Broker

AMA 1

Broker: Hey everyone! [waves] Broker aka DerelictPresence here with a very special guest. Wanna say hello?

Sonya: Hello cuties! What’s shakin?

Broker: Would it kill you to be more professional?

Sonya: Probably? Anyway! I heard some of you darlings had some questions! I hope they’re good ones! To get some out of the way my favorite chip brand is-

Broker: Sonya! Sorry about that, let’s get started with the AMA!

Sonya: Boo! Alright alright. The first one is from wcman on Royal Road! Hey there! [wiggles fingers] ahem! “What were some inspirations for this story?” That’s all you old man.

Broker: Aren’t you older than me? [huff] Well! I actually have had a lot of inspirations for Broker. The original version of Sonya was a My Hero Academia OC, actually, I was fascinated with the idea that superheroes in that setting could get sponsors and I thought, ‘What if there was a Villain that sponsored heroes?’ Over time I picked up more inspirations, I read a lot of myths and legends, wuxia, xiania, manhwa and manga. There was definitely some inspiration from Solo Leveling and like stories that went into it all. I love literature and entertainment in general and take bits and pieces of inspiration from everything I watch and read. Hell, you might notice a little Raymond Reddington from Blacklist in some of Sonya’s interactions.

Sonya: [shivers] The original version was… dark.

Broker: Yep, definitely lightened you up a whole lot. Far less interested in saving the world than getting rich. Next is from gibberish also on Royal Road! ‘How do you come up with ideas?’

Sonya: Yes, please, how do you come up with my various torments? [stare]

Broker: [gulp] W-well! A lot of it comes from consuming media as above. Sometimes I’ll play out different scenarios in my head and see what fits well. Often I’ll create a new character and go through several iterations before being satisfied. Often I’ll introduce a side character and just see where it goes. [rubs chin] Though my favorite way to brainstorm is to just listen to some good music and experiment in my notes.

Sonya: [frown] I wonder what you were listening to when you decided to put Mikayla through all that.

Broker: Ha ha! Anyway! Uh… next question? Snipoxillo from Royal Road asks; ‘How do you imagine the ending for Sonya and Ishtar? Would it be more positive of an ending, a happy ending sort of? or would it me a somber/bittersweet sort of ending, not entirely bad? or otherwise?’ [laughs] That’s an excellent question! I usually imagine it when I’m working on my notes or adjusting my outline when a new idea occurs to me. I can see it pretty clearly in my head! It’s a long way off though.

Sonya: [stares hard]

Broker: Something wrong? I told them how I imagine it.

Sonya: [rolls her eyes]

Broker: Ohhh! Here’s a good one! Got this question from a couple people actually. Dont_like_to_Talk from Royal Road and GigaDotti from Scribblehub ask some variation of ‘Will Sonya and Chunhua work things out and get back together?’ [grins at Sonya]. What do you think?

Sonya: Ahem! [plays with her hair] I certainly wouldn’t be upset if something happened. But, you know, gotta work some stuff out first. [coughs] Did you know she could bench press me? I wonder if she still can. I’m a bit heavier now with all the upgrades. Probably? Hopefully? She can bench press me right?

Broker: [shakes his head] Adam Wise from Royal Road asks; ‘What would happen if Sonya gave someone a power they already had?’ That’s actually a really good question, Broker won’t let someone double up abilities like that. She could find something thats pretty much exactly the same with a different name and give it to them and that would work though!

Sonya: Figures! Tobi131313 - is that a bad luck thing?

Broker: Sonya! Don’t be rude!

Sonya: Fine! Fine! They ask about refinement of the categories of abilities, are there different tiers? Well yes, There’s Low, Middle, High, and Peak categories of each tier. On top of that, some abilities even encroach a little on the other tiers because of their functions. The raw elemental abilities like Firestorm are Heroic but they can put up a pretty decent fight against a miss-matched Mythic! It’s all about who’s using it for other abilities. Amos’ core ability, Genius Level Intellect, affects things he’s good at. That’s why I didn’t suddenly become an engineer when I merged it in. I’m better at people. [smirk] He was already a genius before, and that ability brought it up to eleven. Even if the ability itself is Heroic, the effects are pretty Mythic if you ask me.

Broker: Well put! What else do we have? NotYourSaviour asks; ‘How far along do you plan your story?’ I have most of the main story beats all planned out for the main course of the story and know what order we’re going to be facing certain lurking threats in. As I said before, I also know how it ends. For the meat of it; I’ve got Season 2 completely storyboarded out and some of Season 3 prepared as well.

Sonya: He won’t even tell me anything, don’t bother. The guy’s a nutcase. You should see how he treats the guys in the discord. They have memes about his distraction tactics and pranks.

Broker: How can you see the discord?

Sonya: [points at head] Technopath? Really? Anyway! Let’s see, Oh! Finally! BIGLARGEFISH from Royal Road asking the real questions: ‘What is the cast's favorite food?’ Well I’m glad you asked; I can give you the list from the Inner Circle!

• Sonya: Deluxe Steakburger, all the fixings, with Cheese Fries and a Cola
• Marta: Teriyaki Chicken and Noodles, Cucumber Salad, and an IPA
• Amos: Supreme Pizza and an Energy Drink
• Barry: Overloaded New York Style Hotdog and a six pack of cheap Beer
• Beyol: Instant Noodles cooked with Extra veggies, Sriracha, and a Snack Cake.
• Colin: Filet Mignon a Loaded Baked Potato and Red Wine

Broker: You actually went that far?

Sonya: Food is important! Okay! Uh, next one is from xobotun on Royal Road, ‘Why did you make Sonya Russian?’

Broker: Hoo! That’s an interesting question, [rubs chin] well, when I originally designed her I wanted her to be from somewhere close to Japan while not being a native resident. That was important at the time. Her name came next and I based her appearance around her original ability. Shock! It wasn’t Broker or Farsight initially! Ultimately when I started to write Broker I decided to keep her as is but made her an American Citizen and decided not to put a lot of focus on her family life. A lot of protagonists base almost their entire personalities around their initial upbringing, I wanted Sonya to be someone who was affected more by her adulthood than her youth. She’s Russian by blood, but that’s really about it.

Sonya: Frankly I barely remember my birth parent’s names, it just doesn’t matter to me. [shrugs] I feel like I lived more lifetimes after the first flash than I did in the two plus decades beforehand. Okay, next one from sheep-dodger from Royal Road, huh, ‘In the original timeline, how many dates/weeks did it take until you realized you were dating Chunhua?’ [plays with her hair] Uh… we-well, [clears throat] I gave her a hard time for a while after she basically pulled some strings to have me assigned to her squad. She kept coming around trying to apologize after she realized I was mad about it. We saw each other a lot but it wasn’t until she went into the Vegas Dungeon that I realized I had feelings. Six months or so until we got pretty serious, I’d say.

Broker: Cute.

Sonya: Shut up!

Broker: Heh, Karrakaz from Royal Road asks; ‘Are we most definitely looking at a tragedy here? I cannot help but hold out hope for some kind of miraculous feelgood ending.’ ._Loki_. From Royal Road asked something similar.

Sonya: [squint]

Broker: Every story has its high and low points, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover before we reach the end. I know the ending, of course, but I think that’s gonna stay up here. [Taps his head] Sorry!

Sonya: Ugh, of course, Got another one from Royal Road! Questing questioner [snickers] asks: ‘Did Otis plan for the world to end, or was it ‘just’ an unexpected consequence of the war he started.

Broker: Definitely his intention. Full stop. Cheesecakegood from Royal Road asks… ‘In the old timeline, did nations’ governments usually stick around for a while or did the supers take them over pretty quickly?’

Sonya: I got this one, yes and no. The US collapsed pretty quickly after the Times Square disaster started to spread south towards DC. Europe had a similar problem. The Eastern Countries got their shit together pretty quick though and the pandora committee was proposed by Japan and the remnant US Government. It was their last big move.

Broker: [nods] Yep, it was pretty bad for a while. The Pandora Committee being formed as early as it was in the current timeline really saved a lot of lives, Unknown Mongrel from Royal road had a couple questions… ‘What is a power you want to add that you haven’t had a good opportunity too?’ Oh that one’s easy, Sonya’s original power as an OC was a cold radiation ability that had a light application. One day, [sighs].

Sonya: Could just give it to some rando that I shake hands with.

Broker: Where’s the fun in that?

Sonya: [scoffs] They also asked ‘What are some miscellaneous character details that just don’t come up normally?’ Oh, I can give you a few. I forget to turn on the lights in rooms I go into. My base ability, Farsight, gives me perfect vision in the dark so I don’t notice when the lights are out. Marta has a peanut allergy, not that it affects her anymore. Colin is really good at sudoku. Oh, oh! And Amos knows every good pizza place in New York down to being on a first-name basis with the owners.

Broker: Good ones! Let’s see, got some from Scribblehub too! Oinkymoo from Scribblehub asks, ‘What is Otis’ real middle name?’

Sonya: Great question!

Broker: Who are we talking about?

Sonya: [squint and sigh] They also asked about Broker’s real name.

Broker: You might get some hints in season two~

Sonya: I guess that’s answer enough, Lupenthewolf from Scribblehub asks, ‘When it's all said and done, will you be satisfied? Once the world is safe from the future you saw, once your mission is complete, will it be enough?’ Well… I hope so. Only time will tell I guess, [sigh] It’s going to be a long road.

Broker: Yep, I have a lot planned, we’ll see where it goes. Michoucast from Scribblehub asks, ‘Will we know the origin of Pandora’s Box?’ Yes. Definitely.

Sonya: That question you answer. [shrug] Let’s see… oh! Look at this!

Broker: Ahaha! Modality from Scribblehub really went all out! Lightning round?

Sonya: Lightning round. We’ll do the author one’s first; ‘Are deities real in this world?’

Broker: Yep, but they’re all dead. No divine final boss for this story!

Sonya: What inspired you to put this story together?

Broker: A love of literature and wanting to be a part of it in some way. To be honest, the first couple of chapters were a trial run, after the response and all the comments, it’s you guys that keep me going.

Sonya: Favorite side character and favorite individual power?

Broker: I adore Martin. Euclidia’s power is so interesting and it goes a lot deeper than you can imagine!

Sonya: How long do you plan for Broker to go on for?

Broker: Eight if I have my way. Some may be longer than others. Season two is beefy.

Sonya: What does your average writing session look like? What’s your process?

Broker: I start off with getting some music going then I make a copy of the previous chapter in google docs. I cut out most of it except for the last one or two paragraphs and pick up where I left off. Usually have some research material on the side. Then I copy in the summary for the next chapter at the bottom and work through it.

Sonya: Next is… questions for the cast! [turns and shouts] Hey! You guys! A few of you have questions!

Broker: Oh boy.

Sonya: First a few for me, ‘Sonya, how far did research into Skills go in your first timeline? People certainly figured out a lot about the how, but was there any progress made on the why?’ Well, to be honest we did the best we could. We were trying pretty hard to survive so not a lot of people spent time on the reasons why powers were named the way they were or where they really come from. We were getting somewhere as things settled down a few years in, but by then Otis was gearing up for the war.

Sonya: Next is… ‘What exactly are you hoping to get out of Detecitve Martin in the long run? Do you be plan to be publicly outed, eventually?’ Well, I expect to pay for my crimes, yes. My hope for Martin is to leverage him where I can. I’m confident he’ll sign on the dotted line for awakening, though.

Broker: Next one is for… Chunhua!

Chunhua: [walks in] Good day, sir. [bows]

Broker: [coughs] They’re asking, ‘How do you feel about your fellow Mythics, and what they represent of the worlds of the world’s power dynamics? How do you feel about the fundamental inequality it poses on people on an individual level?’

Chunhua: [crosses arms behind back] There is a certain level of responsibility that comes with power, those with powerful abilities, especially dangerous ones, should be reminded of that. Ultimately I have noticed that most of those who are actively awakened are younger and from more ordinary backgrounds save for a few. I imagine the effect on the world’s class and power dynamic will be interesting but I will have to observe longer to give a more definitive answer.

Broker: Crisp and astute as always.

Chunhua: Thank you, [leaves]

Sonya: …god that was hot.

Broker: Huh?

Sonya: What? Did you say something? Anyway, Marta!

Marta: Yes, ma’am?

Sonya: You got one, let’s see… [snorts and bursts into laughter] Oh no! Hahaha! ‘Marta, how are things going with Kingshark? As a manga and cosplay lover, do you think about the fact he can use t*ntacles all that much?

Marta: [clears her throat] It’s going very well, thank you for asking. He’s a good man. [deadpan] Every. Single. Day. [leaves]

Sonya: [stares] Woah.

Broker: [clears throat] Kingshark! You’re up man!

Barry: Yep! I’m here! What’s up?

Broker: ‘King Shark, just how much power do you feel like your organization has over the USA and over the world at large now? If you flexed your influence in its entirety, what do you think you'd be able to accomplish?’

Barry: Eh? I haven’t really thought about it all that much, the boss gives those kinds of orders. If I had to guess I’d cause a good amount of damage, maybe take a state or two if I piled everyone on. Then get blasted to atoms. My boys ain’t soldiers, they’re street thugs. [leaves]

Sonya: About what I was expecting. [shrugs] Bluestar dear!

Bluestar: [peeks in] M-me? Really?

Sonya: Yes, you, what do you think about your powers and how differently they seem to function in comparison to others we’ve seen? Also, are you dating Bandit?

Bluestar: Oh! [blushes] I uh.. Well… my abilities might seem unique but there’s several ‘magic’ users on the Pandora listing. I’m the only color based one I’m aware of, though. It’s a bit odd, perhaps there are other colors out there? [clears throat] Yes, we’re seeing one another. Keeping it simple right now. I hope that’s okay, ma’am?

Sonya: You’re asking me if I disapprove of fraternizing?

Bluestar: Point taken. [leaves]

Sonya: Last one since a certain asshole isn’t around right now. Amos!

Amos: [slides in] Wassuuuup? [holds out fist]

Sonya: Wassuuuup? [brofist]

Amos: Whatcha got for me?

Sonya: If Sonya never found and rescued you, how do you think your life would have played out?

Amos: [frowns] That’s easy, I was near ground zero for the Times Square dungeon. Probably would have died in the break, if I got away from it, I dunno, start a business or something? [Grins] Immortal Konflict later?

Sonya: Hell yes, see you later.

Amos: [leaves]

Sonya: And that’s everything! Thank you guys for joining us!

Broker: Yep! Thank you all so much for your questions and sharing your love for the story. Like I said, we got a long way to go from here! Season two will start soon! For now… enjoy the trailer!