I had the 1, 3XL and now 6. I've loved them all. Except for the Bluetooth. I'd say 70% of the time it doesn't connect correctly. It doesn't autoconnect, or I have to forget and reconnect, or like now with my new Sony headphones it just doesn't connect at all. They used to connect, but not so much recently. And it's not just these headphones. It was the OG Pixel Buds. It's my 2014 Subaru. Multiple speakers. My friends with other Android phones don't have these issues. I was pumped to upgrade to the 6 because I stupidly assumed the Bluetooth issues would be fixed 3 phones later!
I'm just frustrated I have this nice phone and these nice headphones and they just won't work together.

July, 2020.
Ever since my colleagues and I became unwilling test subjects in my psychotic professor’s experiments into awakening the supernatural, we have had multiple people trying to hunt us down. Whether they were renowned scientists desperate for the serum for themselves or random people obsessed with cutting us open and seeing how we ticked, these assholes didn’t care that we were human beings, that we were ex researchers ourselves.
They wanted us dead or alive, in pieces, or splattered across concrete. As long as they got that precious serum dripping from our frontal lobe, they didn’t give a fuck. There were varieties of hunters. Some of them tried to play nice with their own nefarious agenda, while others were completely fucking insane. Like the ones who saw us as a mistake; a curse sent from god to end humanity as we know it.
Yeah. They thought we were the next coming of the Antichrist.
Have you ever been stripped completely naked and forced to bathe in salt water for three days without food and water?
That is when I lost my will to fight.
I still remember the sensation of flames licking at my feet, rope wrapped around my wrists pinning me to a tree. They wanted me to admit I was a monster. That I was a curse from the devil and belonged in hellfire. I’ll spend this post elaborating on what exactly our professor did to us, and the burden forced onto our backs—but I will say it saved us at points. For example, the freaks who tried to cleanse us in salt water (and then burn us under a full moon) got their comeuppance. 2020 is probably a year in your lives which didn’t feel real.
You were locked inside and you probably compared what was happening to a movie. We had a similar problem. But while you were struggling through lockdown, trying to fight a wave spreading globally, we found ourselves with bounty’s on our heads. Because we were no longer human to these bastards, and to them? Anything went. Which was bad news for our professor who had fought to keep his research as private as possible, choosing to show only a select group with shiny money bags for eyes. It turns out, no matter how much you think you’re hiding something, it will always be leaked. And people will find out.
Bad people.
The kinds of people in all of my favorite movies as a kid. You know, the evil trigger-happy British guy obsessed with finding buried treasure? Him. But tenfold. I might have felt special about the multi-billion price-tag on me, but knowing all they wanted me for was to dissect and slice me apart like meat to the slaughter—yeah. I can’t say I was thrilled to have so many people after our little group. 2020 was the year when people stopped being human. Stopped trying to be human. All morality down the drain.
Of these certain groups trying to capture us, there was a specific one which I will always remember. Seth’s gang. I’ll remember them because it was the first time I realised my colleagues and I weren’t human anymore, and maybe the freaks trying to label us as The Devil’s Children were right. There were a lot of people after us, as I said. But Seth and his gang, however, just wanted us for the sake of gloating. After hearing of our professor’s experiments, these guys decided they didn’t want the serum, or the research.
They just wanted us. For what, I still don’t know. They weren’t scientists, or in the medical field. They definitely weren’t at the auction, I would have seen them. I’m pretty sure these were just ordinary guys seeing us as nothing but trophies to parade around. I don’t think they knew the significance of the serum, or the danger of it. They saw something shiny and thought to hell with it. Which, I guess looking back, was why we were always two steps ahead despite having 9mm Glock’s shoved in our faces. The hotel room we were being held in was a step up from the cage I had been trapped inside in the lab for the last several months.
It actually had air-con.
Sitting blindfolded on the edge of a queen sized bed wearing the same clothes which were practically glued to my flesh, the graze of cool air brushing the back of my neck and relieving blistering skin was euphoric. I hadn’t had a proper shower in weeks. Maybe months.
It was the first time in a long while I actually felt human. Even when my wrists were pinned behind my back, a slab of ductape suffocating my mouth and nose. Now, I wasn’t completely sure, but I wondered if there was a duct tape shortage on the island. After being kidnapped and held in multiple places, I had never been gagged with duct tape. It was always filthy clothing fashioned into a makeshift gag, or ties and shoelaces. I will never forget some asshole stuffing a pair of panties in my mouth.
Seth’s gang were the first to actually have duct tape and proper blindfolds. I sensed the front-man’s footsteps as he paced in front of us. Despite being blindfolded, I knew he had a gun tucked into his belt, a dagger strapped to his ankle, and a grenade for emergencies. I wasn’t sure what emergencies would justify blowing up a fancy hotel room. Next to me, Riss was practically vibrating with fury. She knew not to act on her fear, because when we did, bad shit happened.
But Riss was a different breed. She didn’t listen to me when we were human, and definitely didn’t listen to me when we were freakish experiments contorted into something resembling a human. No matter how many times I nudged her with reassurance, she inched away from me like I had the plague. “Project Mildew, huh?” The front-man had one hell of an aussie accent. Without my sight, the rest of my senses were expanding, igniting.
Smell. I could smell the stink of myself, body odour and filth caked into my skin. Taste. There was copper in my throat and coating my teeth and tongue. Every step the man made, I felt it prickling in my bones. I sensed him crouching in front of Kaian, who thankfully didn’t move. I was waiting for him to. If I concentrated, I could feel the air crackling with electricity, the hairs on the back of my neck and arms standing up. Just being shoulder to shoulder with my colleague allowed me to feel exactly what he was feeling.
And like Riss, the guy was dangerously close to blowing a fuse. Kaian wasn’t stupid though. If we did something, he knew the consequences of that something. And none of us wanted that. So, staying quiet and submissive it was.
“Alex Quincy’s diamonds!” The front-man flicked me in the forehead, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut to avoid going into sensory overload. He continued in a sing-song voice, his steps becoming playful, like he was dancing. Every so often I sensed his fingers wrapping around his 9mm. Maybe he wasn’t as stupid as I initially thought. “Project Mildew.” He repeated. “You looked better on camera.”
Riss scoffed under her gag. I don’t think this asshole understood that on camera we were still human. It’s not like I was planning on going to a fashion show, but the shorts and t-shirt combo I had been wearing for weeks were comfortable.
Another step. Holding my breath, I gripped the ropes entangling my wrists and prayed they were physical enough to be an anchor.
“The testers who became the tested!” He continued. “Ohhh, man. I’ve heard about you. You’re famous here. Professor Quincy’s human lab rats! And successful ones too! You’ve got a lot of eyes on ya, ain’t cha? Too bad we gotcha first. Yeah, that’s right. We got here first.”
The guy laughed, and I felt both Riss and Kaian start to tremble. Fuck. Not now. I had to keep them at bay, even when my methods weren’t exactly stellar. I had to keep them from plunging. The rope around my wrists wasn’t too tight, and I knew I’d be able to get out of it easily. But that would require strength and energy which was for sure a trigger. There were a lot of triggers. Anger and pain. Sometimes even happiness.
It turned out basic human emotions was what this thing thrived off, so to avoid us going nuclear I had to stay stoic. No matter how much I wanted to tear off this asshole’s face, I had to keep myself together. It only took one slip up before things got really fucking brutal, really fucking fast. I wasn’t surprised my colleagues were losing control. Seth was quite the character, almost like a cartoon villain.
“Damn. I’ve been looking for guard dogs, but I think we’ve found something better, aye.” His palmy fingers wandered where they shouldn’t have, grazing over my left breast and delving under my shirt, causing my body to seize up, and then relaxing slightly when he pulled off my blindfold.
Blinking rapidly, I found myself eye-to-eye with the guy who had snatched us from the lab and thrown us into the back of his truck. I only got glimpses of him during our kidnapping, thanks to the ski-mask covering his face. Now I was looking at a man who was maybe in his early thirties with a balding head and a vicious cartoon smile twisted with mania. His eyes glinted when I found myself shuffling back, my gaze flashing to the Glock strapped to his side. Seth pulled off the other’s blindfolds.
“Now, I don’t want any funny business, alright? I watched that conference, and I know what you can do.” He stuck the barrel of his 9mm into my right temple, and next to me, Kaian ducked his head. “I’m watching you sweetheart.” Seth’s smile widened into a sickening grin. “If you start any weird shit, I’ll blow your brains out.”
I did my best to nod, and he ripped the tape off of our mouths too.
“Alright!” Seth straightened up, eyeing us like we were hunks of meat. “Nice to meet cha! I’ll be looking after you guys from now on.”
“Looking after us?” I spoke up, my voice gravelly. “You mean you’ll be cutting into us and selling our brains on the black market.”
Seth laughed like a fucking hyena. “What?” He scratched the back of his head with his gun. “Nah, that’s fucked up. We just want dogs.”
The man’s smile dampened, however, when his gaze settled on Kaian. Gesturing to my colleague with his gun, he scowled. “What’s wrong with him? Did Quincy rip out the guy’s tongue?” Before I could answer, Seth crouched in front of Kaian with narrowed eyes. “You all spoke at the conference,” he murmured. “Sure, your professor forced you, but you introduced yourselves. All of you did, even your fourth."
His smile curled. "All except him."
Fuck.
A shiver ripped its way down my spine when Seth shot out a finger and pointed at my colleague, and my mouth started to dry up.
Kaian was perfectly reading his lips, every word curled under his tongue, his eyes flicking back and forth to drink in each one, and each word brought more heat, brought more goosebumps pricking on my arms and legs. Kaian’s body pressed against mine was overheating.
I could feel the sensation coming over my body, like a wave of pressure. Riss made a squeaking noise, and I concentrated on Seth—who didn’t seem to notice it. I’ve come to realise, whether you are a human, an animal, or a badly fucked up experiment created in a lab, it doesn’t matter what you are capable of. If you initially appear weak and powerless, the stronger will single you out. Seth was enjoying himself so much he didn’t realise the skin in his cheeks start to crack from all the moisture being sucked from the air. Kaian didn’t move or speak, and that seemed to thrill him even more.
“Speak.” Seth snarled, leaning closer until he was inches from my colleagues face.
“Speak!”
“He’s deaf.” I gritted out.
Seth’s eyes darkened. “Deaf, huh? He better be worth it.” Kaian didn’t flinch when the man grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. He was completely stoic, like a puppet severed from his strings, allowing the asshole to stick his Glock between his eyes. I noticed the air move slightly around us, blurring and then coming together. It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment, and I had spent months being taught how to notice it. “Three and a half million dollars each, hmm?” Seth said in a breath, dragging the butt of his gun down my colleagues face, grazing it across the flesh of his neck. “I don’t remember paying for a fucking mute. You can learn to talk, kid."
Again, Kaian didn’t even acknowledge the man, and that infuriated him even more. “Hey!” Seth grabbed his jaw, forcing Kaian to look at him. “Are you fucking listening to me? Open your mouth. You either speak or you die. Like I said, I didn’t pay half a million each for a mute.”
Riss must have noticed the significant change in the air and temperature. Between the two of us, it was our job to stop Kaian from plunging.
“You didn’t spend shit on us.” She spoke up with a hiss. Riss was already panicked, and that wasn’t good. “You took us from the lab while everyone else was at the auction because you couldn’t afford us. Which makes me wonder how you afforded this fancy five star hotel."
I had to swallow a yell. I wanted her to stall, not give the guy a reason to start going trigger-happy.
Seth’s narrowed eyes found Riss’s. “Your professor and I had an agreement, sweetheart,” he said. "How 'bout I blow your brains out, huh? Since you like speaking out of turn. And I don’t like my doggies speaking out of turn.”
As Seth moved closer to her, I sensed Riss freaking out. It was too early for her to start the plunge, but she was the most unpredictable out of the four of us. Just like when she was human, her emotions were all over the place. Still though, she maintained a scowl and refused to move when Seth was practically eye to eye with her, hot breath grazing her cheeks. The man prodded her in her right temple. “I bet you’re filled to the brim with all that fancy ass Quincy serum." He dragged his filthy finger down her cheek, and she squeaked. “I’m pretty sure I can just crack you open and take it for myself.”
“Then…” Riss swallowed, choking on her words. I nudged her again, this time enough to shake the bed. But she wasn’t looking at me, her eyes starting to lose vacancy. Next to me, I knew the same thing was happening to Kaian.
But I wouldn’t look at him yet. If I did, I would lose it myself. “Then you’ll be losing valuable cargo.” I was surprised when her lips broke out into an equally psychotic grin. I had no doubt the plunge was taking hold of her. She leaned back almost casually, and the air seemed to move around her, seeping into her skin and taking an unyielding hold. "Considering the crazy lengths you took to capture all of us, I doubt you want that. You're all bark with no bite, asshole."
“Riss.” I said through my teeth, at the exact same time as the air-con behind us blew a fuse and crashed to the ground. “Shut up.”
The plunge started slow, but even when it was barely a prickle in the air it was already beginning its slow purging of every particle.
I watched a mosquito that had been in mid-flight towards the fancy looking lamp on the nightstand bleed into invisible folds of energy which were becoming progressively more visible to the naked eye the more my friends plunged. I could see it perfectly. Like the world around us was beginning to splinter apart. Ignoring Riss, who could stand up for herself, Seth’s attention went back to Kaian, who couldn’t. Or at least that was his façade. Kaian had been labelled the most dangerous out of all of Quincy’s experiments. But it wasn’t just because of the plunge.
“I’m talking to you!” Seth prodded my colleague’s chest, and a wave of heat slammed into me, stealing my breath away. I watched, knowing it was all going to be over in matter of seconds. The front-man grabbed my colleague by the collar of his shirt and yanked him violently to his feet. “You’ve got two seconds to speak,” He spat, before slamming the butt of his gun into Kaian’s head. “Speak, or I give you a frontal lobotomy.” Seth continued in seething breaths, and got closer and closer, failing to notice he was already losing. But so were we.
His lips split into a grin. “Speak, or I start asking questions. Like why I bought four of you— and there are three of you.” He poked the metal prongs sticking from Kaian’s head. I liked to call them horns to make them sound cooler. But in reality, they were agonising when I was human—two pieces of metal drilled directly into the top of my skull. They had been a part of me for a while, but I wasn’t going to forget how they had been forcefully inserted into my skull. While I screamed. “Three. Little. Freaks.” Seth’s lips were practically kissing my colleague's temple.
He prodded the metal horns, and Kaian’s lip twitched. “Without their fourth.”
That struck a chord in both of them—and I knew if I didn’t do something, like right then, a fate worse than death awaited all of us.
"Leave him alone.” I found my voice tangled in my throat. But I could barely bring myself to speak. I felt like I was being fucking suffocated by two separate energy’s around me slowly but surely ripping atoms apart. In the corner of my eye, things were starting to melt into the ground, disappearing completely. The carpet in the room was suddenly singed black, and the wave continued, slicing off the tips of my hair I had only just managed to grow back. “He can’t hear you, asshole.” I said through lingering breaths. “Professor Quincy said he was deaf.”
"Deaf?” Seth let out a belly laugh. “He's my new guard dog and he's expected to fucking bark.” His lip curled,” Now. Speak.”
A second went by.
Then another.
Absent-mindedly, I licked the taste of rusty coins from the corner of my lip.
“I said speak!” Seth slammed the butt of his gun into my colleagues face again, but this time his words broke apart in his throat. I sensed every individual letter shattering into pieces when his body was flung back by an invisible force. I knew that invisible force. I knew the phantom fingers wrapping around his throat and slamming the man into the wall until he was screaming, begging, his feet hovering several feet from the ground. Kaian didn’t even have to pull apart his restraints.
Riss was already screaming, turning to my colleague. Her hands were free, and she was signing desperately. Don’t. Her eyes were wide, lips twisted. Because she knew exactly what would follow. Seth, somehow, managed a spluttered laugh between broken teeth like tiny yellow chicklets sticking from his mouth. “Oh, you don’t like that do you?” More brilliant red spurted like a fountain, and yet the asshole kept laughing. “Look at you! Quincy didn’t hold back on you did he?”
I’m not saying my colleague enjoyed crushing Seth’s windpipe without even lifting a finger—but that is exactly what I am saying.
With a simple incline of Kaian’s head, the front-man was rupturing from the inside, choking on organs erupting into his throat.
And like it thrilled him, the idea of death, the idea of dying at the hands of a supernatural force, Seth continued to roar with laughter.
My colleague was pressing pressure points which shouldn’t be pressed. Especially pressure points in a genetically fucked up man whose trauma had turned him into the wildcard of our group. The amount of shit we had all gone through inside Quincy’s lab was enough to send us into insanity. Except my colleague, according to Quincy, hadn’t responded correctly at the beginning. And being a researcher myself with rabbits before I became a lab rat, I knew the only way to get results was to cause pain.
I never initiated that pain in the rabbits, but I was an enabler. I watched my professor torture these subjects to make sure they were prepped and ready for the serum. Maybe our karma was that the exact same happened to us. But to Kaian, it was on a much larger scale. I was never briefed on what exactly happened to him during the months from March to June. Though it was obvious he had had it the worst. I didn’t know why. I didn’t understand why his brain was different, or maybe he was more resilient. He had been better at fighting it.
Kaian hated two things. Being kidnapped and said kidnappers mentioning our fourth member. And it was those things which made him plunge. Which made him lose all sense of humanity and morality and emotion, essentially turning him into a mindless beast. That was one half of the plunge. “Do you want me to say his name?” Seth coughed up spattered scarlet, and I could already see what was happening to him. Kaian had done enough damage externally. Internally, however? That was another story.
Internally, I sensed every organ starting to peel apart and splinter, bursting into nothing. It started with pressure on his heart which was slow and dragged so he felt everything. Then the brain began to expand. When blood ran in sharp rivulets from every orifice, and Seth screamed, howling like an animal, I looked away, just in time for the rest of the man’s body to pop like a balloon, and a chunk of his skull to land right in front of me. Riss started screaming, and I was half aware of a slight taint of warm blood like paint splattering the side of my face.
When I twisted back to look at him, his body was still hovering without a head, a skeletal hand lifting and waving at us.
Riss dropped to her knees, her head in her hands, trembling, and I followed her, trying to get some semblance of control.
“It’s been a week.” Riss whispered, sobbing, swiping at her eyes with bloody hands, making them worse. “Oh god, what if… what if I was right? What if we’re too late? I knew this was… this was a bad idea. But nobody listens to Riss. I knew he wouldn’t come. Fuck. I knew it.”
“Calm down.” I said. “Concentrate on happy birthday, okay? Do you want me to sing it with you?”
Riss spluttered. “We’re going to dieeee,” she sang. “Can you feel it? I’m plunging, Wren. God, it feels so fucking good.”
She knocked her head into the wall with crazy eyes.
It took exactly half a second for our brains to decide whether we were going to fight it or give in to it.
“Hey. Riss.” I spoke in reassuring hisses, grasping her shoulders and forcing her to look at me. “Happy birthday.” I choked out. “Three times. It has to be three times.” When she didn’t respond, I shook her until her cloudy found mine. Riss was plunging. Like Kaian. The blood vessels in her eyes had popped, her lips cracking apart. If I concentrated, I could see her bare knees starting to melt into air, wisps of her hair starting to disintegrate. “Do it, now!”
I shrieked when Kaian finally let go of the man’s body, and it hit the ground in front of us like a bad joke. “Happy birthday.” I said the mantra over and over again, shaking my colleague until she was responding. “Three times, Riss. Right now.” When she shook her head, screeching, I grabbed her hands and entangled her fingers with mine. “I’ll start, okay? And you follow me.”
To my surprise, Riss nodded—and for the fraction of a second, my colleague, or what was left of her, stopped bleeding into visible particles which were now around us, like a glistening wave of ocean water enveloping us. “Happy birthday to you…” I whispered, squeezing her hands tighter, relieved when she repeated the verse. When I was sure Riss was anchoring herself, I turned to Kaian who was sitting cross legged in front of the mutilated body.
My gaze went to the door. It would only be matter of time before Seth’s goons figured out something was wrong, and the last thing I wanted was them to walk in mid-plunge. “Happy birthday to…” I continued, allowing Riss to fill in a name—before focusing on my other colleague. I’m not exaggerating when I say Kaian was covered head to toe in blood, like it was his canvas, like he belonged in it. It was too late for him. I could already see that in his vacant and foggy eyes and playful smile that he had accepted the plunge.
Willingly.
“Gross.” Kaian signed, pulling a face. He turned his nose up at mutilated flesh and bone, and I had a hard time looking him in the eye.
I exhaled out a breath.
“Kaian.” I spoke and signed calmly, but my skin was prickling and scalding. I could feel the flesh on the backs of my hands peeling off. “Happy birthday.” I made sure to emphasize every word clearly, even when I knew he could read every word from my mouth without even trying.
He started to shake his head, and I glimpsed that panic, the trauma of the last several months starting to bloom behind his eyes.
“No, you have to do it.” I hissed out. “Look around you.” I signed. “If you don’t do it, we’re going to plunge.”
I was practically slamming my hands together with frustration, but he shook his head, his gaze going elsewhere.
“What if I…” He paused signing, his lip curling, “Like it?”
Do you know when you know something is wrong but you keep shoving it to the back of your head until you can’t ignore it anymore?
Yeah, this was one of those moments.
I loved Kaian. I loved him like a brother. But there was something about his face, the way he delved his fingers into startling red pooling on the carpet, that made me want to get as far away from him as possible. Swallowing hard, I shook away the thought and grabbed hold of his hand.
Once I did, the air around us wavered, and flesh on his cheeks started to flake. “Happy birthday…” Riss, who was sitting with what was left of her knees pressed to her chest, choked out a sob, “This isn’t working… Wren. This isn’t fucking working. I can’t.. I can’t fucking do this.” When she beat the floor with crumbling fists, the whole room jolted. The ground beneath us shook, and Kaian shot me a panicked look. Even plunging, he was still scared.
And I didn’t blame him.
After telling Riss to continue, I managed a smile and signed, “Earthquake.”
My colleague’s lips split into an unusual grin, and he mouthed the words, “Yeah right.”
With steely eyes, Kaian’s smile faded and for once he actually looked serious. “Jem.” He signed. “I don’t think he’s coming for us.”
Ignoring a conversation I really didn’t want to have, I focused on the body. “Check his pockets,” I signed back. “We don’t have much time.”
I pulled out a passport, some Indonesian currency, and an old plane ticket.
Checking his phone didn’t help. I was just reminded the boarders were still shut, and this asshole had a whole group chat gloating about his so-called guard dogs.
“Wren!”
When I lifted my head, Riss’s wild eyes were flickering around the room, drinking in parts of reality being sucked away.
Her mouth became lopsided, lips drooping like my colleague was having a stroke from the pressure building around her.
See, I describe this in a lot of detail like this lasted around five to minutes long. But no, all of this happened in the space of around two minutes. When footsteps sounded outside, and Kaian’s head snapped to the door, his eyes darkening, a sour paste crept up my throat.
Professor Quincy didn’t just take away our humanity. He twisted us into something resembling an animal inside a human body.
We spoke and acted and felt like humans. But once a stranger was nearby, or footsteps on territory we had unknowingly snatched as our own, we turned feral. I already knew Kaian was a whole new level of unpredictable and unhinged after what the experiments had done to his brain—but seeing what he was capable of even before the plunge, I froze.
The world was coming apart around me and I was plunging, but I couldn’t move. I watched him get to his feet, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. The footsteps were closing in on us getting louder and louder, and Kaian could sense every vibration. I could tell with the way his lips twitched, a whole new darkness clouding his eyes and stripping away what was left of his humanity. I had seconds.
There was no use in happy birthday
I remember jumping to my feet and diving on my colleagues back, bringing him to the floor like a lion would a deer. When the two of us hit the ground, I watched Riss rupture in front of me, her face glitching, becoming moving static, before her body followed. “Seth?” The voice caused Kaian to attempt to wrench out of my grasp, but I had a firm hold of him. The first three weeks of being inhuman, I was taught how to kill people. Kill my fellow subjects.
Apologising profusely into hair which smelled of blood and dirt and Quincy’s lab, I struggled to keep myself from plunging, knowing the room was already half gone, and I was going to get caught in it anyway. “I’m sorry. Fuck. I’ll make it up to you, okay? You should have sang happy fucking birthday, but you are so goddamn stubborn,” I sobbed with what I hoped was reassurance. I knew he and Riss and Jem would do exactly the same to me.
“So fucking stubborn.” I couldn’t help myself, nestling my face into his hair and heaving in breaths while my skin started to peel away.
“Just take a deep breath and close your eyes, okay?” I whispered into his flushed skin. “We’ll find him, Kaian. I promise you.”
He stopped struggling, and for a moment I thought my colleague was actually listening to me before the ceiling began to crack apart.
The ground rumbled again, and I lost my grip on the guy before forcing him onto his back and straddling his legs. Just when his free arm was flying out with intention to send me crashing into the back wall and ending all reality in that room, encompassing us, I snapped Kaian’s neck.
And with the last of my energy, I fucking screamed while my own flesh melted from my face while the plunge enveloped us both.
…
…
…
March 2020.
It was on the 17th day of captivity inside a cell made of glass panes meant to keep in rabbits, when I met an unlikely visitor. There comes a time when giving up is better than screaming until you have lost all of the breath in your lungs, and your throat feels like sandpaper. I hadn’t eaten in days, and what was left of my meals, curry and mash potatoes, painted my cell walls—a real work of art if I concentrated and imagined carving shapes inside congealing potato and day-old curry.
So far, I had tests. I had tests which were an invasion of privacy which I will not expand upon. I had tests where my professor’s gloved fingers ran over my scalp and marked places where he was going to insert the same headset on the rabbits. He didn’t listen to my cries.
He didn’t tell me where my colleagues were. I was nothing to him. I was a subject stripped of my rights. So, I was doing the little I could to protest. Even if it was small, I was refusing to eat. I knew subjects had to eat to stay healthy—to get results. The piece of shit wasn’t going to get much further if I died of starvation after days of no eating. How sad. I was on my second day of refusing to eat, and my gut felt like it was folding in on itself. To combat this, I sat against clinical white walls with my knees pressed to my chest, and my head buried in my lap. I ignored the rumbling of my stomach and my aching joints, the weird squiggly lines in my vision when I bothered lifting my head.
It’s weird. In that cage, I was the coldest I’ve ever felt on an Indonesian island. I didn’t remember the temperature affecting the outcome of the rabbit subjects, but maybe it was different for humans. Still though, I had my solace. I imagined standing in glittering water, bioluminescent plankton washing over my bare toes. I imagined the full moon bathing the sky in warm light, and it was enough to make me feel safe— even so far from home. Far from normality. If I squeezed my eyes shut, and envisioned wading deeper into the shallows, until the water was lapping my thighs, I could calm myself and tell myself to breathe.
Then the water was at my waist, the panic subsiding. Neck deep, ice cold water filling my mouth and suffocating my nose. But if I thought past it, if I plunged myself into the deep, I could trick my brain into imagining that I was escaping, swimming across the wide expanse of ocean. All the way back home to my family.
I was brought out of my imagination when a scratching noise pulled me back to my senses, and I was back inside my cage.
Lifting my head, I searched for someone. But there was nobody there.
“Over here, genius.”
The voice startled me. It wasn’t quite a voice, more of an attempt. Though I could definitely make out the language bursting out. When my eyes swivelled, I found myself staring at a blur of white. I squinted.
No, not just a blur of white. It was Subject Fifteen. The rabbit which had stolen Jem’s heart, and possibly taken control of his mind.
For a moment I tried to blink myself awake, but no matter how many times I pinched myself, the rabbit was still there, pressing its tiny face against glass, and I can see blood staining its fur. Initially, I thought he was a hallucination until I blinked, and he was still very much there.
He was part of reality, lightly smushing its bloody mouth against glass panes. The sight of dark red tainting its fur twisted my gut, and I had a thought which suddenly wouldn’t leave me alone. If the serum did that to the rabbits, what exactly would it do to us? “Well.” Fifteen’s beady eyes found mine, and I swore its rabbit mouth twisted into a grin. It's voice mimicked both me and my colleagues, the perfect imitation of us. I could hear all of us, even the professor, in every curl of its words.
It wasn’t just intelligent, it was something else—something fucking monstrous. Which should have been put down.
No. It never should have been a subject at all.
I slowly crawled towards it and held my breath. I must have looked pretty fucking funny to Fifteen. I was the tester who had become the tested. The one who wore the lab-coat, to the rat forced into light blue scrub like clothes sticking to me. I can’t say I wasn’t curious, though. Baffled.
I was inches from a fucking talking rabbit, and the last time I checked rabbits weren't supposed to talk. Their mouths haven't evolved to form words. But somehow it was figuring out speech. Fifteen was learning fast. That terrified me. After several attempts at speech, it had almost fully mimicked a human’s expression. It cocked its head, and in Jem’s voice, asked,
“Well? How does it feel to be the one in the cage?"
“You’re not real.” I told the rabbit which sounded like Jem.
To my shock, it laughed, and its bloody mouth almost formed a snarl. “Are you sure about that?”
I crawled over to the screen, pressing my hands against glass. “How does…” I licked my lips. “How does what feel?”
The rabbit’s eyes followed me and I shuffled back, a sour paste creeping its way up my throat. “You were always my least favorite,” it murmured. Its nose twitched. “I think you humans call it karma—- and whether you believe in it or not, every action must have an equal reaction.” It moved closer, pressing its face against the glass. I noticed the fur around it’s mouth was stained red. “You drilled into my head, Wren. You hurt me day after day and hid behind a sense of morality that you were a good person because it was for the good of the human race.” Fifteen edged closer. “I wish I could feel sorry for you. I wish I could feel the sympathy you humans use as a pathetic fucking barrier. But aren’t you just… the cutest?”
The thing was mimicking my own words from the start of the experiments. I had pressed my face against the plastic cage, peering at Subject Fifteen, who was hiding in the corner. Quincy told me to turn off my humanity, but that didn’t stop me as seeing them as cute little fury bunnies. It never crossed my mind that Fifteen could hear exactly what we had been saying.
I thought back to a few months back when I had picked it up from its cage and nuzzled its fur. “Aww! Isn’t he just the cutest?”
Fifteen knew the exact moment I gave up, my hands slipping from the glass. It gestured to the band aid uncomfortably sticking to my scalp.
“Nice horns.”
“You have intelligence.” I whispered through a sob. I leaned closer. “Quincy. You need to tell me what he’s doing to the others.”
“You already know what he’s planning to do, Wren.” The rabbit chuckled, lifting a paw in a mocking wave. “Why are you asking me, hmm? What if I am in fact an illusion? You’re not eating. Your mind has been played with. Are you sure you are really speaking to a talking rabbit?”
It cocked its head. “How do you know I’m not Jem?”
“Or Riss.” It’s voice twisted into hers, and then the professor’s.
“I’m losing my mind.” I whispered, pinching the flesh on my bare thighs. “I’m losing my fucking mind.”
“Maybe.” It said, “or you’re witnessing the consequences of your actions. You did this to me if you remember. I told you to stop hurting me, but you didn’t hear me, Wren. You never heard me. Only him. And when I was strong enough, I made him force you to finally listen to me.”
Jem, I thought hysterically.
“You little—“ I slammed my hands into the glass, unable to resist a snarl when it turned to hop away. “Hey! Wait! What did you do to Jem?”
“I didn’t do anything,” the rabbit responded in a scoff. “Your professor, however… have you ever heard of teleportation?”
I stared at it blinking rapidly, until it laughed. “No, not that kind! I mean the new kind. I’m talking about what Quincy is trying to perfect.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it.” The rabbit’s nose twitched, “What you have been working on and researching—what if it was possible in humans?”
I shook my head. There was no way. If professor Quincy wanted to test on us, it would likely be psychokinesis which was possible in rabbits.
“That’s impossible.” I managed to grit out. “With rabbits it’s one thing, and it’s barely even stable! With humans… it’s...”
It’s barbaric.
The rabbits which went through that procedure and survived… their brains were drastically altered. They were never the same.
That’s what I wanted to say.
I trailed off at the thought of forcing a living and breathing human to shatter apart into atoms and forcefully moved from one place to another. I remembered Subject 12. The tiny little thing coming apart slowly, piece by piece, a mixture of fur, blood and bones filling its cage.
No way.
There was no way my psycho professor would attempt it in humans.
The rabbit hopped away. “Huh. Well, you’re dumber than I thought. I guess I’ll be going if you’re just going to look at me like that.”
When I thought it was going to leave me, the furry little shit twisted its head. “Do you want to know a secret?”
It hopped right over to the glass. “Come closer, and I’ll tell you. I want you to get really close so I can see how adorable you are.”
Too desperate to feel humiliated, I swallowed a shriek and pressed my ear to the glass.
“Jem was the first.” The rabbit started to say but was cut off by the speaker above me crackling, a familiar voice slicing into my ears.
“Good morning. I will be with you shortly. I would like you to raise your hands above your head. I will be administering a gas.”
At the corner of my eye, Fifteen was disappearing behind the corner, and I let out a frustrated hiss. “Professor Quincy.” I managed to force my voice into professional, despite the rabbits voice in my mind. Jem was the first to what? I hadn’t seen either of my colleagues in weeks— or heard from them. I swallowed hard. “Professor Quincy, Subject Fifteen is on the premises and is showing signs of heightened intelligence!”
The rabbit tskked. “And to think I was going to help you. Good luck with the experiments. I will have a front row seat.”
Before it left me in puddling static however, the rabbit didn’t hesitate to drop a bombshell which sent me crumpling to my knees.
“Oh, yeah! I forgot to say.” Subject Fifteen’s words slammed into me as I was choked once again with gas filling my mouth and nose.
“Jem was the first to die.” It said in a sing-song symphony of all of our voices, “And you don’t even know the best part!”

Hello everyone,
I was going to write a life story thing about why I did this, but it would take too long and this post is already going to be pretty hefty. So I'll cut to the chase, over the last few months, I did an Ace Combat Marathon which also includes all the games I consider to be "Ace Combat Like". I did omit a few here and there, but it was either because they were too hard to obtain, too far from what I consider to be the Ace Combat formula or just not interesting enough. Now that it is over, I would like to tell you about my experience with all of these games, so, if you are interested, have a good read !
​

DISCLAIMERS :

- English is not my native language and I am brain dead so if me no write good me sory.
- These entries are not reviews but simply a summary of how I felt about each game.
- Spoilers
​
Here are the games, in the order that I played them in :
​

Games that, in my opinion, constitute the main continuity :

​
Air Combat / Ace Combat 1 :
- Gameplay : Dated, but still very usable by modern players.
- Graphics : I mean... it's a 1995 game. But the emulator gave it a good coat of paint.
- Story : Just enough to justify the game happening, it's no big deal, we all know where the series goes later on. I just love the idea of an island-nation sized terror group having a giant air force, aircraft carriers, a supersized stronghold and a flying fortress (the first of the ace combat series).
- Music : Pure 90's juice, get ready to rock and synth.
​
Ace Combat 2 :
- Gameplay : Great for the time, it's completely servicable to this day.
- Graphics : A noticable improvement from the first AC, specially good with the right emulator settings.
- Story : Literally the same as the first AC but on a bigger scale, gets expanded upon in the remake.
- Music : In my opinion, the best from the PS1 series, Lode Stone is still stuck in my head.
​
Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere (Japanese version with english text patch, necessary since, for those who don't know, the international version got most of its content cut out.) :
- Gameplay : The best of the PS1 series, feels much more like flying a plane than in the previous ACs. Plus the special missions where you fly a stratospheric bomber, a parasite fighter or a hecking starfighter are something else.
- Graphics : Again, an improvement on the previous entry, although less drastic, the art style is the most noticable feature.
- Story : Who put planes in my metal gear solid story line ? My man went from zero story to a five branches storyline about revenge, corporatism and transhumanism in a cyberpunk universe with unique missions and 2d animated cutscenes.
- Music : Extremely... unique and hard to describe, it wouldn't be out of place in a horror game or a creepypasta about some haunted retroware.
​
Ace Combat 4 Shattered skies :
- Gameplay : Wierdly it's not too different from AC3 in my opinion, but hey, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.
- Graphics : The transition to the PS2 is truly impressive, it's just great to look at. Although, beware, it has some graphical issues with emulation.
- Story : Far less complex than AC3, but perhaps told with more style, it's more heartfelt and relatable. And of course, this is kind of where the strangereal universe is starting to become more established.
- Music : The first game in the series where the sky starts speaking latin, it establishes what the Ace Combat music style is going to be from then on.
​
Ac Combat 5 The unsung war :
- Gameplay : More or less the same as in AC4, perhaps a little bit more arcadey ? Great plane diversity though.
- Graphics : Maybe it was because of emulation and the UI but I felt like it was a slight downgrade from AC4, probably not the case though.
- Story : Kind of a balance between the war story theme of AC4 and the over the top sci-fi conspiracy vibe of AC3, most of the series will adopt this dynamic from then on.
- Music : Same vibe as AC4, with more latin singing for us to enjoy.
​
Ace Combat Zero The Belkan war :
- Gameplay : Similar to the two previous entries, although with more bossfights.
- Graphics : Also similar to the rest of the PS2 trilogy, it's not like there was much room to improve within the limits of the console's hardware.
- Story : Something something borders bad, buddy, funni country nukes itself, V2, it's time, bottom text. A good story that establishes a solid fundation for the strangereal lore.
- Music : The sky speaks latin, flamenco edition.
​
Ace Combat X Skies of deception :
- Gameplay : The engine was recycled from AC4 so it's similar, which is good, although everything is slowed down to help with the PSP controls.
- Graphics : About as much as you could squeeze out of the PSP for a flight sim, which is pretty neat.
- Story : A step back from previous entries, but more than enough to get all those good ace combat tropes in there, superweapons galore, conspiracy, zealous characters, the whole nine yards.
- Music : A suprising return to the PS1 trilogy vibe, probably to go easy on those poor little PSP speakers. Though it's not at the same level of quality; most of the ost would make Minasha Please, your freestyle dance teacher, go crazy.
​
Ace Combat 6 Fires of liberation :
- Gameplay : The first big improvement since AC3, with the notable introduction of post stall maneuvers. Also the scale of the missions are unprecedented thanks to the transition to the xbox360, with loads of units on both sides.
- Graphics : New platform, new graphics, and boy is it gorgeous ! Still very much holds its own to this day, although they had to pay for it with the diversity of planes, which is the lowest in the series.
- Story : Very similar to AC4, down to the presentation, but more clumsy. It's not bad by any means, just kind of average.
- Music : Back to the AC classic formula, although the most memorable ost isn't the final latin one this time, but the aptly named "Liberation of Gracemeria".
​
Ace Combat X² Joint Assault (The most based Ace Combat in my opinion) :
- Gameplay : Similar to the previous PSP entry, but even slower. (That's not to say easier, some bossfights are downright bullshit.) Also you can pilot WW2 planes and a 747 so 10/10.
- Graphics : A bit of an improvement on Skies of Deception, but yeah... still PSP graphics.
- Story : Set in the real world, but whith all the over the top absurdity of strangereal and somehow even more. How about a story where Jeff Bezos hires the entire Romanian army to become terrorists in order to mount the biggest insurance scam ever, supplying them with usual ace combat tier superweapons, but the Romanians betray him and try to found Romania 2 electric boogaloo in Khazakstan; but you stop them and now have to face your rival who breaks down in tears about his parents mid boss fight before you shoot him down in his guitar looking ass superfighter, ending the story by personally flying your jet under amazon HQ in San Francisco to explode Jeff Bezos with a Maverick missile to the face ?
- Music : About as bonkers as the story, a mix of usual Ace Combat epic score, throwbacks to the PS1 trilogy ost, stereotypical middle eastern music, and some sort of hard rock ? Seriously listen to "In the Zone", it's pretty representative.
​
Ace Combat Assault Horizon :
- Gameplay : The game feels like it's been developped by a 12 years old high on sugar and aderall, the first mission almost gave me an epilepsy attack and I'm not even epileptic. It's obviously a huge departure from the traditionnal ace combat gameplay, and there are cool aspects like the attack helicopter missions, but the rest of the game feels like it's on rails, which for a plane game is kind of an oxymoron. The "dogfight mode" is basically a roller coaster simulator, some missions like the AC-130 and the Blackhawk door gunner ones are ripped straight from call of duty; and the one strategic bomber mission is literally on rails most of the time.
- Graphics : More or less average for the time ? I had a hard time seeing behind the Michael Bay level of explosions and particles going off everywhere, everytime all at once. Although the plane destruction animations are kinda cool, they just get old fast.
- Story : Basically Call of Duty or a Tom Clancy novel but with planes, I suppose they were trying to one up HAWX which came out a year earlier ? Some funny elements are the main big friendly general being french and dubbed by someone poorly imitating a french accent; also the main baddies, the Russian rebels, use the litteral waffen SS division symbols for their units, what's up with that ?
- Music : Strangely pretty cool ? Lots of competent rock and epic scores, very intense, in keeping with the theme, but not bad by any means.
​
Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown :
- Gameplay : Same basis as AC6 but improved, pretty much the best it's been so far.
- Graphics : Well, as the most modern AC, it's also naturally the best looking. Planes, effects, maps, art style, it's all great stuff.
- Story : Belka did it again, skynet edition. Also air force penal batallion sent on suicide missions with half the members convicted of relatively light offences and/or with investigations still pending, thanks OSEA, you truly are one of the democracies of all time. Overall the story is regular Ace Combat stuff, its highlights being, as often, the bonkers strangereal elements.
- Story (DLC) : Hunt for the red october, but lots of planes and also the characters are insane. 10/10
- Music : Back to good ol' latin choirs, latiner choirer, plus the usual cool epic scores, great as always.
​

Games that are outside the main continuity but I still consider to be Ace Combat games :

​
Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+ (Despite the title, it's a remake of AC2) :
- Gameplay : Surprisingly great for a DS/3DS title, better than the PSP entries in my opinion. There are post stall maneuvers and a watered down, more digest version of Assault Horizon's dogfight mode.
- Graphics : Pretty good for 3DS hardware, it's obviously a huge improvement on the original AC2. Also there are some nintendo themed planes, it's pretty neat, now I know that if Luigi was a jet, he would be an F-35.
- Story : There is a story where there was almost none in AC2, so it's an improvement in my book. They gave your wingmen voice lines, and I love the fact that they made the original "Edge" Kei Nagase kind of a Tsundere. The best new feature is the added ACZero style special squadron bossfights, each being more absurd than the last, there's : Medieval LARPers in F-14s, Furry with anger issues, E-girl and her tier 3 simp squadron, Man who plays chess in his plane ; and finally, three fleshed out ZOE bossfights, where in the original AC2, ZOE was just kinda flying around, being an optionnal ennemy with more HP.
- Music : Most of the tracks were changed for a more modern aces combat feel, but there are some bangers in there nontheless.
PS : In the original release, mission 2, easy money, was mistranslated as easy monkey which made me die laughing because I have internet brain rot.
​
The Sky Crawlers Innocent Aces :
- Gameplay : As close as we'll get from a WW2 themed Ace Combat, and frankly, it's pretty good. The final boss is annoying and there is kind of a dogfight mode light similar to assault horizon legacy because of Wii controls, but other than that, they handeled a gameplay without missiles and with slow prop planes amazingly, while retaining the unmistakable Ace Combat flavor.
- Graphics : I'd say average for Wii hardware, the strong point being the designs and art style which is arguably more thanks to the original novel and animated movie, but the game renders is very well.
- Story : Set in the dieselpunk universe of the Sky Crawler, based on the novel series, the game's story still is more or less original as a prequel to the animated movie adaptation. The lore aside it's very much an Ace Combat story, with conspiracies, betrayals, sacrifices, superweapons, giant fortresses, ace duels etc. As for your main "rival", she's an unhinged tsundere immortal child soldier clone, make of that what you will.
- Music : It's mostly bangers, although not similar to any other Ace Combat game.
​

Ace Combat likes, either competition or hommage to the franchise (mostly competition though) :

​
HAWX :
- Gameplay : It's competent, the game is fun to play overall, although the flight mechanics are far more basic than in AC6; its contemporary AC title, even though it was two years old at this point. They tried to compensate with gimmicks like some sort of flight assist tunnel thingy to reach your target, which is pretty useless except when the game makes it mendatory. Also there is the "flight assit mode off" which allows your plane to perform post stall maneuvers at the cost of stability, which would have been great if it didn't force your camera into a disorienting and immersion breaking far away third person view, which doesn't even track your targets half the time. That's bad considering you need it to beat some adversaries like ennemy aces. The plane diversity is huge but they all handle mostly the same. As for the missions, most of them are escort which is pretty frustrating, also some borrow pretty shamelessly from AC with their objectives and sometimes even their plots.
- Graphics : It's not amazing to be honest. The planes and cockpit models are basic, the maps are below the quality seen in AC6, same for the effects and particles. Some model look downright like they were made for the PS2. The artstyle kind of reminds me of G.I Joe, especially the fictionnal units like the baddie's tanks and their super warship, it's got this "toy" aesthetics. They even have a fictionnal superfighter to unlock at the end of the campaign, but it looks like an F-22 drawn by an eight years old.
- Story : It's exactly what it says on the tin, what if Tom Clancy had to write an Ace Combat story. So yeah it's big non descript bad guy attacks and you need to save murica' and thu prasidunt. Also the ghost recons appears so often the game might as well be an ad : "look at this other, better series I've made".
- Music : So unremarkable I didn't even pay attention to it, it's a generic action movie score, nothing more to say.
​
HAWX2 :
Unfortunately, I was unable to get HAWX2 to work due to server shutdown, thanks ubisoft, forcing games to be played online even in singleplayer was a great idea. Apparently the latest patch was supposed to make it playable offline but this somehow stil doesn't work. There was apparently a workaround using a crack which I was unfortunately unable to find despite giving my PC probably ten viruses, seven trojans and a dozen crypto miners trying to find it. Meh, not that big of a loss according to what I've seen on youtube and read online. The graphics even look like a downgrade from the previous entry somehow.
​
Air force Delta :
- Gameplay : Very similar to AC2 with slightly better stall physics, a shame when you know it came out the same year as AC3. The missions are what you'd expect from an actual ace combat titles with fortresses, fleets, aces and giant planes bossfights sprinkled in. It's noticably harder than Ace Combat but not for good reasons in my opinion. Your missiles have somehow even worst tracking than in AC, but ennemy missiles seem guided by god. The ennemy AI has absurd turn radius and is seemingly unable to stall. Mission timers are also very short, which results in a situation where actual air to air fights are better avoided unless mandatory to have a chance to finish the missions. Fun fact, I'm pretty sure the final mission of AC5 was inspired by one of this game's missions where you also have to save a city from a falling giant satellite by shooting its "wings" off.
- Graphics : I'm not exactly familiar with the graphics capabilities of the dreamcast, but it looked pretty good in my opinion, I liked how the plane textures were stylised rather than completely realistic.
- Story : You get a big star-wars like lore dump at the beginning and then a few elements dropped in during briefings. The execution is pretty sloppy, for example, you learn who the big bad is right before the final mission where you face him in a duel, whithout even knowing there was a big bad to begin with. The entire story is like this, with things dumped in front of you right before the relevant mission, it feels made up along the way.
- Music : Very arcadey, I kinda liked it. Though it wasn't as good as AC2's ost.
​
Air force Delta Storm :
- Gameplay : It's not bad overall, but the controls are cluncky, you feel like flying an airliner rather than a fighter jet most of the time. It alleviates some of the first entry's issues like bad missile tracking and overmaneuverable ennemies but barely. It's still much harder than any AC title. It also has this sort of "campaign map" with minor missions to play if you want to reach you main missions, with a grand total of two(2) copy pasted mini missions in slightly different maps at every minor checkpoints. Though some main missions have interesting level design, the final mission for example is literally the Star Wars six's attack on the Death Star two's reactor but with jets.
- Graphics : I'd say average for the OG Xbox, the game lacks a proper cockpit view but the incredible plane diversity makes up for it. Speaking of which, there are a lot of fictionnal fighter designs, some of them pretty goofy, but most are extremely cool looking and competently made. It's a shame there isn't a proper model viewer or display mode to admire them, the best you get is the replay mode which has a wierd striped filter making it hard to see clearly what's going on.
- Story : It's the apocalypse, two factions are at war over basic necessities and you're fighting for one of them, you win at the end. That's it. There are no characters, no story elements, nothing, you just fight and win the war. It's okay, I don't always need intricate conspiracies, character dramas and reflections about the nature of war and the human condition in my plane game. It just makes some missions extremely funny like one where you need to sink an ennemy fleet in a port while being careful about not hitting cruise ships. No world ending woe will slow down the cruise industry apparently.
- Music : Very unremarkable, even a bit obnoxious sometimes. You can rapidly get tired of hearing a generic electric guitar riff when epicly completing minor_mission_02 for the 65451th time in order to get where you need to go.
​
Air force Delta Strike :
- Gameplay : At this point, it's literally just ace combat gameplay, maybe a bit more nervous and responsive, which honestly I'm not complaining about. The plane diversity is incredible inkeeping with the serie's tradition, ww2 prop planes, cold war relics, modern jets, (many) prototypes (some of them so obscure I didn't even know about their existence), vtols, space fighters etc. As for the missions... where do I start ? How about fighting VTOLs and railway tanks in a giant cyberpunk metro network with a P-51 Mustang ? How about dogfighting gundams during a huge star-wars like space battle onboard a Mig-29 with a mini spaceship duck taped under it ? Or maybe a canyon mission where an evil scientist tries to kill you with an array of comically large fans ? I could go on and on, there are so many wild and wacky missions in between more tame and generic stuff to give you some room to breathe. Side note, there is a space elevator arc so uhh... take that AC7 ? The game's difficulty has reached a managable balance, but it's still overall harder than ace combat. Inbetween missions the game functions almost like a visual novel, it's pretty confusing and you can even get a game over for not knowing what to do, so I highly recommend following a guide to avoid needless frustration.
- Graphics : It's quite a bit below it's contemporary, AC5, in overall quality, but the level designs are often great. The general aesthetics is : generic gundam anime, with designs ranging from hilariously goofy to suprisingly cool. The entire non-mission part of the game is a 2D visual novel format with character designs that are pretty high quality and diverse. Although many designs are uh... cultured. More on that in the character section. There is finally a cockpit view in this entry of the series, for which they went pretty hard, with all of the many aircrat having detailed interiors. The plane's liveries are many and all cool looking in my opinion so that's also a plus.
- Story : This entry finally has a story, and oh boy what a story. The Earth democracy "not the USA" people are at war with the dictatorial evil space people who are secretly controlled by an alien god on Mars. The plot mainly revolves around the characters, with varying level of interest from the narration, but who's concept and behavior makes them wierdly unique and memorable. The story has a few different endings and branching storyline depending on what character you play, how often you play them and also some missison requirements, again, I advise following a guide. It's nothing mindblowing or complex but it certainly is striking, bold and memorable.
- Characters : Yes, I'm adding a section for characters because I can't not talk about them. There are the good guys you play as, delta squadron, composed of : Shredded pixy tomboy Ruth Valentine, Generic MC with sad backstory™ Ken Thomas, Cringe edgelord furry John Rundal (With the most hilarious dialogues in the game), Geriatric ww2 larper Jamie Jones, Funny anime fat man Rick Campbell, Double cheeked up fantASStic dumptruck owner Alex Levine, Divorced dad Holst Prendre, Rejected Jojo character Pedro Glankert, litteral child soldier Brian Douglas, incompetent but rich trust fund kid David Smith and his bimbo gold digger twin wingwomen Collette and Constance Le Clerc. Delta's officiers are : Captain clueless boomer Robert Williams, Staff Officer loli but she's a genius lab experiment kid so it's not creepy I swear Lilia Mihajlovna and operator wholesome overworked MILF office lady Amelia Johnson. There's also the chainsmoking alcoolic mechanic Bob Takayanagi and the totally legit and thrustworthy plane seller Harry Garrett. Finally there are the bad guys, early antagonist and supposedly invincible ace pilot who you just bully in every mission he appears in "Emperor" Sergei Kinski, Giuseppe Ferretti... thats it, Slimy starscream backstabber ugly bastard Leon Kleiser, iamverysmart escapee Donald Chan, Generic rival of the MC Albert Ungar, the MC's brainwashed waifu Ellen McNichol (Who you can turn back to your side if you shoot her down enough while playing as Ken. Make of that what you will.), big tiddy tanned gyaru tomboy noblewoman Francine Davout and her boytoy butler Jake Emerson, bratty femboy supersoldier Pierre Gallo and alien with a god complex "Navigator".
- Music : Unremarkable but servicable, not bad by any means but I doubt any will get stuck in your head... not for good reasons at least.
​
Project Wingman :
- Gameplay : It's pretty much Ace Combat but I mean... that's kind of the point. Also it's not a straight out copy, there are cool innovations and most important of all, it's very well done and fun to play. I should also mention, I have finished the entire campaign in VR and by the dust mother is it intense. The cockpits are extremely well done and immersive, being at the heart of such overwhelming action in VR is just something else. As for the missions, they're all fun, diverse and with good level design. Finally, the plane diversity is very good for such a small team working on detailed models with cockpits and multiple liveries, not counting the innumerable non graphic aspects.
- Graphics : I had to remind myself that this was an indie game, because appart for a few minor gliches here and there it's honestly incredible what they did whith what they had to work with. The fictional designs all look cool and very inkeeping with the Ace Combat theme. The effetcs were the most impressive, although they did go a bit wild with the whole orange magic energy near the end of the game, my retinas are still recovering.
- Story : Again, very faithful to what an Ace Combat story would be. Mercenaries, superweapons, conspiracies, war bad, and of course, insane characters (Special mention for Prez and Crimson 1). Also the lore is prettry expensive, the AC hommage did go as far as writing an entire alternate universe for your plane game. Overall it's well told, I like it.
- Music : Music is hard to make, music is expensive to make, but again, for an indie game, they managed to pull off something good. It's not the grandiose earporn fest that most Ace Combat are, but it's the best they could do and it's pretty neat. Also the sound design was another impressive aspect, big attention to details and lots of quality effects that really suprised me, specially in VR.
(PS : There is conquest mode, how neat is that ? It does wonders for the replayability of the game.)
​
This concludes my recorded journey through the skies, it was one hell of an experience and I hope I managed to convey some of it through this post. As for me, I will continue to play flight sims I haven't tried but outside of this marathon format. I have Star Wars Squadron, VTOL VR, Warplanes VR (ww1/2) and DCS lined up, I think I'll even give VR chat flight sim a shot, I've heard they've got some suprisingly great stuff over there. I'm not about to touch ground any times soon.
In the meantime, fly safe(ish) and see you in the skies !

I recently pulled the trigger on a shiny new pair of Space Grey AirPods Max and upon only the second use/listen, they are dropping out/reconnecting at random. This minor annoyance infuriating catastrophe seems to be preceded by a dreaded popping noise in the left ear speaker before the right loses audio completely and they eventually just disconnect.

• The problem is exacerbated when I am actively moving around. When I sit stationary, they can behave normally for hours.
  
• This is when paired with an iPhone 12 Pro Max (iOS 16 Public Beta) and/or iPad Pro (12.9") 4th Generation running iPadOS 16.3.1.
  
• I've tried a hard reset followed by reconnecting to only one device at a time, with other devices' Bluetooth disconnected.
  
• Disabling Automatic Head Detection also makes no difference.
  

Perplexed by this curious little conundrum (aren't Apple products renowned for their seamless integration into existing Apple ecosystems, I thought to myself), I did a little digging and suffice to say, it did not take long to stumble into of the chorus of other owners pulling their hair out with the same or similar problem.
I'm still getting by with my MacBook Pro from 2012 and often sing Apple's praises because of the longevity I am enjoying. I simply can not believe that Apple have a product out there which is this woefully prone to problems - much less at such a premium price point. It's mind-boggling, really.
I've read a lot of people point to the likely culprit being firmware but, unless I don't know Apple (?), I feel like a fix would surely have been released in an update by now...
Unless anybody out there has discovered a silver-bullet solution, I'll be left with no choice but to return them unfortunately. It's a real shame because they are beautiful, excel in the comfort department and are at least on par with my Sony WH-1000XM4's in terms of sound quality and ANC.

So, I have an old DigiDesign Mbox2 Pro hooked up to my Windows 10 computer via USB. I have two monitor speakers connected to the Mbox2. I’ve used ProTools to record tracks in the past, but my question is not about ProTools.
I’m a drummer and use the monitors to play music that I can play along with. My question, problem is I want to use ear buds simultaneously. I’ve tried wired and Bluetooth on the computer, but when I use them, the monitors cut out. I can use the Mbox2 wired output, but being a drummer I was hoping to use wireless earbuds to not feel constrained by wires when playing.
It’s so frustrating. Is there anything I can do, or am I stuck with chiding one or the other.
TIA!

I’m currently breaking about two hundred NDA’s by posting this here, including some that stipulate decades, if not longer jail time for me and worse, but frankly, whatever happens to me isn’t as important as getting the word out. Getting this warning out, to all of you who live in the United States, and perhaps the entirety of North America. If I attempt to leak the information I have anywhere else, the people in charge of making sure things like this don’t get out will sniff it out in a heartbeat and erase it from the internet completely. So, I’m posting this here, on a place that is one of the last they’d possibly look, in hopes that enough people see it, and can warn others, while there is still time.
I’m not going to tell you my real name, or what company I work for, as that would be detected by those that sweep the internet for such things, and would send up the warning sirens all around. It, along with the other people’s names I will need to use, will be changed with fake names.
But, what I can say is that I’m a very high level scientist who works at a corporation that deals in large part with genetics, and genetic engineering, among other things. One which has a lot of notoriety and acclaim in the world. Roughly about two years ago, as the rest of the world was in lockdown due to the pandemic, the company I work for was approached by the federal government, specifically the Department of Defense, to assist a top secret project they were undertaking for something which the paperwork referred to as Project Varanus. Only about half a dozen scientists and geneticists, myself included, were selected for our knowledge, skill, working speed, and most importantly, the ability to keep our mouths shut. They sat us down in the conference room of our building, and after giving only a vague interpretation of what task they wished us to assist them with (In the words of the stooge who spoke of the three of them, “To assist with our project on the genetic scale”), they shoved Non Disclosure Agreement after Non Disclosure Agreement under our noses to sign. The only reason we didn’t question, was because of the amount of zeros that we were told would be on our personal paychecks. We would be wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. Greed always gets people in over their fucking heads.
After given twenty four hours to get our affairs in order, we were all piled into the back of a Sikorsky helicopter and taken to the local airport, where we were placed onto a military C-130. They didn’t tell us what state we were heading to, and most of us were too excited about the money and the opportunity to care, murmuring excitedly to each other during the entire course of the six hour flight. We landed at a private airfield, one which I’m pretty damn sure isn’t on any aviation map, and led us into a large, three story building made out of black metal just to the right of the runway. This turned out to be the barracks, what would become our home for the foreseeable future. And we weren’t the only ones there. There were at least thirty or forty other people, some which were also scientist, but curiously enough, as we learned, about ten or twelve of them were animal wranglers or animal behavioral experts. “So whatever we’re doing, has to do with animals” Yurik, a Russian transplant and fellow scientist and friend of mine whispered to me as the bigwigs gathered us all up after letting us drop of our personal effects.
“Apparently” I whispered back, “What do you think the project is?” He shrugged his shoulders. “You’ve got me, Dexter. I guess we’ll just have to find out, yes?” I nodded, and we both fell silent as we were led back out of the building, and through a grey metal door which was set into the side of a hill across the way. This turned out to lead down to where we would be working; an underground complex which had to have stretched out for at least a mile or more. As we entered the first clean room, we were met with the first big surprise of our arrival. Taking up its own clean room, which opened onto the one we stood in with floor to ceiling windows, was a supercomputer which, by all means, should only be in the rough blueprint stage. If you’ve heard of the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Frontier supercomputer, then you’ll know that it’s successor, the Aurora, is due to be completed this year, and will only be the word’s second exascale supercomputer. Except…it was already built a year or two in advance. The Department of Energy had leant the DOD it for this project exclusively. We all whispered in hushed tones as one of the men rattled off the system specs, which I’ll skip as many of you won’t know or understand them.
Then they led us to the second surprise of the day, and admittedly, even a bigger one than the computer. And, in my personal opinion, far more chilling. Inside a room which, unnervingly, had a row of cattle prods hooked into one far wall, along with, for some reason, a locked case containing what looked like shotguns, was another floor to ceiling window. The head big wig walked up and tapped the glass. “Our most durable glass, able to withstand a direct hit from a vehicle doing twenty miles an hour. We use it in secure rooms in the Pentagon” he boasted. For a moment, everyone looked around at each other in confusion, wondering why glass so strong would be needed in a lab setting. Until the three men stepped aside and let us finally see what the subjects of this project would be, earning more than a few gasps from myself and the others.
The room, or, I should more appropriately refer to as an enclosure, was made up to resemble what I can only describe as an Indo-Pacific jungle. I know, since I made a trip with my wife to that area of the world ten years ago. That wasn’t what had earned the gasps, though. It was what lay and stood inside the habitat. Instantly, I understood the name of the project, which, some bright bulb in the DOD hadn’t exactly been creative with. Varanus was the genus of the animal before us. Varanus komodoensis. Komodo Dragons. There were, from what we could see, about seven or eight of them; some were sitting and sunning themselves underneath the artificial lights mounted in the ceiling, while others lumbered around lazily, rivulets of drool hanging out of their mouths. As we stared in astonishment, the DOD men explained the goal of the project. According to them, they wanted to attempt to weaponize the lizards, using selective breeding, genetic modification and animal training, among other steps, to create the perfect killing machine for the black ops arms of the military in any location in the world. And it was our job to make that happen.
Things progressed slowly for the first three to six months of the project. We took genetic samples of tranquilized specimens and fed them into the supercomputer to map out the animals complete genome. Shockingly, it took the computer less than a week and a half to do so. Once we had a complete blueprint, we began removing genes and other molecular parameters that would hinder the new generation of Komodos to fulfill the parameters set down to us by the DOD. I won’t say every single thing we did, but I will, for necessities purpose, tell you some of the most important ones. Most lizards are cold blooded, meaning they can’t regulate their own body heat and need the sun to warm them up. Almost all lizards are this way, with the exception of one. The Argentine black and white tegu is the only known reptile which can regulate its own body heat, and thus, survive in cold weather without going completely dormant. Using genetic engineering, we were able to rack the tegu’s gene up to the point it could stay fully active all throughout the winter months and cold climates.
We also removed genes which limited the Komodo’s ability to see distinct shapes, and inserted ones which also boosted their visual range, allowing them to be able to see for at least half a mile away from them. We inserted chameleon genes to allow the creatures to naturally camouflage themselves for whatever location they would be dropped into. We heightened their sense of hearing and smell as well, along with increasing their skin density so that, short of a .50 BMG round or bigger, not much could penetrate their hides. The big one that the DOD wanted, though, was increased aggression. Komodo Dragons are already aggressive and territorial by nature, but for them, it wasn’t good enough. And so, for this, we inserted the testosterone gene from a bull shark, which has some of the highest testosterone levels in the animal kingdom, to boost their ferocity.
Finally, all the parameters we were set were reached, and through a complicated process which I won’t go into, for time sake, we began inserting the new genomes into the clutches of eggs that the females would lay, then returning them to their nests in the habitat. A few more months later, and the first genetically modified Komodo Dragons were born. And they were a complete fucking disaster. Some of the animals were born with mutations that made them die off quickly, such as missing two feet or, in one case, two heads. We realized we’d made a mistake and went back to the drawing board. After checking, double checking, and just to be safe, triple checking our work, we attempted again with a new clutch of eggs.
As the second clutch began to quiver and shake, everyone from us geneticists, to other scientists and animal experts, and even the ten man security staff gathered around the window in anticipation. The first egg cracked, and a black head poked out from it, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth, tasting the air. A few moments later, more began to do the same, and as the first forced its way out of the egg, seemingly mutation free, we all turned to one another and applauded, cheering, patting each other on the back and shaking hands. “Congratulations, Dexter!” an animal behaviorist named Michelle said, smiling and giving me a hug. I’d developed a friendly rapport with her, and we had fast become friends. “Thanks, Michelle” I said, grinning back at her, “But now comes the test of time, to see how they do as they grow and mature” She nodded, and we turned to congratulate more of our colleagues. If we’d only known then what we did now, though, we’d have likely tried to incinerate the entire room while we had the chance…
The animals matured at an incredibly fast rate from then on, reaching full sexual maturity in less than a year instead of the normal eight to nine years, due to the genetic modification. They soon took up large amounts of room in the habitat, as the seven specimens which survived to adulthood; four males and three females, grew much larger than their natural parents, reaching lengths of about fourteen feet long, and likely weighing over five hundred pounds. We noticed a few new additions to the first generation Komods, as we came to call them to distinguish between the regular animals and them, such as their teeth having more of a shark like serrated edge to them from the bull shark genes, and a more mammalian like eye due to the chimpanzee genes for sight. Their natural skin color was dark black, much darker than their parents. And when they first camouflaged themselves, it was a sight that caused us to gasp in wonder. We had created a new subspecies, effectively, of the animal.
That was where the problems began. See, after congratulating us on our achievements, the DOD ordered us to begin the training process as soon as possible. They had some military skirmish coming up they wanted to give the animals a dry run on, about seven months out. And so, Michelle and the rest of the animal experts attempted to train them to attack on command. At first, it seemed they responded well to the orders, but very quickly petered out, ignoring verbal and visual cues. To make matters worse, they ended up turning on their parents, killing and devouring all eight of the natural animals during one night, which led us to walk into the lab the next morning, finding the glass splattered with blood and viscera. The Komods had been absolutely vicious on the recordings, moving as a pack to trap an animal at a time in a corner before quite literally tearing it apart. This gave us pause, as we didn’t recall putting in any increased intelligence genes into the animals, and pack hunting behavior was not only a sign of intelligence, but also a behavior not seen in Komodo Dragons. Everyone exchanged nervous glances with each other at this revelation.
That was about the time they…changed. They began to get downright eerie, if I’m honest. We would walk into the habitat viewing room, to find the animals standing still as a stone. Still, except for their eyes, which seemed to follow you all around the room, ones which began to seem far too human like and understanding. I know now that they were learning our patterns, our movements, sniffing out weaknesses and vulnerable spaces. Hell, you could be two rooms away, and still feel their eyes on you through the many layers of glass. They also began to camouflage themselves more and more, seeming to learn how to effectively hide themselves. When they stood still, it almost was impossible to distinguish them from the background. It was almost exactly the way the Indominus Rex from Jurassic World behaved, only, there were many of them, not just one. We reached out to the DOD to explain our concerns, but they were pushed aside like paper. The man on the phone told us that the three who had brought us here over a year ago, would be returning in two weeks to look at the specimens. “That is final” the gruff voice finished, before hanging up.
We were unsure of what to do. The animals hadn’t been trained, and their odd and eerie behavior was beginning to sow the first tendrils of doubt about what we had done into the backs of our minds. We had been too busy focusing on achieving our goals without stopping to think about the consequences, also preoccupied by the money we would be making. But we attempted to push the thoughts away. That’s when the next shoe dropped. As we entered the lab a week later, we noticed some, well, some things nestled in the old replica nests that once held the Komods themselves. I have to stress that, normal Komodo Dragons, it turns out, can lay up to 20 eggs at a time, which, between three females, would mean sixty eggs. There were closer to ninety eggs in total in the nests. “Okay, something isn’t exactly right here” Michelle said worriedly, gaining murmurs from the other animal experts. “They’re not supposed to lay eggs so soon, especially not this time of the year”
As we stared through the glass, one of the Komods uncloaked itself, the side of its head almost pressed up against the glass. “Fuck me!” I shouted, jumping back; I had been close to the glass myself, and when it had appeared, the two of us had almost been eye to eye with each other. That’s when Dietrich, another geneticist, dropped the bomb he’d hidden from the rest of us. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, he’d been approached by one of the bigwigs with a secret assignment. Apparently, there were two secret parameters that the DOD had asked for in the Komods; the first was an increased level of intelligence for problem solving and creativity skills using more chimpanzee genes. This alone caused everyone else to flip their shit. “Are you AND them out of your fucking minds?!” Clancy, one of the animal behaviorists screamed at Dietrich, “You basically engineered up the apex predator of apex predators, and then you gave it a fucking brain?!” Quieter than he had been before, he then told us the second secret parameter.
They had wanted to increase the animal’s lethality, and as such…had Dietrich insert the genes from one of the most venomous species of snake, the Black Mamba, into the Komods. One bite from the animals would be enough to insert enough venom to kill twenty full grown men. The discomfort and horror in the room was palpable. I quietly strode up to the man and asked him, in a voice quaking a little, “Do you have any idea what kind of monster you’ve created?” He merely stared at the floor and said nothing. I looked around the room at my colleagues, and at the security standing behind us. After a few minutes of deliberation, I opened my mouth and spoke. “We have to find a way to destroy these animals” I turned and looked at them, now all visible and staring through the glass at me. They all seemed to have their eyes on me, and me alone, and almost seemed to harbor a sense of anger towards me. I looked down and saw that the speakers which allowed the trainers to try and communicate with the animals had accidentally been flicked on. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they understood what I said…but that was ridiculous; they only understood basic commands, not full sentences. Nevertheless, I nervously flicked off the speaker, then turned back to the group.
“We need to find a way to destroy them” I repeated, and began to move across the room to the weapons locker containing the shotguns. That’s when the security guards stepped over to me. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t allow you to even attempt to destroy government property” the lead guard said, his face stony and lacking any emotion. “Are you serious?” I asked, dropping formalities. He repeated his sentence to me. I felt a rising wave of panic begin to overtake me as my mind raced with the implications. But, before I was able to do anything, I felt hands grab my arms from behind, wrenching them from behind. I felt handcuffs clench around my wrists and looked back up at the head guard. “You’re going to be placed into confinement until the superiors arrive here in three days, at which point they will decide a course of action for breaking subsection A303, paragraph 36, line four of your contract”
They led me out of the room, the other scientists looking both scared and upset at this abrupt intervention. As I left the room, I saw one of the guards rest his hand on the butt of his pistol while staring at the group. “There is to be no more discussion about the destruction of these animals” he proclaimed loudly. The symbolism of his hand on his gun was obvious. And then the door shut, and I was shoved forward. I was marched out of the lab and back across the ground to the barracks, where I was locked into a storage room with a toilet. Occasionally, a guard would bring me food and water, but they never spoke a word. I had nothing to occupy my time with but my thoughts; thoughts about the disastrous implications of those creatures down below breeding uncontrolled, or worse, escaping the military’s custody.
Three days later, as I sat on the floor with my head between my knees, I heard the door unlock, and looked up to see the guards in the doorway. Behind them lay two men in combat fatigues carrying assault rifles, and beside them were the three bigwigs, still dressed in their smarmy black suits and ties. I was pulled out of the closet and held by my arms in front of the three. “Doctor, doctor, doctor” one of them began, shaking his head slowly, “You disappoint us” He clucked his tongue. “We thought you, of all people would recognize the importance of such a project. The ability to create the perfect soldier, one that means not risking human lives and winning battles far more efficiently” I shook my head at him. “What you don’t understand is that, if you keep those animals alive, you risk something far worse and more disastrous for the area. Hell, the country, and maybe even the continent!”
But he didn’t listen. He waved at me. “Escort the good doctor down with us to see there’s nothing to worry about” he said dismissively, already turning away. This time, in between the two rifle carrying military police, I was marched back from the barracks to the lab. As they shut the door behind it, one of the suit wearing men locked the door out by pressing his hand into a scanner at the bottom of the stairs that I hadn’t noticed before. When we entered, all eyes turned in our direction, and I could see the guards had been forcing them to continue working under duress. Many looked like they hadn’t slept in two days. On the bigwig’s orders, we were all forced into the observation room. When we entered, I noticed something that nearly rooted me to the spot. There was only two Komods visible in the center of the room. Both lay slumped on their side, their eyes open and unseeing.
Instantly, the head suit turned to the guards, his face turning red. “You allowed two of them to die?!” he shouted at the head of security. The man’s face turned pale as he stared in confusion. “N-No sir!” he stammered, “They were up and moving about not even an hour ago!” But the suit wasn’t comforted. He rounded on Michelle and Clancy. “You two, are going to go in there, under the supervision of two of the guards, and you are going to attempt to revive our property” he hissed. They began to protest, but then the man shouted again. “If you do not do as ordered, by the power given to me in your contract, I will have the ability to have you executed for subordination!” The two animal behaviorists looked shocked at the man’s words, but still didn’t move. Not until the security team pulled their pistols out of their holsters. Michelle began to cry, and Clancy attempted to comfort her. But the suit strode forward, grabbed the two of them, and roughly shoved them towards the habitat door. “Now!” he barked.
Michelle stole one last look my way, her eyes rimmed red with tears and fear, and then, with the two security guards holding cattle prods behind them, they were forced into the habitat. As they stepped forward into view on the other side of the glass, I stepped up next to the suit, rage and panic overcoming me. “This is the stupidest fucking idea, you dumb shit! There’s only two in view, and there were-“ I was cut off as something slammed into the side of my head. My vision went blurry, and I collapsed to the metal floor in a heap. “Shut the hell up” the suit said, motioning for the MP who’d used the butt of his rifle to strike me to lift me up. As they did, I looked up to see Michelle kneeling down next to one of the Komods, my vision hazy. A thought crossed through my mind, one that sped through my brain like a bolt of lightning, and send ice buckets of chills to zap down my spine. They have the intelligence of primates, they have problem solving skills, they were watching us the whole time, they work as a team, they-
I snapped my head up, screaming. “Michelle, get away from it, it’s an ambush!” But, it was already too late. As she looked up at me, her eyes wide with understanding and terror, the Komod snapped up out of playing possum, lunging forward faster than I thought possible with its jaws agape. They snapped close around my colleague’s head, and I heard her begin to scream, a high pitched, unending one which pierced my ears even on the other side of the glass. At the same time, the others removed their camouflage, leaping forward at Clancy and the two guards. They tried to raise their prods, but couldn’t move quick enough as three of them overwhelmed them, dragging them to the ground. The other Komod playing possum had leapt onto Clancy. Within moments, the glass was stained with the splashes of blood from my colleagues and the guards. “Close the door!” the head suit screamed, all trace of bravado having left him. But, again, it was already too late, as with a mix of hisses and low growls, the seven genetically engineered killing machines dashed out of the enclosure and began the slaughter.
I didn’t stay to watch it, though. When I saw that the four in the enclosure were goners, I turned and, with my head still reeling from the rifle butt to my head, sprinted as fast as I could away from the room. I saw a few other of my colleagues do the same, and heard the eardrum piercing sound of multiple handguns and rifles being fired behind me. Along with the screaming. God, the screaming. It was like listening to the background of a horror movie during a nasty kill scene, only this time, the horror was very real. I thought fast as I heard the skittering of claws on metal somewhere behind me. And I did the only thing I could. I climbed tables and bookshelves, until I was able to climb on some ceiling mounted pipes and air ducting. I was up high enough, that even if they could jump, which I found out a few seconds later they could, as they leapt almost five feet off the ground towards me, it wouldn’t be high enough for them to reach.
From there, all I could do was watch. Watch in horror as the Komods grouped together as a pack, moving through the facility to kill the few colleagues of mine and guards who had escaped the initial carnage. They always found them, no matter where they were. They sniffed them out, they could spot them hiding in places most wouldn’t think to look. Very soon, the entire lab was splashed with blood on the floors and walls. It looked like they’d attempted to make their own macabre version of a Jackson Pollack painting. But the most frightening was when they came to a locker that the last guard had hidden himself in. I know those animals had never even seen a locker door before. But, somehow, one climbed slightly up on the metal, using its claws to hook into the grooves, turned its mouth slightly sideways, and gripped the lock between its teeth. It gently pulled it up, and the weight of it swung the locker door open. The guard managed to let out a single scream before they were upon him.
Finally, they were all gone. Everyone except me. I saw the Komods fan out through the lap, systematically moving through each room. Two reached the stairs, and I heard the click of their claws as they climbed towards the door. A few moments later, the slid back down, trapped by the lockdown the bigwig had set up. I let out a sigh of relief. But it quickly died in my throat as I saw one, what had to be the pack leader, move with a speed I didn’t know they could possess and crawl back into the observation room. There was a sickening sound of flesh and bone tearing for a minute or two. Then it reappeared, moving back across the lab with something in its jaws. I strained to see, then gasped as I realized what it was. It was the hand and wrist of the suit; the creature had torn it from his corpse. My mind raced as I watched it move towards the stairs again. Please, no, I thought. Please don’t let it be THAT smart!
My heart sank into my stomach as I saw the Komod reach the panel next to the stairs, climbing up and using its front legs to hold itself in place. Very gently, it dropped the suit’s hand from its mouth, letting it fall palm down onto the scanner. After a second, a robotic woman’s voice spoke throughout the facility. “Lockdown lifted. All exit doors now unlocked” “Shit…” I whispered as I watched it drop back down to the ground, and, moving in front, led the seven back up the stairs. A minute later, I felt the air pressure in the lab change, signaling they had managed to open the door. After about thirty seconds, it stopped. They got out. That was the thought that repeated over and over in my mind. They got out. Oh, god no, they got out.
That was how they found me when they came to search for everyone the next day, when the bigwigs didn’t report in. They found me clutching the ceiling ducts, almost desperately so, so as not to fall down to the ground. They ran a ladder up and coaxed me down. I thought I would be charged for the deaths of everyone here, but apparently, these people knew about Project Varanus. They took me out of the lab, away from the dismembered bodies of my colleagues and the others, away from the blood and putrid copper scent of it. When I stepped outside into fresh air, I immediately noticed the huge hole in the fence opposite us. “That’s how they got out” I whispered, and the man in the suit nodded. “We know, doctor. Don’t worry, we’ll find them”. From there, they made sure I was okay, then made me sign ever more NDA’s, stating I wouldn’t breathe a word about what happened. All which, I said at the start, I’m breaking now.
Yes, the financially compensated me for what I experienced, more money than I would ever know what to do with. Hush money. But, I can’t stay silent on this. For two reasons. The first being, all of my colleagues’ families were given some bullshit cover story about how they died in a gas leak, and the bodies were too contaminated to be able to be shipped home. The families deserve to know what really happened to their loved ones.
And second, and more important tenfold, is to warn people. Warn you. Warn everybody of what is out there now, sliding and hunting through the forests. Maybe even through suburban neighborhoods. Where they can camouflage themselves, they could be anywhere. You need to be on guard no matter where you are. How many animal disappearances since they escaped could be their work? Hell, how many missing people could be their work? If you even think you feel eyes on you when nobodies around, run. If you think you hear soft hissing and low growling around you, run. It may not matter, though. Where they’re so fast, even if you run, they’ll most likely catch you and…well, you know what happens next. But that’s not what frightens me the most. That’s not what makes me stare up the ceiling fan in my bedroom, unable to sleep.
The eggs in the habitat were destroyed by the military. They saw to that. But, the Komods out there can still breed. And we saw how ninety eggs came from just those seven animals, those three females. They can breed very quickly, and they will. And when they breed, they will spread like wildfire, able to live in both hot and cold climates. And as it’s almost April, it’s almost prime time for them to mate and lay their eggs. Which would hatch this fall.
That is, if their breeding season wasn’t genetically altered as well.
All I can say is, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what I helped to create. I’m so sorry for the deaths of all those who worked with me.
And I’m so, so sorry. I’m so sorry…for what is to come…

I live with two other people, who are sisters.
I live underneath one person and the other two have no one underneath them, we found that out a couple of months ago.
The person below me is always really loud, I had to start using my speaker and white brown to drown out their voice at 12-5am, even though I've constantly asked them to keep it down and they're aware of the noise.
Their response was "nothing is going to change, y'all are up there stomping like animals"
I got upset and told my roommates about it and they're like ",oh okay, not my problem."
One night they come back home and I'm sitting in my room and my roommates have heavy feet, so they stomp on the floor every time (yet they don't think they do) so the person below us bangs on their ceiling and my roommates are like "okay?"
So then the person goes back to being hella loud and I'm just like wtf, I'm not the one stomping so why do I have to suffer? I work very early in the morning and if the person below me is up on the phone at 4-5am, I can't sleep.
Just a few mins ago, the person below us banged on the ceiling and I'm laying in my bed while my roommates are "cleaning" the living room. So I'm upset because I'm like how I handle the person whose being the asshole and my roommates who don't give two shits about me suffering just because they aren't.

 So a rough lay out of mine and my husbands house- we live in a one story house the has a wooded area behind it. Our dining room leads out to the back porch and you can see the porch from the kitchen window and also my bedroom window. So I’ve (24F) been working a lot lately. And because of my husbands (26M) job he’s not usually home. It’s usually just me and my dog. The past couple of months I’ve been hearing a shuffle noise out on my back porch. Whenever I turn to look out my window to look out the back porch everything goes silent. All I can hear is the humming from my ceiling fan, when I turn back to go to sleep it sounds like foot steps walking off of the porch. So recently I have been talking with some of my friends about getting a security camera. I ran it by my husband who says that “I am just being paranoid” and I “don’t need to go to such lengths.” Jokes on him I did it anyway and my cameras got here last week. I was really hesitant to put them up because I may have just been paranoid, but this morning I found to what looked like to be a smudged hand print on my bedroom window. They. Are. Going. Up. I’ll update this if anything happens. 

Hope this is okay to post here. We are having a 16’ x 16’ screened in porch built on to the back of our house. There will be a tv out there in the center of the wall, and we plan to watch mostly movies/tv out there but some music as well. I am very particular about sound quality, and want a surround sound setup. I don’t think a center speaker will be possible but plan to get B&W AM-1s for front left and right, paired with a Sonos amp (though not sure yet if capable of 4.0, may have to look for an AV). What I do for the rear speakers is where I’m having trouble. Will rear surrounds in the ceiling not sound very good? It’s a 10ft ceiling. Don’t expect it to sound as near as good as my SVS Ultra system in my basement, but want high quality sound. Trying to determine my best options for in ceiling, and have seen the best reviews towards Sonos in ceiling and Sonance Mag series.
Any advice is appreciated. (Also, avoiding sub as I have close neighbors and low frequencies travel far).
Another question- will the front L and R speakers placed about 14 ft apart at ceiling height pointed down towards listening area ~14 ft away from seating area produce a decent soundstage? Worried about dialogue.

I live with two other people, who are sisters.
I live underneath one person and the other two have no one underneath them, we found that out a couple of months ago.
The person below me is always really loud, I had to start using my speaker and white brown to drown out their voice at 12-5am, even though I've constantly asked them to keep it down and they're aware of the noise.
Their response was "nothing is going to change, y'all are up there stomping like animals"
I got upset and told my roommates about it and they're like ",oh okay, not my problem."
One night they come back home and I'm sitting in my room and my roommates have heavy feet, so they stomp on the floor every time (yet they don't think they do) so the person below us bangs on their ceiling and my roommates are like "okay?"
So then the person goes back to being hella loud and I'm just like wtf, I'm not the one stomping so why do I have to suffer? I work very early in the morning and if the person below me is up on the phone at 4-5am, I can't sleep.
Just a few mins ago, the person below us banged on the ceiling and I'm laying in my bed while my roommates are "cleaning" the living room. So I'm upset because I'm like how I handle the person whose being the asshole and my roommates who don't give two shits about me suffering just because they aren't.

So, I've been working on translating the song The Willow Maid by Erutan into Dalish. Personally a couple of my favorite lines so far are the last line of the chorus "Tel'ghilas ma ghilana" (I won't follow where you lead) and the second verse when she rejects his proposal. " Tel'sa'lath tel'vunin dahling, vahnir, tel'uth" (I don't love you. Not today, now, tomorrow, not ever.) If anyone is interested I'd like to post my translation when I'm finished to get input from other fans on anything I may have mistranslated. Obviously like with any translation it's never a 1:1 translation and Dalish words can change meanings depending on intent of the speaker which makes it particularly hard. That and the fact that their language is largely lost so I have literal fragments to work with unlike Sindarin.

To preface this question... I Installed my first system. Ive posted before but basically infinity kappa components upfront, Audio Control amp/dsp (d4.800) and sony ax6000 headunit. I stream my audio from iphone using Tidal to carplay. I use master quality audio from tidal (I understand that bluetooth dumbs it down to CD quality but thats ok). I have tuned this thing to almost perfect (to my ears). And it sounds great ... except... The vocals have what can best be described as a "hiss" to them? Its not that the S's and T's are loud like when tweeters are overpowering your mids but more every vocalist sounds like they have a slight wheez at their upper range. My question is, is this just from sound quality of tidal-headunit-speakers, or is it something that can be removed with EQ? Ive adjusted the highs where everything but this sounds great. Has anyone had this?

We are having a 16’ x 16’ screened in porch built on to the back of our house. There will be a tv out there in the center of the wall, and we plan to watch mostly movies/tv out there but some music as well. I am very particular about sound quality, and want a surround sound setup. I don’t think a center speaker will be possible but plan to get B&W AM-1s for front left and right, paired with a Sonos amp. What I do for the rear speakers is where I’m having trouble. If I get the sonos in ceiling outdoor speakers can the amp power those as well and play 4.0? If not what are my options?
I’m also considering getting 2 Moves to use as the rears but strongly dislike the inconvenience of a non permanent solution that requires bringing them out there and back in every day that we use the porch.
Any advice is appreciated. (Also, avoiding sub as I have close neighbors and low frequencies travel far).

To not exclude Broncos Fans I went to pick 67 and 68 so they would have something to at least see.
TRADES: Done using Drafttek Value Chart. I calculate the value of future picks by dividing the current round pick value in half.
Jets send 2.43(470) to Green Bay for Aaron Rodgers
I don’t see the Jets trading first for a 1-year rental when they can trade similar if not less value for Stafford. 2.43 is the best the Packers get.
Tennessee sends 1.11(1250 Points) to Seattle for 1.20(850), 2.52(380) and 4.123(49)
(29 Points in the favor of Tennessee)
Houston sends 1.12(1200) to Pittsburgh for 1.17(950), 3.80(190) and 2024 3rd(95)
(35 points in the favor of Houston)
Chargers send 1.21(800) to Jacksonville for 1.24(740) and 4.121(52) and 4.127(45)
(37 points in the favor of The Chargers)
Giants send 1.25(720) and 3.89(145) to New Orleans for 1.29(640), 3.71(235) and 5.165(24)
(35 points in the favor of New York)
1). Carolina Panthers: CJ Stroud QB Ohio State
All signs seem to be pointing to CJ being the pick for the Panthers. CJ is a smart and safe option as the number 1 QB and while he might not have the upside of a Richardson or Young, he isn't a low ceiling player either. With the Panthers CJ can carve out a great career by just doing what he does best and playing withing the system and not making mistakes.
2). Houston Texans: Bryce Young QB Alabama
My QB1 and what seems to be the Texans QB1. Young plays such a interesting game compared to his size. Young has easily the best pocket presence in the class and will come into a O-Line better than he had at Alabama with Howard and Tunsil. If the Texans continue to build the team and get the correct support around Young, they can maximize his potential and creativity with the football.
3). Arizona Cardinals: Will Anderson Jr EDGE Alabama
I think the Cardinals will entertain trade calls for 3 but unless an offer blows them away, they stand pat and take Will Anderson Jr. While future picks are enticing, getting by far the best EDGE prospect in the class who can fit any scheme and has All-Pro Potential is worth more than the picks.
4). Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson QB Florida
I still can’t move away from Richardson to Indianapolis. I like Levis but Richardson has equal if not higher potential while also being 2 years younger than the Wildcat. The more I watch Richardson's tape the more you see his potential shine through. I might be in the minority, but I believe Richardson isn’t as raw as people state. He was in a terrible situation in Florida with new coaching, no receivers or TE’s and a scheme which didn’t fit him. In Indianapolis the Colts can tailor everything to AR15.
5). Seattle Seahawks: Jalen Carter IDL Georgia
He is a risky pick but with the limited true 1st round talent in this class and the lack of scheme fit with Tyree Wilson the Seahawks grab Jalen Carter. Everything has been said about Carter and his risks, but his talent is undeniable on tape. Seattle historically doesn’t draft CB’s early either, so they roll the dice on Carter and try to slow down his extracurriculars.
6). Detroit Lions: Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon
It was between Gonzalez and Wilson at 6 but I have Gonzalez as the best CB in the class and in a deep EDGE class they can pick up another rotational piece later in the draft, but you can’t pick up anybody like Gonzalez later in the class. The Lions are desperate for a true CB1, and Gonzalez gives them one with ample athleticism and coverage ability.
7.) Las Vegas Raiders: Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois
While Witherspoon doesn’t have insane size and length he makes up for it in his technique and cover ability. Witherspoon is a high floor player who will be CB1 for the Raiders the second he joins the organization. With a 35% completion percentage at Illinois Witherspoon faced tough competition and held strong throughout his career.
8). Atlanta Falcons: Tyree Wilson EDGE Texas Tech
The Falcons are adamant on giving Ridder a chance in 2023 so with the 8th pick they take Tyree Wilson. While not a great scheme fit in their base 3-4 the Falcons run a decent number of different looks where they can put Wilson into solid positions. His length is too enticing to pass up and pairing Jarrett with actual help on the line.
9). Chicago Bears: Paris Johnson Jr OT Ohio State
I still have PJJ going to the Bears but not as the LT but as the Bears RT. Investing in Fields is paramount to the Bears success after the beatings Fields has taken already in Chicago. Shifting Teven Jenkins to guard LG next to Jones and drafting both PJJ and Wypler in the 2nd gives Fields the best O-Line he has had since Ohio State.
10). Philadelphia Eagles: Lukas Van Ness EDGE Iowa
Eagles grab Lukas Van Ness EDGE from Iowa. Roseman has stated that if 2 players are similar in value they will take the lineman and they do that with Van Ness. Van Ness is a high potential athletic marvel with a great bull rush who needs to be refined to his full potential. The Eagles have no problem sitting young players and having them rotate with the vets. With Van Ness he can play opposite to Sweat in the future along with being a DT in some schemes.
11). Seattle Seahawks: Will Levis QB Kentucky
Geno changes nothing for Seattle in terms of QB. The Levis hate has swung too far to the point he is being underrated. His O-Line and WR’s at Kentucky downgraded immensely this season. Watching tape from 2021 shows what he can do with weapons and a competent O-Line. In Seattle Levis can sit behind Geno Smith similar to how Mahomes did with Alex Smith and be molded to Carrolls liking before taking over for Seattle in 2024.
12). Pittsburgh Steelers: Peter Skoronski OT/OG Northwestern
Steelers fans may hate this but if Skoronski falls out of the top 10 I think the Steelers jump up and grab the LT from Northwestern. The CB class is very deep along with the 3-4 DE class taking a premier will be hard later in the draft. Skoronski’s main downfall is his short arms but with the Steelers needing a OT to protect Pickett. Dan Moore and Okorafor compete for the RT spot for the Steelers new look O-Line.
13). New York Jets: Darnell Wright OT Tennessee
You got Aaron Rodgers which is good and now you have to protect him. With that they take the last of the premier OT prospects in Darnell Wright. Wright might be a more natural RT but his senior season at Tennessee showed him deal with multiple different high quality pass rushers. He was able to move his feet well and played with a high motor and technique needed for the position. Personally, I see Wright being able to play both on the left or right side of the line.
14). New England Patriots: Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Ohio State
I believe Patriots fans are willing this into existence, but JSN is a Patriot, and he fits New England perfectly. While some say JSN can only truly work as a slot receiver I believe the Pats will use him in a plethora of looks be it in the slot or out wide where his elite route running, and agility will showcase why he is WR1 in the class.
15). Green Bay Packers: Nolan Smith EDGE Georgia
The Packers could very well be looking to grab a player like Quinten Johnston, but I believe they have their eyes on a high RAS defender in Nolan Smith. Smith had an incredible combine and with the Packers who want to continue building on their talented young defense they take Smith giving Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt and Quay Walker another quick and athletic EDGE.
16). Washington Commanders: Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State
With Washington they are lacking in the QB department and with none of the top 4 QBs falling to them the Commanders pivot and draft the best available CB in Joey Porter Jr. Porter is a uber talented CB who is physical and lanky and is a tough player for WR’s to play against. With the Commanders great D-Line they need a stud CB like JPJ to complete the defense.
17). Houston Texans: Quinten Johnston WR TCU
The Texans don’t have much talent and across the board and after trading Brandin Cooks, they are lacking a WR for new franchise QB Bryce Young. I have Johnston and Smith-Njigba rated similarly, and the Texans pick Johnston at 17th. Johnston will add another explosive weapon for a Texans offensive that desperately needs talent. Adding Johnston gives Young some weapons in Woods, Johnston, Schultz and Pierce.
18). Detroit Lions: Bijan Robinson RB Texas
The Lions at 18 go BPA and take what some people have as the best player in the class over Anderson and Carter. Bijan is one of the best RB prospects the NFL has seen with his vision and running ability. In Detroit he will be behind an elite O-Line with solid QB play. With the Lions Bijan will immediately enter the league as a top 5 RB and a touchdown machine.
19). Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Broderick Jones OT Georgia
The Bucs stand firm and get Broderick Jones out of Georgia. Jones fills an immediate need as TB has no LT for Trask or Mayfield. Jones fills exactly what the Bucs have been missing in a LT with a massive athlete who has nimble and quick feet and won’t be a liability in pass protection. With Jones the Bucs have two solid bookend tackles for whoever the future QB of the team is.
20). Tennessee Titans: Anton Harrison OT Oklahoma
A true LT Harrison has had a phenomenal career at Tennessee. He is a pure LT who excels in pass protection and rarely gives up pressures. His problems lie in his run blocking which is a knock against him for a team especially the Titans but with the Titans hitting a mini rebuild they need to look past that and see a great pass protector who can develop in the running game.
21). Jacksonville Jaguars: Deonte Banks CB Maryland
I believe the Jaguars are going to pick CB and they hone in on one of the most athletic CB prospects in NFL history. Banks has some problems with penalties and ball skills but in Jacksonville he will not be asked to be CB1 he will be CB2 and he can do alot of damage with his athleticism at his size.
22). Baltimore Ravens: Zay Flowers WR Boston College
The Ravens need to find more weapons for Lamar Jackson past Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews. During Boston College Flowers was electric, a shifty player who could get RAC at will. For the Ravens, Flowers can be a receiver who can get open at will and can generate yards previous Ravens receivers couldn’t.
23). Minnesota Vikings: Cam Smith CB South Carolina
With the top WR's gone off the board the Vikings grab the last of the top CB prospects. Cam Smith plays a physical and dominant game as a CB. Always willing to be aggressive with the WR opposite of him. Cam Smith will be a great man corner who will cause many incompletions. With the Vikings Smith will contribute in the secondary as the CB2 opposite to Andre Booth Jr.
24). Los Angeles Chargers: Myles Murphy EDGE Clemson
With Myles Murphy the Chargers get a pure pass rusher who has bend and is able to get pressure on the QB but lacks awareness in the running game. With that Murphy can be added to the rotation on the EDGE of Bosa and Mack. If Murphy can continue the production, he had at Clemson the Chargers will have a fun trio of EDGE rushers in a AFC West that lacks OT Talent.
25). New Orleans Saints: Calijah Kancey IDL Pittsburgh
With the top receivers and corners now gone the Giants decide to trade down and with the Saints who are in desperate need for IDL help and a true stud DT to play on that line. What Kancey lacks in size he makes up for with ability and athleticism being the best 3-Tech DT in the class. Kancey should be able to line up for the Saints in the interior and wreak havoc in the NFC South.
26). Dallas Cowboys: Dalton Kincaid TE Utah
With Schultz gone the Cowboys can defer the TE role to Jake Ferguson. But with none of the talented TE’s in the class being selected the Cowboys take TE1 off the board in Dalton Kincaid. Kincaid proved at Utah his talent as he caught 70 passes for 890 yards his senior season and scored 8 TDs for Utah. In the Cowboys' offense Kincaid can reproduce numbers similar to Schultz's best season while improving his run blocking which is the only major knock against him.
27). Buffalo Bills: Dawand Jones OT Ohio State
With how the board fell I can see the Bills going a couple of different ways with this pick. One being taking a Brian Branch as both their Pro Bowl safeties are aging and on expensive deals with Branch being a talented player who can play both in the nickel and as a safety. The other one being shoring up the O-Line with a massive human being in Dawand Jones who plays with a high motor and can be a dominant RT for them. The Bills elect for option B.
28). Cincinnati Bengals: Darnell Washington TE Georgia
Is this a luxury pick for the Bengals? It can be but with Washington you gain more than just a TE. At Georgia Washington was dominant in the run game opening holes and leading the way for the stable of Bulldog RBs to run wild on opposing defenses. And his unique size and athleticism makes him a major weapon in the middle of the field. The biggest knock-on Washington was his lack of production at Georgia, but the Bengals take the risk here for what he can add to their offense on day 1.
29). New York Giants: John Michael Schmitz C Minnesota
After trading down the Giants can shore up the biggest liability on their offense that being the center position. John Michael Schmitz has been connected to the G-Men. He is a high floor prospect who will immediately contribute on day 1 as a savvy team player who can move well laterally and has no problem engaging in his blocks and dominating defenders.
30). Philadelphia Eagles: Brian Branch S Alabama
While safety is a low position of value Branch is by far the best player available on the board and can contribute immediately for a Phili defense in need of a CJ Gardner Johnson replacement. The upside with Branch is his ability to play in both the nickel and as a box safety. Branch is a willing tackler who is instinctually always around the ball making plays. For Phili he is exactly what they are looking for in the secondary.
31). Kansas City Chiefs: Will McDonald IV EDGE Iowa State
At 31 the Chiefs can go so many ways. After winning the SB the Chiefs have gained some holes in the WR room along with the offensive line. But at 31 the Chiefs take a player who is a little out of the box and snag the high potential EDGE out of Iowa State Will McDonald. McDonald is an explosive and talented EDGE player with active hands and quick feet. In KC who runs multiple formations McDonald will be a pass rushing weapon who can be used in many different formations which a DC like Spagnuolo will love.
2nd Round
32). Pittsburgh Steelers: Emmanuel Forbes CB Mississippi State
33). Houston Texans: O’Cyrus Torrence OG Florida
34). Arizona Cardinals: Steve Avila OG TCU
35). Indianapolis Colts: Kelee Ringo CB Georgia
36). Los Angeles Rams: BJ Ojulari EDGE LSU
37). Seattle Seahawks: Drew Sanders LB Arkansas
38). Las Vegas Raiders: Mazi Smith IDL Michigan
39). Carolina Panthers: Jordan Addison WR USC
40). New Orleans Saints: Jahmyr Gibbs RB/WR Alabama
41). Tennessee Titans: Josh Downs WR UNC
42). New York Jets: Bryan Bresee IDL Clemson
43). Green Bay Packers: Michael Mayer TE Notre Dame
44). Atlanta Falcons: Tyrique Stevenson CB Miami
45). Green Bay Packers: Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee
46). New England Patriots: Cody Mauch OT North Dakota State
47). Washington Commanders: Joe Tippmann C Wisconsin
48). Detroit Lions: Keion White EDGE Georgia Tech
49). Pittsburgh Steelers: Adetomiwa Adebawore IDL Northwestern
50). Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Antonio Johnson S Texas A&M
51). Miami Dolphins: Matthew Bergeron OT Syracuse
52). Tennessee Titans: Jack Campbell LB Iowa
53). Chicago Bears: Felix Anudike-Uzomah EDGE Kansas State
54). Los Angeles Chargers: Zach Charbonnet RB UCLA
55). Detroit Lions: Luke Musgrave TE Oregon State
56). Jacksonville Jaguars: Tuli Tuipulotu IDL USC
57). New York Giants: Clark Phillips III CB Utah
58). Dallas Cowboys: Siaki Ika IDL Baylor
59). Buffalo Bills: Trenton Simpson LB Clemson
60). Cincinnati Bengals: Blake Freeland OT BYU
61). Chicago Bears: Luke Wypler C Ohio State
62). Philadelphia Eagles: Karl Brooks IDL Bowling Green
63). Kansas City Chiefs: Cedric Spillman WR Tennessee
Round 3
64). Chicago Bears: DJ Turner CB Michigan
65). Houston Texans: Derrick Hall EDGE Auburn
66). Arizona Cardinals: Julius Brents CB Kansas State
67). Denver Broncos: Olusegun Oluwatimi C Michigan
68). Denver Broncos: Eli Ricks CB Alabama

I'm looking for a way to easily change volume and group presets when connecting my record player to Sonos via Bluetooth.
Usually, I will connect my record player to a single Sonos speaker via Bluetooth and then group that speaker with the others so that I can play records on multiple Sonos speakers. I then need to change the volume on all the speakers because it is much different than playing Spotify through the app.
Does anyone have any experience using Soro to listen to vinyl over Sonos/Bluetooth? Is this possible? I just want to make sure this is possible before buying the app. Thanks in advance!

Editor's Choice: AKDY Wall Mount Range Hood
"This model is made with a stainless-steel body and a tempered glass canopy, features 3 fan speeds and only 65 dB noise level, and includes carbon filter kit for ventless installations."
Budget Pick: DKB 30" Wall Mounted Range Hood
"The budget pick doesn’t look cheap at all and has impressive features – 6 fan speeds, 600 CFM, ductless installation option, and the noise level of only 32 dB at the lowest speed."
Best CFM: CAVALIERE 30" Glass Canopy Range Hood
"This model features a chimney that is designed to accommodate a ceiling of 8 to 9 feet, and along with 900 CFM this will help you to keep your whole kitchen free from lingering food odors and smoke ."
Lowest Noise Level: Z Line KZ-30 Stainless Steel Wall Mount Range Hood
"With the 52 dB figure at the highest speed mode, this unit is surely the quietest option on the market, plus, it features 760 CFM and 4-speed settings that you can adjust accordingly to suit your cooking activities."
Best Warranty: EKON NAP03
"This model features impressible 10-year warranty, 4-speed setting control, 900 CFM figure and one of the lowest noise levels of 65 dB, and the 19-gauge steel ensures that it is solid and long-lasting construction."
Best Dishwasher-Friendly: Kitchen Bath Collection STL75
"This model has a UL-certified motor as well as aluminum micro-cell, dishwasher friendly grease filters, and each of the two LED lights features 49 bulbs."

All speakers (aux and bluetooth) i connect to using my iphone 11 sound terrible.
While i was connected to a speaker recently the music suddently started sounding weird and distorted, everybody thought that i had blown up the speaker. But others can use the speaker just fine, while the problem continued for me with other devices.
Does anybody have a clue about what has happened, or how i could fix it?

Here is the link: BlitzWolf BW-WA3 Pro 120W Bluetooth Speaker [EU]
Coupon code (apply in the cart!): BGRBWWA3CZ
Current price is $87.99. The lowest price in my database is $79.99. There're already 7 records in DB. Price monitoring since 1.8.2022!
Notes (coupon may work only in selected countries): Greece
If you're too late or you want e-mail PRICE ALERTS, then you can check current coupons for BlitzWolf BW-WA3 Pro 120W Bluetooth Speaker here: https://couponsfromchina.com/blitzwolf-bw-wa3-pro-120w-bluetooth-speake
Best regards.
Pretty good deal with big price discount.
https://couponsfromchina.com/

The Recon Team had traveled 2.2 Mi. So far, they hadn’t encountered a scouting unit from the advancing force. Not even the reading Bla`ol was getting from the satellites showed any movement on their part. Valè had even Comm’d Command Center to see if the satellites were in working order, and what she got was the same info Bla`ol gave her. The advancing force hadn’t moved from its location. Valè didn’t like that at all. Her gut was telling her something was off. The corner of her HUD began to blinker, notifying her that someone was trying to reach her via Comms. Answering her Comms, the tiny image of the Champion appears in the corner of her HUD.
“Did you find something, Champion?”
Valè asked as she signaled to the rest of the Recon Team to stop.
“Junior team leader Valè, I have found a hollowed-out cave-like pathway inside the tree. My…Gift scanned ahead and showed me it would place us about 3/5 a mile above the advancing force. This location would make a perfect sniper nest. I mean, look out to recon from.”
As the Champion gave his report, next to his image appeared several images and 3D images showing Valè the hollowed-out cave. As the images and 3D images changed, something caught Valè’s eyes. Her gaze focused on the image. The image stopped and expanded, showing scrapping marks on the tree bark. The scrapping didn’t look natural. It looked almost as if something had drilled its way into the tree.
“Have you found any signs of tracks or recent movement near the cave?”
Valè voiced her concern. The cave looked too artificial, and she feared an advancing scouting unit had created it.
“No, there are no signs of movement of any kind. What are your orders, Junior team leader Valè?”
The Champion's reply was simple and straight to the point. Still, Valè was concerned about this cave. Something about it seems off.
“Have you found another path that will take us closer to the advancing force?”
Valè asked, hoping there were other pathways. The Champion shook his head and spoke.
“Not unless you want to jump off the edge of this branch and land in the middle of the advancing force or take a thirty-minute detour.”
Valè clicked her tongue. They were pressed for time. Deciding on the fastest route, she went for the cave.
“Wait for us to arrive at your location, Champion. ETA to your location is five minutes.”
The Champion nodded in acknowledgment and cut the Comms. Valè turned to the Recon Team and spoke.
“The Champion has found a path for us. Move it on the double!”
The Recon Team moved with swift grace and stealth, their movement going unnoticed by the creature that grazed on the massive tree. The only animal that noticed their actions was a mid-sized slimy predator who, thanks to the Recon Team, had failed to catch its prey.
The Recon Team reached the massive cave. Their faces behind their helmet were painted with awe and surprise. All of them were thinking, “what or who made it?” Standing above the cave-like entrance, Gabriel turned off his “cloak” and called to the Recon Team.
“It's a clear path, Junior team leader Valè. Just watch your step. It has quite the slope.”
Everyone's gaze turns to the Champion and then back to the cave. Something just didn’t sit right about it. One of the Recon Team, Vijatà, spoke.
“Are you sure it’s safe to go in?”
Vijatà said what everyone was thinking. Gabriel jumped off from the top of the cave and slowly descended in front of the Recon Team. While doing so, he spoke.
“Yes, you just have to watch your step.”
Everyone turns to Valè, waiting for their orders. Valè took in the information she was given and weighed her options. With the bit of time they had left and the need for information, Valè decided to enter the cave.
“I know everyone is not liking the feeling this cave is giving off, but we are pressed for time. We march forward. Champion, please take the lead. Vijatà and V`yx, with me in the middle, be ready with your Gifts. Bla`ol, I want you behind me, ready to deploy a construct and have your sensor watching our backs. Yoremedia and Ùzonal, both of you on our 6. Anything that pins the wrong way on Bla`ol sensors, I want you to delete it from existence.”
Everyone nodded and got into position. While everyone was getting into position, Valè gave Command Center an update on their current path and the massive cave. Like her, those in the Command Center found the cave odd and warned them to proceed with caution. With her update to the Command Center done, Valè joined the formation and glanced at the massive cave entrance before diving in.
Everyone marches towards the Creepy cave. The group walked silently, their steps being the only sound inside the cave and, occasionally, the sound of them stepping in a puddle of a very sticky liquid. As they walked, they scanned for any threat and took in the strange yet eerie world surrounding them. The cave walls were covered by a glowing sticky goo :maxbytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migrationtreehuggerimages201508_joseph-michael-glowworm-cave-photos-5-ea27eebbaab54a2e8be6e822bbf5fd4d.jpg)that dripped from every corner. At first, they had not encountered the glowing goo. It was only recently that they began to see it. Walking behind everyone, Yoremedia kept her eyes on Gab`riel on and off. On their way here, she had a small glimpse of what was bothering Gab`riel. His rotations inside the Transport that had brought him here had left him with symptoms of claustrophobia. The symptoms were now mild, thanks to the cycle he had spent with Healer of the mind Zè. Still traveling in something the size of a Transport still left Gab`riel irritated and annoyed, making him use a meditation technique that Healer of the mind Zè had taught him.
Yoremedia sighed. The meditation worked, as Gab`riel said, but his body still responded to being confined. She wished she could do more for him, but her paws were tied behind her back alongside her tail. Something moving caught Yoremedia’s eyes. Something she found odd as her HUD or Bla`ol’s hadn’t warned them. Turning her head and rifle, she looked at whatever caught her gaze. Slightly above the group were large pockets of whatever the sticky goo was. Her scanners show that the pockets of goo were made out of sucrose, water, and small amounts of Glucose and fructose. Whatever this goo thing was where sure to be sweet, very sweet. Suddenly, the cave’s floor moved, making everyone jump into a battle formation. The walls of the massive cave began to constrict, bringing the glowing world around them to life. Everyone was on edge except for the Champion and Bla`ol. The Champion’s eyes scanned the walls, ceiling, and floor while Bla`ol’s Mecha’s onboard sensors and scanners did the same.
“Clear! The tree is just breathing!”
Both the Champion and Bla`ol screamed, cutting the tension that filled every one of the Recon Team. Slowly lowering their rifles, everyone let go of the breath they were holding.
“Recon team, we detected elevated heart rates and spikes in your adrenaline levels. What’s going on?”
Comms Officer Unjerstrinia's voice and image came through a level 5 Comms. Her concern was evident on her young Litrigon face.
“The tree gave us a bit of a fright. It turns out trees can breathe.”
Valè said while trying to get her heart rate down. This place just rubs her the wrong way.
Comms Officer Unjerstrinia’s ears twitch for a bit, confused by what she heard, and her bioluminescence also shows a bit of confusion. Still, she places that confusion in the back of her mind. She needed to know if the mission was still viable.
“Acknowledge Recon Team. Is the mission a no-go?”
Valè turns to the people still looking at the tree, scanning it, and asks.
“Champion. Bla`ol. Is it safe to move on?”
Bla`ol looks at his sensor readings and scanners. Everything shown to him was green. The only life signs inside the massive cave were the seven of them. Turning the Mecha’s outer speaker, the male Tiverno spoke.
“Everything looks green. Nothing out of place.”
Valè nodded her head at the reply. Turning her attention back to Comms Officer Unjerstrinia, she spoke.
“We all green here, Command Center. The mission is still a go.”
Comms Officer Unjerstrinia nodded and spoke.
“Understood, Recon Team. We will continue to monitor your progress. Goddesses speed and good luck.”
The Comms ended, and Valè turned to the rest of the Recon Team. She was about to give the order to continue but noticed the Champion still looking at the cave. She was about to say something when the Champion spoke.
“Vijatà move three steps to the right.”
Gabriel spoke. His deep voice echoed in the massive cave, stunning those behind him for a second. It took Vijatà another second to process what she heard. But by the time she did, it was too late.
“What do yo...Ahhhh!” What in the Eight Agony Plains is this icky goo thing!?”
One of the large pockets of goo had burst open, dropping all its content on top of the Tubinestian female. The image of Vijatà covered in glowing sticky goo was too much for the group of mixed children of the Empire. Every single one burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Look, Sis, your dream became true!”
V`yx screamed, which only made her other litter sisters laugh louder.
“Demon fucker! When I said, I wanted to be bathed by something sticky! I didn’t mean this shit!”
Vijatà said with apparent rage while trying to get the goo of herself. This, in turn, only made the rest of the group laugh even louder. The only one that wasn’t partaking in Vijatà misery was Gabriel. He had just finished scanning the pocket of goo that exploded because of the tree breathing, and he could not believe what he saw. Being disconnected from the net, he had not been given a clear sign of what he had been walking through, even with his passive scans scanning ahead. All he got was what he believed to be natural tree juices. He finally understood what he was seeing when the pocket of goo or blue glowing alien maple syrup completely covered Vijatà. No, he first needs to check his theory out. Countless imitations had fooled many Humans and even his father, but if this turned out to be maple syrup, then one of Humanity's many Edicts would be complete.
“Could this mission get any worse?” Vijatà thought. Not only was she scolded by her older litter sister, but her attempts to get the Champion's attention had also failed. She knew before the crash the Champion would always find it amusing when Team members gave him compliments or straight-up flirted with him. But now, anything she tried or said would only get her a slight smile or complete indifference. Beeping from her HUD added more salt to her already bruised ego. It warned her of the goo going into her rifle and gunking some of the components. She was about to swing her rifle around and see if that got the goo out of it when the Champion grabbed her by the wrist.
“Champion?”
Vijatà asks, confused by the Champion’s action. The Champion said nothing. Only the slight glow of his helmet disappearing answered her. Vijatà looks down at the Champion and notices him scanning her paw with his deep, glowing eyes. The Champion's action made everyone stop laughing and pay close attention to what he was doing. This time it was Valè turns to ask.
“Champion, is that goo dangerous?”
The Champion did not answer as his tongue was busy licking Vijatà’s paw. Everyone's jaw would’ve hit the floor if it wasn’t for their helmet holding it in. Vijatà was over the moons. The Champion was licking her paw with feverous lust. Even through her armor, she could feel the Champion’s tongue gliding over her scales. Oh, how it felt. How she wishes she could rip her armor off and feel his tongue between the crevices of her scales. The Champion’s tongue moved away from her palm and began to lick her fingers. This made Vijatà’s legs tremble and sent a chill down her spine to the tip of her tail. It felt like hours. The Champion’s tongue over-stimulated her senses almost to the breaking point, but the Champion stopped before she could reach that oh-so-sweet climax.
“Oh, hell yeah! That is most definitely maple syrup!”
The Champion screamed in his cradle tongue. His voice radiated a joy that burrowed into everyone's core, pulling those stunned by his little act out of their daze.
“Recon Team, what in the name of our Divine Goddesses is going on over there!? And why in the damn Eight Agony Plains is team member Vijata’s vitals showing signs of extreme sexual arousal!?”
Once again, the voice and image of Comms officer Unjerstrinia rang and appeared inside every Recon Team member’s helmet. Still, in a bit of a daze, Valè shook her head, trying to get her bearings. But what she had witnessed had left her in a state of shock.
“Recon Team! Report!”
This time, the voice and image that came through weren’t Comms officer Unjerstrinia but Supreme Commander Yesleta. The authority and power behind Supreme Commander Yesleta’s voice was the sledgehammer that broke Valè out of her shocked state.
“I…well…the Champion…he licked? Something…from team member Vijatà’s paw?”
Valè words were full of confusion and shock. Even as she spoke, it sounded like she could not believe what she was saying. The image of Supreme Commander Yesleta shows her raising her eyebrow. Yesleta knew something was off when she felt Gabriel’s disbelieve, followed by his intense enjoyment. Just what in the damn Eight Agony Plains was he doing?
“Gab`riel, mind telling me what you are doing? We are all dying to know.”
The voice of Yesleta came through the outer speakers of the Recon Team helmets. Her voice echoed in the hollowed-out cave tree. Making the hairs on the back of Gabriel's neck stand on end. Gabriel cursed internally. His need to find out about the maple syrup had made him forget where and with whom he was. Taking a deep breath, he faced everyone and spoke.
“Ah, yes. What is currently covering Vijatà is a substance Humans call maple syrup. This substance was processed from trees called Sugar maples. Sadly many milleni….sorry I mean, thousands of rotations ago, the trees, alongside many flora and fauna from Humanity's cradle home, were…went extinct. Finding something similar to maple syrup has been placed in what my people call the Humans Edicts. These Edicts are very important, to the point that finding one would make all of Humanity move.”
Yesleta saw countless emotions running through Gab`riel’s face through the cameras on the Recon Team helmet. His expression was similar to when someone was rewarded by the Divine Goddesses when that person had achieved something remarkable. On any other occasion, she would be curious and willing to listen to Gabriel explaining these Edicts. Yet here, and now she could not let whatever these Edicts were, take precedence over the mission in paw.
“Champion Gab`riel, whatever these Èjïtcs are, do not outweigh the current mission. I hope I do not need to remind you of what is currently approaching our location.”
Yesleta's voice wasn’t low or harsh. Yet it carried an authority that made Gabriel slightly flinch. Feeling Yesleta’s disappointment through their link didn’t help Gabriel either, but he couldn’t control this. It was part of him; it was in his DNA. Still, Yesleta was right. They have more pressing matters to attempt too, plus he could always find more maple syrup now that he knew what he was looking for.
“No, Supreme Commander. There is no ne……What the fuck!? Everyone move!”
Gabriel screams at the top of his lungs while pulling Vijatà, who was standing next to him, into his arms and jumping into the air. The rest of the Recon Team, too, jump back just in time to see a set of very familiar tentacles. Gabriel flips in the air and lands on the cave ceiling. Cursing, he materialized his helmet and looked at the hideous creature before him. In his moment of lax judgment, Gabriel had not been paying attention to his passive scans, which were screaming at him about a massive worm measuring 70 meters long and 40 meters high approaching them. He only noticed the gigantic worm when his senses screamed at him of the danger below their feet. The worm rose from the massive hole it created. It opens its mouth, revealing countless razor-sharp fangs and tentacles.
“Is that a fucking Agony Demon! How the fuck did we miss that!?”
Vijatà screams while being carried bridal style by Gabriel. Seeing this creature, she, alongside the Recon Team, understood why they all felt odd inside the massive cave. They were walking through an Agony Demon’s nest!
“The tree! The Tree’s Essences was masking it from our HUD and scanners!”
Bla`ol screams, his voice amplified by Mecha’s outer speakers.
“We’ll deal with that later. Light the fucker up!
Valè screamed. Every member of the Recon Team heard her orders. The sounds of their regular rifles coming to life are heard, and what follows soon after are the sounds of rounds going at Mach 15 echoing inside the cave. The Recon Team had begun fighting the monstrous worm.
The rounds pierce the horrendous creature's flesh, making it scream in pain. The beast retaliated using its massive tentacles. The Recon Team members dodge the incoming attack with grace and great dexterity. Yesleta watched the battle that had just ensued and could not believe her eyes. An Agony Demon had escaped their detection and made it home inside the massive tree.
“That's not an Agony Demon! It's a native species of this planet!”
Gabriel's voice came through everyone's Comms. Hearing his outrageous outburst almost made those fighting the beast lose their footing.
“What do you mean it's not an Agony Demon!? Look at it! Sharp razor fangs! Countless tentacles and hideously ugly! That is most definitely An agony Demon!”
Vijatà, who Gabriel was carrying, screamed what everyone was thinking.
“Exactly that. I scanned it. Its genetic makeup matches the beings of this world.”
While Gabriel gave his explanation, he sent his findings to the Command Center. Those that read the information provided by him were surprised. The creature was indeed a native of this planet. Yesleta, with her ability to absorb more data, read the complete data package that Gabriel had sent. The creature was unique, to say the least, and it was a bizarre example of convergent evolution. She sighed. She knew later on that Momola`n would throw a fit over what she was about to order.
“Is it possible the cave is this creature's home, and when everyone entered, it felt threatened. But as it stands, we don’t have the luxury to make the creature flee. Recon Team, you have the green light. Eliminate the threat in front of you.”
Yesleta gave her order, making everyone move into action. Gabriel kicked off from the ceiling. Beams of superheated plasma shot out from his helmet—burning tentacles aimed at the Recon Team. The massive beast roared. It turned its attention to the one that attacked it and spat a foul-colored liquid. Gabriel easily dodged the foul liquid thrown in his direction. The simple-minded creature, annoyed at the tiny being flying around it, began to pay complete attention to it. Which, it turns out, signed its doom. Yoremedia and her team members Ùzonal and Bla'ol fired their rifles and mounted arm cannons. Their rounds rip large meaty chunks off the beast. The beast roared, enraged by the pain it felt losing its flesh, but in its simple-mindedness, it only saw the flying being about its head attacking it.
“Hot bone!”
Bla`ol screams through his Mecha helmet while throwing an aerodynamic cylinder he created with his Gift at Yoremedia. Catching the cylinder, Yoremedia began injecting her Gift into it. The power of Divine light fills the cylinder, and soon it begins to glow.
“Frag out!”
Yoremedia yells out, throwing the cylinder out at incredible speeds. The cylinder flew, cutting a path straight to the creature. The creature's tentacles began trashing around more violently due to Gabriel burning its mouth. A tentacle was about to smash the cylinder into pieces when countless shadows rose from the ground slicing the tentacle into ribbons.
“That was close!”
Ùzonal, the other male member of Yoremedia’s team, screams out with his paw stretched out. Moving his paws in a circular motion, the shadows match it creating a rotational dome around the cylinder. The now shadow missile cut its way deep into the creature, making it release a horrendous scream. Cracks began to form around the shadows covering the cylinder. Soon light began to radiate from it, and then a blinding explosion happened, releasing billions of nanites into the creature. The nanites flew everywhere, attaching themselves to whatever they came into contact with. Soon the power that Yoremedia injected into them reached a boiling point creating countless explosions. Where once used to be flesh was replaced by smoky white bones. A shriek of despair rang inside the cave, almost deafening the Recon Team. The hideous creature thrashed violently, aggravating its wounds and releasing a vile-colored liquid that began to eat away at the floor. Not knowing what the liquid would do, Yoremedia and her team jumped back and continued to fire their rifles and arm cannons.
Valè and her litter sister V`yx ran around firing their rifles while dodging the spit, tentacles, and falling debris the creature was throwing around. As she ran, a glowing light covered V`yx. Thanks to the covering fire her older litter sister Valè provided, V`yx gathered her Essence into her Gift. Extending her paw, she fired a glowing missile of light. The missile crashed into one of the many tentacles, spreading its light throughout the massive beast. The light ran like wildfire on the beast covering it completely, and soon, the gigantic worm began to lose strength. Its violent trashing slowly dies down. V`yx smiled. Her Gift had weakened the disgusting creature, but not completely. It still had some fight left. It smashed two of its tentacles into the ceiling sending large chunks of bark into the floor below. Both Valè and V`yx dodge the incoming debris. They weave with trained perfection, the tentacles, falling debris, and the odd-looking liquid; they dodge it all. But avoiding a chunk of bark the size of a Transport, Valè found herself alone with her back against the cave wall. Tentacles race toward her with the intent to end her. Power rose inside Valè. Her Essence reached its peak and was released with great force. The force tore the tentacles apart and any debris near her. Around her, a blue shield was created, blocking anything that wished to harm her.
“Vijatà, get down here now while I have my Gift up! We need to put this thing down now!”
Valè screamed into her Comms, carrying her voice to her other litter sister. Vijatà was having the time of her life. The Champion had licked her fingers and paw clean off, which almost made her come, and now she was being carried by him while flying around. It felt off being at the mercy of the Champion, but she wouldn’t lie. It was thrilling to no end. What's more, in the position she found herself in, her paws could grab onto the undersuit of the Champion. The suit had a similar texture to her armor, making it easy to feel what was underneath.
“Vijatà, get down here now while I have my Gift up! We need to put this thing down now!”
Valè annoyed, and pissed-off voice rang next to her ears, destroying Vijatà's joyful and wonderful moment. Vijatà sighed. It was time to get back at what she was good at, and that was killing ugly Demon fuckers. Hopefully, once she was done and the Devine Goddesses allowed it, the Champion would return to cleaning her again. With her goal in mind, Vijatà taps the Champion’s shoulder. The Champion stops firing plasma beams from his helmet and turns his attention to Vijatà.
“I got to go. Thanks for the cleaning, Champion! Once this is done, can we continue where we left off? I still hav….”
“Vijatà! Get your fucking tail down here, Now!”
Valè’s voice booms into Vijatà’s Comms, making the young Tubinestian woman jump. Annoyed, Vijatà looked over her shoulder and saw the battle below. Her litter sister V`yx had weakened the creature with her Gift, but it wasn’t enough to bring it down. Turning to the Champion, she winks, which the Champion could see as her helmet wasn’t tinted yet. Running her fingers down the Champion’s helmet, Vijatà spoke.
“See you later, Champion.”
Pushing herself off the Champion, Vijatà fell to the battle below. With unparallel skill, Vijatà twisted her body, dodging the creature’s tentacles. A tentacle was getting dangerously close to her. Extending her arms, Vijatà pushed herself away from the beast and flipped in the air, catapulting her high above the creature’s head. As she flew over the creature's head, Vijatà grabbed her rifle and began to rain supersonic rounds down onto the beast. The rounds pierce the creature’s skull, destroying a section of its skull. The beast started flailing its tentacles violently over its head, forcing Vijatà to change her landing trajectory. Landing on the creature’s back, Vijatà almost lost her footing as the back of the creature was covered by some type of slippery substance. Bearly maintaining her balance, Vijatà was able to slide down the creature’s back and land next to her older litter sister.
“You took your damn sweet time! Link up with V`yx so we can bring this thing down now!”
Valè said through gritted teeth, as keeping her Gift up against the constant onslaught of attack from the creature’s tentacles was draining her Essence rapidly. Not missing a beat, Vijatà looked at her HUD, searching for her litter sister V`yx IFF. The HUD painted her nearby, running toward her Vijatà scream.
“To the Goddess of War, we pray!”
“Mighty Catteyutiria, we call forth your wrath!”
In the distance, V`yx voice booms.
“Bring down those that stand in our way!”
Vijatà continued to scream as she got closer to her litter sister.
“Shatter their will to fight with your ever-growing might!”
V`yx voice sounded closer to Vijatà now. V`yx and Vijatà were only a few feet away from each other. Putting their rifles away, they ran toward each other with their fists held high.
“Let the sound of your War drums ring! Catteyutiria’s Smite!”
Both Tubinestian women scream while their fists collide. A large amount of Essences was released by each clash. The ringing of their fists echoed across the massive cave, and the large amount of Essences covered the gigantic worm. The worm began to lose strength. Its tentacles which it once used to rend the cave ceiling and floor apart, were now strewed on the cave’s floor motionless.
“Bring it down! Before the debuff runs out!”
Valè screams to every member of the Recon Team. V`yx and Vijatà grabbed their rifles and fired at the massive worm. Valè, now with some breathing room, joins her younger litter sisters leaving the cave’s wall behind. Yoremedia and her team focused fired onto the gaping hole they created, tearing every organ exposed.
Gabriel had stopped firing his plasma beams when Vijatà and V`yx had used their Gifts in a combo or k'i'ik'el kechmekatl. He had read about it while studying **“**MagIc~.” It was an ability of those from the same family, alongside similar Gifts, could perform. Giving a prayer to the Goddess they had an affinity to, just like Vijatà and V`yx had prayed to Catteyutiria, would amplify their Gifts, creating a more potent reaction and boosting their Gifts. Seeing the k'i'ik'el kechmekatl was interesting yet bizarre, like everything that dealt with “mAgIc~” still, seeing it in person and reading it about were two different things. The application and deployment of these unique abilities would change the playing field of any battle, just like what was happening in front of him.
Everyone was fighting the ugly as-sin worm…or, to be more precise. They were curb-stomping it to death. Dodging a round, Gabriel took notice of something. The Recon Team was fighting the creature in front of them as if it was an Agony Demon which was bad. At the beginning of the fight, he had been cautious in using his abilities. As throwing balls of plasma or using the Spear of Terra replica would’ve destroyed the cave…something the Recon Team was doing by themselves already. Sure, they were cautious with their shots, but this creature wasn’t built like an Agony Demon. Rounds flew through the beast, tearing flesh and destroying whatever was on the other side. He needed to finish this fight before they brought the cave down.
“Everyone pull back!”
He screamed. The voice of the Champion came through everyone’s Comms. No one bothered to second-guess what they heard. Every member of the Recon Team jumped back with amazing speed. Helmets began to tint as an extremely bright light engulfed the cave. A massive ball of plasma sat above the Champion. With one swift motion, he throws it at the beast below. The ball of plasma flew toward the creature, who was still under the effect of V`yx and Vijatà's strange ability. The eyeless monstrosity could not see what was approaching it. It could only feel the scorching heat for less than a second before turning into ash. The massive ball of plasma flew past the gigantic worm, leaving nothing behind, not even ash. Seeing the beast turn to nothing, the Recon Team began to relax but still maintain vigilance.
“Recon Team report.”
The voice and image of Supreme Commander Yesleta came through. Vale turned her gaze to the corner of her helmet. There she saw her Supreme Commander, as always displaying power and dignity worthy of her position. Raising her tail for a salute, Valè spoke.
“Supreme Commander, the immediate threat has been neutralized. Team members V`yx and Vijatà have used a significant portion of their Essence, but nothing an Erol fruit can’t fix.”
Yesleta nodded her head. She had seen the battle play out thanks to the cameras on the Recon Team helmets. In less than two minutes, the massive creature had been brought down, and no one had suffered any significant damage. Satisfied with the result of the battle, she spoke.
“Regroup and continue with your current heading. We will continue to monitor you. Lastly, Champion Gab`riel, I hope another “event” doesn’t occur. Supreme Commander Yesleta out.”
Gabriel flinched at Yesleta's last parting words. He had been listening to the conversation in case of any new orders, yet all he got was a chewing. A chewing that would continue once he got back if what he was getting through their link was true, which always was…maybe if he took some maple syrup to Yesleta, the chewing wouldn’t be as ba…
“Hey, where is all this coming from? Champion Gab`riel, what did you call this thing? Matlè cirit?”
The voice of Vijatà derailed Gabriel’s train of thought. Turning his attention toward the young woman, he saw her eating Erol fruit that replenishes their Essences and an ankle-deep stream of blue glowing maple syrup running down the cave’s floor.
“I think it's matle cirit, and can you just sit and eat your Erol? We need to get our Essence back, or did you forget we have a battalion of unknowns approaching us.”
Gabriel turned his gaze to the one that had spoken. Sitting around a boulder-sized bark was Yoremedia, her Team members Ùzonal and Bla`ol, Valè, and the one he was sure had spoken V`yx. Everyone had taken their helmets off and were waiting for V`yx and Vijatà to finish their fruit. Seeing everyone taking a breather, Gabriel decided to continue to “examine” the maple syrup. After all, he needed to be 100% certain it was maple syrup. Flying toward a wall, Gabriel scanned it for anything that would affect the flavor. Finding nothing, he began to sample the maple syrup. His tastebuds when into euphoria all the sweet things Gabriel had tasted up to this point could not compare to this type of sweetness. A ping from his passive scan notifies Gabriel something is happening to the hole the worm came out from. Flying to the massive hole, he began to scan the interior of it and noticed the odd-looking liquid the worm had used was rapidly deteriorating. Landing on the edge of the hole, Gabriel detected several fault areas. Something he didn’t like, as the smallest amount of force would shatter the bark and flood this cave with a sea of maple syrup. Opening the Recon Team’s Comms, he spoke.
“Junior team leader Valè, we should begin to depart. I have finished scanning the hole where the creature appeared, and it shows significant damage done to it. The possibility of breaking and flooding this cave with maple syrup is high.”
Information pops up from Valè’s forearms' 3D display. The leader of the Recon Team reads the data and wrinkles her brow; she doesn’t like what she is reading.
“Ya’ll heard the Champion. Let’s move.”
Everyone nodded, and their helmets began to close around their head. Gabriel began to walk toward the group to get into position when his passive scan showed a familiar scan. The scans were the same as the ones when the tree was about to breathe…

I don't know if this is the right sub, but I'm looking to buy my first pair of desktop speakers and after watching countless reviews on YouTube I've narrowed down my options to the two mentioned speakers. I'll mostly use them for casual music listening/media consumption in general. But I don't know what will be better for me personally, I know the KRKs are technically studio monitors, but from what I've heard they are still reltively bass heavy, which I like. Also they are powered which makes things easier for me. The R-50Ms are more suited for what I intend to use them though, and also look better imo, but they are passive, so I would need to buy and extra amp and I honestly have no idea which ones are suitable. Does anyone have any recommendations for amps, preferably with Bluetooth and under 150€?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks!