#Five Reasons to use a Text to Voice Software

[dkniade]

the way the Genshin character birthday mails are written make them seem like audio transcriptions instead of, well, written letters (unless, speech-to-text softwares exist in Teyvat?)

for example, in Fischl’s 2021 mail, fifth-last line here, 咳咳 (ke2ke2) is the Chinese equivalent of the English onomatopoeia ahem, which isn’t usually used in written letters, is it…?*

This is implied to be written (spoken?) by Fischl & Oz themlseves so there’s really no need to redact what’s likely Oz’s name (his name 奥兹 in Chinese has two characters hence the two blocks of censorship), right… Likely Oz’s name, since Fischl won’t drop her guise so easily, and since she has no reason to state her (no-longer-used) birth name in her own birthday mail to the Traveler. Also, the last five lines here is in (non-Fischl) prose, paired with a mention of guessing using [redact name]’s “Unfathomable Raven Eye” (literal translation of 幽邃鸦眼).

So it feels like Fischl and Oz spoke into a speech-to-text device (which for some reason censored what’s likely Oz’s name), which the Traveler then got to see in-universe. (Imagine if it’s actually through the Dodocommunication Device that just blasts Fischl’s & Oz’s voices when you accept the message though haha)

*You might use it informally while texting, but then that begs the question of if electronic communication devices like phones exist in Teyvat… Would the Dodo-receiver (? the Dodoco-looking voice-chat device that Venti gives the Traveler in the 2nd summer island event) have a speech-to-text function? A projection that shows the transcribed text? If so, can you choose the display font and size? Can Fischl choose a fancy script font for the device to display to the other person? Can it be animated typography? That wouldn’t be very convenient as a communication device, though… What about sign language to text? Camera function? ….Can the device be used as a speaker (and maybe projector?) for presentations and celebratory events? If it’s a floating device for voice-chatting, could it in theory fly around and follow you like Paimon? How would it be like for both Paimon AND a Dodoco-looking voice-chat device to follow you around, occasionally transmitting Venti’s voice? If it turns into a commonly-used technology in Teyvat, would everyone in theory be able to have a floating companion? It’d be kinda like if your phone/tablet can float around and follow you while video/voice-calling someone…

…If you can customize the voice-chat device’s appearance, could you have it be made in someone’s image (e.g. Nameless Bard’s), and have someone speak as that person as the device (shell?) follows you around? So you mean, a puppet

[blogboso-blog]

Considerations To Know About 45 Cash com

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[updatedgeek]

5 Best AI Search Engine

Because of artificial intelligence, technology has advanced and changed the game. It has also altered how we currently use search engines to look up terms. The finest AI search engine can comprehend the query's purpose and deliver extremely relevant results. We will examine five of the top AI search engines in this article.

Before learning more about AI search engines, let's first define what an AI search engine is.

What is an AI search engine?

Machine learning techniques are used by AI search engines to enhance the search results. These search engines carefully examine user preferences and behavior before tailoring the results to their precise requirements.

Google Bard

On March 21, 2023, Google began developing the search engine. The material is accessible in 238 countries and 46 distinct languages.

Personalized results, picture search, and voice search are some of this search engine's innovative features. LaMDA is the language model.

Everyone can use this search engine for nothing.

Pros

Pleasant user interface

Aesthetically pleasing responses that resemble those produced by humans

Cons

Experience that is isolated since there is no integration or plugin

2. ChatGPT

Open AI developed this search engine on November 30, 2022. It is capable of generating answers to the users' posted inquiries. Python is the language used to write it. The program has the capacity to produce conversational dialogues that resemble those of humans.

Although this search engine's standard plan has restricted functionality, it is available for unlimited use. For $20 per month, one can easily choose the premium version.

Pros

Simple to use

Pleasant user interface

Virtually every question

Availability of the History tab

Cons

Sometimes the findings are wrong.

Knowledge gap because it was only trained on the data up until 2021

3. Komo

This search engine provides three crucial features. explore, look up, and converse. Along with contributing to the topic conversations, users can participate in idea generation. The search tool responds to inquiries quickly and effectively.

This software assists users in identifying their interests and conducting engaging research for the answers.

Everyone can use this platform's free basic version.

Pros

No advertisements

Rapid and trustworthy outcomes

Personalized and pertinent search outcomes

Simple to use

Cons

There is a need for improvement because the user interface is not as nice as the competitors.

Repeated outcomes

Not always current with the most recent news

4. You.com

Richard Sochet and Bryan McCann put a strong emphasis on user privacy when creating this search engine. This is quite beneficial for people who wish to keep their information secure but also want getting responses quickly.

This search engine gives developers the freedom to create apps that can run inside the result page. The search results are comparable to what Google produces. The search engine's output is based on deductive reasoning.

It can also provide answers to the most recent inquiries.

Use of this search engine is totally free

Pros

Simple to use

Keeps users' privacy intact

Provides data about current events and relevant issues

Cons

Sometimes the text that is produced is of poor quality.

The image generator produces three new images each day.

5. Bing

Microsoft created this search engine to take use of artificial intelligence. In February 2023, the platform had an update that added LLM technology. Bing now has millions of consumers who previously used Google.

Academic search, visual search, and voice search are a few of this platform's advanced capabilities. This search engine uses OpenAI Prometheus as its language model.

Pros

Simple to use

Amazing background picture

Use of this platform is cost-free.

Cons

The loading speed is slower than Google's

This software's mapping system is inferior to those of rivals.

Follow for more updates

Follow Raveen Chawla on Medium

For related searches, click Articles, click Web-stories

[voicelycom]

Five Reasons to use a Text to Voice Software

What is the meaning of text to voice software? Why would anyone want to convert text to voice? It’s only for the purpose of using an adaptable file to convert into speech. Alright, now that this answer is in place, you still need to know the purpose of creating a speech, something that a person can do. 

Well, we are here to introduce you to the world of automated voice over systems that enable the conversion of text to voice. 

The text to voice software is nothing but the means to add a voice over by feeding text into the software called Voicely. 

Why do you need Voicely as text to voice software?

Voicely is becoming more accessible to people who want to use them for branding purposes. It’s affordable and easy to use, and that is why – more and more businesses are eyeing this intuitive software. Let’s look at some of the reasons that make people want to get this text to voice software before the competition does.

It’s affordable 

– Unlike Voice Over freelance artists, Voicely does not burn a hole in your pocket. Okay, so a human Voice Over (VO) artist cannot get beaten down in comparison to a machine. Anyone would prefer a VO over a software, but the catch is that for simple 2D-animated videos that demand simple branding, these are as best as it gets. 

It’s speed efficient 

– When you want the bucks to come in faster, your turnaround time needs to improve. The text to voice software can do that for you because many of the processes are already available within the system. For instance, you don’t need to go looking around for installing particular accents or gender-based tones. There are a plethora of options available within Voicely to make sure that you don’t have to go to different sites and search for them.

It’s convenient to use 

– Text to voice software is easily integrated on desktop and mobile devices. The most comprehensive text to voice solutions is intuitive and easy to use. It is most useful in a time when multiple devices are used for adapting various marketing purposes. 

It’s a productivity enhancer 

– We live in a world where multitasking has become a habit. Multitasking is not a healthy option to always go with, we recommend a different route. Well, this software offers you the convenience of improving your productivity by immediately completing the VO process and moving on to other video effect processes.  

It’s based on the latest technology 

– Voicely is AI-powered, which means that it is intuitive and is integrated with various features to produce the best text to voice results. The software is efficient to the point where it’s difficult to differentiate between an artificially generated voice and an actual human voice. Don’t believe us? Watch the Voicely overview video now.

Enjoy a wide range of text-to-speech customizations with Voicely. Select the tone, pace the pace of speech, choose the semitones and a whole lot of other options. 

Source Blog: - https://vidtoon.com/blog/five-reasons-to-use-a-text-to-voice-software

[thetangential]

Audiobook review: “Big Swiss” is an affair to remember

In her mid-40s, Greta realizes she’s been drifting through life. In response, she leaves her decade-long relationship, moves across the country into an infested house, takes up work as a sex therapist’s transcriber, and embarks on an affair with one of his clients, not bothering to mention the connection. We’re in the last wave of gen-X midlife crisis novels, and these slackers are not going gently.

Daily life with Greta and her housemate Simone, in fact, isn’t far removed from the rhythms of Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, wherein post-boomers hang out in an isolated house, swapping stories and half-assedly trying to make some sense of it all. In Jen Beagin’s new novel Big Swiss, the women live in an 18th-century upstate New York farmhouse where they smoke cigarettes, load the wood-burning stoves, and maintain an uneasy balance with the various bugs suffusing the structure.

Greta never claims to be a good person; in fact, she experiences chronic low-level suicidal ideation linked to her feelings of worthlessness. Readers inclined to judge Greta for acting on an opportunity to sleep with a woman whose therapy sessions she’s been privy to are essentially invited to fire away: we’ll never loathe Greta more than she loathes herself.

That all sounds very bleak, and it certainly is, but Beagin counts on us to keep turning pages — or listening — based on shared curiosity about the object of Greta’s mounting obsession. Flavia, or “Big Swiss” as Greta regards her after making a correct supposition about the European American’s physical stature, is a married gynecologist in her late 20s. By various rules of society, neither woman should be with the other. That gives their affair a tenuous quality that manifests, for both of them, as an extra kick of sexual electricity.

Greta’s mordant humor buoys the novel even as it delves into the traumatic events that have shaped these characters’ lives. The therapist character plays a surprisingly constructive role: despite Greta’s contempt for his dubious holistic practices, ultimately he emerges as a voice of reason, encouraging his clients to see themselves honestly but charitably. (His decision to hire a transcriptionist who’s not just human, but local, while he’s telling clients the task is handled by software, is a contrivance that’s never fully explained.)

In Hollywood, the setup would lead to a third-act payoff where Big Swiss discovers the deception and Greta pays the piper. It remains to be seen what producer Adam McKay will do with the forthcoming HBO series based on this novel, but Beagin takes her time to follow the story’s unwinding strands. Even amid shocking surprises, the novel’s focus remains on the unexpected bond between the two lovers — then, latterly, returns to the friendship between Greta and Simone.

The audiobook involves a cast of five, which helps to differentiate the therapy sessions Greta transcribes from her inner dialogue. The audiobook credits fail to specify which actors portray which characters, but together they have fun with Big Swiss’s Nico-esque rumble and Greta’s self-deprecating wit. Director Nikki Banks Maurer ensures that the narrators capture the character’s nuances and the text’s shifting tones: with a novel like this, autopilot performances would be disastrous.

Despite its crackling dialogue and meme-worthy moments, Big Swiss is ultimately a patient examination of two women’s relationship with each other, and with their disparate histories of trauma. The characters don’t ask for our empathy, but Beagin ensures that by novel’s end they have it.

– Jay Gabler

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — March 01-12

all posts || following week >>>

Greetings! This is the first in what I intend to be a weekly series giving a summary of updates from and about Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan. Since this is the first post and there have been some rather interesting events recently, this includes all of the month so far. 

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. A glossary of names and terms often used can be found [here]. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

03-01  → Paparazzi photos of Zhang Zhehan at Beijing Airport appeared on Weibo, supposedly catching a flight to Shanghai. It is currently uncertain whether these are recent or simply ones that a photographer had not sold before / whoever bought them hadn’t released them before. [Main photo and a brief breakdown of evidence for when the photos were taken here.] One theory giving reason for them being old relates to the events of the following day and is summarized below. Update 07-05: These pictures are heavily suspected to be of a body double, orchestrated by the same people behind the Zhang Sanjian account.

03-02  → L’Oreal released a commercial featuring Gong Jun.

→ Zhang Sanjian, an account claiming to be Zhang Zhehan that many suspect is a malicious imposter (brief overview by me here), posted two photos of a figure in a jacket Zhang Zhehan was previously photographed in. The figure’s face is not visible in either, but many who believe the account is legitimate consider(ed) this to be proof. Fan Observation: There is some speculation based on these photos that the ones from the previous day were either released by whoever is behind the Zhang Sanjian account, or else Zhang Sanjian used them to their advantage. The reason for this is that the same hat—though in a different colour—is worn in both sets of photos. The timing seems a bit too coincidental to not have been done intentionally. 

03-03 → A photoshoot Gong Jun did for Harper’s Bazaar Men was released. [photos and translated interview]

→ A video was released of a talk made on 02-21 by Wang Yong, the director of the Hong Fan Research Institute and a professor at the China University of Political Science, discussing the legal system as it has been reflected in Zhang Zhehan’s case. The talk was attended by many legal professionals. [text translation] [subbed video] 

03-04 → Gong Jun’s ad campaign for MUJOSH was released, featuring a photoshoot, a commercial, and a series of voice clips in the style of audio logs. [recordings and text translation] Fan Observation: Many have been very 🥺 about the way the voice clips seem to reflect Zhang Zhehan’s absense.

→ National Public Radio released a five minute news story talking about online censorship in China which included a brief segment about Zhang Zhehan. Twitter users QuelleVous, teddyfoxfluff, bluebirdmuppet, and flora_38657 were interviewed for the piece. [recording and transcript here] 

→ Addition made 03-21: Xie Yihua, Zhang Zhehan’s former music manager, registered 50 trademarks for Zhang Sanjian. This was discovered by fans on 03-21, further details are available under the entry for that date. [Blue’s thread discussing it] 

03-05  → Gong Jun posted his first vlog of the year showing him filming the L’Oreal commercials released on 02-28 and 03-02 (above). Background music used in the video was Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran and Life Goes On by Oliver Tree.  Fan Observation: It was pointed out that one of the top comments on NetEase Cloud Software (Chinese music streaming) for Nancy Mulligan reads: “When China allows homosexuals to get married, I will play this song at our wedding.”

→ Two Sessions, an annual week-long legal conference, began. One of the main topics of discussion was legislation pertaining to criminalizing and punishing cyber violence. Some statements by attendees [here] [here] [here] and [here]. A more comprehensive summary regarding this can be found on Flora’s timeline linked at the bottom of this post.

Zhang Zhehan’s name was not mentioned in an press released about the conference, but he was heavily discussed by netizens in comments of articles and posts about it; several news articles closed or limited comments as a result. #Recommended to include serious cyber violence in public prosecution cases# was #1 on Weibo’s hot search, accompanied by a number of similar hashtags. It was noticed by netizens that these tags quickly fell on the hot search, indicating that they were likely intentionally suppressed. 

→ Four more photos supposedly of Zhang Zhehan appeared on Weibo, again wearing the same hat. Update 07-05: Likewise as the above.

03-06 → YOUKU announced they were doing Word of Honor NFTs, and were immediately torn apart by fans for once again continuing to merchandise Zhang Zhehan’s image while participating in his boycott.

→ Put bluntly, Zhang Sanjian fucked up. An advertisement for a lecture on ADHD in children was mistakenly posted then deleted a minute later. See the 03-08 addition about Flora below for further details.

03-07 → Global Times released an article discussing the topic of cyber violence at Two Sessions. No mention of Zhang Zhehan.

03-08 (International Women’s Day) → YAMAN posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio Weibo posted a video compliation of behind the scenes clips from December-January photoshoots and appearances.

→ Gong Jun made a post for Women’s Day in his supertopic.

→ Zhang Sanjian made a post for Women’s Day basically cementing that it’s malicious: the post was entitled “My Mother” but was accompanied by a picture from a 2018 Durex condom ad. Responses from the general public who believe the account to be Zhang Zhehan have shown how harmful the account has now become, regardless of what the true intention behind it was.

→ Flora (Twitter user flora_38657, one of the main people who have been sharing updates relating to Zhang Zhehan’s case with English speakers) posted a WIP document detailing a theory for who the person behind Zhang Sanjian is, based largely upon the ADHD lecture ad mistakenly posted on 03-06.

03-09  → Nothing of note

03-10 →  China Youth Daily published an article about cyber violence wherein Zhang Zhehan was briefly mentioned by name, marking the first time he’s been named as a victim of cyber violence by an official news source. [translation] 

03-11 → Final day of Two Sessions.

→ The version of the China Youth Daily article that was posted on Baidu removed the paragraph mentioning Zhang Zhehan. 

03-12 →  Numerous Weibo users who shared the China Youth Daily article had their accounts muted; many of the fans among these had a sense of humor about it and changed their pfps to be behind bars.

→ Addition made 04-06: Zhang Zhehan’s Happy Camp episodes from last year were reuploaded to YouTube. [Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun’s episode] [Zhang Zhehan’s solo episode]

Additional Reading: → Flora’s Justice of the People daily timeline → Justice for People’s March 1-14th timeline video of events relating to Zhang Zhehan’s case

all posts || following week >>>

This post was last edited 2022-07-19 (just formatting changes).

[weathergirl8]

Master of Deflection - Part 4

Another update, I hope you enjoy! Thank you all for being incredibly supportive during this rough time as I try to navigate myself through this dark period. I am deeply grateful to have your support. I honestly don’t think I would still be here if it weren’t for your love and support.

This is for you @ak47stylegirl and anyone else who enjoys Alan whump/smothering. Of course, there will be some extra Virgil in there too, because I just love the big guy.

@gumnut-logic Virgil smothers for you!

@godsliltippy @misssquidtracy Gordon jokes and laying down the law for you!

As a friendly reminder, I originally came from the TOS and TB 2004 era. I’ve tried to write a few TAG point of views, but my comfort zone is the previous. This will take place with Gordon as the redhead, and Virgil as the middle bro. Sorry!

Summary: Being the youngest of five is always hard, especially when they pounce at the slightest hair out of line. Sometimes the art of deflection can sting.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daylight narrowly filtered into his bedroom as Alan slowly opened his heavy eyelids. The eighteen-year-old groaned as consciousness greeted him, and it was anything but welcoming. He swallowed with a grimace as his throat not only felt dry but painfully scratchy like sandpaper. Alan coughed as a tickle erupted from him, which only added to his misery as the rattle settled deep into his chest. He threw his covers off him as he felt smothered by heat, sweat collecting across his brow.

Turning to look at his clock, he noticed a note and a fresh bottle of water sitting on his nightstand. Alan groaned as he forced his achy body to reach the note before him. Unfolding it, Alan saw it was from his father.

Alan,

I came in to check on you, but you were sound asleep. I didn’t want to disturb you. Be sure to drink this water body to help stay hydrated. It’ll help with your headache. There is soup in the fridge waiting for you whenever you feel up to it. We can bring it up to you if you need us to. All you have to do is ask. I’ll come to check on you again in a few hours unless one of your brothers beats me to it. I laid another dose of your migraine meds on your nightstand so you wouldn’t have to get up. If you think you need another dose, I’d prefer you contact Virgil so he can check on you. For your old man’s sake, humor me.

Love, Dad

Alan smiled and laid the note back on his nightstand as he collapsed back into his bed. Closing his eyes, the teen moaned as his body ached once more, his head still pounding. Sniffling, he pulled the last Kleenex out of the box on his nightstand and blew his stuffy nose. He sighed when he didn’t see another box in sight.

Pushing his tired body up, he closed his eyes against the dizziness that stole his balance. A chill slithered its way throughout his body, causing the teen to throw the covers back over him quickly.

Nope, not worth making the trip to the bathroom.

Alan collapsed back into the comfort of his bed once more with a whimper as he realized he couldn’t handle this on his own anymore. Illuminating the face of his watch, he sent a quick text to his brother Virgil hoping the medic was both awake and near the device as it was still early morning yet.

He turned to grab a drink of water as he fought against another tickle in his throat while throwing the blankets off him as he suddenly felt heat overwhelm him. Alan felt his watch buzzing but was unable to answer as the tickle turned into a deep cough. The teen pushed himself up and tried to clear his throat. Fiddling with the cap on the water bottle, Alan attempted to take a sip of water in hopes it would help. He swallowed at the wrong time, making him cough more as he choked on the water.

“Alan!” he heard his brother call and felt Virgil’s steady arms around him.

“I’m okay,” he wheezed. “I just swallowed wrong.”

“Geez, kid. First, you text me you need me, and then you don’t answer. Then I find you in here choking,” Virgil barked. “What’s going on?”

“Virgil, can you take it down a notch,” Alan’s hoarse voice pleaded, wincing as his head throbbed.

“Sorry, you just gave me a scare is all,” Virgil exhaled as he eyed his baby brother precariously. “Are you okay? Is it your head?”

Alan coughed, groaning once more. “Yes and a few other things.”

Virgil frowned. “I don’t like that cough. When did it start?” he asked as he felt his brother’s forehead. “Yikes, kiddo. You’ve got a fever cooking there. What other symptoms do you have?”

“Headache still around. The cough started last night, along with the body aches. My throat hurts. One minute I’m cold, the next I’m sweating. It’s annoying,” the blonde grumbled, as another cough erupted from him, causing a grimace. “Chest hurts a little when I cough too.”

Virgil frowned deeper. “Let’s get you down to the infirmary and see what kind of fever we’re dealing with. I think you might have caught a nasty chest cold, Allie.”

“Lucky me,” Alan sighed. “Can’t I just stay here, and you can do your magic?”

“No can do, Sprout. I want to do a full-body check. If everything checks out, I’ll send you back here to isolate and rest. Deal?”

“Fiiine,” Alan whined and climbed out of bed slowly. As he stood, Alan felt his world tilt.

“Whoa!” Virgil exclaimed as he caught Alan around the waist, preventing the teen from falling. “Dizziness another symptom?”

“Yea,” Alan mumbled as he held onto his older brother.

“You okay?” Virgil worried as he continued to hold most of Alan’s weight.

“Peachy. Did you catch that bus that hit me?”

Virgil chuckled. “Afraid not, Al. Next time I’ll be sure to ask for license and registration. C’mon, let’s get you taken care of.”

-TB-

“I should’ve noticed this before the mission last night. I woke him up before the klaxon went off and something seemed off,” Scott cursed, leaning his head against the hallway wall.

Word had quickly spread across the villa that the youngest Tracy was sick. Virgil had kicked them out until he was finished examining the youngest Tracy.

“Alan is the master of deflection, Scott. He only lets us see what he wants us to see. Outside of the headache and general shock from that jerk Captain, he seemed fine,” Gordon said from his spot on the floor. “Besides, even you big brother can’t stop a cold from infecting one of us.”

“I could’ve stopped him from getting drenched in those freezing waters last night. Stopped him from being held by that Captain.”

“Don’t even go there,” Gordon said, looking at his oldest brother pointedly. “I’ve already had this conversation with Virgil. None of you are to blame. It happened, we dealt with it, and Alan is fine.”

“What did Virgil say to you?” Scott asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s fine,” Gordon reassured.

“I highly doubt that,” Scott scoffed. “Either way, I should’ve benched Alan last night.”

“You stop the kid when his mind is set on something?” Gordon mused. “How well has that worked out for you in the past?”

Scott glared at his younger brother.

“Okay, you two,” Virgil interrupted as the automatic infirmary doors opened. “You can come in.”

Scott didn’t waste a second as he entered the sterile room. Approaching Alan’s bed, he nodded at Jeff, who had stayed in the room. “Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” Alan groaned.

“Don’t worry, Allie,” Gordon chirped from beside Jeff. “You’ll be good as new before you even know it.”

“What’s the diagnosis?” Scott asked, looking to Virgil on his left. The brunette frowned as Alan was overcome with a coughing fit.

“Something viral,” Virgil said. “Looks like a nasty chest cold taking him for a ride.”

“You’ll be fine in a few days,” Jeff smiled, running a gentle hand through Alan’s unruly mop of hair that desperately needed a haircut.

“I hope so,” Alan croaked as he swallowed, the action irritating his throat. He closed his eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit me.

“Tired?” Scott asked, rubbing Alan’s arm.

“Yea…” Alan replied, opening his eyes.

“You can go back to your room, Sprout. I don’t see any reason to keep you in here for the moment. I already gave you some Tylenol to help with your symptoms,” Virgil said.

“Is it okay if I stay here for a bit? I’m too tired to move,” Alan moaned with a sniffle.

“Sure,” Virgil smirked.

“Better mark that one on the calendar, guys,” Gordon chuckled. “How high is that fever?” he asked jokingly as he tried to reach around their father.

“Shut it, Fishface,” Virgil warned. “We don’t question good things!”

“Don’t get too used to it,” Alan coughed as he reached for a Kleenex to blow his nose.

“Alright, c’mon. Let your brother get some rest,” Jeff said, as he watched Alan’s eyes close.

Virgil rested his hand lightly on Alan’s shoulder. “I’ll check on you in a little while, okay?”

“Mmm,” Alan mumbled, and he was out within seconds.

“He’s wiped,” Scott frowned as they each exited the infirmary.

“Rest is the best thing for him,” Jeff added as they headed toward the office. “I better go update John on the latest and let him know to pack up.”

“Pack up?” Scott asked, confused.

“Brains was already planning on heading up to Thunderbird 5 today with a few software updates to the ship. I saw him on my way to the infirmary this morning and let him know Alan was sick. He offered to take over for a few days so John could be here to help out,” Jeff explained. “I told him we’d be fine, but Brains insisted.”

“Johnny’s coming down for a few days? That should be fun,” Gordon smiled devilishly.

“Gordon,” Jeff cautioned.

“What?” the redhead asked innocently. “I wasn’t going to do anything. I’m just excited to see the guy, that’s all, geesh.”

Virgil raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Sure, you were.”

“You have to convince John to leave first,” Scott said. “You know how he is about his rotations up there.”

“He’d be skipping out to see Alan,” Gordon added. “Just lead with that.”

-TB-

“So, the Sprout is sick?” John asked.

“Virgil said it looks to be mostly viral, but he’s keeping an eye on him,” Jeff reassured.

“Are you sure Brains wants to swap?” John asked apprehensively.

“Positive, John. He insisted. Plus, even if we don’t need the extra hand, it’ll be nice to have you five all earthbound again.”

John smiled. “It has been a while, hasn’t it? Even if the kid is sick.”

“Let’s just hope your brother will get over this bug quickly,” Jeff said, hopeful.

John studied his father’s features on the screen in front of him. “You don’t think he will? I thought Virgil said it was just viral.”

“He did,” Jeff exhaled. “Just a feeling, I guess. Your little brother tends to make me worry. Don’t mind me.”

John smirked in understanding. “I get it, Dad. So, how long do I have until Brains heads up here?”

“A couple of hours. Brains is loading Three as we speak with his equipment and extra supplies.”

“F.A.B. Tell Alan I hope he feels better, and I’ll see him tonight,” John acknowledged.

“Will do. See you soon, John,” Jeff smiled and disconnected the call. Leaning back in his desk chair, Jeff looked across the pictures on his desk. His eyes landed on an image of his sons at Alan’s graduation. A sense of nostalgia filled him as he remembered the day vividly. The patriarch tried to push his feelings of worry aside. After all, Alan was just sick with a cold. There was nothing to worry about.

TBC…

[somedew-fictions]

All is forgiven! Perhaps something light? I would like prompt 20 with Sebastian and the farmer. Perhaps where he hasn't given them attention for a while, but they honestly don't mind waiting for someone like him? :D

#20 "Please forgive me!"

Sebastian knows he has made a grave mistake. It's three o'clock in the morning, he is on his sixth cup of coffee, and his eyes burn from staring at his computer screen for so long in the darkness of the basement.

He just completed a project he has been hunched over for the last month for a company in ZuZu City, fighting the software tooth and nail through it all. It has been his biggest project yet, now completed, but he hasn't left the house for anything other than smoke breaks and proof-of-living checks with Sam.

He can't even remember the last time he checked his phone, but reaching across his desk to grab it, he realizes his grave mistake.

Twelve unread messages from the farmer and five missed calls.

Sebastian jumps from his computer chair and runs to his closet to pull on a set of warmer clothes, mumbling to himself how idiotic his actions have been. He can't even bring himself to open his phone in fear of what the farmer may have said, so he instead pulls on his shoes and leaves the basement as silently as he can so he can run over to the farmer's house.

He can barely see the path as he makes his way over, and his head is buzzing from all the coffee, but he manages his way to the farmer's property just fine. He takes a deep breath before he knocks on their front door, knocking aggressively in hopes to wake them up.

The farmer swings open the front door a few minutes later, their hair sticking up in several directions and their pajamas wrinkled. Their eyes are only opened half of the way but they squint anyway through their blurry morning vision, realizing who is at their door.

"Sebastian? Do you know what time it is?" They asks with a yawn, their reaction being nothing of what Sebastian imagined. No anger, sadness, or excitement. Just their normal voice they always use, as if he had seen them yesterday.

"I..." Sebastian's words are caught in his throat, his brain unable to conjure them into the perfect sentence. Realizing he is running out of time to reply, he opens his arms and pulls the farmer in for a hug, his face burying into their hair. "I'm so sorry for not checking my phone. I was doing this project and I lost track of time and just..." He draws back from the hug, hanging his head in shame. "Please forgive me."

His head snaps forward when he hears a giggle escape the farmer's lips. There is a grin across their face as they reach their hands up to cup either side of his face.

"Everything is fine," they assume him with a smile. "I don't mind waiting for you. I know how important work is to you."

"You aren't upset?" Sebastian asks softly.

"Not at all. I just texted you encouraging cat memes and called a few times to make sure you were alive. Sam told me you were fine so I had no reason to worry."

Sebastian smiles faintly and brings the farmer back in for a hug. "Thank Yoba..." He sighs, his muscles relaxing.

"It's cold out, Seb. Come inside and let's go back to bed. You must be exhausted," the farmer coaxes him and he willingly obliges, happy he has someone like the farmer to look after him when he does something stupid.

[n7inky-fanfics]

One Day at a Time

The destruction of the Reapers did not mean galactic peace. While the treaties Shepard had brokered during the war remain mostly intact, there is no shortage of pirates, criminals, gangs, and terroristic organizations bent on creating chaos and destruction. The Council began directing their Spectres towards overseeing and protecting reconstruction efforts and maintaining peace. Now that scientists are close to unlocking the key to repairing the mass relays, the galaxy has settled into unease. No one knows if crime will get better or worse with the relays back online. All factions are getting agitated, and more fighting is breaking out.

Sometimes, Kaidan pities the poor soul on the wrong end of Shepard's gun. More than once, he has heard all sorts of people shout something along the lines of "Oh shit, it's Shepard!" as they realized they were about to die. Shepard is a skilled soldier who dominates the battlefield with equal parts strength and grace. Fighting alongside her can be almost beautiful in an odd and violent sort of way, especially when she used her biotics. It took her almost a year of practice fighting on her military grade prosthetic leg, but she has now found that grace on the battlefield again. In the end, her skills and her career could not be taken by the Reaper War. The galaxy kept its greatest protector.

Today, they are both back on Mars, of all places, fighting a remnant of Cerberus that is attempting to steal more data from the archives. If intel is correct, their goal is to find weapons they can use "for the betterment of humanity", which is their way of saying anti-alien terrorism. Kaidan does have to admit that some part of him enjoys taking down pieces of Cerberus. After all the horrible things he's seen them do, including all that they have put Shepard through, he's glad to eliminate every last cell in the galaxy. It's a worthy career goal.

As the smoke clears, Shepard begins checking the bodies for data pads, hoping to find anything to indicate how many of them are at the archives and what their exact plans are. After all, if this was just an outdoor lookout team, there's bound to be more already inside. She freezes as she reads one of the data pads. Kaidan can barely see her face through her helmet, but her reaction to the data pad can't be good. "Shepard, what is it?"

She clears her throat and says calmly "It's not pertinent to the mission. Let's move on." She drops the data pad and continues towards the entrance. Kaidan trusts Shepard, but curiosity gets the better of him and he glances down at the data pad as he passes by. It currently displays the owner's profile. He can see an image that he guesses matches the body they found it on and a name. "Andrew Mason".

As they enter the archive, they happily find a distinct lack of civilian and scientist casualties. This time, intel learned of the plan early and decided to evacuate the scientists and ship in more soldiers. Unfortunately, Cerberus still puts up a good fight and many of the Alliance soldiers were injured or killed before the Spectres arrived (travel between systems takes more time now that the relays are gone). Shepard hops on to the nearest terminal and accesses the system logs. "Ah, here it is. Someone opened an archive five minutes ago. We can take the tram there."

"Perfect. Maybe this time we'll make it through without getting shot at." Immediately after making the joke, Kaidan winces at the realization that bringing up their last mission on Mars might not be a good idea. Sure, they've worked everything out, but it still could be a touchy subject. He was pretty cruel to her last time, before he almost died in front of her.

"Doubtful." Shepard laughs lightly as they board the tram.

They ride quietly for a moment before Kaidan asks "So, will I get to know who Andrew Mason is?"

"Maybe later. Now's not the time."

"Fair." Kaidan says. He smiles at her, hoping she can see it through the helmet. His is much more open and visually blocks less of the face. Shepard's preferred gear usually allows less visibility, but it also has fewer structural weak points. He noticed a change in her treatment of her armor not too long after he got back on the Normandy, but he's never said anything. Without asking, he already knows why Shepard chooses armor with the most reinforced environment system, and why she carefully and almost obsessively maintains it. He would, too, in her shoes.

He refocuses himself on the task at hand as they begin approaching their destination. They've almost made it when a Cerberus soldier begins firing at the car. They both take cover behind the wall and the dance begins yet again. As the car docks, Shepard throws up a barrier and runs out, shooting at several men in a row as she charges to cover. Kaidan focuses on the heavy trooper slowly approaching from a distance and Reaves. Together, they feed off each other's energy. The can move in sync, watching each other's sixes and supporting each other throughout the entire battle. Before long, the docking zone falls silent as the battle ends.

They take turns clearing doors until they finally get to the archive. They take cover on either side of the door. He opens it carefully, and Shepard immediately swings around to cover him with her pistol. The immediate entryway is surprisingly empty. Shepard gestures for him to follow, then slowly and quietly moves inside the room until they reach a sharp turn. She takes cover against the wall and peers around the corner, gun at the ready. As soon as she does, she is thrown backwards by a large biotic force. Her gun fires before she even hits the wall. Kaidan swings around and unleashes a singularity that pulls the target into the air. Shepard fires again, making several headshots that eventually pierce the armor and hit their mark.

"Thanks for the cover, Alenko." She says, her smile coming through in the sound of her voice. She pats him on the back and pushes further into the room, where the target had been collecting data onto a drive. She plugs the data into her omnitool and runs it through analysis softwares. Liara would be able to tell them more, but it appears that intel was correct. They had been here for advanced weapons blueprints. Shepard begins forwarding the information back to the Normandy, then turns to head back to the LZ. Kaidan follows her.

Getting back to the Normandy and conferencing with Admiral Hackett is no big deal. After the verbal debriefing, they retire to her cabin to write their mission reports. Kaidan's ship, the SSV London (named for the Battle of London that ended the Reaper War), is still getting it's final touches before he'll be able to take it out on a shakedown run, so he rode along with Shepard for this mission and their last several. As they settle into the couch with their tea and data pads, he can't help but smile. This is a good life, one he hadn't expected to attain. Every day, sometimes several times a day, he still finds himself thankful that they had found Shepard after the Crucible. When the Alliance had formally declared her missing in action, with the caveat that she was most likely dead, Kaidan refused to lay down and wait for them to declare her death. He contacted Hackett with an emergency QEC on the Normandy and told him that until they found a body, Shepard was to be considered alive and in need of assistance. They all owed that to her. Seeing her here and now, living her life with him, is something he is grateful for every day.

As Kaidan is putting the final touches on his report, Shepard sets her data pad on the table and walks to her shower, stripping off articles of clothing as she goes. He fumbles over the keyboard, leaving a line of text that reads "ghdhshgdg" as he watches her go. Knowing that he's watching, she calls "finish your report first, and then you can join me." He deletes the line of typos, hurriedly wraps up the report, and follows her for an enjoyable interlude.

Their activities eventually end with them cuddling in her bed. She lay with her head resting gently on his chest, her hand absentmindedly rubbing circles on through his chest hair. He has one arm around her back and gently brushing strokes down her upper arm. He can feel her back subtly rise and fall with her breath. They lay this way for a while before he feels a slight dampness on his chest, where her head is. "Hazel, are you okay?" he asks, looking down at her. Her face is buried in him. She stifles a sob, and he feels the shift in her breathing as she forces herself to cry silently. He wraps his arms around her tighter. "Sweetheart, whatever it is, I've got you." Slowly, she pulls herself back and looks at him. He reaches up to her and gently wipes the tears from her cheeks. She pulls herself into a sitting position against the headboard, and he follows so that they are sitting side by side.

She leans her head on his shoulder and quietly says "You asked about Andrew Mason?"

"Yeah. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I knew him... from before the Alliance." she ends the sentence at barely a whisper. Her shoulders tense and she looks down at the floor. "He was one of the younger kids in the Reds before I left." He gently reaches for her hand and takes it in his as she continues. "I heard he'd gotten out, that he'd joined the Alliance some time after my death. I had hoped he'd do well and go far, but it didn't work that way. I checked his records when we got back to the ship. His team got ambushed by some pirates about seven months before the Reapers invaded. He was discharged honorably for medical reasons, for PTSD. I guess that's when Cerberus got to him."

"Hazel, I'm so sorry." he says.

"The hell of it is that I can see myself in that kid. In what he came from, in his escape. What if I somehow influenced his decision to leave like that? How many kids joined after hearing fantastical stories about my life, only to be swooped up by Cerberus when the Alliance didn't live up to their expectations or to die in battle before they got the chance to reconsider?"

"Hey, stop that. It's not your fault, Hazel."

"How many people died because of me? Will continue to die because of me? Because I failed?" Her voice cracks and she lets out a shuddering breath.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Backup. Failed at what?"

"I couldn't save them all. I can never save them all."

"Hazel, stop. Look at me." He gently places his hand under her chin and guides her to look at him. "You are not responsible for every person in the galaxy. You've spent far too much of your life fighting galactic wars practically on your own. Enough is enough. We stopped the Reapers. Now, we just do what we can to make things a little better. One day at a time, okay?"

She nods and he pulls her into a tight embrace. "One day at a time." She sniffles.

[danteblogshoney]

Text to Audio Converter - A Simple Way to Speak

Text to speech MP3 converter is an application that converts text into spoken language. This software is used to create audio presentations in a format other than the text file format. These are a few examples of text-to-speech software:

Handwritten reports. There are online translators as well as text-to-speech tools that can be used for people with special needs , such as the hearing impaired. Braille users can utilize the text to speech converter to convert their visual impairments. Braille is a tactile display that is used by certain people to read numbers and letters. This text-to-speech converter was specifically designed to be able to read Braille.

Audio presentation. Audio presentation is a fantastic option for people who have visual or hearing impairments. The audio-to-speech converter lets users speak the presentation using or without the aid of a Braille display device. Another audio to speech converter is the speech recoding tool which lets the user record their voice. A speech translator and demodulator can be used to translate one language to another.

Public speaking. Sometimes public speaking isn't enough. Sometimes, a speaker will require to convert their speech into text, particularly when the audience is not in the vicinity where the speaker lives. You can make use of an audio or text-to-speech converter to accomplish this task. There are numerous applications online that cater to different requirements, such as transcription and speech recognition.

Internet use. Text to speech is also possible online, through websites that let users convert text into speech. Some of these websites require a no-cost text to speech mp3 or audio converter download and installation. Many of these websites provide free speech converter software. Some offer a free trial period.

Business conferences. Free text-to-speech converters are a great choice for large-scale business conferences like shareholder meetings, product launches, or product debuts. These events are hubs for presentations, which is the reason the technology is so useful. So, the majority of companies choose to use these technologies instead of investing in large software.

Public Speaking. While it is not possible to completely remove the use of words, it is possible to make speeches more interesting and less boring by using free online text-to-speech converters. These are available on the internet at various prices.

Voice over IP. This technology is similar to text-to-speech conversion software. It lets you translate text into different languages. You'll need an audio source and a converter. The principle is to connect your converter to your computer. Next, you can connect to the network via the IP host machine. This will give your microphone an audio input signal as well as an output signal. In the end, your IP host machine will transmit it out to your microphone. Voila!

Text to speech converters that allow you to convert text in other foreign languages include the following: French, German, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese. A lot of free online text to speech converters permit you to convert ten languages. The biggest advantage of these software is that they can translate between different languages while still providing a clean and clear text. If you're looking to travel to Asia or planning a long holiday, these tools are definitely worth using. If you intend to chat with your friends or family (or yourself) at home, you don't have to pay for these services.

Native English speakers. If you're looking for a way to communicate with people speaking English you'll be aware that English is widely used around the world. But, many people who speak English aren't actually living in English speaking countries. Using a program which converts their voices (using the same free online converter for text to speech as above) into their native languages will give you access to more potential customers.

Longer conversations. A lot of people communicate in English in a way that they are able to communicate on the phone. However there are some who don't have the time. You can convert your voice into Spanish or another language to talk to your loved ones and family members in real-time. Text to speech software that allow you to convert text into other languages also include a feature which allows you to convert five thousand characters or more.

Learn more about the text-to-speech converters we have found. Visit our sister website here. It has reviews of the best software on the market. We've tried all the major software that is available on the market and believe that speech converters are the best for converting spoken words into text. If you'd like more information more, look over the free text-to-speech converter section below!

[stephissalty]

you still wear my jacket

Pairing: Iwaoi

Rating: T

Warnings: Language

Words: 6000

Summary: "Iwaizumi wasn’t one to believe in fate, but he could believe that there was some very, very cruel intervention that put Oikawa Tooru on the same plane, to the same destination, in the seat next to him, three years nearly to the day since the last time he’d seen him."

AO3

Part 2 - AO3

you still wear my jacket

Iwaizumi Hajime receives a text from his supervisor ten minutes before he’s set to board a plane to London.

Received, 19:04: enjoy your trip. don’t forget to turn off your phone

Received, 19:04: you need the time off

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and sends an affirmative response before tucking his phone back in his pocket. He knew he was very much in need of a break. For the past three months, he had been working twelve-plus hour days, and his team had been working nearly as many. The project his supervisor had assigned to Iwaizumi’s group was interesting, at least: the coding division was to design and perfect a code to a new kind of robot, to be used in conjunction with other existing technology that the company was working on, and compatible with several different kinds of software. Iwaizumi enjoyed his job as a team leader - he’d been offered the position after holding an internship with a sister company while in university - but these past few weeks had been wearing him down, and he was ready to collapse.

His supervisor had suggested that he take a week off and get out of Japan - visit somewhere far away, somewhere he’d never been before for a change of scenery. And he was doing just that.

But even so, he still feels the weight of his laptop in his backpack, and his work phone in one of his pockets buzzes with another text. After this text, I’ll turn it off.

Received, 19:07: Iwaizumi-san, enjoy your trip

The text is from one of his interns, a university student named Kunimi. Even my interns are telling me to enjoy my trip. Have I been overworking that much?

He doesn’t turn off his phone.

He turns his boarding pass over in his hands, fidgeting slightly with the edges of the slick paper. For the millionth time, he reads over his boarding group, which reads BSNS CLASS, and then verifies it is his name at the top of the pass. Indeed, IWAIZUMI HAJIME is printed at the top of the paper along with all of the other flight details. He’s still in awe that he has the privilege to fly Business Class, something that is because of his hearty bonus that came in a few weeks ago. This whole trip was a treat to himself, but the tickets were a splurge.

“We are now welcoming Business Class. Business Class, welcome aboard.”

Iwaizumi makes his way towards the line forming, stepping behind well-dressed men in suits carrying briefcases and women carrying designer purses. At twenty-five years old and dressed in sweats and an old Aoba Johsai jacket, he feels slightly out of place. He puts his discomfort aside as he approaches the desk, where the attendant scans his ticket, and he enters the boarding bridge.

A few minutes later, he’s settled into his seat, 2B. The window seat to his left is still empty as he fishes his headphones and charging cord out of his backpack before stowing it away in the overhead.

It’s several minutes later, and as Iwaizumi is starting to be hopeful that he may have the row to himself that he feels a tap on his shoulder.

“Sorry, can I get -” as Iwaizumi looks up, the person speaking abruptly cuts off in surprise. “Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi blinks a few times, trying to register the sight in front of him. Standing in the aisle in front of him is none other than Oikawa Tooru. He’s older than the last time he saw him, but he’s definitely Oikawa. His immaculate hair is slightly longer than it was last time, and he looks a little taller, but that might be Iwaizumi’s angle. He’s dressed in a dark shirt under a white jacket with aqua trim and dark sweatpants, and to finish off the ensemble is a head donut around his neck.

“Oikawa.”

“Uh -” For one of the first times that Iwaizumi can recall, Oikawa seems to be out of words. “Looks like I’m sitting next to you. If you want, I can try to request a seat change or -”

“It’s fine. You’re holding up the line. Get in,” Iwaizumi grunts and grits his teeth.

“Right, right.”

Iwaizumi draws up his knees to allow Oikawa to pass, trying not to flinch at the moment of contact.

They sit in silence for a while as the rest of the plane boards, allowing Iwaizumi the distraction to put in his headphones and turn on music, loud enough to try to forget that Oikawa Tooru is sitting next to him. He subtly scoots towards the aisle and pulls his left elbow towards his body, vehemently ignoring the heat emitting from the body next to him.

What are the chances?

Iwaizumi wasn’t one to believe in fate, but he could believe that there was some very, very cruel intervention that put Oikawa Tooru on the same plane, to the same destination, in the seat next to him, three years nearly to the day since the last time he’d seen him.

Three years is a long time.

“Welcome aboard flight 0104, service to London Heathrow. I’m Sawamura, and I’m joined by Azumane, and we’ll be your flight crew for today’s flight. If you’ll direct your attention to your seat-back screens for the safety presentation please…”

The plane pushes back from the gate and begins taxiing towards the runway. Begin a flight from hell.

“Iwa-chan?”

He whips his head to Oikawa and removes one earbud. “Don’t call me that.”

“Iwaizumi...san.” Oikawa has a strange look on his face, as if the name tastes strange in his mouth, which he supposes it probably does.

“What?”

“Is it time now?” The question is vague, but the meaning is clear as day.

“We have been cleared for takeoff. Secure your seatbacks and tray tables in their upright and locked positions. Flight attendants, prepare the cabin for takeoff.”

Iwaizumi doesn’t respond, just puts his earbud back in and raises the volume even higher, to a nearly painful level.

The engines ready for takeoff, Iwaizumi looks to the window as the plane accelerates. He can see, even though the other is faced away from him, the sparkle in Oikawa’s eyes, even before leaving the ground. Once the wheels leave the ground, the city starts shrinking to a grid of yellow lights and soft neons and moving headlights. From Iwaizumi’s vantage point, he doesn’t have the best view, but Oikawa does, and Oikawa, although he’s definitely been on planes countless times, seems captivated by the city getting smaller and the sky getting more vast, getting closer to the soft clouds.

Oikawa’s always loved planes.

Iwaizumi knows that better than anyone. Oikawa’s the reason why Iwaizumi loves flying.

Once they reach ten thousand feet, Iwaizumi immediately connects his work phone to the wifi to check his messages, and, sure enough, in the Oikawa commotion, he’d forgotten to check it before takeoff. He had several messages from another one of his hard-working interns, Kindaichi.

Received 19:15: I got section 44 to compile!

Received 19:15: Yahaba-san will look over it tomorrow

Received 19:15: I’m going to start on 45

Received 19:16: You shouldn’t be doing work on vacation tho

Received 19:16: Have fun, Iwaizumi-san!

Not for the first time, he is exceedingly grateful for his dedicated interns, working even at seven in the evening.

Delivered 19:55: Thank you for your hard work.

Delivered 19:55: Don’t work too late.

He receives an immediate response.

Received 19:55: The same for you!

Delivered 19:56: Thank you.

Although everyone has told him to turn off his phone, he can’t bring himself to. He can’t bear the thought that one of his subordinates could need his help during the time that he’s in the air - after all, it’s a thirteen hour flight. A voice tries to reason that they shouldn’t be working at this time anyways, but it ultimately loses.

“As hardworking as ever,” Oikawa says, somehow catching a quiet moment in one of Iwaizumi’s songs, so his voice cuts through. Iwaizumi thinks he hears a twinge of anger in the word ‘hardworking’. He doesn’t want to think about why.

He returns his attention to his seatmate and wrenches out one earbud. “Huh?”

“You were just messaging work, no? Always a hardworker, Iwa-chan.”

“Were you reading over my shoulder?” Iwaizumi asks incredulously, ignoring the second half of what Oikawa said. He’s trying to rile Iwaizumi up, and he knows it.

“It’s not my fault if you have your brightness so high and your font so big that someone in space could read your texts.” Oikawa flashes a shit-eating, dazzling grin.

Don’t fall for it don’t fall for it don’t fall for it. “I swear -”

“Are you still at the tech company? Code monkey?”

Iwaizumi tries to rein in his temper. “I’m a team leader for the coding division, and, yes, I’m still with the same company. How about you, space boy?”

“I’m a project leader for a classified project at an aerospace firm in Tokyo,” Oikawa says, nose in the air.

Iwaizumi nods, ready to go back to his music, but clearly Oikawa has other plans.

“Iwa-chan! Tell me about your life.”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Please.”

His eyes are pleading, and Iwaizumi almost breaks there. But then he remembers.

“No. Now, I’m going to take a nap. Is that okay with you, Oikawa?” he snaps. He actually isn’t tired at all and has trouble sleeping on planes, but dealing with Oikawa is too much for him today. He doesn’t wait until he gets an answer before turning away from Oikawa and burrowing slightly into the collar of his volleyball jacket that he still wears after all these years.

He doesn’t realize that Oikawa is also wearing his Aoba Johsai jacket.

Iwaizumi wasn’t sure when Oikawa really changed, but he thought it might’ve been when he missed the final ball in the last match against Karasuno in their third year of high school. After that game, he was never quite the same. There wasn’t another high school tournament to prepare for, and they were done playing for Seijoh. It marked the end of an era, in a way, and Iwaizumi figured Oikawa didn’t know how to handle it.

The end of third year was rough because of that. They still attended classes leading up to graduation, toured a few universities, applied to universities, got accepted to universities, dropped in on a few practices, but all of that was tinged with a grey cloud of sadness that both of them could feel.

Iwaizumi felt it all bubble up when they had to individually choose where they would be going to university.

One Friday night, they were sitting on Iwaizumi’s bedroom floor, two laptops open, and countless pamphlets and acceptance letters surrounding them as they each tried to decide where they’d attend for the coming year. Oikawa had been alarmingly quiet through the whole time Iwaizumi had been listing pros and cons of his personal top choices - two different schools in Tokyo and one closer to Sendai.

“What’s up?”

Oikawa kept his head down.

“Oikawa.”

He shook his head silently.

“Is the university talk upsetting you?”

He shrugged, still not looking up. His hair was flopped down, so his face was hidden from Iwaizumi’s view.

“You gotta talk to me.”

Oikawa very, very slowly raised his hand and gripped Iwaizumi’s wrist, pulling it toward himself. He still didn’t speak.

Iwaizumi thought he understood, though. “You don’t want to separate.”

Oikawa shook his head violently and hugged Iwaizumi tightly. He felt a wet patch forming on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his friend.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered, but it sounded like an empty promise to his own ears.

They sat there for a long time, Oikawa crying in Iwaizumi’s arms, as Iwaizumi tucked his face in Oikawa’s neck and tried not to cry as well.

I don’t want to leave him, either.

But I might have to.

The night of graduation, the two lay in silence on Iwaizumi’s bedroom floor. They’d already been to dinner with their families, already did photos, already took care of their prior commitments, They were free to just spend the evening together.

Oikawa had his head on Iwaizumi’s stomach, and their hands were intertwined over Iwaizumi’s chest. Even for them, it was very intimate, but they didn’t address it. The somber mood in the room was overbearing.

“Iwa-chan?”

“Hmm?”

“Everything’s gonna change now, isn’t it?”

They’d decided to go to different universities in the same city. They were getting an apartment together. Even though they’d be on different volleyball teams, they’d still be together. That managed to nullify both of their fears of being apart.

“Things are going to change, but what’s never going to change is that you’re my best friend,” Iwaizumi replied quietly. He ordinarily wasn’t the type to say sentimental things out loud, but tonight was different.

Oikawa pulled their conjoined hands onto his own chest and squeezed tight. He shifted his head to look towards Iwaizumi. “Is that a promise?”

Iwaizumi looked down and met his gaze, eyes soft. “Of course.”

“Even if I say something stupid?”

“Always.”

Oikawa turned his gaze away, refocusing on the ceiling fan as he ran his thumb over the back of Iwaizumi’s hand. He exhaled, seemingly thinking through his next words very thoroughly, as if he were scared.

“You couldn’t say anything that would make me not want to be your best friend.”

“Even…” Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. “Even if I were to say I’m in love with you?” The end of the sentence sounded choked, and the squeezing of Iwaizumi’s hand was almost painful - he could physically feel Oikawa’s anxiety.

Iwaizumi used his free hand to run through Oikawa’s hair softly. A giddy smile played at his own lips, and his heartbeat sped up. “Yeah, even then. I love you, too.”

Iwaizumi isn’t sure how long it’s been when he wakes up.

Just in front of him, serving the first row, he sees the flight with carts for the first in-flight meal. Considering this, he assumes he’s been out for an hour or so.

He risks a glance at Oikawa, who he finds looking back at him.

Iwaizumi doesn’t want to - can’t - decipher what the emotion in his eyes is.

“What’s for dinner for you guys? We’ve got vegetarian lasagna and a chicken wrap,” the attendant who’d introduced himself as Sawamura asks.

“Lasagna,” they say in unison. Iwaizumi stiffens, but doesn’t look at Oikawa.

“Great, great,” Sawamura replies, as he grabs the meals and hands them out. “Azumane will be by in a minute for drinks.”

Indeed, Azumane was taking the first row’s drink order. Neither speaks until Azumane has handed them their drinks - Sprite for Oikawa, Coke for Iwaizumi.

“Don’t talk.”

“Iwa-chan -”

The tension snaps. Iwaizumi growls, “I just want to eat my dinner. I can’t deal with you, I can’t deal with this right now, I really can’t. Stop.”

Oikawa swallows slowly and averts his eyes. He draws his left leg up to his chest, careful not to knock the tray table, and hugs it as he peels back the foil on his meal. “I’m sorry, Iwa-chan.”

He sounds defeated.

Iwaizumi can’t take it. He puts headphones back in.

The first year of university passed fairly uneventfully. There were so many changes, of course, but there were no disasters of epic proportions that Iwaizumi and Oikawa couldn’t work through alright.

They quickly fell into a routine. Iwaizumi would get back to the apartment first because his university was slightly closer, and his classes ended a little earlier. He’d start on his homework, and Oikawa would arrive sometime not long after that. After finishing both of their homework - Iwaizumi was a very good influence to get Oikawa to stop procrastinating - they’d figure something for dinner - usually Iwaizumi cooking. And after dinner they’d settle down in the living room for a few hours.

They spent a lot of nights on the couch in their apartment, a tangled mess of limbs, Oikawa’s head on Iwaizumi’s chest. Usually they’d watch a TV show or movie as Iwaizumi carded one hand through Oikawa’s hair and clasped their hands together over Oikawa’s chest with the other. He spent a lot of nights just playing with Oikawa’s hands, gently kissing his fingertips, appreciating all of the callouses.

Save for a few small domestic spats that were bound to happen to any new roommates or romantic partners, first year passed without a hitch.

Their first anniversary fell on a Saturday, so they had the whole day together. The day as a whole was phenomenal: lazy morning sex, pancake breakfast, sleepy movie afternoon, and fancy dinner.  After dinner, though, Oikawa already had Iwaizumi pushed up against the outside of their door before he’d even unlocked it. He pressed their lips together hotly, like they had so many times before.

Iwaizumi smiled into the kiss but ducked away from Oikawa’s mouth. “Not yet. We’ll get there, though,” he promised and pressed a quick kiss to Oikawa’s jaw to satiate his partner for the time being. They pushed into the apartment, but Iwaizumi didn’t look at Oikawa, instead heading straight for his own bedroom, which had barely been used since they’d moved in - Iwaizumi slept in Oikawa’s room almost every night.

Iwaizumi first unzipped his school bag, fishing around in one of the pockets to find a permanent marker. Then, he opened his closet, sifting through clothes until he found his Aoba Johsai jacket. Still not speaking, he entered the living room, still holding the jacket and marker, grabbed Oikawa’s sleeve, and pulled him into Oikawa’s bedroom. He then found Oikawa’s own Aoba Johsai jacket, ignoring his boyfriend’s questions as to what the hell, Iwa-chan?

Iwaizumi laid both jackets side by side on the bed. “Sit.” Oikawa did, still thoroughly confused. “So, I’ve had this idea for a while, and I thought now would be a good time.” He blushed slightly as he doubted his idea. “I want us to trade jackets.” Oikawa looked confused. “Well - we both still wear them fairly often, and I was thinking that even though they look the same, we’ll always know they’re the others’? Something like that? It’s kinda a stupid idea, I know -”

“I love it.” Oikawa jumped up and cradled Iwaizumi’s face. He was beaming. Oikawa kissed him gently, tenderly, slowly, in the way that he knew Iwaizumi loved most. He pulled back. “What was it you were wanting to do with the marker?”

Iwaizumi still had the marker in his hand where it was holding Oikawa’s face. Nimbly twirling it in his fingers, he replied, “I was thinking we could, uh, write our names in them before trading?” He took his own jacket and folded back the end of the left sleeve, revealing the inside of the cuff, which was thick enough material to not let the marker bleed. “Is that okay?”

Oikawa, who still had the biggest grin on his face, wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi’s abdomen and kissed his neck. “Of course. You’re such a sap, Iwa-chan. I love this, almost as much as I love you.”

He craned his neck to chastely press their lips together again. “I love you, too.” Iwaizumi turned back to the jacket, and he carefully wrote out HAJIME #4 on one side of the seam, the side that would be closer to the body, and STRONGER with a small heart on the other side. He flipped the cuff right and passed the marker to Oikawa, who wrote TOORU #1 and INVINCIBLE, also with a small heart on his.

“Now, Tooru, let’s pick up where we left off,” Iwaizumi said after they’d cleared the bed, a playful glint in his eyes.

Oikawa didn’t need to be told twice before he was backing Iwaizumi up onto the bed.

Iwaizumi runs his right thumb over the inside of his left sleeve cuff. TOORU #1, INVINCIBLE. He still wears the jacket because he still loves volleyball, still loves the time he had at Aoba Johsai. He remembers all of the time they had together there. The thought makes his throat clog up and weakens his heart. He swallows thickly.

He never thought he’d have to worry about running into Oikawa, especially not while he was still wearing the jacket.

To make matters worse, Oikawa’s wearing his jacket, too.

Nothing’s changed after all these years.

“Iwa-chan, why are you going to London?” He sounds scared.

Weakened by nostalgia, he replies softly, “Vacation.” Pause. “You?”

Oikawa seems taken aback by the question. “Work trip, but I’m going a few days early for a quick vacation.”

“You still wear it.” He nods in the vague direction of Oikawa’s jacket, noticing that he wears the left cuff rolled, exposing the writing from all those years ago. HAJIME #4, STRONGER. He hopes bringing this up isn’t a mistake, but a growing feeling in his gut says it definitely is.

“You do, too.”

Their eyes meet for only the third time in the entire flight. Iwaizumi briefly notes that there are still over eight hours remaining on this flight, so getting into a dangerous conversation isn’t in his best interest. Fuck it.

“Of course I do,” he says, as if it’s obvious.

“Most people would get rid of their old partner’s clothes after a breakup,” Oikawa responds. Dangerous.

“Most people do, yeah.” Iwaizumi tries his damndest to keep his voice neutral, to not let his emotions show. Thinking about high school makes you weak. Now look at what you’ve gotten yourself into.

“And you…?”

Iwaizumi averts his eyes. Can’t let you go, but it’s been three years and our relationship fell apart because of me. He can’t say that so he opts for, “Apparently neither of us are most.”

Silence.

“I miss you.” Oikawa sounds scared.

“It didn’t work.” Iwaizumi is blunt.

Oikawa moves slowly, so, so slowly, as he guides Iwaizumi’s chin back to look at him with one finger. Against his better judgement, Iwaizumi allows it. Oikawa’s eyes are watery. “It’s been three years, Hajime. Can we talk about it?”

“It was my fault and you know it. There’s nothing else to talk about,” he says cooly.

“No -”

“Then let’s talk.”

During their third year of university, Oikawa proposed. It was perfect for them. Once every season, their universities played each other, and after that game - Iwaizumi’s team had won, but Oikawa was too nervous to be upset about the loss - he’d stopped Iwaizumi before he could go to get changed out of his uniform. He’d enlisted help from some of his university teammates (shoutout to Kuroo), and got down on one knee right in front of the scoreboard. That part actually wasn’t planned, but the pictures came out amazingly. Iwaizumi said yes, of course.

From there, they moved on with their lives and into their final year of university.

Iwaizumi picked up an internship, which he threw himself into headfirst, and Oikawa started spending even more time in the gym in hopes to get scouted for the national team. There had been eyes on him for the last two years, so this season would be his last chance to prove he was worthy of national play.

They saw each other less and less, but still came home to bed every night, even if it was late.

One week, Iwaizumi snuck into bed at just past midnight, having just gotten in from his internship. Oikawa was just barely still awake as Iwaizumi wrapped an arm around his middle and pulled him close.

“You’re home late again,” Oikawa whispered. It was the third night that week.

“I’m sorry,” Iwaizumi responded, punctuating the response with a light kiss to Oikawa’s nape. “I’ll try to be home by dinner tomorrow.” Oikawa hummed. “How was practice?”

“Good. I miss playing with you, though,” he said longingly.

“Let’s go to the gym this weekend.”

Oikawa flipped around, bringing them face to face. “Really?” His eyes were shining.

“Really.”

Oikawa surged forward and kissed him deeply, pushing Iwaizumi onto his back and straddling him. Iwaizumi kissed back with just as much fervor - god, he’d missed this with how much he’d been working. “God, I love you,” Iwaizumi mumbled against his lips.

“I love you too,” Oikawa responded, and Iwaizumi’s chest flooded with fondness, just like the first time.

Received, 21:45: hey iwaizumi-san. i’ll be out for the rest of the week

Received, 21:46: i’ll make sure all of my work is finished when i return

Delivered, 21:48: Okay. Is everything alright?

Received, 21:49: yea i had a family emergency come up

Delivered, 21:50: Alright. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.

Received, 21:50: thanks

“Is that work again?” Oikawa asked tentatively. It was a Friday night, and they were laying together on the couch watching one of Oikawa’s favorite movies. It was supposed to be a night for just the two of them since Iwaizumi had been working late every night that week.

“Yeah, sorry,” Iwaizumi apologized and kissed his head. He wrapped his arm tighter around his fiance.

Oikawa found the hand that was still holding his phone and pried it out of his grip. “This is mine now. You said tonight was for us,” he pouted. He was being over-dramatic in a way that was slightly childish in a joking manner, but Iwaizumi could tell he was actually upset. He’d been neglecting Oikawa for the past few months, and it was catching up. “Please, Iwa-chan.” His eyes were pleading Iwaizumi to pay attention, so he consented. Oikawa untangled their limbs and walked to their room, Iwaizumi’s phone in hand. When he returned and sat down a moment later, he said, “You can have it back tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay,” Iwaizumi conceded. “I’ll do better.”

Oikawa kissed the back of their conjoined hands. “I believe you.”

It didn’t get better.

It got worse.

“Okay, so we’re leaving tomorrow night to go home, and we’ll stay at my parent’s house. We’re taking the five-fifteen train, and we should be there around nine.” Oikawa was rattling off details about their trip home to see their parents over winter break. The plan was to stay home for a few days and then return to their apartment and spend Christmas Eve and Day together.

Received, 15:04: We need you in the office

Received, 15:04: There’s an issue with one of the processes and the other team leaders are already on holiday

“Tooru?”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to need to take a later train. They’re calling me into work.” Iwaizumi looked away in shame.

“But Iwa-chan! We’ve had this trip planned for months!”

“I -”

Oikawa got in close to Iwaizumi’s face. His time at work had been getting worse and worse, and he knew that Oikawa was going to reach a breaking point. “Tell them no.”

He swallowed. He was nervous - what if he got fired?

But - he had an angry Oikawa, and that could end up far, far worse for him.

Delivered, 15:14: I can’t. Tooru and I are leaving for Sendai tonight. Sorry.

Received, 15:15: It’s important.

Delivered, 15:18: I cannot come in. This trip is important to my fiance.

Delivered, 15:18: Sorry.

Received, 15:19: Noted.

That was an awfully ominous response coming from someone at a career level above him, but Iwaizumi hoped it was worth it. Keeping Tooru happy is always worth it.

To: Iwaizumi Hajime

From: Management Team

Subject: Work Dedication Issues

Iwaizumi,

It has come to our attention that you expressed an issue dedicating yourself to your position on an occurrence on 14 December 2020. We are aware that you were recently promoted from intern to team leader, so if the new job requirements were not properly communicated, please let us know so we can direct you to the documentation of your job description. In short, as a team leader, you are required to be dedicated to your work and must be reliable to be called upon. If that is not possible, please let us know so we can begin training a replacement .

Best,

Management Team

Iwaizumi felt sick as he read over the email again. And again.

“Tooru?”

“Hm?” Oikawa hummed as he walked into the living room, where Iwaizumi was sitting on the couch, legs pulled to his chest.

Iwaizumi handed him his phone, open to the email. He watched as Oikawa’s eyes scanned the email, watched as his features set into a hard glare. Oikawa thrusted the phone back at him.

“Are you blaming this on me?” Oikawa demanded.

“I should have gone in that evening. They’re threatening my job.”

Oikawa’s eyes turned from cold to fiery. “And you’re threatening me. I didn’t do anything wrong by asking my fiance to pay attention to me for once and to follow through on plans we’d had for months. ”

“But, Tooru -”

“Hajime. I’ve put up with this for so long.” Oikawa’s face softens. “I know you’re dedicated to your job. But you’ve been forgetting about me. And that’s okay for a while. But not for eight months. I’m tired of it. Please, Hajime, don’t make me make you choose,” he begged, tears in his eyes.

Not for the first time, Iwaizumi saw the toll his neglect was taking on his partner. He felt like he took a sucker punch to the gut. “It hasn’t been ei -”

“It has. I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to get better. I thought it would get better in the summer, and then in the fall, and then at Christmas, but it didn’t.” He shook his head as if trying to clear the tears bubbling up. “I miss you, Iwa-chan. I can take a lot, but I can’t take this much. I need you back. So....” Deep breath. Iwaizumi tensed. He knew what was coming. “It’s either me or the job.”

“Tooru, I can’t just quit my job!” Iwaizumi protested.

Oikawa’s face crumpled. “Then I’ll send Kuroo to get some of my things in the morning.”

Iwaizumi stood and wrapped his arms around Oikawa, who weakly pushed against them. “No, no. I can’t - I can’t - lose you.”

Oikawa pushed away with force. “Oh, baby, you lost me months ago,” he said bitterly. Tears ran down his face as they stood in silence, three feet separating them, as his words sunk in.

Then, he turned and walked to the bedroom. He threw one change of clothes into his school bag along with his laptop and some chargers and toiletries.

Iwaizumi was still in the living room, frozen. “Tooru, don’t -”

Oikawa pressed a kiss to his cheek. He tasted salt. “I love you, Iwa-chan.” And then he left.

Iwaizumi cried.

“You didn’t come back,” Iwaizumi says. He picks at one of the threads on his t-shirt.

“I said I wouldn’t.” Pause. “It took you three weeks to message me.”

Guilt eats at his stomach. “I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t sound like an excuse.” Iwaizumi debates on how honest he wants to be. If he wants to open this whole box of worms, if he actually wants to try to make the relationship work or to repair a friendship with Oikawa, or if he wants to just give the bare minimum of information. “There was too much I needed to say, so I was waiting for you to come to me. Kuroo said you’d probably come around.”

“I didn’t.”

“No, you didn’t. Why?”

“Hajime… You hurt me. A lot. Eight months is a long time. Basically from the time you got that promotion until I left, I hardly saw you. And I just progressively got worse. You kept promising you’d get better, but then the next week I’d see you even less.” Deep breath. “I missed you so much. I missed the man who I proposed to, I missed the boy who I confessed to, I missed the boy who I spent all of our school years setting to, I missed my best friend, I missed my boyfriend, I missed my fiance, I missed my partner. I lost all of those, because you weren’t ever there when I needed you. Did you know that I actually got a job offer in Sendai? I debated taking it, but I wanted to wait and see if I could talk some sense into you. I never got scouted for the national team, so I applied for a few overseas teams. I made new friends. And a whole bunch of other things. All of this happened when we were still together, Hajime. I’m willing to bet you didn’t know any of it because of how preoccupied you were with your job. And it’s great that you had and still have such a good job, but…”

“I’m sorry, Tooru.” His fingers clutch at a chain tucked into his shirt that suddenly feels very heavy. Hoping it’s not the wrong choice but mostly moving on impulse anyways, he pulls out the chain, showing Oikawa what’s hanging on it.

He gasps. “You.... You still wear it?”

“Of course.” He bites the inside of his lip. “You never officially called off the wedding.” The engagement ring Oikawa had bought slides along the chain, glinting in the low cabin light. “Tooru… You deserve better than how I can treat you.”

“No.” Iwaizumi snaps his head up to meet Oikawa’s shining eyes. “You treat me like a goddamn king. You just didn’t prioritize us. And that was a problem.”

“I still can’t prioritize. I’ve been talking to work this whole flight,” Iwaizumi mumbles. As if on cue, his phone buzzes immediately, but he ignores it. “But…”

Oikawa sighs. “I don’t think I made a mistake by leaving.” Iwaizumi’s heart plummets. “But I made a mistake by not coming back.” Inhale. Exhale. “But I’m here now. So… Iwa-chan, will you take me back?”

Their eyes meet again. Iwaizumi searches the deep, brown eyes for any sign of a joke. “I don’t want to hurt you again.”

“You’re with the sister company now, yeah?” Nod. “Maybe you can talk to your supervisor about getting some more set hours and less on-call hours? I… I don’t want to live without you any longer. I want to at least try to make it work, Iwa-chan.”

“My supervisor is the one who sent me on vacation,” Iwaizumi chuckles. “We can try. Slowly.” He takes Oikawa’s hands in his own carefully, loose enough that the other can take them out of his grip, and draws the hands to his mouth. He presses a gentle kiss to each hand.

“A true gentleman,” Oikawa laughs. Everything is so, so soft as he cradles Iwaizumi’s face with one of his hands and kisses him. For the first time in nearly three years, Iwaizumi’s heart feels like it might be okay.

Once he pulls away, Oikawa takes the left sleeve of Iwaizumi’s jacket and cuffs the sleeve the same way he has his own, exposing TOORU #1, INVINCIBLE. Then, he laces their fingers together.

“Now, I’m going to sleep,” he announces.

Since he has no objections and is getting tired again himself, Iwaizumi leans over and rests his head on Oikawa’s shoulder, the other resting his head on top of Iwaizumi’s. It feels right.

Hours later, when he reads the message he’d received, it is from his supervisor.

Received, 23:55: If this message sends and your phone is still on while you’re on vacation, I’m disconnecting your company phone

Received, 23:55: Take time for yourself

Received, 23:56: If you connected to plane wifi just to receive work messages, so help me Iwaizumi, I don’t know what to do with you

Oikawa and his supervisor get along very well when they meet a month later.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

the one with my favorite martian

AKA: J’onn’s intro the CAK ‘verse

*insert itsbeeneightfouryears.gif here* ...

THEN

It's her first big story.

The article runs on the front page of the business section—under the fold, sure, but still fairly prominent. The bold, black text of the headline runs half the width of the page, as does the large candid photo that accompanies the write-up. Kara's certain that the photo accounts for at least 70% of the attention the article has received over the course of the current news cycle; it's perfect. A shot that walks the fine line between candid and staged, capturing an otherwise unremarkable lab space and about a dozen lab techs on the move, dynamic as they go about their routine tasks, but at the center?

Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi, effortlessly commanding the room, unflappable and somehow radiant, in spite of the terrible fluorescent lighting.

Kara makes sure to highlight it at every opportunity. As her coworkers drop by her desk, offer congratulations, give her hearty slaps on the back (that result in more than a few confused murmurings—geez, Kent, you got...a solid shoulder there) she points to the photo, and reminds them,  a picture's worth a thousand words. A response that charms a few of the staff writers, but incenses Perry.

“It's a good article, Kent. Wouldn't have run it on the front of the section if it wasn't,” he says with an almost paternal huff of exasperation. “Stop deflecting and just say, 'thank you.'”

So Kara does, if only to keep peace with her boss. It bothers her, though, to be so firmly in the spotlight for any length of time. It pokes at a wounded part of her—whatever part might've been happy to receive accolades, and recognition, prior to arriving on an alien world where she could be hurt, where Kal could be hurt, if anyone ever got too close to them. To the real them.  

It's only when she's back home with Martha, Jonathan, and Kal that the praise is not immediately met with a level of discomfort. Though, it is a little embarrassing.

“On the fridge? Really?” Kara laughs as she reaches for the milk carton.

“Well, she wanted to hang it up on the bulletin board at the rec center,” Jonathan tells her from his seat at the kitchen table. “I had to talk her down. Bribed her with brand new magnets.”

“Aren't they cute?” Martha smiles at the updated collection. Kara has to agree that yes, the little plastic fruits are cute.

Kal, at least, is less concerned with telling her how great the article is, and more concerned with how professional journalism works. He wants to know everything. The questions last well into the evening; all four of them end up staying up late, comfortably gathered in the living room. Kal's in his usual place, sprawled on the rug, Jonathan in the recliner, Martha and Kara on the couch. It's only when Jonathan starts snoring at an octave unpleasant for Kryptonian super-hearing that they decide to call it a night.

“Put out fresh sheets,” Jonathan tells her through a yawn as he makes his way up the stairs. Both Jonathan and Martha keep insisting that they're eventually going to get around to turning Kara's room into...something. (Guest room and/or office are the prevailing front runners, though 'craft room' and 'home gym' have also been tossed around, on occasion.) The only proof that they've made any sort of progress is the handful of boxes in the back of her closet, otherwise it remains unchanged.

“Thanks,” Kara says, as Kal trails close behind Jonathan. She's about to follow, when the phone rings in the kitchen.

Martha answers. Several seconds pass, and then, from the doorway,

“Kara? It's for you.”

Kara blinks in surprise; she has no idea who it could be. Not any of her coworkers—she's made a point not to mention her routine weekends trips back home—she'd never be able to explain where she gets the money for 'airfare.' And she doubts it's anyone from town—the median age in Smallville is about fifty, and therefore, almost everyone's in bed by eight.

She accepts the receiver from Martha, but not before raising her eyebrows, hoping she can provide some sort of guess as to who it is.

But Martha shakes her head; she doesn't know.

“...Hello?”

“Kara?”

It takes Kara a moment to place the voice, distorted as it is by the phone. “Dr. Hoshi!” she says, both by way of greeting, and in answer to Martha's questioning stare. “...Hi!”

“I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?”

“No, no, of course not,” Kara says as she leans against the wall. Martha offers a quick wave and mouths goodnight, which prompts Kara to glance at her wrist watch. “Er...uh. Well. It's a bit late, actually.”

“Oh! That's—sorry. I didn't even consider,” Dr. Hoshi says.

“It's fine,” Kara assures her, idly fiddling with the phone cord. “Just...unexpected?” she admits. “This actually isn't...” Kara pauses for a moment, trying to decide how much she wants to share. “...My primary number.”

“I know,” Dr. Hoshi says, “I used our tracking software to find you.”

Kara drops the phone cord. ...The mapping software can do that? A reflexive paranoia causes momentary chaos with her response time; she wants to stammer out some sort of reply, but she can only open her mouth, and close it. It's on maybe the third or forth guppy imitation when she hears a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “...That was a joke.”

The alarm bells in her mind cease their loud ringing. “Oh, ha,” Kara forces out her own chuckle. “A joke. Of course.”

“I tracked you down the old-fashioned way,” Dr. Hoshi explains. “I asked the receptionist at the Daily Planet for the best number to call.”

“And she gave you this one?” Kara asks, incredulous.  

“No, she gave me five,” Dr. Hoshi laughs. “And I tried them all, several times. This is the first call to get through.” Kara can hear the smile in her voice as she adds, “You're a difficult woman to track down, Miss Kent.”

That's by design. “Oh, that's...I think I just need to update my contact information,” Kara lies. And, because it is late, and Kara's still recovering from that momentary scare, she's inclined to be a little more blunt than she might normally be, otherwise. “Was there something you needed?”

“Well, now it seems silly,” Dr. Hoshi says. “I just...” she trails off briefly. “Wanted to thank you. For your work on the article. I had a chance to sit down and read it today, and...” There's another pause. “It's very well done. Thank you.”

Kara's both relieved, and a little...underwhelmed? She'd almost been expecting the worst—that Dr. Hoshi was displeased with the article. Because why else call at this hour? But...a simple thank you? She probably could have left that with the receptionist at the Planet...

“Oh, uh...” Kara returns to fiddling with the phone cord. “You're welcome. But, really, I was just. Reporting the incredible work you're doing.” 'Stop deflecting, and just say thank you', she can hear Perry saying. “But, ah. Thank you. For the...thank you. Call.” She finishes awkwardly.

“I'm used to not being taken seriously by my peers,” Dr. Hoshi goes on like she hasn't heard Kara. “For a number of reasons, as I'm sure you can imagine, but. The work I'm doing certainly doesn't win me any favors.”

Kara frowns. “Your mapping software is the most advanced cataloging system of its kind,” she says. “The data you've been gathering should be proof of concept—”

Dr. Hoshi cuts her off with a laugh. “See, that's what I'm talking about. Your conviction. Your faith in the work we're doing here. You treat us with respect, and the same cannot always be said of my colleagues.” She sighs. “That is what I wanted to thank you for, Miss Kent.”

Kara is truly at a loss for words. She has to go back to, “You're...you're welcome.”

“I've kept you long enough, I think,” Dr. Hoshi says, and Kara's grateful, because she's not sure she'd be able to keep this conversation going. “And again, sorry about the late call.”

“It's no trouble, really.”

They exchange polite goodbyes, and Kara returns the receiver to its cradle, still processing the exchange.

As she turns off the kitchen light and heads upstairs, she reasons that maybe it's not that weird, this late night thank you call. She remembers her dad and her uncle, and how they would lose track of both time and social graces when wrapped up in a project.

And of course Dr. Hoshi would pick up on...how had she described it? Kara's conviction. Because Kara, for as cagey as she tries to be about some things, has a very hard time not wearing her passion on her sleeve. She's honestly surprised that Dr. Hoshi didn't ask her if she'd be interesting in donating to their funding, for as much apparent interest Kara has in their research.

She tries not to let this worry her as she brushes her teeth and changes into her pajamas. She's just finished putting the clean sheets on her bed, when she hears Kal.

“Who was on the phone?”

He's using their 'super secret cousin communication line'—basically whispering at a volume only the two of them can hear.

“The scientist from the article,” Kara answers, relieved to discover that he didn't resort to eavesdropping to satisfy his curiosity. “She just wanted to say thank you.”

“That's all? ...I figured it was some sort of emergency, cause it's so late.”

“I thought so too, but.” Kara flops down on her bed and closes her eyes. “Nope. Just a thank you.”

“She thinks you did a good job?”

“Seems so.”

“That's good. That she liked it.”

“Mmmm-hmmmm.”

“...”

“...”

“...Kara?”

“...”

“...Are you asleep?”

“...I'd like to be.”

“It was really just a thank you call?”

Kara sighs. “I think...she was just happy that I took her seriously. She liked that the article was respectful, of her and her work.”

“...Why wouldn't it be?”

“Because a lot of people think her work is...” Kara tries to find a good word. “...a waste of time.”

“I thought she made space maps.”

“Not that work.”

“Oh.” There's a lengthy stretch of silence. Kara thinks that perhaps Kal's finally out of questions, and she can get some sleep. But, “Well. What other work does she do?”

Kara stares at the ceiling. The paint and drywall fade away to reveal the dark night sky overhead.

“She wants to find aliens.”

* * *

NOW

The Grand Mesa SETI Installation isn't much to look at, squat and square as it is, surrounded by miles and miles of red dirt and scrub.  The fifteen or so arrays aren't terribly impressive either—in fact, they have something of an eerie quality about them, occasionally shifting, intermittently whirring, all in a slow, synchronized dance.

Against the backdrop of the Arizona desert, it's all just a bit...alien.

Kara would laugh at the irony, if not for the pervading somber mood of the visit.

The interior of the facility is less off-putting than the exterior; no-nonsense linoleum, flat grey walls, plastic furniture left over from the mid-eighties. Kara wonders if the equipment, too, is as dated as the interior decorating, which only makes her frown deepen.

There's no one at the front desk. Kara takes a quick glance at the rest of the facility with her x-ray vision—there are a few blind spots, thanks to what she imagines is old, lead-based paint, but she can see that it's basically a skeleton crew; the bare minimum amount of techs to keep the place running.

Kara sighs quietly to herself as she hears the click of the door on the far side of the front desk.

“Oh, uh. Hi.” It's a man, perhaps in his forties, dressed casually and clearly surprised by her presence. “Um. Are you here to see somebody?”

Kara opens her mouth, but is cut off by the arrival of a second person breezing through the same door.

“She's here to see me,” Dr. Hoshi tells the man. He catches a glimpse of her expression—stony and displeased, and quickly excuses himself. “Hello, Miss Kent.”

She doesn't smile, but the displeasure softens marginally into something like annoyance. Kara marvels at how different this woman is, from the woman she'd written about in her article, years ago. She's still austere, with her sharply styled a-line bob and pristine oxford and slacks, but where there was once idealistic determination in her stern gaze, there is a brittleness; cold and fragile, like thin ice.

“Dr. Hoshi,” Kara greets. “It's been a while.”

“It has,” Dr. Hoshi agrees, but her tone is utterly flat. “But that's to be expected, I suppose. As you can see,” she gestures to the room around them, but it's obvious she means the entire facility. “I'm hardly a high-profile catch these days.”

“You alluded to as much, in your recent...” Accusation? Confession? “...Interview.”

“If you're here for proof,” Dr. Hoshi shakes her head. “I have nothing for you.”

“I know,” Kara says, and Dr. Hoshi's expression changes for the first time since they've started talking. Not much, though. Just a slight narrowing of her eyes, a barely perceptible twitch in her frown.

“Then why are you here?”

“Well,” Kara's relieved for the opportunity to drop the hardened reporter act, “you might not have proof, necessarily. But that doesn't mean there isn't a story here.” Dr. Hoshi looks like she's going to protest. “This is all off the record. I'm not on company time. Honest.” The other woman still regards her with suspicion.

“You came all the way out here, on your own time, just to talk...off the record?”

“I came 'all the way out here' to visit friends in California,” Kara corrects her. “This was on the way.”

Dr. Hoshi regards her for several long moments. Kara feels inclined to add, “I want to hear your side of this. Because...I think you deserve that chance.” She shrugs in what she hopes is a disarming manner. “And I'm just. Still a big fan of your work.”

This seems to be convincing enough for Dr. Hoshi to acquiesce to her presence. Not fully accept it, exactly. But. Tolerate it?

Which Kara can work with.

“Was doing,” Dr. Hoshi tells her, breezing past Kara and gesturing for her to follow. They enter a hallway off the main lobby and head deeper into the box-like building. Handcarts stacked high with half-packed boxes of broken and outdated instruments litter the spaces outside of large rooms that house the actual monitoring equipment: computers just as boxy and unremarkable as the cardboard boxes in the halls.

“This entire facility is obsolete,” Dr. Hoshi explains over her shoulder. “We're basically a glorified tax right-off.”

“They put you here to keep you quiet and out of the way,” Kara surmises. Dr. Hoshi nods.

“And I got tired of keeping quiet.”

Kara nods. She'd seen the 'tell-all' interview, an impassioned accusation on a local news channel that had stumbled its way on to the national news scene when a LexCorp lawyer happened to catch a rerun of the broadcast while holed up in a grimy motel off of 10. (Why a LexCorp lawyer was even in a grimy motel in Arizona in the first place was conveniently left out of the equation, no doubt thanks to LexCorp's not inconsiderable PR team.) Had the lawyer never seen the footage, it probably would've faded into obscurity. Some loony, local scientist claims big business stole her stuff.

Big whoop.

Dr. Hoshi flips on a light switch, and the dim set of fluorescent overhead lights are joined by a second set of equally dim fluorescence lights; these ones buzz louder, though.

“Do you think they'll fire you?” Kara asks, watching as Dr. Hoshi begins what looks like a routine check of the computers and recording apparatuses.

“No, not really,” she says with an air of grim acceptance. “It will be easier for them to blacklist me. I'll be forced to stay here, and they'll be able to keep an eye on me.” She pauses, and stares at the large arrays in the red expanse just outside of the building. There's a dull whine as they turn their large, concave faces to the east. Mechanized sunflowers, searching the starlight. “All these relics, constantly recording. And I'm the only thing here LexCorp cares about monitoring.” She says this quietly, more to herself than Kara.

Kara gives her a moment, not wanting to be rude as she gently continues her questions. “Do you know if LexCorp is using your technology currently? Do you know if they used it to track the Doomsday Event?”

“The Doomsday Event was a terrorist attack,” Dr. Hoshi parrots the widely-accepted official statement. Kara blinks, surprised to hear that line come from Dr. Hoshi.

“But what about Supergir—” Kara starts to say, only to swallow the rest of her sentence whole as Dr. Hoshi slowly turns.

“...What about Supergirl?” She asks, eyes narrowed. Kara frantically tries to think. She's only done a handful of interviews, and she can't remember. She can't remember...did she ever say it? Did she ever admit that she was an alien?

“I thought,” Kara clears her throat. “I thought she confirmed. That Doomsday was extraterrestrial.” She hopes Dr. Hoshi doesn't follow the news too closely; Kara never actually commented on the Doomsday Event.

“...Maybe she did,” Dr. Hoshi says with a shrug, turning her intense stare away from Kara. Kara breathes a little easier. “And maybe it was. But STAR Labs handled the autopsy, and they insist that whatever attacked Metropolis was human in origin. I know LexCorp tried to bully them into sharing access to their findings, but they were never successful.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, because I did some of the bullying.” Dr. Hoshi says. Kara's eyes widen. “But it became clear to me that they weren't going to budge, so I backed off, and focused on my own work. LexCorp 'locked down' my research shortly thereafter. Maybe in retaliation, for failing to procure the STAR Labs files. Or maybe because they felt they were falling behind in the new space race, and my insistence that we should proceed slowly and carefully and follow the science was too much of a hindrance.”

Dr. Hoshi's voice rises slightly as she ends her statement; it's the most emotion Kara's seen from her since she arrived, even more than the quiet suspicion of LexCorp's spying.

“...I'm sorry,” Kara says. And she means it.

Dr. Hoshi must sense this, because she lets out a very long sigh, and even offers a smile. It still carries that brittle quality, though. “Thank you.”

They share a moment of mutual silence before Dr. Hoshi turns to inspect the last computer.

“So, no. LexCorp was not using my work, prior to the Doomsday event. But they're almost certainly using it now.” She leans in close to the screen, and types something on the keyboard. “Or, they're leasing it to the military. We'll probably never know for sure, though.” She squints, and types another command in on the keyboard. “Odd...”

“What's odd?” Kara asks, moving to stand closer to the computer. There's a lot of information on the screen, but Kara can't decipher it. It just looks like a lot of random numbers and letters.

“This computer tracks our data here against the information gathered at the sister installation, down in Brazil. There's a lag, but the systems generally keep in sync, which we use to make sure everything's up and running properly.”

“So if they fall out of sync—”

“Something's broken.”

“It's not just...picking up space radio waves?”

Dr. Hoshi chuckles. “No. See this collection of data here?” She points to a set of numbers on the screen. Kara nods. “It's essentially too strong to be from space. Something is physically affecting an array.”

“Here?”

“No, down in Brazil.” Dr. Hoshi moves to the other side of the lab and grabs a phone from one of the desks. Kara hears the dial tone, and then the rapid succession of key tones.

She plans on listening to the entire call, of course—all the while making a show of how very interesting this computer screen is—until the conversation lapses into Portuguese. Kara winces.

Mental note: Learn Portuguese.

Given the tone of the individual on the other end of the line, Kara gets the sense that something is wrong. Maybe not catastrophically wrong, but the other scientist is clearly distressed. Dr. Hoshi says something that Kara assumes is meant to be assuring before ending the call.

“I'm sorry, Miss Kent, but I'm afraid we'll have to cut this visit short.”

Yes, we will. “That's okay, I understand,” Kara tells her as Dr. Hoshi leads her back into the hall. “Is everything alright?”

“There's some sort of...” Kara can see that the other woman is choosing her words carefully. “Mechanical problem, which means I get to look forward to a long evening of phone tag. Complete with international rates.” She smiles ruefully.  “Another tax write-off for LexCorp.”

Dr. Hoshi apologizes again for the abrupt end to the visit, but Kara is quick to remind her that this was unplanned.

“Now we're even,” Kara says, and Dr. Hoshi blinks at her in confusion. “Um. From when you called me, back when the article...never mind.”

Dr. Hoshi is kind enough to ignore the awkward moment, and simply wishes her well on her visit to California.

“Are you driving?” Dr. Hoshi asks as Kara digs her car keys out of her purse. Kara heads for the parking lot.

“Just a rental,” she says, holding up the key fob and the bright yellow tag attached to it. “I'm heading to the airport.”

“Have a safe flight, then.” Dr. Hoshi says, and returns to squat brick building.

Kara drives back into town and returns the car to the rental agency. That part wasn't a lie. And technically speaking, she is going to fly.

She finds a secluded spot, behind some buildings on the edge of town, and tugs at her shirt, revealing the primary-colored costume beneath.

Up, up, and away.

* * *

The only similarity between the Grand Mesa and the Montanha Verde SETI installations are the collection of large arrays flanking the main buildings; while Grand Mesa's surrounded by a vast sea of parched, red earth, Montanha Verde lives up to its name, nestled atop a collection of vibrant green foothills, the arrays dotting the terraced slope of the mountainside just above.

As Kara touches down on one of the far hills, she takes a quick x-ray scan of the building and the immediate surrounding area, mentally tallying the number of people onsite.

There are more techs here than at the Grand Mesa facility; she hurriedly does the math. If it comes down to it, she can clear the entire site in two minutes. Depending on wind speed, anyway.

She's hoping that won't be the case. As it turns out, 'mechanical failure' means that one of the arrays is on fire, and threatening to topple into an adjacent array, which is troubling enough on its own. More troubling, is the potential for the arrays to tumble down the mountainside, right into the back corner of the main building.

Easy fix, she decides as she (literally) flies into action. She decides against freeze breath, not wanting to damage the arrays further. Instead she flies in a tight circle around the flames, creating a vortex that robs them of oxygen. The flames die down almost instantly; she does send a light breeze in the direction of the singed metal, just to cool it down.

Once she's certain the nearby vegetation won't catch fire again, she lands, and pulls the leaning array back into position. She welds a quick patch into place—hardly a permanent solution, but better than simply hoping the compromised array won't fall over.

Some of the techs want to rush over as soon as they see her finish with the spot weld, but she holds up her hands, stay back! They nod, and keep a safe distance.

“Thank you,” they all start to talk over one another as she approaches, and that's the only phrase she can 1.) pick out and 2.) understand.

She underlines her mental note. Learn Portuguese!!

“You're welcome. I'm—sorry, I don't,” now only a few of the techs are talking, realizing that she's a little overwhelmed. “I don't speak—”

“Verde, verde,” Kara hears.

“Verde? Right, Montanha Verde,” she points over to the building, hoping she's understood. But one of them—a man with dark hair greying at the temples and a neatly trimmed beard—shakes his head profusely.

“Verde monstro.”

“Green...monster?” Kara can't imagine that word meaning anything else. The man doesn't confirm if she's translated correctly; he points farther down the ridge, past the land cleared for the facility, where the cropped vegetation gives way to actual jungle.

It's both the last thing Kara expects—this was supposedly just a mechanical failure, after all—and yet somehow, terribly fitting. Of course a 'green monster' would be the source of mysterious troubles at a SETI facility.

“I'll check it out,” Kara tells them, hoping her tone and facial expression help get the meaning across.  She takes off quickly, only to belatedly realize that perhaps it's not terribly wise, to charge into unfamiliar terrain.

It's not like there's anything on Earth that can hurt you, Kara reminds herself.

Still. She doesn't love the prospect of accidentally spooking a wild animal. She slows down and flies just above the canopy, keeping her eyes trained on the forest floor for any signs of...whatever tracks a green monster might make.

She keeps up the search for several hours, and tries not to think about the fact that this is a textbook case of needle in a haystack. She's not physically tired when she finally calls it quits, but   it's getting dark; the search is only going to become more and more difficult as the sun sinks lower in the sky.

She spots a clearing and drops into a quick landing, intent on checking the wristwatch she keeps in her cape pocket while there's still enough light to see. It's set to Metropolis time, and she's somewhere west of Belem, but what is that in terms of longitude—?

Kara doesn't notice it at first. Or, she does notice it, but it doesn't register until it's almost too late—she mentally cataloged it as just. Typical forest sounds.

But there's a pattern. A rhythm.

Footsteps.

Kara whirls and her heat vision goes off without conscious thought—just a bright beam of blue that shoots in whatever direction she's looking. A half-fallen tree branch bursts into flames.

“Argh!”

The yell isn't Kara's—a tall, something. Man? Stumbles back, away from the flame, bringing an arm up to shield his face.

Kara sends a gust of cold air on the flames, not wanting to create an international incident. Superhero Burns Down Amazon Rainforest by Accident is a headline Kara would very much like to avoid.

The man continues his frenzied retreat from the flames, only to stumble over a large exposed root. He lands on his back, hard.

“Please,” he says in a voice that is distinctly not human. “Please, do not kill me.”

He drops his arms, revealing his face. Green skin and bright red eyes.

Verde monstro.

Except, no. Not a monster. Not a monster at all; frightened and confused lab techs had, perhaps understandably, seen something unfamiliar, something monstrous among the flames. But Kara is not frightened and confused. Startled, maybe, but otherwise able to see how scared he is. She can hear it.

“I'm not going to kill you,” she tells him, holding out her hands in an open, non-threatening gesture. “I'm sorry about my—about the fire,” she apologizes. “That happens sometimes. When I'm scared.”

She doesn't move forward at all—she doesn't want to do anything that could be perceived as aggression. She lets him set the pace of this...encounter? Exchange? Whatever this is.

He uses the opportunity to climb to his feet, all the while keeping a close eye on her. He remains tense, arms bent in a defensive position.

“I'm—” Kara knows she should say Supergirl, but what comes out instead is, “Kara Zor-El. I'm here to help.”

He says nothing. They continue to stare at one another for a very long time.

After a small eternity, he finally speaks.

“My name is J'onn J'onzz,” he says. “And I don't think you can.”

* * *

Kara starts a fire—deliberately, and safely, this time—and invites J'onn to take a seat.

He does take a seat. About ten feet away from the flames.

“...You don't want to sit closer?” Kara asks. It's possible he's impervious to extreme temperatures, like her and Kal, but. If he sits closer to the light at least, the conversation might be a little less...spooky.

(Because, as much as Kara hates to admit it, she can understand why the lab techs were scared; J'onn's face is comprised of hard angles, and a long, ovular cranium. Not unlike the shape humans ascribe to the stereotypical 'Gray' aliens supposedly found at Roswell. But, more so than the harsh angles and green skin, Kara thinks perhaps they were mostly reacting to the glowing red eyes.)

“No,” J'onn says simply.

Kara nods. “Okay.”

Another small eternity passes. And then,

“My planet...burned to death.”

Kara stares at him across the flames, watching the shadows shift over his face as he pointedly turns away from the fire.

A heavy sadness settle in her chest.

“You're a refugee,” she says.

J'onn doesn't look at her. He keeps his face turned away. “Someone who is forced to leave their home to escape war, persecution, or a natural disaster,” he recites the definition. “Yes. I am.”

Kara takes a deep breath, reflexively reaching for the edge of her cape, to run her fingers of the corner. An outlet for her pent-up emotions. “I'm sorry,” she says quietly. “Did...did anyone else escape?”

“I am the last.”

Tears spring to Kara's eyes, the words landing on all the broken bits, the still-healing bits that she buries down deep inside. They press down hard and cause her to let out a watery chuckle, which J'onn probably thinks is extremely rude.

But he must see the glint of the firelight reflecting off her tears, because his expression is one of confusion, not outrage. And Kara then explains,

“Same, actually.”

The confusion lingers only a moment longer, before understanding sets in. He nods.

And then, slowly, he stands.

Kara watches, a little confused herself, until she sees him skirt the edge of the clearing, and come to sit fractionally closer to her. Still quite far from the flames, but. Most definitely closer.

“I'm...sorry.”

She wipes at her tears and takes a steadying breath. “Me too.”

* * *

It's weird. Not a bad weird, but certainly some kind of weird—two complete strangers sharing stories of lost home worlds around a campfire, somewhere at the edge of the Amazon Rainforest.

Kara can't remember which one of them started it. She thinks maybe it was J'onn who got the ball rolling, telling her a little bit about Mars. Not much; there was still a guarded element to his demeanor, and Kara would eventually come to understand that wariness was borne of having spent so long on Earth hiding. Decades to her fifteen or so odd years.

And then she started talking about Krypton. Really talking about Krypton. The blemished, imperfect Krypton that Kara had, perhaps a bit unintentionally, scrubbed clean for Kal's bedtime stories.

Talking with Kal...it was just stories. Because all he knew was Earth.

Talking with J'onn—he knew. He'd had friends, family, a daily routine. Favorite foods that could never be replicated, because the ingredients no longer existed.

“That's why I wanted Dr. Hoshi's work to succeed,” Kara finds herself explaining, as the conversation inevitably turns to how they both came to be in Brazil in the first place. “I mean. Obviously, it's going to be...a long time, before Earth reaches the point where they have the technology necessary for intergalactic communication, let alone travel, but...” she purses her lips, and stares into the flames. “I'd like to think that someday, aliens will just be a fact of life. And then...maybe...” she sighs. “Maybe. We won't have to hide.”

She can see J'onn shift in her peripheral vision.

“That is where we differ,” he says. “I've been on this planet a very long time. I don't think we'll ever be able to stop hiding.”

Kara wants to argue the point, but J'onn continues, “There's a group that's been following me. Hunting me. I don't know how they're managing to track me.” J'onn looks off in the direction of the SETI facility. “I...overheard, that they were planning to make use of facilities like the one on that mountain ridge. If not to track us on this planet, then to track those like us before they even arrive.”

“Is that...” Kara swallows. “Why you...”

“I didn't want to injure anyone, I only wanted to disable their tools.” J'onn tells her, and Kara can't help that her first thought is one of stern judgement, that he's basically admitted to destroying private property, and by extension, potentially endangering all those people. “But I miscalculated, and the dish caught fire.” He takes a breath. “So I ran.”

“I...I understand your...” Kara doesn't think concern is the right word to use. “...Fear. I do. Really.” And she does. It's now, in her adulthood, that she's recognizing that it was not normal or healthy, for a thirteen-year-old to live with the constant background radiation of worry that a shadowy government organization could come snatch her or Kal at any time, with no warning or consequence. “But we can't just assume that everyone—that they're all like the group that's—” hunting, stalking, preying, “following you.”

“You have not encountered these people,” Kara can see that J'onn is making an effort to respond calmly. His shoulders tense, and his hands curl into fists. “You do not understand.”

It's a sobering reminder, one that Kara doesn't counter, even though she'd really like to. As alike as they are, they've also led very, very different lives. Kara has to respect that.

“You're right,” is what she decides to go with. “I'll never fully understand, and I'm sorry, for everything you've had to endure.”

“...Thank you.”

* * *

WHUP, WHUP, WHUP.

Kara grumbles in irritation. Her apartment building is 'centrally located, close to public transit, ideal for commuters,' which is realtor speak for: overlooks the elevated train tracks of the city's metro system on one side, and the approach to the Monarch Bridge on the other. So if it's not the sound of the yellow line waking her in the morning, it's the sound of a traffic copter, covering rush hour.

She reaches for her quilt, intent on burrowing beneath the covers to try and catch a few more minutes of sleep.

The quilt feels. Weirdly like her cape? That's—

She's awake in an instant, as the sounds of the helicopter become impossibly loud and close. She's not in her apartment; she's in Brazil—her and J'onn had talked so long, that she ended up deciding to simply catch an hour or so of sleep before heading back to the states, just before dawn. J'onn had offered to stick around and keep watch, 'just in case.'

Kara thought it was both courteous and maybe a little unnecessary at the time.

Boy, does she feel foolish.

“It's them,” J'onn says in a strained voice, eyes trained on the sky. “I have to go.”

He's already turning to head deeper into the jungle. Kara jumps to her feet, shaking off leaves and dirt.

“Wait, wait, there has to be...something we can do—” Kara says, rushing after him, but as she says it, she thinks, what? What can we do? Talk to them? Fight them? She's not even sure who this 'them' is. She's only heard J'onns vague accounts of their various encounters, and she gets the sense that he doesn't really know who they are, either.  

“Don't involve yourself in this,” J'onn says, not bothering to look back at her as he speaks. “You're fortunate, you look like them. You have a life to go back to.” The words are painful to hear, but probably even more painful for J'onn to say, and they aren't untrue. “So, go.”

But Kara won't. She can't.

“Let me help you, at least,” Kara insists, reaching out to try and touch J'onn's shoulder. The movement makes him turn, causing him to slow.

There's a sharp Crack! followed by a terrible sound of wet impact. J'onn grunts, and falls to his knees.

“J'onn!” Kara cries out in concern, stooping to support him before he falls forward completely. A figure emerges from the dense brush and trees.

“Supergirl, what an unexpected surprise.” Kara looks up to see a black man dressed in camouflage fatigues, holding a semi-automatic weapon. The tag above his left breast pocket reads: H. Henshaw. “Didn't know you were hunting this monster as well.”

J'onn lets out another pained grunt. Kara helps him to apply pressure on the wound on his abdomen. “Do I know you?”

“No, but we know you,” Henshaw says with a terrible grin. “It's our business, to know all about our...” he pauses, and brings up his gun to train the sight on J'onn. “Strange visitors, from other planets.”

Kara positions herself between Henshaw and J'onn. “Are you CIA? Military?”

“I'm afraid that's classified information,” Henshaw says. “Move.”

“I'm not going to let you kill him,” Kara says fiercely.

“Careful, Supergirl,” Henshaw growls, tightening his grip on his gun. “So early in your career...do you really want to make yourself an enemy of the state?”

Kara doesn't know how to respond; she's desperately trying to think through this. Trying to see all the angles, all the potential consequences, instead of rushing in. (As she's prone to do.) But she can hear J'onn's labored breathing, her attention thus divided, her mind running in too many different directions.  

Henshaw must mistake her hesitation for defiance. “Alright, let's try something else. Move, or I'll have a group of agents at that quaint little farm of yours faster than you can blink.”

Kara can't stop the strangled choking noise that works its way out of her mouth—no, no, she was so careful, she'd always been so careful...

You never should have become Supergirl, she thinks, but then, as she continues to stare, wide-eyed at Henshaw's face, she has a horrifying realization that he looks familiar. She's seen him before. Somewhere. Some--

A memory. Smallville. Shortly after her and Kal had landed, going into town with Martha, having pancakes at the diner before finishing their errands...

A couple of guys in suits at the far end of the restaurant. She caught their eyes a few time, but thought it was a fluke. An awkward, accidentally moment of eye contact.

But it wasn't. It wasn't a fluke, it wasn't an accident, they had found them. They'd known all along. But how?! She thinks, borderline hysterical. How had they evaded her detection? She has super-hearing! She can see through walls!

It's a struggle to simply breathe through the panic and processing; she doesn't notice as Henshaw loads a new cartridge into his gun—one that gives off a subtle glow in the milky, pre-dawn light.

He's about to fire, but there's a roar from behind Kara.

“Wha—no!” Henshaw yells as J'onn barrels into him. They both tumble further into the trees. Kara forces her mind to stop spinning in frenzied circles long enough to clamber unsteadily to her feet. They've known, they've always known—

Focus! She tells herself, and charges after the two men. She can hear them before she sees them, the grunting, the struggling, another gunshot.

Someone yells—Henshaw. But the yelling fades, like he's—

She's spotted them now. She surges forward through a tight knot of trees. J'onn is slumped at the edge of a cliff.

Henshaw is not with him.

“He...he went over, I wasn't—” J'onn tries to say, but he's breathing heavily, and still clutching his side. “—Not strong enough, not fast enough to pull him back—”

He passes out, at that point. She approaches the edge of the cliff, just enough to see that it's...a very long way down.

She presses the back of her fist to her mouth, eyebrows drawing together in distress as she imagines the fall. She proceeds no further. There's no need.

Instead, she picks J'onn up as gently as she can, and extends her hearing as far as it will go. The helicopter has landed a few miles to the south, and she can hear two separate scouting parties.

They need to leave.

They also need to...figure out what to do about these people, the ones who have been following J'onn, and apparently Kara as well.

...One crisis at a time, Kara decides.

She takes off, her speed probably more than a little reckless, but she needs to get J'onn help. And fast.

...She just hopes that the Danvers know as much about patching up Martians as they do about patching up Kryptonians.

* * *

Alex usually isn't allowed to have a second juice box, but she takes her chances asking mom if it would be okay. After all, Kara is visiting, and when Kara visits, sometimes the rules change a little bit.

Like getting a second juice box.

(She checks to see if any of the grown-ups are looking, before quickly grabbing a third juice box that she stuffs under her sweatshirt.)

She makes sure to close the refrigerator before hurrying past the dining room, where Kara and her parents are. They don't notice her, which is okay—they're really busy talking.

So she continues on her way to the family room. It's a little messier than normal, and for once, it isn't because Alex has forgotten to clean up her toys. Instead, there are Band-Aids and stuff all over. She's careful not to disturb anything—it's all stuff that only the grown-ups are allowed to use, and she's already sneaking juice boxes, so. Best not to break any more rules.

She settles herself on the couch, fluffing a pillow, and getting comfortable before she turns her attention to her juice box. She pulls off the straw and bites through the plastic wrapper.

The big green man that Kara brought with her stirs at the other end of the couch.

“Wanna juice box?” Alex asks, removing the super-secret extra one from under her sweatshirt. “It's fruit punch.”

The big green man blinks at her with his glowing red eyes. Christmas colors, Alex thinks.

“Fruit...punch?”

“It's really good,” Alex explains. “Because it has all the fruits. Together.”

She offers it to him. He looks at it for a second, before reaching out to take it.

“...Thank you.”

“Welcome,” Alex says. She starts on her own juice box, then realizes the green man is still staring at his. “Oh. You gotta—” Alex reaches over and pulls off the straw to hand it to him. He takes it, but he stares at that too. So she reaches over again and takes the straw, slamming it on the coffee table to get it to pop up out of the plastic.

She sets the wrapper off to the side, and gives him the straw once more. “Now poke it through the silver dot.” She points to the top of the juice box.

The green man follows her instructions. The straw slides into place. “Yeah. Like that.”

She watches as he takes a hesitant sip. The juice box trembles a little in his grip, but that's probably because he was hurt earlier, and is still getting better.

“It is...very good.” He says after several more sips. Alex smiles.

“Toldja.”

They sit side by side, enjoying their juice boxes in companionable silence. As Alex finishes her own, the cardboard crumpling as she noisily slurps the last fruity drops, she says, “My name's Alex.”

“I'm J'onn J'onzz,” the man says.

“Are you from Krypton, like Kara?”

“...No...I'm from Mars.”

“Oh.” Alex nods. “Okay.” She looks down at her hands, and counts on her fingers. “My...very...educated...mother...” She looks up. “That's right next to Earth!” she smiles. “Like a next-door neighbor.”

“...Yes,” J'onn agrees.

She looks over to see that he's finished his juice box, too. “Want another one? Mom will probably say it's okay, because you're sick.”

J'onn regards his empty juice box. “Would it also be...fruit punch?”

“Yeah.”

“...Then yes, please.” He gives her a small smile. “I would like another juice box.”

* * *

It takes J'onn two days to recover. It's mostly thanks to his own healing ability—Eliza and Jeremiah do as much as they can for him, but their resources are limited.

So, he spends the two days sleeping in their guest bedroom. Kara spends those two days thanking Eliza and Jeremiah profusely.

“I owe you guys,” she tells them.

“You can pay us back in juice boxes,” Jeremiah says.

J'onn is up and about by day three, and pretty much immediately insists on leaving.

“I'm a danger to you all, staying here.” The Danvers try to reassure him that, it's fine, that he doesn't need to feel like he has to flee into the night.

But. Kara had told them. About the man, Henshaw, and what he had revealed to her, when he'd cornered them in the jungle.

“They probably know about you, too,” Kara admits with a grim expression. “I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be,” Eliza says with a firm shake of her head. “We were well aware of the risks, when you came to us after the Doomsday Event.”

“But J'onn's right,” Kara says. “It's dangerous—”

“Then it's a good thing we've got a Kryptonian on speed-dial,” Jeremiah interrupts with a grin.  

“Still, I understand why he's anxious to go,” Eliza concedes. “Is there anything we can do to help him?”

Kara admits she isn't sure, and is determined to find out. Which is how she finds herself in the Danvers' backyard, joining J'onn in quietly admiring the sunset.

“I've never been able to just,” he takes a long, deep breath. “Enjoy this planet.”

Kara nods in somber understanding. But then adds, “One of the things Earth has going for it,” she smiles. “It's beautiful.”

“It is.”

Encouraged by his agreement, Kara continues, “And a lot of the people on this planet...are really wonderful too.”

She braces for an argument. But,instead, J'onn looks down at his hand, and Kara realizes he's holding a juice box.

“I still have a hard time believing that,” he says. “...But I would like to try.”

She nods again. “The Danvers want to help,” Kara tells him, crossing her arms over her shirt. She's not in costume. Standing next to J'onn, though, with his regal blue cape and dark, armored suit, she feels under dressed. “We all want to help. However we can.”

“That group...I think they're called the D.E.O.”

Kara frowns. “How do you know that?”

“I heard one of the other agents,” he says, which Kara finds strange. She'd heard the agents too, but they'd mostly just been whispering commands and confirming locations, entirely in code; she hadn't heard any of them openly discussing specifics.

But then, maybe he meant he'd heard it during one of their earlier encounters.

“They'll be looking for Henshaw.”

She turns away from him. “There's no way he survived that fall,” she says in a low voice, trying not to think of the man's grizzly fate. She's still horrified by what Henshaw told her, and she got the impression that the man took a sickening glee in the prospect of killing J'onn—and possibly any alien they deemed 'too powerful' to conceivably coexist with humanity in peace. But still. It was a gruesome end, one Kara wouldn't wish on anyone.  

“I'm going to take his place,” J'onn says suddenly.

Kara starts. “What?”

She turns back to face him and he's—something's happening. There's a red glow that envelopes his entire body, and J'onn's face fades away, replaced by the face of Hank Henshaw.

Kara gapes.

“I've thought about this,” he says, “If Henshaw is listed as 'MIA', or worse, it they find and identify his remains at the bottom of that ravine, they'll intensify their search, maybe even respond more harshly to perceived 'threats'.

“But if I take his place...I can divert their entire operation. Change it from the inside.” Kara's trying to focus on his plan, because, as wild as it is, it's...admittedly a very good one. It would potentially solve...a lot of problems.

...But she's silently freaking-out, just a little. J'onn just—dead! Dead guy! Dead guy, standing here, talking to me! “I can make it safer on this planet, for people like us.”

“That's—you—” Kara shakes her head. “You can shapeshift???”

J'onn smiles.

“I can also read minds.”

* * *

“—and she didn't come back, but satellite imagery suggests she left Brazil alive, with an injured civilian. They entered U.S. airspace that morning.”

“...I see.”

“Did you get the reports on the array? The damage was surprisingly minimal.”

“...I did get the reports, but I still need to look them over.” She ends the conversation abruptly, knowing she'll have to apologize to Dr. Silva later.

But she doesn't really care.

Because how was it, that within hours—hours—of speaking off the record with Kara Kent about an incident at the Montanha Verde installation, Supergirl arrived at that very same location, without any explanation as to how she knew they were in trouble, how she even knew where to go?

The obvious explanation is that Kara leaked the story to someone with connections to Supergirl. Or maybe Kara herself was in contact with the superhero.

Or.

Or.

Dr. Hoshi retreats to her office. A sparse room consisting of a desk, a chair, and a meticulously organized bookshelf. It's free of any personal touches—Kimiyo remembers feeling like it would have been admitting defeat, to settle down here. To invest in the lie LexCorp was building, about her. Her career.

Normally, the sight of the office simply depresses her. Now?

She finds herself growing angry.

She sits at the desk, and thinks. Kara Kent had always been so invested in their work. Kara Kent had come here, unannounced, and had basically received a VIP tour, getting an up-close look at their monitoring equipment. (However rudimentary and obsolete it may be.)

And there was that business about the Doomsday Event. And Supergirl.

Supergirl...who went to help with the damaged array. The damaged array that Kimiyo had specifically mentioned.

To Kara Kent.

...A crazy theory, she decides. But then, how many widely accepted scientific truths began as mere crazy theories?

She just has to test it.

But to test a crazy theory, you need funding. And resources.

She looks around the small, bleak office.

She reaches for the phone on her desk. Dials a familiar number.

The call is picked up on the second ring.

“Kimiyo, hello. What a pleasant surprise,” the greeting is not delivered with any sort of sincerity. “Has E.T. phoned home yet?”

Kimiyo refuses to dignify the stupid joke with a response. “I want out of here, Lex.”

“You're welcome to tender your resignation at any time.”

“I know how we can get back at STAR Labs,” Kimiyo says.

The line goes quiet for a time.

“I'm listening.”

“It's just a theory, at this point. I'd need to test it...I'd need—”

“Access to your research? Your old lab?” his tone is mocking.

“And money.”

“Natch.”

“You wanted Doomsday, right?”

“...You have something on Doomsday?”

“No,” Kimiyo admits, and Lex makes an irritated noise. “...I might have something on Supergirl.”

She waits for his response.

There's a chuckle. A laugh. A guffaw, and she's certain she's blown her chance at redemption, that she's destroyed her career for a record second time in the space of three years.

But then he speaks.

“That's even better.”

Dr. Hoshi takes a steadying breath.

“So we have a deal?”

Lex Luthor laughs, in a manner most unsettling.

“Oh, yes.”

* * * 

NOTES:

- I generally try to keep the notes to a minimum but THIS ONE’S GONNA NEED SOME EXPLANATION - It took me forever to decide on when J’onn appears in the CAK universe. I had initially planned on just using the date and circumstances from the show, essentially replacing Jeremiah with Kara. - Buuuuuut that would mean J’onn would arrive when Alex was a teenager, and the thought of Smol Alex inspiring J’onn to have faith in humanity was. Too compelling of a notion to pass up. XD  - So this kind of contradicts events in ‘the one where alex saves the world’ but those inconsistencies can be handwaved away with: Alex wasn’t aware that her cool Martian friend she met One Time is the same guy as Kara’s grumpy colleague from the DEO.  - TIMELINE CHECK: This takes place before, and then after ‘the one with the beginning’ (AKA the Doomsday one.) - As always: the science is just pure made-up nonsense, cobbled together from light Googling and my vague recollections of Contact. - Kara finds J’onn in Brazil as opposed to Peru because I definitely misremembered episode 1x17.  - And SPEAKING OF, if the whole trip seems contrived and like it was meant to be the beginning of a much longer plot/mystery, that’s because it was, but I lost the notes to what I had initially planned.  

[firsthopemedia]

How To Improve Your Lousy Writing Skills In The Workplace FIRST HOPE MEDIA https://www.firsthope.biz If there’s one important reason why you need to write effectively in the workplace, it is this: the quality of your writing imprints a lasting impression on the reader. This reader may be your boss, a client, or a person who is ready to make a billion dollar business deal with you. Have you ever read a poorly-written document that made you lose interest right away? It was so poorly-written that you lost trust in the author and asked yourself why the author was wasting your time? How about those junk e-mails that sneak into your junk box like annoying cockroaches? You know the ones I’m referring to: the ones pitching vitamins, software, and sex aids. These e-mails are the biggest showcase of writing blunders, stricken to death with grammar mistakes, misspellings, and sloppy sentences. I doubt these e-mails pull a sale because their poor writing style immediately alienates the reader. What impression does your writing leave on your boss, clients, or co-workers? Does your writing alienate readers, cause you to lose sales or clients, or cost you job promotions? Or does your writing build streams of loyal readers, increase sales for the company, and help you earn six figures a year at your job? Whatever type of writing you do in the workplace, always know this reality: readers believe the quality of your writing reflects your skills, work ethics, and integrity as a person. If you write eloquently, clearly, and lively, the reader trusts you and you are able to build rapport quickly. If your writing is sloppy, disorganized, and riddled with errors, the reader assumes the rest of your work is flawed, your work ethics are flawed, and perhaps as a person you are flawed. Why should this reader waste his time reading the rest of your junk or even do business with you? This article provides fail-safe strategies to help refine your writing and help you to communicate with clarity, simplicity, and impact so you will never write junk again. You will learn five masterful steps to guide you in planning, writing, and refining an article; and you will learn how to avoid common writing mistakes. AIM! FIRE! FIRE! To become a superb writer, your first task is to establish your aim. Yiddish novelist, dramatist and essayist, Sholem Asch, once said, “Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.” What message do you want to convey with your writing? To establish your aim, ask yourself: 1) “Why am I writing this document?” 2) “What do I want to communicate?” 3) “Do I want to inform, educate, report, persuade, challenge, or entertain?” Developing your aim will help you to adopt the best writing style for your reader. For example, an educational document will likely be more formal than one written for entertaining. CONNECT WITH YOUR READERS To write effectively, you need to connect strongly with your readers. Ask yourself: 1) “For whom am I writing this? Will I be writing for colleagues, my supervisor, my team of employees, or our clients?” 2) “How much information do my readers need?” 3) “How familiar are my readers with the topic?” 4) “How much time do my readers have? Would my readers prefer a short, succinct presentation of facts and statistics, or more narration and exposition?” Knowing your audience will allow you to write content in a way that appeals to your readers. SHAPE YOUR DOCUMENT You know your aim. You know the people who will likely read your document. Now plan your document. What information will it contain? What information will most likely grab the reader and hold their interests? What points do you need to get across? Start with a rough outline of ideas. Then go through the outline and add more information and more detail. An outline will create the structure for your document. Soon enough your writing will come more easily, quickly, and with greater clarity. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW BEST At this stage, read over your outline and write the first draft. Establish the main idea of the document and support your argument throughout. If a blank white page glares back at you like headlights, just start writing on whatever topic you know best. According to American novelist Jack London, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Don’t worry about the sequence if the ideas come to you out of order. You can cut and paste later. WORDY WEIGHT LOSS If you have time, step away from the document. Come back to it later with a fresh mind. Now add material where needed. Trim away unnecessary sections. Refine the text to communicate what you want to say. Remember: less is more. Try not to repeat ideas. Repetition, unless necessary, is tiresome for the reader. Keep the piece moving along. Use a lively pace. Progress through your points efficiently. The following sections address some of the most common writing problems. Use these tips to write more clearly, effectively, and lively. I.) PUNCTUATION a) Apostrophes Do not use an apostrophe in the possessive form of “it.” Incorrect: Our department submitted it’s reports for 2005 last week. Correct: Our department submitted its reports for 2005 last week. Do not use apostrophes in the possessive forms “his,” “hers,” and “ours.” Incorrect: The window office is her’s. Correct: The window office is hers. Do not use apostrophes in plural nouns. Incorrect: How many new computer’s are we getting? Correct: How many new computers are we getting? b) Commas Do not connect two complete sentences with a comma. Incorrect: The meeting was cancelled, I finished my work early. Correct: The meeting was cancelled, so I finished my work early. Correct: Since the meeting was cancelled, I finished my work early. II.) MECHANICS a) Split Infinitives Do not insert words between “to” and the infinitive form of a verb. Incorrect: I was told we needed to slightly tighten the deadline. Correct: I was told we needed to tighten the deadline slightly. III.) SPELLING a) “A lot” is always two words. Incorrect: I have alot of work to do. Correct: I have a lot of work to do. b) “To” is a function word often used before the infinitive form of a verb (to go). c) “Too” is an adverb that means “excessively” (too difficult). d) “Two” denotes the number 2. Incorrect: This file cabinet is to heavy for me to move. Correct: This file cabinet is too heavy for me to move. e) “There” is an adverb indicating a place (over there). f) “Their” is a possessive word that shows ownership (their computers). g) “They’re” is the contraction form of “they are.” Incorrect: There results for this quarter were excellent. Correct: Their results for this quarter were excellent. Incorrect: Their working very hard today. Correct: They’re working very hard today. IV.) STYLE a) Sentence Variety To write more lively, vary sentence structure. Use alternate ways of beginning, and combine short sentences to create different sentence lengths. Before: I organized the files for all the new accounts this week. Then I created a more efficient labeling system. I color-coded everything. I made sure all paper files had been documented electronically. I put these files in the empty file cabinet. After: This week I organized the files for the new accounts and created a more efficient color-coded labeling system. After I documented all paper files electronically, I put these files in the empty file cabinet. V.) ACTIVE VOICE vs. PASSIVE VOICE The English language has two "voices": active voice (the subject performs an action); and passive voice (the subject is acted upon). In business communication, all good writers write in active voice. Lazy writers write in passive voice. Writing in active voice shortens your sentences and makes your writing sound more direct and formal. Examples: PASSIVE: The recipe book is read by her. ACTIVE: She reads the recipe book. PASSIVE: The radio announcement should be listened to by everyone. ACTIVE: Everyone should listen to the radio announcement. PASSIVE: The photo is being taken by the photographer. ACTIVE: The photographer is taking the photo. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll stop yourself from writing lousy in the workplace. Your writing will be lively, clear, and concise, and you will build rapport with readers. Perhaps it’s now time to e-mail your boss a perfectly-written e-mail requesting a salary raise?

[hunterstream591]

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Just because you’re a Mac person doesn’t mean you have to settle for less with your accounting software. Check out these 6 great options.

A few years ago, we published an article on the best accounting software options for Mac users. This is an update of that article, but here’s the thing: There’s no such thing as “accounting software for Mac” anymore.

Sure, there’s plenty of accounting software that you can use on your MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, etc. But while there used to be Mac software and PC software, it’s now virtually all the same with the ever-increasing expansion of cloud-based software that works seamlessly in any browser.

In other words, you’d have a much harder time finding accounting software that doesn’t work on your Mac than a program that works only on Macs. In fact, with more than 100 million active Mac users, if you found an accounting program that somehow wasn’t compatible with Mac, that alone would be cause for alarm.

Cloud software is here to stay, and the market is only getting bigger. Gartner predicts that by 2022, 28% of enterprise IT spending will have shifted to cloud applications, up from 19% in 2018. (Full report available to Gartner clients.)

Less Accounting: Features and Functions: Another very easy to use free accounting software for Mac users. It is specifically meant for accountants or freelancers who are new to their work and are not much aware about accounting. Wave is a free, Canadian-made online software suite for managing small business finances. The free tools include accounting, invoicing, receipt scanning and personal finance, with features like unlimited bank connections, estimates/quotes, recurring invoices and accountant-approved (double-entry) reports. The Best Free Business Software app downloads for Mac: Microsoft Office 2011 Microsoft Office 2016 Preview Google Workspace Microsoft Excel 2016 Micro. MARG ERP 9+ Accounting Software. MARG ERP 9+ is widely acclaimed accounting software for. Osfinancials accounting and business processing software osFinancials is a free accounting package, easy to install Stock control and point of sales integrated with good support and plugins. Import from osCommerce, virtue-mart magento zenchart etc. Full reportdesigner reportman and all reports are made in reportman so can be adjusted to your needs.

6 user-friendly accounting software options for Mac

Rather than giving you a generic list of accounting software that works on Macs (which would basically just be our accounting software directory), I decided to determine which top factors users have for choosing Mac over PC and then find accounting software that best suits those users.

Macs are typically high-end machines with consistently strong reviews from users, so I included only accounting tools with an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars or higher in our directory (based on verified user ratings) and with at least 100 reviews.

In general, Macs are considered easier to use than PCs, so I’m including only products with an ease-of-use rating on our site of 4.5/5 or higher.

Finally, I included only products with a native iOS app with a user rating of 4/5 or better on the App Store, since Mac users typically use iPhones and iPads as well as their desktop or laptop computers.

With those factors in mind, here’s what I found, listed in order of rating and reviews from highest to lowest:

Jump to:

QuickBooks

FreshBooks

Accounting by Wave

Zoho Books

FreeAgent

Kashoo

1. QuickBooks

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:14,700+

It’s no surprise that the big name in accounting software is available on Mac operating systems. QuickBooks has even had a desktop-only (not cloud-based) option available for Macs since at least the mid-1990s, making the company something of a pioneer for cross-platform functionality.

Now, any of QuickBooks’ cloud-based offerings will work fine on your Apple device, and Intuit even still offers a desktop version for Mac. The desktop version for Mac even has a few features designed specifically for Mac users:

QuickBooks for Mac 2020 takes advantage of the Mojave OS Dark Mode.

You can upload text searchable images with the iPhone scanner.

Documents can be automatically shared through iCloud.

Pros

Cons

QuickBooks is available on virtually every device, so whether your team has Macs, PCs, or smartphones, you know that everyone can use it together.QuickBooks has very attractive entry-level pricing, but it doubles after three months.With hundreds of integrations, QuickBooks is highly customizable.QuickBooks is an enormous company, and some reviewers find that the customer service isn’t as hands-on as they’d like.

How much does QuickBooks cost?

QuickBooks Online starts at $25/month. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac is a one-time payment of $299.

What about the iOS app?

The QuickBooks iOS app has a 4.7/5 rating on more than 100,000 reviews. It allows users to create invoices, manage expenses, and view reports.

The QuickBooks Online dashboard (Source)

2. FreshBooks

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:3,000+

Designed specifically for small businesses and the self-employed, Toronto-based FreshBooks has been around for more than 15 years. FreshBooks also has Mac users in mind. They say that their easy-to-use accounting software works on any device—desktop, mobile, or tablet—and “plays nicely” with Mac.

Pros

Cons

Users rave over FreshBooks’ customer support, and the company stakes their reputation on it.If your company is rapidly growing—for example, if you plan on going public—you may quickly outgrow FreshBooks.Even though it’s targeted at smaller companies, FreshBooks has all the important accounting features you would need, so it can handle much more than lemonade stands.Freshbooks does a great job of keeping your books clean, but if you love forecasting and crunching numbers, it’s a little skimpy on the reporting side.

How much does FreshBooks cost?

FreshBooks starts at $15 per month for five clients and goes up to $50 per month for 500 clients. *At the time of writing, FreshBooks has a fall sale of 60% off for six months on all plans.

What about the iOS app?

The FreshBooks app has a 4.8/5 rating on almost 8,000 reviews. It allows you to run invoices, record expenses, track time, and accept payments, all while you’re away from your computer.

The Invoices dashboard in FreshBooks (Source)

Simple Bookkeeping Software For Mac

3. Accounting by Wave

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:800+

Accounting by Wave is one of the youngest tools on this list, having launched out of Toronto in 2010 before being acquired by H&R Block earlier this year. Its biggest differentiator is that it has a completely free version, as long as you don’t need to use it to accept payments or run payroll (those are optional, paid features).

So what makes Wave an attractive option specifically for Mac users? As mentioned, it’s free, so it’ll help you save for the next iPhone or MacBook upgrade. It also scores high for ease of use, making it fit in nicely with the intuitive Mac ecosystem.

Pros

Cons

It’s free without limitations on users or transactions as long as you don’t need to accept payments or run payroll.Wave is missing an audit trail feature, leaving it vulnerable to fraudulent employees.Wave offers above-average reporting features for a free tool.The free version offers only email support, and even if you pay for payments or payroll you still only get access to chat support (no phone support).

How much does Wave cost?

Wave is free. Payments are 2.9% + 30 cents per credit transaction, or 1% per bank transaction. Payroll starts at $20 per month plus $4 per employee.

What about the iOS app?

Invoice by Wave passes the user review test, clocking in at 4.6/5 with almost 2,000 reviews. It doesn’t completely replace the web version of Wave, but it does allow you to keep an eye on your business finances wherever you are. The biggest complaints that users have seem to be related to customer service, which is not unique to the app.

Recent transactions in Accounting by Wave (Source)

4. Zoho Books

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:380+

If you’re looking for the peace of mind of an established, international company offering Mac-friendly accounting software and you’re trying to avoid QuickBooks for whatever reason, Zoho Books might be for you. Zoho has been releasing business software since 1996, and Zoho Books is specifically tailored for Mac users, as it is designed to work with iMessage, Apple Maps, Siri, and 3D Touch. It even has an app for the Apple Watch.

Pros

Cons

Zoho Books is one of the most user-friendly options out there. In fact, it placed fourth—better than any other option on this list—on our Top 20 Most User-Friendly accounting software report earlier this year.Zoho Books offers integrated payroll in California and Texas for now, but if you’re in any other state you’ll have to use a separate payroll app.Starting at $9 per month, Zoho Books is one of the best values in accounting software this side of Wave, which is free. And unlike Wave, Zoho has almost universally praised customer service.Zoho Books is optimized for use with Zoho’s customer relationship management system, Zoho CRM, so if you’re already using a different CRM, it won’t work as efficiently.

How much does Zoho Books cost?

Zoho Books starts at $9 per month or $90 per year for 50 contacts and two users and goes up to $29 per month or $290 per year for unlimited contacts, 10 users, and more features.

What about the iOS app?

As mentioned above, the Zoho Books iOS app takes full advantage of iOS-specific features such as messaging and voice assistant, and users love it, giving it a 4.7/5 rating on almost 150 reviews. While some accounting software apps have minimal features, allowing you to basically just check balances and view transactions, Zoho Books allows you to create and send invoices, manage expenses, track time, view reports, and share numbers with your accountant.

Managing invoices in Zoho Books (Source)

5. FreeAgent

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:110+

FreeAgent accounting software is based in the U.K. and originally designed for British businesses, but they also have versions customized for U.S. and global businesses, and the software has full multicurrency support. Like any good cloud-based software, FreeAgent works like a breeze on the Mac platform, and its iOS app is a fan favorite.

Pros

Cons

Users are quite pleased with FreeAgent’s recurring invoice and receipt scanning features, which help take repetitive tasks out of small business accounting.FreeAgent is designed for small businesses, so if you’re growing fast, you could outgrow it relatively quickly.Users also have good things to say about FreeAgent’s customer service, which is available by email or phone.FreeAgent is 50% off for your first six months, but after that it’s $24 per month, which is a little high compared to other options on this list.

How much does FreeAgent cost?

FreeAgent has a flat-rate of $12 per month for everything (unlimited users and clients) for the first six months, then goes up to $24 per month after that.

What about the iOS app?

FreeAgent’s iOS app has an average rating of 4.7/5 on 20 reviews. It allows you to view your accounts, manage expenses by snapping pictures of receipts, create and send invoices, and track time.

The main dashboard in FreeAgent accounting for iPad (Source)

6. Kashoo

User rating: 4.5/5.0 Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviews:110+

Once you’ve stopped giggling about the name, you’ll see that Kashoo is a comprehensive accounting tool that is easy to use right from the start on any web-connected device, including Macs. One of Kashoo’s standout features is their customer support: You get free phone and web support with your subscription, which is much easier than standing in line at the Genius Bar.

Pros

Cons

The free phone and web support is a real plus for those of us who like to have some expert guidance.Kashoo integrates with Square for payments and Paychex for payroll in the U.S. (and PaymentEvolution in Canada, where it’s based) but beyond that, it doesn’t have much to offer as far as customization.Kashoo has a flat rate, so you get every feature in the basic plan.Some users have reported issues syncing multiple bank accounts with Kashoo, so it’s a good thing they have easily accessible customer support.

How much does Kashoo cost?

Kashoo is $19.95 per month, or $16.58 per month if you pay for an entire year up front ($199).

What about the iOS app?

Kashoo’s iOS app has a 4.3/5 rating on more than 50 reviews. It allows Kashoo users to view reports, manage and send invoices, accept payments, and scan receipts.

The tax management interface in Kashoo (Source)

What’s your favorite accounting software for Mac?

Are you an accountant (either accidental or professional) and a power Mac user? If so, what’s your weapon of choice, whether it’s listed above or something else? (There are plenty of other options out there with iOS apps, as you can see by filtering for iOS deployment in our accounting software directory.)

I’d love to hear what you use and why you use it so I can recommend it to others. Just let me know in the comments or connect with me on Twitter @AndrewJosConrad.

Note: Listed pros and cons are derived from features listed on the product website and product user reviews on Gartner Digital Markets domains (Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice). They do not represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Capterra or its affiliates.

Note:The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.

Looking for Accounting software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Accounting software solutions.

Financial management can be very complicated in you do not have a clear understanding of how much money you are getting and how much is the expenses. If you want to maintain proper financial records then you will be able to use certain Business Accounting Software. These ERP Accounting Software are free to use and most of the Legal Accounting Software will have advanced tools that can be used for making the process easier.

Related:

Account Edge Pro

This premium software from Acclivity Group LLC is a complete accounting solution for small business and management tool that will have all the information regarding sales, purchases, inventory, etc.

Manager

Free Business Accounting Software For Mac

This is a comprehensive free accounting software that has many features like general ledger, expense claims, estimates, quotes, credit notes, purchase orders, cash management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc.

Easy Books

This premium software can be used for tracking all the accounts, invoices, statements, and taxes. You can generate invoices in PDF format and email it to the customer and produce a full P&L and balance sheet.

Quickbooks

This premium software from Intuit Inc. will be useful for tracking expenses and sales, creating estimates, managing customers, creating professional looking invoices, managing payments and much more. It can be accessed from anywhere using multiple devices.

ZipBooks

This free accounting software from Zipbooks is used for its professional interface, simple invoicing and high-level time tracking abilities which will help businesses reach their financial goals. It has an intuitive user interface that can be used for all the aspects.

KashFlow

This premium software from KashFlow Software Ltd is an accounting software that can be used for organizing the company in a better way and managing all the financial aspects in one place.

Money Manager EX

This free and open source software from Money Manager EX has many features like account creation, currency conversions, tracking transactions, managing payee lists, repeating transactions, etc. Stocks, assets, budgets and attachments can be maintained in one place.

Express Accounts Accounting Software

Free Accounting App For Mac

This premium software from NCH software is a business accounting software that can be used by small businesses for documenting and reporting the incoming and outgoing cash flow including receipts, sales, purchases, and payments.

Wave

This free software from Accounting Inc. is secure and approved way of doing your accounting and invoicing. It is suitable for any freelancer, small business, consultant, and entrepreneur.

Sage Software

OSAS

Accountz

MoneyWorks

GNU Cash

Connected

Accounting Edge

Download Free Small Business Accounting Software For Mac

AcctVantage

Best Accounting Software For Mac

Xero – Most Popular Software

Home Accounting Software For Mac

This free software is very popular and it can be used by small business for managing all their financial tasks. Invoicing, bank reconciliation, bookkeeping and many more aspects can be maintained.

Business Accounting Software For Mac Free Download

How to install Accounting Software for Mac?

If you want to install any accounting software, then you should decide the software that you want by going through the reviews. The system requirements should be checked so that all the conditions like memory requirement, operating system, GUI requirement, etc. can be fulfilled. The readme text in the installation file can also be checked for this purpose. If it is a premium version, then the trial version can be used for learning about the features. The free version can be installed directly by using the links and following the instructions that are prompted on the screen. The software can be saved in any location and the language preferences can be set.

You will be able to track your sales and accounts receivable by using this software. Automatic records of recurring orders and invoices can be maintained and reports can be updated as and when an order comes in. You will be able to generate professional level quotes, invoices and sales orders.

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[justkindaoverhereobsessing]

Ellick Week Day Four (AU!)

@ellickweek

________________

‘How many potato chips can I eat without dying?’

As the question appears on Nick Torres’ screen, he makes a face. There’s no way anyone would really need to Google that question, right? He looks at one of his adjoining screens to see a slightly unflattering selfie-camera live view angle of a blonde woman with a dusting of crumbs on her top; she’s frowning as she scans the question’s search results. 

Nick is the FBI agent who has just been assigned to keep covert tabs on former NSA agent Ellie Bishop, and he’s not sure what to make of his new task. He’s to pay attention to her internet usage, primarily, and watch her through her webcams as necessary. Someone far higher up the food chain than Nick thinks Bishop might be spilling state secrets. 

The mere fact that she Googled her potato chip question five minutes into being watched makes Nick doubt the higher-up’s assessment entirely, but a job’s a job. 

________________

Three weeks later, he hasn’t seen anything that makes him any more suspicious of her, but she’s made him raise his eyebrows at least a couple of times a day ever since that first potato chip. 

On day three, she starts aggressively typing in Arabic so quickly that Nick’s translating software lags in trying to keep up. Before Nick can wonder what she’s writing about, though, the translator catches on… Bishop is merely making notes to herself on a recipe for Dolmeh-e-Kadoo, an Afghan dish consisting of stuffed squash. ‘Cook rice for two minutes longer than advised,’ Bishop types. ‘Fresh tarragon is preferable to dried.’

Someone really thinks this woman is a threat to national security?

On day nine, her biggest crime is using fifteen minutes at work to Google something called a Tater Tot Queen, clicking links that lead her to small Oklahoma newspaper websites. Nick checks into the background info he was given on her, and the Oklahoma thing starts to make sense. The Tater Tot Queen thing, though, remains a mildly endearing mystery. 

Day eighteen brings drama. Ellie has her laptop open and facing the living room of her apartment, giving Nick just the view he needs to watch her fight with her husband.

“You could communicate if you wanted to, Jake! I’m not asking for classified details! I just want to know how your freaking day was!” 

Her husband—who Nick decides quickly he doesn’t like at all—doesn’t respond kindly. “Hey, you’re the one who quit the NSA, Ellie. You’re the one who made it so we can’t talk about anything anymore. Surely your memory isn’t that short—you know damn well how strict the rules are about sharing information!”

Though Nick should really agree with Jake here—especially given the reason Ellie is being investigated—he finds that he can’t after Jake storms from the room, leaving Ellie on the verge of frustrated tears.

He wonders when he started thinking of her as Ellie.

________________

Four months into the assignment, Nick starts to strongly suspect that Jake is cheating on Ellie, and he does something stupid.

His department of the FBI has a number of highly secure servers that are untraceable. Anyone trying to pinpoint where an agent is working from will be bounced by a proxy from location to location all over the world at a speed human hackers just can’t match. That makes anonymity possible in a world where secrets are hard to keep, and Nick takes advantage. He just can’t help himself.

He sends Ellie a text masked by the servers. Don’t trust Jake. Trace his steps last week and you’ll find out why. 

He watches through her cell’s front-facing camera as Ellie’s expression morphs into one of suspicion. Who is this? she replies.

Nick: A friend. 

Ellie: Sorry, “friend”, but I think I’ll trust my husband over you. 

Nick knows he has threatened his own life and livelihood enough as it is, so he doesn’t reply. He watches Ellie start to consider what he said, though, and the risk feels worth it.

When Ellie discovers a few weeks later that Nick was right and her marriage subsequently falls apart, Nick finds that watching her pain is almost unbearable. He sends one more text.

He never deserved you. 

________________

Six months in, Nick watches in disbelief as Ellie eats her third junk food snack of the day… first, it was a honey bun. Then, it was hot Cheetos. Now, it’s half a sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. How on Earth does she manage to stay so fit? 

Though it’s a moronic thing to do, he reaches out to her again. Ellie, I’m concerned about your health. Don’t forget to eat real food in between snacks, woman. 

She responds almost instantly, making Nick grin. Seriously, who is this?

Nick: I meant it when I said I was a friend. 

Ellie: Friends don’t text friends creepy, cryptic messages.

Nick experiences a stroke of genius—he’ll just tell the truth. She’ll never believe him. Okay, you caught me. I’m the FBI agent assigned to watch you. ;) 

He can see Ellie roll her eyes. Ha ha, very funny. Who are you really?

You can call me Nick. 

Okay then, “Nick.” I’m blocking your number now. Bye.

For some reason, though, she doesn’t, and Nick feels absurdly like he’s won some sort of unexpected prize.

________________

Talking to Ellie becomes the highlight of his job. Though she continuously asks Nick who he is and gets frustrated when he never really answers, she never stops replying to him. Something in that analytical mind of hers seems to think that if he was anything other than a benign—if slightly eerie—mystery in her life, he would have acted against her already.

In the beginning, she puts a lot of effort into figuring out his identity. She traces the IP address and the spoofed phone number he uses to contact her. She Googles a variety of increasingly unlikely questions trying to find clues as to his identity. She even has one of her coworkers dig deeply into the servers he’s using, but the FBI is nothing if not thorough in covering its tracks.

Then one day, she seems to decide that she doesn’t really care who he is, and she starts to chat with him more casually. 

Sometimes, they talk about whatever Nick has observed her doing, but sometimes, they just… talk. Nick eventually realizes that she’s become something of a confessional for him; she’s both intelligent and unbiased enough to give solid advice, and kind and funny enough to make him feel better about whatever he happens to be going through. It hardly matters that they’ve never met and that there’s a constant veil of secrecy between them… they’re friends, as ridiculous as that is. 

________________

Nick has been assigned to watch her for an entire year before he starts to realize how much he hates doing this. Surveilling unaware people never really bothered him before, but he realizes that he doesn’t want to keep invading Ellie’s privacy like this. He wants to be a part of her life organically. He doesn’t see a single reason she’s being watched at all, and it feels increasingly wrong to target her when she hasn’t done anything wrong.

In his latest report to his superiors, he details the mundane things Ellie does in her spare time. At the end, he notes ‘suspect displays no suspicious behavior. Recommend terminating surveillance.’

Then he decides all at once that he’s done. 

Officially done.

He types up a letter on his computer, prints it, and drops it in his boss’ mailbox. Then he takes his phone off of all the FBI servers and unspoofs his number to text Ellie one more time. 

My name is Nick Torres. I told you I was an FBI agent assigned to monitor you, and I was telling the truth. I just quit my job. If you don’t believe me, or if you do and you want to talk, I’ll be at Sweet Science Coffee this afternoon. I’ll be the one with the muscles. 

Then he stands up from his desk for the last time and says goodbye to the J. Edgar Hoover Building.

________________

She doesn’t show up.

Nick sits at the coffee shop in NoMa sipping Guatemalan dark roast for two hours before eventually concluding that Ellie has no interest in meeting him. He understands, honestly—he stole her privacy for twelve long months, and that has to be hard to look past.

Doesn’t mean her absence doesn’t suck. 

As he leaves, though, he physically runs into her just outside the door. She stumbles and he reaches out automatically to steady her. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I—” she starts, and then cuts herself off. “Nick?”

He gives her a little grin; his heart is racing, and he’s not used to not being utterly confident around women. “The one and only,” he replies. “Nice to meet you in person, Ellie.”

She blinks at him. “Nice to meet you, too—I think?”

Nick chuckles, his hand rising up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his head. “I can understand the confusion. I wasn’t sure you’d come, actually. I waited for a while.”

Ellie gives him an incredulous look. “Well, that’s your own fault, isn’t it?”

Nick winces. “Yeah. I mean, I was just doing my job, but—”

“No, not that, you idiot. I mean that you texted you’d be here ‘this afternoon’. You never specified what time, and then you turned your stupid phone off!”

“I… Oops. Sorry, Ellie.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “Why did you want to meet me, anyway? I was too curious to stay away.”

Nick gives her a look. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“If it was obvious, would I have asked?”

Nick rolls his eyes to the high heavens. He adores her, but she has a unique ability to try his patience. “You must be blind. Here, I’ll spell it out for you—I think I’ve been in love with you ever since you Googled how many potato chips you had to eat before it was lethal.”

“Oh.” Her voice is suddenly very small, and her eyes are suddenly very wide. 

Then she’s jumping at him and knocking him over as she presses her lips to his. 

His last thought before he gets lost in the utter bliss that is her kiss is that he’s going to have to make sure they serve potato chips at their wedding. 

[realtimereports]

Creating An Automated Report In Word - Principal Toolbox 9.5

How I Automated My Daily Progress Report As A Software ...

Table of ContentsAutomated Reports - Jotform'Automated Writing': Implications For Digital Communicators ...Automated Journalism – Ai Applications At New York Times ...Quill - Narrative ScienceCan You Tell The Difference Between A Robot And A Stock ...

As online marketers in 2020, there's one significant thing that we share: We're driven by information. Despite whether we're copywriters, social media supervisors, videographers, or web designers, data is key to helping us determine which jobs are successful, which methods may need more of a spending plan, and which methods we need to leave behind.

Even if you have an analytics software application that tracks a campaign's traffic, engagements, ROI, and other KPIs, you'll likely still require to take some time to arrange these numbers, evaluate them, and create a reasonable method to report on your projects to your group or customers. In the past, marketing companies and companies charged full-timers with reporting-related responsibilities. real time reports.

Top use cases in automated report writingphrazor.ai

This is an issue that my Cleveland-based marketing company, PR 20/20, encountered a couple of years back. As part of our procedure, we produce monthly efficiency reports for each of our customers. When we produce them, we pull the information from HubSpot and Google Analytics. Then, we compose a report to describe the information to our colleagues, clients, and task stakeholders.

However, although they were assisting our customers, creating them was holding our team back. While our clients found the reports important, the procedure of pulling the data, examining it, and preparing the reports easily took five hours per customer, per month. This took our marketers far from tasks that might have been productive in the long run, such as conceptualizing new concepts and techniques that could visibly assist their customers.

Automated Reporting With R Markdown

Whenever you're trying to explore or implement a brand-new technique, you'll wish to look into the subject completely. For example, you'll want to recognize your budget and after that look into software application that suits it. You'll likewise wish to determine the advantages and disadvantages of any software you think about. This will help you better acquaint yourself with the world of AI and which tools can actually help you.

Prior to choosing that we desired to improve our reporting method, we 'd been researching AI through resources at our Marketing AI Institute. The Institute is a media company that aims to make AI more friendly for online marketers. time reports. Because we launched the business, we have actually published more than 400 short articles on AI in marketing.

2 billion. After learning about how AI had already streamlined lots of marketing-related procedures, we chose to explore how automation and expert system could help us with our clients at PR 20/20. We ended up being consumed with how smarter technology could increase earnings and lower costs. While doing so, we discovered natural language generation (NLG) innovation that wrote plain English automatically.

You've encountered NLG anytime you have actually used Gmail's Smart Compose function. Or, when you hear Amazon's Alexa react to your voice inquiries. As soon as we discovered a possibly practical NLG software, we decided to run an experiment to see if the AI technology might partly or fully automate our efficiency report writing procedure.

Dream Report For Hmi Panels - Automated Data Collection ...

Now, the next action is to browse for software that works for your company. Here are a couple of things you'll need to consider: You'll want to consider the expense of any of the software application's memberships or costs, as well as the cost to implement it. For example, you might require to contract or employ an engineer to prepare your information and take any actions to ensure the software works smoothly.

Make certain to comprehend what you'll require to do if something isn't working effectively so you do not sustain any emergency costs. As a marketer, you will not want to rely on a full-time engineer to utilize AI software application to run your reports. You'll wish to purchase software that your less tech-savvy staff member can ultimately get trained on and discover. time reports.

As you select software, you'll likewise want to locate case research studies, reviews, or user testimonials that explain how a company used the software to run reports or complete a similar activity. This will provide you an idea of if the item you're considering has a good track record or credibility in the AI software application industry.

Here are two highly-regarded examples: Domo is a data visualization and reporting tool that integrates with significant data and analytics platforms including Google Analytics. When you link these platforms, you can use a control panel to set up and generate data visualizations or reports for your customers. These visualizations include pie charts, other graphs, and word clouds.

Manual Reports Vs. Report Automation & Scheduling Tools

The platform offers guides on how to produce datasets or spreadsheets that its algorithms will recognize as well as a drag and drop guide which asks you to submit specific info such as "Monthly Budget plan." Here's a quick demo that shows Domo in action: This reporting software application permits you to generate reports or reporting control panels that your group and clients can edit and cross-collaborate on.

Sales Reporting 101: Here's Everything ...propellercrm.com

Aside from data visualizations, you can likewise include boxes to your control panels that reveal you scorecards that note whether you're hitting your goals or not, in addition to filters that assist you drill down on particular aspects of your task. Here's a demo explaining how small companies such as nonprofits can take advantage of the software application's dashboard reporting features: Despite which product you pick, you'll likely require to prepare your data in a manner that your software application's robotic or algorithm could quickly acknowledge and analyze - automatic report.

Plecto ApS

Address: Viby Ringvej 11, 1 tv

Phone: +45 71 99 71 60

Email: support@plecto.com

Real-time insights

The software application needed structured information in columns and rows to generate text. So, first, we had to pull HubSpot and Google Analytics information into spreadsheets. Because doing this manually would take excessive time and limit the potential time conserved with automation, we utilized APIs and constructed our own algorithm using Google Apps Scripts to pull information into a Google Sheet.

We understood NLG software application would be unlikely to deal with entirely custom-made reports well. So, we developed a design template for these reports that didn't alter every month. To produce a format for each report, we determined a set of 12 common questions we were trying to address for clients monthly: Just how much traffic concerned your site, and how does that compare to the previous month? In 2015? How engaged was last month's site traffic? What were the top traffic-driving channels? Was there fluctuation in general traffic, and if so, what caused it? How did the blog site carry out last month? How engaged was blog site traffic? What were the top-performing article? Were there any modifications in blog traffic last month, and if so, what triggered them? The number of objectives or new contacts were generated last month? What were the top transforming pages? Where did objectives or brand-new contacts originate? Was there any modification in overall goals or lead volume, and if so, what was responsible? A great AI software will either permit you to develop files or even dashboards, as your reports.

04 Instant Asbestos Survey Report In Your Format - Start Software

When we 'd structured our data and developed a basic report format, we had to translate our basic report format into an NLG template. The design template was basically a completed version of an efficiency report. When the NLG software runs, this report gets copied into the NLG software application. Then rules are applied to the copy to programmatically update what's written based upon the structured data offered.

------------[ 1 ]------------

Search Funded Research Grants And Contracts - Details

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The last output might be a CSV, Word, or Google Doc file. Even if you're working with a trustworthy AI software, you'll still want to check it and fix any problems that emerge. This avoids any AI-related occurrences from happening when the tool is actively being utilized by workers or on tight deadlines.

Plecto ApS

Address: Viby Ringvej 11, 1 tv

Phone: +45 71 99 71 60

Email: support@plecto.com

Real-time insights

And we ultimately perfected the process to regularly produce clear, precise automated efficiency reports. If a software application company that you work with deals a trial or discount rate for testing out their product, leverage it. This will permit you to witness first-hand if the expense of the item outweighs its advantages, or give you time to determine if there is a preferable item that you need to be utilizing - time reports.

When you do this, here are a couple of things that you'll wish to examine: The amount of time that the software is saving workers, or if there were any bugs, just how much time the software application cost. The amount of other efficient or revenue-generating tasks your group was able to get done with the extra time you had.

Sales Reporting 101: Here's Everything ...propellercrm.com

As we tracked our brand-new automated efficiency reports, we discovered that our tools took a portion of the time to produce the very same report that we took hours to create. Furthermore, the level of information in our client reports is now constant throughout all accounts. Prior to we carried out AI tools, the reports were only as strong as the account team's convenience level of analyzing marketing efficiency reports.

Study Report Writer - Synchrogenix

The only handbook part of the process now involves spot-checking the data for precision, applying some styling, and after that sending out. real-time progress reporting. What when took us five hours per report now takes 10 minutes. While the original process needed to be managed by multiple teammates, only one employee is needed for spot-checking.

Although our team has the ability to gain access to AI companies and specialists for our in-office experiments, other little service online marketers can likewise benefit from this strategy rather economically. Nevertheless, bear in mind that AI execution can take some time. For us, we required to put time into developing structured datasets, along with our Report design template so that our AI software application could read our analytics and draft reports correctly.

Complete info, faster conclusions, and much better decision-making digital-era success hinges on them (automatic reporting). However an organization with a single version of the reality, spreadsheets filled with accurate information, is still a couple of rungs brief of success. One reason: management needs easy-to-digest reports that translate the numbers. That tends to lead to cleaner interpretations and crisper decision-making.

These items drill-down into ab organization's database and auto-produce easy-to-understand, written reports from the very same information that Microsoft Excel utilizes to create graphics. Some of these relatively brand-new AI tools also known as natural language generation, or NLG, software application are variations of the exact same technology that helps major media companies produce computer-written news products.

Top Use Cases In Automated Report Writing - Phrazor

Anna Schena, a senior item manager at Story Science, another AI-generated composing toolmaker, states that "data storytelling" indicates users do not have to discover how to evaluate spreadsheets or glean insights from long rows of control panel dials. "Easy-to-understand language and one-click cooperation features ensure that everybody in a business really comprehends the data, all the time," Schena says.

States Sharon Daniels, CEO of Arria: "NLG-driven, multi-dimensional stories are the advancement that [data-generated] visuals were years back. The big data issue was partially addressed with the development of organization intelligence dashboards," she discusses. "However while visuals paint a picture, they're not the complete image." Adds Daniels: "The ability to gain access to key details in near real-time communicated as if written