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Amissapanda

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Jumping on the bandwagon for once.

Why? Well, because I like to type answers to things. Writing is a passion of mine, so fair warning that my responses (depending on the questions) may be pretty long/wordy.

So... go ahead and ask! I welcome any and all questions. I know that I'm still pretty new around here, but feel free to ask me anything.
 
Do you think you have a nice sense of humor?

I have a sense of humor that varies, honestly. There's a terrible habit of puns and being punny that runs in my family. Unfortunately, at some point, I have started making those kinds of lame jokes from time to time, as well. (We used to tease my father about how we'd never make such eye-roll worthy jokes, and yet out of four kids, three of us ended up dropping these pun bombs from time to time after we grew up. Go figure.)

I'm not sure exactly what a 'nice' sense of humor entails, but I do like making 'lighten up the situation' jokes when the circumstances aren't dire, if that counts. I can sometimes also have a completely inappropriate sense of humor, though, especially when I'm around my friends (inappropriate in the sense of being perverted, that is). But I do not and will not ever make jokes about race, sexuality, or anything that can be considered offensive to any group of people. I'm not big on bathroom humor, either. I find it kind of grody/in poor taste.

So... in short, my sense of humor can be on the nicer side, but I don't limit it to 'feel good' jokes, either. I like to play the field, so to speak, as long as things don't get too gross or make someone upset/uncomfortable.
 
Why did you join tbt?

Truth be told, my searches for things related to Animal Crossing: New Leaf often led to a thread or topic on this site. After awhile, I began poking around the forum itself a bit and it seemed like a nice little community. Also, the majority of my friends are not gamers and the ones that are don't really play games like Animal Crossing, so I thought it would be nice to socialize with some folks who were into the same thing. I did have one friend who joined here awhile ago, so she was at least partially-influential in my decision to join. I haven't seen her on here much since, but we talk outside of this site, so that's no big deal. I actually tend to be pretty shy, but I really do have an interest in making friends and being a part of communities. It can be a little awkward for me to adjust to, but in the end, I'm usually glad that I joined any number of communities/sites/forums and always seem to find some cool people that I get along with. That makes it worth it in the end, even if there are bad/poor experiences along the way.
 
do u r8 me 8/8?

On a serious note though, What was your first gaming system?
 
On a serious note though, What was your first gaming system?

Nintendo Entertainment System. The original GameBoy is a close second, but NES was first. I have a lot of fond memories of games from that time, including my first RPG, which was Dragon Warrior IV. I remember being home on snow days from school in first grade and playing that all day long (or watching my brothers play, as we had to take turns). I also used to play the original Tetris on it, and the only game we could get my parents to play with us was Pictionary, so that was fun to do as a sort of 'family time' activity once in awhile. Other notable games I enjoyed playing or just plain laughing about were Micro Machines Racing (for some reason, my little brother and I found the Breakfast Table race course and the bathtub to be hilarious, especially when knocking computer players into Cheerios, Milk, or whirlpools in the bathtub), Phantom Fighter, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros. 2 and 3 (we didn't have the first game, for some reason), and the bane of my existence which was The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (I have yet to see someone that can beat that game without use of emulator save states). Good ol' NES holds a lot of fond memories of growing up for me.

Is ACNL the first AC game you've played?

It is, actually. I find this surprising, since I tend to like Slice of Life types of games with mellow gameplay that aren't very demanding of the player. I remember having heard about the series years and years ago, but I never actually played anything before New Leaf. That said, I'm not sure I would properly enjoy them as much now after having already played New Leaf extensively. But I do feel a little bit of regret, since I'm sure I would have enjoyed the earlier AC games if I played them back when they were released.
 
When have you noticed you had a passion to write and express

Pretty early in my life, but it didn't hit "home", so to speak, until middle school. I was a painfully shy and introverted kid when I was growing up. I was that sort of person who would stay quiet when being teased/bullied and try to keep to myself as much as possible and ignore whatever else that I could. It got to the point where I stopped eating lunch because I never wanted to go into the cafeteria anymore for fear of people playing tricks on me, bullying me, or stealing my things. It was difficult to live that way, though. I was afraid of expressing myself and even being myself, so I kept it all to myself with nowhere for it really to go. That was when I really harnessed my creative outlets of writing and drawing. Those blank canvases were the perfect way for me to let out my thoughts and ideas in an environment that felt safer to me than speaking up aloud. And after years and years and years of keeping everything locked up tight within, it became basically an explosive outlet for me---the paper, be it for drawing or writing, was where I felt the most alive. Yeah, I had my drawing/writing books stolen about before and people making fun of my work, but it didn't affect my passion for writing or drawing. Creative outlets gave me the means to really break out of my shell in a way that wasn't necessarily "common", but that still felt like making ground from being a mute girl who tried to avoid everyone. Those interests/talents never took great flight until the age of the internet (when I was in high school). I didn't have to worry as much about people bullying me over text online and I was able to find and connect with people who had similar interests to me. I was still pretty quiet, even online, but I got to the point of sharing stories and art and I was over the moon that people seemed to like my creations. It was the first form of acceptance that I ever really felt in my life and I owe a lot to those outlets and passions for existing in my life. Without them, I'm sure I would be in a much darker place now.

It still did take a heck of a lot of years before I became more comfortable with myself in general, but I don't regret where I've been, because I feel that it all helps me to be the stronger person that I am now. I work on Let's Plays to get myself more accustomed to voice speaking and writing allows me to really let loose with my ideas and thoughts and get them out of that cramped space in my head and into a place where I can't lose them. Over the past few years of confidence-building and growing more at ease with myself, I have become extremely expressive and extremely wordy. I still don't talk much in real life, but I can write an essay no problem---it's the most comfortable way for me to express myself and after so many years that I barred myself and locked everything up inside, I guess the more comfortable I become with who I am, the more I type/write/talk, because I don't feel afraid of expressing myself or my opinions/thoughts anymore. This, to me, is how I live and thrive and heal from those darker times in my life.
 
What was your first book read for leisure?

What is the latest piece you have written? Was it a poem, short story, essay, etc., for leisure, assignment, or as part of your job?
 
What was your first book read for leisure?

What is the latest piece you have written? Was it a poem, short story, essay, etc., for leisure, assignment, or as part of your job?

As for first book... that's too far back for me to remember. Hahaha. I read a lot of books even starting from early years. I do remember "Happy Birthday Moon" being a favorite of mine as a really young kid, but I'm sure it wasn't my first. I loved fairytales, nursery rhyme books, and basically anything that I felt sparked images in my mind while reading or that I just enjoyed reading in general. I was always happy to have either a book or a crayon in my hand. lol

Latest piece written... hmm, well, there are actually multiples, one a short story with original characters, the others are fanfiction. I haven't completed either one yet. I tend to be pretty bad with writing ongoing works, as I'm more of a "spill everything onto the page" right away type than fleshing out a full-blown story. I have enough ideas for the stories and I even write guidelines for the things I want to happen and various events/important dialogue/developments/etc, but when it comes time to write them all out, I just lose the motivation, since what's difficult is all the things you have to write to lead up to those plot points and happenings. That's where I 'lose the juice', so to speak. But I definitely enjoy writing short stories and fanfiction. Those are the pieces in the works right now. One of them is an attempt at an ongoing story and I've made it all the way to chapter five, so that's more progress than I expected to make, which I'm happy for.
 
My first ever bump comment on this site. *GASP*
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Do you have a favorite band or musician whose music is not easy to find? Or maybe not all of their music, but a specific album or EP?

What about the Internet really gets on your nerves?

If you were a donut, what kind would you be?

What was your second video game console, and your favorite game on it?

What game did you never get to play as a child, but really wanted to?

Do you like cream cheese? Have you ever eaten it with French bread? A bagel?

Is there anything about the school system that you wish were changed?
 
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(Ahaha, I should amend that: The first time I ever just bumped anything of mine, before. I HAVE bumped threads for other people before this.)

Oh, crap! I didn't realize anyone had left me more questions! I just kind of assumed that this died. My bad!

I'll answer the questions a little later, as I'm about to run out to do a few errands.

But thank you! I'm honestly surprised that anyone asked me questions at all, as I'm definitely not well-known around here or anything. I really appreciate it.
 
Do you have a favorite band or musician whose music is not easy to find? Or maybe not all of their music, but a specific album or EP?

Oddly enough... no. I'm not really the type of music lover that sticks to specific bands or musicians. In fact, what I listen to the most is music that does not have words, orchestrated pieces, and game music. I find it to be the most inspirational when I'm both drawing and writing. I haven't bought albums since my days in highschool when I was on the bandwagon of things like boybands (such as The Backstreet Boys/BSB). I've far outgrown that, thankfully. But my music tastes do vary, and I do listen to other things from time to time. I'm just not big on buying from the music industry these days.

What about the Internet really gets on your nerves?

A lot of things, but I think the number one pet peeve that I have with the internet is the ability to remain anonymous. You can be a complete jerkass to people and you never have to show them your face or anything about you. "Anonymous" has also caused problems on larger scales, as well, for companies and other organizations. It allows people a threshold for hatred without bars---they simply don't need them and have free reign to be jerks, be insensitive, mock others, and even threatening. Case in point to the recent anonymous e-mail sent to a feminist gamer who was going to make a speech. I won't go into the details, but he basically made a lot of disgusting comments to her and promised a massacre if she was allowed to give her speech.

Now, I'm not saying anonymous is always a bad thing. I have used it before, both to give compliments and to bring up a topic that I found difficult to speak about without fear of getting dog-piled. And in those senses, I can see why it helps some people that fall back on it. But it has a horrible downside of being easy to abuse, thus my problems with it. I'm disgusted by the amount of people that use it to hurt others or otherwise cause problems or use it for trolling/mocking, etc. It will always, always be my biggest thing about the internet that gets on my nerves.

If you were a donut, what kind would you be?

Ahahahaha. I laughed at this, I admit. I'm actually not a big fan of donuts in general (shocking, I'm sure). I suppose that on the outside, I would look pretty plain, but then on the inside, I'd be filled with strawberry jam and sprinkles, and have a creamy center. Because that's where it all is, and it might not all go together that well, but it's that strange concoction/mixture that makes me. : )

What was your second video game console, and your favorite game on it?

I'm pretty sure this had to be the original Game Boy (though I believe the Super Nintendo is quite the close 3rd). I had the big gray block kind, and since I had two brothers who also got the same Game Boys, we all had to put name stickers on ours so we could keep track of whose was whose. As for favorite game... that's a really, really tough one. I loved my Game Boy to death. I think my absolute favorite games for it were Kirby's Dream Land and Pokemon Red (my little brother had Blue). I played both to death. Honorable mention goes to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Kid Icarus, and GearWorks.

What game did you never get to play as a child, but really wanted to?

We didn't own a Sega Genesis ever. And I wasn't really big on Sega games, but... My older brother's friend, Jason, brought his Sega over sometimes and my little brother and I were only permitted to watch them play. I was completely fascinated by Shining Force II, and to this day, I'd love to play it. I believe watching them play that, when I was a little girl, was the roots of my later enjoyment of similar battle systems and tactical RPGs like that in Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem: Awakening. The battle from Shining Force II that stands the most in my mind, is the chessboard battle. Oddly enough, I looked all over for a Let's Play of the game and never found one.

Do you like cream cheese? Have you ever eaten it with French bread? A bagel?

I love cream cheese! I eat it sparingly, however, because heaven knows that's it's fattening. Hahaha. I've never had it on french bread, but I've had it on bagels a number of times. My preferred choice for it was Wheat Thins and Ritz Crackers. : )

Is there anything about the school system that you wish were changed?

Well, the school system is always changing and evolving, so this is difficult for me to answer. But there is one thing that stands out for me, if this counts: College should not cost as much money as it does. Attending a University to get the skills you NEED to survive and make a living can leave you in debt for pretty ten or twenty years of your life, depending on what you went to school for. Student loans are ridiculous and getting worse, and even in this day and age of the internet, many classes still require to buy a very expensive text book that you're only going to use for that one time taking that class. And it continually just seems to get worse and more and more expensive and unless you're incredibly lucky, you're going to go out into the world looking for a job in your specialty area and dig up a whole lot of nothing. This is the reason I never went to school for art. I couldn't believe the prices on tuition and the rest of it. And I knew that as an artist, I would have ended up struggling for work just to pay back those ridiculous amounts of money for loans. It wasn't a path I could take, unfortunately.

What's even more ridiculous, is that half the jobs that college graduates try to apply for, they tend to want someone "more experienced", whether you technically may have the skills or not. I really feel for all the college graduates struggling out there. It's terrible and it's only getting worse.

Note: I speak for the USA/America on this. I have no idea how the costs vary elsewhere in the world or if students there struggle similarly with the costs for "needed" skills to make an honest living.

Sorry to be so late on these! I wanted to make sure I could give ample time of my day to answer all of these at once. Thank you so much for the questions! I definitely tl;dr-ed, but that's my style. lol
 
Thank you kindly for the thoughtful responses, Amissapanda.

As a follow up, is Anita Sarkeesian the gamer you referred to?

Also, what about the video game industry gets your nerves? It seems obvious the rampant sexism displayed by a large group of gamers would figure in, if I correctly understand you, but even if that I would still like to hear your thoughts on that.

So would you go so far as to characterize the textbook industry as an institutionalized scam for students?
 
Thank you kindly for the thoughtful responses, Amissapanda.

As a follow up, is Anita Sarkeesian the gamer you referred to?

Also, what about the video game industry gets your nerves? It seems obvious the rampant sexism displayed by a large group of gamers would figure in, if I correctly understand you, but even if that I would still like to hear your thoughts on that.

So would you go so far as to characterize the textbook industry as an institutionalized scam for students?

No problem at all. My pleasure to answer. Thank you for actually offering me some questions to answer. Haha.

And yes, that was her. She's experienced a bunch of crap from the male gaming community already, as well as a gaming site out there that apparently can't stand her. I feel really bad for her and really disappointed that so much of the gaming community is filled with jerks who would actually cut down a woman for speaking out and sharing her opinions and observations. She doesn't do so in a hateful way, but instead tries to bring to light exactly what kind of themes are going on in games and pointing out how often women are not included or used as plot/romance devices and nothing more. It's fine for people to disagree with her, but threatening lives and threatening her life over such things just goes to show how much of a real problem misogyny and sexism really is.

As for what in the gaming industry gets on my nerves... well, there's a lot of little nitpicks and you're right that the blatant misogyny and sexism is something that I really don't like. But I am happy to see that some companies, like Nintendo, are taking steps forward instead of backward (so many new female characters in Smash Bros, for one thing, and Splatoon, a shooting game, which USUALLY tend to be focused on men with guns, is instead made up of a team of adorable squid girls in street clothes). I suppose one other thing that annoys me (especially in recent years), is how many companies are making upgrades to new systems no longer a choice, but a necessity. For example, I bought a Wii about two or three years or so ago. WiiU came out the same year that I bought one. It was fine for a year or two, and then Nintendo decided to shut off their servers for the Wii and stop making games for it. That basically made a 200+ dollar purchase for me almost worthless. I was very upset. And I feel like the same is going to happen when New 3DS comes out next year. For a little while, 3DS will be just fine, and then Nintendo will likely retract their support and servers and stop making games that play on both systems and instead just ones that work on the newer one. I'm sure that other systems have done this too. I know PlayStation has.

And as far as the textbook industry... I wouldn't say it's a scam, necessarily. I'd say that, in this new electronic age, they're actually doing what they can to still make a business for themselves. I feel like they WILL rapidly die out within the next few years, as everything is becoming electronic. Many of the books purchased now are via the web to read on computers/tablets/Nooks, etc. It's only a matter of time.

Thanks again for the questions! I enjoy answering them and I'm honored that you find any time to ask me any.
 
Not to mention the game one or more people developed where you punch Miss Sarkeesian's face into a bloody pulp. That people would take time and effort to make such a product speaks to the level of hatred, and is all anyone needs to point to whenever somebody claims that mainstream critics just want to have productive dialog with Miss Sarkeesian about sexism in games and the gaming community.

Are you also upset about the online subscription fee, or do you think it fine the direction that Sony and Microsoft have been going in regards to the online services for their respective consoles?

That is most unfortunate about the Wii. I never did buy the Wii, but I bought the Wii U partly because of support of Wii games. I hope the Wii U is not abandoned by Nintendo by the time their latest Zelda game comes out for that console, or at least I hope they release far more games for their virtual console (including N64 titles).

Who is your favorite female character in a video game?

Who is your favorite male character in a video game?
 
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