Q & A August! (Patreon)

Better late than ever, excuse spelling errors please, I did not have time to run everything through the spellchecker so this is original.

How good are the RO with snow? And how good would they be in a snow fight?

Ortega loves snow. Not a bad off-pist skier and they would be lethal in a snowfight. Danny likes snow, but has never really skied much. These days I think he would have to relearn it from scratch since his floating would both save him from disasters, and mess up his balance. Could get surprisingly into a snowball fight. Chen doesn't like snow. At all. And his mods make it even worse. Would not join the snowball fight and claim his arm would give him an unfair advantage. Besides, Spoon needs another sweater on. Argent would be bundled up to her ears. She does not like the cold. Snow is fun, and if anyone steps to her she will bury them in a snowdrift, but indoors in front of the fire is better. Dr. Mortum thinks snow is weird, and rather fascinating. Would prefer building a fort, but has surprisingly good aim.

How was Canada able to keep British Columbia while the United states lost California? In fact, what is Canada's relationship with the new western states, as well as Canada's current political situation? Due to alt history shenanigans does Canada still have the maple leaf Canadian flag, or something like the “Pearson Pennant”? 

The damage to British Columbia was mainly from the earthquake and the tsunami. It was heavy, but manageable. The US west coast got more damage due to the Long Valley eruption. It was the resulting ashfall that devastated the west, and which made the US establish the Free Territories as an incitement for private business to assist with resettlement. Canada still have the maple leaf flag. Canada's current political situation is similar to what it is today, but it has a much stronger position both in the Americas and internationally. They accepted many American refugees and migrants after the disaster, and most have stayed there and settled in.

Would it be spoilers to know anything about what Heartbreak's mindscape looks like? And how would you rank the ROs in terms of empathy? (From the most to least, for example) :)

What makes you think you don't already know a bit about Heartbreak's mindscape? ;)

I dislike the term empathy, but if we go with the empathy/sympathy combination it's like this: Herald-Argent-Chen-Ortega-Mortum.

Has Ortega dated other heroes? 

Oh yes. I have not established who or how many, but there has been a few. Most likely were never really serious, and some invented by media. Nothing that would have lead to anything.

Do Regenes have a better chance of taking to mods and surviving being boosted? 

Slightly. They are bred for compatibility, but mostly it is that the process is done early so losses are more acceptable. 

Can we hear more about the Ortega blue hair incident? 

I have not decided on any details, who knows if it will come up in the future?

Did the RO had an Emo phase?

Come to think of it, I don't think so. Chen would be the closest, but that was more grunge. Daniel was skirting close as well, but his parents would have disapproved too much.

Why did Ortega get the Marshal title after Hood’s death instead of Sentinel?

Three reasons: 1) Ortega was charismatic and good with the media. They had already been seen as Hood's protege, so it was considered good PR. 2) Ortega was also seen as a bit of a fool and easily manipulated and inexperienced, which meant it would be easier to assume direct control by the people in charge (oh boy, they miscalculated). 3) Sentinel had always been headstrong and, since his transition, had not had a good relationship with the overarching Rangers bureaucracy and media team. He was considered to me not a good fit despite his leadership qualities and experience.

Is there a particular reason why the narration is in 2nd person while the text of the choices per se is in 1st person?

Yes, that is the house style of Choice of Games. I stuck to the standard there, since I had no experience of anything else.

Will we visit anethema's grave at some point? thank you for answering all these questions, they are the highlight of my month! I look forward to every email ^-^

Yes. At least you will be given the possibility in book three, whether Sidestep decides to go is a different question. And you're welcome! It's fun for me too, I have to think about things I enver considered before.

In terms of people with epilepsy/ other conditions that disrupt telepathy, is reading/affecting their minds completely impossible, or just extremely difficult?

Extremely difficult. But, as you have noticed with dampeners, nothing is impossible...

How do the LIs feels about their own identities/queerness? Does this change depending on their relationship with Sidestep? 

OOoh interesting question! 

Dr. Mortum: The good doctor is the one who is most at peace with their queerness. They have had to do a lot of soul-searching in their past, and has gone through some bad experiences. These days they are at peace with who they are, and what they like. Sidestep changes them, but it is more a measure of letting someone in again, rather than opening their horizons.

Chen: He's gay. He's know that since his early teens, and he's paid the price for it in the relationship with his family. The complication that will come is if he's in a relationship with a nb/genderqueer Sidestep. He's got some issues to work out there, and there will be some interesting discussions regarding it in game (the whole nb section of the game is currently undergoing tweaking).

Argent: Argent knows she's pansexual, but she's never made a big thing of it. She prefers to keep her private life private, especially with how sexualized she gets by the media. Sidestep will have a big effect on her, but that is mostly because she might dare to allow herself to have a proper relationship and not just fake one for the cameras. If she's not in a Sidestep romance, she's not even thinking about that until she's dealt with her "issues". It's dangerous to want things too much.

Daniel: Daniel is confused. No. That's the wrong word. He's assumed so many things about himself, the biggest one that he's straight. I doubt he even formulated it like that, he just always assumed he was only interested in women and he never ahd issues getting a girlfriend. Sure, some guys are hot and nice and makes his stomach flutter but he just assumed he was lonely and sensitive and never really thought much about it. Until Sidestep. Especially with a male Sidestep, he will have to re-evaluate so many things about himself and his feelings. Like with many things, he'll go for it 100%, but it's a big change and it won't always be easy. If he's not in a relationship with a male/nb Sidestep, and if Ortega is male, he'll probably never realize that the flustered feeling in his stomach when he's around Ortega is more than admiration and friendship (it's lust, not a crush). He might get there eventually, there's also a character in book three that an unromanced Daniel might get a crush on. We'll see when I write it.

Ortega: Oh boy. First of all, Ortega is a lot more aware of their bi/pan urges than Sidestep gives them credit for. They are just very good at acting straight. There was a lot of thoughts even before they met Sidestep, but never anyone serious enough for them to break character. Unlike Daniel, a lot more of their identity has been built around who they are perceived as. If they romanced a same sex/nb Sidestep in the past, they were quite relieved that Sidestep was so private and secretive. It was a lot easier to just be themselves and not having to perform in front of the camera as well. A secret relationship, where they got the opportunity to explore that side of themselves without consequence. These days Ortega is more confident in who they are, and have no issues with taking a same-sex puppet to the gala for example. If there has been no Sidestep romance for Ricardo, Chen has definitely been on his mind. However, Ric doesn't think Chen likes men. Why? Because if so, why had Chen not been flirting with him already? Yes, I know. If Sidestep plays matchmaker, that will be a thing, if not, it might happen anyway depending on circumstances. Ricardo would be into it. Julia on the other hand thinks Argent is very hot, and has probably been at least slightly flirty, but Argent has strong boundaries.

Did Ortega have any theories on Sidestep's secrecy in terms of the media? Any particular reasons that they thought were more likely than others?

Yes. Ortega thinks they know exactly why. But so far that is a spoiler, thinking of adding it to the game though. We'll see.

In terms of the main characters, do they have any pet peeves? What about things that they pretend to be annoyed by (but not really)?

Pet peeve - pretend annoyance.

Ortega: Snooping people - people trying to take care of them.

Chen: Emotional manipulation - spoiling Spoon.

Argent: Belittling her - compliments.

Daniel: Babying him - people being rude.

Mortum: Disrespecting science - interrupting their research.

Someone has already commented this but I just had to - please tell us more about Ortega's Hair Decisions.

Haha maybe I will one day, I think I wrote a little fic about it, it's still probably on tumblr somewhere. We'll se if I find it and migrate it here.

Hi, hope you're doing well! What kinda music do the rangers/mortum like to listen to? 😌❤️ thank you 

Sadly I cannot answer any music questions! Why? I am a metalhead. I listen to metal, and that is all I know anything about. I will leave people's music taste to their headcanons.

Kinda random, but what Hogwarts houses would you put everyone in? (idk if you've read/seen Harry Potter though, so feel free to skip if you haven't haha)

I am vaguely aware due to being surrounded by media (it's kind of hard to miss), but since Rowling dove into the deep end of the Terf pool, I have no intention to interact with anything related to that. People are entitled to their fond memories and how much the stories have mattered to them (nobody can take that away, I still love art created by bastards), but I don't want to give her or what she has created the time of day.

I have another question. What is the prison system like? Who runs them? what happens to villains after they're arrested? 

Okay, this is mostly Free Territories facts (though it is related to the rest of the US as well).

The prisons are private-run, for profit operations. Some of them have deals with neighboring US states to handle their inmates as well. Prisons have become part of a very lucrative prison-factory system, where prisoners have to work, and are paid in what amounts to company script to produce goods for the companies contracting the prisons for their service. This is one of the reasons why companies have relocated to the Free Territories. It is the spiritual successor to slavery and cheap immigrant labor. The conditions vary widely depending on the prison complex.

While people back east might joke about the lawless west, the fact is that there are many laws there, decided and enforced by the local city councils and companies. It's laws for the poor, criminalizing behavior needed to survive, and aimed at producing the cheap labor the prisons need.

Villains, boosts and mods are both a resource and a danger. They can be extremely useful depending on powers, as long as they can be securely kept. 

Given Hollow Ground's belief that they could run things better, what would their ideal system be? Furthermore how would they try to run things if they were to legally have the mayor's position?

Interesting. I don't think even HG knows that, it's like the dog chasing the car, what do you do when you catch it? Nocturne on the other hand, has plans. But those are spoilers and you might learn about them in game, so I'll refrain from answering in detail for now.

On neutral ground who would win more times than not between Anathema and Argent when they are just fighting generally and why? How would things change if they were fighting to the death, no holds barred? What are some external factors that could tip the scale if they weren't on neutral ground?

Anathema would win, 100%, all the time. The only way Argent would win is by blackmail, but even that would only end in a draw.

Telepathy is a pretty big field with many different types and complexities on what someone can do. Saying that, would you mind explaining the general transition in what telepaths can do as they go from delta's to alphas?

Delta telepaths are very close to just generally psi-sensitives. Hunches, reading auras, getting vague impressions. It's been theorized that this can happen in the general population, without the aid of the boost drugs. 

Alpha telepaths, on the other hand, have clarity and range. There are no hunches, they know. Distance matters little, and they can affect/read many minds at once.

Generally, as you go up from Delta to Alpha, you get greater clarity and range, as well as flexibility. There are no strict boundaries, especially Beta level telepaths can be very diverse. You can have one who can read/influence many minds at range, but there are no details or fine control. Another might get great insight and clarity, but only at touch range, another one might have great range but an extremely specialized application.

Did Sidestep have an established home when they first arrived in Los Diablos from the farm? Or were they essentially homeless? Just how bad was their financial situation?

Essentially homeless. The first months were bad, sleeping rough, no money, scavenging for food. Eventually it got a little better, but it was only when the Rangers got involved (with Anathema and Ortega being both generous and pushy) that there was anything approaching comfort. That being said, at the time, Sidestep's views of what comfort was, was very skewed. They were alright with what they had compared to what they had before.

How close were anathema and step? Is Anathema still remembered or has her memory faded in the mind of Los Diablos since Heartbreak?

Anathema and Sidestep were friends, exactly how close is headcanon. Anathema is still remembered, but like with many things, whatever's not in the public eye fades over the years.

If the doctor would have power what would they be?

Who says they doesn't?

Did Ireland become a republic in the fallen hero universe? If so, is northern ireland still northern ireland, or is it part of the ROI? if not, did the troubles happen?

is the UK still a part of the EU?

Ireland is a republic, and northern ireland still exist. The troubles did happen much as it did in our world, but after the UK joined the EU, things settled down. The good friday agreement happened, and with the EU being more federalized than in our world, the technical difference between NI and I is mostly religious and cultural at this point. The border is open, and while wounds remain, the younger generation is moving away from past grievances.

how exactly was anathema’s acid ability utilised by the rangers?

It was mainly used (together with invulnerability) against heavily armored foes or vehicles, to get into places, and against people the rest of the Rangers couldn't handle. For example, even the Catastrofiend avoided Anathema. Themmy was also the designated evil villain base destroyer. Anathema and Sentinel in particular had some very nasty and destructive combinations, though also dangerous to the surroundings. (acid tornado anyone?)

Nanosurge lore snippet made me wonder was it Ortega's fault that Sidestep were discovered? Anyone could see an obvious connection between "Allied telepath" and "vigilante associated with Rangers".

Not Ortega's exactly, it was the whole situation. Nobody had any good choices there.

Is (was) it possible to neutralize Anathema with sedatives? Were Charge able to use their electric powers on them or they would make no effect at all? 

Sedatives works on Anathema, but massive doses are required. The electricity wouldn't hurt them, but their hair would stand on end.

Were Sidestep always masked in Heartbreak, Nanosurge etc moves or they made up movie Steps appearance and then showed their face?

Movie Sidestep's appearance is entirely made up. Very few people ever saw Sidestep's real face.

Does tia Ortega's ranch have decent protection?

Yes. Ortega is paranoid enough to have made sure of that, and if the normal measures would fail, there is always Snowball.

Have Chargestep relationship ever been implied in the movies or was that just fans/shippers territory?

It was in the movies too.

Do regenes have allergies?

Some of them do.

Are civilians aware that regenes are used in the war?

Yes, that's how they are seen. As weapons.

How would the Rangers/Dr. Mortum, or HG trio feel about going through a haunted house?

I think everyone would have a fun time, except Chen who would think it was a waste of time.

Had Heartbreak been aware of their telepathic powers before they were taken or did they only become aware after the experiments that were done to them? Were they even a telepath before they were taken? 

Spoilers. BIG spoilers. 

How often does Ortega see their mother? How long is the trip from Los Diablos to Ortega’s mother’s farm? What do Ortega and their mother like to do together?

When things are not too hectic at work, Ortega tries to visit every other weekend or so. Also, Elena visits Los Diablos regularly in return. The trip by car/bike is a couple of hours once you're clear of the Los Diablos traffic (which can take as long if you're unlucky), but Ortega tends to rely on Daniel to fly them. Much faster and easier, and Danny gets a home cooked meal out of it.

Ortega and their mother are similar in many ways. They like to talk, gossip and cook, and while at the ranch, ride, and sometimes camp out. Elena is no fan of hikes on foot anymore, but she's at home on a horse. In Los Diablos, it's shopping, movies, theater and music.

How long had HB been missing until they arrived to Los Diablos? 

Spoilers.

If Sidestep and HB had encountered each other at the very beginning of HB’s journey, could Sidestep’s telepathy helped HB or was HB’s powers already by then too overwhelming? Could they have communicated with each other more clearly then or nope?'

Yes. Things got increasingly worse.

Ever since the HB incident and the strange “mind melt” HB and Sidestep seemed to have, wondered could Sidestep theoretically share or explore memories with any of the other telepaths Sidestep has possibly met (or heard about) in the story? 

Yes, theoretically. If there was trust between them.

There are some points in the story where Sidestep implies they’re living on borrowed time since they “know too much”, and wondered did they find out something new after their recapture or were they already aware during their hero days that Farm might come after them?

Spoilers, but yes, they did learn something new. We'll get into that in book three.

Is there anything in particular the Rangers, Dr. Mortum, or HG trio like or dislike about their chosen careers?

I think they all like the freedom it gives them, they wouldn't be where they are if they didn't like the rush of adrenaline and uncertainty. Danny and Chen also very much likes to make a difference in the world, and this enables them to do that. 

what kind of combat utility is chen working with these days, and how has that changed from the past? 

It varies depending on the situation, in theory he has access to the full aspect of military armors. He's more versatile and powerful than in the past because he's the Marshal now, so they invest more money in keeping him up to date.

how strong are chen’s different suits of armour in terms of lifting weight?

I have not specified that. They are as strong as they need to be for the story.

A lot of Ortega's relationship fell apart, were they more likely to dump their partners or be dumped?

About 70% doing the dumping, and 30% being dumped.

Would the nanovores in the nanosurge have been able to chew on anathema?  Or would their skin/acid have made that impossible?

Anathema was immune, yes. However, they did not have suitable powers to save people, something which quietly traumatized them. They had volunteered to go into the affected zones to scout, and the things they saw was... not nice.

What is Ortega’s core desire?

Good question. I'm not sure if they even know. Ortega's got goals, their desire have been playing second fiddle for far too long. In their own way, Ortega is as adept as Chen at ignoring what they feel are selfish desires in order to do what they feel is necessary.

How did Vitruvian die? Did Dr. Mortum have a hand in his untimely death?

How Vitruvian died is... unknown. But it is a fair bet to assume that Dr. Mortum had a hand in it, though they would deny it.

In the nanosurge scene mentioned on the beach in retribution, did ortega actually intend to mercy kill elyise or was it an accident due to their mods flaring?

Ortega did intend to kill Elyise. There is a ruthless side to Ortega that I don't think Sidestep fully realizes. There was no way to save her, so it was better to make her agony short. 

Considering the separation between mind and body isn’t as simple as it sounds if I’m reading the telepathy lore right, could Sidestep stop an epileptic seizure if they tried? Could their telepathy cure epileptic episodes entirely?

The first might be a possibility. The second, probably not.

How did Anathema join the Rangers? Did they go through the usual background check process, or was there a directer enrollment because of the double-boosting?

And would the regenerator work on them despite their invulnerable skin?

Anathema did go through the usual background checks. And the regenerator would not affect them at all.

Are nanomesh and skinsuit interchangeable?  If there's differences, what are they?

Skinsuit is the garment, nanomesh is the material. Theoretically, a skinsuit can be everything from spandex, leather, latex to high tech solutions like nanomesh.

Your personal headcanons for Twintega au?

I try not to think too much because it's dangerous to become invested in my own AU's.

It's interesting that despite the "projecting", we still have no idea what Danny's mindscape actually is. Are the butterflies actually slippage, or do they act as a sort of shielding smokescreen (in a subtler sweeter way than the sharks and Steel's blocky walls)?

Hehehe good spot. They are very much shielding/chaff. Sidestep haven't needed to interact with Danny's mind at all since the thoughts and feelings slip out. What they will find when they go dig is so far unknown.

Did Lady Argent go by a different Hero name when she was still vigilante?

No, this is her first hero name.

Were any of the Rangers around to see Owl break Sidestep's nose? If not, how did they react when they heard about it?

Nope, but none of them were surprised. Ortega probably had an argument with Owl about it.

if the ranger ROs had a chance to study something to get a degree in it, what would they pick? (or alt phrasing: if the ROs were in a college/uni au what would they be studying?)

Daniel would study art, he argued with his parents about being able to do that in the future. Argent would probably be an engineer. Chen was planning to study medicine once upon a time, and sometimes still wonder what his life would have been like if he had stuck with it. Ortega... Hmmm. I honestly don't know. I could see them studying law, but not being too enthused. Dr. Mortum already went and would not want to repeat that experience very much thank you.

Are there other telepathic boosted animals out there? (Like the Rat King)

Has all the genetic experimentation produced any new species that got released into the wild changing the environment other than laser dolphins ?

Since they have the same issues with breeding as humans do, most of them die rather fast, and the ones that stick around are the species with longer lifespans. Apart from the dolphins, there are rumors of weird packs of dogs in the mountains, but it's become another version of cryptids. 

How/when did Ortega figure out they were bi?

Probably back in high school, though they never really did anything about it. 

For regene, could the incubation period be theoretically stopped for a time, like if they needed to perform some type of surgery on them, and then be put back in the tank and continue growing as normal? Or do they just cross their fingers and hope for the best?

Theoretically, yes, though some stages are fiddlier than others. 

We know ortega likes to cook and is good at it but how are the other current rangers in the kitchen?

Daniel is actively learning how to cook, he didn't know anything when he left home, but now he's pretty good. Chen has never liked cooking, he eats out or at Ortega's when he feels like he can handle it. Argent is not a bad cook, but she doesn't show it off because it's such a typically housewife thing to do and she doesn't want people to get used to it. She also bakes.

I don’t remember if it was ever asked: can body and facial hair grow over the regene markings?

No.

In the last QnA, it's mentioned Argent has two brothers. Where does she fall in the line up, oldest, middle or the baby of the bunch?

Argent is the baby.

How common are villains?

Depends on the area. The west coast has more than their fair share, but it's a lot about branding. The line between villain and criminal is very shifting, it's not just about power. It's also about stepping up and adopting the persona, the name and the suit. Technically, Jake wouldn't really count as a villain, that's why he's usually named as a henchman. The average citizen probably thinks they are a lot more common than they are since they get featured a lot in the media.

At the time of the story, where are Regina and her operation situated? Are they still based at the farm?

As far as Sidestep knows, yes.

Have the rangers noticed or find it strange how the MC always wears long sleeved clothing no matter what?

Yeah, they did that from the start, and there was a bit of teasing at first. Sentinel gave everyone a lecture when Sidestep was not around about not being dicks. Lots of people have modest/covering clothing for various reasons. It was none of their business.