Bebika Dhurve is a Mumbai model, singer, and social media star. She became famous in the showbiz business after being born in Mumbai in June 1993. Fame came to Bebika when she played Devika Oberoi in Zee’s Bhagya Lakshmi. The show showed how good an actress she was. In the second season of Bigg Boss OTT, bebika dhurve and Avinash Sachdeva took part. Voot, a streaming service, was the first to show this digital version of India’s popular reality show. Bebika attended a nearby high school, but little is known about her education. We are still determining what she did after she finished high school. Bebika Dhurve is well-known in the entertainment industry thanks to her talent, charm, and rising popularity. Her career as a model, actor, and social media star is set to get much better. Most of the followers want to know the age of Bebika Dhurve. Keep reading to know about her.

Family

Her family moved to Mumbai. When she’s working hard, her five sisters have always supported her. Her mother is a homemaker, and bebika dhurve father, Pandit Janardhan Dhurve, is a prominent Mumbai astrologer. Bebika demonstrates her affection for her family on social media.

Career

In 2019, bebika dhurve made a big splash when she got her first job playing on the TV show Bhagya Lakshmi. Many people gave her praise for how well she played Devika Oberoi. Awards and honors showed how dedicated and talented she was. Being on the second season of the famous reality show Bigg Boss OTT in 2023 was the next big thing in Bebika Dhurve’s path in show business. She quickly became one of the most loved contestants on the show as people got excited about her. Bebika showed her toughness and charm by making it to the show’s end, where she came in third place.

Bebika Dhurve Husband or Boyfriend

Are you curious to know, who bebika dhurve husband is? Bebika Dhurve is not married and is single. She is very dedicated to her playing job, so she hasn’t thought about getting married and having kids. The people in her family are critical of her and always back her in her work. Bebika said in an interview with TellyChakkar that she is not hurrying to get married. Her main goal is to focus on her work and reach her goals before she starts the process of having a family. She stressed the importance of finding a partner who understands and supports her work goals and busy schedule.

Medical Career And Beauty Pageants

Bebika Dhurve‘s job is unique because she is talented and promising at many things and has worked in many fields. Her first job was as a dentist after getting her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru, Karnataka. On top of having a background in medicine, Bebika is also a qualified fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry at Roseman University in the US. Putting away her clothes, Bebika chose to try something new in 2020: beauty pageants. Her college teacher pushed her into the world of beauty, which made her decide to do this. She entered The International Glamour Project Miss India pageant, which helped her learn more about new things.

Bebika Dhurve in Bhagya Lakshmi

Bebika Dhurve
The Indian actress bebika dhurve is well-known in the TV business thanks to her part in the famous show “Bhagya Lakshmi.” As the figure “Devika Oberoi,” Dhurve has captivated viewers with her unique screen image. Dhurve plays the “Devika Oberoi” role in the famous Hindi TV show “Bhagya Lakshmi.” In the serial, she showed how good an actress she is by being believable. Many people liked her performance because she could show strong emotions and make her character come to life. In her playing career, the part of “Devika Oberoi” has set a high bar.

Bebika Dhurve in Bigg Boss OTT

Do you know in which tv shows with bebika dhurve have worked? Bebika Dhurve made a significant impact as a contestant on Season 2 of the famous reality show Bigg Boss OTT. That made her stand out with her unique style and attitude, and she made it to the finals. She stood out in the Bigg Boss OTT 2 house because she was brave and didn’t hold back her views. Bebika Dhurve became well-known on Bigg Boss OTT for her angry rants and fights with other contestants. Even though things were tense, her fans never stopped supporting her. She talked about how she felt about favoritism in the game, especially how other players, like Elvish Yadav, Manisha Rani, and Abhishek Malhan, seemed to get special treatment. Her appearance on Bigg Boss brought attention to her fearless nature and strong opinions.

Interesting Facts

• She is very skilled in many areas. She is an astrologer, a dentist, a model, and an actress.
• She loves visiting new places, even though she has already visited many countries and areas.
• She likes food a lot, especially fish.
• She was second at the Miss India 2020 pageant and reached the Top 15.
• She feels great about herself and goes to the audition even though she hasn’t done any acting training.
• Bebika Dhurve was a dentist while getting her Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru.
• One of her college teachers urged her to participate in The International Glamour Project Miss India 2020.
• Bebika played Devika Oberoi in the 2021 Zed TV show Bhagya Lakshmi, but she quit because she didn’t get along with the other players.
• She was one of the contestants on Voot’s Bigg Boss OTT Season 2 (2023).
• Bebika likes to buy gold and diamonds, and she and her father both have expensive jewelry that she bought for them.
• She likes pulling jokes and wants one on Bollywood star Salman Khan.
• Bebika has a dog because she loves animals.
• She would rather watch films and videos than read books.
• Bebika loves drawing and gives the money she makes from selling her art to help people with Down syndrome.

Conclusion

By the end, bebika dhurve has shown herself a complex person with many skills and achievements. Her hard work, determination, and love for what she does have helped her succeed in many areas, inspiring others. Bebika Dhurve is an excellent example of greatness and drive because she keeps working towards her goals and making a difference in her community. Hopefully, you will know who is bebika dhurve.Family
Her family moved to Mumbai. When she’s working hard, her five sisters have always supported her. Her mother is a homemaker, and bebika dhurve father, Pandit Janardhan Dhurve, is a prominent Mumbai astrologer. Bebika demonstrates her affection for her family on social media.

Career

In 2019, bebika dhurve made a big splash when she got her first job playing on the TV show Bhagya Lakshmi. Many people gave her praise for how well she played Devika Oberoi. Awards and honors showed how dedicated and talented she was. Being on the second season of the famous reality show Bigg Boss OTT in 2023 was the next big thing in Bebika Dhurve’s path in show business. She quickly became one of the most loved contestants on the show as people got excited about her. Bebika showed her toughness and charm by making it to the show’s end, where she came in third place.

Bebika Dhurve Husband or Boyfriend

Are you curious to know, who bebika dhurve husband is? Bebika Dhurve is not married and is single. She is very dedicated to her playing job, so she hasn’t thought about getting married and having kids. The people in her family are critical of her and always back her in her work. Bebika said in an interview with TellyChakkar that she is not hurrying to get married. Her main goal is to focus on her work and reach her goals before she starts the process of having a family. She stressed the importance of finding a partner who understands and supports her work goals and busy schedule.

Medical Career And Beauty Pageants

Bebika Dhurve‘s job is unique because she is talented and promising at many things and has worked in many fields. Her first job was as a dentist after getting her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru, Karnataka. On top of having a background in medicine, Bebika is also a qualified fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry at Roseman University in the US. Putting away her clothes, Bebika chose to try something new in 2020: beauty pageants. Her college teacher pushed her into the world of beauty, which made her decide to do this. She entered The International Glamour Project Miss India pageant, which helped her learn more about new things.

Bebika Dhurve in Bhagya Lakshmi

Hello everybody!
I am currently working on a school project where we are trying to create a 2d platformer. We started without any previous knowledge about GameMaker. The biggest problem that we have, is that the animation for punching and kicking skips by in a second. Some frames are not even visible due to the speed of the animation. We tried everything we could, yet we were still unsuccessful. The interesting thing is, this doesn't happen with the walking and jumping/falling animations.
The code:
//player input

key_left = keyboard_check(vk_left);
key_right = keyboard_check(vk_right);
key_jump = keyboard_check_pressed(vk_space);
key_attack = keyboard_check_pressed(vk_lalt);
key_kick = keyboard_check_pressed(vk_lcontrol)
//calculate movement
var move = key_right - key_left;
hsp = move * walksp;
vsp = vsp + grv;
//jumping
if (place_meeting(x, y + 1, oWall)) && (key_jump)
{
vsp = -7;
}
//horizontal collison
if (place_meeting(x + hsp, y, oWall))
{
while (!place_meeting(x + sign(hsp), y, oWall))
{

 x = x + sign(hsp); 

}
hsp = 0;
}
x = x + hsp;
//vertical collison
if (place_meeting(x, y + vsp, oWall))
{
while (!place_meeting(x, y + sign(vsp), oWall))
{

 y = y + sign(vsp); 

}
vsp = 0;
}
y = y + vsp;
//Animation
if (!place_meeting(x, y + 1, oWall))
{
sprite_index = sPlayerA;
image_speed = 0;
if (sign(vsp) > 0) image_index = 1; else image_index = 0;
}
else
{
image_speed = 1;
if (hsp == 0) && (key_attack == false) && (key_kick == false)
{

 sprite\_index = sPlayer; 

}
else
{

 sprite\_index = sPlayerR; 

}
if (key_attack)
{

 image\_index = 0; image\_speed = 0.00001; sprite\_index = sPlayerPunch; 

}
if (key_kick == true)
{

 image\_index = 0; image\_speed = 0.00001; sprite\_index = sPlayerKick; 

}
}
if (hsp != 0) image_xscale = sign(hsp);

The screen recording of the Animation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SReQbpUg43QLTYVjpZi4kRbR4JUGN_yk/view?usp=sharing
Please, if you could help us out, it would mean a lot.
Thank you !

So I had a dream that I opened Instagram to see Fauni post news about a new album called “3400”. The cover art was the number 3400 in red text with a cool font. It said in the caption the album was only available via vinyl. The post also showed off the record which was standard black but the vinyl was a gatefold and the photo inside was FL Studios piano roll spelling out “thank you for buying this vinyl”. The music was something else like you wouldn’t even be able to tell this was Fauni, it’s as if he went a completely different direction, still staying true to the genre but evolving his sound. Anyways that was my dream, goodbye

There was this situation that bothered me and I'm wondering if I'm unreasonable here or if me being annoyed by this is justified.
It was in this campaign that mostly takes place in one specific town where our characters live, so they are not traveling a lot but have a home and their own rooms, whereby it’s not necessary for them to always carry all their belongings with them. We are a small group of three people with two PCs having a noble background and my PC basically not having any money. This is also not a setting where the characters often get the chance to acquire large amounts of money. My character then acquired several hundred gold pieces, which to him is a LOT of money. To me it was completely obvious that he wouldn’t walk around with a pouch containing several hundred GP. I had decided that he would usually just carry 10 GP and keep the rest safely stashed in his room. I kept track of that in my notes but did not put it anywhere in his character sheet because I did assume the money in the inventory was simply the money he owned and not necessarily the money he kept on his person. (Dndbeyond doesn't have an option to make a distinction there.) One time our characters did travel somewhere and I told the dm that my character would take 100 GP with him. I only said it but again did not note that in the character sheet. During that adventure my character walked through a portal that caused him to lose all money and gemstones he was carrying, including what was left over of the 100 GP he had been carrying.
Then one day my character’s money pouch got stolen while he was at the market. I shrugged it off and was like “That’s annoying but there were only a few gold pieces in there, so it could be worse”. But then the dm told me that no, ALL his money had been in the purse, since I had not stated otherwise in the character sheet. I said that made absolutely no sense, why would my character carry all his money with him? Of course he would keep it safe in his room. The eventually decided that my character had only carried half of his money with him, so I was allowed to let keep half.
I wasn't happy with the solution but accepted it because I didnt want to cause an argument and derail the session. But it still bothered me.
What annoys me about this is that sometimes it seems to be super important what is in the character sheet and other times it’s not. If they made a point of it being very important to them to have everything accurate in the character sheet and they expect us to keep track of everything 100% all the time, then I would have been like “Damn, that was an oversight on my part. I get it, I messed up here”. But to me it seems so random when something is supposedly important and when it’s not. There have been instances where they berated me for not having a certain weapon equipped (when I was still very new to combat) and then another instance they explicitly said equipping weapons in the character sheet wasn't important and it didn't matter.
There could be a possibility that they told me somewhere along the way to put the money stuff in the character sheet in the future that I don't remember. But even in case they did it still wouldn't feel right to me because they CONSTANTLY forget stuff, like incorporating homebrew stuff into the game and then not adding it on dndbeyond after being reminded several times. I am very understanding of them not always remembering things, so it doesn't sit right with me for them to not be understanding when I (possibly) forget something and make it have negative consequences for my character.
If I were the dm I would just trust my players to be honest about this. If I were a player who is known to cheat, the kind of person who would decide their character carries all their money but then upon hearing that it was stolen would suddenly pretend that their character of course would only carry a small amount… then I would understand why the dm would decide that way.
But I am the opposite of that. It is very important to me for things to be realistic. So even if everyone at the table had been aware that my character usually only carries 10 GP, if I had decided that on that specific day my character would have taken 300 GP extra with him because he wanted to buy something specific later that day, I would have reacted with “Oh no! He took 300 GP today! And now it’s all gone!!”. Even if I had not mentioned that he had taken 300 GP or that he planned on buying something and could totally get away with just changing it and not mentioning it. But I don’t do that. I’m honest about this kind of thing and I feel like the dm should know that. I even reminded the dm of a specific magic item that my character was carrying when something happened that I feared would affect the item. An item which I was very worried about my character losing. And still I mentioned it being there because if it’s there, it’s there. Cannot change that.
So to me it just seems random and petty and like I’m being punished for not explicitly stating something in the character sheet.
I can live with both the character sheet having to be 100% accurate and with it not mattering. But it sometimes having to be accurate and sometimes not and me apparently having to know when which applies and getting punished when I don't magically know that just really bothers me.
Am I being petty and unreasonable here? Is that just how the game is and my dm was justified in deciding that way, or is it understandable that this bothered me?
Tl;dr DM decided all my character’s money was stolen from his pouch despite me saying that my character doesn’t carry all his money with him. DM said since I didn’t explicitly state that in the character sheet they’ll go by the assumption that my character carries all his money and therefore it’s gone. Sometimes they say the character sheet has to be accurate and other times they say it doesn't matter, so it seems very random to me. They also constantly forget stuff and I am very understanding of that, so I feel like they’re being petty and unjustly punishing me for failing to put something in the sheet.

So I have an iPhone SE 2020. Its been four years. Battery health at 73% and as such the performance is dropping drastically. I am in the mood for an android and settled on the Galaxy A54 but then saw the horror stories that it has to offer. Eventually I landed on the Pixel 8a.
Looked into the reviews for it (and the regular Pixel 8 seeing as how it has been out for a while). As to be expected, the websites praised them. The YouTubers praised them while addressing “some quirks” but I would be stupid to buy based on the opinions of the ones who got the phone for free from the company.
So I started checking here for actual user reviews and… jeez. With the horror stories I am seeing here it makes me wonder how this phone has a community at all! Now I know that 90% of the people who have no issues will never get online to discuss… their phone working. “Hey guys quick update, it’s doing what it does”. I also know that 90% of the people who do have issues will come straight here to talk about it so it can make this phone seem so much worse than it is due to that.
On the one hand I am kinda hoping for suggestions on the best phones in this price range with good cameras but since it is a pixel subreddit I will stay on topic. What is the reality of these Pixels? Never owned a Pixel before. Last android I had was a Moto G6 in 2018 and a Galaxy J7 Sky Pro before that (literal garbage).
Are the pixels really that bad? Do they really heat up like crazy? Is the battery really that bad? Are they really as glitchy as reports suggest? This phone is SO tempting as is but you guys are kind of scaring me off and Im not sure what device I would turn to if this winds up not being a good device. I dont need it to last 7 years, Just 2-4 realistically.
I know that the Pixel8a is tough to tell me about as it is brand new so I am kind of just inquiring about the performance and reliability of Pixels in general. Please please please help me out on an answer. Whether its a collective “yes” or “no” doesn’t matter. I only watch YouTube, HBO Max and use reddit but also like taking pics and selfies so I need a good camera. The Pixels seem tailor made for me at face value and I really wanna join the family, but it had to be a family worth joining.
You have my thanks just for reading this buyers paralysis crisis. Will give double thanks if you could help me out here

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I've been meaning to make this post for a while but life kept getting in the way.
There is a bunch of new (well, new to me) stuff I've discovered over the last few weeks, and wanted to share my thoughts with you.
Let's start with the "prequel" (although never canonically confirmed) to the Marathon series was a game called Pathways to Darkness. The backstory for this game is:

Sixty-four million years ago, a large extra-terrestrial object struck the Earth in what would later be called the Yucatan Peninsula, in south eastern Mexico. The dust and rock thrown up by the resulting explosion caused enormous climactic changes in the ensuing years, and many of the Earth's species became extinct during the long winter that followed.
The object itself was buried thousands of feet below ground, its nearly two kilometer length remarkably intact. It remained there, motionless, for thousands of years before it finally began to stir-- and to dream.

Hmm. Buried below ground. Finally beginning to stir and dream. Who does that sound like?
Let's keep going.

The heat of impact liquefied the rock around it, which later cooled and encased the dead god's huge body far below ground. As it began to dream, it wrought unintentional changes in its environment. Locked deep beneath the Earth, strange and unbelievable things faded in and out of reality. Vast caverns and landscapes bubbled to life within the rock, populated by horrible manifestations of the dead god's dream.

As it began to dream, it wrought unintentional changes in its environment.. Locked deep beneath the Earth, strange and unbelievable things faded in and out of reality.
Like Fingerrats? Or like Spider-wolves?

Vast caverns and landscapes bubbled to life within the rock, populated by horrible manifestations of the dead god's dream.

Caverns and landscapes. I want to expand this point here for a bit because it's also mirrored across Alagaesia.
Let's start with Helgrind.
For any FV enjoyers, I've previously speculated that Helgrind is a reliquary, or a previously living being that was transformed (a la Ctein).
But the curious thing here is the timeline of Helgrind and it's tunnel system, taken with the above context.

Q: Assuming it wasn't built by the Ra'zac themselves, was the lair inside Helgrind purpose-built for the Ra'zac and Lethrblaka, or did they appropriate it some time after it was built? If it wasn't built for them, what was its original purpose?
A: Partially natural formations (linked to tunnels elsewhere in Alagaësia), partly expanded by the priests of Helgrind and Galbatorix himself.

But... The Ra'Zac didn't inhabit Helgrind until at least after the Humans came over. So these tunnels underneath Helgrind existed before the Ra'Zac, or Galbatorix ever set foot on Alagaesia. Which, I don't know about you, but a massive network of tunnels does not smell entirely natural to me.
So.. where else are there "natural" formations that link to other tunnels elsewhere in Alagaesia?
We've seen these "natural" formations in Vroengard:

Q: The deeps under Vroengard, were they created by the riders or was it a previous system of caverns that they repurposed?
A: Previous system. I mean, there's been work done on them, but... 'It looks similar, parts of it feel similar to the caverns that we encountered in this book. They both have that hole in the cave which goes deeper, with something in the hole that's not clearly defined.' Yeah.

And we've seen similar depictions in the Beors, and Nal Gorgoth. So from the Beors to Vroengard, "natural" tunnels exist underground. I don't buy that they are entirely natural.
Given the context of the Marathon game above:

Vast caverns and landscapes bubbled to life within the rock, populated by horrible manifestations of the dead god's dream.

I think these tunnels came from Azlagur.
Let's switch gears here, I want to talk about another archaeological mystery in the world of Eragon - El-Harim.
I believe El-Harim was heavily influenced by the (not canon confirmed, but implied) prequel to the Marathon games, the Pathways into Darkness

Pathways casts the player as a member of a US Army Special Forces team sent on a mission to the Yucatán Peninsula. On May 5, 1994, a diplomat from the alien race known as the Jjaro appeared to the President of the United States and informed him that on May 13, an ancient godlike being sleeping beneath a pyramid would awaken and destroy the Earth. The only way to prevent this catastrophe is to prevent the god from awakening. The eight-man Special Forces team carries a nuclear weapon, with the goal of entering the ancient pyramid, descending to the bottom level where the god sleeps, and activating the bomb to stun the god and bury it under tons of rock.

Getting into a bit more of the backstory:

Only during the last few centuries has the god begun to effect changes on the surface of the Earth. Grotesque creatures have been sighted deep in the trackless forest of the Yucatan, and strange rumors of an ancient pyramid-- which is neither Aztec nor Mayan-- in the same area have been circulating in the archaeological community since the early 1930's.

Pyramid, eh? There are two different options here I can think of that equate.
The extended FWW Map
First, in the extended map from FWW, we can see a Pyramid-esque shape - Different color, different slope, etc.
Or, second (and probably more likely), it could be El-Harim:

It is a very bad place. It’s a place where some bad things happened at one point and it’s not a good place to go walking around. I don’t want to get into it too much more because again, it’s a good possibility for another story and I want to keep thinking about it a bit more. It is in Alagaesia and we’ve actually been close to the location.

Many speculate that the below vision from Eragon in Brisingr, which was never explained in the main cycle, is of El-Harim:

And he rested, and visions beset him of a circular stone city that stood in the center of an endless plain and of a small girl who wandered among the narrow, winding alleys within and who sang a haunting melody (A Feast with Friends, Brisingr).

If this vision IS El-Harim , it's super significant because of these two descriptors:

circular stone city
narrow, winding alleys

Fractals. The city itself is a fractal, like Nidus for any FV enjoyers.
The narrow winding alleys are significant because of the descriptors of the Vanished/Grey folk:

The spaces between the structures were narrower than the humans preferred; the proportions were taller, thinner, which matched the images she had seed of the Vanished...
The ancient outline of the city was - as she suspected - a fractal, and the shape of it contained meaning.... At the nexus of the apttern, where it coiled in on itslef like a nautilus shell" (Shards, TSIASOS).

Narrow. Circular (Nautilus shell). Winding. Fractal.
Whatever this city is, El-Harim or otherwise, it is/was a grey folk/vanished city.
And given the quotes from above - "Its a place where some bad things happened at one point", and "dangerous, creeping, ancient, evil thing" - My guess is that the event that caused the Grey Folk to bind the AL to magic happened here, in El-Harim.
Alright, moving along.
Let's talk about the Az and the God. There are a few parallels I've talked around, but the BIG link between the two are Dreams. This is especially important because of the release of the world map recently.

We are the devotees of Azlagur, the Devourer. Azlagur the Firstborn. Azlagur the Dreamer. He who sleeps and whose sleeping mind weaves the warp and weft of the waking world. But the sleep grows restless" (Obliteration, Murtagh).

Versus

As it began to dream, it wrought unintentional changes in its environment. Locked deep beneath the Earth, strange and unbelievable things faded in and out of reality. Vast caverns and landscapes bubbled to life within the rock, populated by horrible manifestations of the dead god's dream.

I could write a whole post about the parallels between the two and their linkage to dreams, but I'll cut it short here for now to save room to dig in to other areas. Specifically, the Dreams connection is especially important because of the relase of the world map recently - I have another post here that gets into more detail, but the translations from the World Map in the middle translate to:

where dreams and dragons dwell

Dreams (!) and Dragons.
Combine that with the Etymology of the words:

Alagaësia ala = land gaësia = rich/fertile
Alalëa ala = land lëa = a beautiful dream
Elëa = the dream itself

So the planet, named Elea, translates to "The Dream Itself". Very interesting.
This is even more significant when you take into account this tweet chain from Chris, a bit earlier in March

Darn it. Just invented a name in the ancient language. Googled it to make sure no one else had used it ... only to discover that I had used it in an earlier book. Lol.
Can we ask what name?
Edurna

I believe the name was a potential candidate for the name of the planet of Alagaesia, which is important because of the etymology of THAT name (All credit to Zora for digging this one up).

Edurna sounds awfully like Adurna and Edur
Adurna meaning water and Edur being a prominence

Prominence. And Water. You know what that sounds like to me? Plaintive Verge. Just food for thought.
Second-to-last Az connection I want to cover: Hunger.

Whirling darkness swallowed him, and at the center of it... lay a formless horror - ancient and evil and from which emanated a constant merciless hunger (Dreams and Portents).

Versus a quote about the cosmic entity in Marathon:

Now I fear what that weapon has unleashed will destroy us. I once boasted to be able to count the atoms in a cloud, to understand them all, predict them, and so did I predict you, but this new chaos is entirely terrible, mindless, obeying rules that I don't comprehend. And it is hungry.

Now, the last piece of Azlagur-related lore I want to cover here is the "Black Sun".
In all of the visions, a Black Sun precipitates Azlagur's rise.

"A black sun rimmed by black flame hung against a darkling sky... The beast rose rampant against the black sun - A wingless dragon, apocalyptic in size, terrifying in presence. Destroyer of hope, eater of light"

Before getting into the Black Sun a bit more, there's an additional connection here I want to touch on - usage of the word rampant in connection with Azlagur.

In Marathon, Rampancy is the enhanced self-awareness of a computer AI, causing a progression towards greater mental abilities and destructive impulses. The destructive impulses, however, are primarily caused by being threatened or harassed. There are three main stages, as well as a fourth and final stage that is rarely achieved, to rampancy, named by the primary attitude of the AI during those times: Melancholia, Anger, Jealousy, and Meta-Stability.

There are some overlaps with what we see from the Maw.
And Melancholia.. that's an interesting word. Especially when taken into context the meaning of the name:

A melancholy dream of great beauty.

Melancholy.. Dream... The pieces of the puzzle are coming together. And Rampant...
Chris also uses that exact same verbiage when discussing a deleted scene from TSIASOS:

Q: I just finished reading To Sleep in a Sea of Stars and I have to know: it sounds like the Wranaui fought the corrupted during the Sundering but if that's true and it happened almost 300 years prior.... Who created the old corrupted? I've been questioning this for days!
A: That was actually in material cut by editors (some of the dream memories). Another Seed/Idealis was damaged and, when the Old Ones tried to separate it from its host, the xeno went rampant.

The xeno went rampant. Very interesting.
Alrighty, I keep getting distracted, back to the black sun.
The reason the Black Sun is important is because it always precipitates Azlagur's rise, throughout several of Murtahgh's visions. In each of them, there is a Black sun.
So, by this, we can extrapolate that the sun needs to be Black in order for Azlagur to rise (which is hinted at at the "Day of Black Sun" celebrations near the end of the book).
But... what does it actually mean?
There is a parallel in Marathon, their weapon:

The trih xeem (also "tri xeem") is an extremely powerful weapon that can be used to force a star into early nova... it was originally conceived and built by the Jjaro [The Old Ones/Vanished equivalent]. Much of the Marathon Infinity story revolves around preventing the Pfhor from using the tri xeem and inadvertently releasing a W'rkncacnter that is supposedly trapped within the Lh'owon sun.

So, the story of the last Marathon games revolves around preventing the usage of the weapon to release the cosmic-level baddie trapped in the sun. So, effectively, the antagonist is imprisoned by the sun.
But.. how does that translate to Azlagur and Murtagh?
The Black Sun requirement for Azlagur's rise could be construed as "imprisonment" by the sun; Azlagur cannot escape until the sun is turned Black. But it only really starts to come together when you piece together these pictures.
First, early concept art for the Fractalverse
You see the black orb, heading directly for the glowing star? Sounds pretty similar.
But that's not the smoking gun; look at the depiction of the black orb in the concept art, and compare it to the trih xeem, the weapon in Marathon.
A black orb with a trail heading directly for the sun. Almost an exact match.
OK.. so I get that it has some relevence in fractalverse, but how does it translate to Eragon?
Well, because of the Beors. Specifically, a picture CHRIS HIMSELF posted about the Beors.
Here
I propose that THIS black orb, at the top of the Beors (which, suspiciously, no one has traveled to) houses the black weapon. After all, the depiction is quite similar - A large, circular, black orb. Looks pretty similar to the other pictures.
And given the above context that Azlagur can only rise with a "Black Sun", the pieces all start to fit together. It's not perfect, but there are definitely a lot of overlaps.
Alright. I've been waiting for this one. The last piece. Let's talk about Angela.
Q: Will we get Angela lore? I feel like she could have killed Galbatorix and just didn't feel like it.
A: For those who don't know Angela is based on my sister Angela, because she breaks the fourth wall to a degree she has. Not only does she have plot armor, she knows she's in a story and can break the story itself. So, yes, she could have killed Galbatorix, but that would have made for a very bad story. That said, I do have an entire book planned around Angela, and it's very high on my list of books to write because it takes place before some of these other big stories I want to write. And that's also the difficult thing. I have my big storylines, and then I have a couple of one off side books I want to write, and it's just a question of time, energy and effort.
She knows she's in a story, and she can break the story.
Based on that, and several other descriptions I will get into in a bit, I think her story is directly related to the Marathon Infinity game.

Marathon Infinity begins as the Pfhor destroy Lh'owon using a Jjaro-derived doomsday weapon known as the Trih Xeem or "early nova". Unfortunately, the weapon also releases a powerful chaotic being: The W’rkncacnter, which threatens to destroy the entire galaxy. Because of the W’rkncacnter's chaos or by means of some Jjaro tech of his own, the player is transported back and forward in time, finding himself jumping between timelines and fighting for various sides in a desperate attempt to prevent the chaotic being's release.

and

In Marathon Infinity, a W'rkncacnter is imprisoned in the sun of planet Lh'owon. It is theorized by some that the W'rkncacnter's powerfully chaotic nature may be responsible for the jumps between realities seen in the game. When the Pfhor use a trih xeem device to send the star into early nova, the creature is released, to the horror and destruction of the Pfhor.

Angela is the Eragon-equivalent of the player.
She can transport back and forward in time, jumping between timelines, and fighting to prevent the chaotic being's (Azlagur's) release. Let's dive in.
First:

Q: Is it canon that Angela the Herbalist is a Time Lord and did she make a cameo in To Sleep in a Sea of Stars?
A: Is Angela the Herbalist is a Time Lord? That would be copyright infringement, so I'm going to say "no comment", but she is in To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. And there is a canon reason for this. And you should have no problem spotting who she is in that book.

So there's a canon reason she's in the book. Interesting. When you take that into context with the next bit

Q: On your last AMA on reddit, someone asked if any fan had guessed the identity and history of Angela correctly. You said nobody has guessed correctly and there's not enough information in the books to do so. That puts every fan theory out there on her wrong, correct? She's not the soothsayer, a time lord, grey folk, etc, correct?
A: Angela: Some of the fan theories have gotten parts of her history and identity correct. However, there's a HUGE aspect to her nature that no one has guessed (or least, not in a non-joking way). And no, I don't mean her being a Time Lord.

So there's a huge aspect to her nature that no one has guessed (at least at the time of writing). She's self-aware, knows she's in a story, and can jump around in time. And, similar to the Marathon games, it appears like only she knows that she's in a story.
So, based on the Marathon inspiration, we can guess that she is trying to accomplish the same thing - To prevent the release of the cosmic-level villain. We know that she has some kind of relationship with the Draumar:

In Murtagh, it’s revealed that Bachel and “Uluthrek” (Mooneater, Angela’s given Urgal name) met with Bachel explicitly going out to confront her (a courtesy not even offered to a Rider like Murtagh)

So, by extension, she has some kind of connection to Azlagur. This is supported by other circumstantial evidence in FWW as well:

Since we know that the Dream Well in Mani's Caves is similar to the Well in Nal Gorgoth I can assume that Angela is revealing the existence of the Draumar to Elva there? I feel certainly feel as if you're setting up her for something in the future series.
Heh. Good Catch.

So, she is clearly working with Elva to do something related to the Dream Wells, and she also previously confronted Bachel, many years ago. So throughout multiple years across the WoE, she is connected to Azlagur and the Draumar; her story clearly revolves around them/Azlagur, somehow.
Putting the above pieces together, my guess is that she is jumping around in different timelines, trying to manipulate actions of the past to prevent the rise of Azlagur. Just like the player character in Marathon. There's another piece of circumstantial evidence to support this assertion as well.
In Marathon Infinity:

After multiple "jumps," the player (seemingly the only one who realizes he is being transported between possible realities)

Versus Angela:

As hours passed, the stars turned above, night chill drew the heat from my body, and I fell into a curious trance, not asleep but not fully awake... The world altered" (On the Nature of Stars, FWW).

I believe this world "Altering" was the first time she experienced an alternate timeline, without knowing what it was at the time.
We've also seen her create "Doorways" as well - Although it's not clear if this is fast traveling (a la a Torque Gate), or truly opening a path to another timeline.
In Eldest:

"As they landed, he noticed a patch of white on a small hill nearby. The patch wavered strangely in the dark, like a floating candle, then resolved into Angela, who was wearing a pale wool tunic" (A Sorceress, a Snake, and a Scroll).

and then later, more concretely:

"I traced a line on the wall, reached out, and opened a door that wasn't there. ON the other side - nighttime, a beach by a black ocean lit only by stars, so many, many stars, more than there should be. Of course, I would not take Elva to my home, not yet. But this was a waypoint, a place to build and learn and grow... She stared into the gap, the impossible portal" (On the Nature of Stars, FWW).

Still, as always with Angela, so many questions.
Alright, we've reached an ungodly wordcount, so I'll call it here. There are still more connections I'm uncovering between the two series (such as the potential connection between the Gedway Ignasia and the "warning" sensation from Marathon), so I might make a follow-up post in the future with everything else I uncover.
As always, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or if you've found any other connections between the two.

I just bought a record sleeve of the Repentless album (not the record itself, because I don’t have a record player, I just decorate with the sleeves) and I thought it looked dope. It was my first time even hearing about the band so I listened to the album. I thought the instrumentals were amazing but I’m not a huge fan of the vocal style of most of the tracks. I quickly went through a few of their other songs on Spotify to see if there were any with different styles and couldn’t find any. Do you know of any that would fit that description? I love the band’s sound so I want to listen to some of their stuff that isn’t just intros, interludes, and instrumentals.
Sorry if this question is disrespectful at all, I don’t mean it to be.

My name was slandered SO badly by the quinte.ca news that it is literally criminal and VERY VERY messed up.
According to this article I am a Sex Predator and was trying to lure a 13 year old for sex using the internet.(!!!!!)
This is a long story so I’m going to do my best at condensing it so people actually read it.
This is what happened: With a fair amount of spare time on my hands I decided to do something that would create a positive, long lasting impact. I knew there had to be some real sex predators in a city this size so I decided to see if any ADULTS online were interested and fully follow through with preying on a minor. Less than a few minutes after creating a profile I was contacted by a Belleville Resident who indicated DIRECTLY to me that he was “ok” with the decoys age.

I told him my age was TWELVE. 

Within the first 5 minutes of the conversation. So for the next five days he was essentially grooming who he believed was 12 year old and attempting to meet him that upcoming weekend. At no time did I initiate or direct the conversation to move in the dirty direction. I wanted to not only provide as much solid evidence as possible for the police, but I was thinking forward to do the same for the future prosecution when this case ultimately reached the Court….( at least In my mind, this is what I was doing it for! )
Speaking to him about 45 minutes each day I was shocked at how this was actually happening. Shocked at how quickly, unaffected and confident he was to be luring a 12 year old to his apartment.
Most disturbing was the bits of information that was confessed to me. How he “had to be really careful” because he is already a registered sex offender due to being caught with another minor years ago, and how he “had multiple other people your age” in the past which he had never been caught for.
So obviously by the time I was aware of that I was Deadset at not only catching and exposing this creep but see to it that he gets his rightful spot back in a prison cell.

Make no mistake I took screenshots of EVERY message/text/conversations/photos. 

( I had taken photos of myself and used an age altering app which was procured freely from Apple. ) Upon his request I sent multiple Altered selfies over those five days in the various poses he was asking for. Obviously this was done to prove that the decoy was in fact “real”. Bam. That’s it. It was Friday and this registered sex offender “PDF File” was in FULL BELIEF and confident that a Minor was on the way to his apartment to “teach him” how to have sex.
I went just outside the meeting area a bit early and sat down with my Sony 500 video camera around my neck and was prepared to begin the video, capturing him as he went directly to the prearranged location. He was going with the quickness and attempting to hold back the huge shit eating grin on his face. Disgusting. Vile. True evil.
So I walked up to him while recording and made a call from my cellphone to his which I used to instantly tell him off the bat: “YOU’RE FKD!” Also by doing this at that moment I was putting him in a position (ON CAMERA mind you) which he had zero opportunity to deny anything.

Over the next 20-30 minutes He confessed to everything that was said during the conversations. Instead of me questioning him, initially I had told him to tell me exactly why he was there, and for him to tell me (the camera) everything that was in those terrible and unbelievable messages. 

I grilled him like a ribeye.
After having gathered what I believed to be enough evidence and having him vocally express ( One more and last time) directly to the camera why he was there at that precise moment and what it was he had expected to go down that day in his apartment, I decided to end recording, and leave.
With my adrenaline pumping, I left. Forgetting to do what could’ve been the most important thing, not for exposing him or the Court, but for ME. . . Call the cops. I called them about 10 minutes into the walk back to my home. I told the Officer everything that had just happened. Including the prior five days leading up to this event. I was praised for doing what I had done by this Officer but was informed that the “Detective” responsible for this “crime category” was already off duty and wouldn’t be returning until Monday.
On Monday I received a phone call from that Officer and TRIED to explain everything. It was like I was speaking another language to him. He REPEATEDLY tried to change what I was telling him. For example; I explained how I was the decoy and that there did NOT EXIST AN ACTUAL MINOR involved here, and then he would say: “so you and this sex offender ‘hooked up’ and tried to get a ‘13’ year old over to HIS house” !!!!! It was if he was Trolling. He simply could not, or did not WANT TO understand what happened. “It’s like a STING OPERATION” I finally said to him. I told him this guys name and where he lived. I even knew his birthdate from the convos with the Decoy. So this “detective” in charge of investigating a very serious category of crime in this city KNEW that this predator is a Registered Sex Offender. He KNEW that I was in possession of a litany of irrefutable evidence. Yet was totally incompetent and put me down as Suspect #1 from the start. For not a single reason. He denied my requests to come down and SHOW HIM THE FRICKIN’ EVIDENCE. He did not even want to see the video confession!!! Nothing happened. He said it was now an “open case” and I had a case number. Deflated. Flabbergasted. I was [again] in shock. After weeks of waiting, I ended up putting the entire video of sicko confessing and me grilling him on YouTube. My genuine motive from the start was to make a positive impact on the community. To potentially stop a child from being victimized by a predator. I felt let down the police response. Little did I know what was to come SIX months later. The cops raided the house I was living in.
I was immediately handcuffed and told that I was arrested for “LURING A MINOR” !!!! I was literally paralyzed. With at LEAST HALF A DOZEN POLICE OFFICERS AND AN EQUALLY UNNECESSARILY LARGE AMOUNT OF SUVS PARKED ON THE DRIVEWAY, LAWN, AND ONE OF THE BUSIEST ROADS IN THE CITY. RED AND BLUES FLASHING ON ALL OF THEM. W h a t . T h e . F o c k ! ? ! They went up to my neatly organized room and searched it over discovering of course nothing but my phone. Snatching it with a joy like they had just successfully done something significant. I had 5-7 cops surrounding me in a semi circle after arriving at the Jail as I prepared to go inside a cell. They even shackled my feet. I know from watching cops and the like on YouTube to always exercise the right to remain silent. There was nothing I could do or say at that point which would help and I definitely didn’t resist the arrest so it really must’ve been a slow day. Eh guys? That and/or the overly incompetent rookie had relayed to his colleagues and obviously his Superiors to get the raid and arrest warrant his own personal story that he had recreated. Unfriggenbelieveable! It’s SO ABSURD THERE IS NO PROPER WORDS TO EXPRESS HOW IT FEELS TO GO THROUGH THIS! Doing something I considered not just “Right”, but Honourable, Justified, and definitely NOT illegal! How the hell did a JUDGE sign an arrest AND RAID Warrant on me with ZERO evidence, physical, concrete, or even circumstantial?? Not a single reason lawfully or otherwise for them to raid, arrest, shackle my feet and throw me in a jail cell for hours, and then criminally charge me with “Luring of a Minor”. Evidently, according to this news article the police had conducted a Six Month Investigation. Huh? Of What?! On Who?!
Now, Finally, The News Article: The information printed in any news article requires a source, so all of this information had to have only been provided by the police department. This article was printed at 9 in the morning the very next day of the arrest and raid. So of course this was all information provided from police.

This is what the dumbass, rookie, ignorant cop fabricated for no actual real reason: 

“Two men were arrested yesterday after a Six Month long Investigation revealed that the men had ‘BOTH’ believed that they were speaking with a ‘13’ year old boy online. Registered sex offender (the real predators name) and another known sex offender ( my name) are each charged with Luring of a Minor. (Real predators name again) is also charged with using an electronic device to lure a Minor, and breach of probation.”

My LandLord happened to be home at the time of the Raid, and he had also (I guess being suspicious after the raid,) read the article online which is quoted directly above. 

Which meant that he would be evicting me from the property, and I can’t blame him. With that article being read by my roommates and hisself I can’t really blame him for that either.
The charges against myself were eventually dropped, of course. About 18 months later! My phone being confiscated in the raid in order to access everything on there was also given back to me. They played immature and unprofessional games with that as well; returning my property. Such as : come in this day, your phone is ready to be released now. Show up. “Oh so and so thought it was ready but we don’t have it yet.” Weeks later. Get another call saying it is in fact ready now. Show up. “There is no one working in the evidence locker today, there will be in two days.” Screw them! I show up ten days late and what do you know? My property is actually there for me, and I finally get it back. Of course having had to purchase new phone in the meantime. Worse yet, I can’t recall the password and it was before facial recognition (not like that would matter) and after the fingerprint touch button. So it’s just a brick now.
That’s the least of my concern, as that bullshit article remains up, and the YouTube video had been taken down for some privacy violation nonsense.
After paying the criminal defence attorneys’ invoice(s), I couldn’t afford the 6K being asked by EVERY attorney I had reached out to.
So there, that’s one of many of my Unbelievably Insane Life’s stories. I suppose I didn’t provide the short version. Even though I have sincerely tried to keep it all to a minimum by leaving out plenty of details and significant events, this ended up being the Mid Length version.

I have to get this off my chest I apologize and it’s not a flame post or a bickering post about the skins etc. I love Smite and I’ve played Smite 2 which has some real promise and I’m excited for its full release.
With that being said, I think releasing Smite 2 will split the already moderate fanbase. There will be the Smite 2 players and then there will be the Smite 1 players that’ll already have all their toys ready to use. Nothing to unlock. They’ll be content with what they have.
Smite 1 already plays fine. Sure it’s dated and could use a lot of improvements and a sequel would be warranted but the current implementation is just too insignificant to warrant such a change. I’m fine with Smite 1 for another 5 years. The Smite 2 alpha didn’t lead me to think it’s the Smite 1 replacement we all hoped it will be. It plays very similar. It even looks similar but with the UE5 blur effects. Don’t get me wrong the Ymir Blobmir skin looked really awesome but it’s really just an upgrade current Ymir.
Hi-Rez is making a HUGE mistake and they’re going about it all wrong. I’m a 10+ year player. They should make a drastic change to the stylization.
I suggest they think long and hard about their level design. LoL, Dota 2 etc levels looks gorgeous. Smite? So bland and uninspired. They should add levels. Think cellars or upper floors instead of jungles. Make the scenery a big part of the character. A major revamp needs to happen. Mount Olympus? Heavens? Hells? Cursed and haunted lands? I don’t know, something imaginative. They already have the god work figured out, now focus on the scenery and map layouts.
Lastly, and this is probably my sole opinion. I think the Airbender or the cartoon looking characters look FAR better than anything else in the game. It’s truly a spectacle. I would’ve got a consensus of my design team reconsider making the entire game in that vain. Those transformers skins?? Wow! But it’s wasted and being discarded. It’s a a shame. Really is.
Anyway. Hi-Rez you guys made a wonderful game and it has lasted for such a long time. Don’t split your fan base for what looks more like a one generation increase as opposed to two generation boost. I’m nkt knocking the artistry, the models look great, but they’re retreads and retreads really don’t sell well with me. It’s like buying a brand new 2024 mustang when you already have a fairly new 2023 mustang. You’re getting minor improvements but at such a higher cost.
I want to see Smite 2 be amazing. I’m looking forward to all the changes and implementations of the Smite 2 features.

You bots and Nids have it so easy. At least your units have a chance. Just because I downloaded the free to play mobile version of the game I’m stuck with SEAF. I refuse to buy into the pay to win mechanics of the game. Yea I drop a few thousands RC (mind you I make like 10RC a week) and I can be an oh so cool helldiver. But nooooo that’s for super citizens only!
Meanwhile I’m over here dealing with farmers as my low tech units. Sure they have a breach action shotgun…. But I’m no farmer with a gun and they ain’t no sayain. I have to IMMEDIATELY tech into bunkers and barracks with a research station! Otherwise I won’t even be able to get my SEAF site up in time.
And before you know it those positions will be over run by patrols and my workers turned it fodder for bot builds and food for the Nids.
Oh sure I can at least cap some Nids and get oil reserves going. But then I can barely afford to build radar stations that will let me find the samples on the map that will then unlock mini nukes for my Artillery sites.
But good luck getting those going at any reasonable speed!! I mean for god sakes the AA site is ONLY able to target Dropships… not even gunships! Much less shriekers. Hell why even have the option to build them on bug planets!?! No one does and never will!!
Research and tech trees are so screwed up for SEAF players… like when will we ever get a patch?! I swear we were only included in the game to be “motivation” for helldivers. It’s like we are literally props!?
If one of my worlds get invaded it’s either protect my civis (they only half to run like 50 yards max thank god) or I get people loaded in crypto pods to at least save my leveled up units…. But jeeze it’s like the devs just made this faction… and then forgot about it.
If o have to hear one more time about a bot player complaining about microing a Flame hulk… at least your ships don’t drop your research currency when downed… and to the Nids who complain about chargers being slow and easily rodeod…. At least you have a medium unit! I have squads of SEAF troopers that have LITERALLY cloth armor… I’d complain about our cars/buggies… but they literally don’t work.
The only real useful thing I can do is plant hair trigger hellbombs around the map in the hopes they get ACCIDENTALLY set off…
The only reason I even play this game is so I can earn medals for my C-01 application.
Uggh…. Time to go build another set of landing beacons and start all over again.

So I have been heavily into 40k and just started my adventure on the other side of the store -AoS. I picked the Nighthaunt Vanguard box cause they looked cool and assembled my models but am struggling with next steps on learning to play it.
Googling how to play AoS Vanguard did not return the results I expected. Do I need to buy a rule book to play Vanguard?
I put the models in the Vanguard box into the app, 580 points. Is Vanguard not actually a playable amount/game mode? More like just a start on a 1000 pts - 2000 pts army needed to play? Are they relatively balanced vs. other Vanguards? (Dont mean player opinion of "are they well balanced", just mean are they intended to be played against each other)
I thought it would be like Combat Patrol or something. Anyways any guidance would be appreciated, just trying to understand it enough to convince my friends. I'm totally down to buy more if thats the answer but in my mind I was expecting we could all get a Vanguard and be able to play against each other.

there’s plenty of quotes but i mean that one line that plays like an old record player in your head from time to time. something that just tickles you pink. or for some reason inexplicably can be used in a variety of occasions interchangeably & somehow makes sense.
"it was the best of times it was the BLURST of times!”
"you don’t win friends with salad”
"embiggens is a prefectly cromulent word”

It’s crazy how brilliant this album is. It somehow still feels underrated and has an arguement for being possibly thee best album - not just in grunge but possibly in the history of rock, or honestly all of music in general! The fact that it’s a tribute to Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood (vocalist and amazing piano player) - with a few former members and all of future Pearl Jam since Matt Cameron eventually became the full-time drummer - just makes it an album formed completely from the heart and full of soul. This band was literally the polar opposite of a cash grab opportunist band. Apparently the band just wanted to make music in a stress free manner with little expectations, and boy did they surpass any that may have been placed upon them. Saying that even feels like a heavy understatement!
The fact that the project’s lead vocalist was a very close friend of Wood’s in Chris Cornell - who also died tragically - makes it even more touching. Side note, but Jerry Cantrell if AiC was supposedly very close to Wood and obviously Cornell as well. Wood permanently left his mark on the Seattle scene a year and a half before before it even became mainstream, and if you listen closely you can tell every bands’ sound - musically and lyrically - got quite darker following his untimely passing. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
When he heard the tragic news, Cornell initially wrote two songs in the heavenly (no pun intended) Say Hello 2 Heaven - cleverly released as a single - and the unbelievably EPIC Reach Down. The former is a beautiful, bluesy song which passionately shows Cornell’s full vocal range and beautiful lyricism. Reach Down is simply put, one of the greatest and most epic songs in existence. Eleven minutes long with a guitar riff that is bone-crushing and very likely the best solo I’ve ever heard, especially when you consider McCready’s headphones flew off about halfway through the recording it - forcing him to sort of “wing it” (lol) without having a backing track to hear. Not one second of the song fails to capture one’s attention - which is nothing less than astounding considering the length of it. Cornell could’ve stopped there and had an epic dual single or even an EP considering he already had be nearly 20 mins (17 minutes and 37 seconds to be exact) material! This easily could’ve been all that was written… but then fate intervened in the best way possible!
Former Mother Love Bone rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament - primary songwriters for MLB and earlier in Green River (another legendary grunge band) - wanted to collaborate with Cornell to put themselves in position to write and play music before the time off caused them to get rusty with playing or songwriting. With this in mind, Cornell wisely enlisted the other soon-to-be Temple of the Dog musicians (Gossard, Ament, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron) and a masterpiece was about to be born!
The album’s lead single, Hunger Strike, is a brilliant piece that features a fresh and truly immaculate young voice from San Diego in the incredibly charismatic Eddie Vedder, who was actually auditioning for Gossard and Ament’s new band that you may have heard of (Pearl Jam). The story goes that Cornell - hard to believe - was having trouble hitting the lows as he wanted them to sound and Vedder simply took the mic and naturally delivered the vocals exactly as Cornell had wanted them to sound! I think it’s safe to say Vedder passed his audition with flying colors due to his incredible power, elegance and charisma (and quickly developing song-writing). The song’s drop D tuning and the darker sounding post-chorus riff give it a very proper grunge edge. Say Hello To Heaven and Hunger Strike quickly became staples of ‘90s radio stations worldwide.
Digging deeper, Pushin’ Forward Back (the third single) and Your Savior combines Mother Love Bone’s street rock approach with Pearl Jam’s more serious hard rock sound. The former features a powerful rhythm guitar riff, soaring lead riffs, Cornell’s finest vocals and the best backup vocals you could ask for from Vedder. Skipping ahead to track eight, Your Savior provides some extremely impressive (and aggressive) drumming, guitar tracks and again Vedder’s unmistakably brilliant sounding backup vocals that could not complement Cornell’s lead vocals any better! This is definitely a favorite among favorites for myself, and perfectly follows the track Wooden Jesus in my humble opinion.
Call Me a Dog and Times of Trouble are, without doubt, two of the most beautiful ballads I’ve ever heard. The former slowly builds up momentum with lovely piano playing and a quieter guitar that seemingly gets louder as the song goes on until it reaches a crescendo, as the bridge hears Cornell belting out some seriously high lead vocals and then McCready blazing through with another divine solo! Times of Trouble is a very interesting piece of music to say the least. It was actually also used for Vedder’s auditioning as well as this albums in the absolutely alluring Pearl Jam song Footsteps, which had a more stripped down approach. Times of Trouble on the other hand features the music’s absolute full potential being unlocked with a more solid production, a more eventful buildup that includes gorgeous sounding piano and even a harmonica solo for good measure. This is blues rock at its absolute finest!
Wooden Jesus continues the beautiful ballad sound, with probably my favorite bassline of the album and adding another layer to the music with a what I believe is a very prominent and majestic-sounding banjo (if not it’s an acoustic) during the second verse and Cornell just absolutely owns it vocally on this track McCready’s criminally underrated guitar solo ties it all together perfectly. Four Walled World - along with Times of Trouble - captures Chris Cornell’s bluesiest sound I’ve ever heard on record, and the extended outro allows him to get some serious wails out along with another epic McCready solo. Four Walled World is a very strong track and gives me vibes of Pearl Jam’s soon-to-heard songwriting. In particular Four Walled World sounds sort of like precursor to Pearl Jam’s Deep. I’m not sure why exactly but they remind me of each other. Both have very bluesy riffs although Deep is definitely a harder edged track (love the phaser effect on it). But listening to it now it is more bluesy than I remembered for being one of the heavier Ten tracks. The main riffs are what sound similar to me.
All Night Thing is among the best album closers I’ve ever heard, settling the album and night with a beautiful ballad that feels a bit influenced by The Doors due to the use of an organ for the main melody (courtesy of the great Rick Parasher). I love that they went this route for the closing song. It makes me want to restart the album when it finishes so amazingly like that! This album has shades of Led Zeppelin all over it and I mean that in the best way possible. Heck even Chris Cornell and Robert Plant have very similar vocals imo and virtually identical vocal range at four octaves (although I’ve heard five for both as well) with the ability to croon or wail with the best - well they are the best lol.
The album is perfect from start to finish. Everyone served their purpose immaculately. Every single note, chord, lyric / vocal on this album feels perfectly placed. From the opening tracks that Cornell penned as soon as he heard the tragic news to the full on blues rock of the middle to the end of the album. I love the Mother Love Bone flavor to many of the tracks - particularly Pushin’ Forward Back and Your Savior imo. All Night Thing is among the best album closers ever in regards to softer gentler closers, which also includes Mother Loce Bone’s Chloe DanceCrown of Thorns (Shine EP and Apple - but without Chloe Dancer for the latter for whatever silly reason as both together created the “Stairway to Heaven of gen X”). Also including a piano - again courtesy of Rick Parasher - in a few songs was absolutely poetic being that it was Wood’s instrument of choice. I just wish he could’ve been the one playing piano on a Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden collaboration where they still somehow find Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready. If this album shows us anything, it is that tragedy can often sparks a passionate flame that otherwise cannot be equaled. Mind Riot by Soundgarden is further proof in this particular case.
Also my other picks for best softer album closers - so excluding all harder songs, or this will go on forever lol - plus closing with a gentler song I’ve always preferred as it feels like the albums way of saying “goodnight” which the first of these songs I’m going to list literally does! Jane’s Addiction’s Classic Girl (Ritual de lo Habitual), Pearl Jam’s Release (Ten), Pearl Jam’s Indifference (Vs), Alice In Chains’ Over Now (Tripod), Nirvana’s Something in the Way (Nevermind), Led Zeppelin’s Tea for One (Presence), Aerosmith’s You See Me Crying (Toys In The Attic) Aerosmith’s Home Tonight (Rocks).
Thank you to those who took the time to read my review of my favorite album of all-time! Rest in Peace to the great musicians / producers and human that were Andrew “Andy” Wood, Chris Cornell and Rick Parasher (producer for Temple of the Dog’s eponymous album and Pearl Jam’s Ten). You will all live on forever through your incredible music and be forever loved! Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️

"In the heart of this darkness, the human spirit alit and led the world to peace. The contest between the Surgix and the Arfim had escalated and the Surgix had shown that they were capable of harmful actions equal to those that humans are capable of. The Surgix continued to cause harm to the Arfim until the humans intervened. It is not the fault of the humans that the Surgix refused to cease, and that the humans resorted to eliminating all of the Surgix and dismantling their infrastructure with the use of projected explosive tools they categorize as 'weapons'. The humans obviously hesitated when the Surgix were in orbit to continue the contest. See the evidence that the humans attempted to warn the Surgix that they were being perceived as a threat before they reduced the star fleet to zero." Grand Defender Osowl Fitten described the actions of the humans of Tarnak. To the humans in the courtroom, she looked like some kind of armored sea otter and her setting on the servo preferred to translate her words in the voice of Park Eun-Bin, a human she admired. Her defense relied on showing that the humans had fought humanely and to protect the Arfim from the aggressions of the Surgix.
"In conclusion, I'd like to mention that projections of what the Surgix would have done to the Arfim would result in the extinction of the Arfim, had not the humans intervened. Because the humans do not have the means or the methods that would have resolved this any other way, their only other option would be to step aside and allow the Surgix to continue their campaign against the Arfim. It is not in human nature to stand idle and watch innocents suffer, without feeling compelled to intervene.
We have already accepted human nature, but we have not accepted the human species into Cave Gods And Friends Association. Since humans are not part of our allegiance, should their actions be held to our governing, or to our policies? Should they be required to follow our rules, and also receive no privileges or protections? The humans acted independently, and yet, with the exception of the nature of their actions, the spirit of their efforts does seem to align with our way of doing things."
Osowl Fitten sat down and closed her flax-colored eyes. Behind her the commanders of the human military were seated, wearing their uniforms with chevrons representing their degree of knowledge of warfare, a distinctly human endeavor. Unfortunately, the degree of human warfare so greatly exceeded the nasty business of the Surgix horde, that the result was the swift and efficient eradication of all Surgix equipment, fortifications and the Surgix themselves, who were actually killed by the humans - but only as a last resort when the Arfim refugees were pursued into human territory. Images of the humans firing warning shots and using sound amplifiers with recordings of Surgix in distress to attempt to warn the Surgix before they committed to using harmful actions on them.
When nothing would stop the Surgix advance, the humans were triggered into a state of war, and then they used harmful actions to remove all things Surgix, resulting in a morbid peace, during which the Arfim began to recover and rebuild, with human assistance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, bringers of peace and harmony, esteemed artists, conflict-resolvers, lend to me your attention." The Blue Light Watcher, a species the humans saw as anthropomorphic tarantulas, had a device that instantly spoke in perfect mechanical English, whatever her urticators vibrated. Her name was Exalted Inquisitor Ghox Byle, and like Osowl Fitten, she had an exceptionally successful career.
"Two years ago, the Surgix sued for peace. This is because the humans attacked them on Tarnak IV, the last remaining colony of the Surgix in the Tarnak System. The severity and brutality of this attack must be noted. It does not show any sort of restraint until after the Surgix surrendered. Even after the Surgix had surrendered, individual human soldiers killed Surgix that were trying to surrender. Therefore, despite the description of the Battle of Tarnak and the repelled Surgix Invasion of Tarnak, there was a third, much darker chapter in which the human generals decided to attack the remaining Surgix forces before they could possibly launch a second invasion attempt.
This sort of excessive use of violence is a uniquely human capability. Not even the Surgix were ready to engage humans in this sort of contest. The Surgix have renounced war, disarmed themselves and have applied for membership in Cave Gods And Friends Association. The humans, they don't even want to join, they have said to us that they don't need our guidance, that they are capable of making moral choices on their own. This arrogance, coupled with their extreme capabilities in conflict resolution, should mean that those among us who have made preparations to deal with the humans, should be allowed to utilize those preparations." Exalted Inquisitor Ghox Byle concluded.
Osowl Fitten stood alone in the interrogation suite. The memory of that courtroom moment was considered by the Sunder tribunal. No Cave Gods were summoned, and Osowl had already stated that she found this to be a court-martial, and her compulsory cooperation was only because her friends were held captive.
An artificial human-sounding voice, not too different from a famous K-Pop singer from the twenty-second century of the humans before their ascension spoke disembodied, translated from the Sunder administration's shadow government, on some distant moon in the Basilik system.
"You think the humans are just trying to get help from the Sunder to make new weapons in preparation for a possible invasion by the Unknown. Why wouldn't you consider that we have no recognition of this mythology? We are not as sentimental about superstitions as the Cave Gods, and we will be the judges this time, for once. No Cave Gods will sit there groveling in prayer and meditation trying to make some higher moral decision. It has become tedious."
"You disregard what unites us. Your cowardice is beneath me. Take me to a proper courtroom and we will formally debate this. Where is Eshka Layenna?" Osowl's eyes were bright red and tinted with jagged black veins. She was outraged by the indignity.
"We have decided to dispose of the prisoners on a timeline aligned with the conclusion of these proceedings." The Sunder said, oddly accenting the English, as though the voice preferred another language, and it was just one more layer to the indignations.
"You show them these defenses of mine, then?" Osowl flittered a yellow shimmer across her eyes and fell silent, considering a different approach.
"Well, are you without any argument? This concludes these proceedings." The hidden Sunder spoke.
"You would not consider the thespian nature of our arrest to be sufficient trade, to warrant our expedition a circus, and therefore overturn the verdict?" Osowl asked. "When I leave I will mention these proceeding concluded with such a question. Perhaps you will consider your reputation as ruthful judges to prioritize over the satisfaction of a precedent of victory over human crime won only with this silly court-martial."
"Uh. No. Well. Actually, we have reconsidered. We admit such a question is entered into these proceedings and that we have heard that question."
"And?" Osowl prompted their response, making a prompting coughing noise.
"We have noted the popularity and uniqueness of the Phoenix Hawk's arrival classifies it as a circus, technically. If that is really what you are claiming, and not to buy weapons?"
"I never intended to buy weapons, nor can I confirm that my companions expected to be able to either. Mostly we just wanted to visit and articulate in-character the mythologies you have said are never more than sentiment. Sounds to me like a circus." Osowl had already thought of her words before they asked, and answered with a quickness that assured her veracity was intact.
"In that case, the verdict is overturned. Unbelievable." said the voice of the Sunder.
"One more thing. Since Eshka Layenna is now free, I veto her reparations be in the form of restoring all forms of her authority as an Exalted Inquisitor, that way you aren't embarrassed by these proceedings." Osowl big brained.
"Of course. That makes perfect sense." the voice decided.
Eshka Layenna was released and her authority was restored promptly. She took her seal and issued a command for the research and development of mass-scale plasma shielding that might protect a fleet of ships from bombardment in space and the manufacture of all forms of ammunition on Admiral Jinar's shopping list. This infuriated Administrator Ihanna Kelele, who was obligated to obey the orders.
As they left, the humans asked about Tarnak IV and Tarnac, the home world of the Riftin. It turned out they were coincidentally named very similarly, but the two planets were in different systems and quite distinct. The humans thought this was funny for some reason.
"Historically your species has the most adaptive sense of humor, but I fear the Riftin might give you humans a run for your money?" Osowl attempted, botching it horribly.
"No! - that's just hilarious, a what for our what?" Jinar and her soldier died laughing.

Several weeks ago, I ordered a controller for my sister’s gift from Dareu, and the item ended up stolen. I contacted the seller, and they gave me the local carrier that delivered my item. So, I check in with them and told them the situation.
After that, they followed up with an email after investigating my case. Here it is:
Dear [Recipient],

Thank you for contacting the United States Postal Service. Your concerns have been brought to the attention of our Consumer Affairs office. We are in receipt of your complaint regarding your missing Item [Item #] After a thorough investigation, the station has verified that the carrier scanned and delivered the package on 4/30/2024. We apologize for the non-receipt of your package, possible theft.
For the resolution, we recommend you contact the sender of your item immediately. You can supply them with a copy of this letter as proof that you filed an inquiry of non-receipt to the USPS. The sender can use this letter as supporting documentation to file a claim at www.usps.com/help/claims.htm. As a matter of courtesy, this letter is being provided to the customer to use should they experience a problem with a mailecreditor. Past experiences have shown that many providers will reimburse, or penalties are waived

Please accept our sincerest apology for any trouble this may have caused you. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the future.

Sincerely,
[Sender]
Complaints & Inquiry.
From this point I message the seller and the following happens:
So it would seem that my package was stolen. I have this message direct from the USPS, and would like to receive a refund for this order. I apologize if this has caused inconveniences. Hope to hear from you soon.
Best, [Me]
[Seller]
Hello, thank you for your reply, sorry to hear this, it is news we did not want to receive, but the logistics company admitted their mistake anyway. The logistics provider can compensate. We are now submitting evidence to require the logistics provider to compensate, but please cooperate with us in canceling the PayPal dispute. Once you cancel, we will immediately issue a full refund according to your original payment method, and then you can place an order again. Buy. Otherwise we will have to submit evidence for explanation, please understand.
[Me]
Hello again,
Thank you for your prompt response and willingness to issue a full refund for the stolen package. Given the circumstances and the guidance from USPS, I am eager to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
However, I am concerned about closing the PayPal dispute before receiving the refund, as it is a safeguard to ensure that the transaction is resolved fairly. I propose the following:

1. Issue the Refund Through PayPal: You can process the refund directly through PayPal. Once I receive confirmation of the refund, I will immediately close the dispute.
2. Mutual Resolution: By handling the refund through PayPal, we can ensure that both parties are protected, and the resolution is documented appropriately.

Please let me know if this solution works for you. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in resolving this matter.
Best regards, [Me]
[Seller] Hello, that's not the case, because you have already initiated a dispute. If I refund directly, it will be a loss of the dispute, so our account will be banned, so you need to cancel the dispute first, and then we will refund, so that our account It won’t be banned! Because the problem is now with the logistics provider. Even if we submit evidence to each other in Paypal, the logistics provider will pay the compensation, but this requires us to spend time waiting, and the method I suggest you is beneficial to both of us. It’s more efficient, and if we don’t refund you after you cancel, you can still use our email records to report us, so don’t worry!
When you cancel the dispute, we will refund the money immediately. You can rest assured because we have email records. We are just reducing the dispute rate of our collection account. Once the disputes increase, the merchant will ban our collection account, so please you understand
[Me] Hello,
I wanted to let you know that I have escalated the issue to PayPal for resolution. I understand your concerns about the impact of disputes on your account, but I believe this is the best way to ensure a fair and secure resolution for both of us. By escalating the dispute, we can work with PayPal to resolve the matter efficiently and ensure that both parties are protected. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
Thank you, [Me]
[Seller] Then we can only submit evidence, and we need to wait until we submit relevant evidence before we can proceed with the next steps. If we win this dispute, you will need to file compensation with the logistics yourself.
//END
I myself am unsure of what to do right now. I want to let PayPal help me settle this dispute, as I have email evidence directly from the USPS in regard to my missing item. Yet, at the same time they're offering me a refund only if I take down the dispute which is risky. Any thoughts on what I should do y'all?