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troperville

Basic Trope: The ability to read minds isn't all it's cracked up to be, as it can uncover unpleasant secrets that might be better if left unknown.

Straight: Alice uses her mind-reading ability on Bob, and finds out that either...

a) He's thinking lustful thoughts about her
b) He despises, loathes, and hates her.
c) Both possibilities apply... And he's not the only one.

It ends up becoming a constant source of Paranoia Fuel to her.
Exaggerated: Alice finds out that Bob thinks homicidal thoughts about her. Cue the Heroic BSOD.
Downplayed: Alice discovers that Bob doesn't like her cooking.
Justified: The mind is sometimes a very dark, scary place, particularly when it comes down to the subconscious mind.
Inverted:
- Alice uses her mind-reading ability on Bob, who she didn't held on high esteem, and finds out that he thinks very highly of her.
- Alice finds mind reading an indispensable social crutch for her to cope with her issues and function.
Subverted:
- Alice finds out that Bob has a crush on her.
- Alice reads Bob's mind, only to hear nothing at all.
- Bob knew that new telepaths often get in a habit of reading minds so he started thinking disturbing things to give her a lesson in respecting privacy.
Double Subverted:
- But Alice finds Bob repulsive, and the fact that he has a crush on her even more repulsive!
- The thoughts about wanting to make her his slave were real however.
Parodied:
- Every single mind that Alice reads is full of disturbing and/or embarrassingly ridiculous secrets! Each. And. Every. Single. ONE!
- Bob's secret is something relatively innocuous, like his fondness for campy low-budget sci-fi movies. Nevertheless, Alice's faith in humanity is shattered after find out the "horrible" truth!
- Alice looks into Bob's mind, and finds dust and cobwebs, suggesting that there isn't much going on up there.
Zig Zagged: ???
Averted:
- Alice sees nothing disturbing in Bob's thought processes.
- Alice does not have the ability to read minds.
Enforced: Be Careful What You Wish For
Lampshaded: "Wow, Bob is one sick puppy..."
Invoked: Alice needs to scan the thoughts of Bob, a known Handsome Lech, and/or her worst enemy.
Exploited: Bob has feelings for Alice and hopes she'll reciprocate, so he thinks romantic and/or sexual thoughts featuring her.
Defied: Alice decides to AVOID people's inner mind while using her mind-reading powers, and instead focus on scanning their immediate thoughts.
Discussed: Charlotte expresses admiration for Alice's mind-reading powers, and she exclaims that it must be coolest thing in the world. Alice's response?
Alice: "It isn't as awesome as you might think... Some of the things that I've seen... Let's just say they are NOT pretty... AT ALL!"
Conversed: ???
Implied: Alice ended up going misanthropic and isolating herself from humanity after she gained telepathy.
Played For Laughs:
- Alice sees a Good Angel, Bad Angel argument.
- Alice sees cobwebs and dust, or monkeys grooming each other, or something similar, suggesting that Bob doesn't have much going on in that head of his.
- "Inner Bob" is caught in a compromising position with naughty pictures of Alice. Bonus Points if "Inner Bob," upon being "caught in the act", screams like a little girl.
- Alice decides to read Bob's mind, thinking it will be a super wacky and comical experience. One Gilligan Cut later, she's curled into fetal position, rolling in the floor while crying uncontrollably and repeatedly babbling: "Anti-Life justifies my hate... Anti-Life justifies my hate..." Believe it: We don't want to know what she saw there!
Played For Drama:
- Alice thinks Bob is her friend, and is horrified to find out that he secretly hates her.
- Alice ends up developing mental issues from dealing with this. She has anxiety issues about what people are thinking about her when she isn't in their presence, losing faith in humanity and falling into depression from dealing with it.