let’s not exhaust ourselves already. We have been here for less than an hour.” Link argued.

“Besides, if we take the red piste now, we’ll have to take another black one afterwards if we want to reach a lift of some sort” Levi said, gesturing to the map. “By taking blue, we are gaining access to a whole bunch of other slopes without having to take another lift.”

Nico nodded, smirking. “Good point.”

“So blue it is.” Link clapped his hands.

Before sliding off, Nico approached Alex. “Can you lay off Schmitt? This is supposed to be fun, not a competition. Except maybe for Jo and Link.”

———

Even though Levi did not ask for it, they ended up agreeing to split up after lunch. At noon, they stopped at a small restaurant by the side of one of the main slopes. It was furnished to look like a typically alpine chalet, and served traditionally Austrian and South Tyrolean food as well.  

Nico and Levi ended up sharing a huge plate of Kaiserschmarrn, which was basically a big pile of fluffy sugary pancake pieces served with lingonberries and applesauce. It tasted amazing and had Nico wondering if he knew any restaurants back in Seattle that made alpine food. He decided to google it later and if yes, to definitely go there one day. Take Levi. Have a nice date night, and look back on lots of hopefully amazing memories.

“Did you know this dish was named after one of Austria’s emperors?” Levi asked, still munching on his last bite. “He loved it so much that they apparently just decided to rename it to honor this guy.”

Nico smiled quietly, and gently wiped a little bit of powdered sugar off his boyfriends chin.

Alex, Jo and Link were sitting across the table from them, also still digging in on their meals. “Would you guys mind if we both went off alone for a little after lunch?” Alex suddenly asked.

“Not at all.” Link said. “What about you guys?” He looked at Nico and Levi. “Do you want to go on your own, too?”  

Levi shrugged. “Let’s decide along the way.”

“Alright.”

Back on the road – or better, on the slopes – Jo and Alex went on their ways. Meanwhile, Nico, Link and Levi decided to make a little round tour of the ski field to skim the area.

When they got on the first chairlift, the sun was still shining from the clear sky, with almost no wind and almost no people on the slopes as well. Nico could hardly believe their luck. Hopefully the whole weekend was going to be like this.

Unsurprisingly, the tour turned out to be lots of fun for him. He was with the man he loved; Levi, and his best friend; Link. Nico and Link both skied (or in Link’s case: boarded) in similar ways: better fast and a little loose than too slow. Levi on the other hand had a cautious style of skiing, which didn’t mean he was slow, just that he was taking it a little safer. Nico didn’t mind. He didn’t think the few instances he and Link actually had to wait for him were a waste of time. The others might have felt that way, but for him it was a welcome break to just catch his breath, appreciate the overwhelming view of the snowy mountains or have a quick chat with Link about the slope they just conquered.

Levi was also visibly happier than before. He got along really well with Link, the final ice breaker having been the discovery that Link was a fan of the X-Men comics, just like Levi. The next few chairlift rides they had then spend arguing whether a guy named Cyclops or a guy named Wolverine was cooler.

When the day slowly came to an end, Nico was still high on Endorphin and probably a whole bunch of other happiness hormones, too. His cheeks literally hurt from smiling all the damn time, but he couldn’t help it. He was sweaty and his limps were starting to get heavy, but still he felt like he hadn’t been this happy in a long time. But, he thought to himself, why wouldn’t he be? He’d spent the last hours with two people whose company he genuinely enjoyed, and had had probably the best skiing experience of his life. Why overthink this perfect afternoon?

Well, it was about to become the opposite of that.

They had agreed to meet up with Jo and Alex at the entrance of the cable car, which would bring them back down into the valley, where they had rented a cabin. The last piste Link, Nico and Levi needed to take was one marked black. It was short, narrow and pretty steep, and judging by the piles of loose snow all over it, it had already seen quite a lot of people today.

The three of them stared down the hill, nobody wanting to be the first to say ‘Let’s do it’ or ‘Let’s not do it’. Jo and Alex were waiting at the end of the slope, waving and calling their names.

Nico was pretty confident he could make it. A few short-radius turns, and it would be over. He just had to be careful not to hit one of the snow piles, because they had the nasty habit of slowing the skis down abruptly, causing the person attached to them to loose balance and fall – which was not a pleasant experience on a hill that steep.

He looked at Link first, who nodded, and then at Levi, who pressed his lips together, and after a short while nodded, too. After spending the day with them, Nico had no doubt either of them would make it down the hill.

“Well then.” Link said, adjusting his goggles. “Let’s do this, the others are waiting.” Then he pushed himself off the edge with a little jump and started to curve down. He was controlled, but not slow, and after barely a minute, arrived next to Jo and Alex at the end of the slope.

“Let’s not go at the same time” Levi said, still staring down.

Nico agreed. Better safe than sorry. “After you.” He smiled. “Again – I’m right behind you.”

Levi laughed, pointing a finger. “Hah, you better not be.”

He took his first turn, slow and steady. The second as well. Then, he got a little more confident and allowed himself to gain speed. Nico blinked, and the hill suddenly looked like a vertical wall. Levi seemed so tiny, his skis so short. Dusty ice was splattering out from under them when he took his next turn. The edges made a scratching sound, and Nico flinched. Oh no. Hidden under a layer of snow, he could suddenly make out floes of ice, and there were probably more all over the piste.

Levi just drove over one at a fast speed. Skis were made to slide over a surface of snow, not ice. On ice, skiers often had difficulties to maintain control. And Levi hadn’t seen it coming. He tried to slow down, but couldn’t do so without risking to loose balance. So instead he tried another turn, and barely made it.

Nico held his breath hoping for the icy part to be over. Then, he gasped when one of Levi’s skies suddenly lost its grip and slipped downwards. It pulled his foot and leg down as well, and now his balance was completely lost.

“Levi!” Nico called out. At the bottom of the hill, Link, Jo and Alex were shouting as well.

Luckily, it was just a scare. With a grunt, Levi managed to get back on his feet. Supporting himself with his poles, he was now standing still about halfway down the piste, breathing heavily from shock.

“It’s okay! You can do it!” Nico yelled, hoping his boyfriend could hear him.

Levi looked up to him, and then down to the others, who were still shouting inaudibly. With a determined look in his eye, he prepared for his next turn, gaining speed again. And while doing that, he completely missed the big pile of snow in his way. Levi’s skis got caught in the loose white powder, sending his body flying forward from the sudden loss of velocity. His helmet hit the ground with a loud cracking sound and then he started sliding downwards head-first, leaving behind a small trail of red in the snow.

“Levi!” Nico shouted again, this time from the top of his lungs. He was suddenly freezing cold. Levi was bleeding and not moving. Was he conscious? What had happened to him? A concussion? Or maybe something worse? A thousand thoughts were flying around in Nico’s head.

He saw Jo and Link running up the slope in their snowboard boots to catch Levi and only then realized that he was still standing at the top of the hill himself. But suddenly, knowing that he had to get to Levi as fast as possible, that stupid little hill didn’t feel like a challenge at all.

———

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!

I have outlined the whole story, as of right now three or four chapters, but written only this one and parts of the second chapter. Hoping for a bit of feedback to motivate me :) But the story will definitely be continued.

Please feel free to point out any spelling/grammar mistakes I made, especially with the skiing vocabulary :) I'm always looking to improve my English :)

[lampmeeting]

If it's okay, 2 for Magtok?

YAYYY i was really hoping someone would ask for them, thank youuu :’)

this actually gets really, really......really long so i’m gonna put it behind a cut haha (i have a lot of FEELINGS)

When I started shipping them: fdfkgjdfkh okay i actually just hunted through my archive and i officially admitted it in a post on april 26th. though i KNOW i was lowkey shipping it just a bit before that, and i was definitely going down the magnus rabbit hole for a bit before that. so wow it’s only been like a little over 2 months?? that doesn’t feel right... hm. it feels like it’s been much longer. D: i just checked and i finished Running on Empty on may 1st?? the last two months have felt like a full year what the hell hahah

My thoughts: i know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. 8) but i’m gonna sit here and drink it while making prolonged eye contact. i think it’s a ship that immediately makes people recoil, and yeah, i understand why. but it’s just so interesting and fun to play with. and i have such an awful soft spot for villains, and especially with how magnus ended up at the end of doomstar, i feel like he deserved a second chance to make things right (and i’ve said it before but i’ll say it again, toki would give him a second chance if he lived)

What makes me happy about them: older grouchy asshole meets a younger ray of sunshine? i mean hello, it’s one of my favorite dynamics. the fascinating thing, though, is that underneath both of their baseline personalities is just pain pain pain. it’s nice to imagine that they’d both end up kinda stripping away parts of their veneer and being vulnerable with each other, knowing the other understands. they both find acceptance in each other. :’)  i like to think magnus would fall first just because he’s never had anyone really be genuinely kind to him, but he doesn’t act on his feelings because the guilt over what he’s done is too strong (and i mean, rightfully so). but then toki would make one small move, a look or a touch, giving magnus some sort of permission to feel the way he feels. and things just spiral out from there. i love toki seeing magnus’ effort to do right and make amends. i love toki helping him through whatever recovery process he goes through post-doomstar, and in turn being in more of a position of power over magnus sort of helps himself heal and come to terms with everything. i love magnus finding some semblance of peace in toki’s company, and likewise toki in magnus’. maybe the rest of the band doesn’t quite understand what toki went through, but of course magnus does, even if he was the cause. i dunno, the feelings are messy and the ship is messy, but i love it so much. they’re just two guys fumbling to pick up broken pieces of glass and bandaging each other’s fingers when they get cut.

What makes me sad about them: uhhhh lots of things haha... magnus faking his friendship, the betrayal at the funeral, the entirety of doomstar?? aside from all that, it breaks my heart to think about the two of them deciding to be together only to be met with anger from the band. nathan, especially, would probably try to stop it since he always seems to feel very protective of toki. it would make toki so sad that the others wouldn’t want to accept magnus, and maybe for a while magnus tries to sabotage everything, trying to make toki give up on him and let him go. he wouldn’t want to be the cause of toki being ostracized from the band, my god he’s fucking guilty about things enough as it is. :’( and then sprinkling in more of my personal headcanons to destroy my own heart, i don’t think magnus is very good at taking care of himself. if left to his own devices he’ll just stop giving a shit. he also feels inadequate a lot and on bad days is hyper-sensitive about his age and lack of accomplishments. toki tries to help him figure things out and find his worth. and then with toki... toki has really quiet days and is so used to taking care of magnus that he keeps a lot of his sadness and problems bottled up, and then he’ll have one night where he just gets blackout drunk or beats a man unconscious (or both!) and gives magnus an awful scare.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: i really don’t know how to be delicate about this so i’ll just say it: he’s not a r*pist. yes he violent, but he couldn’t even stomach the murder of one dude he didn’t know.

Things I look for in fanfic: fanfic. :P

My wishlist: more Running on Empty? 8) i would scream. i’d also love more fics of them just being cute!! we all know it’s an angsty ship!!!! i crave....the cute.... toki making magnus smile :’) magnus going out of his way to do something special for toki. i cry.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: this ship is reaching chickles-levels for me real fast haha... that said, nathan/toki is still extremely cute to me. but i don’t know who i could see magnus with post-doomstar if not toki. hmm.

My happily ever after for them: oh gosh.... so many nice AUs that end up so lovely. ;0; for my own personal endgame uhhhhh... let’s see: dethklok takes a long time to warm up to magnus. like, years. for a while there toki’s kinda living this split life because his boyfriend and his family won’t mix. the first big gesture is pickles and charles’ wedding after the events galaktikon (don’t ask me how magnus factors into all that, i haven’t figured it out yet). toki comes to pickles in private and pretty much breaks down, and pickles is like “ah jeez” and has a chat with charlie, and they agree that magnus can come. weirdly enough, everyone has a nice time. the wedding is super chill and beautiful and the beach vibes are good. afterwards, toki tries bringing magnus with him more often when he visits people, and things just slowly start to fall into place and old friendships rekindle. toki and magnus had been living together in a nice house just outside of phoenix, but they eventually move to the coast, maybe northern california or hawaii. magnus goes full beach bum, loves just taking his acoustic and a six pack down to the beach. it’s liked meditation for him. he’s not looking to take on more work or projects, he’s a tired old man, he just wants to kiss his boyfriend and take it easy. toki learns to surf because his boardshorts from prankklok won’t leave me alone and i think he’s the type to watch it like “i wanna do that!” and then just keep trying and trying until he’s figured it out (as magnus watches safely from the shore with a margarita and aviator shades). toki still collaborates with nathan and everybody, though. he keeps working on his sound engineering, too, and works on planet piss when murderface finally gets it off the ground. everyone still keeps in touch and hangs out a lot. at some point down the road they get married?? i think toki would be content to keep things the way they are as long as magnus is happy, but at some point magnus would just get this itch for it. in the middle of the night they’re lying there together and magnus is like “why the hell aren’t we married?” hahah :’) gosh i love them.

[spideyspence]

communication; peter parker

heya, this is (late & unedited) for @plushparker‘s 2k writing challenge. i hope you all enjoy this fic bc it was based on the prompt ‘i’ve been trying to talk to you all night’ and i got a little carried away. enjoy!

(warnings: the readers a dumbass in this fic but like,,, plot & angst. also there’s some violence bc there’s a fight scene at the end)

my masterlist

-

‘Peter why the hell couldn’t I communicate with you during that fight? Why weren’t you responding? I’ve been trying to talk to you all night.’ You yelled to your best friend on the top of a building in New York City.

Your best friend and you had just worked together in taking town a robbery of a bank on the Upper West Side that had been in the works of Wilson Fisk’s men for nearly a year. Peter and you had been working for hours each night, trying to plan how they were going to stop the crime. Peter was in his Spider-Man suit while you were in your own, a sleek black and purple outfit with your mask littered somewhere on the roof where you had thrown it in anger.

‘I’m sorry Y/N but I was punched, and the Bluetooth stopped working. I’m sorry that I was punched.’ Peter rolled his eyes.

He would be yelling at you too if he wouldn’t have been able to speak to you during dangerous events of that night. He was stressed because he was beginning to do more appearances at FEAST to help out Aunt May and he had a physics test the next morning he hadn’t studied for, and he was tired.

‘Those men were still stronger than we anticipated Pete. I was scared okay, I refuse to put you in danger which seems stupid because we’re a team, but you know I will always jump in front of you to save you but I can’t handle the idea of fighting on my own.’ Your lungs were starting to take in as much of the night air as they could during your angered rant.

‘No matter how much time we spent planning Y/N, they were always going to be stronger and have the upper hand on fighting. We have to rely on our ourselves and each other while they have thousand-dollar guns aimed in our direction.’ Peter said to you, his voice softer than yours.

‘You still could’ve contacted me! Karen still freaking works, right?’ You questioned sarcastically.

‘Yeah, but-’ Peter was stuck. You had a damn good point.

‘You know how important communication is, especially during a fight like that, knowing that our lives were at stake!’

‘Well if you’re going to be this panicked maybe we shouldn’t be working together!’ Peter yelled.

Silence.

It was always the two of you. Worked together on group projects in school, going to go see the new Star Wars films at the cinemas (Ned came along for a couple of them), studying, working together to take down the bad guys.

It was Y/N and Peter, that’s how the world works.

You stared at Peter, struggling to believe that your best friend would say something like that.

‘You really think that that is how we should go. Work alone? No longer help each other out?’ You questioned as you walk away to pick up your mask to put it back on to hide your tears from your best friend.

‘Y/N I- I didn’t mean that.’ Peter said softly, his voice starting to shake.

‘You seemed pretty certain about it.’ You snapped.

You didn’t want to leave your best friend. You knew that you and Peter were the best team. You understood each other’s movements. You knew that what you were about to do was completely unreasonable and stupid, but you were too clouded with your emotions and Peter’s words still racing through your head.

Peter started to slowly walk towards you.

‘Y/N, I swear I didn’t mean that. We’re a team, we always work together, and we work well. I’m sorry I’m just frustrated.’

‘Don’t bother apologising Peter, just, I’ll see you tomorrow at school.’

You turned around and leapt off the room and headed back home to get some sleep.

-

Walking down the halls of midtown, you kept your eyes focused on your locker because there was no way that you were going to face Peter.

Grabbing your books seemed like the perfect time for Peter to go up and talk to you but when you saw his New Balance sneakers next to you, you slammed your locker door shut and turned in the opposite direction, taking the longer way to your maths class.

You knew that you had to get over Peter’s words, and you knew you would eventually, but they had hurt so bad.

It wasn’t fair that Peter snapped at you just because you wanted to make sure that he was safe.

Sitting in maths you didn’t make eye contact with Peter. You had made the mistake of looking at him once and seeing the pain in his eyes made your stomach turn.

-

During lunch you didn’t talk to Peter, you just sat there reading your book, not taking in any words that were on the paper. You couldn’t focus on the story when thoughts of Peter were racing through your head.

Peter and Ned were whispering quietly to one another and Ned could sense the tension between the two of you. MJ was a lifesaver however because she sat down next to you.

Peter must have told her that something was going on, but you could tell from the look on MJ’s face, she didn’t know why.

-

After lunch was English with MJ. You didn’t have the class with Peter which was a gift for that day because you did not want to deal with your ‘best friend’.

MJ sat next to you and she questioned about you and Peter.

You two would always sit together at lunch, discussing whether the movie night this week was going to be at yours or his, whether the book was better than the movie (which MJ usually sided with you, because the book is (nearly) always better than the movie while Ned would side with Peter) and talking about what you learnt in physics. You two never talked about your teamwork outside of school, in fear of endangering others or if anyone was listening who shouldn’t be.

‘Peter and I had an argument last night over something. Just, he got on my nerves last night because he stressed me out.’

‘Okay, but we all know that he is an idiot, sometimes right?’ MJ laughs.

‘I know, and I know that I’m overreacting but it’s just really getting on my nerves. Peter’s my best friend and I want him to keep in contact you know?’ You said, straying closely to the truth, but not too close.

‘Peter sucks at texting back. He either texts straight away or at 3am, there’s no in-between.’ MJ smirks.

You sigh and continue to work on your English assignment.

‘I’m just distancing myself and I’m gonna work my own for a bit, rather than working with Pete.’

‘Okay, just remember that Pete will always be there for you, but  I know I don’t have to remind you.’

-

It was a week later. You had finished your homework for the night and told your parents you were going to bed, but you snuck out onto the fire escape and went to patrol for the night.

You hadn’t heard too much of Spider-Man’s activities in helping your city, only the small things such as helping the man find his pigeons.

Jumping from building to building, you were keeping an eye out for any odd behaviour when you spied a group of people hanging around a jewellery store. They were wearing homemade masks, so you knew this wasn’t a night where these people were getting a couple of drinks.

You eyed one of the masked people and jumped to a streetlight that was across the street from the store. Even though you never admitted it to him, you always had to thank Peter for teaching you how to stay balanced on the lights because there were too many laughter-filled nights and bruised legs the next morning from when you would slip.

When one masked people pulled out a hammer, that was when you interrupted.

‘Sorry to ruin your lovely night, but I’m not too sure that what you’re doing is legal.’ As you made your way over to the streetlight on their side of the busy NYC street.

The people on the ground started squabbling and pulling out their weapons that you had managed to not see in the first place. As they were pulling out their weapons, you told them to ‘take their time’.

You hadn’t thought that far ahead. Of course, they would’ve had weapons. So you stole your moment to think about what to do.

You saw an opening and leapt onto the tallest of the masked group and rebounded onto the smallest, ready to take them on.

‘Honey, you only just missed me. What a pity. Aim better next time.’ You teased as you dodged the female masked lady and then kicked her aside. Then you spun around to kick the tallest in the group on the temple, knowing that it would only knock the guy out.

You were down to the last three people, and you weren’t even tired. You were just doing your usual patrol and you were glad that the other ‘protector’ of New York hadn’t joined the party. However, when you looked to your left, you were ready to forgive your best friend so you could make it out of the night alive.

Many black SUV’s came screeching down the avenue, a never-ending line of them.

Your guess what that the people who were planning to rob the jewellery store, weren’t just a group of bored people.

In your moment of distraction, you felt someone punch you in the abdomen but after a year of fighting, you knew not to lean down. Instead, you gasped for air and hit back twice as hard. You spun, dodged and jumped, knocking out all of the robbers, wanting to get that off your to do list at the moment.

You saw many men run jump out of the many cars when you turned around, all now holding guns that you weren’t expecting.

Now you understood why you and Peter couldn’t work alone.

You always needed each other.

When the first shot was fired and you only narrowly missed, you knew you had got yourself into a bit of a mess.

Then you heard a familiar ‘pist’ sound.

However, you didn’t let your eyes flick over to your right, because in that moment, you were going to use Peter to your advantage.

It’s strange, there was a silence, as if the world was still but then you heard a voice in your earpiece.

‘Look Y/N, I’m sorry but we were both wrong. Could I be starting more unnecessary shit by saying this? Probably but we both had our faults. I should’ve contacted you, but you also didn’t have to ignore me. We didn’t have to have a ‘fight’. Anyway, I’m not gonna have a whole big speech right now because we’re about to be in the middle of something, but are we ready to work together again?’ Peter asked?

‘Okay yeah we’re all good. I’m sorry, and here we go. Start from the back and don’t be seen.’ You said quietly to Peter.

‘Yep spectacular spidey silent.’ You rolled you eyes and you saw out the corner of your eyes, a flash of blue and red jump to the corner of the building, and start taking out the men out the back. Even you could hear the ‘thwip’ from Peter, and even though he was saving you, you still needed to help his spider ass.

‘Okay, now let’s have some fun.’ You said as you ran forward to the army in front of you.

Now that everything was back in place, everything felt a lot smoother.

You flipped over about twenty men in front of you and you met the first guy with a kick to the throat and he stumbled back onto the ground and then you kicked another one of his buddies who landed right on top.

The two of you kept in touch the whole time, working well together and when you had your last five guys, you decided to have even more fun.

Finish things up by taking one of the guys and swinging him around to take out his other four mates.

You heard Peter laugh. It was your style to muck around a little bit, even when it was a dangerous situation.

Peter was the one to muck around with words, while you were the one to muck around a little bit when fighting, and it meant that the two of you worked well together.

You smiled at your best friend after the two of you took out the last guy and you went to hug your best friend when you looked over his shoulder only to shove the both of you to the side.

You could still hear the whistling of the bullet in your ear.

That’s when you saw one more car coming towards you, except you didn’t think this was one going to stop anytime soon.

‘Pete, do you wanna lift me?’ You turned to your best friend.

Peter nodded and grabbed onto your arm and swung the two of you up to the top of the building on the corner of the street.

The new black truck was driving past you and from the back on the building, a new problem arose.

You saw more men jump out, but then you saw the leader of the masked men.

Wilson Fisk.

The big (the only word that could describe him) man jumped down from the truck and you could see the metal bouncing back from the heavy man.

‘So here we are Spider-Man and his little girlfriend.’ Fisk looked up at you with a evil smirk.

You couldn’t care less about being called Spider-Man’s ‘girlfriend’, but you weren’t happy about the fact that Fisk had only called you that.

You weren’t Peter’s sidekick, and Peter wasn’t yours.

You were equal.

Now you were ready to fight.

Peter shot his webs over to the building opposite the two of you and swung the two of you over them. You dropped from Peter’s hold and knocked out one of the men cold.

You saw Fisk load his gun and before you could say anything, webs were shot, and the weapon went flying from Kingpin’s grasp.

You nodded to your friend in acknowledgement of his smooth move and the two of you went back to fighting the men.

Take down the pawns in order to take down the king.

Peter was dodging bullets and you had taken down the last men when you turned around to see Peter held by his neck by Wilson Fisk.

Your best friend started kicking, flailing around, suffocating.

You gasped, scared but you had no time to let the panic set in.

You took a deep breath. Panic was going to be no friend here.

The fire hydrant wasn’t going to be a good distraction, but you always had some stuff up your sleeves.

Peter wasn’t the one who was also inventing, nor Tony. You worked with Peter a lot when it came to improving his suit. It also meant that you had made a few little toys for yourself.

You threw a smoke bomb in Fisk’s direction hoping that it would release his grip of Pete just a little and then you climbed to the top of another streetlight and leapt onto Fisk.

You were right and landed on the crime lord’s shoulders and in surprise, he dropped and spun around to try and throw you off which you allowed.

Peter always recovered fast and it was something that you never completely understood, but soon enough you felt Peter’s webs stick to you and the next moment you were flying in Fisk’s direction and you kicked the man in the stomach which caught him by surprise. It then allowed you to distract Fisk as Peter snuck up behind him and began to tie him up with his webs.

Once everything was handled and Fisk was not able to move due to the number of webs that were trapping him, you called 911.

‘Yeah we’re all good. Yeah on the corner where the jewellery store is. Yep that’s the right one. Yep where the bus stop is. Yep on 5th avenue. All good? Anytime. Have a good night now guys.’ You wished the police a good night.

‘Well that was fun.’ You laughed.

Now that the adrenaline had stopped for the two of you, you realise how tired you were and how much your bodies hurt.

‘Can’t wait to see the bruise tomorrow. And shit, it’s 10:30pm.’ You said.

‘Did you finish the chem work?’ Peter asked as the two of you swung across the city.

‘Yeah I did. Do you need to borrow my answers?’ You laughed.

‘Okay yeah, just this once. Thanks.’ Peter chuckled.

‘You said that the last five times dumb-bum.’

It then returned to silence, and you knew what was coming next.

‘Peter, I’m sorry. Just, I got really scared and I panicked and yes, I was kinda rude with ignoring you and I know it was a bitchy thing to do but I was so angry. Pete, I was so scared.’ You explained. You didn’t have a good reason or your actions, but you were trying to make sense of them.

‘Y/N, I get it. I would’ve panicked too if the roles were swapped but we both acted out okay. We all good now?’ Peter smiled.

‘Of course, buddy.’

‘Okay shut up.’ Pete groaned at the nickname.

‘Be nice if you want the answers.’ You shouted as you returned to the ground, as you were now going to walk the couple more blocks to return to your apartment complex.

‘Sorry. Good night, love you!’ Peter swung away.

If it were any other city, people would be annoyed at the shouting.

‘Love you too buddy!’ You shouted from the ground.

You walked home with a smile on your face.

-

The next morning, at school, Peter thanked you again and called you a ‘lifesaver’ for giving him the answers to the chemistry homework.

Peter maybe smart, but he sucked at remembering to do his homework.

MJ smiled and you nodded to her from across the hall.

Everything was back to normal between you and your best friend, with one lesson learnt.

Just fucking communicate.

[grimelords]

My April playlist is finished! Please allow me to take you on a journey from the heaven of THP Orchestra to the hell of Inter Arma over three action packed hours. Specially sequenced for maximum enjoyment, there’ll be at least one thing in here you’ll love - I guarantee it. Listen here.

Good To Me - THP Orchestra: I've said it before and I'll say it again, the number one way to find good songs is to go through the whosampled page for Duck Sauce's 2013 album Quack because every single thing they put into that album is a bonafide classic.

I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band: I saw Jungle last week and they were absolutely amazing, and the venue started playing this song as soon as the house lights went up after the show which is an extremely good way to get people to not leave your venue and boogie instead. My favourite part of this is near the end of the second verse where he gets even lazier than normal with the lyrics and just says "I want to love you.. ah.. from sundown.. sunup".

Work It Out - A-Trak: I love this new A-Trak song that sounds like a secret lost bonus track from Discovery right down to that specific wah sound on the guitar.

Starlight - The Supermen Lovers: There was all this news last year that Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust was getting remastered and rereleased for its 20th anniversary and was going to finally be on streaming services that seems to have just.. not happened. It never materialized so now I'm stuck listening to the 2nd rate but still extremely good Music Sounds Better With You knockoff, Starlight by the worst named band ever The Supermen Lovers. The songs aren't even that similar particularly but that's just my personal feelings.

Girlsrock - Siriusmo: A friend of mine is a sort of expert on the whole Ed Banger mid-late 2000s electro scene and it's extremely good because he'll just send me songs like this every now and then that are totally sick and make it feel like there was somehow thousands of hours of this kind of music produced at that time and only the tip of the iceberg made it to public consumption.

11:17 - Danger: Somehow I didn't even notice that Danger had a new album in January but I'm finally listening now and it's a proper return to form and really, really good. This song sounds like if the haunted VHS tape from the The Ring was taped over an 80s workout video.

Ultrasonic Sound - Hive: I went to a 20th anniversary screening of The Matrix at The Astor and great news: that movie still kicks ass and rocks completely and has possibly gotten better in the two decades since its release. Someone had curated a really good mix that they were playing in the foyer after the movie and this song was in it. A heady mix of drum and bass and nu-metal guitar crunch that feels like a 1999 calendar picked up by a strong wind and slapping you in the face.

Homo Deus VII - Deantoni Parks: STILL loving and finding new things to love about this Deantoni Parks album for the third month in a row. I'm repeating myself but this music is just so good and feels so completely original to me. It's a great mix of complete technical mastery and the self imposed limitations of a restricted sample palette. Forcing himself to do absolutely everything he can with the sound and fairly well exhausting it over the course of 9 minutes.

Catacomb Kids - Aesop Rock: There's a good line to trace between this and Acid King by Malibu Ken where Aesop Rock's been thinking about Ricky Kasso for like ten years now which is interesting. There's lots of just very nice sounding lines in this like "Crispy the godsender who thunk over a quarter plunk to local Mortal Kom vendor". Just good weird word combos painting a very impressionistic picture of growing up. "deplanting cadavers" "zoo-keeper facelift". Very nice.

Mask Off - Future: I've never listened to Future much which is weird because he's very good but this is a song that just comes into my head pretty often. Metro Boomin's brain is huge and the vibe he created on this is just amazing. Wringing this sort of atmosphere out of the sample without sacrificing any of the trap beat at the center of it is such an achievement.

Old Town Road (Remix) - Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus: Everything that could ever be said about Old Town Road has probably already been written by now but my favourite part is finding out that the sample is from Ghosts by Nine Inch Nails which means it's also Trent Reznor's first writing credit on a #1 song. Absolutely praying for Trent and Atticus to join Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on stage at the Grammys to perform this.

Claudia Lewis - M83: Every so often I remember just how good Hurry Up We're Dreaming is and listen to it on repeat for a while. It's absolutely amazing. Start to finish (except for Raconte-Moi Une Historie which SUCKS) it's just fantastic. I looked up why this song is called Claudia Lewis and it turns out that has an extremely good answer "I was surfing the web & found this website with space poems – Claudia Lewis had 3-4 space poems on this site. They were pretty bad space poems but I found it super moving, there was something very innocent about it. She’s probably super young like 12 or 14 but I don’t know her or how she looks or anything about her. I just know that she writes cheesy space poems."

OK Pal - M83: Every single musical element of this song is just perfect. I love the huge broad chords, the synth bends, the massive drums, the inverted Dead Flag Blues monologue. It's just beautiful.Little Secrets - Passion Pit: Passion Pit is currently on a 10th anniversary tour for Manners and I feel age 100 which is no good. But this song is good and it contains in my opinion one of the all time greatest drum fills after the first chorus. Huge, super air-drummable, and very functional: perfect.

Blood - City Calm Down: I think "I'm the one who wants your blood" is just such a great an evocative refrain and I wish he said it one million times more in this song.

Television - City Calm Down: Absolutely love the idea of writing a song about how bloody TV is the bloody opiate of the masses that sounds like a Clash cover in 2019 and sounding so deliberately out of the zeitgeist and doing it so well and with such conviction that it’s absolutely great.

I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses: We went to Andrew McLelland's Finishing School and he played this as his last song in honour of Easter Sunday and described it as the greatest piece of acoustic dance music he's ever heard which is honestly not a bad description - it's an absolute jam.

Daisy - Pond: It's very cool that there's like an evil, mirror version of Tame Impala that exists in Pond. I think every band should have that.

Crying Lighting - Arctic Monkeys: Basically the reason this song is on this list is because I got stuck in a loop of saying "your pastimes, consisted of the strange and twisted and deranged and I hate that little game you had called "crying lightning" in a Werner Herzog voice to myself and I thought it was funny.

Keeping Time - Angie McMahon: Angie McMahon is so damn good at songs and I cannot believe it! She's only got like 5 and they're all incredible. She’s gonna be huge!

The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids: Sterogum had a really good writeup the other day about Post-Nothing turning 10 years old that turned into a wrap up of why Japandroids are such a good band and why Celebration Rock is a perfect album and it really crystallized a lot of my feelings about them. They're number one on my list of Bands That Make You Want To Start A Band for a good reason and this article really nails the whole young men figuring it all out feeling of Japandroids' music. I really think both Japandroids albums should be called Youth And Young Manhood but Kings Of Leon already took that name. I remember when my friend first turned me on to Post-Nothing he said he didn't want to tell anyone else except me because it was so good and it was Best Friends Music and I really believe that. It’s best friends music through and through. When I saw them a couple of years ago it was as part of a sort of impromptu road trip with my best friend and I think that was the best context I could have given it. It's absolutely one of the best shows I've been to in my life and also Osher Gunsberg was in the crowd behind me but that's not part of the story. https://www.stereogum.com/2041439/japandroids-post-nothing-turns-10/franchises/the-anniversary/

Motor Runnin - Pist Idiots: The pub rock revival just keeps getting better and better. At the minute it's basically just Bad//Dreems, West Thebarton and these guys but I'm sure there's a million other bands bubbling under that are just about to break as well. I love this song, it's just straight up old fashioned pissed off rock and roll that somehow doesn't feel old fashioned at all.

Chains - As Cities Burn: As Cities Burn have reunited and have a new album coming out and I'm extremely wary of it because they're potentially ruining their previously discussed perfect streak. This is the first single and it's.. good I guess. It's kind of just normal and sort of outdated, a little bit of a step backward into safety for a band that was always changing and moving forward. I think I have a worm living in my brain though because I keep listening to it just because I really love the drum sound. They're very nicely mixed. Some very nice sounding drums.

Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones - The Fall Of Troy: I was talking with some friends about young musicians because of Billie Eilish, and so we were talking about how Alanis Morrisette won a grammy when she was 21 and Taylor Swift won a grammy when she was 20 and Lorde made Royals when she was 17 and all that but what people don't realise is Thomas Erak wrote Doppelganger when he was 20 and it was his second album. He's 34 now and his music sucks badly. That's insane. What will happen to me when I'm 34? Chilling to think about. 

A New Uniform / Patagonia - Tera Melos: I think Patagonian Rats is still my favourite Tera Melos album. Toss up between that and Untitled actually. But I love this one for how cohesive it feels. For a band whose whole ethos is chaos it's amazing how well it all comes together as a complete work tied up with a bow by the Skin Surf reprise near the end. I love this song because it's two sketches of songs tied together into one little chaotic lump and the big Primary! Secondary! finale is just so satisfying.

Talking Heads - Black Midi: Black Midi finally have actually proper recorded songs on spotify! The way Black Midi is getting talked about at the moment really feels like the days of blog buzz are back, it's crazy. If you haven't seen it yet here's the KEXP session that's rightfully getting them so much attention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMn1UuEIVvA I've watched it so many times and it's really something. The best part is the comments are full of music dudes just naming every band ever. "this sounds like if slint, polvo and hella did crack and had a gangbang" yuck "imagine them opening for Swans and/or Daughters" yuck "they're like if Minute Men and Frank Zappa had a baby and that baby dated the child of Talking Heads and Can but then got dumped for their best friend who was adopted and raised by their single parent Voivod but they were cool and stayed friends and listened to Tortoise and Thelonious Monk and got stoned and started a band and conquered the world." yuck "Slint meets Sonic youth meets Pere Ubu meets drive like jehu meets Beefheart...these guys took all that is deranged and twisted in rock and made one big soup of it!" yuck. Anyway the point is they rock completely and here's my addition to the band names: the way he sings sounds like Sting lol.

Walking On The Moon - The Police: This song makes you dumb I think. It's like the dumbest song in the world and listening to it makes your brain mushier, which makes you dumb and stupid. It's very good.

Rubber Bullies - Tropical Fuck Storm: I saw Tropical Fuck Storm opening for Kurt Vile the other day and it was absolutely incredible. My first time seeing them properly, not counting the live soundtrack they did for No Country For Old Men which was was a whole different kind of amazing. It feels like Gaz has finally put together a band that can keep up with is ferocious energy and the result is scary - they basically tore the place apart which makes them a funny opener for Kurt Vile who was as chilled out, relaxed and fun as you'd expect. They played this song near the end of their set and somehow I hadn't really noticed it when I listened to the album but now I can't stop listening to it. It's so good. I love the increasing paranoia of the backing vocals, especially in the last verse as it builds and builds.

Taman Shud - The Drones: This might be the best Drones song. It's a list that's constantly being revised in my head but it's top 5 definitely. It's nice listening to Feeling Kinda Free now knowing what he was going to do with Tropical Fuck Storm because it's all here. Fighting against the constraints of his regular sound and regular songwriting and eventually finding the solution in forming a whole new band. I love this song for a million reasons but the escalation of the disregard is very good. “I don't care about Andrew Bolt or Ned Kelly or the southern cross or the union jack” and you're nodding and then he says ‘I don't really care if you're a pedophile’ and you're nodding but slower. I get what he means in terms of media hype and whatever but it's still a very funny line. Anyway "why'd I give a rats about your tribal tats? You came here on a boat you fucking cunt" is grade A.

Dawn Patrol - Megadeth: The best thing about Megadeth is the sort of half baked politics. Dave Mustaine is the best kind of moron, he engages with everything at a gut level but believes he's being very cerebral about it at the same time. This little intro song about a nuclear post-apocalypse is so good because it's a legitimate warning and a response to legitimate worries but it's also like.. wouldn't that be sick if we had to wear gas masks and carry assault rifles around because all the nukes exploded and everyone was dead. What if there was zombies.

Rust In Peace... Polaris - Megadeth: The story behind Holy Wars... The Punishment Due is so good. "Mustaine has said that at a show in Antrim, Northern Ireland, he discovered bootlegged Megadeth T-shirts were on sale. He was dissuaded from taking action to have them removed on the basis that they were part of fund raising activities for "The Cause", explained as something to bring equality to Catholics and Protestants in the region. Liking how "The Cause" sounded as was explained to him, Mustaine dedicated a performance of "Anarchy In The UK" to it, causing the audience to riot. The band were forced to travel in a bulletproof bus after the show" I just love him. I'd like to share a Dave Mustain quotes about this song also. "I was driving home from Lake Elsanon. I was tailgating somebody, racing down the freeway, and I saw this bumper sticker on their car and it said, you know, this tongue in cheek stuff like, ‘One nuclear bomb could ruin your whole day,’ and then I looked on the other side and it said, ‘May all your nuclear weapons rust in peace,’ and I’m going, ‘'Rust in Peace.’ Damn, that’s a good title.‘ And I’m thinking like, 'What do they mean, rust in peace?’ I could just see it now – all these warheads sitting there, stockpiled somewhere like seal beach, you know, all covered with rust and stuff with kids out there spray-painting the stuff, you know." Goes ahead and writes a kick ass song from the perspective of a nuclear warhead containing the line "rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils".

Planet B - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: King Gizz are Megadeth now and I love it! The cold war is global warming now and we desperately need new thrash metal about it to save us!

Primodial Wound - Inter Arma: If you can't tell by me including three of their songs on this playlist I'm still having an absolute time with Inter Arma. Something I really love about this band is their ability to sit in a vibe for so long and expand on it. They're not songs with narrative arcs and multiple contrasting sections, they're songs that just kind of dig deeper on themselves. This one starts deep and then by thinning out entirely at around 6 minutes in only gets darker.

Howling Lands - Inter Arma: This song made me dream of a Dark Souls game where Inter Arma does the soundtrack. It's a peabrained thought but it's one that really got me thinking. This is boss music of the highest order: a song seemingly about itself and the hellbound denizens cursed to perform it in the arena of hell.

Sulphur English - Inter Arma: It's extremely funny to listen to this song a bunch of times and be completely blown away by the total power and ethereal majesty of it and then look up the lyrics to find out that it's about Trump in that very good way of putting normal thoughts through a metal lyrics filter "The charlatan sets his eyes towards the throne / tongue adrip in revolting ecstasy" "Sever the corrupt tongue of the imperious fool / silence the gangrenous root of his abhorrent voice"

Peepin' Tom - Courtney Barnett: When I saw Kurt Vile he brought out Courtney Barnett to play Over Everything as an encore and it was so good to see just how much a hometown crowd loves her. Everyone lost their shit! We love our good friend Courtney! I think I've written about this before but Peeping Tom is one of my favourite Kurt Vile songs and I think Courtney's version is even better. Her voice is perfect for it and she really has to show off her range to do it which I love. The super deep 'peeping' to the high cascading 'tom' is a perfect musical moment to me.​

listen here

[doomedandstoned]

BRUME

Dusty Shaky Shiver

Review & Interview by Zachary Painter

Photos by Bruno Pereira (Wav Magazine)

Music is a dynamic force and we, as the ultimate architects of musical expression, have very little control over how it affects us. The most fascinating phenomenon, then, is to witness the progressive evolution of a group of individuals contributing to the greater musical conversation of our time. Take BRUME, for instance, a Bay Area three-piece who just released their sophomore effort, 'Rooster' (2017). It’s an impressive slab of gritty, colorful doom, and it delivers on every paradigm of what we call doom metal.

Rooster by Brume

Rooster’s primary achievement is that it sounds much bigger than anything the band has done before. It’s bold, heavy, and beautiful, and the songwriting is tighter and stronger than anything from their 2015 debut, Donkey. By focusing more on interesting guitar work and sounder song structures, the trio has avoided sounding like another Windhand doom-pop clone, which isn’t so easy to do if your band features a female vocalist. From their latest work, Brume draw comparisons to the likes of Messa or to some degree Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard.

Indeed, not experimenting enough was the major drawback of Donkey, which relied on singer and bassist Susie McMullen’s soaring falsetto to carry the band through five rather similar tracks. Rooster is superior in that it works more with the band’s collective talents to create staggering moments that incorporate dynamics and powerful guitar progressions. Songs like opener "Grit and Pearls," for instance, progress by sculpting dynamics that carry the listener from stentorian peaks to quiet, calm depths. These transitions establish intimate moments with the listener, imparting Rooster with a richness that sustains the whole record.

Perhaps "Reckon" captures Rooster’s variety the best: Jamie McCathie’s guitar--clean and coated with some effects--sounds out a bluesy passage that supports McMullen’s swaggering vocal lead. It’s a calm introduction that proceeds to obliterate the listener as Jordan Perkins-Lewis joins McCathie with his drums to create a wall of sound. Towards the halfway point of the song, McMullen belts out a tribal-esque chant that soars majestically atop McCathie’s High on Fire-inspired riffing and Perkins-Lewis’ sustaining ride cymbal.

To bring some balance to Rooster, Brume included a softer song called "Welter," an acoustic track that combines piano from Billy Anderson himself to accompany McMullen’s stunning vocals. “The villain plays the victim,” sings McMullen. “Do you use pity as your weapon?” The melody and lyrics come from a place of hurt; the pain and upheaval radiate from McMullen’s crooning voice as soft piano chords shimmer in the offing. It’s a moment of vulnerability and nakedness, but it cuts deep.

The album ends on "Tradewind," a slow paced dirge that shifts from somber plodding to a cathartic release towards the final minutes of the song. “Open wounds, healing truth, healing you. Open wounds, open, open you, healing truth,” McMullen sings. The cleansing nature of the lyrics in conjunction with the guitar’s unbridled drone creates yet another moment of unashamed tenderness that shows us a side of doom metal we’re only accustomed to getting in small doses from bands like Pallbearer, Warning, or even Type O Negative ("Love You to Death" is one of the sappiest songs in metal, but we love it all the same). More of this, please.

The daringness to pioneer new sonic territory is what makes Rooster such a success. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s not terribly derivative, either. For their second LP, the future is looking bright for Brume.

A Lively Conversation With Brume

By Zachary Painter

Photos by Kristen Wrzesniewski

Brume recently finished up a few UK tour dates with Gurt. You also got to play Desertfest at The Underworld alongside Bongzilla and Inter Arma, among others. How was that whole experience? I read that Body Count was forever "your" band.

Susie McMullan (vocals, bass): Ugh, that was so incredibly fun. Travelling with rad dudes who have fantastic music you get to hear every night will elevate you and make you want to do better. Gurt is a killer band and a fun bunch of dudes to party with every night. I have been singing “Salt In My Vagina/Jon GarSeeYa Later" and “Battlepants” walking around in the city with a huge smile on my face since I’ve gotten back. Desertfest London was a treat, as well. We were well taken care of, packed the venue, and pretty much had the best show to date. The sound was epic and the event was really well run. I was meaning to reach out to the sound folks at the Underworld to let them know how excellent it was. Can’t ask for anything better than that?

Most people don’t remember their dreams. Mine are clear, awful, and haunting...

Jordan Perkins-Lewis (drums): Desertfest was incredible. Easily one of my favorite festivals in the world. Gurt warms the cockles of my heart. We stayed with a lot of mums on this trip. Mums go hard on tour.

Jamie McCathie (guitar): The tour was epic. For me, I got to hang with my Gurt family and introduce Brume to not only some of the best peeps on the planet, but a seriously incredible band. Gurt slayed every night. And to end the tour at Desertfest was an amazing experience. The Underworld was rammed. It’s my favorite venue in London and I never got to play there in the 7 ½ years I lived in London. It was an experience. Body Count "Get Shot" turned 'to the tour anthem after Bill and Spice banged on about how amazing the new album was -- it’s epic. It was our stage entrance tune at Desertfest. It made us feel pumped.

Which bands were you looking forward to seeing most?

Susie: Inter Arma and Elephant Tree, two current inspirations. I’m pretty pumped to say we are playing with Inter Arma again on August 17th at Thee Parkside. That makes two times in one year. #madeit

Jordan: Vodun and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs were high on my list.

Jamie: I was so excited to see Inter Arma, and they blew my ass off. I was also excited to see bands I hadn't from the U.K. like Elephant tree, Vodun, Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters and Mammoth Weed wizard Bastard. Elephant tree were one of the bands Susie and I religiously listened to when we were starting Brume. They are a huge influence on us and to do something in the future with those guys would be rad. Pete and I go a lil' way back from my Gurt days.

We spend most of our time hiding in a cave making music.

You guys worked with Gareth Kelly and his record label and PR entity When Planets Collide to set up this tour. Seeing that Brume has close ties with Gurt and the UK scene, do you have future plans to collaborate with Gurt or other bands overseas?

Susie: I have dreams of spending time, collaborating, and having future plans with a few overseas bands such as Elephant Tree, Pist, Sedulus, and Mage. You can’t fight gravity.

Jordan: We’re bringing Gurt over next year. That’s all I’ll say for now.

Jamie: The tour was special for me because I played a set with Gurt every night, the songs I could still remember. They came on stage and played "Tradewind" with us a few nights. Doing more with Gurt would be amazing. There was a lot of talk about getting Gurt over to the West Coast. We’ll see.

Any upcoming tours for Brume stateside?

Jordan: We’ll get down to Los Angeles at some point this year and hopefully back up to the Pacific Northwest. There are also rumors of the East Coast and Deep South.

Jamie: A couple of awesome shows coming up in the Bay Area -- San Jose and San Francisco with Castle and Year Of The Cobra, plus a few yet to be announced that we are crazy excited about.

Since Donkey came out, it seems a lot has happened logistically for the band. I remember discovering Donkey on Transylvanian Tapes out of Oakland. Do you still work with them? How did you transition to DHU Records?

Susie: Yeah, Transylvanian Tapes is led by this wonderful man that helps small bands like us out, but he only does tapes. DHU only does vinyl. He is also a lovely man who does a lot for us. We are grateful for Transylvanian Tapes and DHU because they not only propped us up when we were invisible to most people, they introduced us to a lot of other underground bands that now inspire us and help us progress. Very similar to you guys. If it wasn’t for Doomed & Stoned, Planets Collide, Ripple Music, Transylvanian Tapes, DHU, and these wonderful blog posts and reviews, we’d not be given the chances that we have had so far. We are incredibly grateful for it. We spend most of our time hiding in a cave making music. Y'all make us relevant and visible.

Jordan: The community surrounding bands like us, and music like ours, is absolutely the best part of doing all this. We’ve met some wonderful people who have really gone out their way to push us and encourage us to keep going. Transylvanian Tapes and DHU are a huge part of that. The support we’ve been fortunate enough to receive has been overwhelming.

Jamie: James Rauh from Transylvanian Tapes is a legend. He totally hooked us up and continues to do so much to promote Brume and a ton of the other amazing underground Bay Area bands. DHU reached out to us after Donkey came out and has been a huge partner in getting our music to wax. He puts out incredible bands and tirelessly connects with people to spread the word. When Jordan said he wanted to make a label to put out Rooster we were so pumped for him, but decided to have DHU still help with vinyl. I'm glad we did, the color looks way killer and I know people are gonna lose their shit.

What are some Bay Area bands you’re psyched on? I really enjoy Swamp Witch, Body Void, Noothgrush, Brainoil, etc. Any up-and-coming bands in that area you’re digging?

Susie: Yes, Body Void is the total package. I’m a huge gigantic fan of War Cloud and Love Moon, too. I’m wearing a War Cloud shirt right now.

Jordan: So many Bay Area bands to love! KOOK, Tvsk, Name -- it goes on and on.

Jamie: Body Void is fucking incredible. Wilt’s voice is something else, and they keep getting better with every release. KOOK from San Jose are killer, too; not only sweet guys, but man they slay live. Serpents of Dawn, Tvsk, Lowcaster, War Cloud -- it's pretty vibrant around here and getting better.

So this new album, for me, has three focal points I want to talk about: the album art, the lyrics, and, of course, the music. For the album art, you guys chose Sean Beaundry to draw up this fantastic album art. How did you find Beaundry and what made you choose him?

Susie: Jamie found him. I was slow to the party, but fell just as hard in love.

Jordan: We knew what we wanted art-wise. We didn’t know Sean would take it leaps and bounds beyond what we had imagined.

Jamie: The album name was already decided, and Shaun's birds and crows I'd seen were amazing -- plus everything he'd done for Kylesa has this modern quality that I really wanted for our artwork. I reached out to him and was lucky enough that he was pumped about the project and creating a cockatrice. He was a dream to work with and has provided us such a killer album cover. We love it.

I really like Brume’s approach with album artwork and album names. 2015 released Donkey and it aptly featured a humanoid creature with a donkey’s head on the cover. Rooster features a wrathful rooster-snake throttling a sparrow. So what’s the link between your album art and names?

Jordan: Donkey was a temporary band name when we first got started. It eventually became the name of our first EP and Jamie discovered the artwork. I think we all fell in love with the chimera idea, so once we settled on Rooster we already knew it had to be some sort of animal hybrid.

Jamie: Animal hybrids may be a theme. Or farmyard animals? Who knows.

Donkey by Brume

Some of the lyrics on this album were extractions from Victoria June Baigrie. I’ve looked her up and she’s an obscure poet. Tell us more about her work, why you chose to use her poetry, and in what ways it influenced the songwriting for the record.

Jamie: Vicci is my talented wife. The whole album was written by Susie, except "Harold" which is an extraction from a poem that she had created about an injured goldfinch she found and fostered when we lived in London. She found it lying in the street on a bustling Portobello road and swept it up, nurtured it back to health, and then took it to a wildlife reserve a week or so later. The whole experience was both rewarding and traumatic for her, so when Susie asked her to write a poem about it, she jumped at the opportunity. She's keen to write more, maybe even some short stories for books are in the future. The acoustic intro I came up with at the same time this all happened, probably six years ago, so I’m glad I could make this song come to life. Harold is the bird you see on the cover, he looks in trouble but when you see the center gatefold on the vinyl artwork you’ll notice he’s just fine.

"Call the Serpent’s Bluff" is one of the more interesting songs for me lyrically, specifically the first two stanzas.

The other night I dreamt of the devil In a painting white teal and purple His glowing head and arms were a’ flailing But the frame was somehow firmly planted

He didn’t talk but yeah he scared me I left the room but he still got to me He’s in my head

What went into selecting these lyrics?

Susie: That was a poem I wrote one morning after a pretty bad dream. Most people don’t remember their dreams. Mine are clear, awful, and haunting most of the time. I find that writing them down helps me deal with it and try to get it out of my head. Demons and Devils pop up in my dreams a lot and not in a funny, cool, metal way. I think it was a manifestation of me fighting some bad decisions I was tempted to make and ones I have already made, except for the end of the song. The end came a year later as an epiphany when I adapted the poem to music. I remember jogging to it making up a melody to the last riff and thinking, “Oh shit, fuck that. I'm calling his bluff.” The ending was emotionally triumphant. My dreams are like I constantly have these demons fucking fight over my soul. But I won that one a year later. Weird that I’m explaining this to a stranger. Maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe you should buy me a whiskey first, and I’ll tell you the rest. I like Bulleit.

Jordan: Make mine a double.

Jamie: Three, please!

Ok, so musically this album sees Brume really hitting their stride. How did the writing process change for this record?

Susie: In 2014, we just met and started playing music together. I’m not sure much has changed in our process, except for more time spent together probably helps you build trust and learn how to collaborate easier together. I know I feel more comfortable to make armpit farts as an intro and chirp bird noises mid-song!

Jordan: The first EP was more of a rush job, since Susie was expecting and the fate of the band was unknown. We really wanted to get something out quickly. With Rooster we booked the studio time well in advance and got Billy Anderson to sign on fairy early. There was a good six months where we didn’t do anything but write and rehearse. We’ve also become quite close as a band, so we were more willing to take risks that maybe we wouldn't have attempted on the first record.

Jamie: Process-wise, the only thing that had changed was a lot more focus on lyrics and vocals. Susie and I spent a lot of time at each other’s apartments between band rehearsals focusing in on melodies, intonations, and harmonies. Thanks to all husband and wives in Brume for putting up with us!

What did you want to avoid on this record? In other words, what did you not want this record to sound like, be perceived as, and so on?

Susie: Nothing, I don’t really think that way. I just do what I want to and try not to hold back. It isn’t great life advice but for music it works well for me. Plus, if Jamie or Jordan thinks my idea sucks, they have no problem telling me. That makes it easier to go for it, as far as I’m concerned.

Jordan: We never limit what we want to do. If we like it, we do it. We don’t try to avoid sounding like anything. We sound like who we are.

While the goal should never be "longer is better" for doom, necessarily, the songs on this record are noticeably longer and more fleshed out than those on Donkey. Did this come naturally as you wrote the compositions or were you trying to write a fuller, more complete opus?

Jordan: We joke that our songs aren’t finished until they’re over the six-minute mark, but we do like to stretch things out and slow things down. We’re not in a rush to get to the next song.

Jamie: I’m a big fan of Junior Kimborough, old Bob Dylan, and Yob. Monotony is kind of my jam. Some people find that boring, I find it hypnotic and calming. There is a balancing act to keeping people engaged, so to add more flavor to a song meant making them a lil' longer than we did on Donkey. We wanted these songs to feel more epic and have more dynamics and take people on a journey, so twelve-minute songs just kind of happened.

In "Reckon," McMullen’s vocals deliver this tribal chant in the middle of the song, followed by a fucking heavy riff. It’s a big moment and it's segments like this that make Rooster stand out. What influences would you say pushed you guys to write songs like "Reckon"?

Susie: Jamie wrote that riff -- it's so good, right?! Love that shit. Lyrically, that song is about a big, ugly dude that works at NASA who looks like he should play in Crowbar that I crushed on for some time. It seemed natural to make this song a story about a badass who could match up to that riff. Tribal chants, animal sounds, three-to-four schizoid-personalities in one song, that is what speaks to me vocally and makes me feel wild and alive.

Jamie: The structure in that song came from my fear of it sounding too much like a blues thing. I think that’s where the schizoid personality comes in. There’s a lil' bit of All Them Witches, Pallbearer, and a total High on Fire "10,000 Years" riff at the end that pretty much sums up what I would have been listening to that month.

This album experimented a lot more with dynamics than Donkey. "Tradewind," which starts off with soft, somber guitar work, swells and fades throughout the song, ending on a strong crescendo. This really heightens the cathartic nature of the music. It’s purging, painful, and beautiful. Tell us more about how you guys "discovered" this element of your songwriting.

Susie: For the bass, I just try to beef up the guitars unless I can add something fun and dynamic or bring another riff that compliments Jordan or Jamie. Vocally, I like to show all sides of me. I am not strong and tough 24/7. Sometimes I’m fragile or scared or weak. Sometimes I’m pissed at the whole world and other times I want to lift the world up. I try to give all of those sides of me even if it isn’t that cool to show it. I notice when I do so then singing and playing music is therapeutic and self-nourishing. I don’t have to pretend to be something stronger than I am. It is a sustainable lifestyle being yourself. I highly recommend it.

Jordan: Metal bands have feelings, too.

Jamie: Last year's Radiohead album, A Moon Shaped Pool, was something I obsessed over. That and All Them Witches (ever since I saw them at Day of the Shred in 2014). Whilst very different artists, both bands craft albums that are rich and dynamic. They create such contrast in style and mood. I love this juxtaposition. I respect that I never know what I’m going to get with both of these artists and I was so heavily inspired by that idea, I worked hard to incorporate it into Rooster. I’m excited to see how much more contrast we can create in the future.

I really enjoyed this record, still spinning it now. Thanks so much for visiting with the readers of Doomed & Stoned!

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