QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHOR:

Q: What inspiration did you have for this story? In particular, anything else from [on NovelBin], say Super Minion, or ISM?

Answer: Nothing from NovelBin, no. I’ve had ideas for an original setting kicking around for a while, but really was just being lazy about the worldbuilding required. But then I made friends with more people in the NovelBin author sphere, realized I was just making excuses to keep myself in my fanfiction comfort zone, and finally branched out. The only other real "inspiration" for this story, as well as its fanfiction prototype/predecessor Pound the Table, is a book called The Law of Superheroes. It’s a rather fun look at what would happen to superheroes using our existing laws as a framework, and I had a grand old time looking at those and saying “... but wait, this is assuming our current laws, but wouldn’t those be different if superpowers had been a thing before those were written?” And, well, the rest is history!

Q: Can you tell us more about the King Arthur stuff without spoilers? Like the app Naomi was using? The seekers? The fact that some people regard it as a conspiracy theory?

Answer: Well, this question was asked before the end of Book 1, so the new answer to this one is “please go reread the last chapter, it’s got all of the answers I’m willing to give at this time in it”.

Q: So foxes are red-green color blind... Is Gorou? Or does he see all the same colors we do? Or more?

Answer: Naomi still has a regular human spectrum of vision most of the time. Gorou… well he’s not colorblind, but as for the rest? That would be telling. Y’all will see a bit more come Book 2.

Q: Will there be further interaction between Naomi and Lady Liberty?

Answer: Lady Liberty shows back up in Chapter 10 of Book 2, and unlike in Book 1, it’s much more than a “Naomi spots her and NOPEs out of there”.

Q: Do you think Naomi and Noa (the character, not you) would get along if they ever met? Would they create Schaefer & Ziegler, the number one law firm for powers, the supernatural and all else? Or are they too alike/too different to work together or be friends?

Answer: I know I’ve answered this one over in my Discord, the Foxfire Memorial Courthouse, two or three times now, but I guess I can answer it again. In short? Those two would haaaaate each other. Why? Well… let’s put it this way. Noa Schaefer has a loving family who loves and accepts her, despite her mutation coming in at age 10 and having come out to her parents as a lesbian in the 1970s; Naomi Ziegler was subjected to some amount of emotional and physical abuse for her preferences, and on coming out as transgender, was immediately disowned. Noa Schaefer was able to hide her mutation and live a relatively normal life, free from outside interference; Naomi Ziegler was conscripted by her own government and even now has quite a few restrictions on her personal freedoms that should be unconstitutional, but aren’t. Noa Schaefer excelled in her career, even being a tiny Jewish woman in Big Law in the 1980s; Naomi Ziegler was such a logistical hot potato that were it not for getting a lucky break with her current firm, she would’ve had to either hang a shingle or go to work for the Japanese government for lack of anybody willing to deal with the additional BS required to employ her. And that’s just the comparison between their respective lives; the moment their personalities and flaws come into play, things start going downhill and never stop.

Q: In the world of Foxfire, do some forms of media still exist? For example, Lord of the Rings, or Monty Python? Or are they radically different?

Answer: Oh yeah, those still exist. Lord of the Rings is actually a really good example, because in *Foxfire*’s world, the same dedication to practical effects, props, and makeup also translated to “I don’t want any of our special effects or physical locations to rely on Moonshot assistance on the off chance we lose that assistance, otherwise we’d need to completely scrap that plan and the entire project would be worse for it”. That being said, superhero comics are basically not a thing, and surviving comic books are more in the realm of sci-fi and epic fantasy.

Q: So how's the rest of the world handling superheroes?

Answer: You know, it really really depends. Some places, like Mexico, are handling it much more gracefully than the US is. Other places… not so much. Unfortunately, due to some plans for later books still being nebulous, I can’t exactly get into it.

Q: Given the name's involvement with the Space Race, what other major historical events have diverged from OTL due to Moonshot?

Answer: I really wish I could tell you that, but… I kinda have to play this one close to the vest for now. Sorry.

QUESTIONS FOR THE CAST

Q: Naomi: Are there any foods that you can no longer eat now that you’re part fox?

Naomi: “Not exactly foods I can’t eat, so much as diets. I’m an obligate carnivore now, so as much as I love me some tofu, I do need some actual animal protein or things would quickly start to get miserable for me. And no, I won’t be telling you how I learned that.”

Q: Naomi and Gorou: What are your favorite foods?

Naomi: “Look, I know I’m gonna be accused of being a walking stereotype here, but while I liked inarizushi before the ears and tail, it tasted even better after. Aside from that, chinese food and pho are two of my favorites, and I have threatened to incinerate someone over the last slice of cheesecake before. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve done it! Oh, and eggs. Love love love love love eggs. The most versatile food ever.”

Gorou: “The flavor of a fresh kill cannot be found in even the finest dining establishment. But as for you humans… your cheeses are incredible. I am particularly a fan of gorgonzola. And eggs, though I prefer them raw.”

Q: Naomi: How much trouble do you get from otaku in Japan?

Naomi: (there is no answer forthcoming, as Naomi disappeared in a flash of purple fire the moment the word ‘otaku’ was spoken; she does reappear for a moment, but only to grab her mug of hot cocoa, and then disappears again)

Q: Naomi: What are your hobbies?

Naomi: “Reading, spending time with my besties, boxing, the occasional bit of retail therapy. That last one is a bit harder to do outside of Japan, though, so it’s generally reserved for when I’m with that side of the family — you know, the ones who didn’t throw me out with the bathwater just for being a girl.”

Q: Naomi: what (if any) entertainment media do you enjoy?

Naomi: “Big fan of historical fiction. You get me something set in the Renaissance and I will probably be curled up on the sofa until either it’s done or I have to go to work, whichever comes first. I also generally prefer books to television or movies, and the last time I tried to play a video game with my niece it made me horrifically motion sick, so let’s just say my e-reader sees a lot of use.”

Q: Naomi: Why did you choose the name Naomi?

Naomi: “Would you believe I picked it because it’s one of the few names that exists in both Hebrew and Japanese?”

Q: Naomi: do you ever have a problem with small children grabbing her tail? I regret to say I am sure there are adults who do so, even if basic good manners would dictate that you keep your damn hands to yourself.

Naomi: “Oh hell yes I do. You will not catch me dead using the DC Metro during prime tourism season. That said, there are a few times and places where it doesn’t bother me that much, and there’s one particular kid in the Meguro ward of Tokyo’s greater metropolitan area who I’ve allowed to outright cuddle my tail to sleep. But Kokonoe is my niece, and she is the exception.”

Stolen story; please report.

Q: Naomi: Do you believe in any religion, or a higher power (that is not Gorou or the like)? It's been implied that you're Jewish, but do you find anything of that religion/upbringing still comforts/helps you in some way?

Naomi: “Believe in a higher… how can I not? There’s literally a higher power in my family tree. But if you’re asking about the Abrahamic God — Hashem, Adonai, Him, that sort of shit?... I mean, um… how do I say this without insulting everyone… look, let me just put it this way: there is a god, or rather a goddess, who gave me a sign, and it wasn’t Him.”

Q: Naomi: Also it's been implied that you're asexual to a degree (Gorou said most things are better than sex for you), but would you say you're still attracted to certain physical or personality characteristics? That is, do you have a 'type'?

Naomi: “No. Comment.”

Gorou: “She enjoys regal and intimidating women. Ice queens and villainesses. And tall goths.”

Naomi: “Wha—!? Gorou you little—!”

Q: Naomi and Gorou: Does Japan have any of the Anime Genres/tropes in its Moonshot like Magical Girls, Mecha, Kaiju, Sentai Rangers, bullet hell moe girls, or do they try to avoid that?

Naomi & Gorou: (the pair look at one another, and both of their ears go low and back in annoyance before answering in unison) “All of the above.”

Q: Gorou: Kitsune are typically shown as a nine-tailed fox, yet you have four. Several tales that address this have the number of tails represent the age of the kitsune, while others have the kitsune earn more tails for performing grand deeds. Is this the case for yourself? Furthermore, would you, like some myths suggest, gain more powers as you gain more tails, such as shapeshifting? And in the event you do earn more tails, will they be more or less fluffy than your existing tails?

Gorou: “Age, deeds, a mix of both. Do you think I emerged fully-formed with as many tails as I have now? No, I started with one, as all kitsune do. And as you can clearly see, they are all wonderfully fluffy.”

(there is a somewhat put-upon voice yelling from the next room: “Yeah, ‘cause you make me do all the work brushing them out for you! Seriously Gorou, you can use chopsticks! Just brush yourself!”)

Q: Gorou: What's your thought on, to use the technical term, Weeb Shit that Americans are more exposed to than normal japanese culture?

Gorou: “It is more entertaining to watch reactions and attempts to analyze the media Japan exports to the West than it is to actually watch the media itself. Especially how much they all misinterpret.”

Q: For Gorou: Have you met, or knew someone who had met, any of the famous heroes, gods, or monsters from Japanese mythology? Should we be worried about Tamamo-no-Mae now that she's loose again?

Gorou: “Entire textbooks have been rewritten following a full explanation of my hatred for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As to the rest, it is not my place to answer.”

Q: Julio: Was there anything that helped you make the decision to leave the public defender's office, besides the pay and stress? Do you find your new job better in every respect, or are there some areas where you find it worse?

Julio: “I think the real decider was the time I had to advise an innocent man to just plead guilty or he’d probably never see his daughter again. The cops had barely any evidence — a video of a black man in a black hoodie, seen from the rear — but that just didn’t matter. He owned the same model of gun, he didn’t have an alibi for that night, and there was nobody else he could point the finger at. Didn’t matter that the gun safe was dusty or that the key was buried under several months of wrappers and junk mail. None of that mattered to the DA’s office or the judge. I cried myself to sleep that night, handed in my two weeks the next day, and got an interview a month later.”

Q: Fatima: How do you find your experience of being a woman and a religious minority (that's often discriminated against) in a professional setting that still has lots of sexism? Do you find that being in a woman owned firm has mitigated the hardships somewhat?

Fatima: “You would think being in a woman-owned firm would help. You would think. But if it’s not being a woman, it’s being Muslim, and if it’s not being Muslim, it’s being a woman. And don’t even get me started on the number of times I’ve seen opportunities go to other

Muslim women the moment they took off the hijab.”

Q: Megan: The legal profession is a field rife with sexism already - what made you decide to up the ante and do in the military (of sorts), which I would assume is even more sexist? For that matter, do you find that being married reduces the sexism, increases it, or has no effect?

Megan: “I was a military brat growing up, and trying to integrate into civilian life midway through high school didn’t agree with me. The military was what I knew, so the military was where I went. I fell into the Military Police almost accidentally, but I’m glad I did, since it was one of the few equalizing forces against rampant boys’ club behavior. And you would think being married would help, but… not really, no. It didn’t go away, it just got subtler.”

Q: Naomi: More specifically for American Moonshot culture… have any of them been in conventional combat, conscripted or voluntary? Is there an international treaty limiting their use for that?

Naomi: “In order: yes, but not without serious pushback; and yes, but not without even worse pushback. It’s widely agreed that the Villains’ Strikes back in 1972 and 1973 would’ve lost Nixon re-election if they’d come just one year earlier, which is probably why that first attempt to draft Moonshot didn’t happen until after all the election results were in. Then once the Soviet Union fell, the lack of a global Cold War finally gave the world breathing room to draft the Unconventional Offenses Prohibition Treaty. I won’t bore you with all the legalese, but it basically prohibits using Moonshot in a military capacity outside of a defensive action. Unfortunately, that treaty is barely still worth the paper it was written on, given how often the rules are bent, twisted, and warped, but… ugh. It’s still better than nothing.”

Q: Naomi: Given every Moonshot is drafted into the military or becomes a terrorist with Presentation, what's life usually like for people after their tour? How many people actually make it to the end of their tour?

Naomi: “Most make it to the end of the tour, and as far as records are concerned, it’s treated as being honorably discharged from an officer position. What level of kind of officer I’m not sure, I was the exception, so please don’t ask me. As for life after the NMR? A fair few go in for higher education on the GI Bill, but some choose to stick with the NMR or even go independent. I know we have one of those indies in DC, got powers while serving as a fighter pilot actually, but there’s a whole can of worms involved with actually going indie which I won’t go into here.”

Q: Naomi: Given the military nature of Moonshot, have you ever done legal work in a military setting/forward deployment?

Naomi: “Unless you count doing a favor down in Okinawa? No, I don’t believe so.”

Q: Naomi: Are there laws regulating Moonshot monetizing their powers, like a matter-creator churning out a shitton of gold or weapons-grade uranium, a golem manipulator using their creations to build stuff, or a luck manipulator deciding to turn the state lottery into a paycheck?

Naomi: Well, I haven’t heard of any matter-creator, but I’m also not the best source here. As for a golem manipulator or other puppeteer? Those are decently common, but near as I can tell there seems to be a size limitation? And sorry, but, ah… that last one’s classified, last I heard.”

Q: Naomi and Megan: Are Moonshot playing an outsized role in the 21st century's conflicts/non-state actors, or still just a tool in the toolbox?

Naomi: “I can’t really talk for most of the world, but for the Far East? Yes, immensely so. But you’re probably thinking there’s great big anime battles over the Sea of Japan, but realistically? It’s just Gorou hopping up on the table to tell ambassadors and visiting heads of state why they’re all being stupid.”

Megan: “I know you want me to talk about Eastern Europe and the Global South. We’re not going to talk about Eastern Europe and the Global South.”

Q: Naomi and Megan: What's the villain scene in the US like? Masterminds plotting world domination with giant robots? Secret snake cultists pulling strings from the shadows? Your average person with low opportunities and poor impulse control given power beyond mortal ken?

Naomi: “... you know, I never had enough of a bird’s eye view to actually find out about that, and by the time I could’ve just looked it up myself, I didn’t want to.”

Megan: “Small amounts of columns A and B, paired with a good chunk of column C, but it’s mostly column D: desperate people trying and failing to make the most of a bad situation and subsequently getting in over their heads. I may not like what it’s become, but minutes from the Senate committee discussion on the Good Neighbors Act clearly shows that it was initially meant as a path away from crime. Unfortunately, though… well, we’ve all seen what happens when politicians get a bright idea.”

Q: Megan Barnes: How many billions of taxpayer dollars have been dumped into making "artificial Moonshot" or other supersoldier programs?

Megan: (there is a loud, long-suffering sigh) “One, that’s classified; two, you don’t want to know. You think you do, but trust me when I say that you really, really don’t.”

Q: Ambrose: Given the existence of ancient myths being real and a source of powers, have any others been publicly kicking around or are they keeping it low-key?

Ambrose: “Why, that would be telling! And I may do many things, luv, but I never kiss and tell.”

Q: A question for any of Naomi’s birth family that will give a civil answer: Do you regret your words or actions after her (his? Dunno what pronoun applies at the time) Moonshot transformation?

(none of “Joshua’s” nuclear family could be reached for comment, though that is a fortunate state of affairs)