#i don’t think I’ll be able to get the signatures properly transparent

[loz-the-noob]

squisters…….squignatures……….. ;-;

[dragonheart-swtor]

Of Blood and Ghosts

Summary: Zashiil asks her estranged sister to help Garen'ishta deal with Valkorion's presence in her mind, and after an argument Duserra agrees. An awkward conversation and a somewhat challenging Sith ritual ensue. Set fairly early on during KOTFE, though the exact point in time is left purposely vague because I can't be bothered to think about plot points. :P

Tags: No Archive warnings apply, self-harm but not really? purposeful self-injury but not for the purpose of self-harm use your own discretion on that one, Force rituals, Force-ghosts, the author goes a little ham describing the Force from different characters’ perspectives

Find me on AO3 at Dragonheart37!

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In meditation, stretching her senses out through the Force, Duserra felt her approaching from down the hall – a tangle of thorns, driving back any attempt to examine her thoughts with sharp rebuke. More so than usual, even. Worried about something, then.

Coming this way, and the echoes of Duserra's own desert-heat Force signature tinging the edges of those thorns said she wasn't going to be passing by.

Great.

Duserra withdrew her attention from the Force, back into her own body. She sat staring blankly at the candles set out in front of her until the door chimed.

No point putting it off, I suppose. She reached out without moving and tripped the opening mechanism. “What?”

“Hello to you, too,” Zashiil grumbled. Duserra brushed herself off and stood to face the Jedi, who was standing just inside her door with arms crossed already.

“Hello. I was meditating. What do you want?”

Zashiil's jaw clenched, irritated heat spiking off her in the Force, but she kept her voice even when she spoke. “I need to ask a favor of you.”

Duserra – Nox – arched her eyebrows. “Do you, now?”

“Can you let me get out more than a sentence without snarking at me?” Zashiil snapped. Nox almost actually fell for that before thinking better of it and closing her mouth again. “Thank you.” Zashiil sighed. “Look. Garen is struggling to deal with Valkorion. She doesn't want to admit it, because she doesn't think anyone can help her, but it's obvious that dealing with him is taking a toll on her.”

Nox shifted her weight onto one foot, considering Zashiil. Her arms were crossed, body language closed and irritated. Funny, for someone coming to ask for help. “What exactly do you think I can do about it?”

The look Zashiil shot her could have wilted a cactus flower on impact. “Don't give me that. I may not have all the details about how you became a darth, but I know you've worked with ghosts.”

“'Worked with' is generous,” Kalatosh muttered in the back of her head.

“You know more about them than practically anyone else,” Zashiil continued, oblivious to his commentary. “You can help her.”

Nox arched an eyebrow. “She won't want my help, Barsen'thor. Not if she's as good a Jedi as she acts like.”

“Have you met the woman?” Zashiil asked. “She'll take any help she can get. Duserra, you're -”

“That's not my name,” Nox snapped, interrupting her.

Zashiil recoiled, then scoffed. “What, I'm not even allowed to call you by your real name anymore?”

“My name is Nox,” she growled. “I earned that name, Barsen'thor.”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Zashiil ground out. “You know my name. I know yours. Why pretend otherwise?”

Because every time you call me my other name, it hurts, and I can't let people see that kind of weakness. Aloud, she only said, “We're not friends, Jedi.”

Zashiil openly snarled this time, baring sharp teeth in frustration. “You're impossible.”

Nox turned away from her dismissively, waving a hand as carelessly as she could manage. “If you're done talking, then you can leave. I didn't ask to be disrespected in my own quarters.”

There was a moment of smoldering silence, then. “Dus -” Zashiil started, then cut herself off and sighed. “...Nox.”

And the name was laid between them like a peace offering. (Ironic, considering how it was earned.)

Nox turned her head slightly – not enough to face Zashiil, not yet, just enough to make it clear she was listening. The Force had cooled somewhat between them in that moment, as if Zashiil were forcing herself to be calm – or admitting defeat. Curious.

“I know – you have no love for me,” Zashiil said, and two – seven – years ago, when she first became a Sith, Duserra might not have been able to stop the instinctive flinch like Nox did. “So let me rephrase this. If Garen loses this fight with Valkorion – and there will be a fight – it becomes very likely that we're all going to die. Including you. So if you won't do it for my sake, or for Garen's, or for the kriffin' galaxy's – maybe you'll do it for your own.” Her voice dropped to growl half to herself as she turned back toward the door, “Seems to be the only thing you care about these days anyway.”

Nox turned to watch the door slide shut behind the Barsen'thor as she left. Silence filled the room, though Duserra felt the cold presence of a ghost long before Lord Kallig spoke.

“Flesh of my flesh.”

She sighed bitterly and turned away, waving him off. “I don't want to talk about it, Gramps.”

“You should heed your sister.”

Duserra bared her teeth at him. “She's not my sister anymore.”

“She is also flesh of my flesh,” he reminded her, unmoved by her posturing. “Blood of your blood. Blood is not meaningless. Your sister has not forgotten that.”

“How do you figure?” Duserra snapped. “She didn't seem to care that much about blood when she refused to leave the Jedi for me. And it's not exactly like she's been reaching out even since we've been here.”

“Perhaps not,” Kallig murmured, staring her down from behind his inscrutable mask. “But when she needs help, she comes to you.”

Duserra scoffed. “She came to me because she needs something from me. Something only I can give. No one else knows about ghosts. She couldn't have asked anyone else.”

“But she could have asked someone else to talk to you for her,” he pointed out. Duserra hesitated. “Do you know why she came to you herself?”

“Why do I get the feeling you're going to tell me?”

“She came to you herself because she didn't want anyone else to know she needed help,” he said, ignoring her sarcasm. “She trusted you, and only you, with that knowledge. Your sister struggles to be vulnerable almost as much as you do. But she let you see her asking for help. You should not take that lightly, granddaughter.”

Duserra crossed her arms, hating that she couldn't come up with an adequate rebuff to that. Instead she took a beat to refocus herself, pausing to find the strings that bound her and the ghosts together and pull until they came more into focus. “What does the peanut gallery think?”

Figures shimmered into view before her, around Kallig's more solid form, watery and transparent but still present. Kalatosh folded his arms in much the same way she had, immediately making her regret the choice of gesture. “The Jedi had a point. If Valkorion rises again, you and much of the rest of the galaxy will die. That serves no one, not even us.”

“We would be freed,” Mar-Da pointed out. “No longer bound to this young Sith.”

“Freed to be bound to a tomb in solitude and silence for eternity,” Hordak-Mul mused. “No. Kalatosh is right.”

Andru narrowed his eyes. “The rituals our little snake has learned are dark-sided in nature. The Jedi may not even be able to use them properly, much less willing.”

“So we turn her to the dark side,” Kalatosh said, looking Duserra dead in the eyes again. “She's done it before. She can do it again.”

“Still sore about that, aren't you?” Duserra muttered. “I kept Ashara alive, didn't I?”

“And where is she now?”

“Irrelevant,” Ergast interrupted. “If you wish to teach Garen'ishta how to control Valkorion, you will have help from at least some of us.”

“Good to know.” Duserra sighed, glancing sidelong at Kallig. “Aside from criticizing how I handle my relationship with the Barsen'thor, what do you think of all this?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “It won't do any harm. I don't know how successful it will be, but you've come this far without knowing that.”

“I suppose that's true.” She sighed again, waving a hand in the air. “Fine, fine. I'll send Garen a message and see if she'll meet with us. Gramps, can I expect you to be around?”

“I'll be watching. But I would prefer to remain uninvolved for the time being. Valkorion may yet be unaware of my presence; he knows you have ghosts bound to you, but their presence may mask mine. I would prefer to keep him ignorant for now.”

“I can get behind that; keeping the spooky ex-Emperor ignorant sounds good to me.”

Garen was sprawled across her bed reading when a message notification interrupted her. She sighed and tabbed over to the message, then sat up to reread it.

Master Garen'ishta

Meet me on the hilltop above the base at 1500. I want to discuss something with you.

Nox

Nox? Garen frowned, rereading the two short sentences as if there might be something more to glean from them. “What does she want?” she murmured aloud to herself, tapping nervous fingers against her thigh. Darth Nox had been... coolly indifferent to Garen for the most part. She seemed to prefer not interacting with people whenever possible, and vacillated between stony silence and blunt comments during meetings. Not to mention the way she loomed over almost everyone else. (Garen still wasn't sure how the Commander, who was even shorter than she and Force-blind to boot, managed to stand up to Darth Nox without even flinching.)

And now she wanted to talk about... something. Not an anxiety-inducing message at all.

Garen glanced at the chrono. Only about half an hour until 1500, so not much time to think about it, which was probably for the better.

Garen crested the hill and found Nox sitting cross-legged with her back turned to the path, looking out over the landscape below – or, not, probably, since she looked like she was meditating. Garen paused a short distance behind her, trying to ignore the way the shadowy Force swirling around the former Dark Councilor gave her chills. “You, uh – you wanted to talk with me?” she asked hesitantly.

The Force stilled around Nox again, settling into a more natural rhythm, and she gestured for Garen to come around in front of her. Garen stepped carefully around the ring of candles on plates Nox had set up and settled cross-legged across from the Zabrak, mirroring her posture. Nox regarded her with those eerie golden eyes for a long moment before speaking. “The Barsen'thor asked me to speak with you about your situation with Valkorion.”

Garen's lekku twisted together behind her uncomfortably. “Oh.”

“Do you know anything about Force-ghosts?”

She bit the inside of her cheek lightly. “A little. My master, Orgus Din, came back as a Force-ghost to speak with me after he died.”

Nox tilted her head slightly. “A Jedi Force-ghost? Interesting. I didn't know Jedi could become ghosts.” She paused for a moment, flexing her thumbs where her hands were folded in her lap. “I don't know how much you know about me, but I have experience with ghosts where very few others do. The Barsen'thor thinks I can help you with Valkorion.”

Garen felt him stir at that, coming further to the forefront of her mind. “The Barsen'thor overestimates her understanding of our... 'situation,'” he murmured.

Garen ignored him and instead said carefully, “You... say that like you don't agree.”

Nox hmmed under her breath. “Frankly, Master Jedi, I don't know. Valkorion bound himself to you. I was the one who bound my ghosts. I can try to teach you some of the things I've learned. Not all of them will work, no doubt.” She examined Garen, and Garen instinctively tightened her mental shields, getting the sense that Nox was looking at the Force as well as her face. “But that really depends on whether you're willing to learn.”

Garen hesitated. “Why wouldn't I be?” she asked slowly. “I don't exactly like having him stuck in my head. If you can help -”

“I didn't say I could get rid of him, first of all,” Nox interrupted. “If I knew how to do that, believe me, I wouldn't be giving you the option of saying no.” Worrying. “But I might be able to help you control him at least a little. Show you how better to manage sharing a headspace with a ghost. If.” She raised a finger. “If you're willing to learn from a Sith.”

Garen couldn't help but glance over at where Valkorion was projecting himself, standing off to her right. Nox's eyes followed the look, but returned to Garen's face when she evidently realized what Garen was looking at. “What a fascinating choice,” Valkorion mused. “Allow your most hated enemy to continue existing in your mind, or allow yourself to be 'tainted' by the dark side's teachings.”

Garen forced her lekku to stay down instead of arching back and betraying her irritation. She looked back at Nox, uncertainty settling into determination. “Whatever you can teach me, I'm willing to at least give it a try.”

Nox blinked at that, looking genuinely surprised. She recovered quickly, reaching into her robes – she'd abandoned her armor for the time being, it seemed – and retrieving a small, curved knife. “Very well. Then we might as well start now.”

Garen's pulse undeniably jumped at the sight of the blade, though she tried to suppress that. “Wh- what's the knife for?” she stammered.

Nox arched an eyebrow, golden eyes shining. She sighed and set the blade down on her knee. “I was going to explain, you know.”

“Um – sorry.”

“Ghosts are fickle things,” Nox explained, folding her hands in her lap again. “In their natural state, they can appear to anyone, at least in theory. It's easier for Force-sensitives to see them, and easiest of all for blood relations. But their range is limited unless they're appearing in dreams. Most ghosts are bound to the place they died or the place they were buried. Valkorion, and my ghosts, are bound to people instead. That means they can't normally appear to anyone but the person they're bound to – their life force is tied to our own.” She picked up the knife again to show it to Garen – a small, highly polished metal blade with a wicked curve to it. “The first thing is to be able to make them visible to other living people. It will make teaching you easier, for one thing; for another, sometimes it's nice to have them be involved in a conversation without having to relay everything they say yourself.” She paused. “On the other hand, sometimes it's a pain in the ass. So use it wisely, I guess.”

Garen nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense. And the knife?”

“They're tied to our life force,” Nox repeated. “The easiest way to let the ghosts touch the physical world again temporarily is to let a little of your life force do the same.” She smiled dryly. “In other words, cut yourself and let a little blood fall.”

Garen resisted the urge to pull a lek over her shoulder to fidget with, though she couldn't stop them from twisting together nervously behind her. “Oh,” she said in a small voice. “I... I've never done a ritual quite like this.”

Nox narrowed her eyes. “I did ask if you would be willing to learn from a Sith. We don't do anything in half measures, that's probably the first thing you should know.”

“No! I'm willing. Sorry. It's just – new to me, that's all.”

Nox examined her for a moment, then nodded, seemingly satisfied. “All right. In that case.” She closed her eyes and drew the blade across the belly of her forearm, bringing it away red. “Make the cut. Don't cut too deep or too long, you only need a little blood.” She flicked the blade down toward the ground, spattering dark red droplets onto the grass, then clenched and unclenched her fist until blood trickled from the cut on her forearm and dripped onto the ground as well. If the pain affected her, she didn't show it – or maybe she'd just done this often enough not to care anymore. “Reach for the bonds that tie you to the ghost as you let the blood fall. Pull them forward with it; let the bond follow your veins down your arm and out into the world.”

Garen felt the pull now – a tidal tug deep in her gut, the Force whispering in her earcones, agitated and restless as Nox bent it to her will.

Nox opened her eyes again, blazing gold. Blue light seeped from the cut on her forearm, a sharp contrast to red blood and red skin, falling slowly toward the ground before curling back around behind the Sith.

And all at once, they were not alone.

In a flash of blue light, an entire row of figures took form behind Nox – three, four, five humanoid shapes in transparent blue, somehow colder and harsher than the blue Master Orgus's spirit had taken on. They stood in a row behind Nox, eyes fixed on Garen just as Nox's were, utterly still for a moment.

Then, as if breaking a spell over all of them, Nox slumped forward slightly and reached into her robes again, withdrawing a roll of bandages this time. She offered Garen the knife handle-first, shaking it at her insistently when she didn't immediately take it. “Take it so I can bandage my arm up already, I'm bleeding out here.”

Garen took it, fumbling and numb, unable to stop staring at the ghosts now visible standing behind Nox. “I – I didn't realize – when you said ghosts, I didn't realize there were so many.”

Nox snorted, still wrapping bandage material around her arm. “Yeah. Master Jedi, meet the peanut gallery.” She gestured at each ghost in turn. “Kalatosh Zavros, Horak-mul, Ergast, Darth Andru, and Mar-Da. They know who you are already.”

“Jedi Master Garen'ishta,” the Togruta on the far left – Zavros – mused, crossing his arms over his lekku. “The Hero of Tython.”

“Host to the Sith Emperor,” the hooded man – Andru? She was already forgetting which was which, blast it – added. “I'm surprised you agreed to this, little Twi'lek. Sith blood rituals already? How far the Jedi have fallen, that our little snake can turn you so easily.”

Garen undeniably bristled at being called little Twi'lek, and at his accusation. “I'm not turning to the dark side,” she said firmly.

Nox snorted again at her indignance. “Don't get all worked up. He makes a habit of insulting everyone we meet, it's not personal.”

“No, I think he has a point,” the Sith pureblood – Horvak? Horak? Damn – mused, stroking one of the tendrils hanging on either side of his mouth thoughtfully. “In my day a Jedi would have taken a lot more convincing than that.”

“Your day was almost two thousand years ago,” Nox drawled. “Hush up, anyway, we've got more work to do.” She gestured at the knife Garen was still holding. “Your turn. May want to have a quick chat with Valky first, make sure he's going to cooperate.” She shrugged. “You can force it, or at least I can, but it's easier if they come out to play willingly.”

Garen gnawed her lip. “I – right. Yeah. That makes sense.” She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to focus.

His presence was always there to some degree, echoing cold and heavy in the back of her skull. Usually she tried to ignore it; intentionally focusing on him made him... uncomfortably present, tugging at her like a windstorm on all sides. For once she tried to push a thought at him, instead of letting it happen naturally or trying to hide it. Valkorion?

Silence, but – attentive silence. He was listening, he just wasn't talking. (Of course. The one time she wanted him to talk, he stayed silent.) Valkorion, I know you're listening, she thought again, pushing the words at him harder. Can you – come out? Let Nox see you?

“This is a pointless exercise,” he said at last. “Nox overestimates her power and understanding both. What I have done, what I am, is beyond her ken.”

So the ritual won't work?

A pause. “I did not say that.”

So?

“You are persistent, Jedi, for someone who complains about me inserting myself into her conversations.”

You're deflecting, she challenged. What are you afraid of?

From the ripple of anger that passed through her consciousness, Garen half expected Valkorion to growl. “I am not afraid of anything, Jedi.”

Then what do you have to lose?

Another pause, then a soft chuckle, echoing through her mind and making her skin crawl despite herself. “Very well, Jedi. You win this time. Perform your silly Sith ritual.”

Nox was watching her, one eyebrow raised slightly. Garen swallowed and nodded. “Okay. He's – yeah. He'll talk.”

“Good. Nice to have someone cooperative along for a change,” Nox grumbled. The Sith pureblood ghost muttered something in a language Garen didn't know – Sith, probably – but Nox ignored him. “Make the cut. Reach for the bonds. Pull them down your arm and out into the world with the blood.”

“Right,” Garen murmured. “Not weird at all.” She hesitated as she raised the knife, still stained with Nox's blood. “Um – do you have a clean rag, or something?”

Nox looked at her like she was an idiot. With a curl of her fingers, the remaining blood separated itself from the steel in an arc of crimson and fell to the grass after hovering for a moment, leaving the blade shining clean again. Garen blinked. “Oh. Okay.” Probably not the time to bring up Inappropriate Use Of The Force. She swallowed hard, then laid the edge of the blade against her skin, squeezed her eyes shut, and made the cut.

Undeniably her concentration was immediately damaged by the pain, but she forced herself to ignore it. Reach for the bond.

Again, not something she usually did intentionally. Valkorion was cold and carried so much power with him that at first she wasn't sure how to get a grasp on him. Her thoughts slid off of his like fingers scrabbling at a stone slick with ice, far too large to wrap around and lift just like that. She grimaced and dove deeper, letting her awareness of the physical fade somewhat in favor of focusing on the flow of the Force through her own thoughts and his.

So she couldn't just  latch onto him and pull. But she was letting him determine the shape of himself in the Force – those things were subjective, perhaps if she changed the shape of things?

Not a boulder, then. Something else.

Unfortunately, the next most natural shape for his presence to take in her mind was that of a beast – a coiling mass of leathery black, flanks towering upward and claws rasping against her thoughts as his deep chuckle echoed through the space they shared -

Nope, that's not better. She withdrew again, shivering away the feeling and considering him from something more of a distance – at least, as much of a distance as she could manage, given the circumstances. He didn't make any effort to close with her again, merely watching her battle against the problem, amusement curling around him in glittering wisps.

Dimly, she was aware of warmth trickling slowly down her forearm, but the pain was dulled by her focus on the Force, at least. So I can't grab onto him directly. So... what now. She turned over what Nox had said in her mind. Reach for the bond. The bond.

If she couldn't grab him directly...

She reached out again – not for Valkorion, this time, but for the space between them, the weight she couldn't break however hard she tried, tying them together.

That weight swirled, formless for a moment, then settled into a shape in her mind's eye. Chains of shadow, cold and heavy with Valkorion's power, extending from him to her –

Shackled around her wrists, binding her just as well as they bound him.

Garen took a deep breath to settle herself. Very well, then. She'd known she was just as trapped as Valkorion already. She intended to make it as difficult as possible for him to use that against her.

So she twisted her wrists, wrapping the chains twice around her hands and gripping them as firmly as she could manage, and pulled.

He was still heavy – impossibly heavy, the weight of a starship somehow held within her skull – but she'd lifted heavy things before. Now that she had a place to start, heavy was something she could manage.

Distantly, she heard Nox's voice, murmuring approval. “That's it.”

Valkorion's voice overpowered the younger Sith's, a surprised laugh. “Interesting. Very interesting, young Jedi.”

Garen ignored them both and did something she was good at – put her head down, dug her heels in, and worked. She dragged Valkorion closer inch by inch, looping the chains around her arms now and then to take up the slack. She hesitated then, unsure of how to move forward.

“Down your arm,” Nox murmured. “The blood.”

Right. She had to let go of the metaphor for that, the visualization, and she almost lost her grip on Valkorion's bonds with it – clung to them through sheer determination. Now the chains, the beast, the boulder, the mindscape were all gone, leaving just a point of cold weight in the base of her skull, one she could push down her neck and shoulder and arm with agonizing slowness. Pain throbbed in her forearm as her awareness of her body returned, another thing she had to ignore and push through. At least that she had experience with.

Garen opened her eyes in time to see blue light seep from the cut, casting her green skin with an eerie pallor as it drifted slowly toward the ground.

And then there was a flash of light, and she felt Valkorion anchor himself in the physical behind her. Only Nox's eyes flickering above and behind Garen to where he no doubt stood told her it wasn't the same kind of projection he always did. Garen slumped forward slightly, unable to help herself, breathing harder than she should have been considering. Nox offered her the roll of bandages, though her eyes didn't leave Valkorion. “Dark Lord,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Nice to see you've joined the party.”

“That is a title I left behind long ago, Darth Nox,” Valkorion said, smooth and unaffected as usual. Garen swallowed, mouth dry suddenly, and set herself to wrapping her arm. “But it doesn't surprise me you still cling to it.”

Nox's lower lip curled, baring pronounced lower canines, and she turned back to Garen without another word. “Not bad for a first try, Master Jedi. How do you feel?”

“Like I got clipped by a speeder,” she replied, before she could think better of it.

Nox snorted. “Yeah, I kind of felt the same way the first time I tried it.”

“She almost passed out from the strain,” the Togruta ghost said helpfully.

“And failed to draw us out anyway,” the hooded Human – Darth Andru; his name had stuck with her for some reason – added.

Nox's face flushed. “What did I say about you being able to talk to other people being a pain in the ass?” she muttered, crossing her arms. “I had three ghosts to draw out. She has one.”

“One far more powerful than any of us,” the Voss ghost observed.

Garen felt Valkorion's amusement at Nox's defensive embarrassment – strangely muffled, now, like a voice heard from underwater – and bit the inside of her cheek as she handed back the roll of bandages. “Thank you for showing me,” she said, putting as much sincerity as she could into her voice. Nox's brows drew together, just for a split second, before she took back the roll. “I don't think I ever would have figured it out on my own.”

Nox cleared her throat. “Right. Well. Don't look too far into it. I just want a little security he's not going to kick you out of your own body, that's all.”

Several of the ghosts behind her looked amused at that, but none of them spoke. Garen forced a laugh, trying to make it not sound forced. “Yeah, I – I could live with that too.” She pulled a lek over her shoulder to fidget with it. “Well... what now?”

“The ritual won't last long,” Nox said, shaking off the momentary uncertainty. “Ten minutes, fifteen tops, without further ritual stacked on top to maintain it. Which we're not going to do today.”

Valkorion arched an eyebrow. “Not keen on keeping this conversation up for long?”

Nox bared her teeth again. “The last time I saw you, you had me in shock cuffs. You'll forgive me for not being particularly fond of you.”

He tsked softly at her. “Now, is that any way to speak to your Emperor?”

Nox's claws dug into her thigh. The Togruta ghost murmured something too quiet for Garen to catch, and Nox gritted her teeth. “I do not bend the knee to you,” she growled, “and you should count yourself lucky that it's her you're bound to and not me.” Her golden eyes fell to Garen again. “In any case. In theory, it's possible to build further off this ritual. Making it last longer is just a matter of feeding a continual stream of energy into it. Even with this way of making a bound ghost visible to others, the same rules apply as with an unbound ghost – it's easier for Force-sensitives to see ghosts than Force-blind people, and easiest for blood relatives. He's a little shaky for me, but it's your first time doing this. With a little practice, you'll be able to make him visible to just about anyone. I imagine the Commander would appreciate not having to rely on a go-between once in a while, for one.”

Garen nodded. “And within the... mindscape, or whatever it's called?”

“Mindscape, headspace, inner world.” Nox shrugged. “If this worked, that's a pretty good sign I can show you how to manipulate that a little more intentionally. From there you can hopefully get some control over him – at least be able to hide your thoughts from him better and quit hearing him for a while when you don't want to.”

Garen looked down, still playing with the end of her lek to keep her hands busy. “That... sounds nice, honestly.”

Valkorion hummed thoughtfully. “Do you not worry I might be able to use the same techniques against you, Jedi?”

Hadn't thought of that. Garen looked up at Nox for confirmation. Nox tilted her head, then shook it. “Somehow I don't think so. I think if you could do that, Valky -” he frowned at the nickname - “you wouldn't need me to teach you.”

“And you wouldn't have brought it up if you actually thought you could,” Garen realized, folding her arms. “You just want to scare me off.”

He arched an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “You talk of binding and silencing me, and try to take the moral high ground,” he mused. “Interesting.”

“Don't fuckin' give me that,” Nox snapped. “You ate an entire damn world. You've solidly surrendered the moral high ground.”

The Voss ghost tapped his fingers together in front of him, thinking. “He seeks to unbalance you, outsider,” he said, eyes fixed on Garen. “You would be wise not to let him.”

“For once, Mar-Da has a point,” the Sith pureblood muttered. “Our Emperor is old and canny. Keep your wits about you, Jedi, whatever path you take.”

Valkorion huffed a half-laugh, folding his hands behind his back. “Very well. Since you seem determined to take this path no matter what I say.”

Garen shivered as a wave of cold swept over her – and Nox startled, eyes scanning the area for a moment. “...Good to know he can do that,” she muttered.

Garen glanced behind her – Valkorion's apparition was gone. “Can your...” She gestured to the figures still standing around Nox. “Can you all not?”

Nox shook her head. “No. They can't end the ritual early. But it may just be a power thing.” She shrugged and stood. “Who knows?”

Garen stood as well, and found her legs a little shaky. She reached out to touch Nox's elbow as the Sith turned away, withdrew at how quickly Nox wheeled to face her again. “Um – sorry. I just – thank you. Again. For offering to teach me. I appreciate it.”

Nox frowned at her for a moment, then nodded, somewhat jerkily. “...Yes. You're. Welcome. It's nothing.” She paused. “Are you free this time tomorrow?”

Garen nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Tomorrow it is, then.”

And she turned away again and was gone just like that, without a goodbye, ghosts trailing after her to chatter as soon as they were out of earshot. Garen ran a hand over one lek, not sure what to make of all this. Valkorion at least seemed satisfied to let her mull over the strange Sith's reticence and her bizarre inability to react to a simple thanks in peace. She shook off the thoughts after a moment and sighed, settling down to meditate for a bit herself. It would be good for her to clear her head, after all that.

[emeraldwaves]

Title: With Blue Flames and Ice we Freeze For @villainmonth Day 5 - Hope Pairing:  DabiGeten Rating: T Word Count: 3,834 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

Living in Hell isn’t Dabi’s first choice, but after getting kicked out of Heaven, he’s stuck. It’s a pain in his ass, especially when his father forces him to undergo the Trials of Hell in order to prepare him to be the next King of Hell. Dabi isn’t particularly interested in facing the various ‘Sins’, but this is his ‘fate’. With Geten to guide him, Dabi suffers as they descend together into the depths of Hell.

Thank you to @amaisenshi and @ohmytheon for reading this over <3

Dabi watches Geten walk in front of him. She's quiet as they continue their descent into the lower caverns of hell. Occasionally she glances behind her, a quick peek to see if he's still following her.

She's been so damn pissy since they left Hawks. Apparently because the idiot didn't complete the trial properly. Dabi had heard her mumbling about how he didn't try and how love is stupid and the lustful idiot should make himself more useful.

Their eyes catch from time to time and she's quick to turn around. She would be pretty, if it weren't for the words that came out of her mouth.

Not that Dabi cares about that at all.

Admittedly, he doesn't care about any of this. He keeps reminding himself the ends justify the means; all this effort to destroy everything his father has worked to build... but it's also such a pain.

He lets out a long sigh and Geten glances back at him once more, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "What was that about?" she asks.

"What? I sighed? Is that against the rules? Does this mean I lost?"

"Don't sound so excited. You didn't lose," she says. "Even if you did, maybe I would keep leading you to the next door, just to see you struggle a little bit."

She pauses, rolling her eyes as if she's remembered the whole ordeal all over again. "Especially since the appointed sins aren't doing their job."

This woman.

"Are you going to tell me how Hawks fucked up or no?"

She turns towards him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? So now you're digging for information? Mr. 'I don't care about this'. She wiggles her fingers, doing air quotes as she talks.

"I don't care."

"Then why did you ask?" She smirks, a devilish look. He can almost imagine the horns curling away from her head, her eyes turning the signature demon black.

"Because you won't stop grumbling about it."

"I don't actually care," she says, shrugging her shoulders. She folds her hands behind her head, continuing to walk forward.

"Then why are you getting pissy?"

"Because," she sighs. "I was really looking forward to watching something juicy."

This woman.

If he cared more, maybe he would've asked where she was from, or how she got this position. Or why she has ice powers in hell. Kind of seems like a waste.

But he doesn't care about this sadistic woman who wants to watch him potentially destroy himself in a fight.

Clicking his tongue, Dabi moves past her, ignoring the roll of her eyes. "Do I even need a guide?" There's only one way to go," he says, gesturing to the long pathway as it curves down so low he can't even see where it goes.

A path of ice curves in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. She skates around, her white hair floating behind her when she stops in front of him. "I already told you, I'm a judge. So yes, you do need me." She shoots a hand into the sky, ice trailing up around the second door. The design is slightly different from the first and Dabi watches as the ice flows around the corner, covering the door completely. "Plus, you wouldn't be able to open these doors without me," she smirks, pushing the large door open.

Rolling his eyes, Dabi wonders what would happen if he didn't follow her. He knows he can't find out; unless he wants to go back up and deal with his father, the only way to go is forward.

The room is another large cavern, but unlike Hawks' room, this one is entirely empty, save for the man standing in the middle of the room. He's facing the floor, His head buried in his hand. He's shaking his head back and forth and it looks like he's muttering to himself.

"Who the hell is this?" Dabi starts to ask.

The man's head shoots up, his eyes looking panicked, desperate, as if he's in need of something. "Like I would tell you," he snaps, his demeanor changing completely. His voice is gruff and full of anger, the aura of seething rage emanating off of his body.

"No! I can tell you!" he cries out immediately after. His voice is so sad now, lighter and higher pitched, like he’s a completely different person inhabiting the same body.

Dabi tilts his head, looking back at Geten. "What the hell is wrong with this guy?"

She flicks her hand, and swirls it around in one spot, ice forming quickly. She raises her hand up, creating a small throne for her to sit on and she immediately takes a seat. "I dunno. Hell didn't tell me who it was picking for the sins this time."

"Does Hell normally tell you?"

"No," she says. "So figure it out."

The man groans, stumbling towards him.

"I won't tell you my name," he snaps, but then quickly shakes his head. "My name is Bubaigawara Jin."

Dabi has certainly never heard that name before. The man stops moving, still clutching his head as he stands in the middle. Dabi glances towards Geten, as if she's going to help. He knows she won't, but he's starting to understand why Hawks was an idiot. Since he let Dabi go through so easily, he has no frame of reference on what to do. Is he supposed to fight this loon?

"Heh," he says, "What's with the back and forth?" Dabi asks, a hint of snark in his voice.

"I'm not crazy," the man says, but he quickly shakes his head again, the light voice trembling nervously. "I am crazy!" He yells this time, the gruff, harsh tone returning.

Dabi tilts his head. With Hawks, it was obvious to him which sin he took the form of... but with this man, he couldn't even begin to understand what he was saying. "Which is it?" Dabi mutters under his breath.

Taking a step forward, Dabi wonders momentarily if he's supposed to fight this man, but the blond immediately scurries back.

"Stay back!" he yells. "Come closer!" He’s gruff again, his eyes shimmering with anger.

He turns towards Geten, who smirks, a soft laugh slipping from her lips. "Don't look at me, I don't have any answers for you."

During Hawks' trial, he showed Dabi part of his past and he wonders if this guy is supposed to do the same. Of course Dabi's not sure if this guy even knows what the fuck he's meant to be doing.

"Look man, I don't wanna fight or anything. So just... show me your memories and we can call it a day and I'll leave you alone."

He freezes again, his arms trembling as he slowly glances up to Dabi. His hands shake as he grips at his forehead. "Who's memories?! Mine? No. You can't. Yes. You can. No-..." He shakes his head back and forth again so quickly, his head tilting back as he lets out a loud scream. Clones of the man appear in front of Dabi, all of them identical to the original, who is impossible to find now that he's surrounded by himself.

"Unexpected!" Geten gasps, bouncing her legs up and down, draping them over the arm of the throne. "Have fun," she hums.

He rolls his eyes. This whole trial seems like a huge damn pain.

But there's only way to get out of it.

He rolls his shoulders back and takes a moment to think. During Hawks' trial, the idiot had grabbed his forehead, transferring the moments to Dabi's head he wanted him to see, but perhaps that was part of why it was too easy... In this case, Dabi is going to have to be the one to get the memories, since Bubaigawara doesn't seem to want to give them up.

Or he does?

It's unclear really.

Dabi rolls his eyes. "Alright," he snorts, holding his palm up, the fiery blue flames lick around his fingers, igniting immediately. "Let's find the real you."

"You never will," one of them says.

"Or you will! Good luck!"

Dabi clicks his tongue, deciding interacting with this idiot is going to get him absolutely nowhere. He'll cut them down until he finds the real one.

Flames slice through the clones, and they disappear as soon as his fingers cut through the transparent bodies. At least they're not real, that would be a real pain.

Bubaigawara laughs; the sound surrounds him, shooting through the cavern as more clones appear. It's not a normal laugh, it echoes with madness, a level of insanity Dabi has never felt, despite how crazy being trapped in Hell makes him feel.

There has to be something, Dabi decides, that sets the real one apart from the clones. He flicks his tail back and forth, and glances behind him. The clones have surrounded him now, so much so, he can't even see Geten and the ice throne she made herself.

"Fuck," he hisses, wondering if he could break through them. If his flames could touch the real one, maybe he would react differently. The scalding flames would have to do some damage to his actual body, since the clones seem to be something of an illusion.

Clenching his fists, he allows the flames to flow over his skin. It hurts; despite being a demon, his skin has angelic qualities which have never left him, making it difficult to use his demonic flames to the fullest.

But one large shot of fire won't kill him. The flames curl up his arms, and he spins, shooting the fire around from his body. The blue flames flicker throughout the cavern, hitting against the illusions. They shoot out covering the floor of the cavern, curling at the edges. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Geten's chair starts to melt, and shoots more ice from her palms, fighting against the heat. The clones, however, disappear in bulk, and Dabi tries to focus waiting for some sort of sign-

"Ah! It's too hot!"

"It's freezing me!"

Bubaigawara hops up and down, waving his arms frantically as he tries to extinguish the flames.

"Heh," Dabi smirks, panting heavily, the blue fire slowly pulling back towards his body. His skin is smoking, torched completely. But he knows exactly where the original is. "Gotcha."

Running forward, he charges at Bubaigawara, cutting through the few clones which try to block his way. He thrusts his fist into his stomach with one hand and grabs his forehead with the other.

Bubaigawara's eyes widen and he stares as Dabi grips his head.

He smirks. "Let's see what's inside that fucked up brain of yours."

~~

"You're a guardian angel, Bubaigawara Jin," All Might smiled, leading him through the entryway to heaven.

"A... A guardian angel?"

"Yes," All Might chuckled. Obviously the man was quite used to new angels being rather confused. "It's a very important job."

"Wait," Bubaigawara said. "I'm dead... but I still have to work."

All Might laughed again. "Everyone in Heaven is given a special job. It depends on how you died when you were on Earth. For you, you died protecting someone precious to you and so-"

"Who? Who did I protect?!" he asked. It was strange, no matter how much he tried he couldn't seem to recall who he was, besides his name.

"Ah, Jin, those are questions I unfortunately cannot answer," All Might laughed.

"Why?"

"All right, all right," he said, gently tapping his shoulder. "I know you have many questions, but for now, let me give you a tour." He completely avoided answering anything.

The concept of death wasn't an easy one to grasp. Bubaigawara found himself wondering why his memories were completely gone and who he could've possibly saved?

"When you're a guardian angel, your job is to watch over the humans on Earth. You will assist those in need by sharing some of your grace. We have grace pools where you will replenish your grace and energy. You must not take too much and you must not give up too much. It's a balance, Jin," All Might explained.

He wanted to believe this would be something he would be good at. Watching over others, protecting those in need, making their lives better. As much as having a job while being in the afterlife didn't sound like the most relaxing version of Heaven, he did think it would be rewarding to watch people and provide them with energy to make it through difficult times in their lives.

He wondered if anyone did that for him.

"You will watch over one human at a time. You will follow them until they are no longer in need of grace. Broken humans can always be fixed," All Might chuckled. "That is your main goal. Once you are done, you must move on. Getting attached to humans will cause you to fall."

"Fall?"

"To Hell," All Might said. "Corrupted angels will fall to Hell."

Bubaigawara knew he would never let something like that happen.

~~

Humans were constantly struggling, Bubaigawara learned quickly. Decades passed, centuries... and with every new human he watched over, he felt his soul grow wearier and wearier.

There were times when the job was good.

One woman he had watched over for years died from old age, her life fulfilled. At first, she had been heartbroken when her husband had died young in the military, but Bubaigawara had given her grace, slowly but surely, pouring more and more into her life.

He had watched her in the cloud pool, throughout her life, checking in on her. At first she had been reclusive, barely working, never leaving her house, but the more grace she received, the more she was willing to leave the house. She had married again at one point, smiling with a different young man, someone who loved her greatly.

And Bubaigawara was convinced he loved her too. Happy to see her happy. It was a good feeling, one he was desperate to feel again.

She died surrounded in love and grace. He hoped she had a more relaxing Heaven experience than he did. It gave him hope that humans could live out beautiful lives. He cried when she passed, not wishing to move on to a different human, even though he most likely should have done so sooner.

But there were other times when the job sucked out his grace, leaving him aching and desperate for more. Why couldn't all humans be like the elderly woman who died in her sleep? He chased the feeling, the good feeling.

One human had lost his whole family in an accident, and despite Bubaigawara pouring all his grace into him... that man killed himself, destined to become a Soul Guide for all eternity; leading souls where they belonged in the afterlife. They were only allowed to live in Purgatory, a worse fate than Heaven or Hell.

It was then he realized humans were far sadder than they let on. No amount of grace could save even the saddest ones.

Bubaigawara was convinced he could try. Anything to get the good feeling back again.

"You must not take too much grace, Jin," All Might often instructed.

But why?

Bubaigawara had stopped asking questions, as they often went unanswered.

Standing in the grace pool, Bubaigawara stared at his reflection. His blond hair was messy, his eyes tired. How could he get so little rest when it wasn't something he needed?

He dunked his hands into the water, splashing it up towards his face. It was cool, rolling down his skin. If only humans could feel this level of relief, if only he could give them everything they desired and more.

He glanced around at the pools surrounding him. The angels had plenty of grace... so why? Why couldn't he share with as many humans as possible. They wouldn't notice if he took more than usual, especially now, when they were all on break, enjoying their evenings to themselves.

His fingers touched the tip of the water and he began to pull in the grace to his body. The normal amount flowed into him without any problem and he pulled in a deep breath. He could take more, he could handle it. These people he watched gave him a purpose and he wanted to give them one back.

Bubaigawara pressed his fingers against the water, the glow of grace humming against his fingers, more energy flowed into him.

And he took more.

And more...

More.

His body felt tight, like his head was about to tear at the seams. He let out a cry, his body curling in on itself as though he was about to explode with the power of the grace. He wouldn't keep it for much longer. He could handle it.

He made his way to the cloud pools, his body heavy. His mind screamed, the grace tearing at his muscles. There was too much, far too much. At least he would give up soon.

Stumbling forward, Bubaigawara grabbed the first cloud pool he could find and poured grace into the humans which popped up.

They would all be happy, he could make them all happy.

He stumbled from pool to pool, pouring the grace into the humans he saw, their voices echoing in his mind. He had been warned not to watch too many humans and yet he had given grace to so many now.

He clutched the corner of the cloud pool, staring down at a crying human. This was why he did this... to save them from the pain they felt in their time on Earth. He couldn't remember his time, but he wanted the fulfillment he had felt... watching over the elderly woman. The more grace he gave, the higher his chance of feeling it again.

It was selfish, but it wasn't.

He wanted to feel good, but he wanted them to feel good.

His mind cried out in agony, the humans he watched in pain.

"Why?!" he cried out. "Why are they not feeling happy?!"

Why was he not feeling happy?!

Maybe he needed more. He had hoped this would help him, help humans, but it wasn't doing anything good.

He rushed back to the grace pool, tripping as he dashed inside. He pressed the tips of his fingers the grace pool, his body shuddering as he pulled more and more inside of him. The noises in his head grew louder and louder and he made his way back the grace pools.

He clutched the side, his eyes darting to and fro as he desperately tried to remember who he had given grace too, millions of humans flowed through his mind, his conscious trying to focus on one, but all he could feel was their pain. The tears they felt, the torment they were going through on Earth all screamed in his mind.

In front of his eyes, the cloud pool shifted from human to human, unable to settle on one. Grace poured from his chest, flowing towards various humans, even ones who didn't even need it.

As much as he wanted everyone to feel happy, himself included, all he could feel was pure agony as his mind ripped apart by the excess grace trapped in his body. All hope he had once felt was now completely gone.

~~

Dabi falls backwards, his hand trembling as he looked at Bubaigawara who now sat on the ground.

He swallows, staring at the way he shakes his head back and forth. It seems the human voices maybe never left.

Frowning, Dabi shoves his hands into his pants pocket. "You're a real idiot, aren't you?"

"No!"

"Of course I am!"

No wonder he constantly contradicts himself.

"Did you really think breaking the rules in Heaven would actually lead to anything good? They suck up there."

"It's horrible up there!" Bubaigawara spits. "I miss it so much..." His eyes shift, filled with a gentle sadness.

Dabi can understand those contradictions.

"You threw it away," Dabi spits, glaring down at the man. It takes all of his being not to torch the idiot completely. What the hell had he been thinking?

Dabi still wants to be up there; in Heaven, where he always wanted to belong. It was unfair, being ripped from people who could've loved him.

"Did you really think humans were worth helping?" Dabi asks, folding his arms. He tucks his hands in the crooks of his elbows, not wanting to shoot fire directly in this lunatics face.

"They're all miserable!"

"I... I wanted to make them happy!"

It was strange, though the statements were contradictory... they were oddly similar. Idiotic.

"And look at how far that got you," Dabi says, anger flashing in his eyes. "Let's go Geten. This is done."

A scoff slips from her lips as she hops off her chair, letting it melt immediately. "I'm glad you've decided it's over."

"Isn't it though?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

She glances between the two of them, her icy gaze falling on Bubaigawara's trembling form on the ground.

"It is," she says softly.

"Leave me alone," he says, clutching his head. "No! Don't leave me!"

"It's time to go," she says, walking past both of them.

Glancing at Bubaigawara once more, Dabi follows after Geten. These trials... they must be meant to torture him. He keeps having to watch as these idiots give up the one thing he always wanted. They gave it up so easily; Bubaigawara with his hopeful ideas and Hawks... the lovesick fool.

They're all fools.

He glares at Geten as they step out of the room.

"Are all the trials going to be me dealing with idiocy?" he asks, rolling his eyes as she shuts the door behind him.

"They're all different," she says. "You shouldn't take it so lightly."

"Whatever," he snaps, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Let's keep going."

"Someone's pissy," she snorts, skating forward on her ice. "Did you not enjoy what you saw in Bubaigawara's mind?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"I dunno!" she shrugs, twirling around on the ice. "I'm not privy to what you end up seeing."

"Right. I forgot you're basically useless," he scoffs.

"I would be nice to your judge," she says with a huff. "Remember, you can't open the doors without me-"

"Can we just shut up and keep going?" he asks, stopping in the middle of the path.

She smirks, glancing back over her shoulder. "As you wish, oh pissy one."

"Shut up," he snaps, stepping around her ice as he continues forward.

He never asked how many trials there were, and he's certain if he asks Geten, she'll be cryptic or annoying and he's already tired of this bullshit. The only thing fueling him forward is the petty knowledge he'll get to piss off his father in the end. He can only hope it'll all be fucking worth it.

[thesaltoforion]

As the Story Goes...

[Part 2]

"A perfect score?" I whispered as I stared at the grade postings. Hundreds of students swarmed the board, locating their respective names. A few noticed my score and either clapped me on the shoulder or gave me scorching looks.

"What did I tell you?" The Messenger said.

"I hardly remember anything I wrote down..." I walked away from the board, face hardening.

"Something wrong Starshine?"

"I wanted to do it by myself." I murmured.

"Even the president needs help sometimes. Stop trying to be such a lone wolf."

I wrote two more midterms and handed in four assignments. The Messenger whispered the answers in my ear and told me how to write my essays. I focused on getting close with my professors and getting involved with school activities. Slowly, I became acclimated to the cheating. Eventually, I started to feel proud. Perfect scores on all of my work and not a single person could catch me.

I started to wonder if I could get away with murder.

It was only a hypothetical contemplation.

"I want you to do something for me." Said the Messenger one day. I was sitting in my dorm, reading.

"Like what?" Hopefully nothing dire or drastic.

"Nothing dire or drastic, Starshine, I promise. But I figured you owe me a small favor after everything I helped you with."

"Fair enough."

"I want to teach you how to use magic."

"... that's it?"

"Did you think I was going to make you assassinate someone?"

"Kind of."

"I know."

"So... magic? Thought it wasn't real."

"Really? You really want to tell me that? After everything?"

".... Fair. How do I go about... doing magic then?"

He chuckled, "It's easy."

First, he had me practice meditation. I thought it was a little cliché, much like the novels I read as a boy. He didn't say anything about that. I learned how to dismantle things, tear apart atoms and rearrange them into new things. He had me make teacups out of bed linens and paint out of tomato soup. It mesmerized me, the way my magic flashed and glimmered. He said I had the power of creation.

Then one day, into my post graduate studies, he told me to fill the kitchen sink with water.

"Put your head in it." He ordered, quietly.

"... Alright." I sucked in a large breath and submerged myself.

"Now breathe."

I obeyed, unable to do anything else.

I wrenched myself from the sink, coughing and spitting. Water dripped from my face onto the floor.

"Starshine, what was that?"

I continued to cough, "I did as you asked."

"No you didn't. I said breathe, not drown. Go back in again. And this time, try wrapping a hand around your mouth."

Water still burning my nose, I went under, carefully slipping a hand over my mouth and nose. Breathe, he said. I focused my magic, this time, arranging the water into oxygen.

I accidentally made all the water in the sink disappear.

A few tries later and I was able to transfigure only the water near my nose. With more practice, I didn't need to hold my hand to my face anymore.

A month passed before I mastered the technique.

Then the Messenger took me to space.

The first time, the vacuum nearly compressed my body into nothingness. I learned how to activate a simple shield spell before leaving Earth again. Translucent and blue, it encircled my body and kept a good amount of oxygen inside while protecting me from the lack of outside forces. I drew fuel for the spell from Earth, even while I floated above the atmosphere. I only lasted about five minutes before I became fatigued.

"What's the point of even trying?" I gasped, teleporting back to my small kitchenette.

"There's a favor I owe and I'm banking on you to do it for me."

"Why can't you do it?" I wrenched open the fridge and fisted my hand around a water bottle. I gulped the whole thing down.

"Because I taught you how to do magic so now you owe me something."

"No, you taught me magic because I owed you for helping me with my school work."

"Yeah... but I'm still helping you ace your classes and I'm still teaching you magic on top of that...But if you don't think you're up for it-"

I tore into an apple, "I never said that, ass hole. I'll go to space but it'd be nice if, in the future, you'd tell me what your ulterior motives are. I can do anything, thanks to you and this magic. You don't have to keep holding it against me." The core landed square in the trash bin, "I am yours and willing."

"If you must know, there's a powerful alien warlord in a neighboring galaxy. He needs my help - or yours, I suppose - to claim some lost territory."

Now the exercises had a purpose I could see to. I pushed myself and spent days in bed, passed out from exhaustion.

Finally, the day came.

"Are you ready?" He asked, as I stared down my portal. I patted my satchel, packed with two water bottles and minerals I stole from the chemistry labs. Finals were to start next week. My books remained on my shelf, dusty and useless.

"Of course." I wrapped a red scarf around my neck. Space tended to get cold.

"You won't need the shield today. The Zhaktari survive in a similar climate to yours so you'll be able to breath on their ship. When you arrive, introduce yourself as ‘Starshine’ and refer to Prince Vraxx as ‘his Lordship.’ He’ll love that."

I nodded, thankful I wouldn’t have to spend my energy on the shield. The portal swallowed me as I passed through it. Blinded for a few seconds, I appeared on Prince Vraxx's ship. I saw a beautiful array of galaxies spread out behind the transparent walls and ceiling. The floor was black and cooled my feet through my shoes. I inhaled - my lungs didn’t fill up all the way - and smelled the breezy scent of wet pine.

The sharp end of a spear suddenly pointed at my throat. I looked up the staff and saw the frowning jowls of a large, green, three-eyed alien. He dressed in gold armor, accented with imperial red. He could’ve snapped my spine with the click of his fingers.

He snarled something in a language I couldn't understand. I stared, wide-eyed and frozen. I didn’t think i could beat him - even with my magic.

"Relax, Starshine, Vraxxie's gonna get here. He speaks about two thousand languages. English has to be one of them."

A voice barked from somewhere behind the towering guard. Immediately, he turned and knealed. Prince Vraxx, in all his glory, stood with his nose in the air and his chest pushed out. He marched toward me. The jewels on his head gleamed, accenting his velvet cape and sleek armor. He shot me a look with his large, beady eye and I knelt instantly.

The Messenger chuckled.

The prince said something and the guard stood up and left. With my head bowed, I didn't see where he went.

"Stand up." He ordered. I obeyed. "Who are you?"

"S-Starshine. My name is Starshine...your Lordship."

He grinned, "He finally paid his debt. The fucker. Come, Starshine, you have work to do." He turned and I followed him to the front of the ship. There were no walls or separate rooms. Only a very conspicuous opening in the floor. It probably lead to some private quarters. I felt light headed by the time we reached the controls. I slipped my hand over my mouth and drew upon the water in my satchel for air.

"Something the matter?"

"The air is a bit thin."

"Poor thing, your system isn't optimized like ours. So wasteful." He called to one of the shipmates and sent them away somewhere. "She's getting you a helmet."

"Thank you but it'd unnecessary."

"You're here to do work for me. Important work. I want you functioning properly, as you should. Even if your magic is strong enough."

I wondered how he knew about my abilities.

The helmet was black and simple, like a motorcycle helmet. I put it on, relieved to see that it worked. Then Vraxx put me to work. He showed me the enemy formations and I told him where and how to attack. I was thankful I took the History of War class back in boarding school. Earth military strategy looked very different from whatever they were doing in space. I spent well over a day on that ship before the prince seemed satisfied. I helped him take most of the territory back. He felt confident enough to do the rest of it on his own.

"You'll have to teleport directly out of the ship. I have to keep the magic shields up, so we're not hit by surprise. But once you reach the star of Yenveir Roden, you'll be able to teleport home. The helmet should operate outside the ship, too. And I'll give you some garments that'll protect you from the vacuum of space." Vraxx explained, winding down the last simulation. He gave me a suit of armor similar to the ones the guards wore. It was smaller, to accommodate my size, and sleeker. A shallow hole sat in the chest plate. It nestled a hollow glass ball. I wrapped my scarf around my neck, over the armor.

"Mage armor. It's nearly obsolete, considering we now train our mages to be warriors. The sphere in your chest is meant to house excess magic, either if you want to store some for later or if you just have too much of it."

"Thank you, your Lordship."

"You're welcome. It was a pleasure working with you. I wish you a safe journey home."

I flashed out of the ship. Using my magic, I propelled myself forward, towards Yenveir Roden.

"Starshine... prepare to draw up a shield. Something might be coming at you."

"We cleared out the immediate are, though." I mentally rehearsed the steps.

"Yeah but there's still one ship. Set the shield so it absorbs the energy. It'll protect you from the blast better."

"OK." I amended the spell. Anxiously, I kept floating towards the star.

"You'll want to turn around and draw it up now, Starshine."

I stopped and did as he told me. Not a second passed before a shower of acid green sparks exploded against the shield. The impact pulsed light blue across the otherwise translucent surface. My heart pulsed faster. Two more beams collided with my shield.

"Do you smell that?"

I took a deep sniff, "It smells like... Wet pine."

"Enhance it with your magic."

"... wet pine and... and burning rubber, eugh. What is that?"

"Magic has a signature. It's different across all mages. There's the primary signature, something soothing, usually. The strength of the primary smell depends on the strength of the mage. And the secondary signature, a complementary and acrid smell. It's strength depends on the intent of the action."

"Interesting. You know, Vraxx's ship smelled like wet pine- oh. Ohhh... he shot me!"

"Yeah he did. And you're going to do something about it."

"But I’m not able to take down even one of his guards! How-"

"Just listen to me, you'll be fine."

"... Alright. How do we do this?"

On the Messenger’s instruction, I absorbed the shield and the power from the three blasts. I flew over to Yenveir Roden and took whatever power I could from it. I rearranged the photons into pure energy. My body vibrated with all the power it held. I manifested a small ball of bright blue energy and willed it to grow. It grew to be twice the size of Yenveir Roden. I cleared my mind and refocused. Swiftly, I launched the bright ball of magic in the direction of his ship, knowing it would hit, even if i couldn’t see it. 

A moment passed.

An explosion lit up the surrounding space for a brief minute. I watched an escape pod - coloured red and gold - eject itself from the reaction. My heart beat rapidly in my chest and I fought to catch my breath, the adrenaline wearing down and my body tiring. I opened a portal, tumbled through it and collapsed in a heap on my kitchen floor.

I passed out and slept through my first exam.

[floating-with-penny-blog]

Possession Pennywise x Reader

“(Y/n)? My my, what a pleasant surprise to see you in here~” Pennywise said with a low voice as he turned to you. He had that stupid smile on his face. That didn’t mean anything good.

“Yeah, yeah. What was it that you wanted to show me? Please be quick, I should be in class soon..” You weren’t interested in yet another his nonsensical moment of showing off the cool stuff he can do.

“Oh well sorry~” he said mockingly as he crossed his arms.

“Well!?” You were starting to get frustrated with him.

Pennywise took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He slowly, but surely shapeshifted into a ghost, he was mostly a transparent version of his clownself hovering above the ground. He floated over to you with a smirk.

“Is this it? Look, I have seen better shit on TV…” You weren’t that impressed.

“You are correct, this is nothing compared to the thing I am about to do next~” His voice was echoing, it sounded kinda cool, but there was no way in hell you’d admit that to the childish alien.

“Well? Impress me already!” You kept your arms crossed.

Pennywise flew right through your body- wait.. He didn’t go through you. The cold breeze suddenly stopped, which started when his head went through your clothes.

“Pennywise-” you suddenly clutched your side and your right eye from pain. “ STOP IT NOW!!” You yelled in pain.

“I can’t!! I’m stuck!” His voice now echoed in your head as your eye felt like it was burning right out from your eye socket. Your side felt like it was being ripped through and your heart felt like it was about to explode. You screamed from pain as Pennywise’s roars exploded in your head. You fell to your knees on the dirty ground grasping the dirt in agony. The unbearable pain just kept going as inhuman roars filled the sewers along with your screams. Suddenly you blacked out from the pain.

Hours later your eyes fluttered open. You slowly got on your knees from the ground and held your head. You had the worst headache ever and your vision was all blurry. The pain was gone, thank god.

“Pennywise…” You mumbled weakly as you tries to get up, only to fall on your ass. You grumbled as you felt your head. “Fuck…” You spat out as you managed to get up leaning against the dirty, cement covered tunnel wall. You wheezed softly as you kept your shaky body up. “Penny..?” You whispered to the dark tunnels, with a weak voice.

“(Y/n)?” Pennywise’s voice echoed in your head.

“Wh-what… Where are you?” You looked around.

“Right here.” your arm suddenly went forward doing a wave.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” You breathed out.

“Holy shit… I moved your arm?” Pennywise said again. He made his signature grip that he had with the balloons with your hand. “Uh oh…”

You stared at your hand in shock. “What in the fucking fuck!? I didn’t do that!” You panicked.

“No! I did it!!” Pennywise flexed your fingers. “This is new.. And extremely fascinating!”

“Get out of my body now!!” You yelled as you tried to regain control of your now possessed arm.

“What do you think I’m trying to do!?” Pennywise snarled.

“W-Wait.. My eye..” You used your free hand to feel around it. You gulped and dashed over to the nearby clear water, only to fall over next to it. You gasped loudly as you stared at your reflection. Your right eye was yellow, like Pennywise’s. His white makeup had cracked through your skin along with the red mark going over his eye. It looked like your skin had fallen off to reveal Pennywise’s make up around your right eye, like a skull with a cracked eye socket.

“Fuck me..” Pennywise sounded shocked.

Even your hair had gone from (h/c) to slightly orange. You couldn’t believe your eyes, this seemed too surreal to be real.

“Make my arm shapeshift, now!!” You shifted your gaze to the arm Pennywise had control over just a few minutes ago.

Your arm extended forward again as black claws ripped through your skin. It didn’t hurt at all, but Pennywise’s growls and grunts were echoing through your head. He moved your arm around like he would do.

“This.. This is scary..” You mumbled.

“You don’t say?” He huffed. “I want to try out what else I can move.” Pennywise made your extended arm return next to your side. Nothing else did happen. “It seems I can only control your arm.. But can I make it change..?“ 

“Find out” You slowly stood up, leaning again against the sewer wall. “You, for once, have my permission.”

Pennywise made the claws retract and managed to change your arm into just bone, make scales and fur appear on it, and even bend it like plastic.

“I don’t feel anything” you watched as Pennywise twisted your arm, but soon looked away feeling sick from watching it.

“What do we do?” Pennywise’s voice echoed through your head again.

“We need to figure away to get out the hell out of my body.” You tried to wipe his signature makeup away around your right eye, but it was hopeless. “Shit…” You cursed as you realized that you had to skip school because of this. “Can you teleport us out of here?”

“I doubt it, but I’ll try..”

You closed your eyes as you hoped this to work. Pennywise made few grunts as he was clearly trying his hardest to use his abilities. You felt something warm wash all over your body. The smell of the sewers was gone. You opened your eyes to see that you were standing in the middle of your room. “At least this can be counted as something positive..” You laid on your bed. “Can you see anything?”

“I guess I am seeing what you see. I can see your room, but I cannot look around.”

“Great.. Having some demon clown powers and him being trapped inside of me.” you sighed as you waved your hand in front of your yellow eye or Pennywise’s eye. “So.. I guess this counts as a possession…”

“Technically yes, so there is away for me to get out then. You know. Someone needs to preform an exorcism on you. Or that’s how things worked back when you humans were… Simple minded..”

“… How does it feel to be the underdog~? Not so fun, isn’t it?” You teased him. He was always the dominant one and now was your chance to be the leader. Your were going to enjoy every single second of this, at least trying to enjoy.

“Shut it, once I get out it will be I who is the boss..” He sounded very annoyed.

“Yeah yeah… Shut up… I’m starving..” You placed your hand on your stomach and got up slowly and steadily. You made your way to the kitchen and opened the fridge and grabbed some leftover’s from yesterdays meal. You took one piece of potato to your mouth, only to spit it out with a hiss, before covering your mouth. “What!?”

“Can’t eat that? Odd.. I thought you humans liked those weird yellowish ball.. thingies. I find everything in that fridge disgusting.”

“Says the clown who twisted his whole body into a fridge~ … Okay, okay jokes aside, let’s try something else.” You tried almost everything in your fridge and spat them all out. “What is this!?”

“Hmm.. Oh! I have an idea~ try human flesh..”

“No!” You covered your mouth with your hand.

Pennywise then moved the hand he controlled to your mouth. He had a chunk of flesh on ‘his’ hand.

You looked at it, drooling like a dog. You snatched the flesh from his hand to yours and ate it fast, almost forgetting to chew it properly.

“Picking on some of my habits..~ Cute.” He chuckled to himself, but suddenly stopped.

“Shut up and try to get out of me already! This is getting ridiculous!!” You were almost on the verge of tears as you walked to the bathroom to stare at your reflection. “If this is a prank you are playing on me, I swear to god…”

“Alright, alright…” Pennywise said as he teleported the two of you back to his lair in the sewers. You then felt a sharp pain coming from your chest as a ghostly hand was sticking out of you. It was Pennywise’s arm. That asshole was able to get out of you body at any given time! You closed your eyes from anger, but mostly from the pain that was coming from your chest and now from your right eye was getting stronger and stronger until it stopped.

You felt a warm hand under your chin, which slowly made your head tilt upwards. Pennywise stood in front of you, being in his usual clown from.

“You are the biggest douchebag in the history of mankind.” You glared at him angrily with your brows furrowed at him.

“Tell me something I don’t already know~” He said with an evil smile.

@dick-me-down-sewer-clown @myfloatingdream @therealclussywise @syynnaah @stefaniebanks99

[4evafitstore]

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale. 

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric.  Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro.  Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.  

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired.  Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.  

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones.   Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point.  And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio.  as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring,  So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.  

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers.  Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not.  check on Amazon Read the full article

[superstringstudio]

Mottos, Mantras and Mission Statements; 4 Steps to Branding Your Studio

Recently I’ve put a lot of thought into how I want my studio to be perceived by others. I’ve asked myself: What are the attributes that make Superstring different to the slew of other indie devs? What values will unite all the games that are born out of my studio? What does Superstring stand for?

I can almost hear the gags and wretches – this subject matter unavoidably gets into quite guffy, saccharine territory. It sounds like a load of bollocks, doesn’t it? Not long ago I would have agreed and written anything like this off as pretentious busy-work – a fat waste of time.

In retrospect, that thinking was naïve. I’ve come to realise how important this positioning work can be in the long run; it’s a vital step that a lot of smaller developers and studios are overlooking.

Taking the time to properly position your studio/company will cement your creative vision – it will give the games that slowly fill your catalogue consistency and a stamp that is undeniably yours. It will help you hire likeminded folk, and – most importantly – it will allow you to shape what the masses think when they see your studio interacting in the wild. This work is easy to rush and difficult to nail, but it’s not expensive. Anybody can do this work. Everybody should do this work.  

I want to say up front, by the way: I am by no means an expert in the world of indie development - Superstring is still a very young studio, and yet to release its first game (Headspun is out later this summer, releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC and Mac). I have A LOT to learn about development. I have, however, worked in the games industry for over a decade, with the past four years in a global brand role at an AAA publisher. Recently, I’ve been trying to leverage some of that big-publisher-thinking on a smaller scale.

Today I want to share that work here.  

In this first entry in the Superstring Journal (get updates here!) – a new monthly blog exploring various aspects of indie dev life – I wanted to walk through the four steps I’ve taken with Superstring in terms of building a brand for the studio. I’m not claiming Superstring is the best example of any of these steps, merely an example.

Note: in an ideal world, the below would be worked up alongside the birth of your studio. It should influence the name you choose, the icon you design, the language you use when communicating with the world. I’d imagine lots of people skip over all this and just get cracking developing their dream game – I know I did. Much of the below can be figured out at a later date, however – it just needs a step back, and some dedicated time to figure a few things out.

Ok, here we go!

1 | DEFINE YOUR STUDIO’S MISSION STATEMENT

This should be an easy place to start, but wrapping language around the aims of your studio/business is surprisingly tricky. “Because I want to” doesn’t cut it, sadly.

Your mission statement isn’t a slogan. It doesn’t need to be catchy or clever. It just needs to lay out what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re a tech company it will simply outline the solution that your product offers to a problem. As game developers, our mission statements are more likely to be rooted in the experience we’re looking to give to our players.  

Some examples:

Supergiant Games “We want to make games that spark your imagination like the games you played as a kid.”

Dropbox: “to unleash the world’s creative energy by designing a more enlightened way of working.”

Blizzard: “Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiences...ever.”

Doublefine: “committed to making high-quality games with an emphasis on originality, story, characters, and fun​”

Giant Sparrow: “[to create] surreal experiences people have never had before. Our dream is to make the world a stranger, more interesting place.”

Superstring: “To bring narrative to unlikely places through genre hybrids and experimentation.”

Try not to skip this step, as it segues directly into the second.

2 | DEFINE YOUR STUDIO’S VALUES

Yeah, the second step is equally as vague and woolly as the first. Sorry. But again, it’ll unlock a lot if you can really nail this. Knowing the three values your studio stands for will help you to hire staff who share the same virtues, and thus develop games in accordance with a unified vision. It will help write your studio’s signature.  

It’s all too easy to rush this step and fart out a few quaint sounding words - but if they’re not reflective of traits you genuinely believe in, they’re meaningless. ‘Honesty’ might sound like a lovely value on paper, for example, but in an ideal world this would be true of all companies and brands. It’s hardly a virtue to shout from the rooftops, is it? “We don’t’ lie!” Brilliant. Even if this is, in actuality, less common than we know to be true, it’s just a bit shit and generic. Dig deeper.

In an effort to minimise ambiguous bollocks and show how these values can directly affect your ongoing work, I’ll share Superstring’s values alongside examples of how these values help in practice.

Superstring is:

T R A N S P A R E N T This might sound similar to ‘honest’ on paper, but it’s not. It’s about being actively open in all facets of development. It’s about sharing, and keeping very open channels of communication. In practice: transparency will inform the content we create and share outside of core development - hence this blog! It guides how we interact with other developers, and – hopefully – shapes our games, which will benefit from the outside perspective we otherwise lack as a small team. I think this is really important for small studios where you can easily end up working in a bubble. Transparency is a two way street.

G U T S Y There were several words I flirted with here – spirited, daring, adventurous – but they all relate to being bold. As Superstring is a one-man team, and a side project (I have a salary and full time job if things go pear-shaped), I’m happy to take risks. If an idea doesn’t pan out, nobody loses their jobs. Nobody goes without food or accommodation. In practice: Riskiness as a value means that experimentation is built into the studio’s DNA. Our games don’t need to be approved by a risk committee. We will actively pursue ideas that are more out there.

R E B E L L I O U S   This sounds try-hard, but I’ve always been keen to weave a little attitude into Superstring’s persona. I don’t want the studio to walk or talk like a traditional developer; I want it more in line with a band’s brand, for example. Specifically, I want to tap into the themes and visuals of the synthwave music scene – which I feel embodies this attitude nicely. In practice: rebellion as a core value gives nice constraints for visuals, tone of voice and language. This value has directly influenced the visual identity work I'll outline later.

3 | WRITE YOUR STUDIO MOTTO/TAGLINE

The first two steps involve language that – should you wish – need never be public. They’re the invisible tracks your studio will run along. Your motto (or tagline), however, is the slightly more succinct and catchy embodiment of the first two steps. It’s the language you’ll whack on your website and Twitter bios and whathaveyous. It should succintly convey what you’re all about.

Here’s what I landed on for Superstring (after many iterations…):

“(Superstring is) dedicated to abusing the boundaries of game genre.”

I like this because it a) reinforces my mission statement of experimenting with genre hybrids, and b) introduces a little hint of attitude. It sounds progressive – a little rebellious, even.

Note: With the motto complete, I’d also recommend building out a long and short description for your studio, too. There’s countless uses for these (website about page, press release boiler plates, etc etc) , and having a long and short versions prepared will save you a lot of time.

4 | DEVELOP YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY

With the first three steps nailed, you can start building the core assets that will reflect your aims. All that introspective ethereal rubbish can now be converted into some lovely eye-candy! This final step is a big, complex one, in truth; the extent to which you’ll be able to act on it may be limited by budget (it certainly is in my case – there’s plenty more I’d do with a bigger wallet), but there’s a lot you can do to bring your intention and values to the world.

A – by no means exhaustive – list:

L O G O What is your studio logo? How does it reflect your values? Does it reflect your tone of voice? Does it take advantage of accompanying iconography? Does it work in both black and white? How will it animate in video form?

P R O F I L E  P I C T U R E S What is your Twitter/FB/Insta/Discord/IndieDB profile image? Does it use your logo’s iconography? Is it still readable at a teeny-tiny resolution? Perhaps there’s no better representation of your studio than your own beautiful face.

K E Y  A R T I wouldn’t say your studio needs bespoke key art (unlike your game, which most certainly does), but it can help establish your values and convey what you’re all about. I was really keen to have something more than just a logo for social headers / website backgrounds etc.

C O L O U R  P A L E T T E   This will likely fall out of your key art & iconography – but having a defined colour palette will help tie everything together across the many platforms you’ll likely use. Continuity is key. Whenever I set up Superstring on a new service or social media, I ensure the colour themes are set to purples/blues/pinks; whatever is closest.  

F O N T What font or lettering are you adopting for studio communications? We all know how poor font choice can lead to wrong impressions...

O T H E R  S T Y L E  E L E M E N T S e.g. D O U B L E  S P A C I N G  I M P O R T A N T  T E X T //Branded bullets Signature Emojis

W E B S I T E How does your website bring together all of the above to perfectly convey the brand you've tried to cultivate? This is the one place you have complete control over, and it should accurately portray what you're all about.

Note: I see lots of developers leaning on imagery from one of their games in relation to the above. I think it’s important to separate your studio imagery from game imagery as soon as you’re able. Let your studio stand on its own legs and exist outside of individual game branding.

There’s a lot more to it than just this, of course. The language and tone of voice you adopt is also born out of all this positioning work, but there's enough to talk about here to dedicate a blog of its own. I won't go into it now.

I still think a lot of the above can feel pretentious and without substance, but going through the motions of each step honestly unlocks a lot. Give it a bash.

Thanks for reading – I hope somebody finds some use in this. I am more than happy to chat in more depth about any of the points here – come chat with me on Discord - and if you found this helpful, please do subscribe to the Superstring newsletter for the next dev journal.

Jamin

[stellxuk]

Day 1 - Kensington Gardens/ Buckingham Palace/ Westminister Bridge/ Checking in/ The Fish House

London, 7am. I got on the Heathrow Express for a straight train ride to Paddington station before transiting to High Street Kensington, where I’ll be dropping off my luggage at my Airbnb hosts’ office. It was already quite a navigational process to find the Heathrow Express platform just ‘cause I wasn’t used to needing to take a monorail to another terminal to get to customs and head out of Terminal 5. I remember queueing even with others to get my passport stamped, only to have the customs officer firmly tell me that I could’ve gone through the e-gate. Already embarrassed I walked through the lane and as my mom had always reminded me, check and make sure your passport’s stamped. There was no stamp. So I approached another customs officer and he looked at me, eyebrows furrowed, physically it didn’t make sense, yet I was asking a rather outdated question.

“You don’t need a stamp anymore.” Ah.

High Street Kensington felt familiar, with my first pret-a-manger in sight – a place that would’ve served me very well to buffer time and grab quick bites in the following days. 

At my Airbnb hosts’ office, conveniently just across the road, the receptionist (French 20-something who thinks she’s superior with her bob and straight bangs) rudely brushed me off by saying nobody’s in the office yet so I’d just have to wait. I was too tired to argue and had no reason to be equally sassy so I waited, it was by then 8am in the morning anyway so I was ahead of schedule. However, sitting in the lobby watching other office-workers and executive members walk in an out, eyeballing me and giving subtle looks, I got increasingly uncomfortable and wondered if the lady was going to ignore me perpetually. Thank goodness she approached right on cue then with a nicer tone, asking to follow her to the office. 

It was a quick straight walk down to Kensington Gardens, and with the morning light the barren trees gave off sepia hues in the cool winter. The grass, however, thrived in luscious green and abundance. There were so many dog walkers, but all rather aloof to my smiles at their pups, who also trotted along and paid no heel. I started snapping away – of William and Kate’s abode (the Kensington Palace), of a lone man walking down a narrow path separating two large grass fields, of the pond inhabited by swans that swam so close to the edge you could see them eye to eye. I r e a l l y loved the pond at Kensington Gardens, circular and central to the park, I didn’t care that I looked like some greenhorn who’d never seen anything so typical of a park as others just jogged past with their ears plugged. I live just opposite a reservoir, yet this pond – its serenity in the cold, the swans’ majestically floating, ducks pruning their feathers by the edges – was a sight to behold. It overwritten all the rough encounters I had earlier in the morning.

Walking further down to Hyde Park I was headed to Buckingham Palace for their changeover at 10am. Crossing the road to enter Buckingham Palace Green, I saw that my phone was soon dying. But shit. I had left my portable charger in my carry-on that had been left at the office. My first onset panic mode. I was contemplating whether to take the walk back, albeit far but still manageable, to grab my portable charger and re-walk the whole route to hopefully make it in time for the changeover at the Palace. Or should I just keep going, since after the palace I just wanted to walk around the city for a bit and head back in a couple of hours in time to check in to the Airbnb. While my head battled the options on the outside I was calmly making my way further and further from the office, and so I guessed my feet had made the decision for me. We walk on and hope I won’t be crippled without access to Google Maps.

Buckingham Palace! There was already a crowd lined up, flagging themselves to the gates and looking through the thin steel railings to see the guards marching to and fro intermittently. I found a spot to squeeze in between 2 families and took it all in. At one point the Royal Mail van drove in, and a couple of luxury cars were also taking their exit. People were also seated around (and on) the Victoria Memorial just opposite. 

I checked the time – 9.30am, I didn’t think there’d be much to do for 30 minutes, plus we were on a time crunch cause my battery was at 10%. So I decided to forgo the ceremony and continued walking.

Making a turn down to birdcage walk I chanced upon this area (?) called the Victoria Nova/ The Nova Building. Thinking maybe I can grab a proper bite, the only thing that attracted me was a standalone push cart called the Chai Guys. You guessed it, they were selling coffee but more importantly, chai. I got my first cuppa and their design was so cute I had to take that typical arm-extended-against-cityscape shot:

Looking at the underground sign at the entrance of Victoria station I contemplated yet again to take the train back to High Street Kensington to grab my portable charger before getting back on my itinerary (you can see how ensuring my phone stays alive has killed some fun and ability of being in the moment). But the thought of needing to explain myself to the rude French receptionist and trouble her to escort me up and down again deterred me entirely. Instead, I circled back again to Buckingham Palace to see if the changeover had started.

Thinking I’ll keep walking instead of stopping to watch the whole thing, in order to get back on track and head towards the city, I managed to catch them just walking in to the palace. The crowd grew bigger and there were security personnels warning people to carry their backpacks on their fronts because there’re pickpocketed lurking in this area. That all the more made me want to keep walking.

Another 5-10 minutes and I found the famous red telephone booth. I didn’t trust want someone to help take a picture for me so I wanted just the memory of a lone telephone booth. I eventually had to wait a minute for it because couples, mother-daughter duos and tween groups were all taking turns to enter the booth and take their signature interactive poses. From the aloof locals, to how easily my space could be “invaded” and presence kinda looked over, London was starting to make me feel a little transparent and for a split second it hit me that I was really alone. 

What happened next didn’t help to soothe my soul in any way. After the telephone booths, past Westminister Abbey, was of course the Westminister bridge that would lead me into the city centre of London. It was a very very very busy bridge – everyone was almost passing through shoulder-to-shoulder and I had my eye on a pop up store selling souvenirs when suddenly a lady stopped me and started shoving a clipboard and a pen against my torso.

“For the deaf and blind. Please sign.” She chanted, refusing my refusals and letting me walk ahead. Soon another guy and woman on her team cornered me and continued pressurising me to sign it. I knew what this was – one of those petitions where after you “harmlessly” sign you’d have to make a mandatory donation, something I was already warned about by my colleague. So I kept saying “No”, zig-zagging to pass them but they locked me down and met me even when I pushed through the crowd to get to the other side of the bridge. Finally as I was saying my 100th no, this time also physically pushing away her clipboard, the lady interrupted me with a mumble in a foreign language before dropping everything and walking away. It was instant. Like an off-switch was activated inside of her. I was slightly perturbed as to why she’d suddenly give up, and what exactly she was mumbling about, when an instinct kicked in to look down and check my bag. My heart dropped when I saw my fanny pack zipped open, my camera (which took up the bulk of the space) in plain sight.

I rushed to a quieter corner at the end of the bridge and rummaged through my things. Passport, wallet, oyster card, they were all intact. But I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was there something more valuable I was forgetting that should’ve been inside? I hurried again, almost deliriously, to someplace I could properly sit down, catch my breath, slow my heart rate, and be sure that I wasn’t just pickpocketed. 

Finally I saw there was a Starbucks and I took a sit outside among pigeons nibbling on leftovers and families feeding their children in prams to take out my things and account for each one. Nothing was lost, seriously. I didn’t know how to find relief, a part of me wanted to just retreat and go back to the unwelcoming office lobby. But I’d have to find a way that didn’t involve passing that damn Westminister bridge again. Throughout the entire trip I’d never revisited that bridge.

“Just keep going, Estella. Don’t let this ruin the day.” And so I did. I walked along Southbank, took that quintessential tourist picture of the London Eye, of the National Theatre, and ended up at Gabriel’s Wharf. Thinking I’ll finally (finally) have my first meal at this fish and chips restaurant, I walked away because of the crowd and the price for a simple Dory’s fish and chips. 

I ended up at OXO Tower Wharf, which seemed like a Design Orchard equivalent with cubic spaces across two floors that showcase the works of up and coming designers and artists. Walking into a quirky design store, I thought I’d be able to find a portable charger but alas, there were Frida Kahlo lip balms and kids schoolbags in the shape of a space rocket, but absolutely z e r o portable chargers. I was at 2%, and Blackfriars bridge was where I threw in the white flag. I was supposed to make it all the way to Borough market, but I clearly had underestimated the walk, and it was enough risking (and turn of events) for the day. 

I settled for a chicken salad from LEON and sat by the window, people watching as friends met up at the entrance of High Street Kensington station, grandmas got ready to head out with their daughters and grandchildren, mature couples stepping in to Marks and Spencers for their daily shopping. Even though my phone was dying, I was struggling with time because it was 1pm, an odd time to be heading to the office and waiting to check in until 3pm. But there wasn’t enough time to grab my portable charger and head out again. So I just sat at LEON, in slight disbelief of the sights and sounds I had encountered in a mere 5+ hours. London, baby. 

We were inching to 2pm when I could no longer hog the seat at LEON, so I took a stroll into the famous Boots store just adjacent to the station, and took a look at Zara Home just opposite. Oh yes, I’d also forgotten to bring my glasses on the trip, so I walked into a prescription store along the street as well but soon realised it was a dumb move because frames alone were minimally 50 pounds (and those were ugly). My astigmatism isn’t dreadful enough for me to spend money on a pair of glasses that would be deemed useless once I got back to Singapore.

Finally, finally, after a little more waiting in the lobby (the French receptionist had ended her shift and now a nice 20-something male Londoner helmed the desk) I could finally check in to my Airbnb. I took a quick 2-stop bus ride down to Notting Hill Gate and arrived at the bright pink door. Lugging my suitcase up the 4 flights of stairs was THE WORST, and I soon came face-to-face with the small cubic loft that, in the following days, would’ve risen my anxiety levels with its misleading paper thin walls that made me purvy to when every neighbour was coming home, opening their doors (which often sounded like they were trying to barge through mine), stepping into showers, and when the garbage collector came on Wednesday morning and made such a ruckus I thought a fight broke out along the street. 

After taking a video tour of the place and sending it to Mom, I settled in, changed and freshened up for dinner. It was at a nearby fish and chips place called the Fish House. No more adventurous trails and exploring for me. The restaurant was in a quaint shophouse with a very tiny shopfront where you could order takeaways. To get a seat, you’d then have to take another 2 narrow flights of stairs up to their topmost floor. When I arrived a family had just finished their dinner so by the time I ordered I had the whole place to myself (which I thought was quite iffy cause Google shown great reviews). The fish and chips was alright, along with the cup of hot tea, and after an hour or so I made my leave and called it a night.

[smoothshift]

Tesla Model 3 AWD vs. C7 Corvette Grand Sport via /r/cars

Tesla Model 3 AWD vs. C7 Corvette Grand Sport

I’ve been daily driving Corvettes for the past (7) years or so. I had 5 years in an old C5 Corvette and spent the last two years in a C7 Grand Sport. While I love Corvettes my life has slowly become more complicated to the point where daily driving a C7 Grand Sport has been less and less of a joy.

Now don’t get me wrong, Corvettes are the most daily-able sports cars you can get. Plenty of trunk room, an honest 30mpg if you drive them calmly, the cars are reliable, and they are generally affordable to repair/maintain. For me though, I just recently got married, moved to a place that made for a commute that was a bit more tedious than it was fun, and in general was beginning to feel a bit limited/stressed out when driving my Corvette (more on that later). So I decided to trade in my C7 Grand Sport for a Tesla Model 3 non-performance AWD. Here are my thoughts!

Buying Experience:

Buying a Tesla is a generally seamless and enjoyable experience, but there are some points that are a bit unnerving.

Test driving a Tesla is literally as easy as walking into your nearest store and saying“Hi I want to test drive this model”, and 5 minutes later you’re behind the wheel of whatever models they have available. The sales staff is generally pretty friendly, helpful, and polite, and there is very minimal if any sales pressure.

Compared to your typical dealership experience, where you often have to deal with a salesman sizing you up, etc. This is a much better way to test-drive a vehicle. For instance if you want to drive a 100K+ Model S P100D the answer is “Absolutely, let me grab your co-pilot and do you want any water while we wait?” as opposed to “well let’s see if you can afford it first”

The actual ordering experience is a bit odd/sketchy at times. You have to order your car online and when ordering you place a $2500 deposit to reserve your chosen configuration. It is rather difficult to figure out how much you’re actually purchasing the car for if you’re just using the website. For one, the prices listed on their “cost estimator” do not take into consideration taxes, delivery fees, etc. Likewise Tesla is very quick to advertise a cost with savings, which tends to be a very optimistic savings estimate that takes into consideration EV tax refunds, gas savings, etc.

The main problem is that it’s very hard to figure out how much you are looking to pay with taxes, delivery, registration, etc. until after you place your $2500 reservation. Even then, the way the order confirmation process happens, you pretty much agree to a bunch of different items first and then you see the final price of your vehicle. If you were to buy a car almost anywhere else you start by seeing your full price and then you start agreeing to things, so this kind of felt like a bait and switch at times as I was going through the process.

After the order is confirmed, you get a call from a delivery specialist and they ask if you would like your car delivered or if you would like to pick the car up. I opted to pick the car up.

The pickup process was great!

“Hi I’m here to pickup a car I just ordered”

“Okay great! A delivery host will be with you in a few minutes”

From there I sat in a super nice waiting and was greeted by my delivery host who had me sign some official documents (lease agreement, DMV stuff, etc). Unlike a dealership where this process is usually 45 minutes to 2 hours long, this was literally (8) simple signatures and 5 minutes long. Throughout the process my host kept apologizing for it taking so long and it was literally the most breezy car purchase I had ever experienced.

After that I had a brief introduction to the car and off I went!

I think you could literally get into a Tesla with as little as 15minutes to an hour of total effort expended, depending on how you go about doing things. This is way nicer than the 4-6 hour nightmare that traditional car dealerships put you through.

At the same time, Tesla definitely tries to hide how much money you are actually spending on their vehicles until the last possible moment and until you feel pretty much committed to the purchase. To me the whole order of events in this process is a little sketchy.

A few other notes on this: I traded in my Vette. They gave me a Kelly Blue Book good estimate site unseen and said they’d match any carmax quotes that I got (which I didn’t get).

I did have a little bit of negative equity in my car that I was hoping to roll into my lease payments (since the whole point of a lease is to minimize how much upfront cash one puts down). I had an estimate from a sales advisor showing what this would roughly look like, however when confirming the lease agreement online the negative equity was not rolled into the monthly payments. I reached out to the Tesla folks after confirming my order and they said they’d have no problem making the adjustment, but they kind of went MIA before it was time for me to take delivery.

Before you go “well why did you commit to an agreement that you didn’t want?” to be honest their whole order of events is a little confusing and you’re not quite sure what’s a click just to get the order going/car secured, and what’s a click that’s going to be a more binding confirmation.

Since the amount of negative equity was minimal I just decided to pay for it up-front. But in general I feel like Tesla is a little reckless when it comes to being transparent about what the car costs, how the financial agreement is being made, etc. For me, I was fine with how it all played out (despite being unnerved) but I can honestly see a lot of people digging themselves into a bad financial hole with the way some of these transactions can happen.

Okay on to the cars!

Build Quality:

I know the Tesla Model 3 has a pretty bad reputation for build quality, but my model was pretty solid to my eye. No obvious paint defects, various trim pieces seem aligned. There’s maybe some more panel gap than you’d find elsewhere, but nothing obvious or overtly offensive.

Compared to the Corvette the Model 3 feels surprisingly solid. Even with the new C7’s, Corvettes always have quite a few creaks and rattles thanks to their removable targa top roof. Likewise, my C7’s interior wore way too fast for being only two years old. I honestly felt like I bought a C7 Grand Sport and it started falling apart after two years of daily use, which honestly isn’t acceptable for a $65,000 car.

The Model 3’s interior feels like it uses higher quality materials that won’t wear as quickly and in general it feels like a solid, competently put together car. It doesn’t have that over-engineered, super high quality German car feel, but it’s a nice place to be and definitely nicer than a C7 Corvette’s interior. I also don’t foresee the Model 3 falling apart as quickly as the C7 did.

Only thing I noticed build quality wise is that doors and trunks need to be slammed extra hard to properly close. New passengers almost never close a door tight enough and I almost always have to re-close my trunk even though I think I used enough effort.

In general I was expecting the Model 3 to be a little cheap, crappy, and haphazard in terms of build quality and have been pleasantly surprised so far. On the flip side, though I know Corvettes aren’t the most high-end cars ever made, I expected my C7 to hold up much better than it actually did.

One other call-out is that I am happy that I am leasing this car. It’s not that the build quality is bad per say, but something about it makes me feel like it wouldn’t last a 5+ year ownership cycle.

Driving Experience:

I mainly got the Model 3 because I often have to drive to downtown urban areas and experience soul-crushing 2-4 hour traffic slogs on a weekly basis. Though the C7 Corvette is probably the best daily sports car driver you can find, it can get a little tiring to drive around on a daily basis.

The C7 Grand Sport kind of has two modes, very docile and polite, or ruthlessly fast. Though it’s great that it has both personality types, it transitions between them in an awkward way. There’s times when you want things to be a little sporty and fun and the car is defaulting to its docile tendencies. Then there’s other times when you want it to be a little easier to drive and it can feel a little too intense. So it creates this odd experience where you sometimes feel like you’re a bull in a china shop when putting around town, then there’s other times when you’re wanting to tear it up and the car feels a little too domestic.

The Model 3 has a very “zen-like” driving experience. With the regenerative braking everything feels very telepathic. To move forward use the pedal, to slow down just release. This experience feels very natural and it is super easy to manage your car’s momentum. You barely need to use the brakes and with the near instantaneous torque the car has, it is also very easy to slot yourself wherever you need to go.

The inherent nature of EV vehicles really does feel like a better way to drive to me, and there’s just a lot less mental overhead with how easy and seamless the cars are to drive once you get used to them.

That being said, the Model 3 constantly reminds you that it’s designed to be a normal car and that it’s not a performance oriented vehicle (which it isn’t of course). Steering feel and engagement is virtually non-existent compared to the Corvette. With the way the Corvette cockpit and ergonomics are designed the driver is put in a position where they can be very focused and engaged with the road/car. To be honest this kind of makes a driver in the Corvette feel special.

The Model 3 by comparison just doesn’t try to make the driver feel particularly special in anyway, so while the EV experience is pretty novel and interesting to encounter, the car doesn’t surround itself around the driver like other sports or drivers’ oriented cars would.

I’ll put it this way. When I would wake up in the morning and find myself hitting traffic, the Corvette would feel like a bit of a chore to be in. When I find myself hitting traffic in the Model 3 I think it’s the greatest thing ever because of how easy, comfortable, and seamless the car is to drive in those situations.

When I would get off of work at 2am and have no one on the road around me, I’d think the Corvette was the greatest thing ever because of how enjoyable, fun, and engaging it made driving. Meanwhile in the Model 3, it’s not even worth trying to drive fast when there’s an open road in front of me because it’s not particularly fun or enjoyable to do so in this vehicle.

Power:

I’d classify the Model 3 AWD as quick, but not necessarily fast or powerful. Yes it does have a 4.5 0-60 time, and with its AWD and EV properties that 0-60 can sometimes be a bit punchier than people expect. That being said, the car really runs out of oomph as you approach 80-mph so I’d classify the accelerations as surprising, but a little unremarkable once you get used to them.

The C7 Grand Sport actually has a hard time coming on to power with the way it is torque managed. You can’t floor the car until you are traveling at least 30-40MPH, and you don’t really feel a torque kick in until the car is around 3,000RPM. So you have this odd experience with the C7 where you can’t ever really deck it off the line, but you don’t necessarily always get a nice low-end torque bite like you’d expect from an N/A V8. That being said, a floored C7 feels like it can literally pull you all the way to 189 MPH if given enough road whereas the Model 3’s sense of power and accelerations starts to fade at 50mph and is less existent when you’re at 80.

Around town the Model 3 would probably beat the Corvette from stoplight to stoplight. The instant reaction time and acceleration of the EV motors is just too much for most ICE cars to compete with. By the time an ICE car gets into power, the right gear, etc. the Model 3 has already hit its desired speed. Likewise, where an ICE car has to slam on the brakes to slow down, the Model 3 is naturally coasting to a stop thanks to the regen braking. So it’s actually almost easier to Yo-yo the Model 3 and speed spotlight to spotlight as you can deck it to 60 and then coast to a stop without making a sound or having to use the brakes. If you tried to do that in a C7 Corvette you’d look like a madman.

On a highway, the C7 Grand Sport will walk the Model 3 all day everyday. Especially if the race is for more than say an 1/8th of a mile. On the highway the Model 3 might get the jump but after that it’s over.

I will say that I’m a touch disappointed with the AWD Model 3’s acceleration. I test drove one of these before buying and it felt much stronger than mine currently does. Though it’s a lot easier to blast the car around thanks to its AWD system, I do miss some of the drama that comes with the Corvette. The accelerations are quick, but they just aren’t consistently satisfying on the Model 3.

One other item I noticed is that the Model AWD actually hesitates a bit on its acceleration below 20 MPH. Now this could just be a traction control thing, but the car definitely eases itself into a roll and then starts rocketing you after 20mph when you have the foot to the floor. In the C7 Corvette if you floor it at 0mph, you’ll likely blow the tires off but the car isn’t going to hold back its initial power off the line.

For the Tesla fanboys who really talk up EV acceleration; yeah it’s great from a dig and can surprise you every once in a while, but it does feel like a bit of a party trick, especially as you hold an acceleration and feel the car running out of legs. ICE cars may not nail the initial launch, but they keep going and going. This isn’t to say that EV’s won’t continue to improve on their top-end speed. There’s just tons of articles showing Teslas blowing cars away in a drag race, and if you extend that race to say a half mile the ICE cars keep going while the Teslas start fading. I’m not much of a performance snob, by any means but people acting like Teslas are SO powerful are conveniently overlooking a lot of things, or just haven’t spent much time in a car that has over 350HP.

Handling:

The handling on the Model 3 is surprisingly competent. The suspension is really well dampened and it has an almost perfect balance of firmness and comfort. To be honest the C7 Corvette’s suspension feels like a P.O.S by comparison. Even with magnetic ride control, the C7 feels too firm, as if you are often being jostled and unsettled by the road. Yes there’s maybe a greater sense of connectedness and control, but you feel like GM had no sense of balancing performance and refinement with their suspension setup compared to the Model 3’s.

I’m going to pin the C7’s issues on the leaf springs and low suspension travel, but yeah…despite the C7’s great handling the ride quality of its suspension really betrays how enjoyable and controllable the car can be.

I took my Model 3 on a twisty road, and while it might not have felt as glued to the road as the Corvette would, it felt totally composed, had minimal body roll, and it was very easy to control momentum thanks to the regen braking. In fact it was almost smoother to drive in a canyon thanks to the regen allowing you to decelerate and instantly accelerate at will.

The one thing that I do miss about the C7 Grand Sport is its turn in and grip. With the C7 Grand Sport you feel like you can literally throw it into any turn and that it will just lock-in and go. You don’t get that with the Model 3, but to be fair I wasn’t really expecting that. Some lowering springs, larger sway bars, stickier tires, and a more performance oriented alignment would probably help the Model 3 get respectably closer to this though.

The Model 3 does have pretty weak brakes to me. Now granted, with the regen braking you actually don’t have to use the brakes too often because your speed is so easy to control. At the same time though I felt like my C7 Corvette’s brakes could bail me out of literally any situation…and that’s with steel rotors not even the carbon ceramics. The Model 3’s brakes are adequate at best and probably a little underdone for a car that brags about safety as much as Tesla does.

The Corvette is obviously the better handling car and to be honest it’s probably the best handling car for the money that you can buy today. That being said, if you haven’t driven a C7 Corvette you’ll love everything about the Model 3’s handling. If you have driven one…you’ll really miss the C7’s great turn in and grip, but surprisingly you won’t feel like you’re driving a pig or anything like that at all.

Technology:

Tesla has a lot of hype surrounding their cars due to how technologically advanced they are. The Model 3 in particular is Tesla’s current flag bearer on this front.

While a lot of the features that the Model 3 has are kind of cool, their usefulness and overall impact on the driving experience is a little all over the board. With some features being great while other features feel useless and somewhat gimmicky. So I’ll start with the stuff that I think works well and will work my way down to the features that I think are overhyped.

Phone App.

The Model 3 uses a phone app to replace a proper keyfob. There’s also some keycards that are available in case your phone ever dies. I find the phone app to be relatively helpful. It’s usually something I already have in my hand when walking to my car so it’s a little more convenient to deal with than a fob. Likewise you can monitor your car’s charge, temperature, and a few other things remotely. Now if your car is in a parking garage where your car isn’t getting cell signal, you won’t be able to monitor as well, but I find it pretty convenient to be able to remotely monitor charging progress, to set the cars’ temperature on a hot or cold day before I get in it, etc.

Auto-Pilot

The much-publicized auto-pilot also works quite well! The car pilots itself quite competently and it takes a really big mental load off of you when driving in tedious situations. I have it engaged maybe 50-75% of the time on my daily commute and it has been a game changer for dealing with traffic or tedious driving situations. While the system isn’t perfect, the more I use it the more I trust it and enjoy it.

Where auto-pilot comes up short is that it just doesn’t know how to “pre-empt” human actions when driving. For instance, say a car is merging on the right of me, when driving myself I’ll either accelerate or brake a bit to avoid any inconvenience for me or the driver merging. With auto-pilot engaged, the car sometimes lets that inconvenient moment happen, where your car is now in a position that is going to force a more rapid braking or acceleration action that could have been avoided earlier. Or in a more common instance, there will be a car in the lane next to you with its blinker on. If you were driving yourself you’d probably give this car a chance to get over. With auto-pilot engaged it just keeps on pushing through, potentially creating a tough lane change situation for the car trying to merge as a result.

Another call-out is that auto-pilot does rely quite heavily on clear lane lines for it to work well. I’ve already found myself trying to engage it in situations where it wasn’t available due to poor or unclear road conditions. While this is 100% understandable it is a bit of a limitation.

Full Self Driving

At the moment I am happy that I did not spring for the full self-driving option. While auto-pilot handles itself quite competently, I just don’t trust the car’s awareness to change lanes completely on its own, to slow down and accelerate at appropriate times, etc. It’s not bad by any means and I have no doubt that the car can drive itself, the car at this very moment is just missing some of the human intuition that would make having full self driving engaged something that is truly a worry free experience. For instance, I’d MUCH rather just change lanes myself and re-engage auto pilot than have to worry about the car not knowing how to handle a particular situation, braking when it’s not supposed to, accelerating inappropriately, etc. On the flip side, there’s a lot of times when I want to just be in auto-pilot for as long as possible and being limited to one lane does feel like a bit of a bummer. If FSD was subscription based or followed an owner around instead of a vehicle around I’d 100% buy it. However, it just doesn’t make sense to add an extra 10%+ cost to your vehicle for what is essentially tenuous lane changing capability at the moment.

Parking Sensors and Cameras

The parking sensors are great! The fact that they show how many inches you are away from an object makes navigating tight spots much more intelligent. The backup camera is pretty high res and can occupy pretty much the whole screen, which genuinely makes it more useful than a rearview mirror. My C7 had a backup camera, but I always found myself using the rear-view mirror anyways because the backup camera felt a little too small or not detailed enough.

Though the car has (8) cameras it only has a rear view camera mode, which is a bummer as I think a 360 view, a front view, etc. could be immensely helpful. Apparently the cameras aren’t positioned in a way to really offer this view, but when you’re used to a car with multiple camera angles (like my Vette had) it’s a small letdown

Touch Screen/Infotainment

I think the touch screen on the Model 3 is nice but it’s distracting. Coming from Android auto, everything in that interface is 1-2 touches away. The Model 3 touch screen requires a lot of touching and navigating to get things to actually do what you want, which quite frankly is unsafe and distracting.

The in-car navigation is the best in-car navigation I have ever encountered. It seems to genuinely be on-par with Waze/Google maps and it pretty much curb stomps any other proprietary car navigation that is out there. The satellite view is pretty cool to have, though if you don’t have it, you aren’t missing much. Likewise, the traffic visualization, though helpful seems to not give you a sense of traffic as well as Google Maps’ implementation.

The media playback implementation on this car sucks. Slacker radio or whatever it is called never seems to play what you want it to, and it is super slow and clunky to navigate. This is a huge weak-point for all Teslas at the moment as there is no native Spotify integration, etc. for media playback.

Connecting to Bluetooth on my Samsung Galaxy S9 was error prone as it would constantly disconnect and reconnect until I deleted all of the contacts on my phone that had a special character in them. Now that I have done so, things seem a bit more solid.

The car’s voice command-recognition is not very good. When I speak to google assistant it gets things right every single time, this car takes forever to recognize what I am saying to it and often gets it wrong. Likewise the car cannot read your SMS messages nor can you send them via voice. In general this car’s infotainment and voice based features are extremely limited compared to android auto and carplay.

I find myself feeling often limited and inconvenienced with the Model 3’s infotainment system and to be honest, with how much touching you have to do on the touchscreen and with how poor the voice recognition is, the touch screen can be pretty dangerous to use unless you have autopilot engaged.

The good news is that this area has a lot of potential to improve! But I used Android Auto on a daily basis feeling like I never needed anything extra. With this I feel like it’s just not all there yet.

Easter Eggs

The “easter-eggs” included in the car I plan on never touching, and though they are “nice” to have they don’t deserve all of the hype that people give them.

Web-Browser

There’s a web-browser in the car, which I actually like the idea of! But I can’t think of times where I would prefer to use that over my phone. I would 100% trade the web-browser in for phone mirroring or a more competent media interface.

Sound:

A lot of people really hype up the sound systems in these cars and I think they’re nothing special. I think it’s better balanced and overall clearer than my Corvette’s sound system but I wouldn’t call it a selling point or anything near a deciding factor if purchasing the car.

In fact the only thing I do like about the car’s sound system is that Jazz and other classical music is much easier to listen to because you aren’t fighting the noise and vibration of the engine constantly.

Tech overview

In general, I think the real technological innovation with the Tesla Model 3 is in its battery technology and the general EV driving experience. Auto-pilot is a pretty well developed feature, but FSD does feel like it’s a long way off despite Tesla’s optimistic claims. All of the other stuff that you’ll see in Youtube videos and reviews feels either gimmicky or a little under-developed/buggy. So don’t buy into the idea that the technology inside this car will change your life, because it won’t! But the general EV driving experience and general competence of auto-pilot are game changers for the daily driver.

Misc. EV thoughts:

Though this car has an advertised range of 310 miles it gets nowhere near that if driving like a normal human. Since I’ve owned the car I’ve charged over 300 miles on it, and have driven about 200. That should show you how far off the range estimates are.

Now, this isn’t to say that I’m particularly disappointed or limited by the range. But it’s a little weird seeing the car say you have 294 miles and then two miles later you have 284. Whereas in an ICE car if it says you have 294, you get all 294 miles.

If you don’t live in an area where there is reliable overnight charging the car will be a little stressful to own. I charge my car at work, but have already had times where I have had to go out of my to charge extra, etc. because I was driving more than I could charge at work.

In general you do feel like you are saving a lot of time and money owning an EV car. I put about 120 miles of charge on my Model 3 using some public chargers for $7. Compare that to 4 gallons of gas and that would easily be $15-$25 out here in California.

Likewise, not having to deal with gas stations is awesome. In my Corvette I’d often get people coming up to me asking me for money, or would sometimes get weird looks from folks in sketchier parts of town. I simply just don’t ever have to encounter that in the Model 3. Likewise, I was getting Costco gas, which though cheap is a miserable experience with the stupid lines so I am really happy to have that be done with.

It’s also really nice being able to hang out in the car and not have the ICE motor running to get air-conditioning, power, etc. When I arrive early to places, my Model 3 becomes a very comfortable mobile office that I can hang out in until a meeting starts, etc.

I’m not much of a green freak, but it is pretty nice driving and knowing that you aren’t polluting as much and are helping the world inch towards more sustainable energy.

Lastly, the Tesla supercharger network is a rather powerful thing to have at your disposal. Most public chargers give you about 20-30 miles of range per hour, meaning your car can need up to 8 hours to recoup most of its charge. Though I have a situation where I can pretty consistently charge at work, here’s going to be times where I need a quick fill up and the Tesla superchargers makes that option available. If you are driving with other manufacturers, though the public network is available, you just don’t have that option for a 45 minute fill up like you do with Tesla. Your only option is to let your car charge for several hours.

Overall thoughts vs. C7 Corvette Grand Sport.

The Model 3 AWD isn’t a driver’s car (which makes sense given that it’s probably the first car designed to be a driverless car). If you are looking to enjoy driving from more of a thrills and excitement level, this car won’t give you the emotional and visceral cues to make that happen. It’s not that the car isn’t quick, doesn’t handle well, or anything like that. There’s just an effortlessness and lack of drama that the Model 3 has which makes things a bit less rewarding to engage in. It’s easy to be impressed with the car and to be surprised with it, but it’s not something you necessarily feel invested in emotionally. I look at my Model 3 and think “driving is so quick, efficient, and practical now” I used to look at my Corvette and go “God I love this thing”. Both are good connections to have, but they are different. If you think showing off gimmicky sort of buggy technology is special, then you’ll feel very cool owning the car, but from an emotional perspective the Model 3 does very little to make you love it like you would a sports car.

When I would drive my C7 Grand Sport around, I would literally feel like I owned the road and could have a shot at any other car that came at me. I felt like there was a certain presence and emotional engagement to being in a Corvette and that just isn’t there in the Model 3. To be fair, I don’t necessarily think a Model 3 is trying to be that kind of emotional drivers*’* car in the first place so I can’t necessarily peg this as a flaw, but for those of us used to a more sporty experience, you are going to miss having that emotional connection and presence emanating from your car.

Now if you’re looking to circumvent a lot of the hassles that come with driving, this car is pretty much the best in the business at the moment. From its near silent operation, the reactive nature of EV piloting, and the fact that things like auto-pilot make it so you almost don’t have to drive the car, the Tesla Model 3 does simplify almost all of the complexity that comes with owning and driving a traditional ICE car. For instance there’s no oil changes, no more stopping for gas, you’re not worrying about engine failure, transmission fluid leaks, etc. This isn’t to say that EV’s are bullet proof by any means, but it does seem like there’s a lot less that can go wrong.

I will say, as much as I loved the idea of owning and driving a C7 Corvette there was a lot of low-key stress and hassle that came with driving one day to day. The car’s large tires would tramline, turning radius wasn’t particularly good which made for difficult parking lots, the car would seem to get super dirty after only a few days driving it, the suspension could beat you up easily, etc. In general, whenever I was asked to run an errand in the Corvette, part of me always weighed having to deal with the low-key wear and tear issues that it could cause, vs. actually doing whatever the trip was. With the Tesla it’s pretty much always “yeah no problem” because the car is easy to drive, there’s no gas to use, minimal drivetrain wear and tear, etc.

Though I think Tesla does mis-represent the true cost of their vehicles, there are a lot of positives to how they conduct business. When I would take my Corvette in to get serviced, even after making an appointment, I’d be sitting at a dealership for several minutes before anyone would acknowledge me, and then the dealership would not really know how to address or want to address whatever issues I presented to them.

So far everything with Tesla has been very quick and seamless. There’s a general “can do” attitude with everyone that I’ve encountered from Tesla and there’s a general emphasis on trying to make things as convenient as humanly possible for owners.

Likewise, though I do find some of the Model 3’s features to be a little gimmicky and buggy, there’s definitely a clear vision behind the vehicle and how everything is intended to integrate. With a lot of cars, the C7 included, I think a lot of manufacturers go “here’s all of the things this car can do” and they kind of throw in off the shelf parts and features that do the job, but those features don’t feel like they belong to the car itself. Some of the Tesla stuff is a little questionable, but there’s no question that they tried very hard to develop those features a certain way and to integrate into the car on a more comprehensive level. A Tesla very much feels like an Apple product, whereas a lot of other cars feel like PC’s from various OEM’s by comparison. There’s pros and cons to both but the Apple product does feel like there’s some kind of lasting vision or purpose behind it, whereas that’s not as much the case with OEM PC stuff.

Tesla’s ability to add features via over the air updates is also pretty darn cool. I’m probably not as passionate about this car as I am the Corvette, and yet I find myself constantly looking at Tesla forums and news because I know improvements to the car are constantly coming.

All in all, will I miss my Vette? Absolutely! Will this car make my life easier in a bunch of different ways? Totally. As I drive this car more and more I realize that I liked the idea of owning a Corvette, being in one, etc. almost more than I enjoyed the actual car itself. This isn’t to say that I didn’t use my C7 well, or didn’t appreciate it, etc. just that the ethos behind a car can really be a powerful thing and can help mask a lot of factual flaws or issues.

The Model 3 by comparison is probably way better across the board in terms of practicality, day-to-day enjoyment, cost, convenience, etc. yet I don’t love it or enjoy it the same way I do the Corvette. It’s an intellectual affair, and one that makes all the sense at this very moment in my life, but I’m never going to look back and go “Man I got to drive a Model 3” and that’s precisely why I decided not to own this car.

EV is clearly the future and I am honestly a little shocked that Audi, Jaguar, and Porsche are the only ones to sort of have moderately competent vehicles coming to market any time soon. Even then, they look to be about a generation behind where Tesla is at in terms of battery, EV, and general technological capabilities.

ICE cars won’t be going away too soon, but EV really is the future. Tesla is trying to hit the car revolution quite hard with the full self-driving ethos, tech heavy emphasis, etc. Even without that stuff, EV vehicles are quite clearly better than ICE vehicles to me.

Though my goal is to get the new mid-engine Corvette when it comes out, part of me is worried that for all of its greatness, it will still ultimately fall short of the many inherent advantages provided by the EV driving experience. The first car manufacturer to have a proper EV sports car could very likely get my next purchase. The EV experience is great, and while the Model 3 AWD isn’t perfect in a lot of ways, the more I drive it, the more I feel like ICE cars are starting to feel like a huge step backwards. If by some miracle the new Tesla Roadster starts at $150K, which it won’t, I’d buy it in a heartbeat even if I couldn’t completely afford it. EV’s are here to stay and I’m looking for something compelling to make sure I never look back.

TL;DR. Model 3 AWD, surprisingly better built than C7 Corvette, not a super high performer but great to daily drive and is quick. EV is a gamechanger. Don’t buy a Model 3 for all the tech hype, because that part is overblown. If you’re used to driving a sports car you’ll likely miss the emotion behind it in the Model 3 AWD.

[4evafitstore]

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale. 

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric.  Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro.  Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.  

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired.  Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.  

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones.   Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point.  And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio.  as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring,  So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.  

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers.  Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not.  check on Amazon Read the full article

[4evafitstore]

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale. 

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric.  Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro.  Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.  

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired.  Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.  

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones.   Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point.  And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio.  as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring,  So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.  

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers.  Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not.  check on Amazon Read the full article

[4evafitstore]

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale. 

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric.  Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro.  Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.  

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired.  Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.  

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones.   Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point.  And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio.  as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring,  So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.  

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers.  Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not.  check on Amazon Read the full article

[4evafitstore]

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale. 

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric.  Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro.  Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.  

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired.  Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.  

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones.   Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point.  And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio.  as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring,  So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.  

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers.  Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not.  check on Amazon Read the full article