In theory Lucy should probably be doing homework in her shiny new notebook; in practice she is, instead, doodling a flower in the left margin.
Will it change with my preferences like the other appearance powers? Or, like, to harmonize with the surrounding scentscape?
Your personal scent tends to change much less often than other aspects of your appearance, for thematic reasons. It can definitely pick up notes to harmonize with the surrounding scentscape, though!
Cool cool cool sounds good to be getting on with. She makes a note that her personal scent should contain notes of rosewood because rosewood smells really, really nice, but the Spirit can fill in whatever else about it.
Just A Little Longer...hm. Well, if it comes up it'll be good to have, right. Check. Immunity System, emphatic check. My Ears Are Burning--what the fuck. No. Who would take that ever. What the fuck. Lucy doesn't consider herself to have social anxiety but come on, there are limits to what forms of existing in relation to other human beings can be considered safe, sane and consensual.
Moving on. Well endowed...hmmmm.
What parameters does Well-Endowed cover? Is it in fact just your figure, or like, anything that could be considered an endowment?
Oh no she's blushing. Why do humans come with a sense of shame, she should ask at some appropriate point if she can get hers removed.
Well...you know...in general, people mean different things when they refer to men vs. women as "well endowed"...and I'm like "why not both"
Oh! Oh I see! That's not normally an effect of that power, but if it's important to you I'm sure the Spirit will find a way!
I dunno about important? But it would be, you know, nice and fun.
She checks Well Endowed anyway because why not, making specific notes about how a basic hourglass shape is mostly fine but it is important that she be very soft and huggable.
Hollow Leg and Inner Strength: CHECK. Battle Angel through Battle Maiden...meh, might as well, she supposes? She adds the low-priority asterisk to them.
...Making Ends Meet through Four Star Daydream. Uh.
Is there any way for Motherlode and Four Star Daydream to work WITHOUT massive amounts of counterfeiting???
Massive amounts of counterfeiting would count as a negative consequence that's prevented by the aegis of metanarrative protection! So it won't happen and you don't have to worry.
I don't know exactly. Lots of things are possible! But it won't have negative side effects, because the metanarrative protection prevents that.
...Okay.
The idea of being so rich she can buy literally anything is--embarrassing, and she actually thinks she endorses that one--she's seen enough "Eat the Rich" vitriol accompanied by good reasons, she doesn't want to be a one percenter, who--
hm.
She flips her pencil in her fingers and taps it against her thigh. Flip. Tap. Flip. Tap.
The list talks about an extravagant lifestyle, but...if she can afford to buy anything, she can afford to buy out Air BnB and sell houses to people who actually want to live in them; she can afford to buy out Big Pharma and sell medicine at reasonable prices...how many problems in this world could be solved by someone with "Money: Yes" and a willingness to put it in the right places?
Yeah, fuck it, she checks all three of those.
Dragon Fairy Elf Witch: oh fuck yes. Omniglot: yes please.
Anything You Can Do? Yyyyyeah she probably shouldn't, she's sure there's some more certain way of being simply the most annoying person ever but she's not actually sure what it is. No.
Closed Book, Indelible, Iron Will: Check.
Power of Friendship! A promising phrase.
In general, effects that describe others' reactions (like their attention being drawn to you by Mysterious Allure, or their sympathy being provoked by Tragic Backstory) operate on a metanarrative rather than a causal level. They are not mind control, and are not blocked by effects that block mind control.
...Okay, so...that's an incredibly concerning qualification to feel the need to make.
Mysterious Allure is...
...well, there's the obvious "what does it mean that it operates through metanarratives and not mind control" issue, but: also:
If she can't accomplish the effect of this power, without spending points on it specifically, just with what she's already checked, she is doing something wrong. Her allure! Does not need to be mysterious! Actually! She can just be an interesting person!
Captive Audience.
YEAH SHE'S NOT SURE SHE BELIEVES THAT OPERATES ON A 0% MIND-CONTROL LEVEL NO THANK YOU
Disney Princess: CHECK.
Best Friend. Hhhhhh. Really, really tempting...
Can you tell me more about Best Friend?
What would you like to know?
Hmmmmm how to phrase this considering how her other enquiries have been answered.
On a metanarrative level, does it work by ensuring that I end up with a Best Friend with an appropriate personality, or by ensuring that whatever Best Friend I end up with happens to take the right actions at the right times under the right circumstances.
I'm not sure I understand the distinction but I think it's more like the first thing!
Hm, so, like--if I was writing a story, and I needed someone to do things X, Y, and Z, I could just write, "this person does X Y and Z," or I could come up with a character who definitely would do X Y and Z, because of who they are as a person, and not because I needed them to do it. They're different--kinds of writing? And--whoever's writing the story I'm in--what I want to know is which kind of writer they are.
It's hard to be sure about these things, but I feel in my heart that they're the second kind.(A slight pause, and then,)
Figuratively speaking. I don't have a real heart because I am a notebook.
No I fully understand that you are in possession of a metaphorical heart.
She will check Best Friend, then, and Bestest Friend...what kind of magical creature should they be. A dragon would be cool, but so would a winged unicorn, or a giant phoenix...
Do you have opinions on magical beings? I'm trying to decide between a dragon or a winged unicorn but there COULD be something EVEN BETTER.
Well, if you can't decide, or you're hoping for something even better, you could leave it up to the will of the Spirit and see what happens! I'm not sure what magical beings are better for you because I don't know what you like about magical beings. I do think feathers are really pretty, though, personally. Do you like feathers? And flowers! Are there magical creatures that have pretty colourful petals? There should be.
I like feathers! I don't know of any magical beings that definitionally have petals but you could have a flower dragon probably.
I think a flower dragon would be really beautiful. But you should get whichever animal companion suits ✨you✨ best!
I think I am leaning towards a winged unicorn.
She writes down her winged unicorn specifications. Black coat, rainbow mane, rainbow tail, rainbow wings, white socks, white--she pauses to google horse marking terminology--white star-and-strip on the face, pale iridescent rainbow horn.
...Somehow she missed Blackout Binge between Captive Audience and Disney Princess. She dithers for a moment before checking it with an asterisk.
Generosity, no, Helpfulness, no, Cuddle Buddies tempting but no, Flattery no, Quality Time--is that...not just how things? Normally? Are? She's not going to check it, anyway. Agree to Agree...
She leans back, fiddling with her pencil some more.
If she could just--convince anyone, of anything...it wouldn't be nice, but--she could do a lot of good that way...but...it says it works on friends, right, and maybe there's a power to befriend Literally Anyone, but...
Given how very eugh she feels about the matter maybe she can just. Not. And not try to argue herself into having to.
Love Interest! Aiee! WELP it requires Mysterious Allure and she DIDN'T TAKE THAT so MOVING ALONG, PEOPLE.
Time Enough For Love...yeah, alright. Check.
I Can Fix Them. Thanks, I hate it.
True Love's Kiss. Sure why not.
Planned Parenthood. Absofuckinglutely. She adds an exclamation point there as a sort of anti-asterisk; that is a high-priority keeper.
Two Become One. Absofuckinglutely not, no undignified moments? No sincere awkwardness? No breaking down laughing in the middle because something ridiculous happened? She knows her taste in erotic fiction, thank you, and it does not involve this trope.
The Princess And The Dragon. Hm. She doesn't know if she'll need it...and Size Difference covers for a multitude of sins...she'll take it with an asterisk.
...Which brings her up to seventy points. She skips down to Drawbacks.
Decorative. No thanks.
Beauty is a Curse...hm hm hm...it sounds annoying but not, like, the worst? She'd remove some asterisk'd things before she'd take it but if she takes off the asterisk'd things and still needs more points she'd consider it. She makes a note.
Plain Jane. Eugh.
Style of Sisyphus...could be fine? Could be exhausting. She makes another note.
There's Another One--baller. Hell yes she wants to give sparkly magic powers to more girls!
Incomplete...hmmmm.
If I take Incomplete, does that mean half of people would be immune to Planned Parenthood and the cursebreaking effects of True Love's Kiss, or is it just the stuff that, uh, has to have it clarified that it's not mind control.
People with immunity under Incomplete will be immune to the mind-affecting aspects of Planned Parenthood but not other aspects. The cursebreaking and healing effects of True Love's Kiss would still work.
You can't take things twice. But if you want to change an option like Planned Parenthood to not affect people's minds, I think that could work!