#his art is amazing in general but his bang piece is ESPECIALLY GORGEOUS

[bluecookiesabi]

Sugary Sweet. Absolutely Adorable. Floating On Cloud Nine. And what's this? Maybe even a little steamy?

When First Aid was kicked out of work for a mandatory break, he wasn't expecting much. But when a chance encounter leads him to Brainstorm, he gets more than he could ever have imagined. Follow them as they soar to new heights—in more ways than one—and find a connection that will leave them dizzy for more!

Special thanks to @hashi-moma for creating the wonderful art piece that inspired and will accompany this story! It was truly a pleasure to work with you in the @tf-bigbang this year, and I hope everyone will enjoy what we've created together! I highly encourage everyone to check out Hashi's art blog @hashipebbles, and to look forward to both of our full pieces once the posting period starts later this month <3

[elysianslove]

Have you got any blog/fic recs? I love love LOVE your work and was wondering if you had any that inspire you/that you love to read!! <3

stop that’s so sweet oh my goodness 🥺 and my god yes i do. i have so many. let me pull up the reading list saved on my phone real quick omg. these are all tumblr fic recs, but if you guys want me to recommend ao3 fics, i’d love to (they will all be sakuatsu and iwaoi tho bdkhskbs) 

by @big-oya-energy: this fic. 

it’s an oikawa x reader where he does the trend of kissing his best friend, and it’s written amazingly. i love it so much. the way oikawa’s feelings are described and the build up and just. best friends to lovers excellence. it’s beautiful. amazing. show stopping. brilliant. i love it. everything about it. feeds my oikawa brainrot so well. 

by @myelocin: this fic. 

Trigger Warning! there’s mention of suicide and depression. but genuinely this is one of my comfort fics. it’s perfect in every way and honestly, it feels like a gentle hug on a bad day. there’s no other way to describe it. it’s an issei x reader one, and i honestly highly recommend reading it if you’re not having too good of a day. just makes me feel loved yk? 

by @tetsuwhore: this fic. 

another oikawa x reader i’m sorry i’m so predictable. the classic ‘teaches you how to touch yourself/how to cum.’ never gets old. this one’s so, so good. so hot. it’s written incredibly well, and i love it so much. 10/10 recommend!!! 

by @fluoresence: i have a bunch from this blog omg. i always come back to these cause i love them so much.

this one. another oikawa x reader, i’m sorry, but it’s so funny, such a good read. i was smiling the whole way through. oikawa’s girlfriend dresses up as a catgirl and he loses his mind. it’s not nsfw, just pure humor and fluff. i love it so muchhh. 

this fic, and its part 2. it’s nsfw and god. so hot. first part is issei x reader, second part is issei x reader too but makki watches. through a screen. i love love love it, especially part 2. there’s also like some humor there because yk, of course there is with these two, but genuinely so good! 

this series. can you tell aoba johsai is my favorite team aside inarizaki? can you tell? it’s five parts, all nsfw. first part you have a gang bang with all four of them where they make you guess who’s fucking you, and the other four are based off of who you want to choose! it’s one of the first fics i read when my obsession with the seijoh 4 started. it’s so good i cannot recommend reading this series enough. read it. now. 

by @samuslut: this fic, and its part 2. 

oh my god. oh my god. atsumu x reader, such mouthwatering smut. holy shit. this is timeskip!atsumu, and you’re basically a fan of his and i don’t wanna spoil but. video call sex. and then part 2 actual sex. it’s written so, so well. the quality. immaculate. when i found this gem i wanted to cry it was so good. i loved it and i do reread yes. i do. 

by @hajimesh: this fic. 

it’s. a gang bang with the national team + oikawa. literally heaven on earth. i cannot believe i read something as amazing as this for free. so sosososofshfskfsk SO GOOD. it’s like threesomes/foursomes in a gang bang, where the boys take turns with you in groups. there’s so much of everything. it’s perfect in every way, i might shed a tear. i reread this no matter how long it is. just That good. 

by @chicoree: this fic. 

GANG BANG WITH MSBY. you’re atsumu’s girlfriend here, and just. listen. please read this. it’s amazing. i’m so happy i found it. the writing it so good, the smut is so hot, the characterization, everything. just. chef’s kiss. i love it. an absolute gem. definitely worth a reread as well <3 

by @miyaflix: this fic. 

HOW ARE PEOPLE SO GOOD AT WRITING. THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL. ITS GORGEOUS. oikawa x reader x kuroo, where you’re oikawa’s roommate, kuroo’s your best friend (if i remember correctly). the three of you fuck. everything that builds up to it and the actual smut is breathtaking. amazing writing, amazing plot, amazing smut. 10/10. i love it. 

by @wackatoshi: this fic. 

a terushima x reader where you’re his best friend, and you ask him to be your first kiss. it’s so sweet, so cute, adorable, the loveliest softest writing. i adore it. it’s not so long, but it’s not short either. perfect perfect perfect and so sweet. 

by @cafedanslanuit: this fic. 

god. innocent, virgin kageyama and experienced reader, some good ass dry humping. so good. not joking i reread this often. it’s so sweet how kags is a little shy and how he’s so clueless but he’s just losing himself in the pleasure. amazingly well written. i love it love it love it!!! 

by @m-mortimer: this fic. 

another msby gang bang. you’re atsumu’s girlfriend and his teammates all wanna fuck you, so he lets them. a work of art if i do say so myself. literally so, sososo so well written. i adore this piece. like genuinely. words. beautiful. so . so impressive oh my god??? 

genuine thank you to all the authors mentioned here. you’re all so fucking amazing, and i hope you know that. keep writing as beautifully as you do, because you’re all so wonderful and so inspiring and just generally all around incredible people. i love you all and i can’t thank you enough for these gems <333

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 9 April 2018

Quick Bits:

Animosity: Evolution #5 gets to the heart of the criminal enterprise undermining Wintermute’s authority, operating the black market, and what they’ve been trying to accomplish. This arc has definitely been interesting so far, showing that the animal organizations aren’t really all too different from their human counterparts.

| Published by AfterShock

Avengers #688 raises the stakes higher as we speed towards the conclusion of “No Surrender”. While the Challenger flips the table on the game, this issue takes its perspective from Quicksilver, setting up the next stage for his forthcoming Quicksilver: No Surrender limited series.

| Published by Marvel

Barbarella #5 tosses in some more weird science as Barbarella and Vix go prospecting for RUST.

| Published by Dynamite

Bloodshot Salvation #8 begins to marry up the timelines, such that the present is becoming the “soon” timeline that began in the first issue, as Bloodshot travels through the Deadside and we find out how he got tossed into the future. It’s interesting to see how Jeff Lemire’s non-linear threads have been playing out through the story.

| Published by Valiant

Brothers Dracul #1 reunites the team of Cullen Bunn and Mirko Colak, having recently completed the Unholy Grail series, here for an interesting take on the Vlad Tepes story and the Dracula myth. Bunn takes a different approach to the myth, rooting it in much of the recorded history of Vald, his family, and Wallachia under Ottoman rule and it results in a much more grounded story. At least for the first issue. The art from Colak, with colours by Maria Santaolalla, is also great.

| Published by AfterShock

Captain America #700 is Chris Samnee’s last issue on the series, and the last of his work at Marvel for the time being, and he sure does go out with a bang. Samnee and Mark Waid stitch up a conclusion to the Cap in the future arc, although there are some interesting ramifications of the story to unpack, including presenting an idea of the futility of hope. That’s probably bleaker than the creative team necessarily intended it to be read as.

| Published by Marvel

Champions #19 begins the next chapter in the team’s chronicles, with Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse taking over as the new creative team. The art from Izaakse and colourist Marcio Menyz is wonderful throughout, including some great character designs. It’s also interesting to see how Zub has the team approaching new recruits like Ironheart as they try to figure out how the new pieces fit.

| Published by Marvel

Cold War #3 dives into the past of two survivors this time, giving us a look into the history and personalities of LQ and Johnny. Even as the latter fights for relevance and control in the present, seemingly unable to accept the leadership of Vinh or her attempts to protect everyone remaining. Then Christopher Sebela drops another bomb on us as to the state of this future.

| Published by AfterShock

Crude #1 is an interesting beginning, setting up a bit of a mystery involving the death of the son of a former Russian agent, as he gets dragged back into a seedy, harsh existence to hunt down his son’s murderers. Steve Orlando begins this first issue mostly as set-up, flashing back through both Piotr and, his son, Kiril’s lives before getting us to the main plot and arrival at the setting, and source for the title.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Dead Hand #1 is an impressive debut, capturing perfectly the intrigue and action of a Cold War thriller, matched with the bleakness of more modern interpretations of Russia and a twist that you’ll never see coming. Kyle Higgins’ Image outings tend to be wonderful reads, like COWL and Hadrian’s Wall, and this series seems no different so far. It’s also great to see Stephen Mooney providing the line art here, his style is perfectly suited to spy and thriller stories, especially as coloured here by Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Image

Deadly Class #33 continues to tear everything down, blow everything up, or beat it into a bloody pulp. Nothing seems to be safe. Rick Remender and Wes Craig seem intent on putting everyone through the wringer, and Craig (with colours from Jordan Boyd) is reminding everyone why he’s one of the best artists working in comics today.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Doctor Strange #388 is another integral part of the Damnation event, diving into Strange’s possession and what’s going on with the other fallen heroes current plaguing Vegas at Mephisto’s behest. The story from Donny Cates is good, weird, and has Niko Henrichon at the very top of his game.

| Published by Marvel

Domino #1 is damn great. In some ways, it feels like old home week, as Gail Simone brings back some of the characters and stylistic quirks from her time writing Deadpool and Agent X, complete with the humour, action, and absurdity, but at the same time, this feels fresh. It’s not as over the top as the other two outings and it makes for what feels to me like a better story. It also makes the humour pop a bit more as it feels natural. Also, the art from David Baldeón and Jesus Aburtov is gorgeous. Baldeón surprised me with how great his art has become on Spirits of Vengeance and here he’s bringing it to an even higher level. This first issue is fun and comes very recommended.

| Published by Marvel

Dry County #2 sets up the mystery. After being embroiled in Janet’s life as a kind of sad sack saviour in the first issue, Lou gets his hopes dashed by her kidnapping this issue. If it follows traditional Miami Noir themes, I have my suspicions about it, but here Rich Tommaso plays it straight and uses it to start Lou down the path to find out what happened to her.

| Published by Image

Exiles #1 begins a gathering the team arc, as Blink is drafted back into the multiverse-saving business by the reappearance of the Tallus and the Unseen’s premonitions of the white fire of nothingness caused by the Time Eater. Saladin Ahmed does a great job of playing with Exiles history and Marvel ephemera in constructing this first issue, but the real star is the artwork. Javier Rodríguez is one of Marvel’s underrated talents who really should be heralded as a superstar. Here, he, Álvaro López, and Jordie Bellaire make this issue one of the most visually interesting on the stands, with great page layouts, interesting panel transitions, phenomenal use of page for storytelling effect, and unique character designs. This is a great start and I’m dying to see more.  

| Published by Marvel

Gideon Falls #2 continues a slow burn through the story, focusing on both Norton and Father Fred’s experiences with the black barn, and the world beyond them not believing their respective stories. It’s a common horror and mystery thread, but it’s still interesting how Jeff Lemire is framing the narrative and building the characters through the dialogue. Also, the art from Andrea Sorrentino and Dave Stewart continues to be amazing. 

| Published by Image

Ninja-K #6 plays with a number of the messes that have yet to be cleaned up across the Valiant universe. It’s interesting to see Christos Gage play with the toys, with visceral art from Juan José Ryp and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Valiant

No. 1 With a Bullet #6 is a brilliant end to what has been an excellent series. Jacob Semahn, Jorge Coello, and Jen Hickman have a story here that is relevant in today’s society obsessed with social media, and delves deep into what can happen when that obsession turns deadly and debilitating. There’s one last twist this issue and the art, especially as it simulates the current state of Nash’s eyesight, is amazing. I highly recommend this series.

| Published by Image

Oblivion Song #2 fleshes out a bit more what happened from Earth’s perspective on the day that parts of Philadelphia fell into Oblivion. It’s interesting to see it unfold, especially in relation to the two recent survivors who came back. It’s slow going, and there are oblique character moments, but it’s enthralling.

| Published by Image

The October Faction: Supernatural Dreams #2 sees the summoned demon wandering around, causing havoc, raising hell. Oh, and Geoff and Vivian get their butts handed to them.

| Published by IDW

Prism Stalker #2, like the first issue, is very, very strange. On the one hand, it’s presented and illustrated by Sloane Leong as this surrealist weird comic that almost defies classification. Kind of like some of the silent indie comics out there that are more experienced than “read”. On the other hand, the story Leong presents is fairly mundane, one of coming of age in what appears to be an oppressive alien society. I’m not really sure what to make of it still, but it has my attention.

| Published by Image

ROM & The Micronauts #4 gets the full band back together in our world as the final battle against Baron Karza and the Dire Wraiths looms on the horizon. Christos Gage waxes philosophical on physical and emotional change, and how love will find a way in strange cases, but what’s really pushing us towards the final battle is the promise of raising the Lovecraftian monstrosity at the heart of the Earth.

| Published by IDW

Sleepless #5 works further on the intrigue going on, revealing that some of the plots may not have been put into motion by who we may have be led to believe previously.

| Published by Image

Sword of Ages #3 has the crap hit the fan. Some of the political machinations come to a head and it’s all pretty glorious. Gabriel Rodríguez is telling an incredible story here, adapting Arthurian legend in a very unique way.

| Published by IDW

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #81 is a densely packed narrative, picking up on the threads from the recently concluded Triceratons arc, the running undercurrent of Splinter’s ideas for the Foot Clan, while also spilling out the return of the Rat King after TMNT Universe #19. There’s a lot going on, but I’d argue that Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, and Tom Waltz make it accessible and interesting. Aiding in that effort is phenomenal art from Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison.

| Published by IDW

Thanos #18 concludes “Thanos Wins” and with it this chapter of the Mad Titan’s adventures (apart from a forthcoming annual in a couple of weeks). This issue is big and epic and has a very interesting ending. Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, and Antonio Fabela have outdone themselves.

| Published by Marvel

Vs. #3 gets a look at the ruling class in this world, trying to figure out why Flynn’s ratings remain high despite him continuing to suffer losses. It’s a little dry, but it does set up some further conflict between Flynn and Devi, and continues to draw some beautiful art from Esad Ribić.

| Published by Image

X-Men Blue #25 gives us a main story with Magneto’s confrontation of Miss Sinister and her allies, while Polaris and the other remaining X-Men lick their wounds in Madripoor. There’s also a back-up that serves as a bridge between the “Poison X” and Venomized stories for the original five and Venom, with some really nice art by Mike Perkins and Andy Troy.

| Published by Marvel

X-Men Red #3 gives some more oblique hints at what’s really going on, as anti-mutant hysteria begins reaching critical mass and attacks, protests, and riots begin to spill over. Tom Taylor is aptly using parallels to current events across America and the world here and it makes it a bit scarier.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Algeria is Beautiful Like America, The Archies #6, Astonisher #6, The Beauty #21, Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #17, The Despicable Deadpool #298, DuckTales #8, Eternal Empire #8, Falcon #7, Ghost Money #9, James Bond: Casino Royale, Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini #4, Old Man Logan #38, Planets of the Apes: Ursus #4, Resident Alien: An Alien in New York #1, Rick Veitch’s The One #3, Rose #10, Shock, Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #31, Star Wars: Darth Vader #14, Star Wars: Thrawn #3, Tomb Raider: Survivor’s Crusade #4, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #31, Venomized #2

Recommended Collections: Aliens/Predator/Prometheus: Fire & Stone, Cable - Volume 2: Newer Mutants, Clover Honey, Coyotes - Volume 1, Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan, DuckTales: Mysteries and Mallards, Family Trade - Volume 1, Jean Grey - Volume 2: Final Fight, Lazarus X+66, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 2: Most Wanted, Rock Candy Mountain - Volume 2, Spider-Man/Deadpool - Volume 5: Arms Race, TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo - Expanded Edition, Transformers: Till All Are One - Volume 3, The Unbelievable Gwenpool - Volume 5: Lost in the Plot, Underwhere

d. emerson eddy tried to make a souffle a few days ago. It fell.

[happymetalgirl]

Thoughts on Gojira’s Magma

Magma is, without a doubt, my favorite album that came out last year. I know that it came out in June and that a lot had already been said about it around the time of its release, but its impact on metal last year was huge and it sustained discussion about itself and its creators all through the year. It became my favorite album from a band who I already had immense respect and adoration for, and I was fortunate enough to see them tour in support of it and play six of its songs live. (“Pray” was so insane live.) Considering the album conjured up their first two surprising Grammy nominations (as the Grammys are usually pretty ridiculous) and considering the fact that this is my blog and I can write about whatever I want, I think it’s still perfectly relevant to write about an album from last year that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I fear this might get pretty long.

I’ll keep from going through every little detail from the album that made me love it (and also from the few moments that weren’t perfect) because I know that each song would take a LONG time. But while I’m here I can’t help from fawning over the excellence of the tone set by the catchy groove of the opening track, the cathartic solo in the Grammy-nominated track that gracefully follows the opener, the combined power of the drums and vocals on “The Cell”, the straightforward and memorable mid-paced groove and vocal prowess on “Stranded”, the meditative state the title track generates, the infectious “Bleed”-like rhythm that “Pray” uses more convincingly than any other band that has tried to rip off the now-classic Meshuggah drum pattern, the anthem-like quality of the death metal riffing in “Only Pain”, and the touching lyrics and perfectly designed cadential aura of the brothers’ tribute to their late mother on “Low Lands”. Wow, that was a long sentence!

When Magma came out last June, and when “Stranded”, “Silvera”, and “The Shooting Star” helped prepare the metal world for it, the obligatory debate over Gojira’s masterfully intense and technical death metal taking the back seat to this new, proggy, groove-centered, and diverse style they debuted. It seemed unusual to me at first too, but it didn’t take long for me to see that this was still Gojira playing to their strengths, only this time it was strengths they hadn’t revealed before. One of my favorite things about the album, which was discussed significantly as part of their change in style, is Joe’s vocals. I already worshipped the special, melodic, burning growls that enriched every one of their previous albums, but his clean singing especially on this album helped especially well to set the bar unimaginably high for them now. The songs on the album fit snuggly with his unique register and his varied, nonformulaic use of his clean and gruff vocal styles throughout the album compliments the music exquisitely, setting atmospheric moods with clean singing and breaking those atmospheres down resonantly with reintroduced howling, and swirling that majestic chaos back into meditative mood after meditative mood of blast-beat-y hammering. Indeed, many of the brutal moments on the album are just as ambient and meditative as they are blood-pumping and head-banging, an art that resembles the hard-to-capture duality of the violent jazzy metal tranquility of Meshuggah. The naturalist vibe and message Gojira has already cultivated is enriched in the lyricism and the successful experimentation with their sound on Magma. The expansion and molding of the ambient component of their sound, which people complained about having replaced the nonstop torrent of overwhelming technical death metal, both provides more of Gojira to love, and highlights what most of the band’s fans already loved about them. The heavier moments stand out more with the mix of relative calmness into the tracks and resurge with the real force that keeps the punch from becoming numbing the way a lot of music by the likes of Nile or Decapitated often does, and in that regard, the heavy is really heavy, due credit also being due to the mixing and mastering work done on the album. It does not flash all its magic at once and fizzle out after one listen either. The songwriting throughout the album is interesting and beckons many repeated spins to become connected, and rewardingly so, with its every enthralling nuance; I’m listening to it right now, with all my appendages pulsing with more of Magma’s moments and spirit than the last time I listened to it. I often yearned for the album to be longer when I was giving it early listens, because it’s just so damn compelling, but it really is crafted to impart a specific experience in exactly the time of what it already presents. I could go on and on and relay more poetic praise for what Gojira has done for me personally with this album, but this is already pretty lengthy.

This album has meant a lot for me, and also a lot to the band themselves (Mario and Joe especially evidently) and to the metal community and our music as a whole. It was a triumphant delivery after the four-year wait between L'Enfant Sauvage and their new album’s release after many were underwhelmed or indifferent to Metallica’s comeback and even disappointed with Meshuggah’s studio return. Indeed, despite many other huge figures in metal (Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Meshuggah, Deftones, Opeth, Rob Zombie, Korn, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Anthrax, In Flames) dropping many highly-anticipated albums, Magma and everything that went along with it really made 2016 Gojira’s year. The enigmatic nature of the album that made it hard for the metal sphere to finish its first rounds of talking about it, the massive tour the band set out on to celebrate it, and their tasteful, refreshingly artful social media presence (their tour diaries being outstandingly gorgeous and worthwhile, and Evil Mario being an awesome window into their goofiness behind the scenes) certainly also helped them end up in many metal publications and topping their year-end lists by December’s closing.

It’s also worth talking about how all of this culminated in Grammy nominations at the end of the year for Gojira. The Grammys have ever been a somewhat redundant ceremony to parade what everyone already knows has made the most money that year based on its hard-to-avoid splatter across radio and social media, and ever since their infamous snub of …And Justice for All, they have never really been taken too seriously or even passionately in the context of metal, which is minimally represented anyway. Even their metal picks seem to be pretty consistently basic and out-of-touch most of the time; although I do find it funny how much silverware they give Metallica now that they’re huge and they know they goofed back in 1988. But this year, they seem to have run their finger luckily across the giant pulse Gojira made in metal, and they seem to have picked up on just how significant Magma was this past year because they nominated the entire work for an award and not just the most accessible single. They also noticed, to my amazement, the fabulous work Baroness did at the end of the previous year. Even though most of us don’t really get our hopes up for the Grammys recognizing meaningful work in this genre, it’s somewhat reminiscent of Metallica’s first nomination almost 30 years ago; a somewhat underground band’s (pretty underground for the Grammys) death metal-marinated album in the hard rock category, one that really made waves and earned its reputation. It’s sort of a significant moment for death metal, even if Magma doesn’t win. But if it does, it would be a sight to behold, and what would that mean for metal in the world to come? Would it boost interest in the styles of metal Magma is rooted in? Would that interest develop invested participants in metal culture or just shallow visitations to these trends of desperate fame-seekers the way a lot of dime-a-dozen djent music has emerged since Meshuggah’s breakthrough and how blackgaze has become battling grounds ever since Deafheaven’s explosion onto the scene? Would nothing happen because we ignore the Grammys for the most part now and don’t consider their voice accurately representative of metal? I don’t know, and it’s too early in the morning to speculate now, so I’ll stay on the topic of Magma.

I feel like there were so many points I wanted to make about this album and its contextual presences and that even though this is long and winded, I’m forgetting something. I’ll quickly mention that I love the artwork associated with the album; I’m a sucker for volcano-related stuff and I love the front cover artwork and I’ve been meaning to get the visual companion. Call me a fanboy, but the primal, cave-painting-esque art style really fits the nature-centric theme of their music and I dig it. I’ll mention that I have this album on record as well and I love displaying and looking at that large square piece with the sunshine volcano eruption while I play this thing. The vinyl itself is quite crackly, but strangely, I don’t mind for this one.

I’ll finish this off by just saying thank you if you read this. I know this was long and I understand if you just skimmed it. I did this in one sitting and I’m sure there are some typos and convoluted sentences. The long sentences thing tends to be the way I write, and I can’t help but write extensively because I just adore this music so much. So, thank you again; see, I can’t even finish this tacked-on paragraph briefly without trying to discuss something.

Thank you whoever reads this. Thank you, teriyaki turkey jerky, for getting me through this. And thank you Gojira for Magma and everything else!