"I think so. Just to see if there's anything I can bring to it."

"I think that makes sense. Just remember to say it's you if you decide to ask questions."

She leaves to get dressed to go outside and collect what she needs for class.

"I will." He turns his attention to cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

Sapphire stops to give him a hug before heading out.

And then it's Tom's turn to look through the notebook's list.

The first thing he looks at is the destinations. Sapphire has technically not marked one but by this point they all know what she's choosing.

"Trust to the will of the Spirit and let it take you where you need to go." He reads the words out loud. "I envy you sometimes," he says to himself, "finding it that easy to trust. To really trust."

He flips again to the perks Sapphire has turned down for one reason or another. Maybe there's something she missed. It also gives him time to work up to reading the parts he's most worried about.

He smiles at the ships powers. He is biased but he doesn't think Sapphire needs help there.

He reads the other unselected appearance powers carefully but ultimately dismisses them.

Cosmetic Equipment doesn't quite substitute for Breathe Easy or Warmhearted but he understand Sapphire's preference.

He's glad he argued Sapphire out of taking My Ears Are Burning.

He might be more inclined to take Lightfoot and Inner Strength but this is about helping Sapphire choose the right powers for her not living vicariously through her.

He continues in this vein for a while.

A part of him really wants her to take Iron Will but it's a bit of a silly part. It won't protect her from Down To Earth, and he agrees that having trauma just dissolve at the end of a storyline sounds unsettling.

Living Canvas and Shadow Puppet are fun in the same sort of way Where The Heart Is. He agrees they don't fit what Sapphire wants as well though.

Musical Number is fun, and he's amused enough to actually break his silence and ask the Notebook a question.

Hi, It's Tom. I've been looking through to see if there's any powers Sapphire should take a second look at before I try to come up with a better argument for why she shouldn't take Down To Earth.

Or maybe convince myself that it's okay for her to take it. I should keep an open mind.

Anyway I don't want to talk about that just yet, I was looking at Musical Number. I don't think it makes sense for Sapphire to take it but I'm curious what it's like with Nullified and They'll Know.

Under those conditions it becomes more of a prompt for people to break into song if they wish.

That makes sense. Does it also help them get the words and choreography right if they opt-in?

Yes.

He reads through Best Friend and everything based on it. He can see some appeal there and it would give Sapphire someone to rely on right away but he trusts her to make friends wherever she ends up. And she's not defenseless.

The love language friends perks aren't really something that needs more thought either. Agree To Agree is probably pretty limited with Nullified and awful morally without it.

A part of him wishes she was willing to take the original Pacifist but again it wouldn't protect from Down To Earth.

The everyone must love me powers are the same as Agree to Agree.

The powers for keeping loved ones safe...

Does Sapphire taking Down To Earth mean bad things can happen to me in order to help her understand something?

That depends somewhat on her mindset.

If she sees you as part of her, and the important thing about what happens to you is its effect on her, then drawbacks can cause trouble for you in order to have effects on her. The more she cares about you for your own sake, the less they can do that.

I think that makes sense. I'm pretty sure she cares about me for me more than for what I can do for her. That's how she is as a person.

Yes, I think you're right.