#hence why sophie hasn't used her ability like this

[bookwyrminspiration]

please elaborate more on the "her telepathy could be a truly horrifying ability if she was willing to use it that way"

hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Quil started to answer this ask and then saved it to faer drafts and forgot it existed !! Thank you for your patience, tho

so, back to your question, okay okay I would love to!

in the post you're referring to I was talking briefly about which ability of hers (inflicting or telepathy) was stronger, but I can't really accurately compare the two because they're both terrifying in their own way. they've also been given unequal attention, so who knows what each ability could really do! i'm of the firm belief that an ability/power/other word for it in any novel is just a matter of mastery that makes it dangerous, and while some may have more of a predisposed capacity for danger/hurt, it depends on how you train to use it

so! telepathy! I'm going to be talking about it not specifically related to Sophie, but occasionally pulling her into the conversation when necessary. think about it for a second: telepaths have direct access into people's minds, the ability to literally erase and give new memories (sophie hasn't done this yet but I do have something to say about an idea I have for the future book(s) and how i'd want it to come into play for her), steal information from almost anyone and everyone, so long as they can figure out how to get in. Yes, people can block them, but once they're in they're in. And some blocking devices have been shown to just flat out not work for Sophie. A common aspect of some characters, especially the rebellions/loner ones, is this idea of "I can trust no one but myself," which is something they can completely take away.

a telepath could completely rewrite someone's entire life (and they did that for Sophie's human family). Plant fake memories and ideas and fears, giving them experiences they never had. Just imagine how terrifying that could be. Telepaths literally have the ability to alter how a person perceives reality. If they planted the right memories, they could make an enemy think that they wanted to give in, to share information, that they wanted to join their side or anything else.

also: the tracking thing, being able to find people and just know where they are. i'm thinking more in terms of like, psychological warfare or something where a person just keeps showing up, never doing anything threatening but establishing that no where that person goes will be safe. that someone could always find them. they've proven it's impossible to hide from them

one more thing: talking mind to mind, just the power play that has when you can literally enter someone's mind, say nothing, and yet have access to so many of their ideas and most private thoughts. Boundaries are something very highly respected, something everyone has, and telepathy is all about violating those boundaries. It's like it's almost become normal in the books, but someone's mind is often considered untouchable, the one thing that will always belong to them and it can provide a sense of security. Telepaths can be incredibly terrifying, which is why they have that whole code of ethics and how and when and why they're allowed to use their ability

Sophie generally respects other people's mental boundaries, with the occasional exception for her own personal gain, which she has since learned Not To Do. She's more iffy with the Neverseen, seeing their actions as irredemable enough that they don't deserve to have their complete privacy respected anymore. So. if she was willing to use her ability to take away and rewrite memories, she could just...neutralize everyone. Take away Fintan's drive to rewrite the world and replace them with memories of something else, completely changing what he does as a person. She can literally change who people fundamentally are (as we are a sum of our experiences/memories). And Sophie's enhancing was shown to make it so those memories were permanently gone. That is scary.

this is just a few of my thoughts on the ability, but I could definitely think of some more if you were interested!! Abilities in general are just so fascinating and have so many applications. For me, the big one is the ability to rewrite someone's life and change how they understand reality

for anyone who needs it: I am talking about hypothetical uses of an ability in a fantasy book, none of this is real. No one is messing with your mind, no one has given you fake memories or taken any away. No one can hear your thoughts or put their own into your mind. This is all fantasy /srs