Chirping Reds: Community Manager Alicja Kozera
Poppy: Lovelies… I am so excited! We invited Alicja to join us at our coffee table and today is the day! We already prepared tea and coffee, I baked a cake and some cookies; you should see them: They are cat-shaped and cute and so tasty. For whatever reason Easha disliked the form…
Anyway I hope she will like the — Oh. That was the doorbell. I can hear Easha opening the door and… here they come!
Easha: …Poppy has been excited for days and – to be frank – it has been somewhat tiresome. I hope you had no difficulties at your journey. Anyway, please take a seat. Would you like to have coffee or tea?
Alicja: Hello! Thanks for the invite ladies – I brought some of my famous chocolate cookies for you (I’m sure you’ve heard of them!). Can I put them next to these absolutely amazing cat-shaped cookies?
Easha: Thank you very much for the cookies. In fact I have not heard of them yet, but I am sure we wi – – –
Poppy: OMGGGGG I absolutely adore your pink hair! It’s so my style! You have great taste! Maybe you can give our readers some beauty tips? Which brand do you use to dye your hair? And why candy cotton pink (obvs because it’s the BEST COLOR EVA, but seriously though, why pink)? Have you dyed your hair other colours before? Why do you dye your hair FAB colours like pink?
Easha: Easy, Poppy. You are a little too excited, please calm down.
Poppy: Aww… =(
Alicja: Haha, thank you Poppy! Pink was an obvious choice ‘cause you know… it’s pink! Also my grandma told me that pink hair was in fashion this season. I had ALL the hairstyles – my friends used to say that they’re never sure if they’ll recognize me on the street. So let’s see… I had dreadlocks, then cut them off, later decided to shave my head completely. Went blonde, red, black, silver. Had a fringe, shaved sides, curls… Should I go on?
Poppy: Oh my… So many different styles! You surely love to experiment. I am a little envious. I never dared to go crazy with my hair and you could fill whole hairstyle catalogues all by yourself. And sorry, I got a little overjoyed. It’s good to have you here.
Easha: Indeed. Thank you very much for following our invitation and accepting our bribe of cake and cookies in exchange for the interview. Speaking of which: Shall we begin?
Alicja: That’s a pretty fair exchange rate – let’s do this!
Easha: Maybe you should start by telling us a little about yourself. Your background, your hobbies… Just to get to know you a little better.
Alicja: I’m a simple girl who enjoys simple things in life, like good books and games and TV shows. My skills include ordering huge amounts of pizza and sleeping in literally any circumstances. I studied PR and Marketing and am addicted to Twitter and Discord, so you know that I’m the perfect person for a Community Manager job. Oh, and I have a cat!
Poppy: I have a cat here, too ; ) You really are perfect for that position. Good games, food and TV shows? What else do you need?
Oh! Right! Let’s talk about fashion and style. Can you give our lovely readers some fashion tips? What goes well with pink hair? Do you care a lot about fashion? Where do you like to shop?
Alicja: Surprisingly, almost everything goes with pink hair! Even red lipstick! When it comes to clothes I usually wear something comfy that I like the look of. Worst case scenario, when I can’t decide what to wear, I go with one of my GWENT, Witcher or Cyberpunk t-shirts. I literally have DOZENS of those in my wardrobe. And when I want to feel fancy and powerful, I curl my hair, put on a dress, heels and dark lipstick!
Easha: I did not expect that, indeed. The CDPR t-shirts, however, were kind of an obvious choice. And now that the merchandise store is online, all the players can wear them, too.
Another question: As self-proclaimed Empress of Nilfgaard and Community Manager of CDPR – isn’t it hard to work two jobs? What are your tasks as Community Manager and what are your tasks as empress?
Alicja: It’s not easy to lead a double life! So as a Community Manager, I make sure that our players know what’s happening with the game and feel welcome in the community. Being an Empress, on the other hand, is all about spreading misinformation among enemy ranks and showing these filthy Nordlings their place!
Poppy: Now that is some diversity in your work life. I am sure it never gets boring, and I can guarantee you that I do feel welcome in the game. About your other face… I guess everybody has a dark side hidden within, right Easha?
Easha: Excuse me…?
Poppy: A-HEM… Who’s your secret crush in the Witcher universe, Alicja? (#Geralt4eva) Who’s your style icon from the Witcher games or Gwent?
Alicja: Smooth change of subject! Haha, okay, I’ll spill it… before I got into games, as most Polish teens, I started with The Witcher books. Back then I had a huge crush on Cahir and I hoped that Ciri finally appreciated him. Well, that went well. Right now, after playing Thronebreaker, it’s obviously Gascon. I don’t know, I might have a thing for traitorous bad boys (who, surprisingly, are not Nilfgaardians).
Easha: Oh I have a thing for traitorous… Never mind. I was more worried about Reynard during Thronebreaker. Folks like Gascon always manage… somehow.
If you were a Sorceress of the Lodge, what would be your most commonly used spell?
Alicja: Oh, that’s an easy one – portals!
Easha: In that case Geralt would have been a difficult choice. I wonder whether Gascon likes them… At least he likes to open them from inside.
Poppy: Your favourite lipstick?
Alicja: This one is not that easy. I have an entire drawer full of lipsticks. Maroon and bronze are among my favorite colors. Sometimes I opt for a shiny lip-gloss too.
Poppy: Mine is MAC’s Russian Red, but even though I own several, I cannot compete with an entire drawer. You have a lipstick for every occasion.
Easha: Do you have a question for Poppy, me or for the both of us we should answer?
Alicja: Damn, I’m more used to answering questions than asking them. But I’m a little curious, you both seem so different, how did it happen that you started this blog together?
Poppy: I went on a little rant about the lack of women in content creation, so we decided to go for our own project. In contrast to all the competitive content like deck guides and meta snapshots, we wanted to focus on topics that do not get so much spotlight: Art, lore and people behind the game. People like you <3
Easha: As contrasts are interesting, we decided that each of us should bring our own style to the blog. A hyped and excited Poppy all day long could probably become as annoying as an overly pessimistic and cynical blog. We make up a good team and balance each other.
Last question: Let’s talk about something you were probably expecting all along – let’s talk about leeks.
What is your favourite leek-recipe?
Alicja: Oh no, I knew you’re gonna ask me about leeks! So, leeks go perfectly with meat. Personally, I recommend it with baked shoulder tender. Mmm, now I’m hungry, can I stay for dinner too?
Poppy: I am sure we find a solution and I can whip up some tasty dinner for us.
This has already been the last question? Too bad, I really enjoyed our little tea party with you. Please come back anytime and even bring some friends!
Easha: That’s a good idea, Poppy. Alicja, if you could spread the word at work…? I’m sure there are many more talented Reds working behind the scenes. Could you introduce some of them to us? We always have a free seat at our coffee table, so if somebody wants to attend – just send them to us. We gladly do some more interviews here, after such a good experience with yours.
Alicja: Of course! Everyone should know about your amazing work and pink blog! Thank you for having me, best tea party I’ve been to!
Poppy: As we still have time until dinner, let me show you around. I need to check on the unicorn-kitties and you should totally get to know my little fur balls.
Easha: That’s it for this interview, readers. As you probably do not want to see me doing the dishes, we end our blog post here.