OOC: Description of powers
Jul. 26th, 2009 01:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
paraauditoryToby is a telepath – born with the ability to read minds. This post is an attempt to clarify what exactly that entails.
Basics. - To Toby, telepathy functions much like any other sense; he has no idea how or why it works, just that it does. By this point in his life he is very much accustomed to it, and is very casual about its usage, frequently reading the thoughts of others just because he can. In his own words, "If God gives you free cable, He's got to expect you to do a little channel surfing."
The telepathy works in a variety of ways. Pointed thoughts such as Man, I hope I don't look stupid in this shirt are heard like spoken words, but other thoughts can be 'seen' – as example, Toby might pick up the thoughts of someone reading a street sign, and in doing so see it as they would, effectively viewing through their eyes. If someone is recalling a memory Toby can often view that as well, though with the nature of memory these visions tend to be a bit more jumbled.
The stronger the emotion attached to a thought the easier it is to pick up, and the harder it will be to avoid. In fact thoughts of panic, terror or rage will often break through any mental barriers Toby might have in place – he calls these distress beacons. Powerful thoughts have a greater effect on Toby as well, especially when they arrive unexpectedly: receiving these visions can cause sharp migraine-like pains and have an impact not unlike being struck on the head. Though most distress beacons merely make him wobbly for a few seconds, the strongest so far has felt like "a plane crashing in [his] head," and left him barely able to stand.
In general most telepathy is at least a little distracting. When Toby picks up thoughts he tends to get a far-away look, enough that he gives the impression of being an unfocused, day-dreamy kind of guy. Fortunately his ability makes him good at saying what people want to hear, so he finds it easy to make friends.
Control. - While Toby has developed a good deal of control over his abilities, this control actually begins to weaken as the series progresses. (For more detail on this, see speculation below.) In general Toby is able to block out most thoughts of the world around him whenever he wants. The exception to this, as noted above, is thoughts with strong emotion attached to them – these will break through and make themselves heard.
Toby has no issue with reading the thoughts of others, and does not (at least initially) see it as any sort of violation. The only time he will completely shut it off is when, oddly enough, he wants to have an honest conversation. What is important to him, however, is that he does have control: he fears uncontrolled telepathy drove his mother insane, and remembers the overwhelming sensation when he was young and lacked the ability to block out voices. Suggestions that his control might be slipping are frightening to Toby, who has a deep need to feel normal.
What you need to know if you are RPing with Toby. - By default in the bar Toby will typically have a sort of 'filter' on for incoming thoughts; this will keep him from being overwhelmed by the sheer number of voices and will help trim down thoughts that are not relevant. Telepathy can often be boring, he's noted – if someone is eating a sandwich they will mostly be thinking this is a good sandwich.
What he will be picking up are strongly emotional thoughts, whether they be happy, sad, fearful, angry, and so on. He will also be picking up thoughts directed at him, things like (for example) I wonder if I can get this guy to buy me a drink or That asshole just stole my chair!. If the case ever arises that someone becomes aware of his telepathy, pointed thoughts like Toby, do this and the like are fairly unavoidable.
The most important thing is that Toby is very secretive about his telepathy, so even if he is able to read your character's thoughts he is unlikely to act on this in any sort of way that would give him away.
Basics. - To Toby, telepathy functions much like any other sense; he has no idea how or why it works, just that it does. By this point in his life he is very much accustomed to it, and is very casual about its usage, frequently reading the thoughts of others just because he can. In his own words, "If God gives you free cable, He's got to expect you to do a little channel surfing."
The telepathy works in a variety of ways. Pointed thoughts such as Man, I hope I don't look stupid in this shirt are heard like spoken words, but other thoughts can be 'seen' – as example, Toby might pick up the thoughts of someone reading a street sign, and in doing so see it as they would, effectively viewing through their eyes. If someone is recalling a memory Toby can often view that as well, though with the nature of memory these visions tend to be a bit more jumbled.
The stronger the emotion attached to a thought the easier it is to pick up, and the harder it will be to avoid. In fact thoughts of panic, terror or rage will often break through any mental barriers Toby might have in place – he calls these distress beacons. Powerful thoughts have a greater effect on Toby as well, especially when they arrive unexpectedly: receiving these visions can cause sharp migraine-like pains and have an impact not unlike being struck on the head. Though most distress beacons merely make him wobbly for a few seconds, the strongest so far has felt like "a plane crashing in [his] head," and left him barely able to stand.
In general most telepathy is at least a little distracting. When Toby picks up thoughts he tends to get a far-away look, enough that he gives the impression of being an unfocused, day-dreamy kind of guy. Fortunately his ability makes him good at saying what people want to hear, so he finds it easy to make friends.
Control. - While Toby has developed a good deal of control over his abilities, this control actually begins to weaken as the series progresses. (For more detail on this, see speculation below.) In general Toby is able to block out most thoughts of the world around him whenever he wants. The exception to this, as noted above, is thoughts with strong emotion attached to them – these will break through and make themselves heard.
Toby has no issue with reading the thoughts of others, and does not (at least initially) see it as any sort of violation. The only time he will completely shut it off is when, oddly enough, he wants to have an honest conversation. What is important to him, however, is that he does have control: he fears uncontrolled telepathy drove his mother insane, and remembers the overwhelming sensation when he was young and lacked the ability to block out voices. Suggestions that his control might be slipping are frightening to Toby, who has a deep need to feel normal.
What you need to know if you are RPing with Toby. - By default in the bar Toby will typically have a sort of 'filter' on for incoming thoughts; this will keep him from being overwhelmed by the sheer number of voices and will help trim down thoughts that are not relevant. Telepathy can often be boring, he's noted – if someone is eating a sandwich they will mostly be thinking this is a good sandwich.
What he will be picking up are strongly emotional thoughts, whether they be happy, sad, fearful, angry, and so on. He will also be picking up thoughts directed at him, things like (for example) I wonder if I can get this guy to buy me a drink or That asshole just stole my chair!. If the case ever arises that someone becomes aware of his telepathy, pointed thoughts like Toby, do this and the like are fairly unavoidable.
The most important thing is that Toby is very secretive about his telepathy, so even if he is able to read your character's thoughts he is unlikely to act on this in any sort of way that would give him away.
