unbeatable~

[Aquacorde]

It's Introduction Time!

Hiya, I'm Anna! I'm a nineteen-year-old asexual panromantic girl child from Wisconsin/Minnesota. I live in the Twin Cities with my mom, stepdad, and 18-year-old brother, but I started out in Wisconsin with my dad. He still lives in Eau Claire with my stepmom, two dogs, and three stepbrothers ages 9, 11, and 13 (probably). I've been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, as has my eldest stepbrother. My middle stepbrother is Autistic and the youngest has some developmental difficulties but hasn't been officially confirmed as Autistic or not. I also have a 13-year-old stepsister. She's my stepdad's but she lives with her mom and visits every other weekend.

I started education with preschool, then pre-kindergarten, then kindergarten. I still don't know why I was put into all three of those. I lived in a small town in Wisconsin until I was 7, then Dad moved to Eau Claire. My brother and I lived there for half a year before moving to the Cities to live with Mom. I started wearing glasses about a month after that. My vision is godawful. I was never really a social child and always have gotten anxious easily- we know know why, don't we- so I had a hard time with school. Summer after fifth grade- July 13, 2004- I found PC and got myself registered. I was an insane child and I can not believe anyone put up with me. I made a few friends though! Eventually though there was some ~drama and I left, wandered off, wandered back, popped in a few times in 2006 and then ignored PC till July 10, 2010. Meanwhile I was also getting decent grades in middle school and getting in fights at least once a week.

Then high school happened and I was a scared little child who knew nobody. In February though, my youth group decided they weren't going to go to the statewide Methodist youth gathering that I loved. So I talked to this guy in my class that I knew went to another Methodist church and begged him to take me along with them that year. Best. Decision. Ever. So glad I was brave enough to ask. The people of that church have become my best friends and support network. One of them- Ian- ended up being my boyfriend for like two years. We've since broken up but really dating for a time has just strengthened our relationship. bros 4 lyf yo.

Oh right, high school. So that happened and I started making friends properly around the end of freshman year. It was pretty good, the whole four years. I was a little **** in class once I became confident though. Teachers loved me as a person but hated me as a student. I failed like 30% of my classes and got awful grades in another 30%. I did so many remedial classes omg. The only thing that ever got me through were my test scores. I managed to graduate on time though, with a 1.67 GPA and an ACT score of 30 [equivalent to 1320-1350 Old SAT or 1980 New SAT]. I still find this amusing. Didn't end up going to college though. I have money put aside by my grandpa that would pay for about 2 years anywhere decent, but why waste it when I don't know what I want to do? And as we all now know I'm bad at putting in effort/lazy/not interested in classes, so I'm not gonna sit around and do generals. Some of that money did go into college that one time I thought I wanted to be an auto mechanic, but I got all of that put back. Except the $300 that went to enrolling me in the bartending school that I haven't gone to yet.

So I just ended up working. Currently I'm a part-time cashier and child supervisor at IKEA. It's super nice except I hate retail. I might just end up going to college and fulfilling my childhood dream of being a high school math teacher like my daddy because where else am I going to get a decent living and also that much vacation time? Also I like teenagers. They're fun conversationalists. And math is fun. I do prime factorizations when I'm bored. Shut up. I also sit around and absorb a lot of media. I'm an awful person and am a member of a private torrent site that only houses UK shows so I watch a lot of that. And I keep up with the Pokémon Anime no way! and am currently delving into the giant archive of Rooster Teeth Productions.

So, you know, that's my life so far. Y'all probably don't have many questions after that essay haha. But comments are welcome too I guess!

 

[Nihilego]

Wow, that was an interesting read. I never knew you had Asperger's. I don't really understand what it is or what it does very well, so I'm gonna ask some hugely ignorant questions here! Please forgive these; I really have no idea what I'm talking about, haha.

What's Asperger's and how does it differ from Autism? How does it impact you in daily life and how have you handled it?

 

[Sydian]

When were you diagnosed with Asperger's? Kiddo already asked the other part of that question I wanted to ask, haha.

How do you handle your brother that has autism? I'm interested in these kinds of things, as I'm sure you're aware, so I'd love to know how things are with him. is that a weird thing to be interested in?

What keeps you interested in the Pokemon anime?

 

[Aquacorde]

Razor Leaf & Sydian

The Autism/Aspie Stuff

Asperger's Syndrome is part of the Autism spectrum, but it's quite a bit different than typical Austim. Aspies don't usually have the language learning delays that Autistic kids have and generally have a much larger vocabulary, though the ways we use it tend to be slightly off from the perspective of neurotypicals. It's harder to recognize, comprehend and utelize inflections- Aspie kids tend to have fairly monotone speech patterns. We also don't have trouble with fine motor skills the way a lot of Autistic kids do.

Aspies tend to have a lot of trouble with social interaction which leads to frustration and isolation. We fully recognize that we are different from a pretty young age and spend a lot of time trying our best to fit in. From what I've seen observing Sammy (Autistic) and Max (Aspie), it's like... Sammy loves everyone and everything. He's super nice and gentle and doesn't mind much when he doesn't fit in, and that's partially because he doesn't really notice. Max get lonely and frustrated and snappy because he knows something's off and he can't figure out how to fix it. Aspies tend to get lonely.

We also get ~obsessed about things and latch onto them more than other people. We have an easier time fixating on one thing and focusing only on it and a harder time distangling ourselves from it. I introduced Max to Pokémon around the time HGSS came out. Within six months he knew all the Pokémon, their types, and evo relations, and most of their evolutionary levels/how to evolve them. Sammy loves it just as much, but he still doesn't even quite get type advantages. He needs to be told many different times in many different ways for something to stick. He's been getting better, so much better, but he still has trouble.

So yeah, for me the main problem has been overcoming the social walls that have been in place for me since I was born. I never even properly knew I had Asperger's until age 15 or so. But even before then I've been fighting to not become normal, really, but to teach myself to interact with people in a way they would understand. It's something that always has to be done consciously for me. I'm not so good at reading expressions or body language; inflection and tone are still difficult for me to interpret. A lot of this type of learning has been trial-and-error and I hate that. I like to get things right the first time. I've also learned so much from reading and watching TV and just listening to people. Human behaviour is interesting, even when I'm not using my observations to enhance my ability to interact.

I've gotten a lot better with people. And you know, PC has certainly helped that! Textual communication actually works well for me. I'm able to think about what is being said, consider straigthforward meanings and alternate meanings, and take some time to formulate a reply without looking like a dope. Takin' it slower in a community that's pretty darn accepting and tolerant of kids that don't know any better- that was good for me. It worked.

Sammy-boy is pretty easy to handle. He's such a sweet kid and he understands when you explain things to him. I really don't even think about how I handle him really. I do the same thing I do with all other kids- treat them like they're on my level. If they ask questions or don't seem to get it, I'll re-explain myself. Dealing with non-neurotypical kids is the same as dealing with neurotypicals. I don't really know what else to say haha. Sammy's definitely better behaved and more thoughtful than a lot of kids around. Props to Daddy and Stacey for that.

Pokémon Anime Stuff

Cilan keeps me interested in it I'm not sure what really keeps me watching? With Best Wishes, I found the main cast & friendly rivals to be really fun characters. Right now though I think I'm just hoping for those characters to return or for the main cast's characterization to strengthen. The anime could be so much better and I'm hoping that it will grow again after the unfortunate Unova reset.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

How do you like being a moderator now :D?

 

[Treecko]

^ jellicentfan1's question lol.

Have you adjusted to being a mod yet?

 

[derozio]

Were you anticipating this promotion? Did you get a promotion PM or did they do it without sending you one? :p

Also, you're definitely a big fan of the green haired guy (name's Cilan, right?) from Pokémon. What makes you like him so much as a character?

A non-PC question and I promise this is the last one. Though don't answer if you're not comfortable with it - One of the good things about studying in India has always been that bullying as a problem is practically non-existent over here. But I've seen various music videos over the internet that are based on it. The ones, according to those videos, who're bullied are generally those who're considered different than others. People who're homosexuals or black, for example. I don't know. I've always had the impression that quite a lot of western schools suffer from the problem. So, being a person who's a little different than others, did you ever have to face bullies? If not then how prevalent is it actually in western educational institutes?

Edit; This was the video I was talking about, btw.

 

[Aquacorde]

How do you like being a moderator now :D?

^ jellicentfan1's question lol.

Have you adjusted to being a mod yet?

It's not even been a day gosh guys. ^^; But it's fun! Still exploring, haven't been actually doing a lot yet because PC was being a butt yesterday. Then suddenly people are congratulating me everywhere and I have to go answer everyone otherwise I feel bad. ;__; And today I have to go to work. So tomorrow I get to start doing some upkeep that I've been thinking about for a while!

Were you anticipating this promotion? Did you get a promotion PM or did they do it without sending you one? :p

Er, not really? I've been talking with Leafy about general stuff for PA for a while but really I was just kind of hanging on until the next assigned mod could come in and do stuff because I didn't want to be bothering him with little tweaks and rewording and whatever. And then the next mod is me so you know. At least I know what needs doing!

I didn't get a PM haha. PC was dead when I got promoted. I just got skyped. And I'm so oblivious omg I was talking to Leafy and he was like "yeah you should tell Went this thing too let me add him" and I was just like "oh alright sure" and then Went was like "you're a mod now" and I flailed.

Also, you're definitely a big fan of the green haired guy (name's Cilan, right?) from Pokémon. What makes you like him so much as a character?

Cilan's interesting! He's a very upbeat and fun character with a variety of interests and knowledge. He doesn't know everything, he's not perfect, and that shows when he runs into something he's not particularly interested in or when he loses his cool. He's a very well-done character for Pokémon and I wish the writers would use that to their advantage.

A non-PC question and I promise this is the last one. Though don't answer if you're not comfortable with it - One of the good things about studying in India has always been that bullying as a problem is practically non-existent over here. But I've seen various music videos over the internet that are based on it. The ones, according to those videos, who're bullied are generally those who're considered different than others. People who're homosexuals or black, for example. I don't know. I've always had the impression that quite a lot of western schools suffer from the problem. So, being a person who's a little different than others, did you ever have to face bullies? If not then how prevalent is it actually in western educational institutes?

Edit; This was the video I was talking about, btw.

I legit can not watch more than a minute of that. ;__;

There wasn't a lot of bullying at my schools. Looking back, that's kind of surprising but not really? Going from when I moved to the Cities... this is like 2000-2011 in a very diverse area. My elementary school was a very laid-back place; I was the troublemaker there. The only things I remember happening was like... some sixth-graders on the playground going at some kids in my third-grade class. One they called gay and the other retarded. But that was for like a week and then someone told on them and they stopped. That's seriously the only instance of proper bullying I remember.

Middle school... nothing happened there. High school... there were physical fights every other week but whatever. Nothing that really amounts to bullying per se- more just like "I'm pissed at you, Imma punch you." We had a prominent GSA and special education classes and a very tolerant environment. Like I said, it was super diverse. So really the only bullying that went on was when people ignored others because they didn't like them. Which I think is pretty acceptable.

So I never had to face bullies. And it didn't seem like others around me did either. I see that kind of thing now and I am shocked that it happens. I can't believe that's actually stuff that goes on. I do not understand it.

 

[vaporeon7]

If you could choose a co-moderator for your forum, who would it be and why?

 

[Treecko]

What's it like working for IKEA? Do you ever get lost in there?

I know you've mentioned to me before that you like Top Gear so who do you like the most Jeremy, James or Richard?

 

[Aquacorde]

If you could choose a co-moderator for your forum, who would it be and why?

Uh. Hm. Well p sure part of the reason I was chosen is that there was p much nobody else for the job. Shivi would be good of course if things worked out that way- he's done it before and knows what's up on many levels. If Mew~ was still around more I could have seen him doing well. You and Necrum too, if you were more interested in the anime as a whole. And Yuki's Sword could be a great mod in the future. But right now, nobody really has the right combination of attributes that I'd like. The major things I'd want from someone is a passion for the anime, keeping up-to-date with either the dub or Japanese, and noticeable activity in PA.

So nobody, right now.

What's it like working for IKEA? Do you ever get lost in there?

I know you've mentioned to me before that you like Top Gear so who do you like the most Jeremy, James or Richard?

oh jfc I get lost all the time man don't ask me to direct you outside the cash lanes. I legit pick up a map every time I have to go into the showroom. But working there is pretty nice! My coworkers and managers are all really nice people. I'm really only staying there because of that. The commute takes ~1hr20 by bus and I rarely can get a ride, I'm only part-time, and a good chunk of the customers on any given day are just brats.

TOP GEAR OH UM WELL it depends. It's def between Jez and James all the time though. Sometimes I get completely enthralled in Jez's writing and ridiculous exaggeration and documentary shows and lovely voice and other times I adore the hell out of James' curiosity about the world and dorkiness and passion for all kinds of things! Richard may be the ladies' man but nah. He's cool but nah.

 

[Necrum]

How sweet of you to mention me. Love you too, Anna.

When did you first become interested in the Pokemon Anime?

I just realized I don't know your favorite Pokemon. What is it?

Do you like any games that aren't Pokemon related?

 

[Aquacorde]

How sweet of you to mention me. Love you too, Anna.

<3

When did you first become interested in the Pokemon Anime?

Like 1999 or whenever idk. I know I started watching it on Kids WB soon after it showed up there. Kept up with it as best as possible until they stopped showing it there and I had no decent access to it. :( Pretty sure I would have kept up with it as best I could all the way through till now if it still was on there. But as it was my watching p much dropped off after only being able to see sporadic episodes throughout season 8 and then nothing. I'd still watch it on CN when I could, then online when I felt like it. But suddenly Best Wishes appeared! Cilan appeared! I had learned to watch subs! And thus I regained interest in keeping up at the beginning of Best Wishes. Now to watch the latter portion of AG and entirety of DP...

I just realized I don't know your favorite Pokemon. What is it?

DWEBBLE. my favs list changes p often and depends on my mood and which 'mon I've been using lately but here's one per gen on my current list:
Sandshrew, Sneasel, Sableye, Weavile, Dwebble, Yayakoma <3

Do you like any games that aren't Pokemon related?

Everything what's on SMB All-Stars except for "SMB 2" which is not that. Also Minecraft, TF2, SSB:M, Phantom Hourglass, Animal Crossing Wild World, Donkey Kong Country 2, FE Sacred Stones, Children of Mana. I HAVEN'T FINISHED HALF OF THESE OMG. I wish I was more into gaming/had more time/was better at it/knew how to work consoles other than SNES & GC & DS/had other consoles. But I'm just not.

 

[Hikamaru]

If you could ever be a character in the Pokemon Anime, who would you be and why?