  Attention Mizahar!
As is tradition the Founders and RS's have come together and chosen one awesome individual as Featured Contributor! This month it is none other than the lovable Fable. The new AS of Alvadas, in his short time as an ST he has already taken many strides in the city in helping getting it back on its feet and running the day to day operations. Not to mention a few very cool things going on behind the scenes for all of his players to enjoy. Please join me today in congratulating Fable. Good job and keep up the hard work! |
1. So lets start this interview with something good. What made you want to become an ST in the first place? Furthermore, is being an ST like how you expected it to be?
I love Mizahar. I love it so much, it's almost a problem. Almost. I became friends with a lot of staff, and it didn't take long to see how overworked they are. This isn't the kind of overworked where they can't handle things; this is the kind of overworked where they want to do so much, but they're limited in the fact that they need to do what has to be done first, leaving the stuff that could be really exciting on the sidelines while they deal with the more menial stuff. When I joined, most of the STs were either DSs or higher, meaning there was stuff that they could do but weren't able to with answering questions, running minor quests, and setting things up for new players. I don't think that's a bad thing. In fact, I think it's awesome that they help everyone. The thing is, they could be helping everyone in completely different ways if they had the ST support to do so. So, dunderhead that I am, I immediately wanted to ST to take the load off of them. That was silly. Every ST has a lot of work to do, whether they're a light green, dark green, tealish blue, or straight blue (let's not even talk about that crazy red's stuff that he's constantly doing). In my head, I thought I could come in and deal with all the stuff that was taking up the STs time so they could go craft crazy plots for their players to really immerse themselves in. Yep. Nope. As soon as I started there were things I had to address. I ended up taking tons of Mirage's time with my own questions about questions. I got a lot a done, and I plan on continuing to get things done. Probably the biggest surprise about becoming an ST is the range of players. My Alvads? They're amazing. There were a few hiccups, but over all I'm so blessed to have the supportive city that I do. I wasn't expecting STing to be as stressful or as difficult as it was, and I don't really think you can prepare yourself for that. It's not so much workload as it is just... Stuff not working. Or things not working out. It's difficult to explain, but it's not what I expected. Good or bad? Again, can't really say. I think that it's good. I think that as I continue to work on being the best ST I can be to my players and the other staff, I'm going to continue learning a whole plethora of things that I definitely would have missed out on otherwise, and I'm both terrified and excited for that.
2. A sort of follow up to the first, what drew you to Alvadas? In your mind what makes the city a great place to RP? Feel free to gush!
What is Alavadas? It's... Quite literally anything you want it to be, and that's really what drew me to it. You want to have a drink with a black bear and go on a jog with a angry Razorbeaks biting at your ankles? You want to fall desperately in love with the most beautiful woman, sleep with her only find out it was just one of Ionu's marked, and then chase him through the ever changing streets with pants around your ankles and pockets empty? You want to follow hooded figured down twisting alleys only to come to a giant, endless chasm filled with weird little baby heads watching your every move? Alvadas has that. Alvadas has that and more, and the best part? No one has any idea what's real and what isn't. For all we know, the rest of the world is just a dreamscape and Alvadas was the only thing that survived the Valterrian. I love the infinite potential that the city has, and the players are reflecting that quite nicely. The locations are also really nicely developed (most of them), and really there are a lot more things people could add. What I also really love about the city is there's this air of: You're only who you are while you're who you are. Racism, sexism, poverty versus wealth, all of these things are still present, but they're present in completely different ways than the other cities. For example, Zith are allowed in the city. Are they allowed because people like them/don't mind them, or because people really can't tell any race from another? I love that dynamic, because it really allows you a chance to explore that part of the psyche in a crazy amount of depth. Alternatively, it also provides endless shenanigans for you to get into if you're rather just throw yourself face first into the illusions. I really love the paradoxical openness and secrecy of the city. If any of that appeals to you, I suggest you look into the city and make your own conclusions. Hopefully they'll be similar to my own!
3. As an ST it is pretty clear why you were chosen to be this month's featured contributor, but in your own opinion what do you feel like is your greatest achievement thus far in your short time as an ST?
Honestly, I'm not really sure why. D: I mean, I've been doing a lot of work, sure, but nothing that I think really stands out. I try to keep my grading que clear (which I tell you right now is way easier with a smaller number of PCs than somewhere like Syliras or Zeltiva). I've been working with the players (sort of) to figure out where we want to take things plotwise... Mirage and I have been working on a new, interesting kind of location that will be unveiled sometime (hopefully near the beginning) of spring, so that was fun! I mean, as a whole, I haven't done a whole lot of really big things, more like a bunch of smaller ones.
Probably one of the biggest achievements so far was understanding specific magics so wholly and completely that I now had very few issues knowing if something does or doesn't work. Hah. I'll catch up to you, guys! I'll be a magic master some day! Hahaha
4. As I have a hand in Alvadas, being the RS, I already know quite a few of your plans for the city. For the reader though, would you like to share some of your ideas, plots and plans for the glorious city of Illusions? Give us all a sneak peak into whats coming in the future!
Hm hm hm. Well, the calender is going to be a little bit different this season (as it's been for like the last year, hah). Instead of specific dates (thank you Mirage for suggesting this), it's really just a collection of prompts within specific time periods during which the illusions are focused around certain things. A little note on this: there will still be the usual randomness happening, there's just going to be an overarching theme. I'm really looking forward to this, and I'm hoping at least... a few of the prompts get used haha. There are a few specific ones I really, really like. I'll give you a hint: quack quack. Hahaha
Let's see, there's also a new location coming out for several cities in one cute little package! What is it? I don't know! It could be anything, but it's probably just something. 
There's also going to be a death. Wa. Ha. Ha.
Also, I've been getting a bit chilly lately. You know? Sometimes the night sounds like it's whispering something to me, almost a moan? I can't be sure. It'll probably pass.
5. Now that we have a sort of baseline of questions done and answered lets get into some not so straight forward ones. Alvadas is a very unique city even among all of the awesome cities in Mizahar. It is a place where Illusion and Reality mix and blend until you can no longer tell one from the other. Has it been difficult to adjust to the city's theme? I can imagine the entire concept of an Illusion city can be a big difficult to wrap your brain around, so how do you rationalize what happens in Alvadas and then portray it in a way that your players can then enjoy in your threads?
Oh dear, yes. I thought it would be super cool, and it turns out it's super super cool, one super more than I was ready for! The main problem when I'm thinking of things and how they should work or not work is: Does this fit in the nonsensical, non-fitting sense? Believe it or not, there's an order to Alvadas in chaos, and chaos can be quite difficult to manage. When you think: I want to make a starfall, instead of just making it happen, you have to think about it. While yes, it's possible for that to happen, what are the repercussions? Is it an actual meteor? Is it a duck that fell out of the sky and caught on fire? Is it purely an illusion? There are, once you think of a single thing, a million questions to go with it, and while I know the other cities have plenty of questions, Alvadas' are a little more... out there. You can really do anything, but the downside to it is you need to really seriously consider what that anything might affect and whether it should affect and to what effect it might affect. If that makes any sense at all. I think the biggest thing about Alvadas is description. Sounds kind of silly, but if something strange is happening, you don't just say: Weirdness ensued. It might seem random, but what I've learned is the city does things for a reason. There is almost never a talking rabbit or a floating eyeball that doesn't have some purpose or reason, and that is the single linking factor that makes the illusions so exciting. You never know if picking up a purple orange instead of a red one might set you on the adventure of a lifetime or give you the runs for a week. Spontaneity has always been something really attractive to me, but Alvadas has that in balance with purpose, which I think has been the hardest thing to get used to (and I'm still getting used to it!).
6. What sorts of threads do you enjoy grading, modding or just plain love reading? Are there any sort of modded threads that get your blood pumping and fill you with excitement and make you crave that next post? Vice versa, are there any types of threads that, while you may do, are not necessarily the hair raisers you might prefer?
I. Love. Detailed threads. Not the frivolous four thousand word posts about the quality of a woman's hair, but those threads that have that delicious balance of description, action, and introspection. The subject doesn't even really matter, to be honest, when it's written like this. I love beautiful, flowing, thoughtful writing that I can just sit and enjoy like a freshly baked lasagna. There are so many qualities that come into account with writing. I get so excited over metaphors, really spot on grammar, and other technical and artistic techniques that just compliment the story as a whole. Cleverness is something fun as well - an example off the top of my head would be a post written as a Dhani with the fewest number of words with "s" as possible. That sort of thing.
Blood pumping, post craving, hm? Well. I can think of one that starts with "s" and ends with the casual reference for a dog of a mixed breed snickers but in all seriousness... I love philosophy. A character examining their situation in life, their relationships, their understanding of what it means to share in a world among so many other countless souls... It's wonderful. I believe that characters are never more alive when they're either fighting for their own life or questioning why they have it in the first place.
I'm not a fan of "Get Them Done" threads. While I can't really tell if someone had fun or not writing a post I really love, there are things that just read flat. I'm sure everyone has written a thread or post they were just like, "I need to write this, here it is, do with it what you will." While I don't think this is always avoidable, it just makes me kind of sad. Every story has the potential for something great about it, be it the way it's written, the content of what happens, or the sheer simple portrayal of mediocrity: there's something that you can really accentuate every time if you really want to.
7. This question may have been answered at some earlier point in the interview, but is there one location or one NPC in Alvadas that you just absolutely adore and love to use in thread? If so which location or NPC, and why is it so special to you?
Heh. I love the Emerald Pond. It's just do darn creepy and magnificent. NPC wise? You know... None of them really stick out above the others in the way of "Oh man, you are the bee's joints!" I like the proprietor of the Withering Rose a lot. She's neat. And Wharf is a really cool dude as well. I haven't gotten to play around with the NPCs or locations a whole lot, but I'm hoping that will change with the spring and as time moves ever onward! (I will say there is an NPC for the new location that I'm in love with. hehe)
8. If you were a type of candy, what kind of candy would you be and why?
Hm. Real talk? Sour Patch Kid. First I'm sour, then I'm sweet hahaha.
9. If there was one thing you could change about Alvadas what would it be and why? Also if you could develop ANYTHING in Mizahar, be it a new race, lost discipline, a magic, new monster, etc, what would it be?
I would make it a floating city. Not even kidding. I know, I know... Tropes, clichés, etc. I just... Wow. I just think a floating city would really embody what Alvadas is: the epitome of ordered defiance wrapped up in a miscreant's shell. Heh. As for developing? I'll make a disclaimer and assume I have all the time in the world as well as plenty of elbow to elbow founder access and say: a race based on magic. There are plenty of them, and I think there are more than enough, but I love races.
10. Do you have any advice to those players out there who are wanting to, or are thinking about, volunteering to be an ST themselves? What about to volunteers of any sort, graders, scribes, CS Liaisons, etc?
Oooh, advice time?
Ok. Here's what I've got for anyone that wants to be on staff:
The staff want help, they don't want you specifically. That sounds harsh, I know, but that's the way things are. No one cares if you can bench press eight times your own body weight or have the world's largest- cactus. We don't want a person, we want a person's help: their passion, their drive, their love of the game. Dedication is huge. There have been tons of STs that have been inducted only to leave a season or less later, no one needs that. If you're wanting to be an ST, that's awesome. That's the first step. The next step is evaluating your priorities: do you want to be an ST enough to donate your time? STing isn't like having a character. You can't just pick it up and play with it when you want, it's a job. It's a really fun, exciting, stressful, crazy, and amazing job, but it's still a job. Small story time: I cannot tell you how amazed I am at how many people can join a job in real life only to quit the next week. It's... Crazy. Why would you take a job just to quit? Don't do that. Don't approach an ST position casually. Don't think, "well, they need help and I guess I'm not doing anything else". If you change your mind? That causes more problems than it fixes. What you do as an ST affects more than just yourself. It affects your players, your staff members, and the site as a whole. It's a serious commitment. It might not be the most time intensive if you don't make it like that, but it is dedication intensive. I want Perplexity to have an AS like crazy, but you know? I don't want him to get someone who isn't prepared to step up and own their ST position. You are volunteering, yes, but you're also entering into a trust based contract: by becoming an St, you are agreeing to help keep the site alive. You are, in essence, becoming the site.
All that doom and gloom aside? Love it. I think one of the things that is the biggest thing to know: DO STUFF! Don't just apply for being an ST without doing other things. Become a grader. Work as a peer reviewer in the development forums, or develop something! There's also the Mizahar Mentor program, something that you could take on to see what it's like to deal more with player problems in a station similar to an ST. Prepare yourself! Just like any job, being an ST takes a certain amount of experience and understanding that there are going to be times where things are rough. If you have prior experience with these things, it will help you so so much when you do apply. I would highly suggest guest story telling as well! (Even when you become an AS, you still need to ok plots with your DS!) There's just so much you can do as a player that doesn't require being an ST, and the time commitment is really really minimal. Even if you don't want to be an ST/CSL/Scribe, but you still want to help out the site? Take advantage of these opportunities!
When it comes to being chosen as one of the volunteers that isn't an ST (or even an ST): Don't be stupid. That's a super harsh but really appropriate way to explain that to you. If you want to be a grader? Learn how to grade. If you want to become a scribe? Study how lore works, what lore is already there, and what can be expanded. Never never never approach something you want to do with nothing but air in your head and passion in your heart unless you're volunteering for a suicide mission (which sometimes I think the graders might feel that's exactly what they did hahaha). There are so many resources to learn from. If you don't like reading threads? Don't become a grader. If you don't like talking to new people? Don't become a mentor. These might seem like "No duh" things, but... Oh man. The stories I've heard. haha Come on people. : P
Long long advice column short: Be passionate, be prepared, and be present.
11. As always the last question is yours! So take your illusionary soap box, pick up that illusionary mike and give an illusionary speech filled with all kinds of illusions! The question is, did this actually happen at all? Lets let the reader decide!
Whew. I feel like I already said a lot. Let's see...
First of all I should just say that I didn't embrace Mirage's illustrious illusionary imagery as I thought I might should have. Haha. My bad, Mirage.
Really, I'd like to thank you, actually. You've been helping me like... Like a newborn baby that's only read the Red Book. Haha. Ha. But really though, I'm so so grateful for everything you've done for/with me. I couldn't have asked for a better RS who wasn't an adorable young woman.
And to the players and everyone reading this (if you've made it this far): I'm honored to get to work with/for/over/under/around/beside you. I have had nothing but good times here, even when things weren't so great, and I just can't put into words how special this place is. I've never found a community like this. I've never found people like all of you. I have made some really precious friends here, and I hope to continue doing so. Thank you all so much for this honor.  |
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by Phobius on March 2nd, 2015, 3:27 am 
