Sonya: Hey, hey, hey! What’s up Heroes and Villains? Brokers? Shit… does-does the fandom have a name?
Lillian: Uh… Sonya? We’re rolling.
Sonya: I know that, I’m just trying to figure out what to call them!
Sonya: PSHAW! Nooo, that’s dumb.
Lillian: [sighs] Hey guys! Lillian here with Sonya and we’re back with another AMA! This one is technically the Book 2 AMA but the author got a little side-tracked with things and so here we are. Don’t worry, Sonya hasn’t let him hear the end of it.
Sonya: No, no I have not. [proudly]
Lillian: Anyway! Let’s take a look at our first questions!
Sonya: I got this, let’s see… oh hey! It’s the same person from last time! Hi wcman! Great to have you back again! Ahem! Oh it’s for Marta. [leans back in her seat] Marta! What’s your favorite anime and manga?
Marta: [walks in] Hmm? Oh, that’s easy. My first anime was xxxHolic, so it remains quite dear to me. Though my all-time favorite is Overlord. I’m partial to the Pleiades. My favorite manga is a toss up between Vagabond and Black Butler, depending on my mood. Will that be all, miss?
Sonya: [nods] Thank you Marta~
Marta: [bows] Happy to oblige.
Lillian: Next up! We have LilwaydE18 from Scribblehub, they have a couple of questions actually. All of them for… you, technically. First one is: “Ishtar, Why don’t you have a moon base yet?”
Sonya: [tilts her head as if listening, nods] She deflected that one to me, uh… cost. I’m rich, I’m not that rich, [laughs]
Lillian: They also ask, “Is a portable shield generator an optimal way to keep a dungeon break contained?”
Sonya: [sits forward] In the previous timeline they were used about ten years in to contain smaller dungeon breaks once we got the tech working. By portable though I mean a bunch of pylons painstakingly set up around a perimeter. They can be taken down and moved later but… yeah that’s the extent of it.
Lillian: Last one, “Ishtar, is it possible to open a portal outside of earth? Can you open one to space? Can you open one to the sun for otis?”
Sonya: [laughs] I’ll let her answer this one, [slumps slightly]
Ishtar: [sits up and frowns] Yes, Yes to a limited degree, though it requires very specific coordinates, Not with the amount of power currently able to bring to bear. It has crossed my mind though. [slumps again]
Sonya: [rubs her neck] At least she used complete sentences this time! I was expecting “Yes, Yes, No.”
Lillian: [laughs] She would answer like that! Okay, next is from unimportantOpinion on Scribblehub! They ask, “Martin: if and when you take down Ishtar, do you have any plans for filling the power vacuum left behind? Because it will be filled one way or another. Likely by a villain who cares more about profits than theatrics. Or maybe you intend on filling the seat yourself with a puppet, but that puppet will be overthrown or replaced unless they placate the other villains enough. Maybe you'll take the throne yourself?”
Sonya: [imitates Martin’s grizzled voice] “Grumble grumble something about justice and keeping the fight going grumble grumble.”
Lillian: Sonya! [sighs] Martin?
Martin: … [glares at Sonya, turns to camera] I’ll keep doing my job.
Sonya: [laughs] Knew it!
Martin: [shoots the finger and marches out]
Sonya: [snickers] We’re actually best friends off set, promise.
Martin: Die in a fire!
Sonya: Love you too buddy! Anyway! Next we have redun on scribblehub who asks: “Otis: Besides Gilgamesh are there any other mythical heroes that deserve comparison to you?” [turns] Hey Mallory! You’re on!
Otis: Finally, a worthy question. That’s quite easy. All of them are relatable to me in some way, it goes without saying. But to answer your question more appropriately in the context of storytelling, while I attribute myself with Gilgamesh and Odysseus, the author associates me with the classical variation of Hercules.
Sonya: I thought he was going to say Oedipus.
Lillian: [laughing] Sonya! That’s so mean!
Otis: [Walks out and rolls his eyes]
Sonya: [chuckling] Anyway, redun also asks the entire crew what our favorite pokemon are. Well, there’s a whole lot of us but I can give you a couple!
Whatever’s topping the current Meta
Lillian: Wow! That’s more of a list than I was expecting! How did you…? I don’t wanna know, nevermind. Jacky DeathBerg from Royal Road asks: “Lillian, Ahem, so, what do you think about the fact that Sonya is Ishtar?”
Lillian: [looks at Sonya] W-well if I knew in the story that would be pretty upsetting to say the least. Terrifying too. Since that means Ishtar is bunking up with the head of the Pandora Committee. Though I guess if I knew the reasons why, maybe I’d understand. That’s a hard one to answer.
Lillian: Shush! Lupenthewolf from Scribblehub asks: “Lillian: Do you have the confidence to do what you think is right, even if the world turns against you? To carry the crusade and protect the world, even if the people will hate you for it?” [frowns and lets out a sigh] Well. I want to try and do my best. That’s all I can really say. I mean. I’m pretty sure there’s someone else out there who’s doing all they can for the world even if the world hates them for it. So I think it’s worth doing if it means doing the right thing.
Sonya: [clears throat and grabs the next one] GoldStar184 from Royal Road has a question for Pandora and Ishtar. [squints and grins wickedly] “Pandora and Ishtar: What is the nature of your relationship?” I got this: Tags on a Romantasy Novel. [cackles and abruptly slouches]
Ishtar: [sits up] There is nothing going on!
Pandora: [appears] Don’t be shy, we can make it work.
Ishtar: I’m not shy, I’m asexual.
Pandora: And I’m a ghost. I’m not in it for the physical-
Ishtar: [Coughs] We’ll talk about this later… [slouches]
Sonya: [sits up and laughs] Oh man she’s gonna get it later for that, I bet. Anyway! Oinkymoo from Scribblehub asks: “Derelictpresence: What other (superhero and non-superhero) media inspired Broker? All you, lazy bastard.
DerelictPresence: [squints at Sonya] Ahem! You might be surprised but I’ve never actually watched ‘The Boys’ so not that, before anyone asks. That said, I’ve covered most of it in the last AMA though I do have some additional inspirations. A lot of Sonya’s humor is inspired from banter in Youtube Abridged Series such as Hellsing Abridged and SAO Abridged. Tony Stark is an obvious nod for Sonya but actually I lean more towards Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne for Sonya’s character although I draw more on a Marvel vibe for the universe as a whole.
Sonya: Thanks y’old fart, now get lost, you got stuff to do. Aren’t you starting like a whole other series or something?
DerelictPresence: It’s a work in progress. Book 4 is my focus right now. By the way! Book 4 is called Crime Wave! And it’s launching on on February 17th!
Sonya: [rubs her hands together] Gonna be fun! Now shoo!
DerelictPresence: I’m going I’m going!
Sonya: Alright, next one is also from oinkymoo, “Anyone: Ok but what’s Marc’s Middle Name?” It’s Marshall. Marcus Marshall Mallory. Yeah, his parents totally hated him. [laughs]
Sonya: Die in a fire. [smiles]
Lillian: Save it for the books, guys. Ahem! Last one from oinkymoo! “Pandora, favorite Ishtar: The Ancient High Arbiter or the Supervillain?”
Sonya: Oh I wanna hear this!
Pandora: [sighs] That’s not very nice, the Golden Queen was like a mother to me… oh… well i do have quite the soft spot for the current Ishtar…
Sonya: Woo woo woo! [laughs]
Lillian: Over a literal goddess? Wow.
Pandora: [sticks out tongue and leaves]
Lillian: [grabs the next before Sonya can] This one’s from Gemiae on RoyalRoad, they ask: “What’re the camp gang’s favorite genres of music, if we can get Sonya and the Inner Circle too, that’d be nice.” Sure, we can give you a list!
Lillian: There it is!
Sonya: Huh! That came out different from how I was expecting.
Lillian: Everyone has their own tastes! Anyway, Gemiae also asked about Ollie’s ability and how it works. I’ve been informed that for that one we’ll have to do another kind of production so he can properly explain it! Sorry!
Sonya: Next up is Tunefullcobra from Scribblehub! They ask: “Lillian, how much firestorm paraphernalia do you have? What do you like the most about Snow?” [grins at Lillian]
Lillian: Uh… to the first one? Not enough. Still trying to get my hands on a copy of his first poster. Though his sister did give me something pretty nice, one of his baseballs. [smiles big before scratching her nose] As for um… Snow. [coughs] One of the things I really like is the gap between her cute looks and snarky personality. It kinda does it for me.
Sonya: [busts out laughing] You would be a sucker for gap moe.
Lillian: [blushes] Sh-shut up! Tunefullcobra also asks: “Ishtar: If given the choice would you prefer to stay in Sonya’s body if there were no downsides for either of you, or would you prefer your own body? If you want your own body, how long does Sonya have to prepare before she’s smothered in sisterly affection?”
Sonya: [holds back laughter before sagging]
Ishtar: I think I would be more efficient if I remained as Sonya’s headmate, all being said. Though I wouldn’t mind a body. I don’t get a lot of time to read. As for ‘sisterly affection’, it would have to wait until the novelty of Sonya shouting absurdities wore off. [slumps]
Sonya: She’s just salty because I called her onee- [stumbles and frowns] Oh hush! It was hilarious and you know it! [shrugs] Last one from Tunefullcobra: “If Ishtar has a separate soul from Sonya, does that mean she’ll develop her own ability?” That’s… actually a really good question. It’s entirely possible that she could develop her own ability unless something happens that would make it impossible for her to do so. Lillian?
Lillian: [clears throat] Okay! Rekan from RoyalRoad asks; “Ollie: What do you think of your two associates?’
Ollie: …both of them have some serious issues to work out. Jessica is a tiresome person but I can put up with her for the most part. Otis is unlikeable in so many ways it’s almost impressive.
Lillian: That was blunt! Uh, Rekan also asks: “Otis: what the heck do you do in your free time?”
Otis: I play MOBAs and older generation handheld games. I also enjoy studying architecture, I was working on it as a secondary degree before being assigned to the dig team that discovered Pandora’s box. I also follow a number of archaeology blogs and news feeds that I keep up on.
Sonya/Lillian: [stare]
Sonya: N-nothing, I just wasn’t expecting a normal, reasonable answer from you.
Otis: I have hobbies!
Sonya: Uhuh. Yeah. Okay! Last one! This is from Arcamiel on RoyalRoad! They ask: “Sonya: as of this moment, what are all the powers we’ve seen so far merged with Deus Ex Machina?” [nods] That’s a good question to wrap up on. Here’s the list!
Sonya: Welp! That’s all the questions we got for the AMA!
Lillian: More than I was expecting honestly, phew!
Sonya: Yeah, well you made it through, good job partner!
Lillian: [grins] Thank you guys so much for submitting your questions, I hope this helped clear up a few things and entertained you all! There will be another AMA at the end of book 3! Bye!
Sonya: See you later dears!