Meet The Mares: Daisy Dreams · 4:50pm Aug 22nd, 2021
There’s only so much that can go into a story, especially one with as many characters as 16 has. So I’m opening the floor to asking these characters questions. Post your reply with any questions you have and Daisy Dreams will be happy to answer them (I’ll be editing this blog to add those questions). I’ll be posting the other characters in the coming weeks (up through Snowcatcher; the rest will come after their chapters are posted).
Interview subject #2: Daisy Dreams
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/2636877
Cutie mark?
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/1467137
Favorite color?
White.
Do you have a favorite television show?
I’m partial to Jeopardy. It’s a great way to learn new facts about Earth! But I really don’t mind what’s on TV unless it’s America’s Next Top Model. Then I can’t change the channel fast enough.
You were on the very first busload of ponies brought to the consulate the day the portal opened. Is that correct?
That’s correct.
Relationship status?
I have a coltfriend back in Equestria. We’re high school sweethearts, but we didn’t start dating until prom, and then I immediately took a job that involved frequent travel. So we’re pretty used to long distance relationships these days. Doesn’t make it any easier, but one day soon we’ll be together. He got a two-year head start on college, and we’re hoping that by the time he graduates Equestria will have lifted the restrictions on stallions coming to Earth.
Will you leave the Mareiott when that happens?
Probably. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but this was never supposed to be forever. It’s convenient to have a home and a source of income while commuting to Rutgers.
You’re commuting to college. Do you have a car?
Yes. It’s a 1980 Jeep CJ-7. Lulu Luck found it for me and said that anypony named Daisy had to drive one of these. Something about a hazardous television show or something.
What’s your major?
Chemistry, with a minor in telecommunications. Snowcatcher suggested I come back home with skill sets that we don’t have in Equestria.
Spamotron: I know that lots of people serious about learning chemistry set up a small home laboratory to supplement their studies with more “hands on (hooves on)” experience. Do you have one?
I'd love to, but I have two constraints most of my classmates don't have. My personal space is confined to a solitary room of the hotel, and I have to share my room with guests of the hotel. I don't get as many guests as the others do, because of my schooling, and in some ways I'm more like a 'permanent guest' than an employee. But I help out where and when I can, even if that's just making dinner for everyone on a school night when I have homework and can't attend to guests. But because I host guests on the weekends and over summer and winter breaks, I don't dare risk the liability of having a home lab. If someone got into it... the results could be disastrous.
Why’d your coltfriend get a head start on college?
I spent two years modeling.
I understand there’s a poster of you that was a bestseller.
Source (photograph): AlwaysDressesInStyle
Source (vector): https://www.deviantart.com/mlpazureglow/art/The-forgotten-ponies-204357432
I’m sure its decorating its fair share of dorm rooms back in Equestria. I don’t like most photos of myself, but that one really came out nice. My coltfriend has seven copies in his dorm room, including one on his ceiling… He says that way I'm the first thing he sees every morning. Isn't he sweet?
Can we back up a second? Did you just say you don’t like most photos of yourself?
I’m aware of the irony. I don’t have to like them; I just need to get paid for them. Being a model isn't my cup of tea, but everypony has a price. Mine was a full scholarship to the school of my choice. The crazy part is knowing how expensive Rutgers is and knowing that the modeling company and its clients somehow made more money than that off me during those two years, so they’re still coming out ahead.
So you hated being a model?
In addition to cringing every time somepony complimented me on my rear end instead of my brain, most of my coworkers were stuck up, petty, two-faced, vindictive, and about as smart as a rock. They partied hard and blew their wages faster than they could earn them. That’s no small feat considering just how much they make.
What do you enjoy doing in your downtime?
Playing Ogres & Oubliettes.
So you're a bit of a nerd?
Unashamedly so!
Favorite part of living on Earth?
That no one recognizes me! I can trot down the street without being bothered by anybody. People are still taking pictures of me, but it’s because ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a pony!’ and not ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Daisy Dreams!’ As soon as there are more ponies on Earth and everyone gets used to us, that'll stop.
What do you miss about Equestria?
Book Smart, my coltfriend.
If not being a professional model, what do you consider your biggest accomplishment?
I was my high school valedictorian. Not that Neighagara Falls High graduates more than two dozen ponies in a given year, but it’s the accomplishment I’m most proud of nonetheless.
Dan: Have you contributed any thoughts from a pony point-of-view to hardware and open software projects? Like refining input from Orbitouch-like devices or helping develop Equestrian language package?
Great strides were made before we came to Equestria. Wind Whistler was instrumental in assisting human technology companies be more pony-friendly. She’s still working on it, though there are fewer bugs to work out these days.
I don’t know her, personally, but Ploomette has told all of us that if we have any problems or suggestions to just let her know, and she’d pass the word on to Wind Whistler.
Dan: Do the Earth sciences using base 10 and multiples of 8 for everything cause any trouble for you?
It was tricky at first, but we had to learn base 10 to get approved to come to Earth. I’m lucky in that regard – I get practical experience with it every single day. Most of the others only have need of math during financial transactions.
Dan: Is it crass to suggest using your celebrity status as a pony (and cute looks) to get people to do favors for you?
I don’t have any celebrity status on Earth, and cute only goes so far with most humans. Oddly enough, it seems to work better with women than men. Stallions, on the other hoof… Well, let’s just say I can have them tripping over each other to do me favors with just a look.
Dan: Are you any good at Tetris, Columns and Puyo Puyo?
Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to play many video games yet. There aren’t enough hours in the day, and none of the systems mentioned were really designed for use with hooves. A unicorn might be able to magic their way through it, and some dexterous pegasi can use their wings, but between mouth and hooves… let’s just say my classmates get kind of grossed out when I pick up their game controllers with my mouth.
Dance, Dance Revolution is about the only one that I’ve seen that looks pony friendly. I haven’t tried it yet, though I’ve spent two years working on my grace and poise. I’m sure that when the time comes I’ll give folks a run for their money.
I’m also limited on time, between studying and working. My education comes first, work comes second, and pleasure time gets the short end of the stick.
Snowliasion: Favorite colleague you smart pretty pony you?
Sunny Rays. I was a huge fan of hers as a filly! I still can’t believe she’s working at a hotel on Earth. Talk about crazy! I’m more restrained when conversing with her, of course. I’ve had ponies freak out when talking to me, and I hate it, so the least I can do is show her professional courtesy and not fangirl all over her.
Emil: What was the favorite food/drink that you discovered on human-Earth?
Sunburgers. I had a guest who insisted we eat at Five Guys, a burger chain. They don’t have much on the menu, and the vegetarian option left a lot to be desired. I was disappointed and was just going to eat back at the hotel when I looked out the window from where we were sitting and saw some wild sunflowers across the street. So I grabbed a few and had the cook fry them with the French fries, and then put them on a bun with all the trimmings – fried onions, mayonnaise, pickles, BBQ sauce, and lettuce. It was surprisingly good!
penguincascadia: What field of chemistry do you like the most?
As an earth pony, it's probably not surprising that I find myself drawn to organic chemistry and biochemistry.
penguincascadia: Also, have you visited one of New Jersey's many chemical plants yet?
Not yet. I'd really like to get a tour of Fuel Bio One's facility on the Chemical Coast. Biodiesel has my attention as a potentially green source of energy. If true, that's something that could do well in Equestria.
Thanks to Feathermay, I discovered that pony names don’t translate to English quite as well as everyone originally thought. What’s the most direct translation of your name?
She Who Dreams Amongst The Daisies.
RoyaleFanaticGal: Have you ever considered using your beauty for anything else except modeling? There's companies who'd hire a pretty gal for a lot of stuff besides modeling. Like acting? Or for a perfume company, as they use pretty people for to test out the smell of it. Also try a singing career? Modeling I understand was a lot. I'd end up getting annoyed for being used like that, just because of my looks. Beauty doesn't keep you from being yourself, it just restrains it.
Acting has never held any appeal to me, as it’s quite similar to modelling. A model or actress is the clay, while the director is the sculptor. ‘Stand here, say this, move in this direction’ appeals to me even less than ‘stand here, pouty face’ does. Right now, I’d rather focus on getting my degree, anyway. Now that I’m here on Earth, my education takes priority. If somepony offered me enough money, my interest level would go up. As much as I hated modeling, it’s putting me through college, so I’d be stupid not to take a few good-paying acting jobs were they to be offered to me. That said, nopony’s exactly beating down my door to star in their production.
As for my singing, I’m not Sunny Rays. I’m an average singer at best, though with my fame that’s probably enough to get me a contract for a solitary album with a smaller record label – one that would be looking to capitalize on my existing fame to generate publicity they wouldn’t be able to generate otherwise. Sunny Rays has the talent for singing, and she’s had more than a few struggles in the music industry.
Someday though, I’d really like it if ponies talk about my accomplishments when my name comes up in conversation. Something like ‘combined earth pony magic and human technology to increase yields across two worlds and nobody’s hungry anymore’ would be nice. But first I need to get through school and then accomplish something worth talking about. Until then I’ll be ‘the mare on the orange juice carton’ or any of a dozen other products I’ve advertised for.
RoyaleFanaticGal: Are there any other flowers that you like that aren't daisies?
Absolutely! Daffodils, tulips, crocuses, orchids, the list goes on!
Cute!
Chemistry major, huh. I know that lots of people serious about learning that set up a small home laboratory* to supplement their studies with more “hands on (hooves on),” experience. Do you have one?
*YouTube examples: Nile Red, Cody’s Lab
5572686
I'd love to, but I have two constraints most of my classmates don't have. My personal space is confined to a solitary room of the hotel, and I have to share my room with guests of the hotel. I don't get as many guests as the others do, because of my schooling, and in some ways I'm more like a 'permanent guest' than an employee. But I help out where and when I can, even if that's just making dinner for everyone on a school night when I have homework and can't attend to guests. But because I host guests on the weekends and over summer and winter breaks, I don't dare risk the liability of having a home lab. If someone got into it... the results could be disastrous.
This has been added to the blog post as well. Thank you for asking!
Have you contributed any thoughts from a pony point-of-view to hardware and open software projects? Like refining input from Orbitouch-like devices or helping develop Equestrian language package? Do the Earth sciences using base 10 and multiples of 8 for everything cause any trouble for you?
Since the old Scientific Linux was deprecated in favor of Linux Fermi, have you used any of it in class? https://www.linuxlinks.com/chemistry/
Do you think if you approached the jerks at Nvidia and asked nicely that they start actively supporting open graphics drivers the way AMD does instead of the black-box proprietary driver packages and messy cobbled-together Nouveau packages they might listen? Or is it crass to suggest using your celebrity status as a pony (and cute looks) to get people to do favors for you?
Are you any good at Tetris, Columns and Puyo Puyo? They are good for the well-ordered mind, and I find them soothing. Sadly, the sensibly-designed "Ultimate Tetris" game was taken down off Steam and replaced by the rather ugly neon-effects-laden "Tetris Effect," and the Puyo Puyo Champions on Steam is equally garish (and I'm not at all fond of the Tetris/Puyo crossover). To play Puyo as it's meant to be, you have to cheat a little and use the Steam Workshop which basically replaces the underlying file completely with a Japanese Genesis ROM. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=860346999
Columns and Columns 3 are both in the Sega Classics collection, though sadly Super Columns from the Game Gear is missing. It's easy to 'unofficially' play, though. *cough emulate*
Favorite colleague you smart pretty pony you?
("Post your reply with any questions you have and Cherry Pie will be happy to answer them"
I'm guessing that Cherry Pie's name is not, itself, actually part of the format? :)
I'm not thinking of any new questions for this one at the moment, though, sorry.)
5572999
You'd be right. Fixed... and also fixed Dewdrop's interview that I'm still working on.
5572718
Thank you! Answered these in the blog entry itself as well, and I'm working on getting the correct answer on your Linux question. I strive for accuracy, and I should be able to answer this one soon. I hope!
Have you contributed any thoughts from a pony point-of-view to hardware and open software projects? Like refining input from Orbitouch-like devices or helping develop Equestrian language package?
Great strides were made before we came to Equestria. Wind Whistler was instrumental in assisting human technology companies be more pony-friendly. She’s still working on it, though there are fewer bugs to work out these days.
I don’t know her, personally, but Ploomette has told all of us that if we have any problems or suggestions to just let her know, and she’d pass the word on to Wind Whistler.
Do the Earth sciences using base 10 and multiples of 8 for everything cause any trouble for you?
It was tricky at first, but we had to learn base 10 to get approved to come to Earth. I’m lucky in that regard – I get practical experience with it every single day. Most of the others only have need of math during financial transactions.
Is it crass to suggest using your celebrity status as a pony (and cute looks) to get people to do favors for you?
I don’t have any celebrity status on Earth, and cute only goes so far with most humans. Oddly enough, it seems to work better with women than men. Stallions, on the other hoof… Well, let’s just say I can have them tripping over each other to do me favors with just a look.
Are you any good at Tetris, Columns and Puyo Puyo?
Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to play many video games yet. There aren’t enough hours in the day, and none of the systems mentioned were really designed for use with hooves. A unicorn might be able to magic their way through it, and some dexterous pegasi can use their wings, but between mouth and hooves… let’s just say my classmates get kind of grossed out when I pick up their game controllers with my mouth.
Dance, Dance Revolution is about the only one that I’ve seen that looks pony friendly. I haven’t tried it yet, though I’ve spent two years working on my grace and poise. I’m sure that when the time comes I’ll give folks a run for their money.
I’m also limited on time, between studying and working. My education comes first, work comes second, and pleasure time gets the short end of the stick.
5572944
Thank you! Answered in the blog as well!
Favorite colleague you smart pretty pony you?
Sunny Rays. I was a huge fan of hers as a filly! I still can’t believe she’s working at a hotel on Earth. Talk about crazy! I’m more restrained when conversing with her, of course. I’ve had ponies freak out when talking to me, and I hate it, so the least I can do is show her professional courtesy and not fangirl all over her.
5573175
(Ah, heh, glad I was able to help. :))
5572718
I was unable to get an official answer to this question. My contact thinks they would use Fermi as it's newer, but that's for graduate level courses, and Daisy's an undergraduate. I'm sorry for being unable to get a good answer on this one.
5594264
Well, learning linux and it's predecessor, the Unix family, is a bit intimidating for kids who were raised in the strictly-controlled Windows and Apple and Android-controlled ecosystems.
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/2963922521576611581
Valve haven't made many masterpiece video games since the painful cliffhanger at the end of Half-Life 2, Episode 2, but they've been working behind the scenes to make gaming ecosystems more accessible to the wider, general-purpose Linux community.
It wasn't that long ago that the undisputed masters at id Software uplifted the entire medium by freely disclosing their techniques for all to use, with Quake 1.
But recently, the scumbags at Bethesda bought the rights to Quake and released their own "remastered" edition, which is fine by itself, but it does nothing that modders hadn't already done for Quake a decade ago. The remaster is only of interest to console gaming kids who need aim-assist coddling. And the remaster requires players to give an email address and sign up for the 3rd party service.
Even outside of gaming, the line between user freedom and corporate control is the same as when TRON was in theaters 40 years ago.
What field of chemistry do you like the most?
Also, have you visited one of Mew Kersey's many chemical plants yet?
5682240
Replied in the blog - thank you for the question, as always!
5690594
Replied in blog. As always, thank you for the question!
Has Hedy Lamarr's estate tried to sue you for copying her backstory?
If so, did Mel Brooks sue you for copying his being sued by Hedy Lamarr?
5701572
No to both. Lamarr was an actress, while Daisy's a model with no intention of going into acting. While I appreciate the humor (as Mel Brooks did; he never fought the original lawsuit, but has contended to this day that she never got the joke), I don't think someone can sue someone else for doing something similar with their life.