We’re here with another interview with a newer member of our community. The title of this column is “Lower Decks,” hearkening back to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled “Lower Decks,” in which junior officers aboard the Enterprise-D speculate on the reasons for recent unusual actions taken by the command crew near the Cardassian border. The theme was further popularized with the animated series Lower Decks which spent five seasons following the antics of an engaging group of Junior Officers as they carried out missions aboard the USS Cerritos.
This month’s interview is with the writer behind Ensign Ezra Zerva playing a male unjoined Trill Security Officer assigned to the USS Khitomer.
Marsh: Tell us a little about the writer behind the character. What part of the world are you from? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing for SB118?
Zerva: I’m from a small New England town in the state of Maine in the United States. One of our mottos is *The way life should be* and I think that fits us perfectly. A very rural state that’s also known as the vacation state. We’ve got lots to explore and see in the great outdoors and I enjoy being able to go outside all four seasons to do just that, which includes hiking and camping (even when it snows!). My favorite season is the fall and Halloween is my favorite holiday, so any chance I get to go outside when the leaves change color is a great day. Talking out the real life Foxy Lady for walks is a must! She loves the fall as much as I do.
My favorite outdoor activity and hobby is Live Action Roleplaying or LARP. My tabletop RPG gaming friends and I first discovered it in the early to mid 90’s and I’ve been doing it ever since. I enjoy being able to take on the role of a character in a fantasy setting and then instead of just imagining it and rolling some dice (which I still love doing), I get to *be* the character which is awesome.
Imagine you’ve just been cast by Peter Jackson to play one of the members of the Fellowship of the Rings in Middle Earth and you’re going on an adventure! You can play anything from a knight to a tavern keeper to a crafter or even a powerful spell caster. It’s great because you get to have this awesome community of both writers and staff who tell their story and the players who populate the world who get to experience said story. It’s a lot like SB-118 in that regard. It’s a great mix of story and action all rolled up into one. I’ve been both a staff member, writer and a player. I get out to LARP every chance I can, even in the winter outdoors in the snow. It’s lots of fun.
I started taking Kempo and Jujitsu Martial Art Classes in the fall of 2020 and I fell in love with it after just one class! It was two of my LARP friends who helped me take those steps. I’ve recently gotten my green belt in Kempo and I’ve got my yellow belt in Escrima (Philippine Stick and Knife). When I created Ezra, I decided to make him the same rank in the same martial arts as myself. I thought it would be fun to see both myself and Ezra grow together.
When I’m not doing either of those, I’m at RenFaires or Cons Cosplaying. I’m hanging with my family and friends playing some tabletop RPGs, board games, pushing minis on a table or playing some Minecraft online.
I’m a big X-Men and Dragonlance fan and take every opportunity to read up as much as I can on my favorite mutants and heroes of the lance (when I’m not binge watching my favorite Anime, Sci-Fi or latest MCU shows/content).
My guilty pleasures are watching Soaps my mom got my hooked on as a kid (which is where Ezra’s Avatar comes from) and watching professional wrestling.
Is this your first simming experience, or have you done other forms of role-playing before?
I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in junior high school as a kid and have since played and DM/GM a variety of different tabletop RPGs that then transitioned to both LARP and online to a number of MMORPs. From there I joined a Marvel Superhero RPG group that does play by posting as superheroes online. I’ve since transitioned over as one of the GMs and have created a whole city filled with all sorts of interesting places to explore and interact in and villains for the heroes to stop.
Do you take any inspiration from films, television, or books when writing your character?
I’m a big fan of the Star Wars: Rebels animated show and that’s where I got Ezra’s first name. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is my favorite Trek series, and the reason I choose Trill as Ezra’s species is because of Dax. I was inspired by Tuvok, Worf and Odo as security officers, which helped in choosing my shipboard posting.
When I write, I try to imagine what it was like for Nog (my favorite Star Trek character) when he first joined Starfleet and his experiences or lack thereof, as someone who is still learning as a new officer. I also take inspiration from all my favorite fandoms like Dragonlance and X-Men, to help me in my writing.
I try to take every new opportunity to grow and change in a positive way to facilitate Ezra’s growth as he learns from his mistakes and challenges along the way.
Looking back on your experience so far, what would be one piece of advice that you would have found helpful when you first joined?
Breath. Enjoy the writing and try not to stress too much about if your writing is perfect. If you’re stressing too much while writing, take a break and come back to it. I find reading a favorite book in between the writing helps immensely. To avoid some of that real life stress we all get, I look for a quiet relaxing place with my favorite non alcoholic beverage and some relaxing music (Def Leppard counts!). It helps me when I’m writing. Getting a good night’s sleep is a must too. There’s time to improve your writing skills. The last thing you’ll want to do to find yourself stressed out or tired before you even read the next sim you’re tagged in. Writing SIMs in SB-118 should be just as much fun as reading them. Keeping that stress out is a must.
Where would you like to be in a few years? Do you want to have a taste of command? Or are you planning on joining one of our great OOC groups?
I love writing and I enjoy creating stories that others can enjoy writing with me. Being a part of Command and getting to help others create those stories and pass on what I have learned sounds like something I’d really enjoy doing. I can’t wait to expand upon my writing skills with PNPCs one day.
Thanks for your time, Ensign Zerva!
You can read more about Ezra Zerva on the wiki.
