There are several people who are helping me with SCPortal and the content, but out of those, Valhanya stands out most – if for nothing else then for all the interviews and ETL coverage articles she wrote for the web! So as part of the first anniversary, here is a very special interview with this European star.

Do you still remember when you first learn about the SCPortal?

That’s a…. good question aaaaahaha. I think it was on Neon’s discord, I saw a tweet about it…? I can’t remember I’m sorry :’(

What were your first impressions when you saw the web page?

I thought it was cool, I liked the orange and black scheme. I remember at that time, there was a bit too much information on the page article though but it didn’t really bother me. I mean, I got used to it. Now the layout is much better! 

Do you still remember your first article for Portal? Without any search. Do you remember what it was and when it happened?

I remember the first article I read was Mercy’s interview. I initially saw the post on Neon’s discord (again rofl) and thought it was so cool he had been interviewed. I really loved it and since that day, I regularly check the interviews. 

My very first contribution was not HolyCarp’s interview as I was initially thinking, but the article about the kick off of the ETL season 3. I was so excited to do that series but unfortunately, I got a very bad backache a couple of weeks after it started and it lasted at least two months so I only did the weekly teams/Captains interviews. But people enjoyed the cover of the event so I’m very happy of what I’ve done despite my health issues.  

How did you feel doing your first interview for Portal with HolyCarp?

I was very excited to contribute to the website and to do something I’ve never done until now. Thinking about the questions, their order, the flow of the interview, the interesting points and topics, how I could personnalise the interview and show people what kind of player and person HolyCarp is… it’s a tough but very interesting exercice and I tried to follow that guideline for all the interviews I’ve done so far. By working with Portal, I learned a lot of things and I also improved my english thanks to Sekirei who took time to advise me and to correct my very sophisticated english when it needed to. 

So just like everything I find interesting and I like: I want to do more and to improve even more !

What was the worst thing for you about writing for Portal?

I enjoyed every word I wrote for Portal. I’ll never write about something I don’t like or I think it’s not interesting for me. Otherwise, how can I convey my passion to the readers ?

SCPortal aside… What are your plans for the future? SC or not SC?

IRL is quite complicated at the moment but I can say for sure that a new life and new opportunities await me. 

Keeping entertaining people (it can be through a chill stream during tea time, or a commentary like the Celtic Throwdown or the EOS or playing during a tournament) is one of my plans for the future. When I do that, my main goal is to make people smile and I want them to spend a very good time with me. That’s why I think video games are beautiful: you can share happiness and so many other emotions to people in so many different ways. 

So I’d like to keep doing it and to professionalise myself so I can learn new skills and get even more opportunities to share my passion and to make people smile. 

About SoulCalibur itself, I’d like to play more, to improve more and to do more things for the game because it deserves so much more attention. We have a great worldwide community and amazing players who deserve to be more in the spotlights. 

Last question… Your favourite movie and why?

Ouh là… My movie culture is like VERY bad. I watch Netflix on rare occasions (when there is THE WAIFU season 2 for example fufufu) and don’t go to the cinema. They are a lot of classics I haven’t seen and I won’t lie, I’ve already had some people being like “OH MON DIEU YOU’VE NEVER SEEN STAR WARS OHLALALALALA”; yeah I’ve never seen a Star Wars, what are you gonna do about this. So I try to avoid discussions about movies as much as I can to avoid those kinds of comments because it really annoys me (and also because I usually have no clue what people are talking about aaaaaaahaha).

But if I have to pick one from what I’ve watched… I think it would be Black Swan with Nathalie Portman. I’ve only seen this movie once, at the cinema and I’ll never rewatch it again. The emotions and feelings were so strong and unique during the movie, I feel like if I watch it a second time, even after all these years, the magic will disappear and I’ll be like “eh actually it’s meh I’m disappointed”. And I’m afraid of that because I don’t want to take the risk to feel that toward that movie. Everything in this movie took me in the guts, I can’t describe it even in french. I 100% recommend this movie if you haven’t watched it yet !

However, if I have to talk about a movie I’ve seen 8563145 times since I’m a little girl and still gives me the same feelings today, I’d talk about Pocahontas. Pocahontas is my favorite Disney Princess and since I’m a child, she has been my role model in literally everything. I wanted to be exactly like her: tall and graceful (well, I guess I failed on that one hahaha), brave, strong, right, altruist, with an infinite kindness and sharing her love with everyone, without making any difference between people. The song “Colors of the Wind” is for me, my favorite Disney song by the animation but also by the lyrics and message it conveys. I don’t know if now as an adult I look like her but I always have her values in mind and try to spread love around me.

Thank you for the interview and for all the work for SCPortal!