1.So how did you come across Mizahar and what keeps you sticking around?
Oh gosh that is a loaded question so I’ll tackle the easy part first. I found Mizahar through a simple google search; I had seen it a few times before actually joining but was always intimidated and in awe of the work put into the site. I was wrong to be intimidated. When I finally found the courage to become a part of this community I found so many avenues to express myself that I felt like a kid in a candy store and the candy never made my stomach hurt from eating too much. (I swear it’s magic)
I’ve always role-played; for as long as I can remember it has always been a part of my life in one form or another. The problem I’ve had over the years is that I never found somewhere that scratched all my itches until Mizahar. That’s what keeps me around. It’s like I have these little itches on my nose, toes and sometimes my elbow and Miz lets me reach places I haven’t been able to fully explore before. Sure, different types of role-play might scratch one or the other and sometimes even multiple but never all of them. Miz scratches all of them for me. I hope that makes sense!
Equal in importance to my muse being finally sated, after over twelve years of looking for something to complete it, is the encouragement from everyone here on Miz. Everyone so willingly helps the new players, the older players and everyone in between that it still sometimes makes me watch with a gaping mouth at times. The writers and the staff here push each other to become better, to explore new avenues and encourage you to get a little “uncomfortable”. I know, speaking for myself, that I’ve had situations that come up where I’m not comfortable writing the scene due to inexperience and yet I push through it and this is honestly how I’ve found favoritism towards things I never thought I would. I hope this answers your question, I feel its inadequate compared to how I feel but I don’t want to ramble too much!
2. Alaia has a somewhat complicated, but very interesting Konti Gift. Was it a real struggle figuring out that for her or did it sort of just flow with her as a character? How has it been utilizing it IC?
Honestly I can’t even remember how I came up with her gift. That sounds horrible but it’s the truth! I think I had a few different gift ideas written out that all would have worked well given she is a healer. Obviously I picked the most difficult in the set to apply for. I remember thinking “How much can I torture myself and still have fun with it?” What I wasn’t expecting was how right the gift would be for her and how much depth it created in her that I hadn’t planned. I didn’t write the gift with the intentions of her hating it; I wrote all the options out with the intentions of helping her and not hindering her. I mean, it’s a gift so she should enjoy it.
The first thread I wrote for Alaia forced my hand down an entirely different avenue, as many characters do, she took on a mind of her own and I prefer it that way. In her profession as a healer and physician it’s absolutely impossible not to touch someone which means she faces this revulsion for her gift every day. Thankfully her dedication to Rak’keli has helped curb this revulsion when she’s doing her job but outside of her job it’s led to some interesting moments. Sometimes I feel it hard to write the gift, I have to be careful it’s like walking a fine line between seeing someone’s emotions and their future but only actually seeing what drives them. It’s interesting to say the least and in the beginning I thought it would be close to impossible but as I learn Alaia I learn the gift and how to deal with it. Part of me actually likes making ridiculous reasons for her to touch people because I enjoy watching her squirm under the assault of their intentions.
Right now she doesn’t purposefully use her gift; she will do anything she can to escape touching someone’s skin if she has the option. It’s not as handy as you would think at times, she can’t actually know something if the other person doesn’t know it. I like to think of it as laying out a book and looking at the first three chapters, sometimes the words are in another language and sometimes they’re clear as day but other times it’s just a blank page and she gets nothing. Also, annoyingly, the pages can be out of order and sometimes the first chapter is laid out in between the second and third. It’s fun though; I really enjoy it even if she doesn’t!
3. What are some fun things you’re doing with Alaia now, and what are you planning for in her future?
So many plans! I don’t know if everyone is like me when they start a character but sometimes I have an exact direction I want the character to go, other times I just let things fall into place. With Alaia I had a general idea of what I wanted from her but nothing concrete and then I started weaseling around OOC looking for stuff for Alaia to do. I think the real turning point in where I was taking Alaia is when I messaged Kavala looking to thread with her, after that everything just fell into place like dominos. She is turning out darker then I had originally planned, she has all these feelings that I don’t understand which makes it absolutely exciting to post because she is her own character and does what she pleases!
Right now during the summer she had set out looking for adventure and she found way more then she can chew. To start off with the small things I’m enjoying furthering her skills through flashbacks in Mura as well as through current threads. She is changing jobs from the Gilia Medical Center to go work at the Sanctuary and she is discovering her past lives. Who knew past lives could be so fun?! She doesn’t really have a handle on them yet, or even understands everything as she is in the process of learning it but she will be a part of the Cytali and all their fun adventures. She has erm … what is the right phrase for this? She has done things this season that will forever change her. She has gotten mixed up with bandits and slavers and she wasn’t always the victim in these situations.
I plan on her delving deeper into her naturally protective personality which means she will need to get tougher so all these dark deeds she has been victim to or committed will help that a lot. I don’t want to lose her as a character though. I don’t want to fully dispel the sweet innocence that makes her, her. I will be holding onto that side of her personality with all my might as her creator because I fully believe that is a big part in what makes her Alaia. Also as a side note, gnosis I will be aiming her towards more gnosis and I’m really looking forward to that.
4. What is your and Alaia’s favorite foods?
I love food! I’m a vegetarian IRL so I’m a bit pickier then Alaia though I wasn’t always a vegetarian. I love pizza and burgers, hold the meat! Of course I like healthy things too that I’m supposed to like – mainly I love trying new things and pizza. Did I mention I love pizza? Before I went the veggie route I absolutely loved sushi and would eat it as often as I could. Sushi was my favorite food on the whole planet and I suppose that’s Alaia’s. I feel like she is a wine and sushi girl. She’s an expensive date apparently!
5. You have a few different PCs, can you tell us a little about how you juggle them and what puts you in the mood for which PC?
Well Alaia is the one I definitely would consider the character I play the most but yeah I have two others that I actively play. Juggling them does feel a bit difficult sometimes because sometimes I find my muse is more attracted to one then the other but in the end I like to think I handle them pretty well. Alaia of course is in Riverfall, I can write her without even a thought typically so she’s pretty easy for me to get into the mood for.
Outside of Alaia I have a human PC in Ravok, she’s a bit quirky and tough – more my typical style in characters I play. She has a big mouth and is quick to throw a punch but she has an honor system despite all of that. I typically fall into her mood really easily too because she’s a lot like me. She’s still really new and I haven’t had the chance to play her a lot but that will be changing as I settle into her skin. She is kind of like a breath of fresh air for me between Alaia and my mage she is the most spontaneous and carefree of the three.
Last but not least I have my mage in Sahova. She is the hardest for me to write, I have to take my time with her and really think about how she will react to things. There is nothing wrong with this though, I like to write her late at night when it’s dark out. I have to clear my mind to write for her, I can’t be hyper. This is the character that I was steered in a direction that wasn’t comfortable for me but it has opened my eyes to an entire world of magic I never planned to pursue and I’ve fallen in love with the darker aspects of magic. I have big plans for this character!
6. To focus more on Alaia, is she the type of PC that has a distinct voice in your head as you write her, are there aspects of her that are easy to write and others ones more difficult?
Oh yes, she definitely has a voice. If we’re talking about literal voices she actually sounds like one of the beautiful voices from the old movies to me. Like bells on a spring morning and toss in a faded French accent or something if we were on Earth. Yes I’ve thought of this way too much, I know. As for a metaphorical voice in my head, yes she definitely has one. I never get what I want when she’s talking, it’s very frustrating. Secretly I think she’s a brat. (I’m just kidding on the brat part) Truthfully she really doesn’t do what I want, I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve tried to force my hand at and she’s like “Nope, not doing that I’m going to do this.” She makes me rewrite posts all the time if she’s not satisfied – I hope that doesn’t make me sound nuts! I’ve already explained how she isn’t really what I planned her to be, one day I’ll give in and stop making her yell at me.
I think healing is easy to write for her, any form of it because she has this singular mind set when it comes to the act. She forgets all her insecurities (usually) and just does the one thing she was born to do. The hardest part for me to write for her is when she actually feels attracted to someone in a romantic sense. She is so gentle and naïve that I find it a bit challenging at times to actually describe that. Also coming to a cross roads in decisions where I want her to go one way but she wants to go another – I suppose I have a lot of those moments. I had a particularly hard one in a thread where she accidently kills a bandit, I kept wanting her to just stab him a little but the post wasn’t coming out right until her Suvai plunged into him. Yep, so … I swear she’s innocent and gentle and that it wasn’t on purpose!
7. If you could transform Alaia’s personality, beliefs, etc into a tattoo, what would it look like?
I am so absolutely in love with this question partly because I love tattoos and have a couple myself and secondly because I do plan on getting her tattooed one day in the future. I’ve put a lot of thought into this and if she gets anything it will be a large part of her body, like a piece of art. She will design it herself and have it situated in such a way she could hide it easily but also show it off if she wants to. It would be feminine like her and it wouldn’t hide her scales that she is so proud of. The coloring would be a simple monotone shade that stood out against her pale skin. I suppose actually something to compliment the Rak’keli mark on her face with a slight tribal touch to it as a nod towards the crashing waves of the sea that she loves so much? I’ve always thought the interwoven structure of tribal symbols looked like waves colliding to form some greater picture. Something that exuded the adventure she wishes to have in her life. Oh! Maybe her tattoos would expand over the years, little by little like markers for each major life event or personality shift. Yeah that sounds like something Alaia would do.
8. As a Miz Scrapper, what are your favorite types of scrapbook posts to read and why?
I love reading about people’s insights and thoughts regarding different subjects. I’m really bad at expressing myself without rambling so I’ve never truly been good at it but it fascinates me to see the parts of people’s minds that they wish to reveal. I feel like those posts, above all others scrapbook posts, are beautiful. I have this obsession with understanding how someone’s mind works and this at least gets me a little bit closer. Many times I’ve read a fellow scrapper’s post and I’m like “Wow, I really agree with that.” Or “I really can’t empathize with that but it was really well written.” Either way I feel closer to the person, as if they are welcoming me into their lives for a post and that’s a nice feeling. Plus I’m totally envious and feel like if I read other people’s in depth mind thoughts then maybe one day I’ll pick up that talent!
9. You just recently became a Grader, can you tell us what prompted this decision?
Sure! It’s simple really; I want to be a part of Miz past my characters. I want to get to know other PC’s I wouldn’t get to know other wise and I like helping. I am a helper. Call on me when you need something – I’ll be there. Suddenly I have the song ‘Lean on Me’ stuck in my head. This is just who I am – I’ve always pursued positions where I can help out and so it was a no brainer to me I just had to wait for my 60 days to be up. (Longest last week of waiting ever by the way.) I feel like I can’t be a better writer if I don’t explore as many areas as I can and being a better writer for my thread partners and myself is always a goal. Grading will open my eyes to more than just what I’m already accustomed to. It’s like reading a new book from an author you’ve never experienced – they have different ways of envisioning things that might help you out in the end. On top of helping other players and myself it helps the staff and ya’ll do so much already. I shall tip my hat to you and help where I can.
10. Somewhat linked to the previous question, do you have any favorite threads you’ve stumbled across in the forums?
Hmm, now that is a fabulously tricky question.
I don’t think I have a specific favorite thread. I do have a favorite type of thread though, or rather two types. I really, really enjoy threads pertaining to a characters self discovery. As I mentioned before I have an unnatural curiosity for what goes on in people’s brains so these threads really expose the inner workings of a character. They may be fun to write, they may be tedious or they may be unexpected calamity but they are always amazing. One day I will know all the characters secrets! Okay probably not but it would be no fun if I did.
I also truly love Gnosis threads. I love seeing the Gods and Goddesses and reading them and all of that. I’ve always been a big fan of mythology in real life so I suppose it’s only natural for that to spill over into my role playing life. Though of course the Mizahar Gods and Goddesses are 100% real! I feel like when they pop up in a thread it’s giving them a tangible existence among us PC mortals and stuff. My brain is a little tired right now so I’m not doing this question the justice it deserves.
11. As usual this is the blank spot for you to write what you will to the whole of Mizahar!
Hats will rule the world some day! Fear the hats!
Erm also, just keep writing. I feel like a question asked a lot is something along the lines of “What do you do when you’re stuck on a post?” Just write. That’s my advice, it may be the worst thing you’ve ever written but you wrote something and that’s what matters. A lot of times it will shock you and actually turn out well. Just write, for the love of all that is our muses, write. If it was horrible then who cares? You don’t need to actually post it; no one is forcing you to. Muses are fickle creatures who like to play hide and seek and just generally act like children. Let them do what they want; they still want you to write even if it’s not about what you want to write about. Maybe that’s lame advice, I’m not really sure but it’s always worked for me. Just write.
Also before I go, I’d truly like to give a heartfelt thanks to everyone on the site. Staff, players … everyone. Keep doing what you’re doing. You are all inspiring to me and thank you for everything. |
by Azira on August 1st, 2014, 4:49 pm 
