Agreed. It's not something I think I would do anyway.

I can actually imagine wanting Selective Memory now. I can imagine making myself forget about some of the protections that would be incomplete and also Down To Earth and just living my life without that expectation of assured safety.

I'm not sure I want to do that but I think I'm sure enough that I can find a way it works well to bump it to the highest category. What specifically I pick depends on the powers I choose.

I'm still not going to take The Veil. It's important to me to know that the Dreams in Dream together are real and for Tom to know they're real too.

Yes, I think The Veil would be pretty troublesome in your situation, but using Selective Memory that way has possibilities.

I guess one question is, do you think you'll notice eventually that your life is steering itself toward helping you understand other people better? How do you think you would feel, if you noticed that without remembering why it was happening?

That's another good question. I think, as long as I remembered most of our conversations I would correctly guess that on some level it was my choice. I think... that might hurt a little because it's easier to be able to blame some outside force or attribute things to random chance but I don't think it would be worse than knowing from the start and I think it would feel more focused on me instead of the people I'm coming to understand. And I think that would be better.

Okay! ♡

I'm not sure where to rate Dramatic Damsel. I think... for now I'll put it at neutral because a part of me wants Down to Earth and a part of me doesn't. And I know to think about this more later. I was initially unsure if Dramatic Damsel was specifically about kidnapping plots but it looks like it is from the last line am I understanding that right?

It's most centrally about kidnapping plots and similar stories, but it casts a pretty wide net across possible narratives that could be enabled by having someone get past your protections. A lot of the powers later in its family are more specifically focused on kidnapping and kidnapping-like situations.

Oh, okay, that's good to know. I don't think being kidnapped in particular has any appeal but I could maybe see an appeal in... pratfalls or other sorts of moments that shatter an appearance of being above other people. I guess Down to Earth will do that but it feels... inward facing instead of outwards facing if that makes sense. What do you think?

Oh, interesting! Yes, I think something like that could work... would you want it to be separate from Down To Earth, so you could potentially take it without committing to Down To Earth as well?

I would, I think Down to Earth is a very big option and I think it would be good for both me and maybe other people to be able to commit to something smaller. I think in my mind there's a comedic angle to what I'm imagining where Down to Earth feels a lot more weighty and serious.

That makes sense! I'll give it some thought.

And I'll read through the many other drawbacks that are based on Dramatic Damsel now.

Love Is A Battlefield is.... There's a part of me that wonders if it's possible to cheat drawbacks. I don't think I ever want to have the sort of... adversarial relationship with the people I care about that Love Is A Battlefield seems to imply. And there's also a beauty to actually being vulnerable with the people I care about instead of being insulated from them, but I guess I worry that taking this would mean that people I care about are more likely to betray me or ... be inclined to hurt me in ways that my defenses would otherwise protect me from.

It won't make the people you care about any more likely to betray you, except in the sense that people are more likely to do something when they have the option than when they don't.

I think... tentatively then, I want that. Though once I'm closer to my final list I think I want to know more about which specific powers all of these drawbacks apply to. For example, I would be really unhappy if any of these break Providential Parenthood.

I think, about Providential Parenthood... it depends on whether you're thinking of Providential Parenthood as a protection on you, or on your future children. Drawbacks that weaken your protections like that only weaken them for you, not for other people. But some people think of the Parenthood powers as protecting themselves from having children, and some people think of them as protecting their children from happening at a bad time and having a worse life because of it, and that distinction matters to how the powers organize themselves.

She sighs.

That makes sense. I can't say I'm entirely happy about that but I do think I care about both. I think there's a lot of ties between them though so it's hard to peel them apart. I would try my hardest to raise any children I have regardless of the circumstances and I like to think I'd rise above even bad circumstances. Although if I'm in the position to do well enough in a sense that does mean I'm ready. I guess I still really don't like the idea of managing to do a raise a child well somehow while also slowly withering away from the strain. I don't actually know if that's possible but I can vaguely imagine it.

I think It Gets Better makes a good backstop against that kind of problem. You could find yourself in a situation like that, but it wouldn't be possible for you to be permanently harmed by it, just to have a pretty tough time for a while.

And I think... I've never been a child, so I might be missing something, but having a parent who's suffering terribly because of my presence sounds like a pretty hard time to go through. I imagine many children in that position would rather wait to be born until their parent can experience their time together more positively. So avoiding that outcome could still be a protection for the child.

Yeah, it's true a lot of people forget how observant kids are after they grow up. Okay, I think that's enough reassurance to trust in the Spirit and my powers about this. I still want to go into more detail later but I feel safe about this specific part.

I'm glad I could help! ♡

♡

I'm not sure about Seen With The Heart. If I'm using Selective Memory because I don't want to know things that could cause issues but it could also be a way to get around things. There's also a small corner of me that wonders if it would mean Tom would know the dreams were real if I took the Veil but that's probably a bad impulse.

I think it could definitely end up meaning that, but you might still prefer that you also have access to that knowledge.

Agreed. I don't usually have dreams insisting they're real but it is something I want to know for sure. Like I said it's a bad impulse.

Anyway, yes, Seen With The Heart could potentially allow your loved ones to be the ones to tell you about your hidden powers and drawbacks, if that's something that interests you. It could also end up with them telling you that information in a clumsy and disruptive way, but that depends on what kind of loved ones you have and how good they are at presenting difficult information to you.

I think I would make very different choices about which powers to forget if I take this.

I'm not going to take Keys to Your Heart. Being the person who's making decisions about my life is important to me.

I can't take Hot Commodity and I don't like the idea of Vampires eating me. So Golden Goose is also out.

I'm a little conflicted about Wardrobe Malfunction but mostly I like it and Mudslinging is something I don't have any concerns about.

Good timing - I think I have something for that other drawback you wanted!

Name: Slapstick Comedy - Grants: +2 ☐
(Requires Dramatic Damsel and at least one of: Angelic Tones, Lightfoot, Mysterious Allure)
At narratively appropriate moments, whether in or out of storylines in which your protections are lifted more generally, you may experience moments of verbal or physical clumsiness or other minor mishaps that serve to undercut your glamorous image and remind you and those around you that you're an imperfect person just like they are, who makes mistakes and has problems just like they do. These mishaps will never cause lasting harm to anything but your dignity.

Thanks, I think that might actually make me okay with taking Lightfoot. I assume this also clicks with Mudslinging and Wardrobe Malfunction so they can also apply in that sort of situation?