Article MOTM Interview - December 2016

Hey, everyone! Here is [member='AzurAurora'] with the Member of the Month Interview. It is December the 31st (my bad, sorry late) and we honor yet another member who has become the Member of the Month! This time it is [member='Endrew Swiftwind'], the resident D&D master and all-around game lover. I am sure you have seen his Warren Weedles Avatar around the site multiple times already. Having been part of our community for a long time, Endrew is a very busy bee writing several great blog entries.

Questions asked by the interviewer, me, will be this color.
Questions answered by the interviewee, Endrew Swiftwind, will be this color.

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We are going to start with some very easy questions. This will be very easy, would you mind introducing yourself to our lovely Valorians?

Hello, people of the lake! Endrew here, and I am a member here? And you're welcome for me not using every cliche greeting I could think of.

The people I have interviewed have been great in that regard. I haven't seen a really cliché introduction before. Now I need to know. Can you please list a few cliché greetings for me?

Hello, my name is Endrew, and I have been drug-free for 17 years.

There's also this one that is fairly similar: Hello, my name is Endrew, and I enjoy long walks on the beach. (It would be more truthful if I said the forest, but then it wouldn't fit the joke).

Well, thank you for that lovely introduction. First off, congratulations on behalf of the Writers team on becoming the Member of the Month! What did you feel when you got nominated, and how awesome was it to actually see your name in that much-coveted space on the homepage?

My mind kind of broke. I was already a little out of it from being tired, and I lost the rest of my focus until the next morning.

I know you have a keen interest in D&D. How did you come into contact with the game, and how has it managed to hold your attention for so long?

My dad introduced it to me when I was little. He used it to teach me lessons that have shaped who I am today. As for keeping my attention, I love the fantasy genre. And having unlimited choose-your-own-adventure books is pretty awesome.

So, now it is time to delve into the good stuff. How did you wind up in the fun and weirdness that is Lake Valor? Is there any reason you decided to stay?

[member='Achromatic'] recruited me on fanfiction.net. I stayed because I made a few good friends that I loved to talk to. Then I just grew to love the entire community.

A big applause for the community; they seem to do everything they can to keep members afloat. What is the fondest memory you have of Lake Valor?

I have so many that it is hard to choose. I just have to say this: Any moment that I have gotten to spend talking with you wonderful people.

Having so many great memories that you have trouble choosing is great, but if you absolutely had to choose one, what would it be?

Well, I'll go with the one most prominent in my head, as it happened most recently. Getting chosen as MOTM. It has had less time to fade from my head than the others.

I guess that becoming the Member of the Month would be a fond memory. It tells you that we as the community appreciate what you do for Lake Valor. Members of the Month can be seen as the main character of that month's chapter of the great book of Lake Valor. Now, how do you think a writer would describe you in his or her book?

I am not sure. But I kinda feel like I would be the main character's best friend or something (you know, the clumsy one). I mean, I'm more of a supporter than a leader, and I crack cheesy jokes.

We can't all be the lead character, but most support characters are great in their own way, often possessing the rare talent of knowing just what to say to make the situation a bit better. Do you have one of these bizarre talents?

Maybe my ability to voice half the things I do. I have a fairly flexible voice.

That is a nice talent to have. I like hearing people use different voices. I am guessing it would not be something you would want to just give up, but what would be the hardest thing to just give up on?

There are a lot of things. But gaming or Lake Valor are two major ones that come to mind.

Hmhm, those are two things I wholeheartedly agree with. But why would it be so hard to give up either Lake Valor or gaming?

Gaming makes up the vast majority of my interests/hobbies if you use it as an umbrella category. Reading drops just books. But gaming drops tabletop, video, role-play, board, card, physical, etc. As for Lake Valor, it is like a second home. It makes up about half my social life. It is a big part of why I'm still sane. Giving up either would be giving up a huge part of my life. They're the water and food of my mind.

So, being poetic about gaming takes a huge chunk of your free time. What else do you do in your free time, except for roaming Lake Valor?

Wait... I'm not only supposed to lurk here? Woops. That joke aside, I enjoy reading, playing video games, LARPing, writing, cracking puns, and playing role-playing games.

Swiftwind sounds like one of those names you would use when playing D&D. Does your username have a special meaning to it?

Oh, is there a story here. I used to play Wizard101. I had a character named Andrew Swiftwind. A couple years later, I needed a character name for a story.

So I tried remembering the name, and remembered it wrong. I used that for a couple years for tons of stuff. It became part of my identity. And then I found out that I had remembered it wrong. But since it was part of me, Endrew has stayed.

Alright, those were all the questions I had for you. Thank you so much for agreeing to do the interview with me. Do you have any last remarks?

I'm still really honored to have been chosen. Lake Valor is like a second home to me. I love this place so much, as well as all the people here.
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That was this month's issue of the Member of the Month Interview. I thank you on behalf of the Writers team for taking time out ofyour probably very busy schedule, Endrew. Once again, congratulations. Happy Holidays to all Valorians! Stay safe and have a great time!

This was [member='AzurAurora']. See you all next time!