Hey @fallenhero-rebirth I like your book! :D
Sorry. I don't want to bother, but if it's OK I would like to understand Steel’s personality better. Involving his relationship with Sidestep.
In Rebirth, when both are in the elevator, Steel speaks "You were never comfortable here even before you returned." and one of the dialog options is “You made it hard to feel at home." which leads to his friendship bar to decrease.
In Retribution, the same happens when both are in the kitchen and Sidestep responds with "You didn't forget. You just didn't want to remember, because that would be inconvenient." Which again leads to friendship bar to decrease.
Which there are no problem with that. But my question is: If the idea is for them to develop the relationship between them doesn't mean that they should talk about how they feel? This is why I choose these dialog options when I play. I don't want them to be enemies, I don't want the two to be exchanging compliments for the friendship go up, I want Sidestep to open up and that Steel understands that the way he acted with Sidestep was something beyond suspicion, for example, in Rebirth:
Sidestep: “Maybe I had my reasons for lying.” You did. Your life depended on it. Still does.
Steel: “Maybe you did. Maybe I don’t care.”
It seems that Steel forgot the good things that Sidestep did for Rangers and wanted to find something that justified the rude way of him acting with the ally. However when questioned with those choices, Steel responds:
"That is…fair." Steel looks away first, as if he has been caught doing something he is not proud of. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." And "Maybe I have been a bit unfair to you." He speaks the words slowly, reluctantly. But he means them, you don't get the feeling he's trying to deceive you.
So if Steel understands that his way of acting is wrong, why the friendship decreased? Which leads to another question: the friendship bar actually shows exactly the progress in the relationship between the characters, or it is a projection from the perspective of Sidestep and actually there is a hidden relationship bar?