  Greetings Mizahar!
July 2014's Featured Contributor is a stand out AS taking Ravok by force. A complex and bustling City, The Founder's Circle and Regional Storytellers had an easy job picking out this active and creative ST to pick her brain about the City she loves and what makes her as an ST tick. Without further Ado I present to you Nemesis's....Nemesi's? Neme....the interview Nemesis filled out, while also congratulating her on this grand accomplishment!
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1. Alright we shall begin with the basics. What made you choose Ravok as the city to ST in?
Well, it was actually pure chance that one of my characters started out there... and when she moved on to another city, I missed it so much that I had to create another character so that I could continue playing there! I've loved all the cities that my PCs have been to, but none so much as Ravok, and so it was an easy choice as a place to become an AS  I'm not sure what it is... I suppose I love the intrigue of the city, the subtle darkness that rests over a place which, on the surface, seems to be a utopia. It also contains the Kelvic Research Institute (a facility that researches Kelvics, if you didn't know!), which is my absolute favourite location in the whole of Mizahar.
It's funny though, because when I originally joined the site and read through all the cities, I thought to myself that, of all cities, I would never end up in Ravok, as I'm not that keen on boats or large bodies of water. The idea of roleplaying in a setting that I disliked in real life doesn't really strike my fancy! But it just goes to show that you should never judge too soon.
2. As a sort of follow up, if you can, would you tell us a bit about your plans for the future as an ST? Are you planning to stick around in Ravok, do you ever contemplate becoming a DS in another city?
Hmm, one day, it would be nice to become a DS - I think I would enjoy the responsibility, but at the moment, I have a say in development of Ravok, and Abstract is a great DS and mentor to me and I don't think I'm ready to leave her yet! For now, I'm very happy to stay where I am. I've thought about moving to other cities, going where I'm needed and all, but, like I said, Ravok is my first love and there's so much potential there with development and players, I can't see myself getting bored any time soon. But I'll never say never, I guess I have to see where the future takes me. ^.^
3. Being an ST is a pretty intense time commitment. How do you balance your STing with your PC’s, RL, etc?
Oh! there's always something that I can be doing as a member if staff here! In theory, I think all STs/CSLs could spend 100% of their time developing, moderating and grading and still have something else to do... so I think time management is a big part of helping me balance my time as best I can. I generally try to do a few ST things first, so that I feel good about myself, and then I can RP to my heart's content! I enjoy grading, and it's a good way of easing myself back into Mizahar when I've been doing other RL things earlier in the day; gets me in a good mindset for fantasy. Sometimes, though, I find I have small pockets of free time, so I'll fit whichever task I think I can complete into that period.
As to real life, I actually joined staff just before my final exams, which probably wasn't the best of decisions I've ever had, but in did it anyway! To be honest, I'm not sure how I did it, but I managed to revise,have a bit of a social life with my friends, play/ST on Miz, sleep regularly (and often, I'm like a sloth when it comes to my sleep), AND actually bring up my grades. Must be Rhysol watching over me.
4. Ravok is a popular city for good reason. It has a beautiful setting with a lot of intrigue and shadowy dealings beneath the picturesque surface all presided over by the Black Sun. Are there any plots going on that you are just loving, or storylines you’re itching to see happen in this dynamic setting?
WELL! Since you ask... where to begin...
I have a bit of bias, but I'm loving the threads that I'm involved in at the moment, and I hope the players are too! We have some truly dark and deceitful things going on, our God should be very proud of us right now! I think what I love the most, however, is how the players are really using the calendar that Abstract and I created. They are taking the events and creating really fascinating stories out of them. One example was a prompt last season, where an Ebonstryfe display goes wrong... a group of players came together to create a really complex thread, where they were the catalysts, made the catastrophe even worse, and had some really good character development and progression going on. I can't say that I was pleasantly surprised, because I expected nothing less from Ravok's players!
As to the future, I would love to see a resolution to our Fish Problem, even I have no idea what's going to happen there, and it's become quite a big deal this season... lots of non-citizen deaths <.< and the appointment of a new Voice is something that I'm keen about... it's been a while now, so hopefully we won't be waiting for too long to see that!
5. What has been your favorite thing to develop or work on so far? Is there anything you’re super hyped about to work on in the future?
I recently assisted in getting the Nitrozian-Moletta Sanitary Station up as an official location in Ravok. It's run by three players from the city and was a very ambitious project that's hopefully going to be a great success, as it embodies the spirit of Ravok - a pleasant, helpful façade with a darker, deceitful twist! It's definitely a location for citizens and visitors to Ravok alike to gander down to and take a looksee. The future... hmmm... That would be telling! But I keep saying that Ravok has so much untapped potential, so many things still do do, how can I not be excited when I think of all those projects?
6. If you were taken from real life and plopped down into the center of Ravok, knowing what you know as an ST of the city, what would you do?
Oh, can this please happen? Please please please? XD
Well first, I'd pray to Rhysol that I wasn't actually 'plopped down' into the canal! What with our fish problem, I would be keen not to be eaten in the first few chimes of arrival. Hopefully, I could get citizenship quickly and find a way into the Black Sun, which would arguably give me the easiest ride in the city, having influence and power I also think I would find it very easy to worship Rhysol... he just makes sense to me, so why not serve him best I can?
Knowing my luck though, I would end up being captured by slavers and sold, probably. On the plus side, I would get a free tattoo, on the negative side... I would lose my freedom D: which would be bad. In such a case, hopefully I would live the easy life that some slaves seem to have... and I would hope that I would fetch a high price at auction! A few errands, little to no pain and abuse... I hope that I'm pretty savvy so maybe it wouldn't always be misery. >.> to make things more fun, maybe I'd even be a Kelvic, I've always wondered what animal I would be!
7. What gets you jazzed up and in the Mizahar mood? This can be from the perspective of your ST account or a PC!
Oh, I'm always in the Mizahar mood! I'm glad that I have other commitments, else I probably would spend every waking moment on the site. But I think it comes down to how interesting and exciting everything is - if it were dull, why would I come back? Why would anything? Something, for different reasons, pulls us all back to be here, whether it be as staff or player, which I think is really fantastic
8. Rhysol vs. Ssena, who wins and why?
Well.. seeing as Ssena was once Rhysol's Voice, this would be a particularly interesting comparison... or are we discussing a war between the two? I think that Ssena owes Rhysol a lot, maybe even her allegiance, so I can easily see the two working in tandem for their own gains. The two complement each other well, and they can both feed off the strife that the other creates... One of the focuses of Rhysol's domain is deceit and betrayal, which engenders paranoia, which is a subset of fear. I'd argue that Rhysol is much more subtle than Ssena, and in some cases this can be much more valuable in achieving one's own ends. Ultimately, though, Ssena may have risen to divinity through the Djed storm, but Rhysol is the one who gave her the ability to make that happen, and this cannot be ignored.
9. STing has its highs and lows, what have been your favorite parts of ASing, and conversely, your least favorites?
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first... for me it would be the fact that sometimes I have to be the bad-guy and say "no" or ask people to do things the don't want to do. It comes part and parcel with the role, but it's not always fun. Sometimes players take it as a personal offence, even if you give them a million reasons as to why their plot idea wouldn't work. No matter how many times it happens, it's always going to be difficult. Sometimes you need a think skin to be an ST.
Now the good! Well I love grading and knowing what's going on in the lives of characters... and I love developing the city so that it can truly be amazing (just as it should be)... but most of all I love plotting. Whether it's with or against someone, it's always fun, and I delight in giving players the chance to carve out individual lives... even if they're not expecting it!
10. What is your favorite city apart from Ravok, and why?
Though my characters, I've experienced a lot of cities... some I haven't, so I'll have to go with one I know well enough for now... Sahova is a remarkable, deadly place. I haven't had the chance to get as deep into the city as I want to yet, but it has some similar motifs to Ravok, but presents them in a very different way. Again, it's not somewhere that I would have initially chosen to send a character, and it was chance that brought her there, but I don't regret it at all. I'm all about roleplaying about things that I can't (or wouldn't want to) experience in real life, and Sahova, as the magic capital, is definitely something out of this world!
Also... and I will deny this if any of you speaks of it to Radiant... but I quite like Syliras.
11. As custom this spot is just for you to write whatever you feel, have at it!
I... like the colour green? Ha, no, I've been on many RP sites, more than I care to admit, and never have I felt so strongly for a site as I do this one. I can't imagine my life without it now, and you've all been a part of shaping it. Y'all should give yourselves a pat on the back... and give Goss and the Founders big smooches for giving us this brilliant outlet for our creativity.
I don't really know what to say here.. I feel like there's so much I should be saying but I'm drawing a blank. I guess.. Though my friends and family might judge me for my indulgence in my "half-arsed attempts at writing a novel", as they sometimes describe it, you guys know what it's all about, you know why I find enjoyment in this and, even if I've never threaded with you, it's comforting to know how many like-minded people there are out there. So thank you.
(Seriously though, I really do love the colour green). |
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Wohooooo! Congraaaaats! Just this once, I represent the forces of Order to congratulate our Arch-Nemesis, the horde of Chaos! Hehe, geddit? 
by Palla Frostfawn on July 1st, 2014, 4:53 pm 
