My brother said something like that too. I think I probably don't and I do want this a lot so I'll check it for now. I can consider it more later when I have a better sense of how many things I want. Thank you.

She does that.

What does directly mean in closed book and indelible? What sorts of things are covered and what sorts aren't?

Directly isn't quite the right word for it; it's more like, if someone is trying to use telepathy to read your mind, or a truth potion to make you tell them your secrets, or future-sight to find out how to get you to do what they want, then they're trying to get at the inside of your head more directly than they should be able to, and it won't work.

That makes sense.

She looks at those a little longer and notices that Iron Will requires both as prerequisites so she reads that too.

So, Iron Will says that it works on a case by case basis. Does that mean I need to allow something everytime or can I let it work more automatically than that and be more about the kind of thing I'm okay with?

There's some flexibility about how automatically it works depending on what you prefer and are comfortable with. If you'd rather it work more automatically, it can do that.

That makes sense, it seems like in general these powers are very friendly. Am I thinking in the right sort of direction to feel that they're going to be more part of me than something external?

Yes. Your powers always want to do things the way you'd want them to, within the constraints of what each power is made for.

That's a really good way for powers to work.

She checks the entire set of mind powers and then moves on. She also checks It Gets Better and The Great Equalizer. That last one is especially expensive but it feels right.

And then she's onto power of friendship.

She's also at 62/70 points so she's either going to need to cut a lot or take a lot of drawbacks. Speaking of drawbacks...

I remember you saying that there were options that made these powers not change people's minds in ways they're not okay with. Could you highlight those for me so I can keep them in mind?

Of course!

She looks through the power of friendship and doesn't find them.... which means. Yes! They're drawbacks. She laughs happily. If she's going to protect herself from having her mind changed in ways she doesn't want it's only fair that she doesn't change other people's minds in ways they don't want.

She checks both of them and flips back to the start of the friendship powers.

She holds the idea of mysterious allure in her mind for a moment. Does she want to always be the most interesting person in the room? She feels like it would be useful sometimes to hold people's attention but it would also make it harder to help people who are on the edges of a party and not enjoying themselves.

If she wasn't already so high on points. No that's silly if she starts thinking that way she's going to end up with earlier powers even if she likes later powers better the amount of points doesn't matter yet.

I'm not sure about Mysterious Allure. I feel like that might make it harder to help people who are feeling left out if I'm usually the center of attention. Is that something that the metanarrative protection would help with or should I just not take this one? Also... I'm realizing that this would apply when I'm shopping or doing other mundane things and that doesn't sound enjoyable. I think I've mostly talked myself out of this but I'm curious about your thoughts.

Mysterious Allure can definitely be inconvenient if there are times when you don't want to attract attention! It can turn itself up or down depending on your mood but it can't really turn itself off.

I think I'll leave it out then. Thanks for explaining.

Oh.

Captive audience is much more like what I wanted Mysterious Allure for anyway. Does this help with I Can Teach Better too? Also, how does this interact with nullified?

Yes, Captive Audience helps a lot with teaching.

With Nullified, Captive Audience has much subtler effects. You can get more of an effect by explaining to people what the power does and asking if they want to participate, or by taking They'll Know—They'll Know lets people opt in to power effects like that more automatically, without you having to individually explain.

I'll keep that in mind thank you. Is They'll Know another drawback?

Yes!

"It's pretty cool how some of the drawbacks also have benefits. I guess it's that whole thing about one person's trash being someone else's treasure."

"There's definitely some truth there. Just make sure you think things through carefully. These powers seem friendly but they also have a lot of depth."

"Yeah, that's true. We can definitely sleep on it and read everything carefully before I make my final choices."

Per her agreement she copies down this exchange for the Notebook.

I think it's a very good idea to sleep on it and read everything carefully before you finalize!

She draws a little thumbs up under the Notebook's response and then checks Captive Audience.

She has no interest in Blackout Binge. She wonders what would make that appeal to someone. Maybe somebody who feels like people are always blaming them for things that aren't their fault or has crippling social anxiety.

Disney Princess isn't quite her thing but it's cute enough that she'll give it a check anyway. 

She pauses at Best Friend and Bestest Friend. Does she want these? She's leaning towards no. She knows people who get really attached to pets but that hasn't really happened for her so far. And a magical companion is very much changing the genre of her life again.

Of the "your friends" powers the two that appeal to her are Cuddle Buddies and Quality Time.

For the powers like Cuddle Buddies do they do anything to help me be the sort of person that someone would want to cuddle with? Or are they only acting on other people and the world around us?

They're pretty open about how they accomplish their goals, so if you prefer that they help you be someone that other people want to cuddle with rather than making sure you meet cuddly people or encouraging people to be more cuddly, they can do that!

That's great I'm glad they're flexible like that.

She checks Quality Time and Cuddle Buddies and then looks at Agree to Agree.

Is there any sort of guarantee here that I'm actually right and not just convincing people of what I think even if I'm wrong?

For that, I think you want Backchannel.