I keep getting questions like, 'Who are you?' and 'Why should I listen to you at all about VNs?'... not to mention questions that are a bit more personal. So, I thought I'd answer those questions I'm willing to answer (feel free to ask more in the comments, and I'll answer those that I can in a second post).

Full Handle Name: Clephas Aurenius

Handle Origin: A unique character I made up for a fictional fantasy universe some ten years ago. I've been using it as my sole handle for eight years now.

Age: 33

Country and State of origin: Texas in the United States

Hobbies: Gaming, VNs, reading (fiction and non-fiction), otakuism, mini-reviewing untranslated VNs, anthropology, linguistics, brewing rum and root beer, cooking, and attempting to define VN terms that are actually a lot more vague than I try to present them for the sake of convenience *smiles slyly*

Profession: ghost writer (don't ask me about this, look it up)

Dream: To build an underground house in a seismically inactive (inasmuch as that is possible) area and retire. Take a six-month trip to Japan and tour the hot springs, shrines, and temples.

Likes: Efficient and/or cunning work. People with a non-harmful sense of humor. Pragmatism. Chuuni-fiction, fantasy, science fiction. Good stories.

Dislikes: Wasting time (from my perspective). Being mentally inactive (this is actually painful for me). Foods with jalapeno or parsley in it. Sloppy work done when a more efficient method obviously exists. Political corruption (outside of reasonable limits).

Personality: I have a rather massive temper, that I manage to restrict through breathing exercises and violent video games. I value thinking as something that is both necessary and enjoyable. I am excessively introspective, to the degree of actively mocking myself and being self-derisive when I think I might have been in the wrong on some level. I am a natural troll who reformed himself as best as possible. I tend to think that everything is funny on some level, even my own stupidity and outright disaster. I am a recovering megalomaniac.

My role-play: The 'forums' Clephas is actually quite different from the original Clephas, in that he is a lot more comical and exaggerated. He is the megalomaniacal and overwhelmingly arrogant side of my personality, deliberately exaggerated to the very limits, to the point where it is actually funny. He is something of an insane deity who devours universes and envelops them in his infinite stomachs, using avatars to interact with those inside. He honestly thinks eating people (both whole and chewed) is an expression of love. He also does various seemingly (and most probably) meaningless things solely for the sake of his own amusement.

What Fuwanovel means to me: In a lot of ways, Fuwanovel is my last community. I've just seen too many otaku communities collapse under their own weight to willingly involve myself with several at once, anymore. In many ways, I joined Fuwa solely because I thought it would be fun to argue with Aaeru (and it was immensely fun). I respected her for the strength of her beliefs, even if I disagreed with her on a number of points (pragmatists rarely agree fully with any idealist). Fuwa now is the community I've come to love, with the people I've come to love (Marie, Tay, solidbatman, Nayleen, fun2novel, Flutterz, Zakamutt, Mephisto, etc. etc), and so I'm more or less in it for the long haul. I chose this community because it was a lot easier to talk about VNs here than in the more Jaded tlwiki-related communites.

What are VNs to me: I like VNs, both as an enjoyable storytelling medium and as one with an immense potential for growth (if someone can just kick the industry out of its nukige/moege and cookie-cutter chuunige rut). They are emotional and intellectual rides (better on the emotions in most cases), that frequently have an impact far out of proportion with their actual quality.

My VN Experience: Tsukihime was my first VN... and it stunned me when I first played it back in 2007. I immediately devoured every single translated VN, in a marathon that lasted about two months... then dove into my first untranslated - Jingai Makyou - on 9/14/2008. As I'd been fansubbing for over a year by then, I'd thought I had a full grasp on Japanese as a language... but it was a rather rude kick in the butt. Translation Aggregator with Jparser presented me with a challenge that allowed me to get around the lack of kanji knowledge on my part... in exchange for mastering how Japanese syllables were put together in reverse (normally a skill learned through kanji, rather than learning it first, then learning kanji).

A few last comments: No, I do not have and will never have a Facebook or Twitter account. If you really want to chat with me live, pm me and ask me to get on IRC (rizon). Do not ask me to help translate more than one scene of a moege, as doing more than that (even for a friend) would make me want to scream. I do not have a lot of free time, other than that which I use to play VNs, so no I don't go to otaku conventions. I can cook a traditional Japanese breakfast... but sadly, the only parts I really like are the natto, the miso soup, and the pickled vegetables (cooked fish that tastes like cooked fish makes me feel sick). I have a fourteen-year-old calico cat, whom I adore and who tolerates me as a favor to me as her devoted slave.