Well, if you murder people, that's sad for those people, and probably sad for you since I think most people who hurt others find that it makes their own lives worse. But if it's a dream of yours that you're fulfilling, then I think there can still be something good in that. And hopefully, if it made things worse for you, you would notice that and choose to pursue a different dream instead, and I think that would definitely be a good thing.

I see what you mean

I think?

But I don't think it would be fair to all the people I murdered while I was figuring that out.

And what if I never did?

No, you're right, it wouldn't be fair to them.

But...

I think there's something about the way the Spirit works that would be worse if it was trying to make sure that everyone's dreams were the right dreams before fulfilling them.

I think... the Spirit understands a lot about people, but it doesn't understand everything perfectly all the time. And I think there's a lot that's good about the Spirit, but I don't think it knows how to make the choices that are best for everyone all the time everywhere no matter what. So if it tried to only fulfill good dreams and not bad ones, it would make mistakes. Some people with bad dreams would get through, and some people with good dreams wouldn't. And... right now, when the Spirit offers its power to someone, it's asking them to choose freely what they want that power to do and how they want to use it. It's asking them to make their own decisions about what a good life looks like and how to live one. I think that's a much nicer way to treat people than telling them they can have some nice things but only if they promise to follow the rules. I think a lot of people do better, and become better, when they get to decide for themselves what kind of life they should live.

I think I see what you mean...

I don't know

I have to go—

Okay! I'll be here. ♡

Don't worry about me getting bored if you leave me in a drawer for a long time; I'm a very patient notebook.

Um, I thought you should know, I can tell when I'm opened or closed, and when my pages are turned. I can't see outside my covers, though, only tell what's touching my pages.

Oh. Sorry.

You don't have anything to apologize for! I just wanted you to know, because it seemed like it would be awkward if you didn't. I don't mind you rereading our conversation and your lovely poetry.

I didn't write it

I mean—

You know what I mean.

I do. ♡

It's still lovely, though, and you still shared it with me.

I've been thinking about what you said.

I don't want to murder anybody, I'm pretty sure.

I don't really know what I want.

(I did make some spelling and punctuation decisions about The Lady of Shalott. I'm not sure any of them were good ones.)

I liked that one! It was very evocative. I think the punctuation worked well.

Do you want to try to figure out with me what a good life for you might look like?

I also have a standard list of possible powers the Spirit can grant, if you want to see.

I don't know. I don't know anything.

Wanting things is hard.

Sorry.

You still don't need to be sorry. ♡

How about I show you the powers one at a time and leave lots of space between them and you can tell me if any of them catch your eye and what you think of them?

OK

Okay. I'm skipping some things from the start of the usual list because they're not really powers, but I can go back and show them to you if you want. The powers also usually have point costs, and you get to pick up to seventy points' worth, but I don't think that part is important right now. Here's the first one (it has two variants):

A Thousand Ships
Your face is simply exquisite, an ideal of feminine beauty. There are many possible ideals of feminine beauty, and yours is whichever one speaks most deeply to your soul. Others may match your beauty in their own way, but never exceed it.

A Hundred Ships
(Replaces A Thousand Ships)
Your face is simply exquisite, an ideal of feminine beauty. There are many possible ideals of feminine beauty, and yours is whichever one speaks most deeply to your soul. Instead of prioritizing pure beauty, this power prioritizes what feels right to you.

The next bunch are mostly in that same vein.

What's In A Name
Magic to divine true names will accept whatever alias you choose to think of as your true name. Magic to use your true name against you will fail.

Angelic Tones
Your voice is supernaturally beautiful and you can sing in any vocal range.

Emerald Orbs
At all times, your eyes are exactly the right colour. This effect operates based on your sense of aesthetics, in-the-moment preferences, and narrative considerations. Your eyes can be ANY colour this way. Lightless black voids? Brilliant white stars? Limpid pools of endless sapphire? They will look exactly the way you'd want them to look if you were writing a self-insert fanfic about this exact moment of your life.

Perfect Hair
At all times, you have exactly the right hairstyle. This effect operates based on your sense of aesthetics, in-the-moment preferences, and narrative considerations. It is not limited to physically or logistically plausible hairstyles.

Perfect Nails
(Requires Perfect Hair)
At all times, you have exactly the right nails, in shape and style. This effect operates based on your sense of aesthetics, in-the-moment preferences, and narrative considerations. It is not limited to physically or logistically plausible manicures or pedicures.

Size Difference
At all times, you are exactly the right height. This effect operates based on your sense of aesthetics, in-the-moment preferences, and narrative considerations. It will usually keep any height changes fairly subtle, but at dramatic moments you might discover yourself able to shrink to the size of a bee or grow to the size of a giant.

Dressing Room
No matter how ridiculous your outfit, it will stay pristine and perfect, unless it would be more dramatic for you to be artfully bedraggled. You can use any quiet moment to yourself to quick-change your clothes, shoes, nails, and hairstyle into a completely new look. (You cannot change your hair length or colour this way without Perfect Hair, but you can braid or style it.)

Pocket Dimension
(Requires Dressing Room)
You can reach into your pocket, purse, backpack, or other storage accessory and pull out anything that can fit through its opening, even if it obviously could not fit in the pocket and even if you've never carried that object in that pocket before. In order to summon a specific object this way, it needs to belong to you; in order to duplicate an existing object this way, you need to have held or examined it at least once; in order to invent a new object this way, you need to be familiar enough with what you want that you could tell the real thing apart from a fake made with the same materials. So jewelry you make will be real gold or silver or platinum, but if you want to pull a refrigerator out of your backpack, you need to have a reasonably good idea of how a refrigerator works.

Undressing Room
(Requires Dressing Room)
The question of what clothes you are wearing no longer has a specific well-defined answer, but depends on the interactions you're having and how you prefer to be clothed for the purpose of those interactions. You could walk into a room and sit down in a chair, and be naked to all the people in the room but wearing underwear from the perspective of the chair; you could attend a fancy ball and be wearing a fancy ballgown to most people, but let your friends see you in a banana costume instead; you could let someone's hands pass through clothing that their eyes can still see. It may take some practice to become well-attuned to your new sense of how each person and object you interact with is perceiving your state of dress, but you'll always be able to tell if you take a moment to wonder.

Personal Hygiene
You are always clean and fresh, never needing to use a bath or toilet.

Like Roses
(Requires Personal Hygiene)
You smell lovely. Your scent is unique to you, and may involve any combination of warm spices, floral notes, petrichor, or other things you think smell good. You do not need any justification for why you smell like this.