Maidens of the Kaleidoscope

~Bunbunmaru News~ => Letters to the Editor => Ask a *Blank* Archive => Topic started by: Esifex on July 21, 2011, 07:29:55 PM

Title: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through - Esifex
Post by: Esifex on July 21, 2011, 07:29:55 PM
Hello, hello, and how do you do?
I am Esifex, or commonly referred to as Esi!
'Your Lordship' works well, too

Being one of the Librarians marks me as one of the staffers around this here lovely board. While I don't wield board-warping powers, I do answer to superiors and help do my part to keep my little corner of The Kaleidoscope tidy.

For those of you who don't frequent the PSL subforum, not only do you make me cry inside, but you may not even know who I am. Since we've had several iterations of the 'Ask a Staffer' thread already, the routine should be familiar to you all by now; come up with a query, and direct it to me!

I will warn you, though - I am not artistic in a visual sense, but rather in a literary sense. While I don't have any physical gimmicks to entertain the lot of you with, I can of course be rather wordy. It comes with being a bookworm, you see; they call it 'Purple Prose'.
I will, however, open each batch of answers with a nice song for you to listen to if you so deign. It'll be up to you to open the music, y'see - I don't have embedding powers. Besides, that'd just get messy!

So, ask away!
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on July 21, 2011, 07:47:08 PM
Where does your interest in the supernatural come from? (Pardon me if you dislike that term for whatever reason.)

Do you prefer reading books on paper, or do you prefer reading them electronically? Why?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Tamer Anode/Cathode on July 21, 2011, 07:50:23 PM
Where'd you get the name "Esifex" from?

What made you decide to study massage therapy?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Tengukami on July 21, 2011, 07:51:28 PM
When did you know that you wanted to write?

Best part about being a Librarian? Worst part?

What was the proudest moment of your life?

Who is America's greatest president ever?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Iryan on July 21, 2011, 07:54:09 PM
Once more I ask:

What do you consider your great achievement in life? Similarly, what do you consider your greatest failure?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: MatsuriSakuragi on July 21, 2011, 07:56:06 PM
Wanna trade states with me? It's been years since I've seen the ocean. :<

This might sound stupid, but how exactly does massage therapy work? I've never really looked into it.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Janitor Morgan on July 21, 2011, 07:57:54 PM
How are your talks with Panera Bread going?

Have you constructed any mental barriers recently (I forget exactly how you used to refer to it)? Why or why not?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 21, 2011, 09:09:01 PM
For your listening pleasure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwkJPKK2mKs).


Where does your interest in the supernatural come from? (Pardon me if you dislike that term for whatever reason.)

Do you prefer reading books on paper, or do you prefer reading them electronically? Why?

Supernatural is a perfectly valid way to put it. As of right now, heightened mental capacity is just manifesting as an unsually high IQ, or exceptional skill at logical concepts like math and science.
However, for the lot of the readers who don't know precisely what you're hinting at, the spiritual side of the supernatural intrigues me greatly because of my own history with it. When I was four years old, I was ran over by a mini-van. I temporarily blacked out, as did my brother. A moment later, I recall seeing me drag myself halfway out from under the minivan before the girl who was driving it pulled me the rest of the way out - then my mother came running out of the house and took me into her arms. At this point I began to see out of my own eyes, again, no longer seeing myself. This is also when my brother came around, again, too - later I came to find out that he was my vantage point. The angles that I'd been seeing the incident occur from corresponded to where he was standing when it happened.
I believe this kept me from being fully anchored to my own body - I have an easier time relaxing than most people (and being a massage therapist, I can say that objectively, because I know how hard a lot of people find it to relax) and can let a comfortable 'floating' sensation take over my mind. While I'm doing this, I have a much greater feel for the people around me - how they're feeling, what they're thinking, what they're doing. This also passively manifests in my translating of foreign languages into English when I hear them, or regular episodes of deja'vu. I'd personally like to hone those last two traits - precognition would be nice, and being able to be a natural translator would give me a great sense of self-worth, being able to bridge the gap between language barriers. Unfortunately, I don't honestly know how to 'train' these abilities, as I can't force them to work - focusing on it tends to shut it down immediately. Suddenly I'll have heard half a sentence in English, the rest in Spanish, and no longer know what is being said. Trying to remember further along in my deja'vu makes it end prematurely, and I feel like I just woke up from a dream.

As for books? A paper medium or an electronic medium are all the same to me - as long as I can read it, I'm happy. My collection of paperback books will always be a fond memory for me, even though I've already donated all of them to the local library to resell - they are what really contributed to me being who I am. Nowadays, though, I'm very pleased with my nook and its functionality, and the fact that I am literally carrying an entire library with me in a small, three-pound tablet that has a screen that almost perfectly imitates natural paper. Reading on a computer monitor is much the same - otherwise I wouldn't've ended up becoming a Librarian, if I didn't read practically every story that was posted when I'd arrived.
A story is a story. If it's written on paper, shot into my eyes by photons of light, scratched into a stone, painted onto a canvas, or told to me orally, it's still a story, and it'll still hold my attention. Stories are entirely new worlds, fantastic places to explore your imagination, and to see where you can go in your mind.

Where'd you get the name "Esifex" from?

A technique I picked up way long ago from a blog post in an old webcomic (http://www.machall.com) about how the author named his characters - he'd just punch two letters at random on his keyboard, and pick a vowel to go between them. Instead, I took the three-letter name method and expanded it. Since I love music, and good sounds in general (I love a good wind chime), I picked the letters SFX - 'sound effects'. If you take those three letters and spell them out, you get Esifex!


What made you decide to study massage therapy?

What made me decide? A period of great depression in my life where I had no clue who I was, what I was worth, where I was going in life, and I began to frantically search for any measure of skill I had that I could identify with. I very nearly destroyed a friendship that I cherish greatly during this period of time, but because of her patience, I managed to get through it safely and realized that I have a good, caring heart that enjoys helping people feel better, and a natural talent for touch. I'd been working on my parents' backs since I was a wee lad, and continued to do so into my mid-teenage years. I decided, 'okay, I'm good enough without training to NOT cripple my parents. I may as well learn how to do it right, so I can get paid for it.'
So, I started sending out for information to a bunch of local schools, and ended up taking a tour of a small, simple school not more than twenty minutes away from where I lived, and fell in love with the environment and the people that were part of the trade.

When did you know that you wanted to write?

When I was in second grade. I picked up reading before I went into kindergarten, and always loved the stories that I could dig up in my brothers' old box of books. They were, of course, mostly picture books at the time, but I always had a book in my hands at home. I spent hours at night reading with Mom, stumbling all over the words until I got them right, and then telling Mom to stay on the couch while I ran and got another book, and would repeat the process until I eventually fell asleep. Stories were my life. In second grade, I was going to a private Lutheran school, and learned how to write in cursive. Before then, I couldn't be bothered to write, because the scar on my arm messed up my fine-motor control and I had very atrocious hand-writing - which, to this day, has barely improved. But suddenly, I had this fancy, loopy writing under my control, and I could make pretty letters! It was time to take those letters and put them together to make words, and take those words and put them together to make sentences, and to take those sentences and put them together and make the best stories I could think of. I followed up by volunteering to re-enact, but mostly just read, Dr. Suess stories to the kindergarteners and pre-schoolers, doing my best to share my love of stories with them. In the fifth grade, I won a silly little prize for writing a short-story involving a terraforming dome on Mars based around the polar caps. I was a nerd, even back then. Of course, having both parents be avid Trekkies didn't hurt.

Best part about being a Librarian? Worst part?

Being able to help people with their stories via proofreading and summarizing. Feels good, man. As for the worst part? Being a Librarian, period, when I'm dealing with writer's block. I could really do without that sense of guilt and hypocrisy.

What was the proudest moment of your life?

Honestly? I can't remember, or think of one. And yes, that does make me as sad as you'd think it would.

Who is America's greatest president ever?

When it comes to Presidents, I typify the American education system. I don't even remember who we had before Clinton - and this is another saddening and shaming revelation for me, especially considering that I took JROTC in high school, and the Presidents were a major part of the history we went over.
The President with the greatest name, though, I can remember this - GROVER CLEVELAND :V

What do you consider your great achievement in life? Similarly, what do you consider your greatest failure?

As mentioned above when Ammy asked, I can't honestly remember what my proudest moment is. Objectively speaking, the greatest part of my life so far has been taking the initiative to sign up for going to Massage school on my own free will, without having to be told or commanded by anyone else. I would say 'all the times I've helped my friends get through a tough spot in their lives,' but like Ruro, I feel that if I'm not doing that, I'm not worth an ego.
My greatest failure? Unfortunately, escapism played a very large part of my interest in the paranormal, and I've locked a lot of that stuff away in my mind, and to be honest, I don't like dwelling on it, even now. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass on this question.

Wanna trade states with me? It's been years since I've seen the ocean. :<

YESYESYESYESYESYES I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE BUT YES GET ME OUT OF FLORIDA GOD YES

This might sound stupid, but how exactly does massage therapy work? I've never really looked into it.

The therapist simply makes touch-contact with the clients' body. This causes an immediate response in the client's body, in accord with their mind, that brings their attention to the point of contact. If there is any tension there, the client's body recognizes and acknowledges it, and begins to heal.
At the same time, the therapist is performing sweeping, rolling motions across the skin, stimulating and promoting bloodflow. Improved circulation leads to an improved immune system, more energy, and a better sense of relaxation.
There are a lot of different modalities, or techniques, that are used for specific situations - for example, Deep Tissue Massage (the single modality most likely to scare people away from massage) is painful in the process, and will oftentimes leave the client a little sore afterwards - ESPECIALLY if the client ignores the therapist and doesn't take a hot shower soon afterwards - but is also the single most effective treatment for deep-muscle contusions and restrictions. It literally involves pushing through the muscle fibers laying over an afflicted spot to get directly to the 'knot'. It is not a pleasant experience if you don't know whats coming, especially since it usually makes the client tense up - which instantly undoes any work the therapist has done and makes it ten times harder to work on the tension.
A muscle that is working cannot physically relax. It's not possible.

How are your talks with Panera Bread going?

Still in limbo, but I'm still harassing the crap out of them and making sure they know I exist. I WANT TO MAKE BAGUETTES DAMMIT

Have you constructed any mental barriers recently (I forget exactly how you used to refer to it)? Why or why not?

With the exception of the on-going battle against my own sex-drive and unbridled anger issues, no. The rest of the fragmentation I've done to my own mind was unpleasant enough - the memory loss, the delicate temperament, and the straight change in personality is not something I intend to intentionally put myself through again. I resist my sex-drive and hormones for personal reasons, that mostly stem from an utter distaste for the people in my generation around me - and while yes, I know that wherever I go, there are GOING to be dumb people who are reckless and treat their bodies with complete irreverence, there is just such a large concentration of them in Florida that I'm actually saddened by it. This may also have something to do with my rage issues - both the self-inflicted sexual frustration and being surrounded by idiots.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 21, 2011, 09:09:21 PM
By the way - I wasn't kidding when I said I could be long-winded.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 21, 2011, 09:32:11 PM
Wow, the song ended just before I finished reading all that. Good timing. :V

Yeah, my mom works as a receptionist at a massage-therapy place, and she's picked up a few things. The thing with the soaz (no idea how to spell it) is super painful.  :ohdear:

Anyway. Are there any aspects of the supernatural that you still don't believe?

What is your opinion on the Touhou fandom's desire to relationship anyone and everyone?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Janitor Morgan on July 21, 2011, 09:33:04 PM
Are there times when you're more laconic? If so, when?

Favorite non-Shanghai Touhou character and why?

First comes rock, then comes paper... You can't throw all of them. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on July 21, 2011, 10:17:54 PM
YESYESYESYESYESYES I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE BUT YES GET ME OUT OF FLORIDA GOD YES
Even if it's Indiana? BV

What character in Touhou would you most like to write about, but haven't?

Name five cities in the world you'd like to visit, and why.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 21, 2011, 11:15:01 PM
If you could take any of the staffers on a trip to see the world, who would you choose and why?

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

Where's the beef?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: theshirn on July 21, 2011, 11:28:36 PM
Am I the only one who doesn't care for that signature?

Where are the Purvis of yesteryear?

How epic is your beard these days?

What's the trick to a good shoulder massage?  People tell me I'm very good, but no one's ever been able to give me one that didn't hurt like hell.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: communist unity (comm-unity) on July 21, 2011, 11:35:25 PM
What part of America's dickFlorida do you live onin?
We should break out of Florida, [water] guns blazing. 'cause it's so hot. :derp:

I don't read PSL a lot, what are a few of your favorite stories there you would recommend?


Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: MatsuriSakuragi on July 21, 2011, 11:39:45 PM
Even if it's Indiana? BV

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i'm trying to get out of here  >:<


I suppose this is a distant tangent in relation to massage therapy, but what do you think of things such as acupuncture for alternative therapies? More out of curiosity, because I really am not sure how they work :x
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Fetch()tirade on July 21, 2011, 11:53:23 PM
What animal would you associate yourself with the most?

Why Shanghai?

Attack or defend this statement: "The end never justifies the means."

What is your favorite color?

How do you like your eggs?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hanzo K. on July 22, 2011, 12:26:46 AM
Tuna VS Sea Bass VS Chicken. Which one wins in a no-holds barred cage deathmatch?
All weapons permitted, even ones that could level the planet, like a nuke.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 22, 2011, 01:48:15 AM
Lie back and think of Iceland (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ok_bRgRyk)



Yeah, my mom works as a receptionist at a massage-therapy place, and she's picked up a few things. The thing with the soaz (no idea how to spell it) is super painful.  :ohdear:

Illiosoas? :ohdear: :ohdear: :ohdear:

Anyway. Are there any aspects of the supernatural that you still don't believe?

Non-contact telekinesis - that is, to suspend something by itself in midair. It violates too many laws of thermodynamics, and the strain on the mind would be astronomical to fight gravity at range with no leverage to work off of. Touch-contact telekinesis is a possibility, though - but only for things with less mass/weight than the Mentalist at-hand.

Also, direct mind control. You can influence, but you cannot deactivate free-will.

What is your opinion on the Touhou fandom's desire to relationship anyone and everyone?

There'd better be a good reason for it, beyond just 'hey they'd be cute together <3'. That being said, there are some occasions where just two Touhous being cute together have been done well enough to stand on it's own - provided the Touhous in question have been fleshed out and characterized, instead of just 'LOL HAY GAIZ I LIKE SHANGHAI AND I LIKE HOURAI AND I THINK THEY ARE SUPA KAWAII DESU UGUU TOGETHER'. If you can give me a good reason why Sanae and Reimu are all huggy-huggy, kissy-kissy, then I'm game. If the relationship has justification, there's no reason why there shouldn't be one.

Are there times when you're more laconic? If so, when?

Oh, all the time.

Favorite non-Shanghai Touhou character and why?

I assume you mean Shanghai doll and not Team Shanghai. It'd have to be Orin, then, after Alice and her dolls. Why Orin? Because she's cute. (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/887236/) Seriously, dat smirk.

First comes rock, then comes paper... You can't throw all of them. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!

SCISSORS

Even if it's Indiana? BV

What's wrong with Indiana? Those pictures you posted of the skyline at night were amazing.

What character in Touhou would you most like to write about, but haven't?

More of the Chirieden gang. I've used Koishi a little bit in Fresh Faces, because :telepathic hijinks:, but Utsuho and Orin have a good 'best-friends forever' dynamic that I'd love to explore.

Name five cities in the world you'd like to visit, and why.

Not only do I fail at remembering all the Presidents of America (Besides GROVER CLEVELAND :V) but I'm also hella-bad at geography on the whole. I know countries, but not cities. Mostly.
Dublin, Ireland. It's a hub of civilization that I'd be comfortable in, but then it's like, an hour and a half drive and BAM! Glorious rolling green hills and countryside as far as the eye can see.
Anywhere in Germany. Since only about 10% of Germany is dense civilization, and the rest of it is woodlands or farms, it'd be an amazing place for getting back in tune with the natural world. Also Sakana and Iryan <3
Iceland! Same reason as Ireland. Also because there's an Ammy in Iceland, and he seems like a pretty cool Time Lord guy. Hell, just being able to hang out with Ammy would be amazing for me. I can't guarantee he wouldn't want to bash my skull in from frustration after a while, but it'd probably do me worlds of good to be able to osmosis some wisdom from him.
Raleigh, North Carolina. It's a quaint little place that also happens to have that aforementioned friend who ultimately helped me decide to pursue massage therapy! She's a pretty cool guy. Er... wait...
Somewhere in Canada. I hear everyone is so polite up there. Plus, if I wander around enough, I'm liable to pick up my very own Mystearica!

If you could take any of the staffers on a trip to see the world, who would you choose and why?

Only because I literally just spotted all the crap that he's been through, Benny1. He could seriously use a vacation. I'm sure the other staffers could use one too, but... seriously. Bro's been through a bunch of shit in the past straight year, he needs a break.

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

You'd be disappointed at just how boring of a person I am. I can safely say this is the most reckless thing I've ever done. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uidLsQ0izns)

Where's the beef?

At Wendys!

Am I the only one who doesn't care for that signature?

Probably not. There aren't many people around here who are massive fanboys for Shanghai and Hourai like I am. Thing is, though, I was threatened with excommunication if I changed it, so :x

Where are the Purvis of yesteryear?

Didn't you ask Ruro this? Did you lose track of them again so soon?

How epic is your beard these days?

It's actually currently just a mild goatee and mustache combo. I trimmed it down just a few days back. I wouldn't say it's so much of an 'epic' beard as it is a 'rogue-ishly charming' one. I'm a very charming guy. It's my dump-stat.

What's the trick to a good shoulder massage?  People tell me I'm very good, but no one's ever been able to give me one that didn't hurt like hell.

Assuming this is the left shoulder. Place the flat of your palm of your left hand on their left shoulder-blade, and with your right hand, seize the top of the deltoids/trapezius, but do not 'pinch' per se so much as squeeze - kind of like you're gently wringing a sponge out. Then, with your left hand, push into the scapula and elevate it - that is, bring it up with mild pressure, skyward. Proceed to do clockwise-counter-clockwise alternating rotations with the scapula while gently rolling the muscle in your right hand through your fingers.
For the right shoulder, alternate right hand/left hand, obviously. Body mechanics play an important part in how good a massage feels.
The most important thing to remember about a massage is that it's muscle manipulation, NOT bone. They shouldn't be pushing or squeezing on your clavicles. Squeezing muscle against bone is one of the quickest ways to inflict pain. (That being said, don't fight a massage therapist - they'll nail you in the joints and shut you down, and be all like WHAT DID YOU LEARN, and then turn your muscles back on, and you'll be all :C sadfaec)

What part of America's dickFlorida do you live onin?
We should break out of Florida, [water] guns blazing. 'cause it's so hot. :derp:

Central Florida, Seminole County. And yes. We should.


I don't read PSL a lot, what are a few of your favorite stories there you would recommend?

Well, the more people we get started on White Rose, the more people there'll be cheeping for continuations - but Ruro is a busy lady, so we really shouldn't torment her like that (but seriously go read it anyways it's amazing and is one of the stories that contributed to me liking the Earth Spirit Palace residents as much as I do)
PSL has a subforum called KGB. Poke around in there - those stories are completed. In there, you'll find gems like Rising Star - the story of Shou and how she came to be one of Byakuren's disciples. It's a very powerful story, especially during her 'final trial' thingy. That had me cursing and swearing and then finally crying many manly tears of happiness when it was finally resolved. ...never liked Nazrin anyways :troll:
Then, Sound of the City. I'm not personally a big fan of Aya, but this is some amazing characterization. It literally takes a character that, honestly, I saw her more as a troll and an annoyance, and turned her into a character, a person, someone that I actually was interested in seeing what they did next.
Mystia Lorelei vs The Hunger has possibly the single most hilarious take on the Yuyuko x Mystia schtick that goes on all over the place, while still being an excellent story about Mystia dealing with one of the problems with being a Youkai - that is, having a sweet tooth for sweet meats.
Then there's Forsake the Future, Pursue the Past. You can read that if you want to see how hilariously bad I was when I started in on Touhou fanfiction :derp:
In PSL itself, there's an amazing story in progress still called 'What Alice Found There'. Obviously, coming from me, I'm a little biased, being a massive Alice fanboy and all, but don't let that stop you - Alice isn't even a very major character yet. She has a presence, don't get me wrong, but she isn't the focus, yet. Instead, we get some fantastic characterization behind Heida no Aya, the incarnation of Maire before Akyu, as well as a good origin story on Gensokyo itself.

I suppose this is a distant tangent in relation to massage therapy, but what do you think of things such as acupuncture for alternative therapies? More out of curiosity, because I really am not sure how they work :x

Acupuncture is more or less just a very advanced style of the Shiatsu modality. And with a lot of holistic healing methods, it works very well, if you actually let it work. Holistic healing remedies aren't like aspirin; you don't pop 'em back, then go back to your daily life. If you get a massage, and the therapist tells you to go home and take a hot shower, they're not just saying that because it'll help you relax - they're telling you because you need to go and take a hot shower after a massage or your muscles will become even stiffer than they started, before the massage.
If you want a really off the wall modality that you'd think no one would ever even think of offering because they'd be afraid of being called quacks and snake-oil salesmen, look up Reiki massage.

What animal would you associate yourself with the most?

Turtle. I'm often times slow to act, always observing, always watching, and when you piss me off, I snap. Also, I swim a lot.

Why Shanghai?

It's not just Shanghai, actually. It's Alice, Shanghai, and Hourai all in unison. The thing about the three of them that entices me isn't so much that Shanghai and Hourai have so much OMG KAWAII DESU UGUU artwork but rather because of the mental acuity that Alice would need to be able to field and maintain a swarm of dolls like how she does. For someone who's as much into mental evolution over physical evolution, can you really fault me for being attracted to that?
Also, puppetry is kind of cool. Also I tend to play Minion-mancers in any sort of game I play that gives me the option to do so.

Attack or defend this statement: "The end never justifies the means."

This can't be cut in stone. Depending on the situation determines if it's appropriate or not. To use one of Ruro's answers from her Ask a Staffer thread as an example - 'If you don't kill this person, they WILL go out and murder dozens more.' Obviously, the ends justify the means in this case - you have to resort to murder to stop this person from perpetuating murder.
However, that doesn't excuse you from just pulling someone out of their Very Nice Car and blowing their head off their shoulders just because you want their Very Nice Car. Saying this falls ONLY one way or ONLY the other is about as dumb as trying to convince people that you are ONLY emotional or ONLY logical. No, no you're not. There's logic to emotion, and emotions can influence logic (in incredibly abstract fashions, mind you, but still. You can logically predict someone will behave based on emotional patterns which can be identified logically blah blah blah I'd really explain this better but I'm sure I have like ten more posts waiting for me after this and I'm not a full-blown psychology student leave me alone ;-;)

What is your favorite color?

Blue! Or purple. The darker shades of both. Blue is the color of expression. I myself am rather enjoying the new theme. Much more vibrant, and, like I said, blue is the color of expression, and being into stories as much as I am, obviously my fifth chakra is my most active one.

How do you like your eggs?

;-; I can't cook eggs to save my life.
Unless you want scrambled eggs. Or French Toast. I can make French Toast. But every time I try to make sunny-side up or eggs over easy, I botch it and end up having to just scramble them.
But if someone who CAN cook is preparing them? Scrambled, whites only! I actually like the taste, believe it or not. The health benefits are just a bonus.

Tuna VS Sea Bass VS Chicken. Which one wins in a no-holds barred cage deathmatch?
All weapons permitted, even ones that could level the planet, like a nuke.

How the hell are those things going to use weapons? And clearly it would be the chicken, by default. The tuna and the sea bass would end up suffocating after a little while, being tossed in a cage like that. Then the chicken would eat them! That's mean. Why would the chicken even need a nuke? Pfft.
Unless it was Sakana's tuna-half. In which case it would viciously attack with the 'OVERDUE' stamp until the sea-bass and chicken submit.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: theshirn on July 22, 2011, 02:47:40 AM
Oh, it's not that I don't like Shanghai and Hourai, I just don't think the pic is particularly cute. ???

And that sounds about right for what I do, actually!  Good to have someone tell me I'm doing it right!  I think the problem when people try to massage me is that they pinch (I have almost no muscle mass).
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Janitor Morgan on July 22, 2011, 03:02:20 AM
SCISSORS

ROCK--...wait, wha-- (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlUwQXW1WdE#t=2s) ...you may have bested me today, but I'll get you yet!

Anyway, what is your favorite dessert? Fruit? Meat?

Why no noses?

Are you surprised you've gotten this many questions already?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hello Purvis on July 22, 2011, 05:01:37 AM
Which one are you again? The froofy one?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Iryan on July 22, 2011, 05:49:20 AM
Lie back and think of Iceland (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ok_bRgRyk)
Aw man, that's relaxing!
Quote
I'm a very charming guy. It's my dump-stat.
Actually, the dump-stat is the one you put in as little points as possible so that you can put more points in the stats relevant to making your character the unstoppable killing machine you want him to be.  :moogy:
Quote
There's logic to emotion, and emotions can influence logic (in incredibly abstract fashions, mind you, but still. You can logically predict someone will behave based on emotional patterns which can be identified logically blah blah blah I'd really explain this better but I'm sure I have like ten more posts waiting for me after this and I'm not a full-blown psychology student leave me alone ;-;)
/me highfives Esifex

New question:
What kind of music do you usually listen to, and what is your relationship to  :dragonforce:The Metal   :dragonforce: ?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on July 22, 2011, 06:28:16 AM
What's wrong with Indiana?
Everything. I was referring to you wanting to switch with Matsy, since he lives in Indiana. I actually live in a nice place. :smug:

Top five favourite books?

How did you get into Touhou?

I don't believe I've ever heard you mention this, so: what are your political inclinations, if any?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Solais on July 22, 2011, 09:37:28 AM
I know you're a kind of guy who is all about the mind, so I guess you have a "mindspace" as I call it (you know, the world in your head what defines you and your mind). If it's not too personal, could you tell us how it looks like?

Are you a wizard, Esi?

What do you think, why is that people can find supernatural fictional sceneries beautiful as real ones, why they can perceive non-existing things as beautiful?

And then and then STUFF HAPPENED?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Bio on July 22, 2011, 12:18:45 PM
Your lordship,
What is the meaning of life?
Please submit in a 1000+ word essay. Include anecdotes and the like.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 22, 2011, 12:35:09 PM
This is relevant to my interests (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deK_KXkSLkM)



Anyway, what is your favorite dessert? Fruit? Meat?

Peach cobbler a la mode for dessert. I could literally just finish eating a bajillion calories and I will still go out of my way to eat any cobbler that is put in front of me. I am just that much of a sucker for it - I know I shouldn't, but I will anyways.
When it comes to fruit, I'll pretty much eat anything that isn't citrus. However, I'm particularly fond of cantaloupe, strawberries, and bananas, in no particular order. Matter of fact, I have a crate of strawberries in the fridge waiting to be snacked on.
...correction, I now have a crate of strawberries that I am snacking on. In this case, strawberries can count not only as a fruit but also a dessert! Because I have a small dish of chocolate to dip them in.
For red meats, I'm not that exciting. I don't have a favorite cut of steak or anything like that - if it's cooked to medium-rare or medium, I'll eat it. I tend to go for prime rib, though, but not always. Otherwise, I vastly prefer fish and chicken, and mostly for their flavor. When it comes to 'healthier' food choices, I'm pretty lucky. I've developed a taste for the flavor of the 'better' stuff - whole grains, wheat breads, fish, egg whites, fruits and the like. 'Course, it's like pulling teeth to get my brother to eat the same stuff.

Why no noses?

Danbooru links approaching rapidly, be wary of NSFW banner ads
For some reason, I just find it incredibly cute on MOE KAWAII DESU UGUU drawings - which I am a bit of a sucker for. Just look at that Youkai moe! (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/526892/) The lack of a nose is my trigger for defining something as cute.
Mind you, that doesn't mean that I immediately label detailed art that also happens to lack a nose - a la Utsuho and her Bahamut cannon (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/577106/) - as cutesy, either. And I won't snub it just because it has noses drawn, either (Exhibit SDM (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/610500/)), nor will I immediately dismiss it. It's just, if a drawing is done up deliberately to be cutesy, I find it more cutesy if the nose is left out for simplicities' sake.

Are you surprised you've gotten this many questions already?

A little, yes, actually. I knew the Ask a Staffer (Staffer of the Week? SotW!) threads were pretty popular, but I didn't think I'd get such a high turnout in just the first few hours.

Which one are you again? The froofy one?

There's a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy joke in there and I'm kicking myself for not remembering it. And hey, weren't you one of the sub-Librarians way back when? Deserter!

Actually, the dump-stat is the one you put in as little points as possible so that you can put more points in the stats relevant to making your character the unstoppable killing machine you want him to be.

....ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I knew that. I was just seeing if you did.

New question:
What kind of music do you usually listen to, and what is your relationship to  :dragonforce:The Metal   :dragonforce: ?

I can't say 'a little bit of everything', because now that I think on it, it's more or less like 'I only listen to about half of the types of music out there.' I won't listen to jazz, blues, hip-hop, R&B, rap, country, raeggaeton, 'dubstep', growl-heavy metal, or very repetitive synthesized/techno music. I do listen to techno, though, so long as it's well done.
I will typically go for classical/strings, first, then hard rock, then metal, then techno. When it comes to classical music, there really isn't an instrument that I don't like. I'm especially a sucker for horns and strings, and I know how to play a violin. I don't have one, which sucks big time, and I haven't for a long time, so by now I'd be lucky to remember how to play Ode to Joy. When it comes to unusual instruments, I tend to gravitate towards harps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBnlAfvbqE), accordions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H8q5JeZvUE), and harpsichords (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9pf8r40VMk&t=2m10s).
Finding good music is more or less like a drug for me. If stories stimulate my imagination, music stimulates my emotions, and being as spiteful as I am to the people around me and the state I'm in, my emotions are unusually stagnant.
So far, the best way I've found to wake up the dead emotions in me (and seriously, you have no idea how much of a head rush that is for me) is quite simply with the Blue Man Group. They have a cover of Donna Summers' 'I Feel Love' that to this day never fails to make me cry with just how incredible it is. The song by itself, not so much - though it is a major part of this - but it's also knowing that the Blue Man Group plays music for the sheer sake of having fun while they do it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ytn66X4ZI) Yes, they're commercialized, they're rolling in the big bucks (and blue latex), they're 'corporate' or whatever you may want to say, but they still do it for the fun of it. They know that music sings to the heart, the home of emotion. Another song of theirs that just makes me grin like a flippin' idiot because of just how awesome it sounds (to me) is the opening measures of their Piano Smasher song, where they are literally smashing a piano... well, they take a grand piano, stand it up on its side, and take the top cover off and then start smashing the strings with a giant rubber mallet. It really just sounds like a bass guitar, but knowing the concept behind it - that these guys were fucking around so much and decided 'hey, lets see what it sounds like when we rip a piano apart and play it like a drum!' It just sounds neat :3

Everything. I was referring to you wanting to switch with Matsy, since he lives in Indiana. I actually live in a nice place. :smug:

Eh. Even if it has the same amount of idiots, but more diverse weather patterns, I'll take it. If it has the same weather patterns (yuck, I hate year-round humidity saturation) but less idiots... hmm... tough call. I'll just move in with Ruro. Or Iryan

Top five favourite books?

I'm assuming I can't count each of the different books in the Night Angel Trilogy as books one through three, huh? In that case, top favorite book - currently, at least - is the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. I've gone on about him quite a bit in the past, especially around here, because I feel that it's a perfect set of stories for the demographic that seems to dominate MotK/PSL.

Then we have The Black Prism - another story by Brent Weeks. The guy is good at crafting up interesting worlds and characters, and the rules behind the magic in his stories stays consistent within themselves, which I myself have found to be a tricky feat to accomplish. The Black Prism involves color magic, which is based on how light enters a mages' eyes and what spectrums they can use. It's really pretty cool, but unfortunately I haven't found out if the story was completed or aborted halfway through.

I've got a little excerpt from the Bardo Thodol on my nook, and it's done a lot to help me find comfort with my Granpa's passing. It's the first step I took towards looking into Buddhism, and I intend to follow up on it further and see what else I can do and how I can fit Buddhism into my life.

I really like the Harry Potter series, too. I mentioned it elsewhere in the Shrinemaiden Cafe in one of the threads who currently escapes my knowledge (I think it was the 'Things that make you ask 'why?' thread) that it's a very rich world to explore in your imagination, and the characters are very balanced and well-done. It says a lot for you when you can carry a story on a main character who is completely and totally average at everything he does, with the exception of flying - and come on, it's not like he's going to fly Voldemort to death. Seriously. Hermione is a better magus than Harry is. Multiple people even comment on it in-story.

I'm always going to have a soft-spot for the X-Wing Series of Star Wars novels. Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson have an often-times hilarious, but otherwise incredible dynamic with each other. They are true Bros. I particularly like the books revolving around the Wraith Squadron they put together - Myn Donos and 'Face' (which, yes, he is more or less the same role as Face from The A-Team) are my two favorite Wraiths, followed by Lara Notsil. She's so conflicted, but she keeps pushing on anyways to get a unique identity for herself and prove that she's not just everyone elses' doormat.

Now, don't think that because I'm listing this one as number five that it's my least favorite - it's not. But the Savage Empire series of books (or what I've read, at least - the first three of the four/five that have been published) are exceptionally good reads, too - especially for me. It focuses on what is essentially the two vastly differing schools of paranormality; telepathy and telekinesis. The telepaths are called Readers, and, in my opinion, have probably the closest representation of what true telepathy would actually be like, while the telekinetics - the Adepts - have the fantasy-flavor of telekinesis, which somehow includes being able to create lightning strikes.

How did you get into Touhou?

A spunky little girl who wouldn't stop ramming it down my throat at the slightest chance she got. I describe building a mech in Armored Core based around high agility and top speed? BAM! Aya reference! Make a missile platform mech with lots and lots of forward-facing heavy artillery? Hey, that's just like Marisa! Don't stay in front of her if you like to stay un-crispified. Any mention of fire-based powers? If you can't figure this one out there's no helping you.
It started mostly with just little character bios, the occasional IOSYS song (which to be fair she only picked because it actually showed the characters the songs were focused around), and the occasional gameplay video. From there, I turned to Touhou as a way to test my writing, which with the exception of Kaetir, had been growing stagnant, because Touhou has such a large cast of already-established characters. If I could write a story that used those characters and get some kind of reader-response from it, then I'd know it's not the quality of writing that's keeping people from being interested in Kaetir but something else instead.
Cue as many doujin-dives I could manage, a lot of Touhou-wiki trawling, and then Forsake the Future (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,2314.0.html) came together. I am seriously a little embarrassed by that story now, but in a good way. It's like, 'wow... I can't believe I put that together and had the balls to throw THAT plot device in there.'

I don't believe I've ever heard you mention this, so: what are your political inclinations, if any?

I don't really have any, to be perfectly honest. It's a mix of apathy and cynicism, though - mostly apathy, but the cynicism stems from the sensation that I truly and honestly don't have any leverage when it comes to political legislature or anything of the like. If I had to pick one of the two primary parties, though, I'd lean towards Democrat. Mind you that's just a lean, not a full-blown leap.

HELLO ESIIIIIIII  >:D

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I know you've mentioned your reasons for shying away from my works, but is there any reasons for your sensitivity towards horror?

Just as I've said. My imagination is, in this regard, terrifyingly powerful. I don't have to see a drawing or a motion-clip of something for it to bounce around in vivid detail in my head. Written text is just as powerful a medium for me as the visual arts. Since you can craft up such terrifying things, obviously I have a fear response to them. The human mind remembers what it fears so it can steer itself away from it, and since I tend to spend a fair amount of time in my own mind, I much rather prefer not to bump into those visceral, horrifying, mind-scourges. Nothing against your writing style, though. I have peeked through Xenophilia every now and again - especially since I was the one assigned the summation of it, and I like how you handle the Great Old One's effects with the warped text. Or whatever causes that. I just peek in for a few seconds, scroll through as quick as I can, and suddenly Hey! Big block of garbled text. Since the story is about Things That Oughtn't Be Seen, I can only imagine that's how you're handling non-Euclidean body-horrors.

Would you believe me if I said horror wasn't my cup of tea?

A little. I mean, you don't exactly have a very good track record in that regard, but I do understand what you mean by the whole 'getting it out of your head' on a paper medium thing. I just don't want to get it INto my head.

Would you give Thanato a try? :P While I haven't worked out the whole thing yet, it's very likely to be much less visceral than Xeno.

Knowing my luck I'll be the one assigned to write the summary for it  :getdown: If the straight-up gore and viscera stays down but you still manage to maintain the inherent 'wrongness' of What Oughtn't Be Seen and I still get creeped out, we'll know it's because you're a very solid writer, not just because I'm hella squeamish.

Are there any Touhoes you believe have way too much attention than they should?

Than they 'should'? Nah, not really. But there is a fairly sizable over-saturation of the SDM crowd, if  you ask me. And Eientei. I'm bored of them. Gimme more Earth Spirit Palace, or UFO folks'. Especially Kogasa. She tries her best.

I know you're a kind of guy who is all about the mind, so I guess you have a "mindspace" as I call it (you know, the world in your head what defines you and your mind). If it's not too personal, could you tell us how it looks like?

Picture mesas, rising out of calm waters. The sky either overcast, or it's night. Rain falls constantly beyond the immediate area, that being wherever the focus is. Atop each different mesa is a door leading down into them, where they become more like silos than mesas. Inside these silos are countless storage areas, many of which are locked away, all of which are rather unorganized. From whichever mesa you stand upon, you are alone, but across the way, atop the others, you can see people. Some of them notice you as you float around from mesa to mesa, but the rest of them mill about and mind only themselves. They never linger atop the mesa you're going to.
In the middle is a massive avatar of my own self-image. It's usually in a state of flux, depending on how I'm feeling at the time and how my self-esteem is doing. It has no mouth, but it always watches everything that goes on atop the mesas. Whenever it's gone, the waters aren't calm anymore and the rainstorms close in. There's never lightning.

Are you a wizard, Esi?

I am absolute bunk with a sword, and if you've seen my YouTube account, you'd know I'm not that great at archery, either, so obviously I'm not above a Grand Master there. If you mean magically, well, you've just turned into a whale, so what does that tell you?

What do you think, why is that people can find supernatural fictional sceneries beautiful as real ones, why they can perceive non-existing things as beautiful?

Because it's their own personal take on it. If I showed you a picture of Daiyousei and said 'This is Daiyousei', that'd be stuck in your head. But if I just described her and let you picture her, would she not be a more enticing character to you? Millions of people love God - whichever version they believe in. None have ever seen him. Why do they love him so much? Because of their faith that he is what they perceive him to be.
Nevermind the insinuation that 'God is non-existing', I'm just using that as an example.  As for why the surreal (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/930643/) is so often romanticized and people are attracted to it, well... think about it. We live in concrete jungles. It's all gray, it's all square, it's all the same. That's a fucking turtle flying through the air with Rainbow Dolphins jumping over him. That's awesome.

And then and then STUFF HAPPENED?

wat

What is the meaning of life?
Please submit in a 1000+ word essay. Include anecdotes and the like.

No :derp:
'Meaning of life' is actually a touchy subject for me. I haven't yet figured it out - when I have, I'll get back to you on it. But that very quandary is part of the root cause of my depression.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hello Purvis on July 22, 2011, 03:22:14 PM
Naw, I'm just the reason why anyone paid attention to PSL and it became what it is. ::smug::

>What about text adventures, eh mac?
>Why am I your favorite?
>What sorts of librarian things do you do?
>What do you do when you encounter a story that is just dreadful? Or one where characters are just used badly?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on July 22, 2011, 05:30:37 PM
Naw, I'm just the reason why anyone paid attention to PSL and it became what it is. ::smug::
Just so you know, I was throwing the idea around in my head for a while, and your encouragement was akin to a "whoa, someone else has had this idea? Then maybe it's not that crazy! I should give it a shot..." :P

Esi!

What is your opinion of Shakespeare's works?
If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would you go?
Out o' curiousity, are there any things you would like to see in White Rose?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: FinnKaenbyou on July 22, 2011, 07:33:10 PM
That's a fucking turtle flying through the air with Rainbow Dolphins jumping over him. That's awesome.
Oh hey, someone took a picture of that time we both hit a major acid trip. :o

You said you swim a lot. Why?
As a continuation, have you ever been swimming with dolphins? Apparently, they do that in Florida. If not, do you ever plan to?

What's the one thing you think you need to improve on in your writing? Productivity is not an answer.

Is there a difference between writing for entertainment and writing commercially?

You have an interest in music. Ever played an instrument yourself?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hanzo K. on July 22, 2011, 07:54:04 PM
Your thoughts on Marshmallow Cheese? (yes, it's exactly what it says on the tin.)
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 22, 2011, 09:09:49 PM
Music for a rainy day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH0LklXhIGQ)



>What about text adventures, eh mac?
>Why am I your favorite?
>What sorts of librarian things do you do?
>What do you do when you encounter a story that is just dreadful? Or one where characters are just used badly?

>Don't play them
>You're not
>Librarian stuff
>I'm not at liberty to disclose the stories that we all talk about in the Librarian's Lounge and laugh at and poke fun at the writers. That guy who wrote 'Day Planners' should be ashamed of himself, though, I'll tell you that much.

Okay, seriously, though...
>I really don't do text adventures, either parsing them or playing in them.
>Day Planners. That's why.
>I was in charge of converting completed stories into .pdf files that could be read by eReaders, but I almost immediately hit the per-post limit for attachments after like five stories. Otherwise, I just proof-read for people, and when I get the assignment, write summaries for new stories.
>Seriously though that would be mean of me to point out a story and say 'haha, that's just bad!' Although I will tell you what I did once when I found such a bad story; didn't even get further than the first sentence in before I really physically declared 'Good GOD this is terrible!' and backed out of it. I'm not going to tell you which one, though, because no one knows it because I'm not gonna be mean like that to someone who really just needs some improvement. It's not like they're a bad person, but I know that if someone had that reaction to one of my stories when I was getting started, I'd have been heartbroken. So that juicy little bit of gossip stays with me.

What is your opinion of Shakespeare's works?

I've never actually sat down to read the whole collected works. I'm more of an Edgar Allan Poe, guy, though. I highly recommend The Bells, Annabelle Lee, and... crap, I don't have my massive leather-bound tome handy - I lent it to a friend and she hasn't returned it yet @.@ But Poe wrote out a play similar to Shakespeare's style, but he never finished it. If I get my tome back I'll post it in PSL and possibly write out my own take on how I think it'd end.

If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would you go?

Just for a vacation? Nonsense. I'd become a vagabond somewhere with nothing to my name but my charm than come back to Florida. But anyways, anywhere? For just a vacation, and assuming I had someone with me who could translate? The actual mountain valley that Hinamizawa is based on, Shirakawa, Gifu.


Out o' curiousity, are there any things you would like to see in White Rose?

Mecha Utsuho's introduction to the Yatagarasu, though that's just wishful thinking, because the time-frame doesn't mesh up with the Moriya Shrines' arrival yet.

Oh hey, someone took a picture of that time we both hit a major acid trip. :o

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude.

You said you swim a lot. Why?
As a continuation, have you ever been swimming with dolphins? Apparently, they do that in Florida. If not, do you ever plan to?

Water calms me down. The only time I don't have anger boiling beneath the surface is if it's raining, my skin is wet, or I'm just outright swimming. It's a very soothing medium for me.

RE: Dolphins; no, I haven't, because it's wicked expensive and you have to make reservations for it because they only allow so many people in a day. I'd like to, though, because dolphins are pretty awesome. They're smart! Occasionally smarter than us! I wonder what sort of empathic sensations I'd get from being around them.

What's the one thing you think you need to improve on in your writing? Productivity is not an answer.

Word diversity. I take the same phrase or term and run it into the ground without realizing it. Also productivity

Is there a difference between writing for entertainment and writing commercially?

Yes. Writing for entertainment is writing what you want to read. Writing commercially is writing what someone else tells you to. The trick is to find someone to tell you to write what you want to read.

You have an interest in music. Ever played an instrument yourself?

Violin, piano, and drums. Very little of all three. I'd love to pick them up and become proficient again, though. I have plans, of sometime down the road, buying a Viola body and a set of Violin and Viola strings for it. You can tune a Viola with Violin strings to sound like a Violin, though it's tricky from what I hear. But knowing how to play both of them would be loads of fun for me. Somewhere in the bottom of my little reptilian brain I wish I could be the next TAM or Marasy. I know it won't happen, but hey, I can dream, can't I?

Your thoughts on Marshmallow Cheese? (yes, it's exactly what it says on the tin.)

Is that like Krazee Cheese? The canned stuff that has a nozzel like a whipped-cream can? Because if so,  :barf:
If it's cheese-flavored marshmallows, :barf:
If it's marshmallow-flavored cheese, :barf:
Don't get me wrong, though. I like marshmallows and I like cheese. Just not at the same time. I also don't like that crazy processed cheese fluff.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hanzo K. on July 22, 2011, 09:30:46 PM
What if it was a marshmallow that looked and tasted exactly like a fine block of Parmesan?

Your preferred cheeses? personally, I'm quite partial of Parmesan myself, but I wont say no to a nice block of pepperjack.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 22, 2011, 09:44:44 PM
What if it was a marshmallow that looked and tasted exactly like a fine block of Parmesan?

Your preferred cheeses? personally, I'm quite partial of Parmesan myself, but I wont say no to a nice block of pepperjack.

You need to be a staffer so I can question your love of cheese.

Anyway, Esifex. When writing, would you say it's accurate that you put your own emotions into the work? (I'm thinking about this because I just finished the first arc of White Rose, and that ending bit... dear god, I almost cried.)
When writing, what would you say is a good balance between emotional drama and comedy?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Suikama on July 22, 2011, 09:54:45 PM
/me highfives Esifex
/me initiates three way (highfive)

Speaking of threeways though...
With the exception of the on-going battle against my own sex-drive and unbridled anger issues, no. The rest of the fragmentation I've done to my own mind was unpleasant enough - the memory loss, the delicate temperament, and the straight change in personality is not something I intend to intentionally put myself through again. I resist my sex-drive and hormones for personal reasons, that mostly stem from an utter distaste for the people in my generation around me - and while yes, I know that wherever I go, there are GOING to be dumb people who are reckless and treat their bodies with complete irreverence, there is just such a large concentration of them in Florida that I'm actually saddened by it. This may also have something to do with my rage issues - both the self-inflicted sexual frustration and being surrounded by idiots.
Oh man, I don't want to impose or be too preachy here, but fighting your own sex-drive is not really healthy and it's probably one of the contributing factors to your rage (although you probably already figured that out), and that rage causes you to further repress yourself and so on.

Read this (http://7chan.org/lit/src/Robert_Glover_-_No_More_Mr_Nice_Guy.pdf) and tell me how much it relates to you.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 23, 2011, 01:34:42 AM
Read this (http://7chan.org/lit/src/Robert_Glover_-_No_More_Mr_Nice_Guy.pdf) and tell me how much it relates to you.

Got through the first chapter, looked again at the rest of the chapters

I am deliberately keeping myself celibate, it's not because of some sort of frustration. That book seems to culminate in 'How To Stuff Your Penis In The Vaginas Of Your Choosing'.

That doesn't relate to me at all. Nice Guy Syndrome? Yes. A lot. Wanting to fuck something to relieve stress? No. Not in the slightest. Especially not with any of the women in my local area, in my generation. None of them have any clue what they themselves want to begin with, and the ones that do know what they want don't want a relationship. I'm not going to settle for some clueless broad who's going to be miserable with me or without me just so I can be miserable, too. I get enough misery just from knowing this. Knowing it, and knowing that it's going to be an issue until I can get out of Florida, and put myself where people are more concerned with looking ahead in their lives, rather than making sure they're Alpha Dog in the pack.

While I am made a little uncomfortable by how many bullseyes that comparison list of Common Traits for Nice Guys hits with me, I'm also incredibly offended by the notion that I won't be happy until I can command a woman to submit to my cock. I'm sorry, but that's just absolute fucking bullshit. You can say that's just the virgin in me talking, that I don't know what I'm talking about - because honestly, no, I don't have any direct experience in sex. But I can tell you what I've noticed has happened to the people around me once they started getting sexual - misery. More misery on top of their already hectic and frankly fucked-up daily lives.

Yes, deliberately fighting my own body causes undue stress that frankly frustrates me. But right now? With the choices I have available to me? It's the lesser of two evils. By far.

Maybe I need to stop being such a doormat to my friends - definitely - but the last thing I need is to buy into the ideology that 'fucking things makes you happy'. I have yet to see a single shred of evidence to that, from all the people around me.
Don't try to make an example of the joys of child rearing. I'm 23 and unemployed. A child would ruin me and I won't be able to raise it in a way that would make me proud as a human being. Every other person around me that's had sex already, including the great many of them who have kids already - and yes, remember, I'm in Florida, and the high school I went to was nicknamed Chlamydia High, and in middle school, no less than a dozen girls out of a student body of just under 500 got pregnant - have been nothing but miserable, terrible people.

I'll take anger issues that I can regulate through meditation over becoming someone that I'd be disgusted to be. No matter how many times I have to make that choice.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 23, 2011, 01:52:26 AM
Music for the sake of loving music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7MhpFF1vv0)



What if it was a marshmallow that looked and tasted exactly like a fine block of Parmesan?

Your preferred cheeses? personally, I'm quite partial of Parmesan myself, but I wont say no to a nice block of pepperjack.

Parmesan marshmallow would be weird, just because of the texture. Bleh. Shivers just thinking about it.
I'm a big fan of pepperjack, myself. Made myself some poached eggs for breakfast this morning and put them on a sandwich with a slice of pepperjack and some crushed red peppers. I'm a spice aficionado. THE SPICE MUST FLOW 8|

When writing, would you say it's accurate that you put your own emotions into the work? (I'm thinking about this because I just finished the first arc of White Rose, and that ending bit... dear god, I almost cried.)
When writing, what would you say is a good balance between emotional drama and comedy?

I try to make an effort to feel similarly to a situation at hand while writing a scene, but I've found that that doesn't always make the emotion transfer very easily. For example? If I'm bawling my eyes out because I'm a sobbing, snotty mess who can't see straight, I'm obviously not going to be writing at the top of my game. So at times, I force myself to be as emotionally neutral as I can be while writing, then go back and re-read it and tweak it slightly to make sure it works right. Then, I browse my incredibly huge library of music available to me and see if I can't find a song that amplifies the emotion I'm trying for at that particular scene. And since I'm usually listening to music no matter what I'm doing (even while sleeping, I leave a playlist going on my computer {which isn't specifically geared towards 'sleep-therapy' music or anything - it's just music I like to listen to until I fall asleep}), I'll occasionally make sure that what I'm listening to won't trigger the emotion I'm writing for, ergo screwing me up in the middle of writing. But, I'm not as extreme as Ruro, in this regard - I'll never turn to Brittany Spears while writing :derp:
By the way, I did cry while reading White Rose. Since I have - for the most part - gone out of my way to suppress any powerful emotions, when I'm in a safe environment (like, my room, at home, and I'm settled down to do some reading) I won't fight it if it comes up. It's very refreshing at times, y'know? Gets all the nasty out of you. Like puking, for the soul. (Cookies if anyone recognizes that quote)

As for a balance between comedy in the midst of drama, I feel that even in daily life people do their best to inject whatever flavor of humor they have into any situation at hand. Because when you look around and step back and really think hard about it, you realize, life sucks, man. But only if you let it get to you. There's no reason to stop and dwell on that, so you're better off just hiking up your skirt and pressing on, and laughing at whatever you can afford to. That being said, though, there are obviously times where humor isn't appreciated. I think I probably would've hauled off and decked someone if I heard anyone crack a joke at my Granpa's funeral, if I weren't weak as a kitten at the time.
For comedy in the midst of emotional drama, that's when it becomes situational. If someone is grieving? You don't joke about the subject at hand. Anything else is fair game. If they're just sad about something? The subject matter is fair game now, to a certain extent. You don't want to have someone come across as being unnecessarily vicious to someone when they're sad - that'll just come across as kicking someone when they're down. But if there's a dynamic between the characters and you can make the one crack a joke that makes the other burst out laughing through all the snot and tears they're suffering through, then that is a good way of showing a good connection between the characters. If the sad person can smile and say 'You're such a dork!', then obviously the humor was in good taste. If the expected response is 'What the fuck, you ass!' then, no, comedy has gone a little too far into bad territory.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hanzo K. on July 23, 2011, 02:03:52 AM
Hell yeah. Gotta love a nice and spicy meal.
I've always wanted to try super-spicy curry myself. Wasn't there a special documentary or something on the world's spiciest curry?
Can't remember for the life of me what it was called though, but I'd like to try it someday..

What it it was a Block of cheese that tasted like a marshmallow?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Jana on July 23, 2011, 05:37:01 AM
I am deliberately keeping myself celibate, it's not because of some sort of frustration.
...
Yes, deliberately fighting my own body causes undue stress that frankly frustrates me. But right now? With the choices I have available to me? It's the lesser of two evils. By far.

I think you're being a little unclear, so let me choose my words carefully. Are you remaining celibate because you think sex is some kind of corrupting influence? It's pretty plain to see that you're hurting yourself already, whatever method and reason you've got. To be frank, I think your words are a little... Offensive?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 23, 2011, 08:33:09 AM
Who's the most influential person in your life and why?

Do you think Gensokyou exists somewhere? (Besides in the minds of ZUN and others)

If you could use danmaku, what would your bullets be?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 23, 2011, 12:58:22 PM
Techno, well-done, even if a little over-done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajusn7b9Fxk)



What it it was a Block of cheese that tasted like a marshmallow?

We've long since dove into the rabbit's hole, haven't we? You're just getting weirder and weirder. And soon, you're going to ruin cheese for me. :C

I think you're being a little unclear, so let me choose my words carefully. Are you remaining celibate because you think sex is some kind of corrupting influence? It's pretty plain to see that you're hurting yourself already, whatever method and reason you've got. To be frank, I think your words are a little... Offensive?

I'm remaining celibate because I live in Florida, the land of Nothing To Do. The joke about Florida being God's Waiting Room is more or less true; unless you want to shell out ridiculous amounts of money to go to one of the major theme parks we have here - and depending on where you live, that means even more money for the commute - there really isn't a lot of anything to do besides hang out at the mall. There's very little social scenery down here if you're not a tourist. On top of all this Nothing going on, Florida also has a very diverse population. If you drove through Orlando for the length of maybe half a mile, you'll most likely have driven past a half-dozen different ethnicities. Now, don't pounce on that and think I'm being racist; I bring this up for a reason.
People will sooner gravitate towards their own ethnicity in a random crowd, in their neighborhoods, in schools, where ever. When you start having people go for strength of numbers, you start forming a mob mentality. Within itself, that's all fine and dandy. Everyone gets along.
Now take a half-dozen mobs and put them next to each other, and suddenly you have a whole lot of cock-flexing going on, everyone trying to be Top Dog and be the dominant force. It's fucking stupid.
And my problem with it is that there are far too many people in my generation who are caught up in it. Every potential girlfriend in Florida that I could get has more often than not had some kind of exposure to this mentality and in turn subscribes to it. The ones that haven't are either already taken or are in the same school of thought as me; stay away from relationships until everyone around you grows the fuck up and matures a little. The reason why Florida is a fucking terrible place is because no one bothers to mature here - they're more concerned with the 'here-and-now', rather than the 'down-the-road'. I'm not someone who can be happy making minimum wage working in a McDonalds just because my minimum wage and my girlfriends' wages combined can afford us a shitty apartment - especially because that means that I'll be very dependent on having a girlfriend, and being unable to support myself on my own if we should break up. It'd be a relationship of necessity, not emotion, and that in turn means we'd be way more likely to piss each other off constantly than actually appreciate each others' company. This harkens back to my argument about a lot of relationships in my environment being massive sources of frustration and anger for a lot of the people around me. There's a reason I feel this way, and a reason I feel that Florida is the worst goddamn place to live, and both reasons are directly linked to each other. That is why I've personally demonized sex, and that is why I want to get out of Florida so badly. Until it stops being a casual, 'recreational' activity for the people in my age bracket around me, I want nothing to do with it. I don't feel like catching something when I lose my virginity, and unfortunately, it seems like every girl who's 'on the market' has already had multiple partners. Am I saying all girls are like this? Fuck no. That'd be a like hanging up a big neon arrow over my head that says in bright shiny letters 'MASSIVE MISOGYNIST/ROYAL ASSHOLE'. I know better than to make such a specific accusation. I know that this ideology is incredibly flawed. But the problem is, it's still more than 70% applicable to the girls around me, and ergo, I'm going to play it safe.
I don't think sex is a corrupting influence, per se, but I do believe that it causes a change in someone on a rather deep mental level. In some people this could manifest as corruption, in others, maybe maturity, but in most, hedonism. I'm already hedonistic enough - I listen to music obsessively for the high I get off of good music, I waste countless hours playing pointless video games for the primal sake of entertainment, I eat the food I do for its taste, not for the health benefit (in this regard I've lucked out, because I like the taste of most healthy food). The last thing I need is to be reckless with something so serious as procreation, at my age, in my current income bracket - that being 'zero annual income'. When I'm established, have a good job that can support me, then sure, I'll start looking for a partner, and I'll most likely end up fucking her brains out. Until then, I'd rather look at something that has the potential to royally fuck my life up from a very logical position. It's just not a good idea for me, or for a lot of the people around me, so I'm not going to do it. Not until I - and any potential girlfriends I invest in - grow up.

Who's the most influential person in your life and why?

Never really put much thought to it. There is no 'big-name' celebrity that I can point at and say 's/he's my role model'. If I had to think of someone, it'd probably be my friend Brittany. We're excellent foils for each other, and we use each other as sounding boards constantly. She comes to me for my Libra trait of assessing all the angles, and I go to her for her Capricorn ability to plow through tough decisions.
Before anyone pounces on this and says 'Esi! Look! Female that you get along with! Go out with her!', NO. We're good friends. We'd be terrible mates for all the reasons that we're good friends. On top of that, she's a poly-amorous bi-sexual who's had more partners than I can care to remember. I'm monogamous. And terribly inexperienced. I'd be a disappointment for her sexually.

Do you think Gensokyou exists somewhere? (Besides in the minds of ZUN and others)

Physically? No. But boy, would I love to be proven wrong.

If you could use danmaku, what would your bullets be?

Blasts of hard light mixed with warped-air bubbles, and my character accessory would either be a Lyre or a scale.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Suikama on July 23, 2011, 04:23:57 PM
So basically the only thing you'll fuck in Florida is Florida itself? BV
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 24, 2011, 12:09:16 AM
Believe me when I say that Esi is pretty much right about all he said about sex. I fully understand why he wants to wait; most in our age bracket just aren't ready. Anyway...

Have you ever tried to split an arrow down the middle with another arrow?

Have you ever been hunting before?

What if that marshmallow tasted like a steak that was cooked and seasoned to perfection?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Tamer Anode/Cathode on July 24, 2011, 12:54:22 AM
I appreciate your opinions on sexuality, Esi. You seem to be showing a lot of maturity and long-term thinking, and I'd like to think you're looking more for an emotionally fulfilling long-term relationship with a person you respect than satisfaction of short-term wants. I'd like to say I share the same opinion, but while you've looked to meditation and such to cope, I found... other means.

As a PSL Librarian, what do you think of me aspiring to be a professional librarian?

White bread or whole wheat?

Gaming system of choice?

Spices you'd suggest to someone wanting to expand their culinary horizons?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 24, 2011, 01:32:11 AM
This isn't ironic at all for the last few questions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQlIhraqL7o)

Not that many questions this time. SPEED ROUND, GO



So basically the only thing you'll fuck in Florida is Florida itself? BV

That sounds painful, why would I try to stick my penis in the ground  :wat:

Have you ever tried to split an arrow down the middle with another arrow?
I've tried to many times, but the one time I did, it was an accident. And someone elses' arrow. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQsZ42-Fr20)


Have you ever been hunting before?
Nope. Not even interested, either.


What if that marshmallow tasted like a steak that was cooked and seasoned to perfection?
WHY DO YOU ALL WANT TO BOMBARD ME WITH MARSHMALLOW QUESTIONS
And steakmallow? What the hell is with you people? ;-;

I appreciate your opinions on sexuality, Esi. You seem to be showing a lot of maturity and long-term thinking, and I'd like to think you're looking more for an emotionally fulfilling long-term relationship with a person you respect than satisfaction of short-term wants. I'd like to say I share the same opinion, but while you've looked to meditation and such to cope, I found... other means.
So have I. I'm not that innocent.

As a PSL Librarian, what do you think of me aspiring to be a professional librarian?
I'm actually hella-jealous. I would love to organize books in a massive massive county library or somethin like that. Hell, I did it all through middle and high school during my lunch hours - got a light snack, went to the 'media center', and grabbed a cart of books and took 'em to their places on the shelf.


White bread or whole wheat?
Whole wheat between those two choices, but I'm a big sucker for tomato basil bread.


Gaming system of choice?
PC first, then PS3, then 360. Nintendo just doesn't hold my interest anymore - nothing after GameBoy Advance.


Spices you'd suggest to someone wanting to expand their culinary horizons?
Garlic salt instead of regular iodized salt! It's better for you, and you can use a lot less and still get a noticeable change in flavor. Also, try using a lemon-pepper rub on chicken or fish. Eez deleeshus.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Suikama on July 24, 2011, 02:11:43 AM
That sounds painful, why would I try to stick my penis in the ground  :wat:
Well.... (http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Touhou_Love_Stories:_The_Bad_Ends_%28sixth_thread%29#Kanako.27s_ropething_.2F_Sanae.27s_hair_ornaments_.2F_Youkai_Mountain_.28by_A_Hamster.2C_2008-03-30.29)
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 24, 2011, 05:21:38 AM
Due to technical difficulties, Esi will be unable to answer any further questions tonight.
Direct any inquires as to cause or consequence to one 'Suikama Dash'
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 24, 2011, 10:26:48 AM
So, stuff happened?

Ever have one of your female acquaintances attempt to decorate you with her makeup?

What's one bad habit you have that you'd like to kick?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Minch on July 24, 2011, 10:51:55 AM
PFFFF. Suikama :V

If you have 5000 dollars, what would you do with it?

Why do you hate Florida? Would you move to L.A. instead?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Suikama on July 24, 2011, 04:20:47 PM
oops i broke esi :3
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Molten on July 24, 2011, 04:25:47 PM
Favorite color?
If you got one wish, what would it be?
Mundo goes where?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome is this site?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 24, 2011, 09:28:13 PM
Blame Iryan for this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKPgmN5jTg)



So, stuff happened?
That came after.

Ever have one of your female acquaintances attempt to decorate you with her makeup?
Yes. Blue sparkly hair gel. I didn't know it was happening until she was halfway done, because I was reading and she was behind me and being very careful. It wasn't until I rolled my neck to get a kink out that I felt something happening.

What's one bad habit you have that you'd like to kick?
Laziness/lack of motivation. I know there are dishes in the sink waiting on me right now, but before I can do that, I have to empty the dishwasher, and that's just :effort:

If you have 5000 dollars, what would you do with it?
Pay Mom. Half my student loan, gone!

Why do you hate Florida? Would you move to L.A. instead?
I haven't exactly heard good things about L.A., to be frank. Gangs are just as much an issue and the air quality is far and away worse than where I live now.

Favorite color?
Blue. I mentioned earlier that it's the color of expression, as well, which is another reason why I like it so much.

If you got one wish, what would it be?
More wishes BV Okay, seriously, the ability to warp reality.

Mundo goes where?
Oh come on, that's almost too easy. Couldn't you have made it a little harder?
MUNDO GOES WHERE HE PLEASES

On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome is this site?
Well, I spend about 90% of the time Firefox is open, here, so I guess 9. Even though I only go between about three or four subforums.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 24, 2011, 09:44:35 PM
Do you have your own Shanghai and Hourai dolls?

Have you ever attempted puppetry before?

If you could have a doll version of any member of MotK, who would it be?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 24, 2011, 11:20:06 PM
What kinds of music do you enjoy?

What are your thoughts on fanservice in anime/manga?

What do you think is the most interesting scientific field?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Shadoweh on July 25, 2011, 03:53:27 PM
Gasp, now how did this go so far without the obligatory questions?

Obligatory how did you find MotK?
Obligatory how did you become a staff member?
Obligatory what DO you do here as staff?

Your Librarian persona is the psychic that only speaks german or something, right? If so, why?
What feelings are invoked by "Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai, Hourai, Hourai, Hourai, Hourai!"
Why are there so few Yuka x Alice fanfictions here? :< Wouldn't Pajamas!Yuka and Chibi!Alice be SO CUTE?!
Do you have a preferred Alice pairing?
Does it bother you that Alice doujins are 75% TsunAlice, 95% more about the other person then her and 99% end when she shacks up with Marisa?
Can you recommend any good fics or doujins about Shanghai and/or Hourai?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 25, 2011, 07:32:59 PM
Okay so yeah maybe this is cheating a little bit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ULb5GPwa8)
It's still good music, leave me alone



Do you have your own Shanghai and Hourai dolls?
I don't actually own any memorabilia from any of my interests, with the exception of my computer, and my longbow. The rest of my possessions are just my clothes. And my nook, though I count that under 'computer', but I get this feeling that someone is gonna be like 'WAIT YOU HAVE A NOOK :V'. I also have a feeling that it would've been Sakana. He's a shifty guy like that.

Have you ever attempted puppetry before?
Hilarity ensued. Needless to say, I won't be attempting it again anytime soon. I just don't have the fine-motor control in my right arm for it. Thankfully I have enough to be able to undo catastrophic tangles.

If you could have a doll version of any member of MotK, who would it be?
Librarian!Esi Good question. Do you mean like a figma doll, or, more like a doll-doll, or a puppet-doll? In any regards, probably...
Huh. I really dunno. Maybe Iryan, just so I can have him around to blame constantly. Blame him for why the water in the kettle boiled away. Blame him for the music I link (though this time it's actually Ruro's fault). Blame him for the economy

What kinds of music do you enjoy?
I answered this already D: But to reiterate, lots and lots of different kinds, though I tend to gravitate towards the lyric-less. I love a good song, don't get me wrong, and I'll sing along to the best of my ability (RE: Diablo Swing Orchestra, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Red Hot Chili Peppers) but most of what I listen to is purely instrumental.

What are your thoughts on fanservice in anime/manga?
Not enough I really don't read enough manga to have an opinion on that, but I can still answer. I'm gonna have to echo Ruro once again, too; if there's no reason for it to be there, then it doesn't really need to be there. If it's done tastefully, though, and has a justification, then, sure, I can tolerate it. Hell, I'm only human. I like boobies as much as the next guy. (Just not big ones, on account of being a massage therapist, and knowing all the troubles those will cause me)

What do you think is the most interesting scientific field?
Doesn't anyone read the preceding questions? D: Paranormal phenomenon. Unfortunate that so many people decry any of it's findings as 'well I couldn't reproduce it so clearly it's a load of horse-feathers'. That's because you don't have the right sensitivity, yo. Some people are born athletes, some people are born charming, and some people draw the short straw and look like the south end of a north-bound horse. Same goes for having the mental acuity for telepathy and astral projection/remote viewing, scrying, precognition, and the like. A lot of that also has to do with whether or not the mind itself will let it happen. If you don't think it's possible for your mind to see something in another room, it won't. You're convincing your mind that it'll fail, so it fails. There's a certain and specific amount of proprioceptive sense you need for this sort of thing to work for you, just like you need a certain amount to be able to coil all the muscles in your legs properly to give you a seven-foot vertical leap.

Gasp, now how did this go so far without the obligatory questions?
Cuz you weren't here yet! :O


Obligatory how did you find MotK?
Obligatory how did you become a staff member?
Obligatory what DO you do here as staff?
Actually, that first one was asked already. So was the third one.
Obligatory how I became a staffer! When I came in, the only forum that I reeeeeeeeally hung around was the Creative Fanworks forum, back before it was split into PSL/AAA. All I did was read pretty much every bit of literature that was posted, but I also left little notes of encouragement in what I read. 'I'd love to see this continued!' 'Keep going, I wanna know how this ends!' 'I love where this is going.' Stuff like that. So I was a pretty vocal cheerleader, if you will, towards the other writers. Because of the sheer volume of those little notes and stuff I'd littered the board with, Sakana and Ruro both knew just how much of the fanworks I'd read - which, at the time, was very nearly just about everything posted. When it came time for them to start organizing for the Index to be put together and they started calling for volunteers, they saved a spot specifically for me (Ruro did, at least. I think Sakana may have been worried about the Law of Conservation of Germanness, even though by default he gets more than I do. We've since smoothed that patch out.) because I more or less had a head-start on being able to summarize the stories.
Go figure that when I got assigned my first batch of stories to summarize, roughly half of them were ones I hadn't gotten around to reading yet. Just as well, because then I ended up reading them. Everyone was happy.

Your Librarian persona is the psychic that only speaks german or something, right? If so, why?

Only speaks German (despite being a psychic, who would therefore know and be fluent in every language spoken around her) to troll people. German because I'm German, and if I can't speak German in reality, than I will in fiction. She's fluent in English, obviously, and has no qualms with speaking it, but would sooner just talk directly into someones' mind, where there is no language barrier - thoughts are concepts, not letters arranged into words. Psychic because, well, come on now. Haven't you been reading my answers? XD

What feelings are invoked by "Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai, Hourai, Hourai, Hourai, Hourai!"

That video was only as inane as it was because they had to come up with some nonsense lyrics to match Alice's theme song. When you already have the music written, you'd be surprised how tricky it could be to write lyrics to a song to match it. You have to get the syllable counts to match up with the measures available to you. The theme-song itself is nice. The IOSYS video that goes with it is just weird. CHECK IT GEE CHECK IT GEE CHECK IT GEE UGG UGG UGG UGG UGG

Why are there so few Yuka x Alice fanfictions here? :< Wouldn't Pajamas!Yuka and Chibi!Alice be SO CUTE?!
Could be, but unfortunately you asked this question before you asked the next. Take a peek.

Do you have a preferred Alice pairing?
No, I don't. My whole attraction to Alice is, as mentioned before, because of the mental acuity I assume she'd need to be able to multitask the control of so many dolls at once. In a sense, she's a very enlightened mind, with an intellect to rival Patchouli's and the temperament of, say, Youmu (who is canonically shown to be very serious - which has nothing to do with level of intelligence, mind you, which explains Yuyuko trolling her so much). In short, she is Gensokyo's Nikola Tesla (http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/gallery/tesla1.jpg) - too busy with educating herself and advancing her field of study to have time to invest in other relationships...

Does it bother you that Alice doujins are 75% TsunAlice, 95% more about the other person then her and 99% end when she shacks up with Marisa?
... including ones with a short-lived human. Also yes TsunAlice needs to die in a fire. She's a goddamn puppeteer. Have you ever met a puppeteer? They're pretty strange people. Of course she's going to come across as a little off. She's a Youkai, she's a puppetmaster, and she's a Magician. All three of these things are not exactly conducive to 'normality'. She gets shipped with Marisa less so for the sake of it being a good match for Alice but more so because Marisa has a harem reputation to uphold. Nitori makes a better match for Marisa because they're both such inquisitive minds, constantly working at making the Next Best Thing. Alice just wants to perfect her magic, and possibly just safeguard the world from her Grimoire. Not sure on that last bit yet.

Can you recommend any good fics or doujins about Shanghai and/or Hourai?
Danbooru. Hoi hoi. Shanghoi. (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/521801/) Beyond that, no, not really.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 25, 2011, 07:51:16 PM
A. Sorry, must have missed the music one. I am reading this, but I'm only human.

B. To be honest, I don't really consider it science if it can't be replicated by anyone, anywhere (with the right environmental adjustments, of course) but eh, to each his own. I guess that's why I didn't take that one into account.

Have you ever read a fanfic that turned one of your least favorite characters into one of your most favorite characters, or at least made you like them a whole lot more? Not characters you were neutral about, mind you, but characters you actively disliked.



Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Reddyne on July 25, 2011, 10:50:40 PM
Doesn't anyone read the preceding questions? D: Paranormal phenomenon. Unfortunate that so many people decry any of it's findings as 'well I couldn't reproduce it so clearly it's a load of horse-feathers'. That's because you don't have the right sensitivity, yo.
:objection!:

Explanation time from a resident science guy. The reason why paranormal phenomena are not (yet) taken seriously by the scientific community is that one of the very principles of the scientific method is reproducibility. Coincidentally, these concepts of paranormal phenomena are unexplored and nebulous enough that they lack falsifiability, so they, by law of scientific method, cannot be dismissed. Also, even a slight variation in the wording of a hypothesis provides a new hypothesis which can be tested, so even if one concept is out-and-out proven false, a very similar or specific concept could be proven true. Still, the key is the ability for these concepts to be tested in a manner that creates a reliable and predictable result. Paranormal phenomena typically lack definition and could benefit from a distinct value that defines it. Properly state the concept or element of what you are testing, test it in a controlled manner, then REproduce the result within definable limits, and it will gain a lot of credibility. It's how science has done so many of the things it has for the world. Any bit of reproducibility will help push it from pseudoscience and into the proper scientific realm. Until then, apples will fall down and not up, ducks will go "quack" and not "I'm the ghost of your uncle Luke! Couldja spare us a fiver?" and 1+1 will equal 2 and not cheesecake even if that would make math a lot tastier.

Anyway,

What's one thing that you would like to change about yourself and what one thing would you never want to change?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 26, 2011, 06:00:32 AM
Ever locked yourself in a place deemed to be "haunted?"

What do you think about Touhou ghosts?

Is Youmu's ghost half a marshmallow? That tastes like a cheese steak?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Alfred F. Jones on July 26, 2011, 07:29:48 PM
If you could change any historical event to have the outcome of your choice, what would you change and why?

How good are you at the Touhou games?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hello Purvis on July 26, 2011, 08:50:45 PM
Paranormality question: How does one distinguish sensitive from deluded? There has been a history of people utter convinced of things that have been proven to be, on analysis, suffering from mental issues instead.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 27, 2011, 01:44:05 AM
The song that made me want to learn violin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwICXwLBmo)



A. Sorry, must have missed the music one. I am reading this, but I'm only human.
Happens to the best of us. But not me. I'm a cyborg. *_?

B. To be honest, I don't really consider it science if it can't be replicated by anyone, anywhere (with the right environmental adjustments, of course) but eh, to each his own. I guess that's why I didn't take that one into account.
It's like math, too. Sometimes you need to be unable to prove its false. That's why it's such a gray area - no one can definitively prove it's real or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Reddyne has done an excellent job of saying it much more clearly than I.

Have you ever read a fanfic that turned one of your least favorite characters into one of your most favorite characters, or at least made you like them a whole lot more? Not characters you were neutral about, mind you, but characters you actively disliked.
Sound of the City by our own Tengukami. I really honestly did - and most of the time, still do - perceive Aya as just a big nuisance, who got pleasure out of harassing and giving people a bunch of shit. Sound of the City turned that trollish aura into one of determination and a powerful sense of curiosity.
If being neutral about a character - or set of them - Rising Star would've done it for the Palanquin Ship-Temple crew. Beyond that, there really aren't that many Touhous that I actively dislike. I'm incredibly bored whenever the Eientei crew is brought up, and only mildly disinterested by Mokou and Keine, though I do appreciate the last two because 1)The phoenix is my favorite mythological creature, and 2) Keine. Just Keine. (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/)

:objection!:

Explanation time from a resident science guy. The reason why paranormal phenomena are not (yet) taken seriously by the scientific community is that one of the very principles of the scientific method is reproducibility. Coincidentally, these concepts of paranormal phenomena are unexplored and nebulous enough that they lack falsifiability, so they, by law of scientific method, cannot be dismissed. Also, even a slight variation in the wording of a hypothesis provides a new hypothesis which can be tested, so even if one concept is out-and-out proven false, a very similar or specific concept could be proven true. Still, the key is the ability for these concepts to be tested in a manner that creates a reliable and predictable result. Paranormal phenomena typically lack definition and could benefit from a distinct value that defines it. Properly state the concept or element of what you are testing, test it in a controlled manner, then REproduce the result within definable limits, and it will gain a lot of credibility. It's how science has done so many of the things it has for the world. Any bit of reproducibility will help push it from pseudoscience and into the proper scientific realm. Until then, apples will fall down and not up, ducks will go "quack" and not "I'm the ghost of your uncle Luke! Couldja spare us a fiver?" and 1+1 will equal 2 and not cheesecake even if that would make math a lot tastier.
That would make math a lot tastier. Also, I HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BY LOGIC! I suppose deep down I always did understand that there's a very good and valid reason paranormality is considered a quack field.
That being said, my friends and I have done a good series of meditation, followed by a very informal test; sitting across the room, backs to each other, calling out numbers that the other was looking at on an index card. I managed to score 14 out of 20 on one of them, and never below 7 of 20 on the other three 'turns' I took. But, again, one of my friends who was participating with us never managed to get more than 4, so that whole reproducibility thing rears its ugly head.

Anyway,

What's one thing that you would like to change about yourself and what one thing would you never want to change?
I'd rather change my voice back to how it should be. I deliberately tore the crap out of my vocal chords by screaming along to some metal songs way back when, because I didn't like how a 6' 4", 220lb fella still had a soprano voice. Now I can't actually sing anything without my voice breaking, and my voice deepened on its own accord and now I sound like George Takei (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s1iQODC5OI). Who's voice breaks on occasion.
I wouldn't change my personality. I particularly like my large, powerful calves- I mean... being a Libra, and having an almost-to-the-T match-up with the standard Libra personality.

Ever locked yourself in a place deemed to be "haunted?"
Not locked in, no, but I have been around places. My massage school, as a matter of fact, is 'haunted' by Mrs. McGillicuddy, the school owner-proprietor's wife, who was murdered when she came home early one day to a burglar in their house. She was shot and killed. I've felt a vague presence while organizing the store-room that we kept all the massage tables in.
I've also gotten some really nasty vibes from nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, and, I hope for an unrelated reason, the dungeons in St. Augustine's fort.
I'd love to get out to the St. Augustine Lighthouse, though. I had no clue it was such a hot-spot until Ghosthunters went out there.

What do you think about Touhou ghosts?
Youmu is a pretty cool guy. Eh sweeps gardens and dosent afrade of nething.
The Prismriver Sisters are actually pretty cool, in my book, despite the rather depressing backstory. Ghosts, who can telekinetically play their instruments, get to play music for however long an eternity they want? That would be the best kind of eternity for me.

Is Youmu's ghost half a marshmallow? That tastes like a cheese steak?
/me sobs in the corner, unable to ever think of marshmallows again

If you could change any historical event to have the outcome of your choice, what would you change and why?
I wouldn't. Temporal paradoxes terrify me. But, assuming I could without any direct repercussions to myself... the outrageous trolling against Nikola Tesla by Edison. If they'd gotten along, instead of competed so vehemently, who knows what sort of scientific advances Tesla could've given us? Instead, he was harassed, prosecuted, and more or less just utterly fucked with without relent. Not cool.

How good are you at the Touhou games?
AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH BAAAAHAAHAHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAAHAHAA
I'm not :fail:
With the slight exception of a few of the characters in SWR/UNL. I'm kind of good with Alice, Komachi, and Meiling. Not nearly good enough to warrant trying to fight anyone else who knows what they're doing, though.

Paranormality question: How does one distinguish sensitive from deluded? There has been a history of people utter convinced of things that have been proven to be, on analysis, suffering from mental issues instead.
By testing it in a controlled environment. Just because I swear up and down that the trees are talking to me but no one was around to verify it doesn't mean anything to anyone else. Especially once I tell them that the trees only talk to me when I'm in my underwear and screaming at squirrels.
There are methods for testing someone, or someones. My friend does all the gung-ho research on how to test it; I just go with the flow and deal with what I can sense or feel when it comes to me.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 27, 2011, 02:13:54 AM
Oh yeah, and before you get the wrong idea, I'm not saying I deny the paranormal. I tend to be skeptical about most things, especially as a man of science (to be), but I have my own reasons for being open-minded about the paranormal. I'd tell you about it now, but this is your "talk about yourself" thread, not mine. :P

Anyway, if you could go back in time (or just move through space in the present with ease) and meet any one historical figure, who would you choose? (unless this has already been asked, in which case I really feel like an idiot. :derp:)

Obligatory nonsense question: How much Rou could a Rou Kan Ken if a Rou Kan so Can You?

Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: E-Nazrin on July 27, 2011, 03:32:50 AM
Quote
Not locked in, no, but I have been around places. My massage school, as a matter of fact, is 'haunted' by Mrs. McGillicuddy, the school owner-proprietor's wife, who was murdered when she came home early one day to a burglar in their house. She was shot and killed. I've felt a vague presence while organizing the store-room that we kept all the massage tables in.
I've also gotten some really nasty vibes from nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, and, I hope for an unrelated reason, the dungeons in St. Augustine's fort.
I'd love to get out to the St. Augustine Lighthouse, though. I had no clue it was such a hot-spot until Ghosthunters went out there.

Have you had the ventilation checked recently? (http://www.cracked.com/article_18828_the-creepy-scientific-explanation-behind-ghost-sightings.html)

Quote
By testing it in a controlled environment. Just because I swear up and down that the trees are talking to me but no one was around to verify it doesn't mean anything to anyone else. Especially once I tell them that the trees only talk to me when I'm in my underwear and screaming at squirrels.
There are methods for testing someone, or someones. My friend does all the gung-ho research on how to test it; I just go with the flow and deal with what I can sense or feel when it comes to me.

I remember watching a video in school that covered some Russian things about people with psychic power and magic water that could do special things. But every time challenges to the belief came up, they'd add new conditionals to explain away the failure, like the involvement of attempts to study it making it not work. Would you accept this?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 27, 2011, 05:34:41 AM
Six degrees are all that separate these guys from me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MknhYSj_w-I)
Or something



Anyway, if you could go back in time (or just move through space in the present with ease) and meet any one historical figure, who would you choose? (unless this has already been asked, in which case I really feel like an idiot. :derp:)
You're in luck, because at this hour, I don't really remember if I answered a question like that yet. Yay sleep dep! In that case, this would be the number two answer. If not, then number one. Nikola Tesla! I'd tell him to get a safety deposit box in another name and make copies of his notes. Entrust it to his assistant. Keep his stuff from getting vandalized.
Number two would be Bill Nye. Just 'cause. He's a cool dude.

Obligatory nonsense question: How much Rou could a Rou Kan Ken if a Rou Kan so Can You?
More Rou than you, that's for sure :derp:

Have you had the ventilation checked recently? (http://www.cracked.com/article_18828_the-creepy-scientific-explanation-behind-ghost-sightings.html)
Low-frequency sounds also induce sleepiness, though these are sounds that are in the audible range of human hearing. I refer specifically to the sound fluorescent light bulb-tubes make.

I remember watching a video in school that covered some Russian things about people with psychic power and magic water that could do special things. But every time challenges to the belief came up, they'd add new conditionals to explain away the failure, like the involvement of attempts to study it making it not work. Would you accept this?
As cliche-Zen as this would sound, I'm pretty convinced that trying to force it tends to make it not happen. You can't just grab water by brute force and make it still enough to see a reflection - you have to be chill and not fuck it up. Bad analogy, I guess, but hey, :sleepdep:



I'm starting to answer them as they come because more drama is being whipped up at home thanks to Dad and his Ludite tendencies, so I have no way of knowing if I'll have internet access all the way up to Wednesday, when this thread ends.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Yukarin on July 27, 2011, 08:36:59 AM
Favorite class on TF2 and why?
On the topic of TF2: what irritates you the most now that F2P noobs are coming to town?
I'm bored. What would you suggest to me that I can do in order for this boredom to pass?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Mimachiro on July 27, 2011, 11:03:09 AM
If you could change on physical part of your body, how would you change it and why?

If you could pilot a mech from any mecha series, which would it be and why?

Steak marshmallow vs. cheese marshmallow: who wins?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 27, 2011, 03:01:59 PM
Holy Marasy! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kdA1c139vs)



Favorite class on TF2 and why?
Pyro, because of the sheer excellence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhdZgD7Burg) that you could be once you're proficient with it. Everything else is pretty straightforward, with the exception of the Spy; but enemy in front of you, push button to kill.

On the topic of TF2: what irritates you the most now that F2P noobs are coming to town?
Medics that heal Heavies only. For example, when I'm running around, and fail to reflect a rocket, and suddenly, ouchies! I'm down to about 30 health. Then, the Heavy/Medic team runs by, and I call for out for the Medic, but he ignores me and continues healing the already-overhealed Heavy, who isn't even taking fire at that point because I've withdrawn from the front lines.

I'm bored. What would you suggest to me that I can do in order for this boredom to pass?
Learn an instrument! You didn't say if money was an issue :3

If you could change on physical part of your body, how would you change it and why?
I'm assuming you mean one. And with the question phrased like that, it really narrows down my options. I would change my mass, by way of using cardio workouts, because cardio is the easiest way to slim down without gaining muscle bulk, and because I'm not very fond of being a fluffy guy. Now that we've relocated the Treadclimber to the living room, so it's 1)no longer out-of-sight, out-of-mind, but 2)in front of the TV, I could potentially burn loads and loads of calories while watching FMA: Brotherhood. Never did get around to watching it, and it's on the instant-queue now.

If you could pilot a mech from any mecha series, which would it be and why?
Hmm. It's a toss-up, really. An Elemental, from BattleTech, because it's small and manageable, but still has the ability to JumpJet around and be totally awesome? Or a Cauldron-Born, from the same series, because it's a five-story-tall mech (or so) and looks totally bad-ass? Or perhaps even the Big O, just because I like the giant ramrod-pistons that it uses to amplify its punches, or maybe one of the mechs from Code Geass? Man. Or maybe even a custom-designed mech from Armored Core. Choices.

Steak marshmallow vs. cheese marshmallow: who wins?
Me. Because I have an opposable thumb. And fire.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hello Purvis on July 27, 2011, 03:10:20 PM
Reals or Supers?

Esi, if I were to theoretically prod you, would you squeal funny?

If I were to prod you to help inspire me with a thing, would you be willing?

Brittanian Virtues, Gargish Virtues, or Ophidian Virtues? THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Tamer Anode/Cathode on July 27, 2011, 03:57:54 PM
Besides TF2, what other games have you been playing lately?

Any board games you like to play?

What do you think of cats?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Hello Purvis on July 27, 2011, 06:02:40 PM
Rrrroguelikes?
Pyromania?
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 27, 2011, 07:36:37 PM
I think of Utsuho when I listen to this for some reason (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_1yz0cETM)
Possibly because of the association of 'Morning Star' and being slowly subverted, a la Kanako convincing her to consume the Yatagarasu



Reals or Supers?
wat

Esi, if I were to theoretically prod you, would you squeal funny?
More like a grunt than a squeal

If I were to prod you to help inspire me with a thing, would you be willing?
Depends on the thing. Does it involve making steam-punk airships? Then yes. Otherwise we will have to discuss.

Brittanian Virtues, Gargish Virtues, or Ophidian Virtues? THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
wat

Besides TF2, what other games have you been playing lately?
Killing Floor, the occasional match in League of Legends, and that's about it. I let my WoW subscription die because I wanted to focus more on job-hunting, and I wasn't doing anything in WoW but sitting and town and trolling the Global Trade chat.

Any board games you like to play?
I love me some Battleship! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUxOt8E_R6g) Also, Clue, because when played properly, it's a lot of fun. Unless someone decides to troll and doesn't fess up to questioning, though, in which case it drags out to a big 'process of elimination' mess.

What do you think of cats?
They're fine, too. But I will always take a Siberian Husky or an Alaskan Malamute (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D07rb5KsiSE) over a cat any day, though I'd love to have a cat with either of those two dogs. Preferably two of those two dogs, because they're social and love company, and even if you raised the cat and dog together so they weren't always at each others throats, cats aren't social enough for a Husky.

Rrrroguelikes?
Pyromania?
No. Yes. I keep reading your signature, making you fail repeatedly. How does this make you feel?



Seriously if you glazed over the Battleship link you should really go click it. It's not a CollegeHumor gag or anything - it's legit.
Also, I think it's about time to start winding down and making room for the next thread. It's officially Wednesday everywhere, now!
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: E-Nazrin on July 28, 2011, 02:15:34 AM
Seriously if you glazed over the Battleship link you should really go click it. It's not a CollegeHumor gag or anything - it's legit.

Quote
This video contains content from NBC Universal, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.
Sorry about that.

\(^o^)/
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Aya Squawkermaru on July 28, 2011, 03:52:59 AM
Hmm... That went by much faster than expected.

Darn NBC Universal...

Well, I can't really think of any other questions anyway since we've never really talked much before, but you do seem like an interesting person~
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 28, 2011, 06:40:49 AM
\(^o^)/
That was incredibly fast.

Try this link, then? (http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/battleship.html?showVideo=1#belowNav)

Well, I can't really think of any other questions anyway since we've never really talked much before, but you do seem like an interesting person~

It's the mind-games. You love having someone else in your head.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Yukarin on July 28, 2011, 10:51:17 AM
Learn an instrument! You didn't say if money was an issue :3

I'm getting an EWI next year, and I'm going to learn it to the fullest!
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: Esifex on July 28, 2011, 03:22:46 PM
Okay, I wasn't informed as to who the next Staffer to be interrogated was, but we're officially on Thursday now, meaning I've had my full week's worth of attention.

If you have any further questions or curiosity about the Librarians and what we do, swing by PSL, or #scarlet-library on PPIRC.net. There is even a handy webchat (http://webchat.ppirc.net/?channels=scarlet-library) you could use if you don't have an IRC client! Don't worry, it's not a boring place. We try not to talk about conjugation and the differences between verbs and adverbs too much.
Title: Re: Entry 23 - Still More Staffers To Go Through
Post by: FinnKaenbyou on July 28, 2011, 03:28:07 PM
How much Rou could a Rou Kan Ken if a Rou Kan so Can You?
As the local expert on this subject, I can say with confidence that the answer is seven.