Because we haven't had one in awhile, and because of the abysmal amount of SHITTY polls lately (sorry, too good to pass up), I've sired another one of these "Open to Interpretation" power polls. This time, I've selected powers that actually exist in fiction and are being used for either mundane or awesome purposes. All the powers listed here range from the seemingly pointless to the "Huh. I guess I can use it." If you know what piece of fiction the power came from, then good for you. But let's not spoil it for everyone else so they can be enamored with the ability alone. The powers are as follows:




Spasm Induction - The ability to trigger any kind of involuntary muscular action in a person without the actual biological trigger happening by simply gazing at them. This includes Gagging or Choking (without actually swallowing or puking anything), Cramping (without actually exerting effort in the limbs), Constipation (without actual shit coming out of you), and Having an Orgasm (without actually having sex or feeling horny) amongst other things. Note that this doesn't include Heart Attacks or anything that can otherwise kill a man outright. The duration of the effect is controlled by you and because it takes concentration, can only span from half a second to five.

Water to Wine - As it says on the tin, you can convert water to wine by touching it or holding the container that has it (so no, it doesn't work with the entire ocean). Great if you're a priest! Or a chef. Or a drunkard. You decide what kind of wine you want to turn water into. The effects are permanent and irreversible. It's also all-or-nothing so you can't just pour water to your lips then convert the part on your lips to wine.

Ground Liquefication - You can turn the ground into mud for as long as that part of the ground is within your radius of 5 feet. The mud has an extremely loose consistency, much like weak quicksand to the point that you can actually dive underneath and "swim" in it like a messy ball pit. The downside is that it is for all intents still mud, so you won't be able to see underground. Even if you had goggles, at best you'd just be protecting your eyes. Also of note is that the effects last until after that part of the ground leaves your radius. This power is not automatic and lasts for as long as you're in the area.

Literal Guilt-Tripping - Causing a person to feel guilty about something causes a huge invisible Lock to appear around the their neck. The more guilty the target is, the bigger the Lock gets. The bigger the Lock, the heavier the target feels and from there they'll either continuously wallow or commit suicide. Note that the target doesn't actually have to BE the culprit. The only requirement is that you have to make people FEEL guilty even if they didn't commit the crime. The Lock then automatically does the work. This power is automatic and it's range is within earshot. Note that you have to induce the guilt. So you can't just sit in at a court hearing and let the Lock to the work for you.

Funniest Man on Earth - Telling any kind of joke makes a person laugh. No matter what. The strength of the joke doesn't affect the strength of the laughter. You have to actually try to do something funny in order to induce this effect. The target has to also find the act/joke funny. It might be a tough sell but if a joke is 0.5% funny or if there is a shred of humor at the back of a person's mind, then that counts as "funny" for this power, and the target will laugh anyway. Note that this happens even if you don't intend to be joking in the first place. If you're making a sarcastic quip that is actually funny for your partner, he will laugh appropriately.

Swap Hands - The ability to transfer anything you touch with your left hand to your right, and vice versa. The real beauty of this power is that it comes with a self-activated 3-Hour Timer. If you touched something and nothing else for up to 3 hours, that object will poof swap when your internal timer expires. These effects are cummulative. Meaning, you can systematically swap as many things as you want with multiple times all at once.

Thought Lock - You can focus telepathically sense anyone's single thought and "lock" it in to consume them for an indefinite amount of time or until you turn it off. For example, you can lock a dying person's thoughts on "What it felt like to live" in order to give that person dreams of living an imaginary happy life. More practical example: If you and your friend are playing Smash Brothers, all you have to do is sense the tiny hint of thought that he might never win and when you "lock" that thought in, your friend will forever believe that he can't ever win against you.

Power Nap - You have a random assortment of powers both useful and unusual. The catch? They only change whenever you sleep. Sleeping hastens your genetic metamorphosis and can even change your physical appearance. You can also sleep for weeks to months at a time thanks to the randomness of your future powers. There is no way to stop yourself from sleeping. It is an inevitable state that you must go through. Your stamina or the amount of fatigue you can handle before you fall asleep is dependent on the body type you wake up into when you acquire your new powers.




As with the other PYP poll topics, all 8 powers are open to interpretation. The assumption is that you will be picking these powers in present modern day (no superheroes) and no one else but you will be picking these powers. Tell us what your favorite one is and which one appears to be the most practical and useful for you.

Discuss.

spasm induction. that's like, some sith lord shit right there. my knowledge of anatomy and physiology will pay off!



having discussed hypothetical superpowers with friends previously though, i would most like to have the power to make people around me trip. the effect would be persistent, but the intensity could be controlled by adjusting its area of effect to cover a wide area or a small group of people. it could be an aura of peaceful chillness, or concentrated into full-blown out of body experience shit for the people in the room with me, or focused into one person as a nightmarish bad trip.

fuck, maybe I should do a wRHG with that power.

That swap hands ability. I have a question.
Does it swap when you want to? If you touch yourself, does your body get distorted? If you dispose of the thing you last touched (via smashing it, incinerating it, throw it to the sun) will it still appear? Does it have to be skin contact?

This ability has my interests, but since the pass polls had made me regret my decision after discussing, I want to try discussing before picking.

Locking a person's thoughts/emotions

Because I don't want anyone to think bullshit

Thought Lock
I'll use this my good way, As long as I sense when anyone likes me, then, I can lock a person's good impression to me and turn to like me more (or love)
And also my bad way, when they fear me, and scared to fight/argue/anybadshit to do to me, I shall lock the fear forever..

Water to wine. Hands down.

If I can turn the water into any wine I want I can make huge quantities of really expensive wine and sell it. I would slowly create my own wine empire where I have a massive amount of financial power and have strings everywhere due to giving the right people all the wine they want, I'd be unstoppable!

Also, depending on your definition of a 'container', I guess I could kill someone by touching them and turning all the water inside their body into wine. Helping me with the shadier parts of my wine empire!

I will be russian chris rock reincarnation

Absolutely water to wine. As YWJ said, it's financial security for life, albeit a pretty short life if I have unlimited access to wine.

I not exactly sure. I cant think of good ways of using these powers without becoming some crazy criminal.

Quote from Youwishjellyfish

Water to wine. Hands down.

If I can turn the water into any wine I want I can make huge quantities of really expensive wine and sell it. I would slowly create my own wine empire where I have a massive amount of financial power and have strings everywhere due to giving the right people all the wine they want, I'd be unstoppable!

Also, depending on your definition of a 'container', I guess I could kill someone by touching them and turning all the water inside their body into wine. Helping me with the shadier parts of my wine empire!

I am glad I am not the only one who thought of this.

I would choose Thought Lock

Aside from the Water to Wine rich thing, this power seems more practical in the sense that there is plenty of opportunity to use it.

Quote from Scarecrow

fuck, maybe I should do a wRHG with that power.

lol, tht would be hilarious. I wouldn't put it past you. That could've been a late tourney entry.

Quote from _Ai_

That swap hands ability. I have a question.
Does it swap when you want to? If you touch yourself, does your body get distorted? If you dispose of the thing you last touched (via smashing it, incinerating it, throw it to the sun) will it still appear? Does it have to be skin contact?

This ability has my interests, but since the pass polls had made me regret my decision after discussing, I want to try discussing before picking.

the power is not on all the time, it is you who will decide when to activate it. and it has to be skin contact.

Quote from Youwishjellyfish

Also, depending on your definition of a 'container', I guess I could kill someone by touching them and turning all the water inside their body into wine. Helping me with the shadier parts of my wine empire!

The piece of fiction I took this power from doesn't allow you to do that, but as I said, every power here is open to interpretation so for the sake of this thread that is allowed indeed. In as much as every other power could be leveraged in another way...

Quote from Reconcile

Because I don't want anyone to think bullshit

Quote from Mirandez

Thought Lock
I'll use this my good way, As long as I sense when anyone likes me, then, I can lock a person's good impression to me and turn to like me more (or love)
And also my bad way, when they fear me, and scared to fight/argue/anybadshit to do to me, I shall lock the fear forever..

You guys do realize that Thought Locking isn't mind control, right? You are locking in a thought or belief by force. The victim will believe that you're a good person all the time, but won't necessarily will want to like you and if anything, will eventually wonder why he/she can't seem to stop believing. The power is best used practically, and not meant for a long-term enterprise. For example, locking in someone who's relaxing can prevent them from getting seasick later on when you travel together. You can also use it to push an agenda if you're trying to pass a bill in congress or staging a protest. It'd get you a leg up, but you still have to do the work to sway people in the end.

Quote from Hewitt

You guys do realize that Thought Locking isn't mind control, right? You are locking in a thought or belief by force. The victim will believe that you're a good person all the time, but won't necessarily will want to like you and if anything, will eventually wonder why he/she can't seem to stop believing. The power is best used practically, and not meant for a long-term enterprise. For example, locking in someone who's relaxing can prevent them from getting seasick later on when you travel together. You can also use it to push an agenda if you're trying to pass a bill in congress or staging a protest. It'd get you a leg up, but you still have to do the work to sway people in the end.

Its still the best practical power.

The Power Nap is interesting though. When you sleep, does it have to be for a large amount of time, or can it still be the regular 8 hour night cycle?

Scroll up, I mention it in the first post: the sleep cycle is also random. You could wake up the next day, or the next month. Basically, the more warped your physiology will be the longer it'll take to change your genetic makeup.

The fictional character that uses this power amassed a fortune by being a hired gun for criminals or as a bodyguard for neutral parties and sometimes the good guys. Because his appearance morphed everytime with new powers, he could never be postively identified for every petty crime or major robbery he committed except for certain close friends and confidantes. Using this money, he was able to purchase several properties which he proceeded to outfit as "sleeping dens" which basically acted as his Save Points.

It's worth noting that the character also balanced family life. He grew up in a poor family, so half his proceedings went to his ailing mother and 3 siblings and he would always check up on them, even going as far as attending the wedding of his sister despite feeling the Sleep coming up to him. That story ended with him transforming into a bat-person midway into the wedding and flying out like a bat out of hell XD There was always a gray area as to what exactly he does to make a living. And that makes for a compelling power/character.

Well, every power when used right is a good ability.

That aside, you didn't say anything about what would be the state of the object you last touched does not exist anymore (or destroyed from existence.). Also, another additional question: if the object you touch is immovable, well... Does it develop into a paradox? XD

whaddya mean immovable. You can obviously swap things you are only able to hold. Touching activates the effect, but if you can't carry the object then you cant apparate it. Common sense, plox