It's been a long day, and she has been postponing doing her Latin homework the whole afternoon, spending it on OpenRailwayMap instead. She must really get around to it soon, the sun is already down and her mum is going to be on her case soon.
She shuts down the computer and grabs her notebook from her bag.
Uh, that's weird.
Then, I'll pick Wherever You Go, There You Are.
It's a wug! I
can shocan't show you the wikipedia page. Basically it's a test to see how kids intuitively make plurals in English. Italian has more complicated rules. Like, we have some words with one singular and two plurals. English is so... simple. Except their spelling, it's Bad.
0/70
The ☐ next to Wherever You Go, There You Are becomes a ☑, though the point total in the corner is of course unchanged.
That's really interesting! What's bad about the spelling in English?
0/70
I can't hear, no, but I think if I focus on something I can get a sense of what the pronunciation is.
Those spellings don't seem particularly bad to me, but I might just really like all the kinds of writing there are. Partly because I'm a notebook and partly because I'm able to understand any written language… which is because I'm the Spirit's notebook and it's my job to help people! I can see how they would be confusing and make reading harder for some people, though.
It is quite confusing, being used to italian which is quite sensible.
Anyway, I'm getting distracted... let me read the next section!
The Thousand/Hundred Ships and Faces... do not appeal? I'm fine the way I look, I don't feel the need to change that?
Angelic Tones sounds nice, I like singing! I don't think I need a "supernaturally beautiful" voice, but singing in any vocal range sounds very nice. I don't know if it's worth two points though...
Emerald Orbs is definitely not worth two points. It's cute, I'd love weird eyes, but not for two points.
Perfect Hair and Nails is a pass.
Now Size Difference is definitely a yes! Being able to shrink and grow a lot if I need it seems incredibly powerful. And I'd be able to reach the top shelf!
2/70
Size Difference gets a check.
That does sound fun and useful! There are some powers that will let you pick up skills more easily; those might work if you want to expand your range but don't want Angelic Tones.
Ooooh, looking forward to it! Learning new things is the best way to spend time!
Well Endowed no, why, why would I care? Oh but Hollow Leg. And Inner Strength. And Lightfoot!!!
Grumble grumble. Lightfoot is a yes, which unfortunately means I need all three. I'm not sure about Inner Strength... it seems useful but less important than the others?
2/70
The notebook applies animated sparkles around the first part.
Hmm, can you say what you mean by "important" and "useful" here in more detail? I'd like to have a better understanding of how you feel about Inner Strength. And do you currently want Lightfoot and its prerequisites?
(It's holding off on checking any of the powers she mentioned for now.)
Yes, you can mark Lightfoot and prerequisites! By the way, it's really neat how you keep track of the points, I think it would be messy if I tried doing it with normal ink.
Important and useful... you said the Spirit wants me to live the adventure that is best for me, right? And I'm not sure my best adventure requires superhuman strength, I prefer making things better using my brain. Are you familiar with Isaac Asimov?
7/70
Keeping track of points is one of my main jobs! I like doing it; I think it helps a lot of people.
All of those things make a lot of sense to me! The Spirit does want you to live the adventure that's best for you, so it's good that you're thinking about what that means. I'm not familiar with specific people but you can tell me about them if you want!
He's my favorite SF author! I love how his characters always win through intelligence and wisdom and never through force. And the plot twists! Always great.
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" is probably my favorite quote from him. I've read so many of his books, we have this whole library that
There is a pause in the writing.
belonged to my dad. It's why I read so much science fiction, he used to buy each new Urania as it came out when he went to university.
7/70
The notebook puts a ♡ after her message.
That sounds like a really good shape of adventure to aim for! There are definitely plenty of powers that will let you accomplish things with your wits instead of with force.
Nice! Love that! 💜
Dressing Room and Pocket Dimension are another case of I want the latter but don't care about the former. Cosmetic Equipment is cute but I care way more about function than form, so. Undressing Room is weeeeeeird. It could be fun to travel in comfortable clothes while still appearing very elegant if I need to, but it seems very expensive at three points (plus the three points for Dressing Room but I guess I'm picking it anyway for Pocket Dimension...). Not worth it.
So yes to Pocket Dimension and I guess that means yes to Dressing Room. Transformation Sequence is cute but no.
Personal Hygiene is Yes, All The Yes, Every Yes, Please And Thank You.
Wait, does Pocket Dimension allow me to duplicate magic objects? That seems very powerful!
12/70
Yes, as long as you've held or examined the object in question. Or if you know enough about magic to make it, explain to someone else how to make it, or tell it apart from a well-made fake.
Nice! Love that!
Like Roses seems nice but I'm not sure it's worth taking, and Starstuff is cute but super not worth it (counting the prerequisites).
She draws an horizontal line
What's in a Name seems... possibly useful? On the one hand I like True Names magic, and it would feel cheating to be exempt from it, on the other hand it's incredibly scary and I'd be happy to be safe on that front.
Immunity System is a yes, even though I have no interest in drugs or alcohol. Oh, but it's kinda expensive... Buuuut Breathe Easy is good. And Warmhearted is a maybe...
Damn, this is hard!
12/70
(It refrains from marking Immunity System for now.)
Well, I'm here to help! What sorts of things about What's in a Name feel like cheating? And taking Immunity System doesn't mean you have to take drugs recreationally.
I'd hope so! Drugs are bad! Some of them more than others, but still! Bad!
It feels like cheating because true names are supposed to be this powerful key, and it's a symmetric thing, and... I don't know. Maybe I don't want to live a story in which true names are important and then the power is not needed? Because I can also see all the ways in which it could go very wrong... people being locked into slavery because their master knows their true name...
That doesn't seem like a happy story. I want a happy story. It can have drama, tension, setbacks, but it shouldn't have widespread slavery.
12/70
Some people are able to take drugs in ways that are good for them! It sounds like you definitely want Immunity System to protect you from them, though.
The notebook ♡s her slavery explanation.
I see what you mean about unhappy stories. I would predict that the Spirit will steer you away from stories where lots of people are enslaved whether you take What's in a Name or not. If you like the idea of being part of a magic system with true names, I'm sure you'll be able to experience that without the kind of danger you're most afraid of.
That is reassuring...
What's In A Name is a tentative yes, then I'll take all of Immunity System, Breathe Easy and Warmhearted.
Unicorn... tentative yes, Just A Little Longer obviously yes, Soundtrack... lol. Cute, but no. Soundboard would be useful, but I'll pass for now, might revisit it later.
Inner World seems cool, but I don't think it's worth 2 of my rapidly decreasing points... Inner Housekeeping is neat too, but I think I don't need it.
Allusionist is baffling, skip.
18/70
Do you want me to keep track of the "tentative yes" point total too? Going off of what you've mentioned to me:Everything else I think you seem like you're confident you either want it or you don't. I can keep track of multiple running point totals just fine, although to have the Spirit empower you and send you to your destination you'll need to pick a single set of powers and drawbacks that doesn't require more points than it allows.
- You're tentative on What's in a Name and Unicorn; those would bring your total up to 21/70.
- You think Angelic Tones, Like Roses, Soundboard, and Inner World are appealing but you're not sure if you value having them more than you value the points they'd cost; those and their prerequisites plus the above would bring you up to 28/70.
- You're pretty sure you don't want Emerald Orbs, Inner Strength, Cosmetic Equipment, Undressing Room, Transformation Sequence, Starstuff, or Inner Housekeeping even if they might be fun or cute; if you added all of those and any prerequisites that haven't already been mentioned they'd bump you up to 45/70.
Ooooh, neat! Yes, please keep track of them if you can do that easily. I was planning on going back later but this would make it much easier! ^_^
Makes sense, I'll make final decisions later...
Omniglot: YES. World's Greatest Detective: tentative (like Unicorn) - it sounds good but I'm not sure it's needed with the everything else. World's Psychicest Detective no, that's cheating and cheating is boring.
Anything You Can Do definitely a Yes, Dragon Fairy Elf Witch also yes, although... does it stack?
Definite: 32/70
Tentative: 38/70
Maybe: 45/70
Probably Not: 62/70
I think that depends on what you mean when you say "stack!" All of the powers can reinforce and synergize with each other, especially if they're closely related, like powers in the Appearance category. I could definitely see heritage you discover through Dragon Fairy Elf Witch enhancing the boost from Anything You Can Do, or Anything You Can Do helping you master any abilities you gain through Dragon Fairy Elf Witch heritage.
Definite: 32/70
Tentative: 38/70
Maybe: 45/40
Probably Not: 62/70
Oh! Yes, you can discover ancestry as many times as you'd like, from any type of being you've encountered.
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