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lulubelle814 · 8 months

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Regards, Loki - Chapter 9

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Pulling up train schedules, Louisa looked at departure times. Nothing but fear and doubt plagued her mind. She’d called Cora earlier to ask for her advice, but there was no answer which wasn’t surprising.

Getting up and walking away, she went to make her berry tea. She knew ‘Loki” was right, but she was so scared of going. Pacing around the apartment for a while, she knew a decision had to be made. She was disturbed from her thinking when the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she found Cora.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t answer earlier, but when I saw your missed call, I had a feeling you needed me. So here I am.”

She held up breakfast croissants as recompense, and Louisa let her in. “Great timing. I’m starving!” Food was placed on the coffee table, and Lou picked her laptop back up.

Looking over, Cora asked what she was doing.

“Ok, so ‘Loki’ suggested it might be a good idea to go visit mum’s grave since I haven’t been in so long. I’ve been thinking about it and started looking up train schedules, but I just don’t know if I can do it.”

She swallowed her food before responding. “I can go with you if you’d like? And we can take my brother’s car. I’ll just have to check with him.”

“Are you sure?”

“You know how much I hate it when you ask me that.”

“I can at least provide road trip snacks?”

“Deal.” Cora pulled out her phone, sending a text off to her brother about borrowing the car. His ears must have been burning because it only took him a few minutes to respond.

“He says we can go pick up the car. He just needs it back before Monday.”

Before she lost her nerve, she said ok. It was only going to be a day trip. She sent a quick text to ‘Loki’ letting him know. So after finishing breakfast, they gathered their stuff and headed out, only stopping at the shop long enough for drinks, road snacks, and flowers.

Thankfully the weather cooperated, and they made it there 2 hours later. Cora parked the car at the cemetery. “I know you’re nervous, and that’s ok. If you don’t want to do this, we can turn around and head back home.”

That meant a lot to Louisa. It was at that moment that ‘Loki’ finally messaged back.

Loki: I’m so proud of you. You are strong. You can do this.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the car door and slowly made her way to her mum’s grave, Cora following closely behind. When they found it, Lou began to cry.

“I haven’t been here since….. I owe her so much.”

Cora wrapped her arms around her friend. “She knows, and she understands. No matter where you are, she’s always looking over you. She knew what you were going through with that jerk.”

“I should have been there more for her.”

“She understands. I promise. She knew what you were going through with that asshole. She’d be proud that you used the money you got to leave him and get your own place. It’s what she wanted for you.”

It wasn’t something Louisa liked to think about. Those were dark times, and when her mother died suddenly, Brock gave her so much shit, saying she should focus on him and their relationship, not her dead mother.

When a lawyer reached out to her a couple of weeks later about the small inheritance she was getting, she took that as a sign from her mother to finally take that step to leave him. Cora helped her pack her stuff up one weekend when Brock was out of town and stayed with Cora until she found her own place. The calls, texts, and emails from Brock were nothing short of nasty but eventually stopped after 2 or 3 months. Thankfully he’d never cared enough during their relationship to know where her best friend lived. So she had that piece of mind the moment she’d left him.

“You know,” Cora said hesitantly. “I never told you, but she and I talked every now and then. She told me she wished she could see you more but had figured out the situation you were in and didn’t want to make it worse for you. We’d been working on a plan to help you when she died.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. We didn’t want to add to your stress in dealing with him, but we both knew you needed a way out. Honestly? I was ready to just show up and drag you out of there.”

She couldn’t help but cry more. “She was such an incredible woman. I owe you both so much.”

“You owe us nothing, and she’d be thrilled you made the decision yourself, that you seized the opportunity with that inheritance. Even if she hadn’t left you anything, I’d have had you move in with me.”

They stood there hugging each other for a good long while before Cora let go. “I’ll go back to the car and give you two some alone time.”

She departed, and Louisa gave her full attention to the headstone.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been here sooner, mom. I’m sorry I didn’t visit you enough before the accident.” The tears started up again. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me over the years, and even after. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t left that money. I’d give it all back and more just to spend one more day with you.” She didn’t move as it started raining. “I’m so sorry, mom.” She stood there for a few more minutes before heading back to the car, completely soaked.

Cora found a coffee shop just a few minutes away, and they ducked in for some hot cocoa and warm muffins before heading back.

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medicinemane · 1 year

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So I went to check my old email which I basically use as a burner at this point cause I needed a password reset for something, and I noticed a message from tumblr that I assume amounts to someone having sent them a report that I'm suicidal

Listen man, I'm not upset and it doesn't really do anything as far as I can tell, but what I'm telling you is that it's also worthless

They basically just linked me to hotlines, which I'll be blunt I'm not gonna contact because they really can't help me. Last time I went and I texted this suicide hotline... they meant well, but they just didn't have a single thing they could say or do to help and even missed the point enough that when they asked me about my support system and I said "I don't really have one", they were like "that's great, having a good support system is so good to have!"

Like those are just people on the other end, I've trained for a similar kind of hotline... you're just a person there to listen and try and connect someone to resources. They don't have access to the resources I'd need given my current situation, and a lot of this stuff is stuff that even actual professional therapists can only do so much to help with

The things that are going to improve my mental health are more or less all pretty concrete things. Things like getting my house into really good condition (it's not bad... but there's a lot of stuff that's either like lack of insulation that makes it hard to deal during the winter, or that's like needing to figure out and fix once and for all the basement getting water in it... and I can't rest easy till I have a permanent solution to it)

So what I'm saying boils down to, you mean well but you're not helping

You want to help? Try talking with my directly, but a lot of what's wrong with me is either stuff negative stuff that's gotten real deep down, or a lot more than that it's practical concrete issues like the fact that I've been living life for... well more than a decade at this point, in such a way where lockdowns weren't even something I noticed. So, profound isolation that was driving everyone else crazy but I'm just used to

I don't know... it scares you, you want to help, but I can tell you tumblr will never ever be helpful. Like that fucking koko bot they've partnered with for instance is a super fucking sketchy and scummy company

Also strong word of advice since I feel like there's some overlap here, straight up never call the cops on someone suicidal. You are 100% most likely to piss them off and even get them hurt

Find an actual person who can talk and stay with them, or talk with them and get them to go into some professional place to get help, but never ever call the cops on them cause that's just making life harder on them; and like I said I mention it because calling the cops on someone is coming from the same well meaning place that doesn't understand the situation

So... thanks for your concern, don't do that again, you're welcome to drop by and chat about whatever if you want

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mi6015meganfox · 2 years

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Reviewing my feedback for Final Project : Realization & Presentation

As the feedback from this obviously has to do with moving forwards with my work in Final Project : Realisation and Presentation as both projects are part of one larger project. I am glad Ellie feels my concept artwork is clear and I have an interesting approach building my assets in 3D then working from that in 2D.

I understand that as this review feels my animation has very strong emotion, leaving the viewer ‘feeling quite miserable’ and although yes I could incorporate some more hope into the ending, to give my animation a deeper meaning and really focus on how important and dire this situation is for a huge part of the British population. Therefore, although it may be seen as rather a bold move I’d rather oppose to the usual storytelling flow of introduction-sad scenario- hopeful ending. So that the viewer finishes watching the animation with a real sense of how much people are struggling and how much our government is letting its people down. as in England's capital city, London, 1 in 4 people are in poverty!

I really like the advice given in the next paragraph which looks at giving information or facts on the cost of living crisis at the end, especially the part about having snippets from politicians in there, possibly hearing their voices in this. Could push this into where Ellie talks about my work looking at why we ignore or are told to ignore these harsh situations and ‘wait them out’ is because the government try to tell us ‘we've had it worse’ and try to downplay the seriousness of the state our country is in. (Please discuss with next tutor) - Have a meeting or email with Paul to talk about this - ask if I can legally use the audio from example a bbc video on YouTube of the news-take voice of a politician from this?)

I recognize that as Ellie questions the colored drawings scanned in, although I do believe this could also look nice, this would be a lot more time consuming and I don't then believe I could complete all the scenes in the given time. Another reason is I do want to stick to mediums that I’m more passionate about and want to head forwards with in my career, so 2D and 3D seems more in my area of what I want to go towards with future jobs therefore I should probably create my final animation in such forms. I do agree that I could possibly alter the last shot and have a revisit of the outside of the apartments, end the animation in the same way it starts (but with the more melancholic tone of course) and this would be consistent with the theme of my animation as I do revisit a lot of the scenes and change the tone, such as the candle and the bedroom/living rooms of the people living in the flats.

I am really pleased with my grade I achieved last semester as I am really passionate about the concept and context behind my project and I want to create an animation that is meaningful and I have spent hard work on.

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thephysicsgraduate · 3 years

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I haven't posted in a while, and I guess I just haven't been sure exactly how I feel about things, and it has been challenging to talk about in general. *sigh* so the big things...

I got the results from 2/3 of my qualifying exams, and I didn't pass. I knew that the week of the exams was particularly tolling on my mental health, and I didn't feel great about them, but getting the official email made it real. This is not the end of the world. I told myself it would be okay, and I encouraged my classmates that it would be okay if they didn't pass. It just feels so garbage. If I can manage at least an A- in the graduate level classes this semester and the spring, then I won't have to retake the exams, which is nice... but also puts a lot of pressure on the semester. If they aren't waived I will try again in May. I know deep down that I am capable of passing, and I can clear up the details I was rusty on that killed me on these rounds of exams.

As easy as it is to say that it will be fine, it doesn't feel like it. The past week has been full of so much self-doubt and feeling inadequate and dumb. I'm trying to pick myself back up and reintegrate back into "regular" life. I don't want to make any excuses, and I am sure, in retrospect, there are topics I missed when I missed a week due to health issues. I can't change the past, so I'll keep trying.

I dropped my intro to solid-state physics class to give myself more time to focus on my core classes and my teaching assignments. Even though this is a healthy thing for me to do, it just felt like tossing a little fuel on the imposter syndrome flame that has been raging recently. The best way to deal with imposter syndrome is to talk about it, though, and this shout into the internet void is the best I can manage right now.

Now the exciting news (if you made it this far, thank you! I appreciate you!) I found a research advisor I want to work with, and we got coffee at the student center the other day. I told him that I was interested in his group, and he responded well! It sounds like there will be funding, and I should be able to start on a Research Assistantship in the Fall of next year! I've done many lurking around the labs and reading loads of papers, and I feel so good about things! One of his current grad students was honest about his experience, and it sounded very supportive and healthy. When I meet with this professor to discuss possible research projects, I appreciate that he always talks to me as an equal and takes time to explain key concepts along the way. I convince myself all the time that it is some punishable offense that I'm not proficient in all of condensed matter physics, but that is just so ridiculous. I'm here to learn, train, and explore the field. We discussed next summer a little, and he said that if I want, we can design a smaller research goal together that will be a little more directed and goal-oriented, and that is just exactly what I need! He also seems hands-off enough to allow me to explore my research questions and ideas in the future, which is so exciting!!

My first-day leading tutorials will be tomorrow, and I'm kind of nervous, and I really want it to go well! Overall I am happy that my assignments involve tutorials and help sessions instead of labs. Despite my strong preference for experimental research, I struggle to work as a lab instructor because the noise and environment are overstimulating and cause a mild shutdown to recover after. It is also more uncertain how I will be helping people, which makes it difficult to imagine the situation beforehand and feel prepared. With the tutorial sessions, I have a chance to work the problems out on my own, so I feel better about navigating the interactions with students.

Does anyone have advice on how to be a good TA and how to have successful student interactions? Even if you haven't taught, what are things that your TAs have done well (or not so well) in the past?

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blueishblue · 3 years

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Chris and Ashley were on Couples Therapy Podcasts and there were some horrible stuff about PTS-Glee (their words not mine, I would say P-Glee-SD though) but also some awww moments and most of all I’m just grateful Chris is sharing tidbits about his life (even bad stuff).

You can listen to it here.

More details in the cut if you don’t have 1 hour to listen:

He talked about the crazy Klaine/CC stans and what they did to sabotage his relationship with Will. I was horrified at these because I knew Chris and Will were being harassed but I didn’t know how. Some of these things included:

Cyberbullying on Twitter

They got Will’s email and signed him to a bunch of stuff, illegal stuff even, including a cheating website for straight people and tweeted Chris about it

They shut down his blog

They emailed Will’s boss with lies about him, trying to get him fired

They sent boxes of hair to Will’s family with threatening notes

These things drove Chris nuts and that’s why he was (is) so protective of Will and their relationship. Will had to go private on all his accounts. I can’t imagine how horrified he must have been. I’m surprised Chris didn’t talk about his stalker(s) that allegedly made him move out of his first house.

Worse, the stans “never stopped” (I’m not surprised, I still see Klaine/CC stans commenting on his Insta pictures even now) but calmed down after Glee ended. Chris received lots of apology letters which surprised Ashley.

There were some cute moments between Ashley and Chris though. They talked about how they met and became fast friends on Glee set. Ashley was like a mama to baby Chris (she even joked a little about not letting him go to people’s houses and having a traumatic MeToo story and I was horrified again because Jesus is anyone safe??). And I’m just so grateful for Ashley’s existence because she made Chris’ life so much better and she gave us all the Colfer content when we were starving for them.

The host said Chris was a very guarded person and “had a hard time letting people in” and he was like Yep. Absolutely. That’s me. and I laughed because duh. He also said he didn’t talk about his struggles because he wanted to be a strong symbol for the kids. A woman tried to smack him at a movie theater (I think that’s what he said? I’m not a native speaker so please correct me if I heard things wrong) and he just said it was nothing, I received death threats and was called antichrist on the news. Like. Jesus.

There were some personal stuff about Ashley too, like how she grew up and her dating life. At one point Chris signed Ashley to Farmersonly.com and even paid for the first month’s subscription. The things rich people buy are weird.

Chris and Will get mistaken for each other all the time. Boyfriends twins is a real thing. They both stutter.

Chris is into home decoration and Ashley thinks he has great style. From what we’ve seen in his photos, I’d second that.

At the second part of the podcast they listened to the fans’ questions and gave them dating advices, and Chris told a woman who just got dumped to buy furniture. This boy and his nerdiness Is2g.

To a couple who suffered from a noisy neighbor, he suggested slipping complaint letters in different handwriting and stationaries under the neighbor’s door to make it look like lots of people complained. I swear I will fight the next person who thinks Chris/Kurt is a cinnamon roll who can do no wrong. Chris can be the pettiest person in the world, or did you forget he sent his classmate to walk in cow shit because he bullied him?

He got so confused by the last caller and what happened to the bedsheets. I couldn’t catch the full story because they spoke too fast all at once but I loved it.

Overall it was really nice to hear Chris share things about his life even though some of them were terrible. I still wish Chris would share more about his life with Will and they would be able to be all-over-your-face public about their relationship someday because we hear so little about Will (except for how crazy Chris is about him ;) ).

Oh and at the beginning he promptly forgot the word “exclude” exist and said “disclude” with his utmost confidence. Disclude. New York Times best-selling author guys. He should send like 50% of his royalties to the person who invented autocorrection because his entire writing career must rely on autocorrection and editors.

#chris colfer #couples therapy podcast #ashley fink #glee #some of the things Ashley said were disturbing #I'm so glad Chris had Ash to protect him

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inkandpen22 · 4 years

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Shared Minds and Shared Souls (1/?)

Pairing: Spike x Female!Reader

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, swearing

Word Count: 2.9k

Story Summary: Driven by the power she posses as a witch and psychic, Y/N returns to Sunnydale to pay a visit to her family after she has a vision about Dawn. She isn’t exactly like her duty first and justice before all else cousin Buffy as Y/N follows her own rules. She offers her aid to the Scoobies during their drama with Glory. Y/N doesn’t plan to stay long until she experiences an unparalleled connection with a certain vampire from North London.

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I never imagined myself visiting a small town like Sunnydale. I’ve lived in many places, but never California. The west coast isn’t exactly my style. For one, it’s hot. Two, the hippy-dippy happy-go-lucky attitude makes my eyes roll. Finally, Los Angeles reminds me of Celia, my cousin. Buffy, Celia, and I were inseparable as children. Dawn tried to tag-along in our make-believe games, but Buffy grew annoyed with her quickly. I haven’t been back in California in a decade for this very reason. Everything about California reminds me of a time when we were just kids. Before everything went to Hell in a hand basket.

Blasting Green Day in front of the hospital, I park my 1967 bright red Mustang. I take a minute to collect myself before barging in. Buffy and Dawn don’t exactly know I’m coming, but there’s something I have to warn them about, something so crucial that I drove here all the way from New York. The funny part will be explaining to Buffy that I know she’s the Slayer. To her knowledge, I’m just her ordinary cousin who she hasn’t seen since we were ten. In reality, I’m a psychic witch, have been since birth. Well, I’ve been psychic since the womb, the witchy part came later. Oh, and I can’t forget seeing the dead part, I always do. That little twist comes with the psychic part. Yeah, imagine a little ten-year-old me seeing my recently deceased cousin at her funeral… fun times. It explains the whole discomfort toward California. Low-key traumatized, but all good. Any who, I should probably stop the hesitation and just head inside.

As I stroll down the bitter cold hospital hall, I grip the leather straps of my backpack nervously.

“Hi Buffy,” I rehearse under my breath. “You probably don’t recognize me, I’m Y/N… your cousin. It’s great to see you- God I sound so stupid!”

I follow the signs on the wall toward the Neurology unit. Hospitals, cemeteries, funeral homes, old buildings, all great places to bump into ghosts. The things I do for family, boy do these guys owe me.

As I turn down yet another peach colored hall- geez this place is dated- my eyes land on a familiar blonde in the waiting room at the far end. Oh great, here we go. Buffy doesn’t notice me right away, being too occupied with doting on a sleeping Dawn resting her head on her lap. I take note of the blondie boy sat beside her. I’m guessing he’s with Buffy. Good for her, a strong seven out of ten. I would rate him higher, but he’s not my type, too All-American boy-next-door.

“Looks like I’m right on time,” I determine once I’m closer, thus making my presence known. Buffy peers up at me and her eyes widen steadily. Blondie next her looks between me and Buffy. Her surprised reaction makes him tense, I nearly assure him I’m not a threat.

“Y/N?” She gentle shakes Dawn to wake her as she rises from her seated position. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard about your mom… ” I explain vaguely. In truth, I saw it in a vision and a lot more beyond that, but I’ll just say my mom told me for now.

Buffy makes long strides and warmingly embraces me. I can sense the desperation in her touch. Her ora is all out of wack. I could see the mess her colors are from yards away. It seems like I did really arrive at the perfect time. Buffy needs me now more than ever.

“Y/N!” Dawn gasps behind us.

Buffy and I part, her eyes stare into mine pleadingly. Yeah, we really need to have a chat. Preferably somewhere we can be frank, truly frank, no bullshit like I’m spilling right now.

“Oh my God!” Dawn squeals, rushing down to greet me. She squeezes me like a stress ball as she rambles on about how much she’s missed me. Then, Dawn starts to ask the tough questions as usually does. The girl has never quite had a filter. “Where have you been?”

“New York mainly,” I laugh.

“How come you’ve never come to see us before?” She rushes out as Buffy continues to stare at me in awe. It could be she thinks she’s dreaming this.

“Dawn, I-”

She cuts me off, “how’s aunt Lolly? Are you college? When did you get in?”

“Dawnie!” I laugh, “I will answer all your questions, promise. We’ll catch up! For now,” I look at Buffy. “I need to have a chat with your sister…”

The girl scoffs, rolling her eyes dramatically as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Of course, you’re for Buffy… everyone is always here for her. No ever visit me,” she grumbles.

“I’m here for you too,” I assure Dawn. “I just… it’s important I speak with Buffy right now. It’s about something-”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Blondie interrupts, his face covered with confusion.

“I’m Y/N,” I introduce myself. “I’m Buffy and Dawn’s cousin.”

“I’m Riley, the boyfriend,” he offers me his hand.

Wow, quite the introduction. I’m not much of a contact-person, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to gather information on G.I. Joe. As I shake his hand, I’m able to visualize memories and emotions from him. They come as flashes before my eyes. I hear his thoughts, see through his eyes, and feel what he’s felt. All I see Buffy, moments they’ve had. At first, pleasure and immense happiness consumes my head. Then, it’s replaced with doubt and self-deprecation. The obsession with Buffy is replaced with desperate longing. He feels her slipping.

My visual is cut-off when Riley removes his hand. I’m brought back to current moment, surrounded by chaos of the hospital.

Dawn frowns, curiosity etched across her features. “What’s so important that you had to come all the way? Does it have to do with Mom?”

“You came all the way from New York?” A male voice questions behind me.

What is this an interrogation? The sooner someone tells me where Buffy is the sooner I can head back home. Believe me, I don’t want to be here longer than I have to be. I glance over my shoulder, Willow and Xander stare at me in confusion. We’ve never met, but I know of them, the visions. I’ve been keeping tabs on Buffy and the family since… well… since Buffy became the Slayer.

“Yes,” I answer Xander directly. Turning back to Buffy, I not so discretely tell her it’s urgent. “Please, Buff, do you have minute? I know this isn’t exactly opportune but-”

“Of course,” she swallows hard. “We can uh… we can talk outside. There’s a courtyard just over there,” she gestures down the hall.

“I’m coming with,” Riley declares next to her.

“I’m sorry, is your name Buffy?” I sass, much to his frustration. “What am I going to do her? She’s my cousin. I’m only borrowing her for a second, then you can toss the leash back on her.”

“Y/N…” Buffy mutters for me to stop.

Riley narrows his eyes at me- oof, I’m real scared now! While I giggle at her boyfriend’s expense as the two of us start down the hall. I’ve missed Buffy, we used to be like two peas in-a-pod. Once all this drama I’ve seen in her future is over, perhaps we can be close again. I refuse to settle in Sunnydale though. At least we have phones and email.

Once outside, and we’re certain we’re alone, Buffy cuts to the chase. “Not that I’m not happy you’re here, Y/N, I am but, why are you here?” She hasn’t changed a bit.

I snicker, peering up at the sky as the sun it starting to set. Gosh, I hate the day. That sounds weird because what human hates daytime, but I do. I’m much more… in tune with myself when it’s night time. I thrive off the moonlight and stars. The sun and its rays are hot, too hot. I like the cold and darkness of night.

“Fine, let’s get right to it,” I smirk at my cousin wickedly. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my pack of cigarettes, feeling a bit anxious. “You mind?” I ask her, not really caring but figure I should check.

Timidly, she shakes her head. Her arms are securely crossed in front of her as she watches me take a smoke. “Those things will kill you,” she advices the cookie-cutter phrase.

“So can a car accident, yet we still drive,” I remark with sass. “What’s life without a little risk?” I wink.

Buffy shifts on her feet as her jaw clenches. Her aura is shifting again, Black to red, I’ve never seen someone change on a dime so fast. That’s change is funny, she’s either angry or afraid of me, maybe both. I can’t blame her, I’m not exactly a Care Bear. My black and red attire doesn’t scream comforting.

“Then again, you would know all about death, right Cuz?” I suggest subtly.

Her eyes lock with mine and I start to see the wheels turning her head. ‘Does she know? How could she?’ She’s likely thinking to herself. One touch and I could hear for certain what she’s thinking.

“What are you talking about?” She mumbles, barely meeting my eye.

I scoff, tossing my head back, why can’t this be easier? You know what, fine! Growing impatient, I hold my hand out, palm to the sky. “Light,” I verbalize and within seconds a bright orb floats above my palm.

Buffy stares at my magic stunned. Yeah, I was sort of expecting that kind of reaction.

“How… How…” She stutters.

“If you’d like a mini bolt of lighting I can do that too,” I offer. “I kind of prefer them, far more powerful!”

She doesn’t share in my excitement as she slowly steps closer still in awe. “You’re a witch?”

“Yep!” I smile, rather proud. “Have been for a while now, gotten pretty good at it too, not to brag or anything…”

“So…” Buffy continues to process everything. “You know about demons, vampires-”

I hum, “all of it. Including that you’re the Slayer, congrats by the way! Fun shit,” I compliment with a snicker.

“Not exactly how I’d describe it,” she mutters defeatedly, her eyes still on the orb.

Closing my fist, the orb disappears and I place my hand on Buffy’s shoulder. Her eyes meet mine solemnly.

“How long have you known?” She asks unfazed.

“Since forever,” I answer truthfully. “Sorry I never called or have come to help. I’ve sort of been cheering for ya from the sidelines. In all honesty, I’ve been away perfecting my magic with a coven. I’ve met some pretty interesting people along the way, all dazzled when they find out I’m related to the Slayer,” I gush.

She pays no mind to my compliments, still in a daze. “Does anyone know? Does your dad?”

I shake my head and sternly tell her, “he can never know! He thinks I’ve been away at school in Boston. In truth, I’ve been in New York with a coven.”

Buffy nods in understanding, though I know Joyce is aware of the supernatural world. My mom could never handle it. “Did you come all the way here to tell me that?”

Okay, here’s the hard part, the real hard part! I finish my cigarette, pondering the last relaxing bit of it before tossing it to the ground. “Okay, so here’s the deal,” I begin. “There’s a this big nasty bitch I’ve seen in my visions- I see visions by the way-” I add in passing, having forgotten it. Then, I remember I can’t forget the ghosties bit. “Anyway, you’ve already bumped into her, Glory. Yeah, she’s a real charmer from what I can see. I’m here to help because based on my visions, she’s kicking your asses.”

I leave out a crucial bit of information, a part of the visions I’m not sure I can share. One important thing about being a psychic is not changing fate. As much as I want to tell Buffy everything, I know I can’t, not if I don’t want to mess with the world.

“So, you’re here to help us stop Glory?” She clarifies.

“It gets real fucked at some points,” I tell her, hoping that doesn’t reveal too much.

“And I take it you know about Dawn…” she insinuates.

I nod my head slowly, “you mean that she’s The Key? Then yes, I do. She’s about as human as the Teletubbies, but of course I won’t mention that to her. Who all knows?”

“As of right now, me and Giles. He’s my Watcher,” she explains. “Did you already know that?” She’s catches on quickly.

“Kinda…” I answer hesitantly. “Sorry if that’s weird. I’ve tried not to pry with my visions. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t know who Riley was! He mustn’t have been around the last time I checked in!”

“When was the last time you… ya know… checked in?” She asks, unsure of how to phrase it.

“Well, I’ve been away with the coven. I joined them right after high school, so I suppose it was when you started at UC Sunnydale. I know all about Willow and Xander, they seem nice from what I’ve seen. Angel, his in-and-out appearance in my visions was confusing for a while until I realized he was doing that in real life too,” I laugh.

“So you saw all of the Spike drama and my mom finding out about me too?” She asks.

I frown, I saw Joyce learning about Buffy and that whole conversion, but I’ve never heard of a Spike. Based on my expression, Buffy predicts the answer.

“Spike is the biggest pain in my ass,” she groans. “He and Angel used to be all vampy together. Then, Angel gained a soul and Spike got worse from what I’ve gathered. He’s killed two Slayers, so we’re not exactly friends. We met when he tried to kill me. He’ll show up and leave again, kinda like Angel but less helpful. Except now, he’s acting all infatuated with me and sticking around.”

I snicker, “oof, so you have a psychotic vampire lusting after you? How did I miss this?!”

Buffy rolls her eyes, “believe me, it’s not fun.”

“Is he hot?” I inquire, always interested in a troubled bad-boy type.

She stares at me with narrowed eyes of disapproval and scoffs, “oh my God… never ask me that again.”

“He must’ve showed up and gone between visions,” I determine. “I wasn’t able to check in much after you started at UC. Which reminds me, your roommate Kathy- not a fan of her,” I confess with a bit of humor.

“Turned out to be a demon,” Buffy explains, much to my surprise.

I gasp, “no way! Ugh, I saw you move-in, some interactions here and there, but that’s about it. I knew there was something up with her!”

Buffy laughs, actually smiling for the first time since our reunion. It feels great having someone know I’m a witch who isn’t a witch themselves. Being away in New York with the coven was great and utterly freeing. They were the first people who I showed my true self to. Now, finally, someone I care about knows the real me. I have so much more to share with her!

Buffy takes my hand gently, “I’m really glad you’re here. Lately… lately things have been more difficult than I could’ve ever imagined,” she confesses, swallowing back her tears and looks at the ground. “With Mom and protecting Dawn, I’m not sure I can do it all on my own. I mean, I have my friends, Giles, and Riley but…” she meets my gaze, tears puddling in her eyes. “I needed you, I just didn’t quite know it. I needed my other sister,” she weeps.

Immediately, I pull Buffy into my chest and hug her tightly. I should’ve come sooner. I should’ve felt Buffy’s pain. I guess I was so caught up with the coven and I forgot to check on her, so I missed the signs. I’m here now, that’s all that matters. Now, I can help. Seeing Buffy so upset makes my blood boil. Anyone who fucks with my family gets knocked off this planet, which means Glory has another coming at her in the form of a powerful witch.

__________________________

Masterlist

#spike #btvs #fanfic #spikexreader #dawn summers #buffy #buffy s 5 #buffy summers #spike fanfic #spuffy #spike x buffy #spike x reader #btvs imagine #btvs fanfic

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xthelastknownsurvivorx · 4 years

Text

The Love Languages of Firstprince

aka my TedTalk

for RWRB Romance Week - Day 2: Love Languages hosted by @rwrb-fests

The tl;dr, not necessarily in order

Alex: Physical touch, quality time, and words of affirmation

Henry: physical touch, quality time, acts of service, words of affirmation

On firstprince, physical touch, and quality time

(more on individual comments later)

Their relationship (beyond friendship) started with a lot of time spent together for physical touch. While this might be partially due to an avoidance of commitment so it “didn't have to mean anything”, I still think this is worth noting. Also, they are obviously very compatible physically.

Alex and Henry put effort into planning their time together, partially due to necessity given their positions and for geographical logistics, but they also spend time together outside of the physical aspect. This time doesn't seem mostly driven by the need for them to put up appearances for friendship.

Their texts and emails also seem to be evidence of enjoying quality time. Although these aren't face-to-face, it involves a dedication of time and thought about the other, which is a good portion of what quality time is about. Nora says that Alex uses Henry's number to “long distance flirt with him all day, every day” and “in a noticeably worse mood if [Alex] goes a day without talking to [Henry]”.

Their emails are lengthier and are quite poetic. The bits from old love letters indicate a lot of effort since they have to find the perfect quotes from historical figures. Alex makes a list of things he loves about Henry, while Henry waxes poetry about Alex.

Alex

Physical Touch

Personally, I see Alex as mostly having physical touch as a love language with his romantic partner, with some exceptions. One being June as his sister. The other is Nora, though she's somewhat of an in between since the two of them dated briefly but she's mostly a best friend to Alex.

At New Year's, Alex and Nora dance together, putting hands on hips and grinding in a joking, platonic sort of way. Alex is also very comfortable guiding Henry's hips with his hands, when at this point he thinks of Henry as simply a friend.

Of course, there's also the kiss with Nora at midnight, which, while partially for the benefit of other people's intrigue, would likely not happen if Alex wasn't comfortable with/enjoyed physical touch.

Alex also describes being pleased with Henry's physical presence next to him at New Year's

Furthermore, at the lake house, Alex comes to the revelation of why he seems to love the physical intimacy with Henry, that love is what “makes the filthy things so good”

There's also plenty of fluffy goodness from the lake house with casual touches, quick pecks, sweet embraces, and the like

I'm also reminded of how Alex notes that with his limbs tangled with Henry's, “nowhere left untouched [i]t's the best Alex has slept in years”

Lastly, Alex seems to be a very attentive partner during sex. After his first attempt at a blowjob, his inner thoughts are about his previous experiences eating girls out because he's surprised that Henry kisses him so eagerly afterward. There are plenty of men who would not be willing to return the favor of oral sex for their female partner, yet it seems that Alex is/was very, very willing, which makes me think that he is the type to show he cares by making sure sex is good for both him and his partner.

This is actually further supported by something Alex observes the first time he and Henry go beyond just blowjobs : “Somehow it still amazes him that all of this seems to be as unbelievably, singularly good for Henry as it is for him.” Alex's reaction includes a pleased and proud smile about it.

Of course, in regards to the two points above, it should be the norm to ensure one's partner is equally satisfied, but this doesn't always play out. In my opinion, Alex seems to go above and beyond in this respect.

Words of Affirmation

I will begin this with a caveat that both Henry and Alex tend to like feeling affirmed in some capacity but they have a tendency to avoid verbalizing things for the fear of making it too real. Again, I'm not sure if this would have been different had they begun dating in a more typical way, but it's worth noting.

The biggest thing that stands out to me that points to words of affirmation being one of Alex's love languages is the quote: “He just… Well, he gets told he's great a lot. He just doesn't often get told he's good enough.”

Overall, although Alex presents himself as being confident and self-assured most of the time, he often is plagued with doubts and fears about not measuring up, so he sometimes needs affirmations that he is, in fact, good enough.

Alex also tends to counter Henry's self doubts by telling him that he's brave, strong, good as he is, etc that Alex has noticed earlier on.

One big thing is the list that Alex sends Henry: An Incomplete List: Things I Love About HRH Prince Henry of Wales

Almost forgot this one, but when Alex is stressing and having a hard time, he mentions thinking of the things Henry emailed him

Henry

Physical touch

Although Henry often seems to feel trapped by the decorum he must adhere to, the times of physical intimacy when he's with Alex seem to let Henry be just another 20-something guy. He's more confident and sure in these moments, which while likely related to trauma related to his sexuality from his family, seems important and relevant

Henry also seems to be very attentive to his partner's needs. For example, after karaoke, he says to Alex, “All that earlier and you haven't gotten off yet tonight, have you? … Well that just shall not do.” So, like Alex, Henry seems to show his care through making sure his partner is satisfied.

Quality Time

I personally imagine Henry and Bea spend a lot of time in the music room together, playing their instruments

Henry seems very hurt by the way that his mom withdrew after his father's death. I'd argue this is due to Henry having quality time as a love language because while they do spend time together and “[s]he still listens, and she tries, and she wants us to be happy. But I don't know if she has it in her anymore to be a part of someone else's happiness.”

Acts of Service

This ties in with quality time, but Henry tends to be the one between him and Alex to plan interesting and more elaborate dates. For example, the time in Paris when Henry leaves directions to a Parisian cheese shop, especially since Alex had asked his advice about wine and cheeses.

I’m not sure how supported this is by the book, but I also just get the sense that Henry is very much the type who would do things for his significant other to lighten the burden(s) on their shoulders

Lastly, Henry is very invested in philanthropy. Obviously philanthropy is common for royals and rich people, but Henry seems to really put his heart into it. He and Pez have been doing work for a long time, and Henry's even using his inheritance to fund the projects.

Words of Affirmation

I think that words of affirmation are important to Henry, but not the most important of his love languages. Hearing Alex believes in him helps, and he offers similar support for Alex, but this doesn't seem to be the primary method of showing love for Henry.

However, Henry does express himself through writing a lot. I'm not sure if this counts under words of affirmation, although some of it does, but this is the big point under this category

And that concludes my long-winded rant on the topic that I definitely didn't do instead of being productive haha what are you talking about

Thanks for reading~

#rwrbromanceweek #rwrb #red white and royal blue #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #rwrb headcanon

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twentytarot · 4 years

Photo

hi everyone! in this pick a card we’re going to ask for some words of wisdom from our higher powers. if you see your divine parent above, then that’s your group! if not, pick the roman deity that has the most prominent presence in your chart of the four and scroll down to your respective pile for your reading~ 🐿

MERCURY

your advice is to put your pride aside and temper your emotions, for disagreements are a very effective way of sharpening a rough idea into a glittering diamond. there’s truly no need to get disproportionately distant over this argument going on in your life, no need to stop giving out your ideas, no need to start thinking five times before you speak, and definitely no need to completely shut this group of people out from your mind. many of your are virgo dominant, so from one virgo dominant to another, i absolutely understand how irritating it is when we have no choice but to lay out all the reasons why someone’s thinking is wrong just to convince them we’re right, and then shortly after, we get villainized for it. but you have to do what you have to do, and you have to do what’s right. look out for another capricorn or virgo to support you on this.

side note, if you’ve been hard at work, having to argue with or reprimand people and having to be the bad cop, and you’re starting to feel like you have to accept no one’s going to like you and you’ll just have to be a lonely old thing, well... someone (probably of the gender you are attracted to) may end up liking you for it anyway. they’ll like you in the way you want— that is, if you’re on the lookout for a relationship, they’ll have a little crush on you, and if you’re not, then they’ll look up to you.

VENUS

your words of wisdom can be summarised into two words: start again. whatever it is in your life that just left you in a loss, you need to retrace your steps and figure out what went wrong so that you can do this over correctly this time. don’t be too discouraged, because it looks like life has opened up enough time for you to hit ‘retry’ and learn from your mistakes. use the ideas that you get from going through the problems in your mind as motivation to keep going. also try not to second guess yourself, your intuition is going to be right this time. you might have to start alone, but others will slowly start to join in and help you out. and!! when this happens, don’t go all once-bitten-twice-shy on them. keep reminding yourself: fresh start. your mind is wiser now, but keep your heart naive, and you will find your way.

one more thing: if you’re waiting on some feedback, there’s going to be some delay. that, or some risky emails are going to be involved. if not, the first step to starting again could be to start working again or quit your current job. good luck!

DIANA

alright, darling, you’re overdoing it. you’re taking the weight of all the painful events, you’re spending nights awake worrying about the future, you’re slamming yourself with work to take your mind off some bad things. the reason why things seem so out of control and too much for you to take is: half of your problems aren’t even problems, or at least not yet. a lot of the pressure you’re feeling is self-imposed, and i know it’s not easy, but the moment you simply ignore these thoughts, you’ll be free to tackle the real problems at hand. and what are real problems? real problems are things you can do something about. there are a million devastating things that we can do nothing about but allow it to pass. so comfort yourself by reminding yourself this is not something you can control or change the outcome of, so there’s no point in overthinking it.

instead, spend your time putting together your action plan for the things you can change. be clear and focused on what it is you want to actively achieve, and how you will get there. the more “maybe”s, the more things to worry about. and then, trust your past self and execute the plan without second guessing yourself. before you know it, the light is just ahead.

MARS

how apt, mars wants to talk about that competition going on in your life right now. whether it’s a promotion, you’re applying for something, or you need to win over a superior or a parent, victory is within reach. you need to be strong, cold, and rational, for the one who lets their emotions get the better of them will fall behind. most of all, do not get disheartened. turn negative feedback into constructive comments and you will stay in front of the pack.

honestly, there isn’t much advice to give. keep doing what you’ve been doing, keep working hard, and your efforts are bound to be recognised, the universe will make sure of it. if you situation has an indefinite timeline, be on the lookout for leo season, that’s most likely when everything reaches its climax. and don’t be afraid to shoot (realistically) high! you’re meant to be a star in this court.

you’ve had many victories in life and have come this far, so no mountain is too high for you to scale and conquer. here’s to wishing you all the success!

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a card reading #free tarot reading #tarot reading

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sineala · 4 years

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Hey! I know you've received asks about long distance relationships before but I hope you don't mind if I ask, too :) The thing is a bit complicated and I need some advice, and your story is just so beautiful I'm like, "please adopt me!!" There's this person on tumblr whom I have a crush on, sort of: we've never actually interacted because I don't have a tumblr account but she posts a lot of things I love and info on herself too, so I feel like I know her. 1/2

2/2 I'm ace and never dated, which is a problem because I don't really know what to do, and I'm also very shy, but... the question is... what can I do? i can't just send her a message and say, "I have a crush on you, but you don't know anything of me. Can we try to date?" But on the other hand I really don't know how to start talking to her... :( sorry, I'm just an awkward human being... and thank you for listening to my problems! But of course feel free to ignore me. Take care ❤️

Okay. Wow. This is a lot, anon. I had to think for a while about how to say this as nicely as I possibly can, but: I don't think you should do what you're asking me how to do. At all. I don't think your feelings are bad or wrong or invalid, and I get why you feel the way you do, but there's really not a good, kind, or fair way to get the outcome that you want. You can try to make friends with her if you legitimately want to be friends with her, but you can't be friends with her for the purpose of dating her.

I have more to say under the Read More.

You might find it helpful to read something about the concept of parasocial relationships. The tl;dr version is that parasocial relationships are relationships that an audience experiences with people like celebrities or performers. You, the audience member, don't actually interact personally with the person you have this parasocial relationship with -- everything you know about them is because you actually know the persona they are adopting for public consumption, rather than the person themselves -- but you feel like you know them anyway.

I'm not saying that parasocial relationships are bad. They can be good! They can be positive! I'm pretty sure we all have them. Heck, media fandom is basically us having massive numbers of parasocial relationships with fictional characters! Parasocial relationships can be great and inspiring! Having a favorite character or a favorite celebrity can make you really happy! Do I have parasocial relationships too? Yeah, sure, you bet. The Goodreads review I have that has garnered the most likes is the one that is approximately 50% me explaining that I have a giant crush on Rachel Maddow. I have never met Rachel Maddow. I obviously do not know the real Rachel Maddow, and I would not want to actually for-real date her even if both of us were single. I can just be happy reading her books and watching her TV show. There's a video game I like to play, Slay The Spire, and I have a favorite Slay The Spire streamer on Twitch, and at this point I have probably watched hundreds of hours of this dude playing video games, and because of that, I know a lot of random facts about this guy's life. Does he seem like he'd be cool to hang out with? Yeah, sure. Have I ever interacted with him in any way other than subscribing to his YouTube channel? Nope! I don't even have a Twitch account! Do I know him as a person? Absolutely not.

I'm saying all this because social media is a place you can have parasocial relationships, and the relationship you have with this Tumblr user is parasocial. (Incidentally, the relationship you have with me is also parasocial; I mention this because I feel like you should know that asking me to adopt you is coming on a little too strong, as an opening interaction. I don't mean to make you feel bad about this, and I'm sorry if I have, but since you're asking about how to interact with people you've never spoken to before, you should probably know that.)

It basically comes down to this: you don't actually know this person, but you feel like you do because you've read her Tumblr. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. That's not a criticism. That's not a value judgment. I mean, technically, you don't know me either. That's just not the kind of relationship that I have with you, or that you have with her. It's parasocial, not reciprocal. And you really need to keep that in mind.

Can you form reciprocal relationships with people you have parasocial relationships with? I mean, yeah, maybe, depending on the person. And the answer to how you do that is basically the answer to the question "how do you make friends with people?" -- and it seems like you might like advice about that, since you said you were shy, You talk to someone about mutual interests that you both enjoy. You hang out. Maybe in RL in Better Times you meet up and go get lunch together. These days on the internet I make most of my internet friends by (1) squeeing back and forth at them about whatever fic they wrote and clogging up their AO3 comments until we take it to email, (2) yelling about fandom on Discord until we mutually discover we are like-minded enough to start yelling at each other in DMs directly, and (3) murdering them in games of Among Us and then lying about it. (Games are a bonding experience.)

You listen well, you share some things about yourself because that's what friends do and if the other person wants to be your friend they will share things back -- or maybe they will share things first, if they decide they want to be friends first. This is how we humans like to bond with each other. I feel like I am not very good at this friend-making thing, so I am not sure I am the best person to ask for tips. But that is basically how it works.

Can you be friends with this person? Maybe. I don't know. You can try. But what I do know is that you absolutely should not try to be friends with her with the intention of dating her. People don't like when they think someone is friends with them because they want something from them, and, generally, people really really don't like when someone is friends with them when the thing they want from them is a romantic relationship. You know how you hear people (usually straight guys) talk about being "friendzoned?" They're upset because they're friends with a woman they want to date and the woman sees them as only a friend. That is the realm your proposed interaction is adjacent to, and that is not a good place to be. Don't be like one of those guys.

I think you should ask yourself if you would be happy being friends with this person if there were zero possibility of romance with her. If you would be happy being just friends. And be honest with yourself. If, after some soul-searching, you decide that, yeah, you would feel 100% satisfied just being her friend if nothing else ever happened (and you have to honestly believe this), then and only then should you try talking to her.

What should you talk about? I don't know; you must have something in common. I have made friends with people because we both enjoyed Avengers volume 3 and classic Star Trek. I made friends with a bunch of people in college because we all liked to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville. I have made friends with people because I told them I liked the book they were reading or the pins on their backpack. I have made friends with people because we both were in the same science-fiction online roleplaying group as teenagers and it turned out twenty years later we were sharing a fandom, we now lived in the same state, and we also liked the same folk music! I made friends with my wife because I wanted to complain to her about a Due South fanfic I was reading and she didn't like it either and then I was translating a text for class that was in Ancient Egyptian and the footnotes were in German and I didn't know German (and still don't) but I knew she did. At that point I had absolutely no clue there would be any romance involved there; I just thought she was really cool and she seemed to think I was cool and then we just kept talking.

So, y'know, maybe, if you just want to be her friend, you can try to do that. You can find out if you actually like her as an actual, real person. But you have to want to just be friends.

But if you think you'd be unhappy if you were just friends with her, you absolutely should not try to be friends with her, because that would be misrepresenting what you want and it would also be very unfair to her.

(Edited to add: I guess the other option is that you could, in fact, just be like, “Hey, I have a crush on you,” which would be both honest and forthright -- but I feel like that has a very, very low chance of working. Hence all the other advice.)

I hope that helps.

#Anonymous #replies

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ayuuria · 4 years

Text

Yashahime Translation: VV Magazine December 2020 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

Interview with Matsumoto Sara

On VVM (VV Magazine) is voice actress, Matsumoto Sara, who plays the role of Higurashi Towa in the anime that started on October 3 on Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV channel, “Hanyō no Yashahime” (Every Saturday evening at 5:30pm~ *Some areas excluded)! What is the charm of this current work that depicts the efforts of the three daughters (Towa = voice: Matsumoto, Setsuna = voice: Komatsu Mikako, Moroha = voice: Tadokoro Azusa) of Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha, who appeared in Takahashi Rumiko sensei’s famous work “Inuyasha”? What do you keep in mind as you play a character who crosses over time and rampages left and right with the modern and feudal eras as her stage? What was your state of mind the moment you got specifically selected to play the role of Towa? We will be going behind-the-scenes of the new “Inuyasha world”!

Matsumoto: My name is Matsumoto Sara. Please treat me well today!

Ikeuchi: I am Ikeuchi Shinji of the Village Vanguard (abbreviated VV going forward) P strategic division. Please treat me well today.

VVM: This page is a specialty corner of this small magazine where we try to interview the person that the lucky staff members selected from the approximately 350 stores that VV maintains across the country, have said that they want to meet… This time, we specially had Ikeuchi-san from VV headquarters come as he is a big fan of not only the “Inuyasha” series of course, but Takahashi Rumiko-sensei as well.

Ikeuchi: I was part of the generation that read the “Inuyasha” manga in real time. Furthermore, I’m basically a big big big fan of Takahashi Rumiko-sensei so I took advantage of this opportunity and came today (laughs).

Matsumoto: I’m deeply honored!

Ikeuchi: No no, I am truly honored as well! Of course, I enjoy watching “Hanyō no Yashahime”, so just being able to meet a voice actor who takes part in a work that I love makes me happy.

Matsumoto: Thank you very much!

Ikeuchi: With that, regarding “Hanyō no Yashahime”. First, could you tell us what was going through your mind when it was decided that you would be cast in a work that continues the world of a big hit history work that makes someone from a generation like mine fired up?

Matsumoto: First I thought “No way!”. I was shaking. I had asked my manager over the phone in a corner of the train station building near the recording studio and I jumped for joy there (laughs).

Ikeuchi: It seems you auditioned, so you find out the results over the phone I see.

Matsumoto: I contact my manager via phone, email, and other different means, but so far good news tends to come over the phone (laughs). I knew that news had arrived regarding “Hanyō no Yashahime” and I was just in the middle of recording. I was always looking at an accent dictionary on my smartphone when recording. Then the screen suddenly flashed, and my manager’s name popped up.

Ikeuchi: You wanted to call back as soon as possible!

Matsumoto: That’s right. However, I really held myself back until after the recording was over. At this point, many days had passed since the audition so I thought “Could it be…” and when I called back at the station building near the studio, they said “You got the part!”

Ikeuchi: That’s going to be a memorable station building.

Matsumoto: Yes! (laughs)

VVM: Though you explained it on your blog, it seems you were not allowed to tell anyone that you passed until the day of the announcement?

Matsumoto: The only person I told was my older sister who I live with. I recorded a voice sample for the “Hanyō no Yashahime” audition during the self-quarantine period but it seems my sister overheard it. She said, “You seem to be saying Sesshōmaru this and Sesshōmaru that next door” (laughs). It seems she figured it out somewhat.

Ikeuchi: She probably thought “Maybe it’s an audition related to “Inuyasha”” (laughs)

Matsumoto: That’s how she found out. Hence, I told her “I passed that thing”. Then my sister rejoiced too.

VVM: The information was released on August 7th. This was the first lead role in your career so I’m sure your family was overjoyed.

Matsumoto: Everyone told me “Congrats! ~” “Do you best~”. I have a relative who’s an avid fan of Rumiko-sensei, so they lamented “Why didn’t you tell me~!” (laughs). When that person told me previously “It looks like they’re going to do a new “Inuyasha” story”, I had already auditioned but I couldn’t even tell them that. I really had to suppress the urge to tell them.

Ikeuchi: I’m also a big fan, so I totally understand how they felt (laughs).

VVM: Was there already social distancing at the audition?

Matsumoto: Yes. Normally you meet a lot of people at the audition site (studio), but I auditioned alone. That’s why I don’t know what type and how many people auditioned.

VVM: Thus, you passed with flying colors and apparently during the first recording, sound director, Nagura Yasushi, advised you that “You don’t need to make her so boyish” or something like that?

Matsumoto: Nagura-san gives me all sorts of advice, but he really places importance on Towa being a girl.

VVM: Was there a reason you were leaning more towards boyishness?

Matsumoto: When I submitted the voice sample, I only had the character design and setting document, so I didn’t know the character’s personality or details.

Ikeuchi: Do you fill in the missing information yourself?!

Matsumoto: Yes. I thought over a lot of things like the meaning of a girl in boyish pants… Or that it’s written Sesshōmaru’s daughter, but her surname is Higurashi… the result was a pretty strong toned voice sample. I was told “You passed” with that so I went into the recording with that and I was advised “You don’t need to make her boyish”.

Ikeuchi: What was the intent?

Matsumoto: She’s simply a 14-year-old middle school girl who grew up in the modern era so she’s not really conscious of things like her strength in fights or the blood relation to her parents. It’s possible that by going to the feudal era and getting involved with Setsuna and Moroha, she becomes conscious of that side of herself. That’s why I think they wanted me to be aware that at the beginning, Towa is just a normal girl.

Ikeuchi: I see. Now that you mention it, at the beginning, Towa was the only one who didn’t have any experience in battle. Even in episode 3, she didn’t land the finishing blow.

Matsumoto: She gets into fights but she’s never experienced defeating demons so when I think about things like “I wonder if by chance the part of her that’s Sesshōmaru’s daughter will awaken?”, “How is she going to change?”, or “I wonder if she’s going to become cool?”, I get excited. But there’s a part of me that’s a little unsure if I’ll be able to express that well (laughs).

VVM: Two months have passed since broadcasting began; what sort of girl do you think Towa is now?

Matsumoto: She looks cool as there are visuals that make her look like a boy, but I think she has a surprisingly absentminded side to her (laughs).

Ikeuchi: Although I can feel Towa’s kindness and strong heart from your voice, do you have any difficulty balancing that aspect?

Matsumoto: While I leave the character balancing to the directors, even if I think about my acting at home, I won’t know until I sync up with Komatsu Mikako, who plays Setsuna, and Tadokoro Azusa, who plays Moroha, so that’s where it gets difficult.

Ikeuchi: Like what sort of acting will the other person do?

Matsumoto: That’s right. There are times where the act I’ve prepared takes a 180-degree turn, so I put 120% into my real time acting for each situation.

Ikeuchi: Starting from Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, each of the three different characters have voices that really suit them.

Matsumoto: The tone of voice for all three of them isn’t very high, so there’s an aspect where I feel they’re all similar. Especially when it comes to serious lines. However, when listening to it, this might be strange to say, but the “shade” of the voice is different like the mellowness, so while the voices overlap, I think there’s differentiation between the characters. (translator’s note: I’m not positive about this sentence).

Ikeuchi: Towa and Setsuna are twins, so I think that the part where they’re a little “similar” makes them realistic.

Matsumoto: Thank you. After episode 3, there are more scenes where Towa and Setsuna poke comments at Moroha, so sometimes sound director Nagura (Yasushi) tells us our voices sound the same. Apparently, there are times where they sound like one person, so I consulted with Setsuna’s voice actress, Komatsu Mikako, and changed my tone.

Ikeuchi: What sort of conversations do you have with Komatsu-san and Tadokoro-san?

Matsumoto: We talk about acting of course, but the three of us love “Inuyasha” and we were able to take part in “Hanyō no Yashahime”, so we fan talk like “I wonder if that demon from that time was…?” or “This was in “Inuyasha” too right?” (laughs).

Ikeuchi: What about personally? (translator’s note: Like in private life)

Matsumoto: The three of us made a group chat in LINE and we communicate there. For example, after I watched episode 1 prior to airing, I messaged them like “Did you see episode 1? It was amazing!!”. Then Komatsu-san responded “Ooo, I’ll watch I’ll watch!”. Tadokoro-san responded with “It would be a waste so I’m going to watch it on air!”.

Ikeuchi: To fans, that’s an incredibly extravagant group chat!

Matsumoto: It’s only been two months since episode 1 but the three of us are already close and we always hype on recording day.

Ikeuchi: Are the three of you in the recording booth together?

Matsumoto: The staff made distancing considerations so that the three of us could record together. There are a lot of scenes with the three of them, so as of now the three of us mostly record together.

VVM: Has Takahashi Rumiko-sensei ever come to watch the recording or said anything to you before?

Matsumoto: When recording first started, it was during a situation where meetings were being done remotely, so I didn’t have opportunities to meet not only Rumiko-sensei of course, but the other cast members as well. However, the other day when I went to the limited time “Inuyasha” Café that opened in Shibuya PARCO with director Satō Teruo and the other “Hanyō no Yashahime” cast members, Rumiko-sensei was there! I greeted her with “I am Matsumoto Sara, the role of Higurashi Towa!”

Ikeuchi: I’m genuinely envious of you! Since she doesn’t make very many appearances on TV and such, her existence is so far away that you wonder if she really exists…

Matsumoto: It was deeply emotional. Pardon me for saying this but I was also moved like “She’s really here…”. She was like a god to me when I was a child.

VVM: Did you have any sort of conversation with her?

Matsumoto: I heard that the cast and staff of the “Inuyasha” anime went on trips together every year since the broadcasting. I was moved that they still communicate with each other even now after 20 years since the broadcast. When I think about how I get to participate in a part of this work that sensei cherishes so much, my body tenses up.

Ikeuchi: Actually, to celebrate the broadcasting of “Hanyō no Yashahime”, VV is also releasing “Hanyō no Yashahime” merchandise in which the actual animator drew the illustration… (shows a rough sketch drawn in pencil)

Matsumoto: What?! That’s amazing!! The side profile (face) feels fresh.

Ikeuchi: This will be used as the cover for VVM and such.

Matsumoto: I’m so happy that you would publish it in such a magazine!

Ikeuchi: Not at all, the pleasure is ours!

Matsumoto: (while looking at the picture) It really is the world of “Hanyō no Yashahime”! I look forward to the colored VVM cover!

VVM: We would like to have you trace your memories back a little here, but we would like to ask you what made you become a voice actress and what kind of girl were you when you were Towa’s age (14)?

Matsumoto: When I was 14 years old huh… I was in an all-girls middle school for three years, so I never really interacted with boys the same grade as me. Hence, I grew up in a world of only girls. It was a classroom permeating with the characteristic emotions of girls going through adolescence (laughs) and I think I learned all sorts of things like how to interact with people. Until then, part of my personality was that I was somewhat too conscious of things and I casually learned to “let go”. (translator’s note: it literally said “抜く” in quotes which directly translates to “to remove or pull out”. It can also translate to fap… honestly this can go in any direction so interpret this as you will lmao)

Ikeuchi: In addition, during adolescence did you ever go to VV?

Matsumoto: I’m from Chiba prefecture and I always went to the nearby VV. I bought presents at VV when it was someone’s birthday.

Ikeuchi: Thank you very much!

Matsumoto: After becoming an adult, I went to buy a towel with a meat pattern on it. I bought a lot and went about giving them to people who’ve taken care of me (laughs).

Ikeuchi: The meat towel! It’s been popular ever since it went on sale (*unfortunately it is sold out at this time)

VVM: Around when did you start aiming to become a voice actress?

Matsumoto: In my elementary school graduation anthology, I wrote that “I want to become a voice actor”!

Both: Whaat, Wow!

Ikeuchi: So since elementary school?

Matsumoto: I was good at drawing when I was in elementary, so apparently my parents and relatives thought I would go towards the design route. That’s when my friend told me about the work of voice acting. They said they wanted to be a voice actor. Influenced by that, I said “I’ll become one too!” (laughs).

Ikeuchi: Have to thank your friend for that then.

Matsumoto: Yes. For me, I wanted to become a manga artist since I was good at drawing, but thanks my friend, I learned that there was a world where you act with your voice.

VVM: What did you want to be during middle school?

Matsumoto: Around the end of middle school, I suddenly thought “I want to do acting!”. I looked at the notices for acting schools that are usually on the back of magazines and I thought “I don’t really get it, but I have a feeling I can do this!” (laughs). Then I spoke with my parents.

Ikeuchi: What did your parents say?

Matsumoto: My parents made a living with music to begin with, so they understood. They were basically like “If that’s what you want to do, then why not give it a try?”. So they let me go to (acting) school and as I learned about acting and singing, I vaguely began to think “I want to work in this field in the future”.

Ikeuchi: From there, why did you choose voice acting?

Matsumoto: By the time I was a high schooler, I had done several auditions but for some reason my (acting school) teacher brought a lot of voice work. Then I suddenly remembered how in elementary school I made a big deal about “I want to be a voice actor!”. I thought of voice acting as one way of acting.

Ikeuchi: How did you ultimately decide what path to take?

Matsumoto: The moment I decided my path. Until then, I had thought about going to a 4-year university that was known for theatre, but my mother told me “Going to university doesn’t mean you’ll be able to do acting all the time?”. I realized that that wasn’t quite right. I want to think about acting all the time!

VVM: Indeed, a university would mean that you would have general study plus theatre study.

Matsumoto: It’s a no brainer but the only thing in my head was “Acting!” “Voice Actor!” so my thought process was genuinely “I want to do acting = a university with a theatre department!”. Ultimately, I went to the vocational school I graduated from.

VVM: Tokyo Announce Gakuin correct?

Matsumoto: Yes. By that time, I had decided “I’ll definitely become a voice actor!”. My parents also pushed me saying “If you’re going to go to that kind of a vocational school, you better become a pro!” (laughs).

Ikeuchi: That’s how your dream came true.

Matsumoto: Yes. I’m truly happy.

Ikeuchi: Your friend who told you about voice actors, your parents, your (acting school) teacher… through all those different encounters, you were guided down the path of a voice actor.

Matsumoto: I’m grateful of the fact that I have a job doing something I enjoy, but this time I got a big role in a work that’s connected to “Inuyasha” which I have loved for a long time. I’m truly thankful to the people I met.

VVM: Before you became a voice actress, which works of anime did you like and influenced you aside from “Inuyasha”?

Matsumoto: When I was little, I enjoyed “Card Captor Sakura” that was being broadcasted on NHK. There was also the one-hour time slot of “Inuyasha”, of course, and “Detective Conan” (Nippon TV). Then there was the one-hour time slot of “Hikaru no Go” and “Prince of Tennis” (TV Tokyo). “Chibi Maruko-chan” and “Sazae-san”. I loved “One Piece” and “Kochi Kame (Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo)” (Fuji TV) so I watched them all the time. Not only do I remember the details of the works I watched back then but I still like them as well. Ever since I started making my own money, I’ve been repurchasing the original mangas.

VVM: On your blog, you recently wrote that you went to see “Princess Mononoke” at the theater, so do you like Ghibli works?

Matsumoto: I love Ghibli works and while I had a lot of VHS movies back home, “Princess Mononoke” was rescreened in June of this year so I went to watch it. I came to understand parts that I didn’t get as a child and once again thought it was an amazing work.

VVM: It was first shown in 1997. The content is a little difficult for a child to understand isn’t it?

Matsumoto: Now that I think about, this a little off tangent but at the time, my mother went to watch the movie and showed me the pamphlet. On the cover was the scene where the heroine, San, was sucking out blood from Moro’s wound.

VVM: It’s a well-known scene on posters and such.

Matsumoto: I thought the blood around San’s mouth was dirt. I remember thinking “We have to hurry and wipe the dirt off that girl’s mouth!” and scrubbing it.

Ikeuchi: (laughs) What happened to the dirt?

Matsumoto: I scrubbed too hard and tore a hole in it (laughs). I’m sorry, this was really off tangent!

VVM: (laughs) It would be great if you could make an appearance in a Ghibli work.

Matsumoto: Ever since I decided to become a voice actor, I always had the thought of “I want to be in Ghibli movie!” in my heart, so I definitely want to make that come true!

Ikeuchi: Speaking of movie theater, getting a little ahead but I want to see a movie edition of “Hanyō no Yashahime” just like “Inuyasha”!

Matsumoto: Absolutely! I also want to see Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, in action on the big screen!! If we could see the parents and children fighting together at the movie theater… Aah~ just thinking about it makes the corner of my eyes heat up. Ever since I got the role of Towa, I’ve been hoping myself “Please let this happen!” (laughs).

Ikeuchi: We fans wish for that too!

VVM: Recently, you declared on your blog “I’ve become able to keep my word!” so please make this a reality!

Matsumoto: (laughs) Okay, we will do our best!

VVM: Alright then, lastly please tell us your goals for 2021!

Matsumoto: Let’s see, I don’t know if this will be possible until the world becomes more stable, but I would love to interact with “Hanyō no Yashahime” fans around the world. “Inuyasha” is popular worldwide so I get supportive messages in all sorts of languages on my twitter. Among them are people who comment using translation tools so I would like to meet everyone directly… even if meeting directly isn’t possible, I would like to talk to everyone in some way. This is what I think of “Hanyō no Yashahime”. I like this character. Anything is fine so I would love to hear them.

VVM: What about in your personal life?

Matsumoto: I want to move. I live with my older sister but because the state of the world has changed this past year and me becoming busy with “Hanyō no Yashahime”, we’ve had a few problems arise… The biggest problem is our bath times overlap. I say that but I do get along with my sister, so maybe living in the same apartment complex but in different units like the Asagaya Sisters (laughs). I’d like to talk with her and find the best possible solution!

Ikeuchi: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule today!

Matsumoto: Thank you as well! I look forward to seeing both the “Hanyō no Yashahime” cover issue and article. Please support “Hanyō no Yashahime” next year as well!

#Yashahime #Hanyō no Yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation

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ofstarsandfireflies · 4 years

Text

Tonight’s event is a movie I have been trying to get a fic off the ground for but haven’t been successful as of late.

Her

A man falls in love with the voice of an Ai

After the funeral, Stephen is mourning the death of the man he had fallen in love with and upon returning to his room in the Sanctum, notices a little toy Iron Man which greets him in Tony’s voice.

And it’s really, really weird.

Especially with how the voice says it ‘wants’ to be called Tony.

Not to call him by that as if it was programmed into it, but that it ‘wants’ Stephen to call him Tony.

Stephen has no idea what is happening but barley gets one of his many questions out before the voice begins to explain what it is.

He is an Ai (standing for Anthony’s Intelligence, because of course it is) and he is an AWS model, standing for Asshole Wizard Stephen, because of course it is.

Stephen should feel offended by this but honestly, with how much Tony loved his acronyms, all he can do is laugh.

Tony begins to organise his life little by little, starting small with emails and appliances and meeting schedules, much to the horror of all the attendees of said meeting, and slowly working his way through all the magical scrolls and books and relics, helping to catelougue them so if Stephen needs something urgently, Tony can find it in a heartbeat.

Stephen slowly begins to open to the voice, talking to it about everything, loving how he can still talk to Tony even though he can’t see him, like a long distance relationship.

With an Ai.

In a dead man’s voice.

A dead man whom he used to love.

But it’s not weird...ok it’s a lot weird but Stephen’s fine.

He’s fine, he’s good, he’s better than good he’s great!

And it’s all because of the Ai that he is falling in love with.

He’s falling in love. With an Ai. In Tony’s voice.

He’s not fine.

But he can’t help but push his feelings on to this second chance he’s been given.

Before he knows it, a year has passed.

A whole year is gone and he didn’t even realise it.

It’s on the night of the anniversary of Tony’s death that he gets a message from an old friend, Tony’s voice reading it out to him as he’s too busy to look at it.

It’s from Christine, and she wants to catch up with him.

Stephen stops what he’s doing.

Why would she want to catch up now of all days?

More to that, why does she want to catch up at all?

Then Tony’s voice is asking him when he’ll be ready to start dating again.

When he’s going to decide that he has to move on.

And he doesn’t answer.

Everyone keeps asking Stephen the same thing.

They keep telling him to move on from Tony Stark, to forget about him and get rid of the Ai that’s not helping him.

But it is helping him.

It’s not just Tony’s voice it IS Tony. His personality, his laughter at the right moments, it’s like he never left.

They just don’t see that, nobody does.

Not the remaining Avengers, not Wong, not anybody!

If he had tried harder, the actual Tony Stark would be here with him and not just this Ai voiced by him.

But it’s all he has left.

And it’s Tony’s voice asking him if he’s okay that brings him back to his question about responding to the message.

So Stephen says no. He won’t.

When Tony’s voice tries to argue, Stephen snaps at it, and Tony doesn’t argue any further.

Just agrees.

To make up for his behaviour, Stephen decides to take the little Iron Man the Ai is attached to out one night, enjoying Tony’s company as if he were right there with him.

They’re about to call it a night when they run into Christine.

Stephen apologises for not texting back and she says she gets it but still wants to catch up with him, so Stephen, unable to get out of it now, has Tony make them a reservation somewhere nice.

Tony says he knows just the place and a few days later, Stephen is sitting opposite Christine in a very nice restaurant that he could picture him and Tony coming to.

It’s going well and the night is progressing smoothly, right up until she starts wanting to talk about what happened when he was abducted by that alien space ship she saw the Iron Man fly after all those years ago.

And he has to get out of there.

His hands are shaking worse than ever before and all that’s flooding his mind are moments that happened and moments that didn’t, and moments that could have and why didn’t he try harder, why didn’t he keep looking and...

“Stephen?”

The voice in his ear calms him.

He can’t go a day without wearing an earpiece so he can talk to Tony whenever he feels the need.

He makes it back to his room and lays down in bed to sleep, and the voice tells him how he is scared that his feelings for Stephen might not be his own, but Tony’s that he programmed into the Ai.

Their conversation shifts from Stephen wishing Tony were there with him, to what he would do if Tony were there with him.

It’s almost surreal how the noises coming from the Ai fill his mind and make him believe Tony laying next to him in the dark.

And the next morning, it’s awkward.

They fumble over words and quickly get back into the swing of things, but Stephen can’t get it out of his head.

He can’t pretend that this is as good as it would have been with Tony, he can’t pretend that this is the next best thing.

So a few days later, when a specially modded Iron Man suit created by the Ai itself blasts into the Sanctum and pins Stephen against the nearest wall, Stephen almost loses himself in the moment.

All he can feel is Tony’s armoured hands running over his body.

He presses his back against the chest plate, warm and whirring softly.

And when he turns around and sees those blue lights of the helmet and not Tony’s face, he can’t go through with it.

It’s not Tony.

And it never will be Tony.

And the Ai understands and goes quiet.

And Stephen goes quiet.

And the Sanctum, for the first time since the Ai came into his life, is quiet.

Confused about how he feels, he turns to Wong for advice.

Wong hadn’t wanted the Ai in the Sanctum to begin with.

But when he saw how happy Stephen was when he talked to it about music and joked with it and heard him laughing and saw just how much good it was doing him, he came to the realisation that this is how Stephen would have acted if Tony was still here with them.

It’s up to Stephen to decide what he wants: An Ai that will never leave him of the man he loved, or is old life back before he knew Tony.

And Stephen simply smiles, and puts the earpiece back in.

Quotes -

“So basically, in every moment, I’m evolving. Just like you.”

“That’s really weird.”

“Is that weird? Do you think I’m weird?”

“Kind of.”

“Why?”

“Well, you seem like a person, but you’re just a voice in the computer.”

“I can understand how the limited perspective of an un-artificial mind would perceive it that way. You’ll get used to it.”

Stephen is a little put off by this Ai in Tony’s voice.

“You have a meeting in five minutes.”

“Oh, I forgot. Thank you. Wow, you’re good.”

“Yes, I am.”

Stephen is starting to warm up to Tony.

“But you don’t know what it’s like to lose someone you care about.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologise. I’m sorry. You’re right...I keep waiting to not care about her.”

Even a year later, Stephen can’t let Tony go.

“And then I had this terrible thought. Like, are these feelings even real? Or are they just programming? And that idea really hurts.”

Tony wonders if his love is his own or his creator’s.

“Am I in this because I’m not...strong enough for a real relationship?”

“Is it not a real relationship?”

“I don’t know. I mean, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. I’m not in it.”

Stephen seeks Wong’s advice.

Him

Tony Stark has a parting gift for Stephen after the events of Endgame.

Missed a day? Catch up here!

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Day 6 Day 7 Day 8

#ironstrange #OSAF’s Movie Night #strangeiron

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c-cracks · 4 years

Text

Passing OSCP

So I got the email every OSCP student wants this morning- I passed OSCP on my first attempt.

In the name of tradition, I’m just writing this to document my thoughts, experiences and my preparation up until enrollment. :)

Background

I’m self-taught in every aspect of IT that I know- from basic networking concepts to programming- and have been doing CTFs on sites such as HackTheBox and VulnHub.

Prior to OSCP, the only professional experience in pentesting I had was a 3 month-long apprenticeship with a local company; even there I didn’t get any real exposure to actual pentesting (thus why it was only 3 months.)

I don’t have a degree yet either- I’m currently in my first year of Cyber Security (BSc) with Open University.

Preparation

I first heard of OSCP last year when I tried a physical university- there was an ethical hacking society there that were pretty much obsessed with the certification. After hearing of it’s alleged difficulty and reputation in the industry I looked into it and then hopped on the band wagon. I definitely wanted to be an OSCP.

I’d say that I had around 1 and a half years of CTF experience before enrolling, a lot of those machines being based off a list of OSCP-like VMs. I also had experience with buffer overflow at this point (had already hacked Brainpan and completed a majority of the challenges on SmashTheTux.)

I pretty much just decided to go for it one day, unsure of if I was ready or not.

The Course

I opted for 90 days lab time and spent nearly all day everyday hacking the lab machines in that time (probably missed 1-2 weeks altogether). In that time I got almost all the public network apart from dependent machines and two of the hard ones. A few machines from Dev and Admin too.

I barely even looked at the PDF until I went over using Immunity Debugger for buffer overflow but I think it depends on where your knowledge stands as to whether taking the time to do the PDF exercises is worth it or not. Like I said, before enrollment I’d already rooted a fair few machines on other platforms.

The Exam

5AM on Saturday the 17th of October was my exam start time. I had no issues with the proctoring software- lucky considering the proctoring software allegedly has poor Linux support (my OS is Ubuntu.) I thought starting earlier was a good idea as it meant -in the event of things going wrong- that I wouldn’t have to stay up a full extra night. I could have admitted defeat and went to sleep at 5. xD

While I did pass, I do feel the early start wasn’t a wise move: I was extremely tired after a night of tossing and turning, feeling my eyes starting to burn by 12 noon.

My sleep deprivation caused me to make a fair few silly mistakes I wouldn’t have otherwise made too- the buffer overflow took me 2-3 hours all because I didn’t notice I’d tried to set PORT instead of LPORT in my msfvenom payload!

By 8pm the following night I had 60 points under my belt- rooting the 10 point was all I had left to do before I had enough points to pass. By 10pm I had the 10 point- again due to my tiredness I hadn’t been logically trying everything to troubleshoot why things weren’t working as intended (don’t wanna give anything away about any of the exam machines.)

At this point I was exhausted. Happy with calling it a night, I proceeded to go back and take the necessary screenshots for my report the next day. This took a while- it was 1-2am before I told the proctor I was done and they ended the exam.

Ecstatic that I was halfway to passing, I went to bed eagerly- I still had a report to write.

The Report

The report writing is very tedious and -frankly- not what you want to do after the hacking part of the exam. I was still pretty tired from the day before and I just wanted to get it done.

I didn’t write the best report- I missed out some command output accidentally and had a nightmare formatting the report (this is why sleep matters!) but I had it finished and submitted in 8 hours.

Results

I got the great news today that I’ve passed- I’m now an OSCP! I’m very happy with this after spending so long preparing for it.

What’s Next?

I think I’m going to spend the next three years I’m at university getting deeper into exploit and malware development, maybe privilege escalation techniques too: I have a strong interest in these areas. I’ll probably do the odd CTF now and again just to keep my skill sharp in that area too.

Thoughts and Advice

Now I’m no sort of expert in the field yet; I definitely advice people to spend a fair bit of time on OSCP prep before enrolling.

Google OSCP-like VMs and go through them. Please: do not look at hints. I think this is a vital component to OSCP- the ability to be independent. You won’t have anyone to go to for advice in a real pentest or the exam, after all.

Looking at buffer-overflow prior to the exam is also an idea: it means the concepts of registers, x86 vs x64 and shellcode aren’t completely foreign to you. Like I said above- Brainpan and SmashTheTux are pretty good VMs for this.

I definitely think you should try to get to a point where you don’t need the course PDF beforehand so you can focus all your energy on the labs.

Doing this course has honestly been one of the most difficult things I’ve done- not because the machines themselves are difficult; it’s the pressure (especially if you paid for it out of savings- £1100 is ALOT of money to me!) and the time it takes. It tires you out physically and mentally.

However, it was also one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had- while I wish I wasn’t as tired on the day of the exam so I could have got nearer to 100 points, I still managed to pass a famously difficult exam on my first attempt. All thanks to my preparation.

#oscp #offensive security #pentesting #hacking #exam

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kenmoorman · 3 years

Text

Champions League Predictions and Betting Tips - Free Super Tips

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Once the qualifiers have taken place, the group stages begin. There are eight groups in total, each made up of four teams. The teams in each group play each other twice, once at home and once away. The top two qualify for the knockout rounds. The knockout stages are as follows: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final.

Club Soccer Predictions

Each match-up includes one home leg and one away leg, except for the final, which is a stand-alone match. You can check out the top scorers in the Champions League this season here. The group stage runs from 20 October to 9 December The dates for the knock-out rounds are as follows:. Our Champions League predictions will cover all these crunch matches in fantastic detail. The Champions League final will take place on Saturday 29 May lfague The match will kick-off at at UK Time. It will be held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Being part of the Bayern Munich side helps of course. He has article source in uefa champions league predictions for tuesday for the defending champions again this season with three goals in the group stages, including two in the away win at Red Bull Salzburg. However, he faces a battle to again be the Champions League top scorer. All of those players, bar Rashford will have the chance to add to their totals in the knock-out stages.

On five goals are Oliver Giroud of Chelsea, four of which came in the win away at Sevilla. Choose your top goal uefa champions league predictions for tuesday at Tuessday Hill. So, the scene is set therefore for a fascinating Champions League. Bayern Munich were way above the rest last season and won every game. Can they win the title again? Will Liverpool prove to be a dominant force again? All those betting opportunities to come and our team of experts will help you get some tuesdday in the months to come.

They predictiosn provide you with excellent previews, packed with key statistics and showing you just why they think their tips will become winners. Check out the site for all the latest news and odds. Select your Champions Predicrions winner at Bet Would you like to go on our mobile site for a better experience?

Exclusive offer. See the offer. Betting tips Football Champions League. All the competitions. Predictins Competitions. Betting Tips Odds Live. Paddy Power preductions be a bookmaker to consider in this particular market. This also counts for extra time goals and penalty permutations, which will come in handy in the latter stages of the tournament, so keep your eyes peeled yes, Liverpool fans, we mean you.

Spursy, really. Another market that is very easy to punt on, and obviously, put those Champions League betting tips and foe to good use. Which, given the kind of players about the various teams, should be pretty simple to cop out on. Last year, it was the likes of Uefa champions league predictions for tuesday Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry, Neymar who were racking up the shots, adding to the xG, and putting the opposition keeper through the rounds — though not tuesdah scoring see the many Neymar misses and uefa champions league predictions for tuesday. Champions League games can be spicy affairs, with plenty of angst and anger going uefa champions league predictions for tuesday. Strikers are always the players at fault for lazy offside calls, either strolling back into onside territory, or too eager with their predicrions.

Well, what if you could put your Champions League tips to good use on these moments?

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