"The steps you take don't need to be big. They just need to take you in the right direction." - Jemma Simmons, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Who is thE_Mr_Shank?
Where ya from and what do you like about it?
I’m from the suburbs of New York, born and raised. Been here my whole life. I feel like this type of area is just perfect for me. Not too far away from anything important, enough people to have some towns around, and near a small city. And only an hour away from NYC itself, so easy enough to pop down there for a few hours. And still quiet enough that I don’t need to hear sirens or construction all day long or anything like that, and space enough for houses to have some property.
I know I’ve known you for like maybe over a decade at this point. What has changed in your life from 10 years ago that you didn’t see happening?
God, I sound so boring, thinking of it, but not really a lot. I guess I work from home now, instead of in an office, but that might change soon. Things are pretty similar to 10 years ago for me.
What is a fun unique fact about you that no one would guess?
Again, sounds boring, but the only thing I can think of is that I have a metal rod in my leg from when I broke it in high school. I can’t think of anything else, haha.
I know we have been to conventions together. Have any interesting stories? Meet anyone famous? Hotel horrors?
I don’t think I have had any crazy wild stories at conventions (I do have an awful memory, though), mostly just fun times. I think the most famous people I’ve met are you and Clifford, to be honest. I’ve met with various cosplayers, content creators, etc., too, but no like A list celebrities or anything like that. I’ve met the english voice actor for Barret in Final Fantasy VII Remake. I’ve been pretty fortunate with my hotels. Granted, some of them have been pretty old, and not like, super clean, but no horrors, fortunately. Don’t know how long my luck will hold out, so, fingers crossed.
You’re known as the guy who brings donuts you pass around conventions! How did this come to be? (No complaints here! Yum.)
Well, early on in my con going career, back in 2015, there was a couple cosplayers that I had wanted to meet, and they were attending PAX East. And I’m not much of a talker, so I figured donuts would be a great way to break the ice, cause who doesn’t love a good donut? And then I kept doing it.
We have also visited NYC together and so I know you enjoy broadway type shows! Which show did you like the most that you’ve seen and which one are you wanting to see next?
Oh man, I mean I haven’t seen that many, but it’s still a hard choice! At the moment, I guess I’d pick Potted Potter. Just a small, two man show, but it’s just sooo funny. Probably made me laugh the hardest out of all the comedies I’ve seen.
From picture posts in discord, we know you cook! How did you learn and what is the most exciting thing to cook? Will we get The_Mr_Shank cookbook one day?!
I don’t remember how exactly I started to really learn. Probably from my mom, since she does most of the cooking. One of the family’s favorites recently has been something called Lion’s Head meatballs, which are Chinese meatballs which have a pretty high fat content, so they’re softer and kind of melt in your mouth. I don’t think I’d make a cookbook, I just follow recipes well, haha. I don’t really do anything of my own.
Baby Shank! Awww
Do you sing in the shower? I HAVE to know. (If not, I challenge you to do it once this year! Accept the challenge?)
I do not, I don’t sing at all, like ever, haha.
What is your dream vacation? Are you more of a woodsy area, city, beach guy? What’s something on a bucket list you’d like to do on that vacation?
Hmm, I think for vacation, I’m more of a city person. I like to have things to do and see. I don’t know about dream vacation, though, there’s so many places I’d like to see. Maybe Japan. Definitely is up there. Bucket list is definitely to eat, haha. Try all the good stuff.
Ever have any recurring dreams? The one I have the most is me in a WalMart dim lit public bathroom with a wet floor and I’m wearing socks trying to tiptoe out without stepping in the gross creepy puddles. IDK what it means! Haha
I don’t dream that often, actually. Once in a while, I think if I’m in a really deep sleep, but even then, not very often. So no recurring ones that I can think of. I don’t remember them very well. You have a thing with bathrooms it seems, hahaha.
GAMING QUESTIONS
How/when/what got you into being a video gamer?
I don’t remember exactly when, but it was definitely when I was very young. My older cousin had gotten into gaming, so he introduced me to it when we visited. The earliest thing I remember was some of the early SNES days. Probably Super Mario Bros. I don’t think I remember anything earlier than that. I would want to play every time we visited.
I know you’re great at finishing games! How many games roughly have you completed on Steam (and would you like to share how many you own on steam)?
Oh lord, I don’t think I can even begin to guess how many I’ve finished. I have about 800 games on my Steam account, total. And according to a Steam account calculator I’ve “played” 498 of them, so that includes games I’ve launched for like a minute, but never really played. So maybe I’ve completed somewhere around 350? I mean, there are also multiplayer games that can’t technically be completed, and probably have more time than most of the single player games I’ve played. (LawBreakers is currently my 31st most played game!)
What boss fight is most memorable to you and why?
Man, there are just so many, and my memory isn’t that great, so I’m sure there are so many fantastic ones that I can’t recall off the top of my head. I guess in recent history, some of my favorites are admittedly from the Sony side of things, from games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War, Final Fantasy. I don’t think I can choose a most memorable, though.
FMK: Mileena, Lady Dimitrescu, Tifa Lockhart?
Wow, those are some options, haha. Marry would definitely have to be Tifa, I guess fuck Lady Dimitrescu, and kill Mileena.
Is there a game you’ve never been able to complete? Will you ever revisit it? Lion King on SNES here.
I’m sure there’s quite a handful from my early gaming years, but the two that really stand out are Kingdom Hearts 1, I got stuck in Agrabah, and never went back to try and finish it. Always hearing how great of a series it is, but just never got through it. And the second one is Final Fantasy 10. Big fan of Final Fantasy in general, but I never owned a PS2. It’s one of the games that I played at my cousin’s house. Over time we just started visiting less, and also moved onto other games, so never finished it. It’s on Steam now, so maybe one day I’ll go back to that. It’s a great game. Also, one game that took me years to finish is the original Final Fantasy VII. I’ve played it several times, all the way up to the final boss, then went to finish up side things to do, and always end up grinding to the point of burning out, and never ended up killing the final boss, until a few years ago, haha.
If you were to ever make a game, what genre would it be and why?
I guess either something along the lines of Darksiders, or a FPS. I’ve actually had a couple ideas for a FPS, but I don’t have the skills to make them. I think they could be fun, though!
What’s the longest game spree you’ve experienced and how long did you go? Did you fall asleep on the keyboard at the end?
Probably nothing crazy compared to a lot of people out there. I’m generally pretty reasonable when it comes to that, but maybe like 18 hours or so. I’ve never fallen asleep on my keyboard. I’ve taken naps in my chair during work and the like, but never while I was gaming.
Any gaming accomplishments you’d be proud to share?
Not that I can think of, haha. I’m not a boastful person, so I’ve never really taken note of anything that might seem like a great accomplishment.
Which video game world would you live in? Who would be your neighbors?
Another tough choice. I feel like most video game worlds are actually terrible for the average person. At least during the time periods where the games take place, because there’s always some sort of conflict. And if you’re not the hero, there’s a good chance something bad is going to happen. Maybe Final Fantasy 7. Some modern technology, and some magic, so it could be fun to live a normal life. Also chocobos and moogles!
You’re not only a great friend but an *amazing* Twitch moderator for me… (^_^) Thankies! I value you so much! How many channels do you mod for?! We are so spoiled to have you. Any weird/funny mod stories you’d like to tell us about? Or your experience with being a mod.
Currently 16, haha. A few of which aren’t active any more, and some that I don’t view very often any more. There was one guy, who was just absolutely delusional, like very serious mental problems, that a female streamer friend of mine had to block. And then he started messaging me, at first I would just tell him to chill out, but he kept sending me messages he wanted me to relay to her. I started to largely ignore him, but didn’t block him, just in case something dangerous was said (thankfully not). And then eventually he would message me as if I was her, and he was obsessed. Like talking about things as if he and her were married or things like that. It was very strange. After a while he actually stopped messaging me, but I noticed that he’d just go back and edit his last message every once in a while with a new message. Definitely the weirdest thing I’ve ever had to deal with that.
FAVORITE QUESTIONS:
Mouse of all time: Like hardware mouse? Or animal mouse? Hardware mouse would be the Logitech G500, I think. Animal mouse would probably be Jerry from Tom and Jerry.
Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network Show: Avatar The Last Airbender.
Crayon Color: Black
Breakfast Food: Impossible to choose, but if I had to, I guess….bacon?
Gaming News Outlet: I don’t really follow any in particular. I just get my news from Twitter mostly, whoever tweets/retweets about it first, haha.
Song/Band: Favorite song is probably The Sound of Silence by Disturbed, but my favorite band is probably either Halestorm or Ad Infinitum.
Type of Clothing: I guess just a nice T-shirt.
Outdoor Activity: Been a while, but I guess maybe soccer?
Co-Op Campaign Game: Borderlands 2
Video Game Dev/Studio: So many great ones, but I think I’ll have to go with Platinum Games. Their combat is just absolutely stellar. Honorable mentions include Guerilla, Insomniac, Santa Monica, and Nintendo.