#bonus points if u know what drawing of mine i used for the cover! and if u can find the TCM reference <3

[killer-wizard]

GREYSCALE HORROR - a zine about psychological horror

under the cut, as well as a full image of it ! <3 enjoy! i just remade a couple pages because i wasnt a fan of my older art style.

partially created with ELECTRIC ZINE MAKER!

[dolliedarlin]

a love like rodger and jessica ⏤denki k.

s u m m a r y : You and Denki have a love like Rodger and Jessica Rabbit

l e n g t h : 2k

g e n r e : fluff ; praises ; body worship ; supportive kaminari ; best boi kaminari ; precious baby 

w a r n i n g s : mentions of lovemaking

p a i r i n g s : denki k x f.reader

a / n : this is a quick little headcanon I came up with at three am and needed to get out as soon as possible before I lose the will to write it. I hope you all enjoy the read! Feel free to comment and like - tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome.

❥ You're a self-made millionaire, CEO of a successful skincare and beauty company, investor and supermodel. The level of success you've been able to accumulate over the years is nothing to sneeze at, especially with your young age of 21.

❥ However, you draw more eyes for your beauty and body rather than your accomplishments. It's rather annoying but you've grown used to it.

❥ It isn't a lie that you're as stunning as they come. And with a body that elicits lust and unspeakable fantasies in the men and women around you, it can be said that your beauty has more power than what any of your achievements could ever provide you with.

❥ It's disappointing how you've worked so hard but still seem to achieve so little despite the empire you've built from the ground up.

❥ You've turned many young and handsome, accomplished men down, no longer your naive self. Even with their own triumphs and wealth, you can see their true intentions when looking into their greedy eyes.

❥ They only want you for your body and only regard you with contempt - there was no love, there was no honesty, they never did anything to make you feel comfortable or smile.

❥ That was all you wanted.

❥ But, perhaps, it's too childish to think about such things now.

❥ You had given up all hope and with that loss of hope came a hardened shell that nobody could break. Deep inside your heart, you still wished for a fairy tale romance and a happy life where you could smile freely and be comfortable, which is why your piercing glare, harsh demeanor and cold speech manifested in defense of those desires.

❥ It was a normal day at work; you had several meetings to attend concerning collaborations with other brands in the morning before you needed to head off to attend a photoshoot for a magazine concerning skincare.

❥ You had just been on your way to said photoshoot, in fact, when a villain attack hastily painted an image of red and blue lights, panic, destruction, and screaming people before you.

❥ Upon realizing that you were in the line of attack, you rushed to exit your car. You have been a victim of your own clumsiness many times in the past despite their rare occurrence, but ill-luck had you tripping over in your attempt to flee, causing a stinging pain to shoot up your right leg.

❥ With your back turned and crumbled to the floor in pain, you became an easy target and didn't register the careless attack directed towards you until you heard a shout of warning.

❥ "Woah! Watch it, lady!"

❥ Behind you was the Stun Gun Hero himself: Chargebolt! You had never interacted with heroes but you greatly admired their work, heroism, and sense of justice. Keeping the peace and putting villains in jail brought on a sense of security that you never took for granted. However, you had never been more grateful for their presence than that moment.

❥ "Hurry and run away!" at his command, you attempted to stand and run off but instead was painfully reminded that during your fall, you had managed to sprain your ankle.

❥ What terrible luck.

❥ "I-I can't-" you almost sob, hating how powerless you were feeling in that moment, "I think I sprained my ankle,"

❥ You heard him mutter a curse before shouting at the other heroes on-site to cover him whereby he then took the chance to rush in carrying you in his arms and run to safety.

❥ "P-please be careful," you plea, worried about his welfare as you wrap your arms around his neck for security.

❥ "Don't worry about it!" he flashes you a toothy grin, "Just hold on tight and I'll get you somewhere safe! You can count on me!" for once in your life, even though you were still in a dangerous setting, you felt comfortable and safe.

❥ In this stranger's arms, you felt protected - it was a wonderful feeling. It made you lean even closer into him, catching a whiff of his husky scent combined with his sweat. What a pleasant aroma.

❥ Maybe you should make a perfume inspired by it and have him model in the commercial?

❥ This wasn't like you, you're embarrassed to admit. Even though you're in danger, you would still do anything to keep him close to you or see him again. You weren't some lovestruck school girl, you needed to get a hold of yourself!

❥ Finally at a safe place, he set you down as he panted heavily, "Damn, I need to get better at cardio," huffing out a breath, he checked you over, "you alright?"

❥ "Other than the ankle, I'm good," you smiled up at him, trying to convey your gratefulness.

❥ "Great! The ambulance will be here soon for any casualties so-..." he pauses. In the heat of the moment, his priority had been your safety and so he hadn't really taken the time to look at you, really look at you, and see how beautiful you were. Now that he had caught his breath, and began to process that he had carried a beauty in his arms, who was now smiling up at him, a dangerous heat crawled up his neck and blew steam out of his ears.

❥ "A-are you okay?!" had he been hit by something while he was carrying you off?

❥ "So beautiful..." he muttered, continuing to stare at you, your face, your body, even straining his ears to better hear your sultry voice.

❥ "What was that?" with a tilt of your head, Kaminari had to turn his gaze away so as not to get even more flustered and possibly die from too much blood rushing to his head. Beautiful and cute - a dangerous combination to have in a woman. He could fall to his knees and submit to you right then and there, shamelessly. It took everything in him to hold back.

❥ "Y-you're just really beautiful, sorry."

❥ For once in your life, someone was being honest with you. Yes, many people have called you beautiful but their reactions were never as raw or red as the hero standing before you. It was amusing and made you want to keep him close.

❥ "Thank you..." you had to say, he was pretty easy on the eyes as well, "you are also very handsome,"

❥ "Why thank you, pretty lady~" he sent you a playful wink which made you giggle, only spurring the male to continue his flirtatious act. It might have been out of habit or maybe it was a defense mechanism since he's never come across someone so beautiful before, either way, he was already dropping another cheesy pick up like before he realized what he was doing, "but, you know, you're very pretty and I'm cute..."

❥ "Hmm?~" you raised a brow, where was he going with this?

❥ "Together, we'd be pretty cute,"

❥ You didn't mean to offend him but you laughed and laughed and laughed, not realizing how his once grinning face had turned downcast and flourished red with embarrassment.

❥ "You have a point there," you giggled, catching the male off guard and almost making him self-combust, "whatever shall I do?~" you ponder aloud, looking at him with a twinkle in your eye.

❥ "Well...it just so happens that I'm writing a phone book," time to shoot his shot, "can I have your number?

❥ "Of course, you can~"

❥ Meeting Denki was a blessing in your life.

❥ He's a goofball with a heart of gold that was always getting overlooked by women, as he's told you on one of your many dates together.

❥ "It's their loss," you hum as you cuddle up into his side, his arm laying across your shoulders, "because you're mine now~"

❥ Truly, he was your ideal man.

❥ He never took you for granted, he was always honest, he praised you and worshipped you like a goddess and he made you feel loved and comfortable being yourself, which is what mattered above all else.

❥ In return, you were his ideal woman.

❥ You freely loved him for who he was, when people told you you deserved better than him, you shut them down quicker than a lightning strike, you actually liked his cheesy pickup lines and flirted right back. The achievements he's been able to get as a hero, you still praised no matter how small, as if he was the number one hero himself - you would even go so far as to say that he's your number one in everything. And, for a bonus, you were the beauty amoungst all beauties!

❥ All those rejections, all the insecurities he had to go through by being rejected by multiple women was all worth it because now he had you in his life.

❥ "Where have you been all my life, Denki? How did I ever live without you?" you sighed into the crook of his neck, straddling his lap as he hugged your waist and gave you a kiss on the temple.

❥ "Babe, that's my line," he chuckled.

❥ At first, he was always so flustered around you but over time, he's grown a reasonable amount of immunity. That didn't mean he stopped praising you for your achievements or worshipping your body whenever you were in bed together, however. He still did all those things.

❥ If others praise you, he didn't stop them because he knows you deserve all the praise but when he found out that you didn't take their words to heart like you did his and explained why, he made sure to be off patrol that night and kept you with him between the sheets until sunrise. For hours, he worshipped your body like a temple made of gold. Between kisses and gasping breaths, he applauded you for your achievements and assured you of all flaws you saw in yourself.

❥ That night you realised the true meaning of 'making love'.

❥ In hero awarding events, you'd accompany him dressed elegantly, with your hair and makeup done and smelling as intoxicating as you looked.

❥ "DEnKi How DArE YOuUuu!" his close friend, Mineta (you think it was), sobbed at the sight of you and him together on the red carpet as a couple. Even though they were friends, Kaminari instantly stood in front of you so as to shield you away from Mineta's perverted gaze.

❥ "Thank you, Darling~" you cooed, giving your blonde hero a kiss on the back of the neck before nuzzling in between his shoulder blades.

❥ On the outside, Denki allowed himself to grin and pull you into his arms with a cool air about him, seemingly unaffected by your actions but you knew him better than that. It was only because cameras were around and he needed to keep up his image. Inside, he was melting into a puddle of goo and you know it. He, very well, could've brushed you aside to appear better like all the other men you unfortunately dated before but, instead, he makes you feel special and loved.

❥ "I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world but please be more respectful Mineta," his arms tighten around you securely, shielding your curves from prying eyes. Appreciating the gesture, you turn his face to capture him in a kiss. It's a kiss that still makes his knees weak even after months of dating.

❥ "Let's go to our seats, dear," you lead the blonde away by the tie, knowing how your kisses can sometimes leave him releasing small bolts of electricity from his palms and fingertips. It was cute how a simple kiss could turn him as dumb as he was when he overused his quirk would, only in a slightly different way.

❥ Vice versa, whenever you had a big company party or event, Denki always made it so that he could attend the event with you. He wanted to be there to protect you and shut the men down who tried to approach you with ill intentions.

❥ With your human Pikachu around, you came to love going to events. It was a time where you could dress up just for him and eventually get undressed by him the moment you arrived home.

❥ Endless praises, endless love, endless comfort, endless laughter. That was what it felt like to be with Denki.

❥ He was your Rodger and you were his Jessica

bnha mlist . 

[isadcrajade]

💀 * [ barbie ferreira + cis female + she/her ] —— have you met isadora oliveira ? they are a twenty-one year old sophomore currently studying fashion design & merchandising. they live on keating house, and word around campus is that this aries is loyal + warm, as well as self-objectifying + obsequious. i wonder if they’ll make it out alive. chocolate covered strawberries, gothic platforms, lingerie under leather jackets.

hiii bbies it’s me (gabby) finally here again to post this finalized, messy version of isa’s intro! she’s a brand new never-been-played muse of mine so it’s def bound to be a bit more scattered & less developed than ezra’s, but also much shorter? so i mean there’s a bonus lmao alright here we go:

so isadora (also known by many nicknames such as isa, izzy, iz, & dora the explora if ur trying to piss her off vgbjhksjs) was definitely not brought up in a world of prestige and recognition like the one she’s become so accustomed to in attending holloway university

growing up in the small town of lisbon, maine the only reality isa knew during her childhood was that of living as the only child of a woman who was (TW) both a compulsive liar & and compulsive hoarder. their house was floor to ceiling with things her mom collected as well as garbage built up over time- her condition had already driven isa’s father out of the house when she was just three years old, and she never had a relationship with him as a result

she was still fairly young when she realized the true severity of her own situation, just how abnormal it was compared to that of her friends. she missed out on so many rights of passage during her upbringing like birthday parties, sleepovers, etc. for much of her life her own living space / bedroom were just as bad off as the rest of the house, given her mom’s inability to keep from passing her hoarding tendencies onto her daughter. isa simply didn’t know any better at the time. to her, that was normal.

not only was her mom a compulsive liar & hoarder but she was also extremely neglectful, often leaving isa to her own devices in the dangerous environment they called home. as a result of this she (TW ED) developed harmful coping mechanisms surrounding food, regularly overeating to combat negative feelings of loneliness, and this went on from the time she was just a little girl all the way until she was in high school

high school was rough in many ways- she suffered depression, anxiety, experienced bullying at the hands of the more popular kids for her weight & her mother’s financial situation, and was all around extremely isolated from her peers- the only person she really had to depend on was her cousin (WC) . she had so much respect and envy for her cousin, they had more of a sisterly dynamic than anything, she was just so gorgeous and everything she did just seemed so effortless, to the point isa couldn’t help but idolize her and consider her a best friend. 

like, remember when spongebob said he hoped that by being in squidward’s presence some of his artistic ability would rub off onto him? that was deadass isa & (WC) in high school jhbksnjs my girl was so sure if she just spent enough time with her she’d inherit some of her pretty & cool

high school was also where she reached a turning point when it came to her home environment, able to put a name to her mom’s condition after years of struggling with her strained and toxic relationship with her mom, and ultimately changed the rest of her life. she stayed the night at (WC’s) one night and after she fell asleep, isa stayed up watching TLC- it was there that she first discovered the TV show ‘hoarding: buried alive’ and realized there was a name for her mother’s infliction- but more importantly, learned that there was help available for her condition

when she went home to excitedly tell her mother that she’d basically discovered a cure, a means to change everything for them... she certainly hadn’t been expecting the reaction that came: her mom, who’d always been so indifferent toward her, so lethargic and uninterested in what she had to say, was suddenly listening very clearly- and she was not happy. isa had never heard her mom scream like that, had never really heard her express any heightened emotion, but it was in that moment at 17 years old, just a few weeks away from her 18th birthday, that she realized what she needed to do. she had no choice but to make plans to leave her mom behind.

the final weeks leading up to the big day she was counting on as a turning point consisted of her cleaning out her own space, little by little, enough that she had somewhere to set up her secondhand laptop and webcam. blowing out the candles on her 18th birthday cake came with wishing for a whole new life, and she was determined to make that for herself by any means necessary.

(TW SEX WORK) isa spent half her 18th year in her room working as a successful camgirl, showing everything but her face, & of course always being careful not to dox herself. she eventually earned enough money to start buying herself nicer clothes, but it didn’t take her long to realize she wanted more from life than just rotting away in her hometown. she bought herself a higher quality webcam to keep making money... and a nice sewing machine, something she’d always dreamed of owning. 

all her life she’d been drawing and sketching as a means of escapism, it’d always been therapeutic to her to be creative and conjure up unique designs for outfits in her mind, drawing models in all shapes and sizes to represent her fantasy outfits. but she never felt like a visionary, even though anyone with an eye for fashion who got a look at her work could see that she had the natural talent and potential to be. 

isa had been an a straight-A student her whole life despite having almost no support at home from her mother growing up, and with plenty of encouragement from (cousin WC), she plucked up the courage and applied for holloway university, with ivory falls being far enough from her hometown of lisbon, but still in the same state so that she could go and see her mother from time to time (bc although their relationship is quite strained now, she still loves and worries about her)

the next summer she received her acceptance letter at holloway u for the coming fall semester, and the fact that she’d been able to make it into such a prestigious school made her feel so proud of herself that she completely underwent a massive arc of character development; evolving into someone so much more confident. realizing that plenty of people found her desirable as she continued to earn money through cam shows had been part of that transformation, but realizing she was talented enough to get accepted into the fashion design and merchandising program at her dream school had a completely different effect on her. 

( TW BODY IMAGE ISSUES ) isa decided that as she entered college, she was no longer going to be the meek, insecure girl constantly playing the role of the doting, loyal fat best friend to the ‘prettier main characters’ she’d always been sidekick to- she told herself that she was the main fucking character in her life from here on, and has spent her entire college experience up to this point just,, navigating as she figures out what that really means to her

still has a terrible underlying tendency to be overly-loyal and a bit obsessive with girls she closely befriends, if she has any kind of jealousy towards them. but ! is a lot more confident than she used to be, and it shows in the way she dresses and carries herself, as well as in her long-term goals (to transfer to FIDM for her final years of university)

( TW ED MENTION ) as a young adult, she’s mostly she’s replaced the compulsion to deal with her body image issues by using food to cope that she had as a teenager... by using sex to cope instead, so she’s definitely a bit promiscuous but does her best to keep that Her Own business 

personality-wise she has a massive heart & is loyal to a fault but is also wild AF & loves a good time! never rly dabbled in drugs until she got to college but since then has acquired an interest in trying everything under the sun, even if it’s just one and done. mostly though she just likes to get really drunk & stupid. used to feel like she was constantly living in her cousin’s shadow, & in some ways she still does, but she’s trying hard to make herself believe that she’s reached a place where she won’t be playing second fiddle to anyone, ever again

i’m gonna shut the hell up now & stop pretending i know this character better than i do bc i deadass do not jbhnjss like she’s literally brand new so lemme go head & leave plenty of room for development!

same story as ezra i’ll have a full connections page posted for her soon but in the meantime some ideas i have are: friends, frienemies, ex friends, high school bullies, classmates, old high school friends, people she gets fuckt up with on the reg, people she hooks up with on the reg (any gender, she’s bisexual / biromantic), someone she had a crush on in high school / has pined for from afar maybe?? someone who used to watch her cam shows?? someone she almost kinda dated but Not? someone who she hooked up with while they were dating someone else?? idk that’s what i have for now but there’ll be more where that came from <3 xoxo like this or hmu !

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

u guys know how crystalisks change color depending on element?

ohhh yeah

tl;dr: i went off on crystalisks for a while, started talking about vault monsters/guardians and siren tattoos, bloodwing, krieg, the elemental hierarchy, the bandits that got mutated by the vault key piece, the eridian ruins powering up, the moon [elpis] being teleported in that new vid we got with steve and claptrap, i rant about eleseer and technologically created pocket dimensions (heyo), and also there’s commander lily spoilers in here so be warned

i talked about a lot of things. i promise i linked them all together. somehow.

so we got the normal crystalisks that do explosive stuff

got Blue (the aptly named big blue crystalisk) that deals shock damage

(we also see a few more in hayter’s folly)

got Rouge the red one that deals fire damage

I’m honestly surprised we haven’t seen any green crystalisks since they’re pretty common in the caustic caverns.

anyway the reason im bringing this up now is because a very very long time ago (jesus christ, 2017) i had a theory that crystalisks were kinda like pets to the Eridians, like guard dogs of the ruins in the caustic caverns. which could explain why they were friendly (iirc Blue was even playing fetch with Booth) until Dahl started mining them

mostly cause of the guardian ruins everywhere

also, they show up in the Vault of the Warrior, as well. which is curious.

the other reason im bringing this up now is because im wondering if their crystals have any relation whatsoever to the purple crystals we see sprouting out of the ground in bl3.

they hang out in the ground when not active, mimicking said crystals, and there are yellow crystals sprouting out of the ground in bl2 that, when meleed, produce the same crystals crystalisks do when they die. (tho now im wondering if we’ve just been senselessly murdering crystalisk babies :|)

bonus: we know threshers are native to elpis, not pandora, and their blood is green. Crystalisk blood is blue, which could possibly hint at the fact they’re an alien species to Pandora. AFAIK rakk, skag, bullymong, stalker, and spiderant blood is all red. and so is bandit blood. (unless they’ve been huffing Eridium sludge like Zarpedon. then it glows purple i guess.)

anyway

you guys know how vault monsters change color based on element?

just recently fought this bad boy so i have a plethora of pictures

(this one is cryo)

(slag/base- which you know, makes sense. gotta slag em before u can swap guns)

(this one is shock)

nasty boy

also, interesting to note: we never got ‘explosive’ as an element with the sentinel and in bl3, explosive was taken out of the element list

you know how Siren tattoos also change color based on element?

sorry i would show amara’s green/corrosive tattoos BUT this was the leaked clip that i had on hand

ohhhh yeah.

now we know Siren tattoos are blue when using their base powers. according to amara, this blue means electricity is the ‘base’ element for sirens (which just plain isn’t true given what we’ve seen with maya and lilith, unless they show that further in bl3 where lilith uses phasewalk without her tattoos going red... which I’m guessing will not happen lol)

which has me like 🤔

we know in the original borderlands the vault key is blue for the vault of the destroyer

in all it’s technological glory

then it changes to purple in bl2. and apparently, we even get red in bl3.

so i know what you’re thinking “well blue must be the base element then” but imma posit that it’s actually not

We know the sentinel, when it comes out of the Vault, the first element it is is ‘purple’ (aka slag/eridium i guess, since slag isn’t in TPS). which, as we said above, makes sense.

we know the Warrior was a biological weapon built/modified by the Eridians for... some reason. It was under complete control of whoever opened the Vault. (the warrior actually has 2 elements afaik, the slag tail/wings and the fire)

I wanna say we were SUPPOSED to open the Vault of the Warrior first. Then open the Vault of the Destroyer and annihilate it with our new cool biological weapon

so then the order would be purple -> blue -> uhhh something something

oh and Siren tattoos appear to always be purple when interacting with Eridium stuff

like when Lily touches the vault key in the Vault of the Warrior, her tattoos glow purple

when Lilith is being mind controlled by Jack/the collar/charging Eridium her tattoos are purple

etc etc

also MAJOR COMMANDER LILY SPOILERS BELOW

her tattoos glow purple during the final cutscene i believe. bonus i’m pretty sure the vault map was glowing white when inside hector. it was still purple on the outside tho soooo take that as you will. i had a picture but i removed it because i didn’t wanna spoil anything for anyone. the whispy bits do remind me of angel’s wings

SPOILERS ARE DONE

dunno if any of this is important but i will say

when u fight a badass skag that’s been charged by an element and is implied to be the result of eridium runoff aka slag? mmm that’s the good shit.

Bloodwing?? her base color is purple. but jack is able to change her element based on outside stimuli (and, again, explosive isn’t actually seen as an element, just a joke... a really... fucked up... joke...)

we also know a lot of the bandits were mutated by the vault key (piece?) in sledge’s mine. might help explain burning psychos (the ones that are literally on fire). 

also maybe the eridian ruins are starting to give off ‘radiation’. you know how the original Eridian Ruins in BL1 were like white/blueish and then all the ones we find in BL2 are purple-ish? maybe they started charging up once the first Vault was opened and that allowed more and more bandits to start getting 

borderlands 1

vs

borderlands 2

(sorry for the shitty screencap, i hope it’s clear enough)

oh also maybe krieg’s ability to breathe fire and light himself on fire since he was a hyperion experiment. dunno if they did slag testing on him or not but... all things considered... it’s a probably maybe. wasn’t his assassin’s assassin the woman in the ECHO logs you find around the WEP?

also Terry the thresher? probably mutated like hell from living in those Vault ruins. might explain the size. also threshers being from the moon might just give them the fire/wormhole abilities inherently. since apparently the moon is some top secret eridian base that can see the future. im not even surprised. also you know. terry drops e-tech stuff upon decimation.

anyway i think Pandora is a lot older than Elpis and that’s why Elpis appears super fucking high-tech compared to Pandora’s ruins.

I mean look at the above then look down here

which makes sense, you’d make the planet before you make the moon yeah?

so elpis was probably put in place to watch over Pandora, maybe the Destroyer and the Warrior’s fight or maybe even to predict the future of that fight. maybe the eridians got paranoid and were like ‘fuck this’ and vanished because they were told they couldn’t win.

i do go into that whole theory of ‘zarpedon saw what the twins are about to do in bl3 and jack ain’t shit’ in an older post of mine so i won’t go into it here, but that’s another option as to why the eridians just booked it the hell outta dodge

bonus: in tycho’s ribs, some of the glowy lights are not actually purple, they’re red-ish

which has me thinking about the glowing red Vault Map we see in the Dev trailer. wonder if that’s going to lead up to elpis

oh! and speaking of elpis

yeah i don’t think that’s just an aesthetic thing cause holy shit

we’re all going to die!

yeah i actually have no idea what’s happening to the moon here

but im going to take a wild guess and draw your attention to that one scene with lilith

when she uhhh teleports in using her firehawk powers

we see it again when tyreen teleports in bandits on promethea

and they look

really

darn

familiar

im not saying we’re gonna teleport the moon but hOLY SHIT would that be F*CKING AWESOME

we also know ‘the moon is the key’ as shown on the cover art sooooo

it’s entirely possible?

which brings me to another point i made a while ago when the booth intro got leaked and i was talking about the ‘vault’ ‘not-vault’ area and decided it was on pandora because of the moon, but made a joke that maybe it wasn’t because i guess we could just move the moon.

what if it actually wasn’t lmao

nah im just playing, i’m pretty sure those are Rakk flying around there, but HEY it’d be cool!

also it’s pretty fucked up what’s happening on elpis considering it looks like it’s being bathed in fire... sucks for everyone on concordia but hey, if it means getting rid of pickle, im game.

OH GOD DAMN IT HE WAS ON SANCTUARY WITH TINA FUC-

anyway.

i wanna move the moon

oh also im still not convinced eleseer isn’t found by going thru a wormhole/alternate dimension/pocket rip/whatever

like, you know how to fight the Sentinel you go inside that giant purple crystal that looks like/is probably eridium? and the arena is WAYYY bigger than it ought to be? and it looks like the outside is made out of glowing graph paper and sick guy fieri flames that’s probably supposed to imply some sort of technological feeling?

oh and it does the “lilith just yeeted u to bloodshot stronghold- just kidding’ effect! which... y’know. my only gripe with that is it actually does appear to be somewhere inside eleseer given if u look at the ceiling it does look to be the same sky you see outside eleseer... but where the fck is eleseer... is it in another dimension inside the moon? bc i still refuse to believe the entire moon is being supported by that area... wouldn’t you see the crust?? somewhere? and it being in another dimension would help explain the whole ‘yeah you’re exactly where you were five seconds ago... but also you’re not because you’re in this arena and it’s clipping except it’s not so even though the sky looks the same because you’re in the same exactly spot you were in 5 seconds ago, you’re actually not (but you are)’. because what the fuck my scrub brain can’t comprehend that!

but god i wanna know if the eridians were harnessing the power of eridium and learned how to create pocket dimensions using their technology and fuckin DID IT the mad lads. i mean isn’t that what Vaults are? just little rips in this dimension. it’s the good shit.

also i wanna know why the Destroyer seemed to have pockets of slag/eridium on it’s tentacles when he’s supposed to be the VILLAIN tm of bl1 and also the eridians. might help explain why eridium only starts appearing after you off that physical rendition of him. also [see that one post i made about the crystals being corpses].

wow.

yeah.

i just spent a straight 2 hours doing nothing but typing this post. i should really go to bed. imma go do that

tomorrow i wanna talk about the seraph vendor. cause i can.

[fmlfpl]

Happy New Year Lineup Lamentations - GW21

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week!

—

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: N/A

IN: N/A

Team seems reasonable enough for this GW and don't really see a straight swap that is great for me to do.

I have a few things in mind with two frees next GW to do so saving feels pretty responsible to me. Get another gameweeks worth of info and maybe do a -4 triple move next looks likely.

GK:

Schmeichel (new)

Woodman has been an able servant for me recently since I began to start him and I see no reason to change that now.

Schmikes is a cuck so I'm happy to bench him for the rest of the season / for however much longer I own the fuck.

DEF:

Pereira (new)

If Ricardo doesn't get me points tomorrow I'll be beside myself. He's hung 4 points in my team over the 5 gameweeks since I purchased him and is looking like my worst transfer in of the season to date...which is really fucking hard since there is a ton - and I mean a ton - of competition for that honor.

I really want to keep patient with him since they have a good run of games right now but he's pretty expensive. Perhaps I'll stick with double Leic defense and downshift him to one of the other guys to free up money...uncertain...we'll see.

Alexander-Arnold (SHU)

Trent still in there as he has been since GW1 for me. Nothing to say about him. Not worried about him starting - feel like Kloppo will go strong again and then give the first team a long break.

Kelly (nor)

Kelly jesus christ been back to making me want to kill myself again lately...but I think a clean is once again a reasonable shout for us. We'll park at Norwich which they probably haven't really faced once all season?

Hard to imagine them being able to break us down. That is to say if they are required to - Kelly assist to Pukki is always on.

Rico (whu)

Lastly is Rico. Hoping for 1 point..expecting 0.

MID:

Salah (SHU)

Mo been absurd in the underlying stat category and absurdly shit in the actual fpl point category. He stays.

Martial (ars)

Tony M glove merchant has been doing good things recently and feels like a very good hold for as long as he's fit. Could die any day goes without saying but tip of the spear and looking good feeling good.

Also no coincidence that his uptick in performances has come with an uptick in glove wearing with short sleeves. Get in there Tone.

De Bruyne (EVE)

Last guy is Kevin. Good Kevining.

FWD:

Agüero (EVE)

Kun came in with a cap goal for me last GW and it was a really nice feeling. No clue if he starts tomorrow...and for that reason..I'm not capping him.

Vardy (new)

Vardz back off his rest picks himself whatever we are all playing this game with 10 men and have been for a month or so now.

Maupay (CHE)

Lastly is Neal. Fucking Neal been doing my head in.

Hopefully he has a good performance against Chelsea and they have gr0b back and shit and they can create a bit more than they did last game. Really dunno about Neal. Have been fawning over him from a distance for a long long while but now that he's in there is just something that does not fill me with confidence even though he should probablyyyy tick along well in this medium-long term good fixture run for his price.

Come on Neal let's go Neal.

CAP:

Vardy (new)

Vardz for me.

Played around with some perversity but the final check with the wife confirmed Vardy. Wife says "I've never heard you say Vardy disappointed me but I've heard you say Mo disappointed me many times"...not wrong wife of mine....not wrong.

Realistically all the points echoed on the pod still ring true to me. Not getting a huge urge to go elsewhere and I think that it's lopsided enough in Vardy's favor compared to the others to keep me on him. glhf.

—

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: N/A

IN: N/A

Off of the biggest red arrow of my season (life?) ushering in my worst rank of the season (life?) I’m just saving because I can’t find a punt who is worth it and my lineup and my depth are both fine.

Will I just plunge into a deeper and darker hole? Yeah I suspect I probably will... My team sucks outside of the guys who everyone owns. I see very few margins where I’d be gaining on the field even at my monstrous ranking so I’ll just take another one on the chin and reassess next week I guess...

If I end up wildcarding for next GW then I’ll regret saving my transfer this week but if I don’t end up wildcarding then this is definitely the right move to try and yank my team out of the hellhole where it currently resides.

GK:

Ryan (CHE)

I got him because of the saves and the bonus points and he hasn’t gotten a single bap since GW12 so that’s all going perfectly according to plan.

Was cool and a little bit confusing to see a “6″ in my GK slot last week and well I’m over the confusion part and I’m ready to see points come in again.

Fuck Chelsea come on Mat.

DEF:

van Dijk (SHU)

Sheff U are tough man. They out xG’d City just a couple days ago which is a thing that never ever happens.

I’m sure they’ll manufacture at least a couple of decent chances just gotta hope that the CBs and the GK keep playing at this elite high level and then it should be a clean.

Söyüncü (new)

I expect Leicester to go back to being tight and no better place to kick it off then the least progressive team in the division.

Kelly (nor)

I don’t support Palace so I don’t directly feel the pain and anguish that Walsh does when Kelly does something really stupid and really bad to lose the clean, although it is annoying.

I still feel fine with him in general and content with Palace’s ability to park and yeah in good fixtures he’s still a good guy to have in there for me.

MID:

Salah (SHU)

If you build it, points will come.

Maddison (new)

Feeling really good about Maddo for these next four.

Might yo-yo him in and out GW25-GW27 with three hard fixtures in a row and then bring him right back for the good run following it.

It seems like in the tough ones Leicester play too conservatively and have a very hard time threatening goal.

De Bruyne (EVE)

Good guy. I hope Bilva keeps starting in that sorta deeper #8 role and Dilva doesn’t come straight back in. That’d be best for Kev.

Cantwell (CRY)

Rolling with that BTE - Big Todd Energy - into the new year.

Hoping his ~1.5 shots per 90 are good chances and go into the back of the net.

FWD:

Kane (sou)

Don’t like this one for Kane but who knows; Spurs are so hard to predict.

Soton has been playing well lately and they don’t concede much. The press looks good the team looks good and all of a sudden it’s sorta hard to imagine them getting relegated.

Hoping Mou goes for some guys who can pass in the midfield because that’d be a nice thing for Harry. And maybe he’ll draw another penno... Seems very possible with the nut-jobs Cedric/Bednarek/Stephens/Berty.

Vardy (new)

Whatevs, boring.

Jiménez (wat)

New guy didn’t get a start last week so hopefully this is when he begins ticking and being a friend of mine for the rest of the season... Fully expecting his returns to fall of a cliff beginning this GW.

CAP:

Vardy (new)

I wanted, desperately, to find someone else who seems reasonable to cap for me but I just couldn’t find anything. A lot of bad matchups and bad teams and Vardy and Leicester playing Newcastle off of a rest it’s just too good. It’s automatic.

So we’re all playing without a captain this week and that’ll somehow go very badly for me, not sure how yet, but it will.

Happy New Year fuckers.

—

NOT RANDOM SLACKER OF THE WEEK: desertbug

The words of Random Slacker are not officially endorsed by this website nor any employees of FML FPL LLC.

TRANSFERS:

Well, Happy New Year everybody, and may the points flow freely.  At least for us... who cares about the rest of the world playing this game, right?

Not sure I covered myself in glory with my prior stab at Guest Lambs but I'm going to put that on Emery's misuse of Aubz, rather than anything that I actually had wrong, right?

But how did we let him go without marveling that his full name was Unai Emery Etxegoien?  No wonder he was always confused out there, he was probably still trying to figure out how to pronounce his own name.

Anyway, here we go...

OUT: Maddison

IN: Martial

I know it may be a matter of not giving Maddison enough of a chance, since I just brought him in a few weeks ago and his underperformance came in Leic's toughest fixtures of the year, but: A) I was feeling really bad about not having a pair of gloves for the winter, and B) I was feeling really bad about not having anybody to reap points from this week against Arsenal's misguided ineptitude of a defense.

United still seem to do poorly against teams who park a defensive bus, but Arsenal is totally incapable of doing such and won't dare to do so at home with new manager against big name opponent.  Knives out, Tony, get me some points.

Oh yeah, and making the move also because C) I really just dislike Maddison and I think he's overrated.  He hasn't delivered against a quality defense since GW11 vs Palace and since then, he had a goal at home vs Arsenal, a goal at home vs Watford, and two assists at Villa.  Apart from that, six blanks vs bha, EVE, NOR, mci, LIV and whu.  Don't know why I got him in the first place, but new year, new midfielder.

GK:

Henderson (liv)

Not great at all, but maybe some saves.  I know we've been banging on about how keeper moves are a waste, but Pope to Hendo back for GW16 has been OK for me, net +7 since the change.  No options for me though, since my other keeper is plying his trade in Swansea.

DEF:

ALPHABET CITY -- TAA/VVD (SHU)

Alphabet soup combo of Trent and Virgil looks like tasty meal for some time now.  Mmm mmm good.  

Söyüncü (new)

Need Foxes to get their defensive capabilities straightened out again and a match with the third-lowest scoring team in the EPL might be the thing to get happy against after the woodchipper that Leicester just went through.

MID:

De Bruyne (EVE)

For my Everton boys' sake, I hope the damage is fairly limited, because Kev points are almost meaningless anymore, what with him being in 50% of teams. Don't really see him as being a huge cap shout, so probably just meaningless points.

Mane (SHU) 

Wary that he could rest at any time, and Liverpool does have a derb with Everton coming up on Sunday, but he's certainly not going to be any place other than in my starting eleven for tomorrow.  Probably a good reason not to cap him though.

Alli (sot)

Spurs certainly shat the bed at Norwich last GW, and may still be misfiring this week without Kicky McKickerSUON in the lineup, but Soton are dire, and even Dier might put up points against them.

As above with Mane, Alli an autostart while healthy.

Martial (ars)

Get in there, new boy, and show me some points against that Arsenal defense.  Wouldn't be a crazy cap shout, but not the smartest move, either.

Cantwell (CRY)

Todd is well rested, and my only real roster choice to be made came down to playing him or playing Kelly.  Just going to stick to basics and start the attacker at home, here.

FWD:

Vardy (new)

Well-rested after being off last GW on new-baby duty, Vardz strikes me as the kinda guy who would much rather be out there terrorizing whatever kind of makeshift injury-addled defense Steve Bruce is able to throw together than being at home with his new babyspawn.

Steve Bruce still doesn't know if he's on a ship or a chicken farm.

Abraham (bha)

May well be Tamela's last chance in my lineup, so he'd better get out there and do something with it.  I appreciate the goal he gave me this last GW, but Chelsea still seem rather diabolical and I'm perfectly comfortable going without him for a bit if that's the way it goes.

If I had any inkling that OGS might realize that Greenwood is actually really good and should be starting, I'd love to stick him in as a starter in place of Tammy, but that would require OGS to actually be smart and I don't think that was under his Christmas tree.

CAP:

Vardy (new)

Game theory out the window.

Owned by 51% and even without that, seems like the best of my options for this week.  Don't feel like this is the GW to be either brave OR stupid.  Won't gain ground by capping and I'd expect that if he flops, we all flop together and I won't lose much ground either.

[librebananr]

Hi! I'm the anon who was asking a lot of questions lolololol and thank you really! For answering my questions 😁this is last one tho (I think) could u possibly give me some tips on drawing?

No worries!! I guess I think of a few general tips for you but if you have anything specific you’d like to know as well feel free to ask me :DTIPS!1. Create an inspiration side blog and reblog everything that inspires you! If you’re looking for an inspo boost you’ll have a nice reference point. You can even use a tagging system so you can find things that inspire background ideas or colouring ideas and then you can specifically take a look at those examples you’ve saved. Here’s an example of mine!    IMPORTANT: if you’re going to copy something as a reference/practice exercise, DONT post it online unless you have explicit permission from the artist you copied from. If something is recognisably copied it’s bad to post w/out permission BUT if you copied a technique and it’s NOT recognisable at all then congrats you’re on the way to developing your own voice! There’s nothing that’s fully original but if you can put your own twist on something then that’s fab! 

2. If you’re posting online, don’t be disheartened by lack of notes. Remember there are probably thousands of people posting stuff every day that get 0-3 notes. It’s not a sign that you’re bad, just that you haven’t been noticed yet so you gotta keep working! Try to beat your own note score rather than comparing yourself to others! I feel like competing with yourself is always a fast way to improve!      BONUS TIP for posting online: From my experience, artwork with a popular ship in it gets a lot more attention than original stuff or singular people when you don’t have a big following. If you’re passionate about a ship, draw stuff with them in it (doesn’t even have to necessarily be romantic, they could just be hangin out) and make use of tagging it with the ship tag! Shippers are thirsty and will trawl tags - that’s where you’re more likely to get noticed! 

3. The classic: Practice. Again, compete with yourself rather than comparing yourself to others. Do something better than your last drawing but don’t worry if it’s not levels above. 

4. Watch speed paints and anatomy lessons! I really like this dude’s tutorials for anatomy - his methods really resonated with me. This youtuber also does a pretty good series for beginners that’s simple and easy to understand (aka it’s not like drawing realism). I don’t fully agree with EVERYTHING (when you know what you’re doing you can kinda counter some of the things she says not to do) but I think it’s a good starting point.

5. Having a reference blog is also good, or just knowing one you can look up. This is mine here you’re welcome to refer to! I tag everything with ANY word I think refers to the image (including pluralising it) so that when I go on it and I’m looking for something specific I can generally just type what I’m looking for and find it. (I.e you could go onto my reference blog and probably type /tagged/trees at the end of the url and find a bunch of posts relating to helping u draw trees)

6. You’re allowed to use references! Don’t feel like you’re a cheat if you can’t draw a pose from your head! Tracing a photo is fine when you’re learning, too, especially if you took the photo but remember if you wanna be posing stuff on your own work on using a reference without tracing! 

WELL! I think that’s the best I can offer for general tips! Sorry that got kinda long hahaha..! I hope this helps! If there’s anything I didn’t cover that you’re curious about shoot me another message :D

[nooneaskedme-but]

Album Review - California (Deluxe) by blink-182

Alright guys, here’s the deal. I’ll to be skipping the whole pre-review rambling because there’s a lot to cover here. Just know that yes, I am reviewing California for a second time; there’s less hype and a lot less bias this time around, so I feel it’ll be a much more accurate review.

Anyway, let’s get to it! Track by track review of blink-182’s California! (Again!)

1. Cynical - Still to this day, this is easily one of my favorite tracks on California. I think what won me over the most was the aggression in this song. They really shake their ‘just another pop punk band’ image here with the fast paced drumming and the straight to the punch guitars combined with Matt’s shouting in the chorus. It’s a perfect way to start off such a different album and I love every bit of this song from start to finish. - 10/10

2. Bored to Death - Okay, I don’t care what anybody says. Putting aside how absolutely iconic this song is, Bored to Death is definitely one of the better put together tracks on California, and I’m counting both the standard and deluxe tracks. I mean yeah, the lyrics still don’t make a lot sense to me, but compared to the cheap and useless filler I’ve heard on the rest of the album these are relatively harmless. At least these can be open to some sort of interpretation. I really appreciate the darker feel here, and the bridge is easily my favorite of any blink song post-DeLonge. I just wish they would’ve stuck to this caliber with the rest of the album, and I really they would’ve left Matt alone in the chorus, especially live. That being said, this still remains a favorite and probably will even alongside future releases. - 8/10

3. She’s Out of Her Mind - Right off the bat, this was one of my favorites off the album. It still is, but now I think of this song more as a novelty. It’s simple, it’s catchy, but that’s really about it. The lyrics are juvenile and rather cliche, but I’d be lying if I said this song didn’t still excite me whenever I hear it. - 7/10

4. Los Angeles - Initially, I equated this song to garbage, a mainstream pop atrocity that not even Dark Lord Skiba himself could save. But, after a few thorough listens and seeing it live twice, I’m going a bit easier on this track. I mean, it’s still a pretty big thumbs down for me but it has its merits. For starters I can dig the fact that they experimented and deviated from the ‘old blink’ style they tried so hard for. Moreover, something about Mark Hoppus and the bridge of this song gets me every time. - 5/10

5. Sober - I honestly don’t understand why this track gets so much flack (heh, I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it). In my opinion it trumps a good portion of the rest of California by a long shot. It’s rather mellow and laid back, and again not nearly as try-hardy as some of its counterparts on the album. In fact, to me it does a good job of illustrating both the playful, happy-go-lucky and the frustrating, trying times of adolescence. Not to mention, this song got bonus points from me knowing the first verse was basically Matt’s autobiography. - 7/10

6. Built This Pool - I’m just going to say, I find this song way more amusing than I should. - 9/10

7. No Future - This is another track I enjoyed pretty thoroughly and still do despite countless plays. I adore everything about this song, in particular the way Matt makes his place in the chorus with the jolting “NO FUTURE!” and the intense buildup into Matt’s verse (which is to die for, says I) along with the novelty pop punk style it was crafted in (stop-and-go guitars, simple yet fulfilling drum fills, etc.). Speaking of drums, the way Travis closes this song out combined with the matching structure of the ‘na-na’s is nothing short of godlike. No Future will forever be a favorite of mine. - 10/10

8. Home Is Such a Lonely Place - You know, I despised this song when I first heard it; it was way too mopey and pseudo-deep for me to possibly get behind. And, to be honest, not a lot has changed in the way of that opinion. It’s so…mundane. I just, it drags the album down than anything else and it really doesn’t belong. - 4/10 

9. Kings of the Weekend - I can sum this song up in one word and one word only: excitement. Actually, this song is more like excitement with a side of FUCK YEAH!!. Aside from the opening track ‘Cynical’, this track hands down has the best instrumental on the album. The chorus errs more on the side of modern punk rock and it it sounds really well-done. Simple, but very well-done. Also, the opening drum line has to be some of the funkiest shit Travis has done in a blink-182 song. - 10/10

10. Teenage Satellites - *groan*…Ugh, this song nearly makes me sick at this point. It’s so adolescent it hurts. I can appreciate simple songs. I can appreciate youthful reminiscing (to an extent). But this song, this fucking song, this is where I draw the line. It’s a saccharine, adolescent mess of teenage cliches centered around an octave riff Mark strummed off the top of his head one day. I used to think this song was relatively decent but now I can’t help but cringe now whenever I listen to it. - 4/10

11. Left Alone - If I could put aside the cheap lyrics and the fact that this song is basically an Angels and Airwaves rip off, I feel like I’d enjoy it a lot more. I’ll admit, though, I am a sucker for the guitar lined throughout in the verses, and Matt’s vocals are pretty fierce when the chorus hits. - 6/10

12. Rabbit Hole -  Okay, hear me out here. This song gets criticized left and right for its overall simplicity and basic nature. While both of those claims are completely valid, I happen to think that’s what makes this song so endearing. A song like this is meant to be fun, something that’s easy to listen to while you’re fucking around with your friends or whoever else. Not every song has to be so complex or even a lyrical masterpiece. Sometimes, it’s enough for a song to just simply sound pleasant, and that’s definitely accomplished here. It’s energetic, it’s pop punk as fuck, it’s blink-182. - 8/10

13. San Diego - Out of all the songs on the standard release, I feel that this one has the most, for lack of a better word, substance. Never mind the fact that it’s one of the few that doesn’t sound like a poorly made b-side of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, you can just feel the emotion oozing out of this song and it’s fucking great. In such a flawless and iconic chorus, Matt Skiba takes the lead and really proves what he can do for the band. Hats off to Skiba and another hats off to this amazing song. - 10/10

14. The Only Thing That Matters - I think this song has a cute nature about it, and I think it’s a very accurate clash of both older generation blink-182 and Alkaline Trio (you know, the band Matt Skiba fronted happily before Mark kidnapped him and held him hostage). However, the chorus is way too lacking for me. Like, I can get behind the lovey dovey message but it’s so basic in its presentation that I just can’t get past it. - 6/10

15. California - Give it another year, just one more year, and I guarantee you’ll see this song used in some sort of Disney promo if it hasn’t been already. As a song it isn’t terrible, just rather flat and a little lackluster. I can’t say I hate it, though, even if I do find spending all your time inside while the weather’s perfect a little bit strange (and possibly a little bit manic). Also, the ending’s pretty cool, so there’s that. - 7/10

16. Brohemian Rhapsody - Yeah, I’m still fucking miffed that this song is literally only 15 seconds long. Everything about it’s perfect: the buildup, format, the staggering hammer-ons that Matt somehow flawlessly pulls off despite that being the furthest thing from his style! It’s all there! But no, they wasted a perfectly good instrumental on a tired fucking one-liner that was barely even amusing. Oh well, it still sounded badass and was definitely a fun way to bring the album to an end. -10/10

DISC TWO

1. Parking Lot - Holy shit. This song, holy shit. Now this, this is how you make an entrance to an album. Originally I made mention of Mark’s verse throwing the song off, but after coming back to this song many times I can see that’s what makes this song work. As much as I appreciate the fact Matt upped the punk factor times ten (and that’s a fuck of a lot), I’m glad there’s some variation, that it’s not like that the entire way through. All around, this song is fucking wicked and easily one of the top three of the deluxe tracks. - 9/10

2. Misery - Things slow down quite a bit with this track, but it packs a punch nonetheless. I haven’t found myself coming back to this one as much but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a really solid, really powerful song. I still swear that the way Matt shouts “I don’t need anyone!” in the chorus is what dreams are made out of. It also sounds like “I don’t eat anyone!”, but that’s besides the point. - 7/10

3. Good Old Days This is one song I find especially charming, due mainly to the early 2000s-esque dance chorus and the very eloquent use of synth throughout the entire song. However, the whole ‘I don’t wanna grow up!’ schtick is getting really fucking old. Now, I can understand wanting to feel young and to feel alive, but literally putting “and we’re not growing up” in a song is a tad bit sad to be honest. I fucking adore Mark Hoppus, but when he writes like that I just can’t take him seriously, and it lessens the quality of the song. Other than that, this track is pretty enjoyable and one I see myself coming back to in the future. - 7/10

4. Don’t Mean Anything - Ugh. U g h. Even tying this disaster of a song to blink-182 sullies their name. It’s just so bland and cookie-cutter and lacking any sort of effort or originality that it hurts. The only, and I mean the only points this song gets from me is Matt’s verse because he sings it really fucking well. Outside of that, this song needs to go back to the 2004 pop rock station they clearly ripped it from. - 4/10

5. Hey, I’m Sorry So, some time after the official release of California, this track was released as a Japanese bonus track. It took a few listens to really strike a chord with me, but now I can’t get enough of it. Also, I didn’t think I’d say this for a long time but I love Mark’s lyrical work here; it’s fucking stellar, as a matter of fact. This is another one of those experimental songs, but this one was definitely a success. I really dig the direction they went in with this one. - 9/10

6. Last Train Home - I was really glad to see they continued along that same vein of experimentation as heard in the previous track ‘Hey, I’m Sorry’. Initially, I cast this song off, thinking it wouldn’t pick up. But, it does. The song progresses slowly, and in a way that’s incredibly subtle. It’s very worth it if you can listen all the way through to the end. - 10/10

7. Wildfire - While I’m not exactly sure about Mark’s singing abilities here (in the chorus particularly), that doesn’t really concern me in this song, at least not as much as the fucking Xanax reference. Personally, I think this song is way too much fun to hate, and I know I am very much in the minority with that opinion. I mean, the classic blink-style riffs are all there alongside some gnarly Alkaline Trio influence, and it just has a very youthful aesthetic overall which I adore. I also admire how the song matures and progresses, starting off with Mark’s usual adolescent view of things and venturing into darker, more mature themes as Matt takes over. It gives the song another dimension, which I feel the rest of the album severely lacks. - 8/10

8. 6/8 - I’d argue that this is the absolute heaviest song blink-182′s released in the history of their career. Sure, the Self Titled album had a lot of experimentation and some heavier tracks, but there was nothing quite like this. This song’s a bit dreary, and it’s fucking rad. I won’t attack the fact that they named the it after the time signature for the drums, because honestly that’s just nitpicking (and I am not about that life…). But, I will claim that this would’ve been astronomically better had it been fronted by Matt. He has just the voice and singing capabilities to make this song as riveting and intense as it needs to be. Nonetheless, it’s still a badass track and a definite thumbs up from me. - 8/10

9. Long Lost Feeling - I feel like this song is more buildup than anything. It’s soothing, but it takes way too long to get to anything worth while. Mark also manages to make the first half as boring as he possibly can, so there’s that. If you can stay awake until you get to the second half of the song, it’s actually really pretty sounding and quite pleasant. You just have to get there. - 6/10

10.  Bottom of the Ocean - No. Nope. N o p e. Fuck this song. At this point there’s not a hint of soul to be found, not a fucking ounce of integrity. Usually I say every song has its merits, but nope. I hate to be that ‘that guy’, but they sold out with this song, point blank. I am so glad this abomination never touched the original release. As stated above, fuck this song. - 1/10

11. Can’t Get You More Pregnant - I’ve already discussed this song far too much for a joke track, so I’m just going to laugh at the fact that a scientist actually proved this idea wrong, stating you actually can get a girl ‘more’ pregnant. Ha ha ha. - 8/10

12. Bored to Death (Acoustic) - Originally, I was under the impression that this would be a brand new studio recording. But, instead, it’s audio ripped from a live recording and mastered in the studio. Was a I bit let down by that in the beginning? Maybe a tad. But, with the audience so haughtily cheering in the background and Matt’s lyric change to “Mark’s head”, I actually prefer this to a brand new stand alone recording. In doing it this way, they laid a lot heart on it and made it a perfect closer to the album. Not to mention, Mark and Matt sound fucking top notch on this track. Simply put, this was a beautiful addition and I loved it much more than I thought I would going in. - 10/10

*phew*

All-in-all, I was a bit let down by the rest of the deluxe tracks. To be fair, that’s probably mainly due to the fact that the one’s released hyped me up so much and shot my hopes sky high. Actually, no. They just sucked. But, that’s okay. There are a number of solid songs on the deluxe release, and I’ve gained a much stronger appreciation for the original release of California after being introduced to these songs. So, there is a silver lining here.

Overall Rating - 6/10

Stay Tuned for More!