Questions answered for October (Patreon)

Time to get those questions answered, working on a Halloween lore post that should be out this weekend featuring Bennet with a surprise guest! I also updated the Patreon layout a bit, and included some more collections for ease of access. There is now a €20 tier (similar to the VIP one for now, might differ in the future if I come up with some perks) since some people have been asking for a way to suppurt me more.

So... Did any of the bathing sessions w innocent broken legs mc and Ortega got...spicy? 👀

Up to your headcanon, but injuries like that are not as romantic as you might think, so I doubt that either of them was in a headspace for it.

Is retirement a plausible ending with a love interest, even with some (Ortega) having outstanding debts to the government? And further so, can we pay off their debt?

You will be able to take care of Ortega's debts with certain choices. And I suppose it depends on the definition of the word, but endings in that vein are planned.

Belatedly occuring to me that an escaped puppet who is dating Ortega is actually helped when Ortega sees camera footage of the villain doing their level best to hunt and kill the puppet. Is it possible that would open a window of opportunity for the "stuck in puppet" path to further manipulate Ortega depending on prior choices (like selling the puppet as an innocent bystander caught up in things)?

I mean it certainly is good evidence of a sort!

Bonus question: would a puppet occupied by someone else use an existing puppet/Ortega relationship for their own ends since it seems like they have some awareness of events? Another question: is there a path where Ace joins your efforts as an ally or accomplice?

Spoilers, but the puppet will not sleep with Ortega behind your back, I can tell you that.

Is there gonna be a talk about the drinking of Ortega?, in lore post is hinted a lot.

That is planned!

About dating, is there a difference on how you date of find one between heroes and villain? What is the difference between the ones with secret identity and the ones without one.

Any dating across the line between heroes and villains will be unique. However, an open (revealed) relationship will be very different from a secret identity one. In the first case, both parties are aware that they are on opposing sides, and probably gets their kicks (and moral dilemmas) by romancing someone so clearly in the wrong. The situation might be part of the draw. In the case of secret identities, only one of the parties have this issue, the other one is unknowing. That will lead to moral dilemmas of a different sort. How much do you owe your partner the truth?

Are there neutral space in the city, where you can't stick or rob?

Yeah, there are many villain-oriented places where, if someone would be rude enough to rob them, there would be severe repercussions. Joes and other villain bars is one, and there are clinics and medical facilities that are also seen as neutral and protected.

Can the city survive an attack of a monster like Godzilla or King Kong?

Maybe Dread Reactor will come lumbering for a visit and we'll see. And of course Los Diablos could survive, it is only a question of how much damage it sustains in the process.

What are the favorites fiction or not fiction of the RO's?

I don't know, honestly I couldn't even tell you my own! There is too much and moods fluctuates too wildly.

Where are the exs of doctor mortum in the events of revelatios, the ones they had working in academia?

Not on the west coast. Hmmm. Might be back east somewhere, where things are civilized.

Who was the one that hurt most Dr Mortum when they started their transition?

Their best friend. Mortum could understand losing a romantic relationship because attractions might change, but losing a friendship? That's cruel.

Can we see the queer space with the RO'S in case of have a queer sidestep?

I would really like to have time to show that, yes!

Would be a difference in the interacción between being cis or trans ?

I think that would vary on how open Sidestep is with it at that point. It's a thing I would have to get a feel for while writing it.

Who of the RO'S would like videogames?

Argent.

Could Ortega or Daniel work as actors if they retire, as stunt doubles, bodyguards or sports?

I would say yes in the case of actors and and doubles. No for the bodyguard bit. A yes for sports for Ortega, a no for Daniel.

Is gonna be an option that sidestep give a piece of their mind if the RO'S had a problem with their family or help help real of Bad experience with the Best affinity for example the family of Chen?

We will be having family talks in this book, yeah. And Sidestep can certainly be as blunt as they want to be.

Might be a question somebody already asked, but does Sidestep have any of Heartbreak's memories? If so, do they perceive them as their own?

Sidestep's memories are soup, and one of the ingredients in there is Heartbreak. But I am not sure Sidestep can (want to) pick out what is what. That would require self-analysis, and that might be dangerous (hard).

Is there a boost ability that allows you to (temporarily) block the people around you's powers? kinda like a human dampener but for more things?

So far none have been identified.

Hypothetically, what would happen if the nanovores breached containment (and Sidestep wasn't able to stop them), since they can't reproduce and become a new nanosurge?

Local, controlled damage, much easier to stop.

Any particular demo/route for stuck sidestep that you are looking forward to writing the most?

It varies on the mood! Right now I am in a romantic mood!

Is there any chance that we'll be able to see Ashfall/Pyroclast again? I really enjoyed the snippets we've gotten of him. Was he ever informed of the Heartbreak incident, if so, what he'd think of it? Lastly, I just want to say, the way you wrote him for Void; really resonated with me, and wanted to thank you for it ^^

Yes, Ashfall/Pyroclast will have a role in the story. And show up this book.

I have wondered - Sidestep was picked by the Special Directive after the Heartbreak incident, since they were monitoring the site. If a normal ambulance picked Step up first, would they survive? Or were they essentially "dead" at that point and survived only due to Farm's special methods and knowledge of their body? (If that gets revealed later in the books, i am happy to wait, just curious)

Hmmmm. I think Sidestep would have survived if it was a normal ambulance as well. They were badly hurt, but not something a regular (if expensive) hospital couldn't have fixed.

How exactly do the Farm’s cells look like? Is it more of a hospital room or like solitary confinement? I’m having a hard time picturing them, but I completely get it if this is left to the books’ descriptions or encounters

I think it probably varies a bit depending on the occupant and security level. But I have pictured them as more of a hospital room (no windows) but with the security of a solitary confinement (beds built into walls, nothing that can be used as a weapon or hurt yourself with, etc.) Hygienic and nice (white or greenish walls) but nothing soft or comfortable about them.

I think I remember you mentioning not being able to interact with fanfiction once. Were you referring to fanfiction in general, or just those done about your work? And is there any particular reason why you don’t/can't interact with them?

Those about my work! I still enjoy other fanfiction, and has written my fair share (including two books) in the past. It is a question of liability, you see. There has been accusations in the past of authors and screenwriters stealing ideas, and reading fanfiction about my story feels like a massive issue. I don't want to be influenced, or even accidentally take ideas or inspiration. So I stay well away, even from discussion areas in the discord when it comes to personal Sidesteps and the like. It is different from playtesting feedback, because there is expected that ideas will be suggested and interacted with.

What inspires you to write Fallen Hero?

Fucked up moods and frustration with the world.

How long does it usually take you to write a chapter? A normal chapter, not in IF format?

A normal chapter in a regular book (2000-4000 words) would take about two days. Much of the time to create an IF is not in the actual wordcount, it is how to put everything together as a game. The planning takes a LOT of work, and also a lot of rewrites and restructuring. Putting out words in a linear narrative goes pretty fast for me. Polishing takes longer still.

Do the lazer dolphins have religion?

I haven't asked. I doubt it, but who knows?

Were they affected in any way by the nanovore incident?

Nope.

Are they all one dolphin species? Or do we have to worry about lazer orcas and lazer pilot whales too?

They are all common bottlenose dolphins.

Are there any poor helpless sharks left at all along the LD coastline?

Oh yeah, there are not that many laser dolphins out there, and they are more focused on the threat of people than hapless sharks.

Dangit. But I gotta know... do lazer dolphins use lazers to scrawl gang tags across the ocean landscape?

Nope, they are more sound oriented!

Armadillo's nickname has been niggling me for awhile. You've mentioned in the past how Sidestep in the original first draft—and the default name options in the game still—have significant initials, CB. Does "Arde" happen to sound like the initials "RD" for the same reasons, or am I being Ortega-brained?

It is not bad being Ortega-brained! They might be wrong a lot of the time, but they are also right a lot. Arde does indeed sound like RD.

On the topic of the Belgium Mass Anomaly, what would have happened if you loosed the Nanosurge on it? Would the tumor outgrow the swarm? Or would the swarm be able to clean up the tumor?

The nanosure would fix that problem asap! Of course in this case the cure might be worse than the disease....

Does Dr Mortum have a thought process about Sidestep buying+giving them their gun? Is it all suspicion or some gratitude? Was Mortum really about to kill Sidestep right then?

Dr. Mortum sees the buying/giving gun event in various ways depending on the surrounding circumstances. It can be seen as showing off, not caring about the money, but enjoying the the moment of frustration for the good Doctor before turning charitable. That is a powerplay, one that ended well, but a powerplay all the same. It can also be seen as clumsy generosity, genuinely not caring if it costs more, and not thinking about what Mortum might think as the bidding was going on. That would point to a socially awkward villain that still means well. If the puppet has show being afraid of their boss, it might also be seen as a message. The whole 'look what power I have over you, pray I keep being nice' kind of thing. I don't think there is any scenario in which Mortum is certain, it will be a thing where future interactions will color past actions. And, exactly how real Dr. Mortum's threats are, I will leave that to spoilers. You can't know.

If 5 Pennies got TBR'd would he become 6 Pennies or 5 Nickels?

Unlike certain people (ahem Ashfall, Lord Ember) he likes his name and will not change it.

So if Shroud touched the Belgian Mass Anomaly, would the entire city sized meatball wither all at once? Or would the part closest to her start to wither first before it started spreading?

That is a good question. I think it would wither all at once, but I am not entirely sure. I don't think Shroud would be either, she's never tried to drain a target of a size where the impact point would matter.

Would she get the memories of the original guy who Boosted himself? Or the roughly half a million civilians trapped within it? Or the brief "awareness" of the tumor itself?

Also unclear. Hopefully only the original guy, but with this, who knows? Nobody knows what happened to the people absorbed/eaten.

In real life, we're pretty uncertain what makes mosquitos target certain people, is there any correlation between having Boosted blood and being or not being a mosquito magnet?

No. Insects are not affected by the boost drug, so unless the boost was very specific, it would not affect anything.

not sure if this has been asked already, but what are the ROs favorite supernatural creatures?

I don't remember either! Right now Ortega's is werewolves, they are cool. Daniel has a soft spot for the mothman, though he is fairly certain it was an owl. Argent has a list which constantly changes, and she will never admit that it is something as basic as vampires. Chen is interested in bigfoot, and whether that's actually based on real encounters. Ben is afraid of ghosts, but will still watch ghost documentaries that scares the hell out of him. Vera likes haunted houses, yes, the houses, not any ghosts. She has theories. And Mortum... well, the supernatural is only what is not yet understood, or completely misunderstood (it is mermaids).

So, the "I don't do friends. Not since…" line from Mortum, is that about their transphobic ex-friend from when they came out?

Yeah, at the heart of it all. That betrayal cut deep.

Is Vernon a boost?

Nope, he's just cantankerous.

What was Hood’s doubt stat like? Did it rub off on Ortega in any way?

Hood was a realist. He went along with things he knew were not always morally sound, because it was the lesser evil. He was... I suppose a cynical dreamer? Ortega has a higher doubt stat, though much of that came after Hood's death.

Did HG have anything that they could have baited Hood with?

I'm not sure exactly what you are implying here, but yes.

Does Sentinel ever regret destroying the evidence of Void's obsession with Charge in order to let the Rangers be the ones assaulting the Tesseract?

No. It worked out in the end.

Does he feel that the end result was worth Ashfall, Charge, and Sidestep's injuries/Void inductions?

Worth it? Yes. Does he feel bad about it? Also yes.

Did he ever come clean and tell Charge about the extent of the Void's obsession with them?

No need. Charge kind of got that after the fact. There would be no need to bring it up again.

Actually what would the Belgium Mass Anomaly have felt like, telepathy wise?

Either a massive blank spot, or telepathic nightmare fuel.

Given infinite food, is there a maximum size the Catfiend can grow to?

Yeah, it's not getting that big, the skeleton sets the limit.

so about the sidestep stealing noses question… who would be the easiest and hardest target for telepathic nose robbing among the rangers? and how would they all react to having their noses “stolen”?

I genuinely have no idea how to answer this, except that Ortega would be amused and immune.

For supremely ethical reasons, have you considered adding a restaurant to one of the front businesses Sidestep can operate?

No. Too many other people needing to be involved. And also, people willingly coming in at all times of the day? Sounds like hell. There's a reason the repair shop is in the middle of nowhere.

Was the Shasta quake indirectly caused by Hollow Ground?

Yes. Not going to give any details.

Had the nonconsensual dosing not occurred (and Vitruvian not learning Mortum was unboosted, which was the inciting incident) would Mortum and Vitruvian have eventually have peacefully gone their separate ways, or would there have been a similarly violent split?

It would be more of a drifting apart.

How old is Jessica (Bo and Myra's daughter)?

I haven't decided yet, but she's young.

If Shroud had met the Catfiend when they were still coherent, would they have gotten along?

No.

is the quantum bubble created by mortums gun “perfect?” or is the presumably torturous strain it inflicts a result of an imperfect or incomplete process?

Oh Mortum wants to know that SO badly. Their theory is that something in it is faulty, and if that could be fixed, it would be perfect.

This might be too close to spoilersville, but could Argent tame the now massive nanovore colony Mortum may have on their hands? Could she add them to her own safely?

Spoilers indeed!

Speaking of Alien Earth, is that how you imagine Argent's technopathy?

Honestly, it is close enough.

So... what names would Snowball use for the rest of the RO's and the HG trio? And the henchmen and mob crew? What about the catfiend?

I have absolutely no idea yet! It would depend a bit on the circumstances I think.

Could Snowball damage Arde's exoskeleton?

Yes.

Incredibly important to know, would ortega make “[insert any word ending in er]? i hardly know her!” jokes?

That sounds like something Ortega might do when being either drunk or silly.

Is there a reason only Charge (tho they brought Step along) was called in to investigate the lab murders instead of the whole Ranger team or was that a call Charge made, to go in "solo"?

There is a reason. You might start to get hints from why from the latest VIP post.

Would Snowball have joined in on Sidestep's villain team?

No. That sounds a lot like work. She's happy where she is.

Are there Boosts that are physically undetectable, but affect things like probablility or luck?

Oh yes.

Was the earthquake that freed Snowball natural? Was it even an earthquake?

There are a lot of earthquakes on the coast! A lot more than there is today, things are still in a state of unrest though not as bad as it used to be.

Did Snowball pick up on and adopt the pack dynamics of the lab dogs for her to understand Elena as a 'pack leader'?

No, this is more classic goat herd behavior. They are led by an "alpha doe" who makes the tactical decisions. She has however accepted the ranch dogs as fellow protectors and honorary male goats.

What's snowball's max range? How big does a target have to be in her field of view to get blasted?

Snowball has a 340 degree field of vision, with massive peripheral awareness. Goats also have excellent distant vision, able to see targets on the horizon so she can see very far. However, in order to use her powers she must have it within her 60 degree binocular vision so she can focus on it. It is still unclear how far she can use her powers, she tends to use them at quite close range.

Does TBR make a Boost tastier to the Catfiend? How has Sidestep's tastiness improved with time and growth?

Yeah, I think it would make boosts tastier. And Sidestep is more tasty now than before.

could snowball blast the catfiend to extinction?

She could certainly try and inflict a lot of damage in the process.

What's the doctor's opinion on a hypothetical boost that could turn into a alligator?

Hard robbing a bank like that. (quiet) Please never let them into my lab.

Given the earthquake, does Shasta Cola still exist in fhr universe

Don't see why not!

Will it ever be brought up that a mass killer Sidestep let Blaze live?

Probably! I like including variables.

If Sidestep introduces themselves to Mortum they’re concerned that it might be a sting operation. Are undercover heroes (As in heroes actually committing clear acts of villainy under an alias) an actual thing?

I can't see why not? It is a valid tactic.

How often do heroes/law enforcement go after Mortum? How do they usually deal with them?

It happens, and bribes are usually the best way of dealing with it.

We know what chen's first impressions of ricardo were, but what about julia?

Probably similar, but tempered with more admiration because Julia was a woman.

Has Herald, when pretending to be a civilian, hovered to grab something off the top shelf? If so, has he been recognised?

Of course he has. On both counts. He's terrible at stealth.

Has he frightened anyone by floating up some stairs and talking to someone who got startled because they didn't hear footsteps?

Quite often. He's always terribly apologetic when that happens.

Is HG above buying loads of villain merch to show support for their sibling coded Sidestep?

Nocturne in my head is making the most pained face, because that is the most cringe sibling behaviour she has ever seen. So it might be likely.

snow is pretty rare in LD, right? so has sidestep ever seen real snow?

Not as rare as it is in this world, the temperature is slightly cooler due to volcanic emissions (was a lot cooler right after the fact). And the nearby mountains gets lots of snow, so Sidestep has certainly seen snow. Ortega likes skiing.

Has any goverment ever attempted to resolve the issue with Boosted infertility or are they avoiding/suppressing any research about it?

Oh there is definitely work being done on that. There's more than one faction interested in the next step of the human evolution.

Why doesn't Argent have a streamed feed of the LD skyline to make up for not having windows, like Mortum's bedroom does? Is it something she didn't think of when she first designed the apartment?

Unlike Mortum, she would always be aware it was fake thanks to her tecnopathy. It would just rub things in. She prefers the truth.

Was her apartment built by the time she came back to LD after getting hired, or did she need to wait a bit before it was finished?

She made sure it was finished first.

Who in the cast are fans of dirty humor and who are those suffering through it?

I will leave that up to people since it will not appear in the game.

who was the fifth harbinger in the room with the Void when sentinel charged into the altar room?

Not gonna tell you!

has iris ever been affiliated with the cult of the green sky?

I mean... well... spoilers.

What does the hierarchy within the cult of the green sky look like? where do harbingers/kites/anchors/choir stand in relation to each other?

The Kite and the Anchor are singular individuals, not a rank. It is a title, sure, but as much a villain name as anything else. Their rank would be considered to be just beneath Void. Harbingers are the elite of the cult, powerful boosts, often combat oriented. They would be the rank below that. The choir comes after that. Cult functionaries and boosts, often powerful but less attack oriented. Individual choir members might have a lot of personal influence, but they still rank below harbingers.

during heartbreak, were the cables due to sidestep's memories or were they from heartbreak's?

A mixture.

who was Venomous? What can you tell us about them? background, pronouns, life in the green sky cult, powers?

I genuinely only have a name! I have no idea of anything else! And will probably never detail anything about them.

Will we be able to re-select our motivation every book? Would love to see a Walter white “I did it for me” type of moment at the end of the series.

That is my plan. In Revelations it will probably be right after the puppet business is resolved, as that might change things.

could the Void theoretically find her way back from the place sidestep pushed her to, or would she go 'wrong' or die of old age before that's possible?

I won't get into that, but it is presently not a part of the scope of the game.

Assuming that infertility is no longer an issue, could a healthy child be produced if parent A had Anathema's durability and parent B Catastrofiend's healing factor or does the parents' boost play no role in the viability of the pregnancy?

The problem is that the "scrambled" DNA makes pregnancy nearly impossible. But if any boost would be able to pull it off, it would be a mother with regenerative powers.

How much teaching did Mortum have to do as part of their PhD? Did they resent having to teach?

Mortum never liked to teach. They avoided it as much as possible, and as they fast-tracked some things they could sidestep some technical requirements. Things are not as strict and regulated as they are in our world.

What did their students make of them?

Impatient. Brilliant. Prone to flights of fancy. Better read the textbook, that won't be much used in class but you are assumed to know what's in it anyway.

When Argent shapes her hands into claws or a blade, what happens to the nanovores who make up the edge of claws/blades when it makes contact?

One of the things that makes Argent's nanovores special is their ability to lock together in tight lattices, like skin and simulated muscles. The same goes for the blade. She doesn't shed any nanovores, even accidentally. Sidestep had to work hard to get even a few strands of hair.

Has Argent sculpted noticeable muscles into her form?

Yes, she has worked hard on making her as realistic as possible.

You say even if Chen knew Sidestep was alive, he probably wouldn't try and mount a rescue if he knew the full situation. Would he try to rescue Ortega if the farm took them and he had the same info or would that be another even more painful loss?

It would be even more painful, but Chen is a realist. If he would do something, it wouldn't be a rescue. It would be bigger.

Charge is a big deal in LD but how famous are they nationwide? Are they more like a local celebrity or a national one where even an average person in say Maine knows & has a good opinion on them?

If they are somewhat into hero stuff. It is like sport stars, if you like the sport (or gossip rags) they are a celebrity, if you are not interested the result might be a "who?".

What is Argent's thoughts on caffeine, considering it blocks the feelings of fatigue but not fatigue itself, and her desire for well regulated sleeping conditions?

Not after six o'clock in the evening.

Has Argent ever had to beg off multi-day operations? Perhaps search operations or stakeouts that might require sleeping rough?

Yes. If she does it, she will do it solo.

what do the cast like to do when they're having a shit day and need to feel better

Ortega: Workout, preferably the fighting kind. Getting their motorcycle out and going for a drive out to the middle of nowhere works too. They are trying to avoid alcohol as the cure for that these days.

Chen: Go for a walk with Spoon, either to the dog park or the beach (such as it is).

Daniel: Fly up to the surrounding hills, or paint. Or a combination of both.

Argent: Movies and snacks. Fighting in that state is dangerous.

Ben: Meet some friends.

Vera: Become a pigeon and stake out some new heists. Preferably from a real bastard.

Mortum: Drive. Fast.

How would Elena feel if some sidesteps see her as a mother figure in their life?

Flattered.

Do real world criminal organizations still exist for the most part or have they been replaced by the history divergence?

I would guess that most do. I haven't touched on them, but they're out there.

Elena has not told Ortega that Snowball has stopped attempts to take her hostage so that her child wouldn't worry, but is there a chance this secret comes out in game?

Probably!

Would a certain telepath accidentally/purposefully spill the beans after having read it in Elena's thoughts?

That will be your choice!

why did sentinel pick out "sentinel" as his hero name?

Because he saw himself as a Sentinel, standing against the bastards of the ruined coast.

Coming in three years later to ask: is Pyroclast’s ash form is capable of being abrasive at all?

Oh yes.

This might not be known outside the states, but do Spirit Halloween stores still exist and possess the closed properties of former retail stores to shill their poorly made spooky products?

I can see no reason why they wouldn't!

I asked a similar question regarding Sidestep making other people hear sounds telepathically; but can a drunk Sidestep telepathically "broadcast" their drunkenness to everyone around them?

I don't think so.

Not sure if this has been asked before but how does being drunk affect sidesteps telepathy? Could it also affect body snatching?

Being drunk affects cognition, so yes, it affects telepathy and body snatching. It dulls the senses, impedes balance and makes everything harder. Less control.

Who among the rangers would get most paranoid about a telepath using words like "You think that I'd" or "You believe" and think that the telepath is actually reading their thoughts? Who among the villainous cast do you think would be the most paranoid about it? And since Ortega is immune, how much would they try to poke fun at someone who got paranoid about it?

We all know Chen would be the most paranoid. Nocturne would be among the villains. Yes, even more than Mortum. Ortega would suggest that all Chen needs to do was to think naughty thoughts all the time and no telepath would want to get in there and read his thoughts.

In the Mob Boss route is the crew just stealing stuff/doing missions or are they doing black market enterprise stuff too? Like selling tech, weapons, drugs? Fighting rival gangs? Taking over territory?

Probably. I haven't detailed it yet, but it's a varied thing, especially when SIdestep is not involved. We will get a bit more into that later.

How much money (if any) would it take to convince each cast member to attempt surviving a 24‑hour manhunt? Note: the agreed upon amount is also the 24hour bounty.

Money is weird, but Ortega and Argent would both agree for kicks more than cash (though the amount would be huge). Don't think any of the others would take the offer.

In the Rebirth code for achievements, there's a list going from mc1-4, skipping 5 and then continuing 6-15. Do you recall what the missing achievement for mc5 was?

Not sure. It might be the romance achievement, because I know I originally had one, but then removed it because I didn't want to force anybody to romance someone, or make the romances an object of gamification.

Seeing as plot1 is the Anonymous achievement in Chapter 10 and plot2 is picking up the nanovores in Chapter 1, did you add the achievements for Rebirth out of chronological order?

I started that way at least, but I am not sure it goes for all of them since I might have come up with others later that needed to be slotted in.

What would Armadillo play as in a D&D game?

Life domain Cleric.

Not sure if this has been asked but who was the person sidestep said they regretted leaving behind in the beach spin the bottle story? Did they actually exist? what were everyone's thoughts on it?

It left there as a hint. I plan to have the option for Sidestep to have had at least one vaguely positive interaction at the Farm. It will be up to the player if/who that is.

Mia has met with Psycho and Dove and they know her connection to Vernon. Would she be able to land an interview with one of the rangers? Or would her connection end up causing problems?

It will cause her problems, there is a reason she is stalking Argent and Herald instead of just scheduling an interview.

Which ranger would she like to interview most? Which of the rangers would be most offput by her political focus?

Charge. She has some pointed questions she wants to ask. Charge is also the one who will absolutely not agree to that, tied with Marshal Steel.

Do Mortum's assistants know the location of their lab? If so, what happens when they're fired?

Spoilers.

If they don't know, does Mortum have to escort them in and out?

Spoilers.

What are Chen's views on boosted people? His void excerpt seems to suggest that he sees them as somewhat inhuman

There is an element of that. But I think it is more of... how to put this. Giving people a lot of power will turn them strange. He is worried about that with himself as well, what does his extensive mods do to him? Does it change anything? And when powerful boosts go off the rails, the consequences are great. He's seen it too often.

What's the difference between repentkill and stopkill as variables?

They are very similar, but the former one also focuses on trying to make up for what you already have done, and the latter is just to do better in the future. Could I have made do with just one? Probably.

Is the Sneaky achievement criteria allowing up to 60 of the ortega suspicion stat intentional/speaking to Sidestep being really oblivious about Ortega being able to figure them out? Cos "you're fairly certain nobody has any idea you're the villain" is extremely funny given 60 oc is the threshold where Ortega goes "i already knew" if you confess

60 does indeed give that absolutely hilarious combination.

Is Bennet an innate boost, or did he take the boost drug? If it's the latter, what were the circumstances?

We will get into Bennet later, but he did not take the boost drug. There has been 'psychics' before the boost drugs were ever invented in the FH world.

In the Heartbreak postscript story, Ortega says they 'presided over the biggest failure of a Ranger team since the San Francisco fiasco', is that referring to the SF team's handling of Vimana, or something else? If the latter, what was that?

Yeah, that was the Vimana affair. One day I might write something about it, she's fascinating but preipheral to the story.

In Mitchell's entry on Bo, Myra has the same last name as him. Assuming this was from when she married him, what's her maiden name?

I have no idea! Don't think I ever decided.

In which book do we get to dye Spoon a bright neon pink? Animal-safe dye ofc 🙂‍↕️ only the best for Spoon

No Spoon dye! Only in your headcanons.

How often has Ortega's sanity been questioned due to Sidestep being a little too ghostly during their public outings together?

More than once I think. Sidestep just up and disappearing before being introduced and things like that. Especially at the start, before Ortega had figured out the boundaries.

Adding on to the question above: does sidesteps, "don't look at me" telepathic thing they do in public make Ortega worry they're hallucinating again sometimes when the two are hanging out?

Yes. But I doubt Ortega will admit it.

If the two argue in public or near others in general, does Ortega notice any strange behavior from people around them if sidestep gets upset enough? Would love to know Ortega's thoughts on that if so but if it's spoilers I understand.

As you might have guessed, Ortega notices a lot of things. We will see if they get into that eventually.

And one more question: has anyone noticed any strange behaviors from areas sidestep lives in and has their nightmares at? Is anyone tracking that or noticing something off? Again, probably spoilers but no harm in trying to ask at least.

Hehehehehehehehehehe.

How do mortum and the rangers react to being jumpscared? Is anyone immune?

I think Chen is immune. Ortega, to their annoyance, is not. Argent has the self-control not to be dangerous. Daniel would definitely fly/float. Mortum might squeal.

Do you have any particular inspirations you drew on for Arde's appearance?

Not particular, it is an amalgam of stuff.

Arde is described as 'shimmering' while armored up in the 1.2 demo, so does that mean their armored state has some beetle/bug-like iridescence from the metal parts, or does the shimmering effect come from initiating a transformation between their two forms?

It's iridescence.

What does argent do if sidestep/a ranger walks up to her and holds up a magnet to see if it's attracted to her skin?

"Oh I see you are attracted to me," snickering.

Does dying and returning to life have the same results as TBA?

Not necessarily, but it could have.

Has anyone else seen the video of Ace being eaten by shroud apart from mortum and step?

Yes.

what does the potentially lewd gesture Armadillo makes when you reveal yourself as a thief mean?

I have no idea, it was just meant as Sidestep trying to interpret Arde's sign language with Dove. She probably taught them that gesture, and I am sure it is just coincidence that it is used for a thief Sidestep.