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Here’s one to any/all of The Rangers:

If you didn’t have powers, what “normal” job would you have? Why?

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I feel sorry for @malinryden for opening this giant can of worms.

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Question for Sidestep: We all know you train in your puppet body to keep them in shape, but what training have you been doing in your main body in preparation for your villainous debut? I hope you’re not solely relying on the advantages that your new armor gives you.

Secondly, we all know Ortega’s view on the subject, but how much do you trust them? And how long do you think you’ll be able to keep up the act of pretending not to be their enemy while being their friend (or something more) at the same time?

Lastly, hypothetically, if Ortega were to find out that you, in fact, are their new enemy, what do you think the best and worst case scenarios would be when regarding their reaction? And do you think that Ortega would, at least, let you explain your perspective on this and why you’ve gone down the path of villainy, assuming you’d even be willing to tell them your side of things?

Sorry, that’s many more (loaded) questions than I originally thought I’d ask, and additional apologies if the answers are too personal. Thanks for your time!

EDIT:
Bonus question for Ortega: Do you play any instruments? Non-electric, for obvious reasons. For some reason, I think you’d be spectacular on the acoustic guitar! I don’t doubt that you perhaps have some singing capabilities, as well.

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Tbh, I hope that the answer for some of the questions will be something we as readers are allowed to decide for the MC…

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Fair point. I guess I’m just impatient.

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I can absolutely understand that…

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To Ortega: If, hypothetically speaking, Lady Argent were to try to injure or kill the person formerly known as Sidestep, what would you do?

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I will reply to these when my head feels better!

Suffered a light concussion, so my screen time is limited. Still, they have given me so any ideas and insight in my own characters! <3

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I believe this was enlightening for both the readers and the writer. Take care and rest easy.

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[quote=“Sammysam, post:71, topic:22725”]
Steel: Well, despite everything you seem suprisingly…likable? Did you ever consider to be nicer to people? Just generally speaking.[/quote]

Steel: What are you talking about? I am nice to people. I just call it like I see it.

[quote=“Sammysam, post:71, topic:22725”]
Lady Argent: You are a tough woman with probably a bunch of fans. And as humans are rather weird you probably have some weird fans, too. So did one of them ever ask you to punch/slap them? (Bonus: If yes, did they want to pay you for that punch/slap? Bonus Bonus: Did you do it?) (Question inspired by this Wonder Woman comic)[/quote]

Lady Argent: And this is exactly why I have as little interaction with media, or “fans” as possible. I have been asked something similar, yes, and I am banned for… replying quite so viciously in the future. Our layers… yes, we do have layers, and they did “advise” me on what to write here, because apparently I am not supposed to go into detail about idiotic settlements. [/quote]

[quote=“Sammysam, post:71, topic:22725”]
Herald: How is it to be the “baby” of the team? Also are you interested in older women/men/people outside the gender binary, especially if they are the retired hero type? * winkwinknudgenudge *[/quote]

Herald: It’s hard being the new one. I mean, have you seen the previous members? They have a line of portraits that’s… never mind, it’s just a lot to live up to, you know? And… I mean… I’m… dating Argent right now so that’s a moot point.

Lady Argent: No, you’re not.

Herald: Come on…

Lady Argent: * sigh *

[quote=“Sammysam, post:71, topic:22725”]
Ortega: Only hypothetical speaking, how would you react to a villain harbouring an unhealthy crush on you? Like, a really huge crush.Also, while speaking about crush, we heard you may have a new sweetheart, not somebody working in the hero business though…so, are you worried about their security? Is it easier to have a relationship with a fellow hero or a civillian?Also, in no way connected to the previous question how good do you deal with difficult decisions?[/quote]

Ortega: Trust me, it’s not the first time a villain has had a crush on me. It’s not that uncommon really, It can get really uncomfortable though, I mean I don’t mind a certain level of innuendo, but… people with that kind of mindset they take it to weird levels. Some even commit crimes just to try to get me to arrest them. It’s a bit pathetic really, if they really were interested in me, they’d clean up their act first.

Dating a civilian really brings its own set of problems. It’s not as bad when they are a celebrity, they usually already have bodyguards or other protection. But, let’s say an ordinary person? I… am worried about their security. Things happen. I might have to try to talk them into accepting some protection if it comes to that. Heroes are easier to date. But on the other hand, exes are harder to work with.

And difficult decisions are difficult for a reason, you know?

Dr. Mortum: Academic elitism is the death of intellect. It is what you make that defines you, not where you studied. People that wave a degree in your face to make you respect their ideas have no idea how pathetic they look. As for my inspirations… well, of course Nikola Tesla is a given, but of my contemporaries, I would have loved to work with Dr. Philip Emeagwali… alas, that is no longer a possibility.

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@KuraiHeka Question for Ortega: Purely hypothetically, if someone you trusted and cared about a lot turned out to be a lying, scheming, manipulating, mass-murderer, what would you do?

Ortega: I sure hope this is hypothetical, but I’ll bite. I’d help put them away of course. And then I would feel really bad.

@Sneaks
To Dr. Mortum: What are your views on ethics in science? In other words, what lines are you unwilling to cross?

Dr. Mortum: Ethics? Ah, such a naive concept. What I can’t stand is waste, sloppy science being done for cruelty more than result. For the right idea, I very much doubt there would be any lines I would hesitate to cross, but that does not mean that I will be needlessly nasty about it.

@Kattz
For Ortega: Rumor has it that sidestep was a welcome guest in your mother’s home. Sounds like the two of you were closer than we thought. How did your family (if you have any beyond your mother) take the news of Sidestep still being alive.

Ortega: My father never met them, which is probably for the best. He died when I was very young. My mother though… I need to tell her, don’t I? But if I do, then… christ, this won’t end well. I doubt that Sidestep will want to rekindle old friendships that badly, they are already skittish enough just around me. And my mother… she can be a bit of a force to be reckoned with.

For Dr. Mortum and Sidestep each: We all know of the telepathically linked rat brains that function as the targeting system for Psychopathor’s gun, also known as the Rat King, but how was this process possible? I have a hard time believing that whomever did such a thing to these poor rats thought this up simply to use the end result as a targeting array for a crazed villain so that brings me to my next question: was it possibly a precursor for human trials?

Dr. Mortum: Of course they must have been. And I would love to see what kind of a creature would be the end result of that particular line of research! Sounds absolutely fascinating. Sadly, I do not know where Psychopathor stole it from, none of my contacts have been able to identify where it comes from. Most likely military.

Sidestep: … I only care that it works…

If it was, then theoretically speaking how would it affect humans who are much more complex and diverse in thinking? Would they merge into one telepathic super being, would they share telepathic power yet maintain their individuality like some kind of brain linked siblings, or would there be some kind of brutal assimilation much like a twin eating its other half in the womb but in this case the victor would gain the other’s mind, memories, and power as their own?

Dr. Mortum: Now that is what I would love to see, I very much doubt that human individuality would be suppressed, or that the separate minds could work together. The theory is an interesting one, if one mind ends up dominant, it could potentially suppress the others, though the more likely outcome is insanity, Sadly, telepathy is a rare enough gift that I doubt that someone had access to enough of them to try this out.

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Seeing these lovely answers to my questions, I’m starting to feel like I am less like Sidestep than I previously thought. “only care that it works”? Bah! How could one not be curious?! But thank you because Dr. Mortum matched my enthusiasm in the mystery of such a thing with equal amounts of fervor, fascination, and curiosity. Though since I started studying MBTIs, this reminds me of the difference between INTJs (Sidestep) and INTPs (Dr. Mortum). Both intelligent in their own right, but one is more representative of the trait of “curiosity” than the other.

Also,

Wtf is that supposed to mean? Am I not good enough to meet him?!!? But in all seriousness is he the super strict military type? Like a hispanic dad version of Steel who would be very protective of his family? I can imagine him being disapproving of a secretive telepath that his mijo/a is dating in that case.

Then there’s:

No one can stop the Puppet Master. Not the Rangers, not the governent, not even the former hero(ine) themselves. No one except for… MAMA ORTEGA THAT IS!!
Super mom to the rescue to slap some sense into the MC. Preferably chancleta style.

Lastly, congrats on getting a mention in the CoG section of TV Tropes @malinryden.

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I have another question. It’s from my MC’s alter ego, Prometheus. It’s addressed to all the Rangers.

Do you know who I am? I’m sorry, how could you not know? After all, you created me. I’m your hipocresy turned to flesh. All those years ago when the first of your kind appeared, you all jumped at the opportunity to play the hero, but I look at your so called “heroic acts” and do you know what I see? Lies. Sure, you have saved people. But how many people have you not saved? How many people have died because of your own selfish decisions? Every time you decided to save somebody, you were letting someone else die. And do you know what disgusts me the most? At the end of the day, you go home and tell yourselves “we did our best”. No. You. Did. Not. You want to protect this world but you don’t want it to change. You believe that you exist to protect this world, when in reality, it’s because of you that this world needs protection. I’m your wake up call. I’m the slap on the face that you and everyone else need. Once I’m rid of you, the world will thrive. So, Rangers, I ask you…Are you ready to atone for your sins?

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Self Righteous? There are plenty of criminals who don’t want blood on their hands. What if this person experienced something the government never lets the news hear about. Something horrible. If at the end of the day they went through painstaking, exacting detail to ensure that even if someone spent some time in the hospital, they weren’t a casualty of their vendetta, would you still call them self righteous?

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!!! I am dying to know more…!!! I need all the juicy details!

I’ve got some questions for Ortega:

How do all your USB/charging ports work? Are there skinflaps that you can pull over them? Are they just exposed holes to the open? Do you have skin-colored hinging panels on your hands? I need to know for the Rangers fan publications I’m illustrating…:wink:

…and the veering into spoiler-territory question, feel free to [redact] if need be… :stuck_out_tongue:

What was the accident that led you to get Modded? Did you choose to get electric powers, and if so, why those in particular considering how inconvenient they are? Did the accident cause your epilepsy or was that something you always had?

Also, just wondering if Ortega has any siblings!

To Mortum:
Even though you try so hard to be smooth, is it not true that you are actually an adorable awkward soft-hearted nerd…
Serious question:
How do you feel about your villainous creations being used to massacre civillians at say, a targeted gala event?

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@squarelyblue
Generally anyone who wants to answer: have you seen Rogue One and how do you feel about the movie

Since I have not seen the movie yet, I can’t answer that!

@Sammysam
Ah, nearly forgot that question, but for the Rangers, Dr.Mortum and Sidestep:
What kind of D&D character would you play? (In the sense of “neutral good Human warrior”, “chaotic neutral Dwarf Bard”, etc)
Also who of you already did/does play tabletop rpgs ?

Ortega: Oh boy, that takes me back… probably a chaotic good human rogue? I did play back in the day, but that was when I was a kid.

LadyArgent: Lawful good elven ranger.

Ortega: Huh, that came awfully fast…

Lady Argent: So, I played. Want to make something of it?

Ortega: Perish the thought.

Herald: Well, I think there’s something like an elven bard, right? A good one? I’ve never played, but that’s a thing, right?

Steel: * sighs and looks at the book * Fine, if we are doing this… A chaotic neutral dragonborn sorceress.

Ortega: What?

Steel: It is supposed to be a role, right? Not ourselves?

Dr. Mortum: True that. And a chaotic neutral gnome wizard sounds amazing.It was in fact an old character of mine…

Sidestep: Why am I not surprised. I would play a chaotic neutral tiefling warlock.I never played, and from the thoughts I am currently reading that’s probably a good thing.

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[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Steel:- If Sidestep wanted to, now that you’re the Marshal, would you allow them to go on a mission with the Rangers? Or ask them to do something the Rangers can’t due to the red tape?- I know you aren’t fond of telepaths, but have you ever wondered what it might feel like being able to know everyone’s darkest secrets? How do you think Sidestep feels?- When you thought Sidestep was dead, was there anything you regretted doing or not doing when they were alive?[/quote]

Steel: As Marshal, it is my responsibility to use the right tools for the job, personal feelings be damned, Sidestep has already helped us with Argent, if we have another need for a telepath, I might consider them again. I did regret not giving them the chance to prove themselves before the Heartbreak incident, this time I’m willing to be more… reasonable.

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Ortega:- Is it easy to get along with Yasmin/Dylan or is there something familiar about them? Is it wise to talk about Sidestep to someone you don’t really know, especially with this new villain destroying museum exhibits?- If Herald has a crush on Sidestep, taking your own feelings into account, would you be okay with Herald trying to woo them? Or is this a personal question?- What was that one battle with Psychopathor like? The one where Sidestep distracted him so you could fry him.[/quote]

Ortega: Oh they are very easy to get along with. Maybe too easy… you’ve got a point. It’s just that talking to them feels so natural, it’s like we’ve known each other for a lot longer.

Herald having a crush on Sidestep? Where did that come from? That’s… I… honestly don’t know how I feel about that. Except annoyed and weirded out.

The battle with Psychopathor was a mess. We were not ready for him, and we paid the price for it. We took him down, sure, but both Steel and Sidestep were badly hurt.

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Herald:- What is more likely and why: you being jealous of Sidestep or Sidestep being jealous of you?- If you could ask Sidestep any question without having to worry about anything, what would it be?- A new villain calls themselves Sidestep. How does that make you feel?[/quote]

Herald: Why would Sidestep be jealous of me? I mean, now you’re making me want to ask that question because I don’t get it. And if a new villain would be using that name… that pisses me off?

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Argent:- How is the whole being in love thing working out for Ortega?- What do you think of the new villain? Has it turned into a personal vendetta?- What caused you to want to be a hero? You seem like you’d have a good reason to do so, regardless if it’s personal or not.[/quote]

Argent: Ortega is an idiot when they are in love. And yes, that new villain will be going down. Going down hard! I did have a good reason to become a hero, but that’s none of your business.

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Herald and Argent: If you had the chance, would you let Sidestep train you?[/quote]

Herald: Yes, of course!

Argent: Not a chance in hell.

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Sidestep:- Have you ever read Steel’s mind? If so, what does he think about?- How did you and Ortega end up flirting with each other? Did Ortega initiate it?- Do you ever get the feeling that Ortega is an idiot on purpose?[/quote]

Sidestep: Of course I have, but just surface thoughts. He’s not that interesting, he’s very focused on the moment. Good head for tactics though. Ortega however… of course they initiated it, do you really think I would have taken that stupid a risk? And I hope to god that he is an idiot on purpose…

[quote=“Lux_Inferni, post:79, topic:22725”]
To Dr. Mortum:- How can Yasmin’s/Dylan’s boss trust you? Sure, money is a good motivator but it wouldn’t be over a long period of time. - How do you know that everything you tell Yasmin/Dylan isn’t going straight back to their boss?- Would you say the suit is going to be your magnum opus or are you reserving judgement until everything is said and done?[/quote]

Dr. Mortum: Trust? Such a naive thought. We had a business transaction, I was paid money and provided something in return. Whether there will be more business we will just have to see. My future business relies on my reputation as a reliable source of technology, hopefully the armor will perform well enough to get be some new customers. As whether it is my magnum opus… no, it is not. I have a little something nobody has seen yet that’s my personal baby.

I always assume everything I say to Yasmin/Dylan goes straight back to their boss, but if they don’t want me to recruit one of their underappreciated employees, they can let me know.

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To Dr. Mortum: I understand that you are a scientist and that that is where your passion lies, but haven’t you ever thought about putting on a cape yourself? Have you never had the urge to put on a mask and cape, load up some of your gadgets, and take them for a field test? I’m sure you need a lot of money to do your work, and there got to be some wondrous inventions out there that you’d just love to get your hands on and study for yourself, so why not put on a cape and go out and steal them yourself?

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A question for Steel: (assumes that the MC passes the skill check to call themselves Sidestep during their villain reveal)

What are your thoughts on the person calling themselves Sidestep? How does your friend Ortega feel about it since I heard they were close?

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Through the mists of time and the powers of necromancy I call upon the soul of the hero known as Anathema to answer my questions three:

  1. Did you have acid proof clothing or did you always end up naked when you used your powers?
  2. How much control did you have over your powers? Could you turn the acid on and off and/or limit it to certain parts of your body? If not I imagine that made normal life difficult?
  3. What did it feel like having HeartBreaker in your head?
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