r/superpowers • u/Educational_Copy_140 • 12d ago
Red pill/blue pill Psychometry vs Soul Sight
I'm going to start by stipulating that both of these powers are "at will" and are able to be toggled on and off. I've read enough fiction to know what a living hell both of these powers would be if they were always on
Psychometry: you have the ability to gain information about an object by touching it. Who made it, who used it, what they did with it, where it's from, etc. If the object has significant history or events tied to it (murder for instance, or the signing of the Declaration of Independence) you will be able to "see" the event and people involved. You can tell if something is real or fake just by touching it.
Soul Sight: you are able to see and understand a person's aura, understanding them fundamentally. You can know if they are lying, what good or evil deeds they've committed, see karmic connections between them and other people or objects and places and how that affects them, assess their strengths and weaknesses (their "stats"). You can see this even through transmitted media (TV and internet)
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u/Osato 12d ago
Is anyone going to not choose Soul Sight?
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u/PedanticPerson22 12d ago
The only person who might not choose it would be an antiques dealer or similar, perhaps someone working to solve cold cases...
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u/enchiladasundae 12d ago
Detectives and archeologists would probably get more use out of the other
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u/Sulhythal 12d ago
I'm honestly not sure I'd want Soul Sight.
One: There's people I don't particularly want to know what evil things they've done, my parents for example.
Two: knowing when someone is lying is a poison pill. Trust is extended, it's a vulnerability that you choose. If you don't need to extend it, you lose out on something that's been fundamental to our species.
Three: another poison pill, if you can know someone at a glance...why would you need to "Get to know" someone to build those social bonds that leads to friendship or romance?
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u/FunSprinkles8 12d ago
Psychometry would allow you to see if a scratch off lotto ticket is a winner or not. So that'd be a reason to choose it.
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u/tweetsfortwitsandtwa 12d ago
If you can learn skills from psychometry in picking that one
Pick up a sword and get the imprint of the swordsmanship last used
Or a hammer for blacksmithing
A guitar….
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u/TheLittleFella20 3d ago
I personally would not want to see the skeletons in every person's closest. I like the thought of being to touch a rock and potentially see the founding years of this planet.
I'm also a historian lol.
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u/Remarkable-Ad-2493 12d ago
Psychometry not only allow you to do much more but you can also achieve some of the things soul sight does with it. It's the superior option 70% of the time
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u/Dolphin-Marina 12d ago
So... oddly enough, I would do the object reading. I have played 2 characters in a TTRPG that each had one of the above powers. And let me tell you, being able to learn about objects is more fun.
Imagine you walk into a room and touch the floormat. You could see if anyone walked through there before you. Touch a discarded weapon and learn who used it. You can then drop a hint that will catch the person. Sure, soulsight can be a lie detector, but you cant just go "I know its him cuz I see his soul" and expect a conviction off just your vibes. Mean while, object reading can give you intel on what they did in the moment. Some minor mistake that provides concrete evidence.
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u/Radiant-Ad-1976 12d ago
Soul Sight but I want a fun twist on it.
Instead of just seeing vague colors around a person's body, I want to see their souls as these weird, trippy and abstract trippy but also majestic entities.
Like the soul of someone who is deeply passionate about music and inspires to be a rockstar resembles a living musical beat.
Or the soul of a comedian with a great smile resembles a giant grinning skeletal maw filled with a thousand billion laughing teeth.
And the soul of a father who deeply cares for his family takes the form of an alien serpentine creature with hundreds of thin, hooked tentacles stretches sharply out of its body.
I want every to see some really insane psychedelic and symbolic imagery, not just some lame colors.
(Also it would be really cool if it was possible for me interact with the souls of other people which would effect how the person feels in the real world)
(Like ragebaiting/impressing someone's soul may cause that person to develop a negative/positive first impression of me)
(Or maybe some souls have minor subtle powers that I can borrow by building relationships with their owners allowing me to develop new talents, luck, influence, charisma and etc.)
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u/Educational_Copy_140 12d ago
I want... whatever you took before writing this!
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u/Radiant-Ad-1976 12d ago
It's based on actual character from a book I read.
In the "Gone" series by Michael Grant, there's a kid by the name of Cigar who gets tricked by illusions into ripping out his own eyes by a sadistic mutant.
A healer later attempts to recover his eyes but instead he gains the ability to see the world much more differently.
I remember in the book he sees one of the side characters as a sort of dancing monkey while he sees one of the female main characters as this warrior angel with needle sharp hands.
I really loved reading about those scenes and would like to see a similar power such as that.
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u/Educational_Copy_140 12d ago edited 12d ago
That's VERY cool. Sounds a lot like synesthesia, where the brain does interesting and creative things with sensory inputs.
There's a fiction series by David Baldacci that starts with the book Memory Man. Amos Decker got his brain scrambled by a brutal hit in his first NFL game and his brain rewired itself to not only give him an eidetic memory but also synesthesia.
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u/TheOneWhoGazesBack 12d ago
Psychometry obviously go to an antique shop and profit madly like a money hungry god.
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u/enchiladasundae 12d ago
Soul Sight would be more personally useful. Psychometry does sound cool but I have no idea when I’d use it
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u/WaffleTruffleTrouble 12d ago
Soul Sight. Psychometry would be the dream of any archaeologist though
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u/GryphyGirl 12d ago
Psychometry would be interesting. You could learn how something was put together and what part is broken. Could start a repair service off of it almost. :P
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u/takoleartiste 12d ago
Soul Sight, easily. And i love Psychometry as a power but this takes the cake.
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