Golden Sun belongs to Nintendo and Camelot, not me. Support them if you like the series! I just write fanstuff. And if you feel like borrowing any of my original ideas, please, go right ahead.

This "story" is more of a compilation of unconnected shorts that I plan to write whenever they spring up. Basically, I want a way to solidify my changes to Golden Sun's canon without breaking the flow of the story. I spend way too much space at the end of each chapter with Author's Notes already, and if I decide I want to explain a change I've made, I feel like it'd be better just to put it here. All stories are canon to Drops of Jupiter, as well as any other bits of fiction that I may or may not write in the same universe.

Story has a T rating (for now), but individual chapters will have their own ratings based on what age group I think would be okay with it. If I write one that's M-rated, I'll change the age group for the story as a whole.

Each chapter will be preceded with a passage like this one:

Title: MIXED BLESSINGS

Genre: Drama

Rating: K+

Characters: Ivan, Karis

Summary: Ivan discovers that Karis is unable to use Mind Read for the first time, and does his best to convince her that it is, in fact, a good thing.

Origin: A review mentioned that Ivan's behavior was odd considering that he felt his mind-reading was a curse rather than a blessing. I pointed out that we hadn't heard that straight from him since he was 14, and that it is only mentioned in Dark Dawn by Karis, who seemed relieved that she didn't have the same gift.

Time period: Before Dark Dawn

"Happy 4th Birthday, Karis!" Ivan said as he handed his daughter the leash.

She beamed, her green pigtails bouncing as she hopped up and down excitedly. "Daddy, he's so cute! What's his name?"

Her brand-new puppy gave her hand a friendly lick before he sat down and began scratching his ear. Karis held the leash very tightly to make sure he wouldn't run away. She was a little bit scared of the dog, having never been this close to one before, but it was so fuzzy and adorable – her curiosity far outweighed her fear, and she loved the puppy by default because it was a present from her father.

Ivan shrugged. "You get to name him. He's yours, after all."

Karis gave the dog a big hug. When she let go, her new friend flopped over and raised his belly to the sky, hoping for a quick rub. "I don't know, Daddy! I can't think of a name. Can we just call him puppy for now?"

"Sure, if you like," Ivan said with a smile. He bent down and rubbed the dog's tummy, its leg kicking excitedly. "But you could always ask him for an opinion. He has a mind of his own, you know."

Karis grinned. She kneeled down next to the puppy's head and spoke into one of his ears. "Hello, Mr Puppy! Can you tell me your name?"

The dog barked noncommittally. His tail wagged from side to side.

"No, no," Ivan said as he leaned toward his daughter. "You know. 'Ask him'," he whispered.

Karis looked at her father, confused.

Ivan sighed. "Well, I mean..." He shook his head. "I'll just show you."

He closed his eyes and opened his mind. He continued rubbing the dog's belly, but his other hand went to grasp his daughter's hand.

"Woof! I'm a dog!" Ivan heard. "I am happy to meet both of you!"

Karis's jaw dropped open "Whoa! That's so cool, Daddy! Can you teach me how to do that?"

Ivan paused as he let go of his daughter's hand.

"You mean... you can't do it? Have you ever tried?" Ivan knew that Karis had some talent with psynergy, and it hadn't come from his wife – she was a non-adept. Why wouldn't Karis be able to read minds as well?

Karis shook her head. "I don't know! That sure is neat, though. Okay, I'm going to try! Think of something!" She pressed her hands to her temples and screwed up her face in concentration.

In any other case, Ivan would have found pose hilarious. But what if she failed? What if she hadn't inherited the talent?

Ivan smiled and nodded, however, and to the exclusion of all others, a single thought filled every nook and cranny of his mind: I have the greatest four-year-old in the world.

He waited a few seconds. He was about to speak up when she began to hum loudly in a deep monotone. "HMMMMMMM!" She stared at his forehead intently.

Ivan continued to trumpet the thought all throughout his mind. He thought of himself saying it, he thought of the visible shape of the words, he thought of emotions and images associated with it. If she had even an ounce of mindreading talent, she would be able to get it.

His hopes evaporated after a minute and a half of her "intense focus."

Suddenly, she pointed a finger at him triumphantly. " 'Potatoes!' That is what you were thinking, Daddy!"

Ivan frowned, his heart breaking just a little. She didn't have it. She didn't have the Mind Read ability that was her birthright.

He shook his head. "Nope. That's not what I was thinking at all. Are you hungry, maybe? It's almost dinner time, maybe we should-"

Karis frowned, her eyes downcast. "But... I tried my best! You can do it, why can't I?"

Ivan put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, it's very rare for people to be able to do it. Your mom can't, for example. Your friends Matthew and Tyrell can't. The only other people I know who can do it are my friend Sheba and your aunt Hama."

But it didn't help. A single tear streaked down Karis's cheek.

"But... I want to be able to talk to my new puppy, like you can," she said weakly. "I want to do everything you can do. You're so cool, Daddy! You and all of your friends! I... I can do things with the wind, too, and I was so proud when I realized I might be able to be like you."

The dog hopped up, confused about the sudden lack of attention, and rubbed its head against Karis's arm. She sat down and gave it a tight hug. "I'm sorry, doggy, but I guess I'll never find out your name. Unless your name is woof. Is it woof, puppy?" She turned to her father as she sniffled loudly. "Is his name woof?"

Ivan tried his best to hold back his own tears. "You know what, Karis?" he began. "I'm glad you can't read minds. I really am. You see, when I was younger, everyone knew I could do it, and no one wanted to be around me. Everyone has things they don't want people to find out, but when you can read minds, you can learn those things anyway. It isn't fair, and people don't like having their secrets discovered."

Karis rubbed her eyes. "Really? You were picked on because you could do a trick like that?"

"That's right. My first real friends were Isaac and Garet, in fact." Ivan kneeled down and picked up his daughter. "Sheba had it worse than I did. When the king of her homeland found out about her abilities, he kidnapped her and used her to read the minds of anyone he thought might be a bad guy."

In truth, Ivan was being half-honest with Karis. When he was younger, he HAD considered his mind-reading a curse. And it really had turned out to be a bad thing for Sheba, though it was a result of Babi's exploitation rather than the powers themselves. But over time, he learned to be a little more subtle with it. People didn't know he had the ability unless he told them, so... he didn't tell them. And he used it responsibly, too – only for the benefit of others, or to bring people to justice. His wife certainly seemed to appreciate it... some of the time.

He wished desperately that he could grant his daughter the same gift. She would have suffered none of the antagonism that he had, now that they lived in Kalay among friends. And maybe in the future, when she and her friends were older, she would have made good use of the power, just as he had with Isaac, Garet and Mia.

"I feel sad that that happened to you, Daddy," Karis said.

"Me too," Ivan said honestly.

"I'm glad that I can't read minds. Thanks, Daddy," Karis said.

"...I'm glad too," Ivan replied hesitantly.

At least she wouldn't be able to tell when he was lying.