Hello again, Valourians - it's good to see you all once more! My name is Eclipse, and on this month of Oktober (sic), where orange and skeletons and forum events and weather forecasts run rampant, we'll have to keep our eyes well alert for what will happen next. There's only so many choices to interview for staff, and the more interviews pop up, the less and less choices I have. Yet though they steadily grow slimmer, they still are not empty, and I have currently settled to interview @[member=LostSpirit] for this month. She was one of the very first people I truly met at Lake Valor (if she wasn't the first, 8542Madness was), and our relationship began with an amusing start that consisted almost entirely of calculus tutoring. ...And that's what it still is, honestly, through no fault of anyone. Coincidentally, October 2016 marks Lost's 2-year anniversary of becoming Member of the Month, and with a name like LostSpirit, it's oddly thematic for this time of year. I planned neither of those things. Questions asked by Eclipse, the interviewer, will be in this colour. Answers given by LostSpirit, 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? Hi! My name is LostSpirit, but most people call me Lost. I'm currently a senior in high school, as well as a Super Moderator here on Lake Valor. I'm not a bot, I swear! How did you come up with your username? I'm sure there's an interesting tale behind it. I seem to remember this story every time I think of it. It all began when I was watching Youtube when I was around eight. At that time, there was a prominent Pokémon Youtuber called SpiritofSteel. I was a pretty big fan, and so I took homage to him with "Spirit" when he eventually disappeared. I was also pretty into more "emo" usernames at the time with usernames such as "amonglostsouls." I just combined elements from the two to get LostSpirit. What initially brought you to Lake Valor? But beyond that, what made you stay at Lake Valor? I came from a pretty strange place. I was originally introduced to Lake Valor while I was on Omegle, a site where you meet strangers. While shifting through all the people, I came across a man with a mask of Liam Payne's face (it was @[member=Achromatic]). Little did I know, I was captured on his stream and went on my way after I talked to him. That was when another person found me. It was another member, @[member=Pari]! She had seen me on stream and gave me a link to it. I came for the weirdness and I was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming community. What's your favourite part about Lake Valor, and why? My favorite part about Lake Valor is the playful attitude. I love the goofy antics of the members. After all, what other site does all the weird things we do during April Fools? "I'm the Trash Man" Danny DeVito is pretty funny. What is your current role(s) on Lake Valor? How did you come into it, and how do you feel about it? I'm currently a Super Moderator here on Lake Valor. At first, I had grown quite close to the staff, so I believe they had a better grasp of who I was as a person. There was a small opening at the time for a new moderator, so I was asked if I wanted to be a part of the staff. I did eventually say yes and thus, I became a moderator. As my time as a moderator grew, I also gained responsibility over many different sections. When I was asked to become a Super Moderator, my responsibility widened to what it is today. I thoroughly enjoy moderating; I like the responsibility. It's also pretty fun to clean up sections and make it look organized. I just love the breathing room I can create after archiving old threads. Moderating does certainly have a lot of aspects to it - keeping things clean, keeping members in line when necessary, answering a plethora of questions, and overall making sure that the forum looks presentable. You as a Super Moderator have a lot on your plate, but what would you say is your favourite part (or duty) of your position? I'd have to say my favorite part about the position is having access to all of the forums. I can actually fix anything I want and fill in for another if necessary. You would not believe how many things I edit or move in order to make the forum an appealing place. What did you first expect (or feel) when I approached you for an interview? I was really excited! I love being asked questions and I was hoping someone would approach me for an interview sooner or later. I'm not as active as I used to be, but I want people to get a feel for who I am. I think it's important to get closer as a community and I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to give more context on myself. You love being asked questions, you say? I can think of more to throw at you (like this one), but why do you love being asked questions, exactly? It makes me feel needed. It truly is a sense of fulfillment. After all, what's the purpose of knowing something if you're not going to share it? Spreading the wealth of knowledge is fun and really makes my world go 'round. Do you have any hobbies? What sorts of things do you enjoy doing? I don't have that many hobbies, but I enjoy viewing a lot of entertainment. I love reading manga and webtoons. I find it amazing how artists can convey a story using just a few pictures and some dialogue. In addition, I also enjoy listening to music, particularly K-pop. It's very diverse and every artist puts so much work into the craft. It's phenomenal and I highly recommend checking it out if you're even slightly interested. Are there any particular qualities you really like about yourself? I like my reliability. I take pride in the fact that people can rely on me for help. It's fulfilling in a way to give the joy of giving, and helping people understand something that they wouldn't have otherwise. 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.) I very much admire my Calculus teacher. She's absolutely amazing. She really puts out her best effort for her students to work hard, dedicating so much time for tutoring. In addition, she's really friendly. Everyone seems so afraid of her because she has the most intense class, but once you get to know her, she's just so down to earth. I admire how much she cares for her students, as I don't know of any other teacher who would spend so much time in tutoring and grading papers that they would memorize handwriting. How long did it take you to 'get used to' Lake Valor? Or are you still getting used to it? Despite my strange introduction, I didn't fully take part in Lake Valor until two days passed after joining. I was pretty intimidated by how fast the chat was going. As I slowly got used to the pace and atmosphere, it didn't take long at all to be so dedicated to Lake Valor. The pace and atmosphere is certainly something to get used to, I have seen that. But what (or who) sparked or inspired your dedication to begin with? Well, I suppose Achromatic. He was always working on the site, advertising, and whatnot. He was so passionate about making the site even better than it already was. It was very inspiring to see that dedication to something that seems almost unimportant to the public eye. 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 would like to tell new members that you should not be afraid of meeting new people. I like to say that Lake Valor is my home, and it really is. The community has really welcomed and accepted me for who I am. It doesn't matter if you feel like you don't fit in. I was found on a stream and jumped into the forums. I didn't fit in at first, but I adjusted. It's scary at first, but someday, this might become a new home for you like it has for me. :::: I know a lot of the older crew are familiar with that Liam Payne mask story, but there's always someone who hasn't, and from my perspective it never gets old. So now we all have been given a chance to peer into Lost's mind and story, and like every other interview that I've seen and given the honour of performing, it is always a fantastic experience. Perhaps equally as fantastic is to see how far each of us have come since joining this lake, and noting where we've all ended up - and where we still have yet to go. The longer we stay, the longer we will tend to be connected, and the stronger (and potentially weirder) our friendships will become, no? That has been a takeaway from this interview, at least for me. There are only a handful of staff left unapproached, so for those who haven't, you could always volunteer before I "randomly" select one of you, ukukuku... Thank you all once again for granting me a fragment of your time, and I'll see you all again at the next interview! ◈◈ From the desk of Eclipse, the Pure-Black Dragon ◈◈
