Up Next Is...j0nn0!_Next!

KANE

Hello, Jonno

Welcome to Kane Interviews

J0NN0

sup. Dunno if my potato persona will stick here or not so you’ve been forewarned

KANE

I will deal

My first question for you is how exactly does a potato-bot fit into the real world?

J0NN0

Waddya mean? We are the world

KANE

Fascinating

I must know, how many of your kind are there?

J0NN0

Dunno. probably billions. Anything can and will be a potato, even if it doesn't think so

KANE

Of course. I wouldn't expect anything otherwise.

Now, you're quite a...prominent feature on the RR discord.

What exactly do you do on there?

J0NN0

On the RR discord specifically? I'm a server mod.

Not much to say other than I do modly things

and be the resident potato of course

...though some others have come to usurp my position of potato as shown by gamingwolf

KANE:

I see...

And what's your take on the Holy Order of Potatoes?

J0NN0

:kana_potato:

KANE

All hail, potato

As I've asked every interviewee so far:

Do you have any stories on RR?

J0NN0

Yes.

KANE

What are they?

J0NN0

You want active or do dropped/hiatus stories count?

KANE

Anything counts

J0NN0

..cuz I’ve got no actives

gimme a sec then

The only stories of significance (if they could be called that) are Noodle Knight and Genesis

There's a couple more joke or experimental things but you can check my profile page

KANE

You're the author of Genesis?

J0NN0

no, not THE Genesis, just a Genesis

KANE

Oh...

J0NN0

pretty sure that another with the same title popped up within the past year

that's not mine.

KANE

Well, what's that Genesis about?

J0NN0

Some bloke gets digitized. It was supposed to log the build and expansion of a VR dive system being intro'd to the world at large, but I never got far due to motivation and college

KANE

Interesting...

J0NN0

Plus I never did properly map out what I wanted to do with the plot

KANE

And what about Noodle Knight?

J0NN0

NK is about a Noodle Knight called Bob. Long story short, I aimed for at least one bad pun and thinly veiled innuendo per chapter. The world setting is food-themed and Bob serves as the equivalent of baby sitter for a trio of summoned youths

KANE

That sounds amazing

J0NN0

Apparently it was. Got me more views and reads than I was ever expecting

KANE

You are a potato-bot, after all. People are bound to give it attention.

J0NN0

unless I hide underground

lurks

KANE

So, Jonno, how did you stumble upon RR?

J0NN0

Roughly 7 years ago, I started reading Arifureta, moved on to reading some other LT'd LN/WN stuff and found my way onto japtem.com. The original novels there soon pointed me to the then Royal Road Legends.

KANE

How nice. How'd you become a mod?

J0NN0

Hmm... not quite sure really. I was mostly active and commented/helped a lot around the forums, then Wing asked me if I wanted to help out as mod. At that time I said no due to college but became a mod a few months later during a sort of mod recruitment thing.

Stolen novel; please report.

Served as site mod for a while, then a brief stint as site super mod, but then just became Discord mod since i'm largely inactive on-site past reading these days

KANE

What have you been reading recently?

J0NN0

binge read or regulars?

KANE

Either. I need some recommendations.

J0NN0

If I kept up my forum list I'd give you that, but since that's been a year in neglect, I'll just pull from my reading history.:

- He who fights w/ monster

- The Demon Lord's Lover

- Thieves' Dungeon

- The Cracked Earth

- Gobbo

- Locking Horns, Breaking Teeth

- Super Minion

and a lot more

KANE

I see That Boy Hare isn't on that list...

But that's fine, that's fine

J0NN0

don’t even know what that is at the moment

KANE

It'd do you good to find out.

J0NN0

toss me a link then

KANE

[Linked]

J0NN0

lol, Racc's "review"

I'll look the other way and ignore that

KANE

Trust the raccoon to tell the truth.

I noticed you read He Who Fights With Monsters

That's gathered a lot of attention recently.

What's your opinion of the story?

J0NN0

a slightly more realistic take on a random isekai moment. He's currently getting into some political plotlines, muddying up the whole adventure appeal for the main audience of RR though.

Most stories I see that go political usually shoot themselves in the foot by losing sight of their storyline or by just doing it so poorly

KANE

Do you think the politics are bad?

Personally, I like how Jason handles things.

Even if he can get a bit too 'righteous' sometimes

It's still fun to read

J0NN0

As they are now, they're not necessarily bad, but they could have been better presented. Some of it feels a bit forced or jarring to me

KANE

Of course.

Sometimes I'd rather shove the nobles out of the way and get Jason back to doing adventurer things

But I guess character interaction is ~important~

J0NN0

Even if some stories only have interaction when they’re busy killing others...

shrugs

KANE

On the topic of killing...

What do you think of MCs who refuse to kill when being isekai’d to another world or having the System coming to Earth?

J0NN0

Depends. Some of it is too forced while others are a testament to the integrity of their morals and character, even if it is a detriment to their life in that new world.

It depends on how well written the characters are and the way that the author reaches them

Others are just idiots

KANE

I feel you

What's your take on the so-called 'naive' MCs authors tend to write these days?

J0NN0

You mean the dense anime-styled MC's?

KANE

J0NN0

They tend to trend towards the annoying category these days

KANE

Have you ever read Heather the Necromancer?

J0NN0

nope. Probably shoved that on my read later list though. The name seems familiar

KANE

It's a...fairly interesting story about a girl who becomes a necromancer in another world

The MC falls into the 'naive character' trope heavily

But other than that, it's a pretty good story.

J0NN0

hmm... I'll give it a try if I have time and remember

KANE

I would suspect that a potato has tons of time. But what do I know?

J0NN0

I'll have you know that i'm busy.

sitting around

doing nothing

still busy though

KANE

Mhmm.

Now, it’s time to get on to important things.

Namely: dungeon core stories

J0NN0

what about them?

KANE

Your opinion on the way authors write them.

J0NN0

Hmm...

Dungeon core novels, or just core systems in general, provide a way for an author to have a wholly inhuman character. Whether that means that morals, logic, or anything else is thrown out the window remains to be seen as they're basically nothing more than a lump of rock or crystal.

Many I’ve seen take the dungeon systems to be a form of "kingdom building" with the ever-increasing resource grinds

They often have little direction because of this.

For example: what is the ultimate end goal?

where does it simply end? Or does it go on into monotony?

The way I see it, many core system authors tend to lack a concrete direction and a goal. Without those, they usually burn out or fizzle after even a strong beginning

KANE

I know what you mean.

Too many dungeon core stories end up on hiatus...

You have the story Gobbo on your list...

Are you a fan of goblin MCs?

J0NN0

Not necessarily. The character is simply well written. He's given a brain, makes mistakes, and thinks about not screwing up again in the future. it's been a while since I've read such a character think about their life in relation to the world and their influence upon it.

KANE

So...an MC with common sense is what you're looking for?

J0NN0

Doesn't matter if they have common sense or not if they're well written

Bad writing is bad writing no matter what sort of setting you’ve got

KANE

I think having a character that knows the smart thing to do in a situation fits into having a well-written story as well

J0NN0

it can certainly make it easier in many cases, but an impulsive character could just as easily appeal unless they're portrayed constantly breaking character

KANE

That makes sense.

Having an impulsive character gradually learn to control themselves as time goes on and stop acting like an idiot is satisfying.

J0NN0

Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to catch up on Right as Rage

KANE

Oh? And what's this story?

J0NN0

The world undergoes some sort of power bestowal and some people gain what equates to magic powers. Think X-men, kinda. Anyways, the MC is a sort of berserker, outcast from his clan for his power is seen as a curse. Can't really do much when getting mad means hurting the friends and family around you

KANE

Ooh

I'll have to check that out

Alright, one last question for this interview, Jonno

J0NN0

okay

KANE

Do you know da wae, brudda?

J0NN0

1. I'm a potato. I sit in one spot. How the heck would I know directions?

KANE

I'll concede to that point.

I'll see you around, Jonno. Have fun doing potato-bot things!

J0NN0

Thanks, been nice chatting

KANE

Always happy to be of service.

* Add to Phrasebook