Oh, that's totally a bard+ power though! It actually seems to kinda be two things in a trenchcoat. The first thing is a dramatic irony thing, kinda, like maybe your party is exploring a dungeon and has to split up and one half of the party gets stuck in a trap, one of the guys in that half might be all "at least the others are okay, it's not like they ran into a big mean dragon or something," and then you cut away to the other guys and they totally ran into a big mean dragon. And then the second thing is just references, like a lot of the time if there's a detective then they're going to be super smart and kinda weird and smoke a pipe and use logic to solve crimes with their roommate who's a doctor who was in a war.

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Well, I guess now I know why I thought of it! I'm glad you like it ♡

Elan checks it off and flips the page. He's glad that he went to bed when he did; this was a nice thing to get back to.

Hmmm. Snowglobe seems neat, but he doesn't actually feel a strong pull to it. He's not totally sure why; he can maybe think about it later. Unleash the Magic needs two powers that he isn't sure that he wants so he skips it. Soulbond…

I kinda don't get Soulbond.

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Would you like to talk about it?

Yeah, I think so…

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

It kind of seems… like it doesn't do anything new? Maybe I just don't have anything that feels like it's part of me in that way. I mean, I love the new lute my mom got me for graduating, and I would be really sad if I lost or broke it too bad to fix, but I don't think it would feel as bad as if I lost my hand forever or if my mom died. And I kinda thought the powers were supposed to be a part of me forever anyway.

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I think I understand what you mean!

The biggest thing Soulbond is about, I think, is knowing for sure that if something is really important to you, you won't lose it. When the description talks about powers, it mostly means powers that you pick up using Spirit powers like Dragon Fairy Elf Witch or Anything You Can Do. Or someone might end up in a Dramatic Damsel situation but have a power that they don't want to ever be suppressed.

…I feel I should clarify: this isn't to say that if you don't take Soulbond, your powers and favorite possessions are definitely at risk. It's just very important to a lot of people to have the guarantee that Soulbond represents!

Okay, thanks! ☺

He flips the page. Looks like the next three are all versions of a theme…

Does Personal Space work if I'm not sure if I want to be touched? Or if I didn't ask but I liked it?

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If you're okay with a touch even if it came as a surprise then Personal Space will let it through.

Elan decides to take it. Before turning the page, he asks,

What's the difference between Personal Bubble and Personal Slipstream?

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Personal Bubble is like if Personal Space was about any way to get touched, not just hugs, kisses, and sex; it lets surprises through if you're okay with them. Personal Slipstream is like if Personal Bubble didn't let anything through without you making a choice to let it; you can't be surprised with any kinds of touch even if you might be okay with them.

Elan definitely doesn't want either of those, then! Personal Slipstream would make him feel sad and lonely and he doesn't really mind the stuff that Personal Space lets in that Personal Bubble doesn't.

Next page! Inner World seems fun! Except, wait…

Can I go in the Inner World with my whole body or is it just my imagination?

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The second thing, at least at first. If you get a power that lets you physically enter minds it will apply to your Inner World.

Elan thinks that he doesn't actually want to make his imagination be one thing all the time. The detective powers are even less up his alley, but he does write underneath the first one:

This is the power that the detective with the doctor roommate would have! Except usually it isn't a power, just them being really smart.

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The book draws a heart next to this comment.

Elan scoops up Indelible; his Will save sucks and if it's ever really important that he gets Charmed or whatever then Dramatic Damsel has him covered. He doesn't care about Closed Book so he skips it. Eidetic has the same problems as Omniglot.

Iron Will isn't tempting enough for him to pick up Closed Book about. It Gets Better makes him tear up and even though it seems maybe a little like Soulbond in that he would probably have something like that anyway he takes it. He doesn't think he needs Small Blessings, though, he's always been good at looking on the bright side of things.

The Great Equalizer is scary and he doesn't want Star-Straightened. Luck Be a Lady is the nicest of the three but it's still pretty intimidating! He thinks he probably doesn't need it anyway; he feels like he's already super lucky anyway!

And then he turns the page and he's already at the next section!

He decides to take a breather before starting in on it. All this reading is definitely wearing out his brain a little. He gets up, has some water, goes for a little walk.

Once he feels freshened up he sits back down again. Right, he was starting the Power of Friendship section. Sounds fun! He reads the description.

What happens if I have more than one true love? How do I choose between them?

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You don't actually need to choose, if you have more than one true love!

Isn't that mean, though? It seems like I would hurt a bunch of people's feelings if they all thought that they could be with me…

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Not necessarily! Some people can be with more than one person romantically. Some people are even happier that way! But if you're the kind of person who's happiest when you're with just one person, you can definitely do that.

I haven't ever been in a real relationship but I think I want to be with just one person.

He flips the page. Mysterious Allure seems fun until he realizes that it would keep him from meeting people who even more interesting than him, which would be sad. Besides, if he ever wants to be the center of attention he can magically change his clothes into a banana costume.

How does Captive Audience work?

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There isn't any one way for it to work! Depending on what you like best, it could make sure that you mostly meet people who are interested in the same things as you, or it could make it so that you're good at talking about things that interest you so even someone who normally didn't care about it would find something interesting in it, or it could encourage people around you to be open to listening about a lot of different things in a variety of ways. It could also do other things, of course.

I don't think I want any of my powers to make it so that I don't meet people just because they don't have any of the same interests as me. Would that happen anyway if I took Captive Audience?

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The Spirit cares really strongly about your powers working in ways that you're okay with. If you're not okay with what a power does and still choose it, your power will still work. But if there are ways for your powers to work that you want, that's how your powers will work.

Kinda like the Well Endowed thing? Okay, that makes sense.

He's tempted by Captive Audience, but… maybe this is like Battle Maiden. He thinks he might want to learn the long way around how to not be boring (or annoying, or whatever it is that makes people get that look on their face when he talks sometimes).

Blackout Binge seems kind of scary. He doesn't want to get so drunk or high that he can't control himself! And he definitely doesn't need any help being carefree and uninhibited.

The next few powers seem to be about animals. He's not totally sure he wants to be surrounded by animals all the time, so he turns the page. Where the Heart Is seems kinda fun but not enough to make him want to take Disney Princess on its own. He doesn't want any tattoos. Shadow Puppet is the most tempting one on the page but he's not sure how much use he'd get out of it? Most of the time he's not even drawn with a shadow!

He turns the page.

He takes Cotton Candy. When a little ! appears next to the requirement he hasn't taken yet he flips back and takes Disney Princess too. He doesn't take Where the Heart Is or Shadow Puppet yet; he can think about that later. He's definitely scooping up Musical Number, though.

Does Musical Number always make everyone around me sing along? Or can there sometimes be a guy who does the "why are you singing, where is the music coming from" thing?