It's a really useful power!

it is!

"Alright, verdict is that I'm going to actually need to visit the Twilight universe to become a dhampyr Mary Sue because I need to actually encounter the magical species I want to be a hybrid of," he says, offering the notebook back to Marcus.

"Meh."

"Meh?"

"These powers are not my jam, and I really don't know how to use them to take over the world or whatever."

"If you can't use Motherlode and Friends in High Places to take over the world you don't deserve the world."

"Friends in High Places?"

"He didn't get that far into the powers list. It makes it easier to have friends in high places, as it says on the tin. Gives you, like, instincts and know-how and shit."

"...I guess that would be useful..." he says, dubiously.

"Let's all be glad that Pete got the friendbook, shall we? ...I guess I don't know that I would have a bad time, I just get the vibe she'd be quietly and supportively disappointed by me wanting to look more butch than Biker Barbie and that'd suck."

"Honestly I don't think she would? I mean, maybe she would, but I think since you're a girl then by definition whatever you do is a girl thing to do and so you're definitely being powerful and special in a feminine way. ...dunno, though, that seems... Yeah I have no idea."

"The possibility would loom large in my mind."

"I do feel bad about not being able to offer you guys your own notebooks. Or give you this one. ...actually is that even true, I didn't ask her, do you guys want to be Mary Sues?"

"Nnnnno thanks."

"...if I can specifically ask her about my concerns then yes. Ideally privately."

"I'll ask."

so it occurs to me that i've been assuming these powers are not shareable and i'm the only one who gets them but i don't know that that's true

could i give them to other people? or, like, have others go through the same power selection stuff i did?

"There's Gabe and Fel," Marcus says, nodding in their direction a ways over there.

The Spirit can only touch those who are open to femininity, and open to the kind of power the Spirit offers, people who could live their best lives as vessels of the Spirit. I don't know whether your friends qualify. I could ask! But I probably won't get back an answer I can understand, and your friends will either get their own contact from the Spirit when they're ready, or they won't. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.

...I could try to offer you a power that's like There's Another One but more targeted, but I think I still wouldn't be able to target it to specific people, I'd just be able to make sure that in general your friends get extra attention from the Spirit to see if they're the right kinds of people to be chosen, but not necessarily these friends, maybe just other friends you meet later. And I'm not sure it would work, I haven't tried yet.

so no letting them fill out the same forms as i am on you, then, that makes sense

does the Spirit ever touch multiple people in the same world? i'd have expected to have encountered this before but then again maybe other people's stories don't involve me finding out about them

One person touched by the Spirit almost never hears about another unless they've both taken There's Another One. That doesn't mean they won't ever come from the same world, but like you said, their stories won't involve people finding out about them if the people who find out might someday be chosen themselves, because no vessel of the Spirit should have to encounter another one if they don't want to.

yeah fair enough, thank you!

He offers Vivian the notebook for her to see these last bits of conversation. "It's really annoying how slow handwriting is."

And here be froyo!

"What'd we miss?"

"Not a whole lot, some clarifications about powers but that's all. I cannot become a Twilight dhampyr that doesn't need to sleep until and unless I actually run into a Twilight dhampyr, more's the pity."

"Of course you'd want to be one."

"I begin to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion. ...can I still talk with her."

Vivian: visibly troubled.