Greetings Valourians, one and all, and welcome! My name is Eclipse, and we're already in the 9th month of the year. Is it hard to believe how much time has rushed past us? I know I've been rather exhausted due to the fast pace of my school schedule, and I'm sure many of you have also. This time I've been granted the honour of interviewing September 2016's Member of the Month, the famed @[member="8542Madness"] - a long-standing and well-respected member of Valor, whose wit and mind are sharper than any knife and all but the sharpest of katana. I myself have many fond memories of this fellow, especially when first starting out here, and I have (and still do) respected him immensely for who he is and what he does still. Questions asked by Eclipse, the interviewer, will be in this colour. Answers given by 8542Madness, the interviewee, will be in this colour. Let's begin with an introduction. Who are you, and can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself? Hello, this is Madness! I'm just some nerd with a passion for science, games, and stories. I enjoy friendly debate and bad puns, and I have a tendency to ramble at length when given the opportunity. My pride and joy is my beard, which I am steadily growing out long enough to convince people that I am a wizard. I have noticed you can be quite the storyteller at times. You have quite a lot of stories on hand when you need to illustrate examples, or even just relate to experiences. What started your passion for stories, and what is your intent with telling them? I'm not entirely sure when it started. As long as I can remember, I've greatly enjoyed stories of all kinds. I feel as if with every story I hear I take a piece of it into me, whether it be a sort of lesson to learn from or simply something that made me feel a certain way. I suppose I tell stories when I can because I want other people to share in that as well, but I'll admit that often times it's less that I'm telling a story and more that I'm rambling and don't know when to stop talking, haha! How did you come up with your username? I'm sure there's an interesting tale behind it. Oh, I'm not giving that away yet. It's not just one story to it, as there were many, many different things that lead to me becoming Madness, but I have a long-standing tradition of not giving away the one big reason. Instead, I give a different answer every time I'm asked why I chose Madness. One day I'll give it away, but that day is not today. I will, however, provide a link to a hint here. What initially brought you to Lake Valor? But beyond that, what made you stay at Lake Valor? @[member="shinygiratinaz"], my sibling and partner in crime, told me about a cool website of Pokémon fans. Turns out I like Pokémon and websites, so I made an account and started to check out the place. Honestly, when I first joined, I figured that I'd spend a few weeks playing nice and then troll the crap out of someone once it got boring. Instead, I actually grew to love the site. I stuck around because of the friendliness and awesome atmosphere on the site. Everyone I met was happy and kind. It made me want to stick around and repay that kindness. What's your favourite part about Lake Valor, and why? Since everyone says "the community" and I totally agree, I'm going to give a related answer. My favorite section of the site itself is the Hangout Café, but that's because of the awesome community. The Hangout Café is a good place to really get to know the other members and make friends, and with a community like ours the Hangout Café reflects the awesomeness. What was your reaction about being chosen as the Member of the Month? Is there any wisdom you'd like to pass on while in this limelight? I was surprised and honored to be chosen as MOTM, but mostly thankful. The only wisdom I dare pass on is not my own wisdom, but the words of someone wiser than I. "In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that... In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger — something better, pushing right back." —Albert Camus How long did it take you to 'get used to' Lake Valor? Or are you still getting used to it? It took me around two months to get used to Lake Valor. Before this site, I never got involved in any site communities or interacted with other members. Lake Valor was a lot of firsts for me, so it took some time to figure out how things worked. Once I did that, it became easier and easier to get used to the community to the point where it was no longer a question of if I was logging on to Lake Valor that day, but when I was logging on to Lake Valor and how many times. Two months? That was pretty quick. For some people it can take much longer - sometimes even years - for people to get used to Lake Valor, and in some cases there are people who have been here for that long and STILL aren't used to it. Do you have any advice or suggestions to pass on for anyone who feels he or she hasn't acclimated to LV, or for whatever reason still feels like an outsider? For me, the biggest thing to overcome was my perception of myself as an outsider. I felt nervous involving myself in anything because I was thinking of myself as the awkward new person to the site. It took me a while to realize that nobody thought any less of me for being new. If anything, people were really happy to have me start getting more involved. The only thing preventing me from feeling like a part of the community was my own feelings of being an outsider. It's a downward cycle that's hard to break out of and I'm not going to pretend it's simple or easy, but the biggest step is to realize that all of us here at Lake Valor, member and staff alike, want everyone else to feel at home here. Put aside your nervousness for a moment and take a leap of faith to really dive into the site and start up some conversations. Quote an interesting part of someone's post and ask them more about it, check out the blogs and write some of your own, and maybe even join a role-play game. Give us more opportunities to interact with you and that will go a long way in helping Lake Valor feel like the right place for you. Do you have any people (either here at Lake Valor or outside) that you like, respect, look up to, or otherwise admire? If so, why do you admire those people? (You can mention as many or as few people as you wish.) Adam Savage of Mythbusters and Tested is a huge role model to me. He's an autodidact, which means that he's taught himself most of the skills he's acquired. He's a very intelligent and funny guy. I really like to see that and want to be more like him. I could list many more philosophers, writers, and comedians here who I look up to, but I'll stick with just one today. If you could wish for any 1 thing, what would you wish for? I'd basically wish to be in a so-called "god mode" forever. I'd have complete control over everything, but honestly the only things I'd change would be to make myself immortal and put a stop to major terrorist attacks. Once I'd done that, I'd act in the background to give people chances to do great amounts of good. I'd make sure that nobody ever knows it is me providing the opportunities, and I'd greatly reward the people who took the chance to do a great good. I'd spend the rest of my time attempting to master every skill in the world and becoming as wise as possible so as to better guide people in the future. Usually with wishes - especially ones with answers like what you gave - they tend to be asked from a somewhat selfish stance, but your outlook here seems to be entirely selfless, and to a very strong degree. People can learn a lot about others based on how they answer questions, and asking for effectively unlimited power to be used only for the benefit of others speaks to a much deeper thought pattern. What is the cause or origin of your selfless perspective, and what continues to drive it even today? When I was younger, I was bullied a lot. I'm sure many people here are going through the same or have in the past. Many people eventually learn to give the compassion that they never received, but I learned something different. I learned that if I wanted to have friends, I would have to be better than the bullies, who all seemed to be rather popular. From this I learned all the wrong lessons: pride, greed, cruelty, and manipulation. It was only years after I mastered being a terrible human being that I realized, still friendless, that I had walked down a darker path than I intended. From there, I changed paths... sort of. I didn't forget the things I had learned. To use a common phrase, I'd made my bed and it was time to lie down in it. I accepted what I had become and decided to use those skills in a new direction. I am still a prideful, greedy, cruel manipulator. I pride myself on being the absolute best. To me, being "the best" means literally being the best sort of person. I pride myself on my rule that there is no job too small or too large for me to handle if it means I can make any difference. I am greedy because I demand only the best. I demand that everyone around me lives up to the potential I know is buried within them, sometimes so deep that they don't believe such grand strength even exists, and more than anything I covet the honor of being the one to help them fully realize their greatness. I am cruel in that I am critical, harsh, and straightforward, and I intentionally do not spare people's feelings. I only care about the overall long-term benefit that my actions provide. If doing something terrible today means that something less terrible happens in the future, then I will do it in a heartbeat and with no remorse. I will not apologize for that, not ever. I fully admit to being a manipulator as well. I know how to get inside someone's head, read their heart and past, and predict their behaviors and future. I unashamedly will use that ability to the fullest. There's an incredible majority of manipulators seeking only to cause chaos. I aim to be the "white hat" of manipulators, working behind the scenes to help people live up to their potential. Few people, if any, use the unique skill set I've picked up for the benefit of others. For a long time, I didn't. The reason I care more for others now is to make up for all the past sins I've committed, and believe me there are many. While the pride keeps me on this path, it was regret and sorrow that led me to it. When I finally realized I'd learned not how to make friends, but only how to be a truly horrible person, I went through a dark time in my life. It took me a while to accept that new side of myself, and longer still to realize that maybe I could turn things around and that it could be a blessing disguised as a curse. In the end it was the selflessness of a few incredible individuals that gave me the sort of hope I realized I wanted to give to others as well. I want to help people who may be in the same place I was to find their own pride and step boldly out into the world, fully understanding themselves and helping out others the way I helped them, the same way I was once helped. Do you have any hobbies? What sorts of things do you enjoy doing? I have a few hobbies. First and foremost, I love reading stories. I used to read a lot more than I do now, but reading still remains as my favorite thing to do. More recently I've started playing D&D, as well as making and running my own campaigns. Yeah, I know, I'm a nerd. I also really enjoy playing video games, and I'm pretty sure nearly everyone here does as well. I've taken to enjoying writing my own stories, even if most of them are awful and never are seen by anyone other than myself. Maybe someday I'll have something worth sharing, but until then I'll keep it to myself and keep practicing. How do you want people to think of you, or remember you? I used to really care about this. I wanted everyone to see me as someone who tried his best to help everyone, but over time I've realized I don't care what people think of me, because oftentimes doing the right thing meant that people would hate me. So, if anything, I hope people are angry because of me. I hope that I cause people to feel offended and like they have been challenged. I hope they see me as their antagonist, the big obstacle for them to overcome. I look forward to the day that someone challenges and rises above me, stronger in the end for completing the challenge I provided. I hold to a sentiment I once shared that I'd rather be seen as the antagonist of someone's life story because it's the antagonists that always teach you something, and overcoming their challenge is what really helps you learn and grow. I want to be what helps someone grow to their greatest potential, and I guess that means that I want people to see me as their greatest challenge. I think those are all the questions I need to ask right now. It's been a pleasure to interview you, and I hope this helps the Lake to get to know you a little better. Do you have anything else you'd like to say before we bring this to a close? I'm going to make three links here. One of these links is a Rickroll. The other two are exceptionally adorable kittens. Choose wisely. Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 :::: And in the interest of fairness, I haven't clicked any of those three links...yet. I'll find out personally what I'm getting myself into. (And once I find out, I won't spoil the answer either.) But in any case, there you have it! For myself it's been a great honour and revelation to plumb the depths of 8542Madness's mind, noticing how much lay beneath what I'd already seen, and might never have figured out on my own. And for someone like me, who still feels a bit like an outsider and knows its talent for manipulating others, it does instill within me a measure of hope - and I hope that many of you who read this are similarly inspired. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and thanks for watching me ramble. I shall see you all come the next interview! ◈◈ From the desk of Eclipse, the Pure-Black Dragon ◈◈
