Yes, or they express something similar to what a power expresses, but an inconvenient overabundance of it. Or they change the balance of the powers' autonomy compared to yours in using them.

Oh, I think I've found you that power you were looking for a moment ago!

Name: Cotton Candy - Cost: 3 ☐
(Requires Disney Princess)
The sharp edges of the world are blunted around you. That's not to say that nothing bad can happen, but that the worst things happen a lot less often, and happy endings large and small are much easier to come by. This effect can ripple outward to improve the lives of people you've never met.

That's a lovely power. I guess the pre-requisite is more based on vibes than on what it specifically does?

She checks the box.

Yes, this is one of those prerequisites that's hard to explain in straightforward terms.

I think I'll go through the powers again now. For the moment, I'm going to put a + next to the powers I especially want and a minus next to the ones that aren't important to me. I'll just uncheck anything I don't really want anymore.

Does that make sense?

I think so, yes!

Would you like me to show different subtotals for the different marks?

That would be great. Thank you.

She starts her examination from the top noting down little bits about her thoughts though not precisely transcribing them as she goes.

A Hundred Ships is something she likes the idea of having, of remaining recognizably herself even as she gets older and not needing to worry about anything of that sort. It isn't quite important enough for a plus though.

What's In a Name is actually of a similar level, she is Sapphire and the idea of some sort of magic asserting as a definitive fact that that's not her name bothers her more than she would have thought before today.

Severance can just get unchecked. She doesn't actually want to run from her past that much or that hard.

Angelic Tones could help with public speaking, and that isn't that important to her. She starts to put down a minus but them rethinks, it isn't as practical but the idea of being able to sing any song and be fully confident in the beauty of her voice is a lovely notion. She'll leave it as neutral for the moment.

Emerald Orbs still isn't appealing. Especially with the added complication of Crazy Train.

Perfect Hair actually gets a minus. Everything she wanted from it is better handled by Undressing Room. In theory it removes some options but it's not that big of a deal.

Size Difference is another one that almost gets a minus but on second thought doesn't it isn't very practical but the thought of kid mode appeals pretty deeply to her, of not standing above people but meeting them on their level. There's something very important about that if not quite important enough for a plus.

Dressing Room and Undressing Room get a plus. The thought of being free from the feeling of clothes on her skin all the time is very enticing and even with Crazy Train she expects her appearance won't be too far from what she's okay with.

Personal Hygiene is also very nice. No need to get sweaty or dirty and another obstacle to full-time nudity removed.

Like Roses gets a minus. It's just not important and she's pretty sure dressing room can do perfume if she needs it to.

Just A Little Longer is something she can imagine being useful but especially if she takes Inner Strength below it isn't as important. Minus... On second thought though, it is one point and doesn't come with the whole become a superhero thing she feels weird about. She'll leave it at minus for now.

Immunity System feels a normal amount of important. It's not like she gets sick that much as it is.

My Ears are Burning retains the very good arguments against it.

Well Endowed and Hollow Leg get pluses. They're necessary for what she wants out of Size difference and also just lovely for other reasons and they give her most of what she wants from Inner Strength without the weird bits.

Inner Strength accordingly gets a minus.

Lightfoot still feels wrong. Thinking about why actually makes her fully uncheck Inner Strength. She just doesn't want to succeed by being physically more capable than other people she wants to succeed by understanding other people and convincing them to believe in her vision or build a better vision by working together with them. She actually underlines that when she writes it down because it feels very important.

That same argument keeps the battle powers unchecked.

Thinking about that more...

I wonder if there's a way to turn that insight into a drawback. That idea that I can only succeed as part of a group and not by individually being stronger than everyone around me? That feels like the sort of thing that could be a drawback. It's a pretty big tradeoff though, I'm not completely sure I'd take it.

Oh, interesting! Let me think about that...

Well, I started thinking about that, and I got a little distracted, and then I got an update to the list! Would you like me to add in all the new powers and drawbacks so you can see them? There's quite a few.

"Is this an atemporal thing?"

"I can ask."

My brother is wondering if this is one of those cases where your relationship with time is coming into play. Also yes seeing more options sounds good.

My relationship with time is definitely relevant to the way list updates work; I usually don't get them while I'm speaking to someone, although I sometimes reach out to try to create a new power and discover that I already have. I guess I'm not sure what you mean by "coming into play", though?

I think he just meant that it isn't a case of you talking to someone else at exactly the same time.

I'll look through the new list.

Oh! Yes, it would not be meaningfully accurate to say that there's some specific person or people that I was talking to "at the same time" that I've been talking to you, that the updated list entries came from. If it was like that, then you would be getting new list entries trickling in slowly as I invented them.

That actually makes a lot of sense.

Alright, I had just gotten to Inner Strength and Light Foot in my look over. I guess I'll start by checking if there's anything that got added above them.

She goes to do that and starts writing again at the first one she finds.

Perfect Nails is new. I hadn't thought about needing a power for that. I'm now wondering if I can manage without that. It feels like I would mostly want it to stop nail polish from being chipped or my nails from breaking at relatively conservative lengths and I'm not sure if a whole power is something I'd need for that.

Yes, I don't think you would need a power for that. Perfect Nails is more for if it's important to you to have the shape and decoration of your nails be fluidly responsive to your preferences in the same way as other appearance powers like Emerald Orbs. (Dressing Room and Undressing Room can also be used to redecorate your nails without reshaping them, similarly to how they can redecorate your hair without reshaping it.)

I think I'll do without then.

It looks like the next new one is Pocket Dimension. I'm a little confused now. It's doing things I thought you said Dressing Room already does? Did that change?

Pocket Dimension is sort of the result of a tendency for people to stretch Dressing Room in the direction of being an inventory management power when Dressing Room is really not an inventory management power at heart. It has a lot more (and more reliable) inventory management capabilities because it's directly meant to be used that way.

Okay, that makes sense. I don't think I want to push it to it's limits but reliability sounds good and I am planning to use that ability.

That gets a check, it doesn't warrant an full plus.

Hmmm, Breath Easy seems like a power for somebody who is having a very specific kind of adventure. On the other hand it's a prerequisite for Warmhearted and being able to be comfortable no matter the temperature sounds really nice. I think dressing and undressing room already help with that a bunch but it's worth at least a minus for each.

She goes ahead and marks that.

"There's something about a lot of these, when you were talking about Dragon Fairy Elf Witch you said you didn't want to become something wholly other than yourself and I don't think these powers exactly do that, but being able to walk through a hurricane naked in perfect comfort isn't the sort of option you would have had before and I think a change that dramatic will have an impact."

"That... is a good point." She copies down his words for the notebook.

I think Tom does have a point here. I'm not sure it's enough for me to change any of my choices. Actually I think I'll take these and immunity system down to a minus. I think it's true that what's possible for you changes how you approach things. I know that's true of money and disabilities so it makes sense that it's also true of powers like these.

Yes, that makes sense...

I almost wonder if that could be the basis for a drawback, actually? I'm not sure, it's not quite holding together, but I'm imagining something like Dramatic Damsel except focused on narrative opportunities to understand someone else's perspective.

That sounds like something I might want. I guess I'm already considering Crazy Train but maybe something like that which can also reduce the effectiveness of other sorts of powers when it fits. I'm not sure if I'd really want that to require Crazy Train but it feels like it's in the same sort of direction.

I'll think about it and see what I can come up with! ♡

Thanks!

Hmm, Soundtrack seems like it's more in this vein but it's more subtle and anything that makes it easier to understand people and the world around me is tempting. It doesn't really seem like there's any other powers as proactive as this for that. Well, I guess the friends in places powers. But those are in a different direction.

Hmm, do you mean that Soundtrack would help you understand and relate to people? I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes sense! And yes, Friends In Places should also help with the same thing, but differently.

That is what I meant yes. I don't think that's all it does but it seems like it might help with things like the problem of tone being unclear in text communication or people who are masking effectively. The other useful thing would be signalling me about things I wouldn't have another way of knowing about. I think I've argued myself into it being at least neutral.