A couple of days, a fan, The Court of Aria, contacted me with some nice things to say about my story, and it kind of turned into a spontaneous Q&A session which I'm posting here with permission!
Also I would like to give an explanation for the unannounced hiatus. It's quite a simple explanation: I started not knowing what came next in the story. I have a very good idea of the last segment of the story up to the ending, but not of the middle of the story which had a lot of question marks and blank stretches. So I'm gonna just sit down and work on the plot. I have no intention of abandoning this story! I even recently started the next chapter of the story and that's currently sitting on my hard drive waiting to be finished.
Anyways! Let the Q&A commence! And you can reply to this post with your own questions and I'll do my best to answer them! I've also made a few additions to my answers here and there and overall cleaned things up a little.
C: How long did it take you to build the world?
K: I made up the world as I went along. Mainly I started with a vague idea of something that would happen in the plot and worked backwards from the implication of that, as well adding details and working out the implications of those too.
This kind of approach is slowing its limits though which is why I need to sit down and figure some things out.
C: How many gods are there?
K: I'm gonna say thousands. Only low thousands, though.
C: HOW DOES DONKEY RHYME WITH NOSE?
K: For the donkey and nose rhyming thing, that's just a language thing that doesn't translate into English. I haven't worked out the details to said language at all, mind, I just thought it would be a fun detail to put in.
I can say however that the language is universal, mainly because the knowledge of it is automatically given to everyone.
C: That's convenient. So being a folk just gives you the language.
K: The gods certainly found it convenient to set that up. Yeah, Folk automatically get some basic knowledge. Fairly basic but everyone knows basic math too, to help them understand the System
K: Yes and it's considered tragic. Mostly it happens when someone is completely overwhelmed with hatred or anger and even in that situation it isn't too common.
C: Can the gods physically come down to the planet?
K: Gods are present wherever their domain is and can manifest anywhere.
SWORD is anywhere there are swords.
COMEDY is anywhere there is people being funny. Or animals being funny or whatever.
C: Will there be more polyamory in the future?
K: Possibly.
C: And will there be any characters that are plural (have more than 1 person in their head)?
K: Not currently but now that you bring it up it's a possibility now, though I would want to consult with a plural about any plural character. Basically to vet what I write about said character and to fill in gaps in my knowledge. Essentially a sensitivity reader.
I do want to write a plural character at some point in some story and it might as well be Slime x 3. I know there are a bunch of you plurals out there. I just don't know enough on my own. So I would want to consult with someone who is a plural. That's good practice anyways when writing about different life experiences.
(Additional note: I was pointed at a place where I might find folks willing to help me on that front. Depending on how that bears out, a plural character might show up in this story.)
C: Can a folk become a god?
K: Yes. There are a few ways gods come into existence. That is one of them.
C: Can Aono reproduce?
K: Yes, Aono can reproduce. Slimes reproduce by splitting off, usually after eating a lot. To be clear, it's a conscious action, not automatic. It doesn't happen by accident.
Also more on slime reproduction: they can choose to incorporate bits they've absorbed from other creatures to influence the new slime somewhat, a practice that helps them reduce how identical they are. So yes Aono can have slime babies with Tamu and Sardu.
C: So like they could just get hair from them and that would count?
K: Or body fluids. Anything from another creature's body works.
Also in general by default only members of the same species can reproduce but there is a pretty easy ritual made available by BIRTH that overcomes species and gender. Gods often promote their agendas like this, by providing stuff that makes it easier to do what they want mortals to do. "Oh, SWORD gave me this nice sword. Guess it's easier to sword people now." Gods also regularly reward mortals who especially please them as a way of encouraging them to keeping doing what they are doing.
C: Does battle axes fall under SWORD's jurisdiction?
K: No.
C: Do spears count?
K: That would be AXE and SPEAR.
C: At what point does the handle of a sword become too long for it to be under the jurisdiction of Sword?
K: Gods often overlap and/or have blurred lines between them
C: Do guns be exist?
K: I think I mentioned guns in an earlier chapter. But yeah the gun thing was a very brief mention in a list of things being used to fight the shadeling swarm. Easily blink and miss it. They aren't very advanced guns.
C: SWORD will not be happy about that.
K: That god won't mind as long as there are still people practicing the sword. Some other weapon gods will very much mind though.
Personality varies between gods after all. And between different incarnations of the same concept, for instance new DREAM is different from the old one.
C: Can gods communicate through dreams?
K: Gods communicate through different methods. Dreams are not uncommon. They can also send system messages directly to people, leave letters under doors, and even just show up and be all "hey!". Going incognito is a favorite activity of some gods, like COMEDY and EVIL
C: What drives Gods to do what they do. I mean why interact with folk?
K: Gods have various desires just like mortals but a common one is liking whatever they are about and helping there be more instances of that in the world. For example SWORD is really passionate about swords and enjoys spreading the love. Unfortunately, EVIL is of a similar disposition.
But not all gods are like that. Some gods like SKY and OCEAN are content to just have their domains exist. Those last ones tend not to do a lot of meddling with mortals, though they do respond to people who seek their favor. For example a sailor making an offering to OCEAN will tend to find sailing easier but it's by no means guaranteed that the voyage will completely avoid trouble. But those types of gods definitely have their own personalities and can meddle to support a mortal that caught their liking, or to thwart a god who has annoyed them.
C: Can gods die?
K: Gods can indeed die; the Godwars claimed multiple gods' lives and the Blinking Mountain near Aono's hometown is one of the tens of god corpses littering the landscape of the world.
C: Is there a level limit?
K: The level limit is 20. But reaching that point is difficult. In part because it gets harder and harder to find a suitable challenge. Plenty of folks are stuck at a particular level because they can't or want to do the kind of travel it would take to level further. For example Thoy went all over the Inner Lands fighting monsters but decided to settle down and retire instead of going into the Outer Lands.
C: Is there an afterlife in this world?
K: DEATH manages the dead. Three times a year the dead can visit the living but they wear masks for reasons known only to DEATH and the dead themselves. You can still recognize them even with the masks, mind. They are mum on the subject of what it is like after death. Also not all dead can visit on those days; they take turns. Aono hasn't gotten a visit from Thoy because it hasn't been Thoy's turn yet
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K: Honestly OCEAN is one of my favorites currently. You'll find out why. That answer might change as I write.
Feel free to post your own questions in the comments section! I'll decline to answer any with spoilery answers, mind.
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