AMA: characters, magick, setting of The Rat Girl (and I'll ask you, too)

The Chatters
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Welcome! Hi. I’m the Tiger or the Fox, whichever you’re more familiar with. Or, you could just call me Enna, that’s fine as well :stuck_out_tongue:

I did an intro because there are people who lurk on the forums without interacting, I’m sure. So, hi :wink: I see you. You are welcomed here.

I wanted to talk about my stuff and ask you guys questions about your stuff because I like it. But we have to set some boundaries.

IMPORTANT!
When you comment, make sure to also comment the title of your book, the genre, and what it’s about. I will ask about characters, magick, and setting. Doesn’t have to be fantasy.

My story

The Rat Girl

YA Portal Fantasy
A story about a girl who is taken to a cursed fantasy realm Wodeland after getting a strange call from her mother. With her cockatoo and cat who turn into a prince and assassin, Bethany must destroy an evil entity called the Rat King before it consumes both Wodeland and her own realm, Earthland.

As Bethany digs into her ancestry, she must evade a lady with snake hair and a group of vicious rodents. When she learns her mother might be behind the Rat King, her world turns upside down. Everything that makes her “Bethany” could have been a lie.

When all is said and done, what is left? Who is she? And can she save Wodeland before the Rat King devours them all?

Ask me anything about the characters, the magick, and the setting. I’ll answer as best as I can. Then I’ll ask you questions and we can all have a little chat :wink:

Here’s some stuff about the races.

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returning soon lol

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  1. Why is Bethany named Bethany and not Clara or Alice?

  2. Were you inspired by the original Nutcracker fairytale or the ballet more?

  3. On the topic of the ballet, is Swan Princess and Sleeping Beauty also canon to this world?

  4. Do the rats have diseases?

  5. Do rats become zombies?

  6. A man has 53 socksin his drawer: 21 identical blue, 15 identical black and 17 identical red. The lights are out and he is completely in the dark. How many socks must he take out to make 100 percent certain he has at least one pair of black socks?

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That gave me a headache.
No wonder I hate math.

:dizzy_face: :face_with_spiral_eyes:

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1.Is there a character who could have taken Bethany’s place in saving Wodeland, if Bethany never answered the call or something?

2.What is the magic called in the realm of Wodeland?

3.How is Bethany really handling these duties on a mental level? Is she handling it in a healthy manner or is the girl struggling greatly?

I shall return with more.

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Because the name Bethany was the one that came to my mind first. Sorry, first come first serve.

The Rat King in my story has nothing to do with the Nutcracker or ballet although I am familiar with the Nutcracker story. But it is inspired by some Grimm’s Fairytales like Princess Mouseskin and The king’s son who feared nothing.

Ballet and this world have zero connection :stuck_out_tongue: I’ve actually never seen a proper ballet performance. I would like to.

Idk, some of them might :stuck_out_tongue: They don’t live in squalor. They live in houses.

Funny you should ask because yes, there is a scene where rat zombies appear. They are the ancestors forced from their peaceful rest to aid the evil.

I can’t imagine someone having that many socks XD If he’s in the dark, all the socks would look black, so that’s 100 percent on one perspective. But if he wants to get out black socks in the dark, he should have memorized where he put them. He should also just go turn on the lights or go without socks.

You’re not going to make me do a mathy question on a writing forum XD

Your questions @NotARussianBot :

  1. You didn’t give me the title of your book. What is the title of the book you’re working on now? And what is the genre?

  2. Since I don’t have a book, I’ll ask this: Do any of your characters believe in the existence of Bigfoot?

  3. In any of your books, what is the best and worst living conditions?

  4. What would happen if your dino characters were shrunken to the size of lizards? How would they react?

  5. How many feathery feather raptors would it take to lift your house like the movie Up?

  6. Does magic exist in any of your stories? If so, which ones?

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Tree of Death, an original english light novel based on occultism and fairtytales

Yes because Bigfoot is more believable than talking raptors

Worst would likely be the land consumed by fire, best is no doubt the outer cosmos, if you’re able to breathe in space

It would take 1000 microraptors to lift a small two story colonial style home.

I take from real world magical beliefs in all of my story to different degrees, so yes. But this makes it hard to say whether it’s hard or soft. Magic is more or less a skill, not a gift.

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If Bethany just completely refused to go, well, the world would die :stuck_out_tongue: No one can take Bethany’s place. It’s her actions that set things into motion.

There is no specific name for the magick (but it would be categorized as elemental). However, the magick of Bethany’s family is called Mosspetal magick and is a very specific kind of magick that only exists in her family line.

In the beginning, she struggles a lot with her identity although she won’t show it because she is the leader type who will hide her true troubles. She doesn’t let anyone see how it’s really affecting her. Not exactly healthy :sweat_smile:

I know I can ask you about Alagossia, so I will @qualeshia3

  1. You have a lot of stories in Alagossia. Can you list the names of the main characters and why you gave them those names?

  2. Imagine there is a sad little puppy that needs a home. Which of your main characters would take the puppy home and why?

  3. Imagine your main characters getting access to Google. What kind of things would each of them look up about?

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I love that title. Sounds like it has dark fairytale vibes.

Is the setting on Earth or somewhere else? What is the era like where the story takes place?

lol, good point.

How did it become that the land is consumed by fire? What makes it that way?

Perfect answer :clap:

I remember you saying that before. With this magic, what is the biggest, most impressive, powerful thing someone can do? And, what is the least impressive thing someone can do?

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It is an Earthlike planet, the era is kind of fuzzy. Technologically it’s Rennaissance, with guns and swords being used alongside each other. But it takes a little bit from all sorts of time periods with its fashion and culture.

Effectively it is a curse caused by a witch, and witches in this world are women and girls who have unique magic powers that are awakened in times of stress and danger but they risk losing control of themselves if they experience the extreme depths of greif. Of course, there are several other kinds of magic users, from summoners to astrologers.

Least impressive thing might be being able to see in the dark like a cat.

Most impressive thing is breaking the laws of physics. My main character, Elena, her special ability is to manipulate physical forces to control acceleration, electromagnetism, gravity, mechanical, and kinetic energy.

With the simple command “Make haste!” she can speed up the trajectory of an avalanche.

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To unlock additional questions, you must ask me some questions :wink:

(It’s also an excuse for me to stop now and go to bed XD)

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Alright I’m back:

omg do they have names? how do they act?

how is the Rat King created? why is he trying to consume Wodeland and Earthland?

Okay so this is my super half-baked most recent conworld so bear with me lmao.

In Eushe, there’s a large city in the mountains called Telushwe, where the Moon Goddess has decided to collect an army of mortals to overwhelm her sister, the Sun Goddess. In the midst of all this, the Sun Goddess is searching for the child of the Moon Goddess, but she doesn’t know where to find them.

So the child of the Moon Goddess has been raised by mortals in Telushwe City while all this is going on and… stuff happens? I feel like something would but I haven’t actually fleshed the story out… :woozy_face:

40, because in the worst case scenario, and without replacing the socks, he will have pulled all of the blue, all of the red, and two other socks, which must be black, since there are 53 socks in the drawer distributed among the three colors.

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What is Bethany’s favorite dinosaur? Elena’s is Gallimimus.

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Yes!
The cat is called Meme, but his real name is Tarvius or Tar. Since he has been a cat since Bethany was little, he does have some cat tendencies while human. Like, following a bird with his eyes or nuzzling up against Bethany or hissing.

The prince is called Marcus. His name is also Marcus as a cockatoo. He doesn’t act strange after transformation back to his human self. As a cockatoo, he only says “sweetie-pie” and “shut up”. The former was a word Bethany’s mom often used and “shut up” is what Bethany would often say to Marcus for being noisy.

There was a witch who wanted to share her power with everyone and the Rat King was created to share power. But then the witch became greedy and began to take power instead of share. The Rat King went out of control and started to automatically feed on souls.

The Rat King isn’t an actual king rat with thoughts and brains, but an entity who’s only aim is to suck up souls for power and become more powerful. Not exactly a “he”, more like an “it”.

Your questions:

  • Does the child of the Moon Goddess have a name? Do they know they are the child of the Moon Goddess?

  • It’s reminding me a bit of Disney’s Hercules. Does the Moon Goddess’ child have any special powers that might give them away?

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Apparently, I didn’t go to sleep fast enough XD

Bethany’s favorite dino would be anything with feathers that is cute. She likes birds, but not very fond of the scary prehistoric type.

I shall return with more questions in the morning.

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Yes and majority of those stories are either unfinished or thoughts and ideas that I want to dive in more when I get the chance.

I shall do my best, but you need to know that I’ve named characters their names simply because it sounds cool and nice and overall different.

The names don’t have any special plot related meaning or fictional language meaning. It is just me find an unique name to give to a character.

The only character I think of like that is Ryker Atlas at that one time.

Ryker because it’s the name of a prison in New York City.

Atlas because Ryker desires to see the world.

If they knew what a ‘puppy’ was, I say that because the animals in the world of Alagossia whether cute or dangerous or even beautiful would be so alien to humans on Earth.

Honestly, many of my character would look at a puppy and go “the fuck is that?” then go walk away.

If they knew puppies and dogs in general, the only person I feel would care for is Solana since she loves animals that are cute and cuddly.

Aw, man!
Google in the technological world of Alagossia is would be such an ancient piece of technology.

Like the moment an Alagossian character would even travel to earth to see their current 2023 tech, they would rudely laugh and find Earthlings so primitive.

Yet, there are different things characters would Google if they had the chance.

Right now, Krieg von Jackal would search for porn, hot single and horny women to “date”, places to drop large amounts of money, and more porn (mainly hardcore porn).

Krieg would also become obsess with sites like Amazon, Ebay, and things of that nature. He will go buying things left and right that are cheap to very expensive.

Jorildyn would mainly search for things that pertain to her job and trying to do extensive research. Then get bored and probably brows random things to get a better feel for Google.

Krieg would LOVE social media and because of social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and even something like YouTube, would LOVE that man right back.

:sweat_smile:

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I would love to read a story where the MC has to save the world or some other world, and they decided NOT to save it and change things for the better. So, they let the world fall into ruin and many people suffer. And the story is about the MC navigating through the ruined world that they could’ve saved, but didn’t because they didn’t want to play the hero for actual reasons that make worlds of sense.

Honestly, what would you like to happen after Bethany reaches her goals?

place in spoilers.

I love that type of magic! Like the familial magic that only members of same family can wield and use in a way that not many can. I find magic like that fascinating.

The funny-ish thing about fiction that is fantasy and/or science-fiction, is how therapy is just so nonexistent. I get that an MC going to therapy in a fictional world that is fantasy or science-fiction sounds like it hits too close to home.

It makes sense in fiction that isn’t fantasy or science-fiction, because those are more earth based.

And yes, those characters in fantasy and science-fiction might be dealing with something that could’ve easily landed them in the psych ward and given a crap ton of meds along with therapy, but you know they won’t because that will detach writers and readers from the overall story.

I wholesomely understand that it is fiction, mainly fantasy or even science-fiction, but it is so funny thinking that an MC in a magical or technologically advanced world is free from things like therapy and medication for mental health.

Just another random thought that I had to think about.

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I am so sorry because I just went on a total ramble of nonsense. I am not doing too great, forgive me.

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omg meme that’s such a name :bangbang: Also the cat tendencies are super funny

Can he not say anything other than that? Like if his brain is condensed down, why doesn’t he know how to say anything else?

Fair enough–so it’s more-or-less programmed to start gobbling up power? How does it manage to maintain all that power?

Yeah they have a name: Tateelu, meaning “Brightness” or “beauty” in Shíikngémi. And they have no idea they’re the child of the Moon Goddess, and I haven’t gone so far as to develop if they have special powers or whatnot, but I’m thinking they have limited abilities.

I also think that throughout their childhood, the Moon Goddess appears to them in several forms with varying degrees of “wisdom.” Don’t exactly have all the details fleshed out on that one…

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@NotARussianBot
So, if the tech is like Rennaissance, how do you think the people would react if they saw automatic doors?

Can any woman or girl become a witch? Do they have to be a certain age? Can some grandma over 90 years old become a witch one day?

What do summoners summon? Are there things they are not allowed to summon?

That’s pretty impressive :open_mouth: What would Elena think of an elevator?

What happens when she manipulates gravity? What can she do and not do when it comes to manipulating gravity?