First question. What's your name?

Mary Cate, but most people around here call me Kura. Cat or MC works too. :)

How did you come up with your username, by the way?

When I joined I was 11. When you are 11 you make stupid choices about what usernames should be. Though I did not fall into the trap of five-million numbers and some silly reference to soccer or swimming or puppies, I was caught by the deadlier trap of being a fangirl. At the time I joined, I was positively obsessed with the anime Yu Yu Hakusho, and specifically with the character of Kurama. So, being a stupid 11 year old, I decided this would be a great username for everything, ever (hence why my deviantART goes by the same name). I now regret this a lot, though I am glad it gave me the nickname of Kura. I like that nickname. :3 I really wish I could change my username on here to Kura, but some inactive user has it and I have the feeling I'm stuck...And oh, hah! Sorry about that rant...

What are you currently up to? (School, work, play, etc.)

At the moment I am finishing up my first year in college. I am an animal science/pre-vet major (with an attempted art minor), and I hope to go on to vet school once I'm done with my undergrad. Still not sure what kind of vet I want to be, but that's a long ways in the future yet. As for work, I have a job at the horse barns on my campus, where we watch over and take care of over 70 horses. It is an awesome job, and I only wish it paid more so I could just stay there forever. xD Ah well. For fun, I love to do art (as you can tell if you look at my page...) and ride horses, specifically my own Morgan gelding. His name is Frosty and I will boast about him 'til the sun comes up if you let me. ;) This summer I'm hoping to work with a vet or two and possibly volunteer at a horse summer camp in my area. Gotta get as much experience as possible for vet school!

What's your favourite medium, when creating art?

I switch around with mediums a lot, partly because I love learning new techniques. At the moment, though, I'd say it's a tie between my Copic markers and pastels. I love the freedom I have with pastels, and how I can get ultra realistic or ultra stylistic depending on my mood. If I'm doing something serious, I use those. I love the Copics because they make such beautiful, brilliant colors. I'm still learning with those, but I'm making a lot of progress and even messing around with them is fun.

What do you like to do on Elftown?

Since I joined, I've basically stuck with role-plays and art contests. Those two things are what really bring me back (nearly) every day. I also love meeting the people here, especially since so many of them are from other countries. I love learning about other cultures. Ah, and speaking of art contests, I really like hosting them too. I've currently got Kura's Color Contest up and running again, and I'm pretty excited about it. /shamelessplug

Would you care to write a little blurb about the contest for those interested?

Sure! 8D
Kura's Color Contest is, as its name suggests, a contest about colors. Each edition of the contest, a different color is chosen and contestants create artworks based around that color. There are two winners, one chosen by public poll and one chosen by me. Winners receive a badge drawn by me. It's fun to see all of the entries people come up with, so even if you don't want to enter you should definitely watch! :)

What's your favourite thing about the site?

Probably the fantasy aspect of everything. I am a complete and total fantasy nerd (and I say this with pride!). Elves, dragons, werewolves, you name it, I'm fascinated by it. So I think that's probably my favorite part of Elftown, is how it sticks to the fantasy theme.

Speaking of, how did you stumble upon this fair community?

Many years ago in the stone age, I was at a friend's house and she showed me this strange site about elves and said that it was pretty cool and that I'd like it. Being young and impressionable, I set up an account (really badly, because I had no idea what I was doing) without telling mom (oh my gosh!) and now I'm still here even after she left.

And we're certainly glad that you stayed! Out of curiosity, what makes you stay here after so long?

For a long time, it was mostly the role-plays that brought me back. Specifically one I've been doing with [Zab] for...years. We're letting that one rest for the moment, but we have another started that I'm excited about. I think that I'm beginning to get interested in the art aspects of ET again, though, so hopefully you'll be seeing me enter contests again.

Now's your chance! What's your message to all your fellow Et-ers?

Respect each other and remember what this community is all about. There's no need for the petty squabbles and complaints. Oh, and draw more! I love seeing all the lovely drawings people can come up with, and it's been sorely missed around here lately!

And last but not least, what are two pictures of you we can use for your feature on Mainstreet?