@Mistress DizzyI wouldn't mind a few more details, you've given me a pretty good idea of what to expect, but it's always nice to see characters with psionic abilities being given a more in-depth (pun intended) explanation. Personally speaking i've always fancied the idea of mental control being a tug of war that pitted the psion's mental fortitude and will against that of the targeted person. Now I mentioned this in a thread a while back. T'is a good thing I was browsing some of my older posts in a separate to relive the past rps i've been in like the nostalgic bastard I am since it means I can just copy/paste the post I made regarding telepathic abilities:

". A telepath could easily sway some average schmuck on the street if said schmuck isn't prepared for a mental tug of war, but let's say that the telepath tried using their abilities on a hardened fighter: The fighter might not have quite the same level of mental fortitude as the telepath, but he's likely going to have good deal of willpower which can present a challenge, but isn't impossible. The fighter's lack of mental fortitude makes them a tad easier to wrest control of, but that high willpower means that they can still resist to some extent, and that even the slightest lapse in concentration might be all that they need to break free

Now, let's say we have a telepath try their abilities on a telekinetic with high mental fortitude but low willpower, again it'd be a challenge, maybe even more so than the fighter because the telekinetic understands the mind a bit better, but this too can be overcome with enough effort. The telekinetic's mental fortitude makes them a much more complex target and definitely draws out the time needed to ensnare them, but the lack of willpower means that the telepath can rest a bit easier than they could with the fighter.

tl;dr

Willpower = Harder to control but easier to ensnare.
Mental Fortitude = Harder to ensnare but easier to control."

This all being said, i'd still love to hear more of your take on it.
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Regarding Dimitri's appearance, i've done a bit of browsing about and the only picture i've ever been somewhat satisfied with was

with his prosthetic being something like

That's a really good explanation of what I'm going for. Will isn't always measured in psychic power. Even though Pulse doesn't have anything like that, Kassy would have a hell of a time forcing control on him. He's very strong willed, and extremely guarded emotionally. She could do it, but not without hurting him, most likely permanently. It's like the difference between opening a lockbox with the right key... and forcing it open. The broken box is never quite the same.

I like those ideas... I may try to incorporate them.

Also, I never picked Dimitri as blonde. ^^; He and Kassy have more in common than I thought.

Considering the already destructive and unstable nature of Dimitri's abilities I don't know if mind breaking him would be a good idea, lol. Then again Kassy could probably get away with a bit subtle influence since he actually trusts her. I've sort of come to picture Dimitri to be sort of like a dog that's been used for nothing but dog fights, at least in terms of personality: He's extremely quick to resort to aggression since it's pretty much all he knows now, and takes forever to actually trust someone. Once you get him to actually let his guard down around you, you've got a friend that not only thinks you can do no wrong, but will lay down and die for you if he has to. That being said, he's still a bit leery about things like affection and praise since he's not really used to it.

Part of why Kassy's so powerful but isn't godlike is actually in her personality. She's got a lot of magic, a lot, and if she really used it without any scruples, she'd make a powerful supervillain. Or have a cult.

I think that's the hinging point in what can be done with mental powers. Kassy doesn't shove her way into people's minds because she doesn't want to. She doesn't want to hurt people, she doesn't want to trespass. She could be absolutely broken, but what keeps her from being a Villain Sue is her own conscience. That may be the crux that is between a viable character and one that's broken.

So essentially she's got a mentality similar to Superman then, yes? Crushing anything that opposes you is easy, but finding the strength not to is hard. It says a lot about her as a character.

Heh. Well, I guess. The fact is that there's a historical precedent among her people, a prejudice that those with her subset of powers will do exactly that, take over without mercy. Unfortunately, it was true for quite a while. There is a reason for the legends of singing sirens and man-eating sea creatures... Kassy is one of the few families left with her kind of magic. She's too afraid to tell Pulse the whole deal, though.

*claws my way back to life* SO I've had 4 jobs in 4 months and the cuurrent one is full time. Yeah, my life is changing so fast I think I have whiplash. I'm going to try and post this weekend.

How are you Shade?

@Mistress Dizzy Good to see you again Diz! I've just been dying from exhaustion mostly, lol. I can relate to the fast pace changes; in the last few months went from full time worker and part time student to part time worker and full time student, to some strange amalgamation of the two, an back to full time student part time worker all to try and keep up with the bills and keep pace with my forensics major and all of the odd courses i'm required to take because of it (why a forensics major needs a goddamn philosophy class I will never know. Psychology I get, but why philosophy?). Things have thankfully cooled down, and not a moment too soon- I was afraid I was starting to develop a drinking habit to cope with the stress.

Yikes. Try not to drink too much. Also... PHILosophy? Yeah, that sounds like a bit of a cash grab.

In any case, full time job is going alright. I'm starting to balance out my life a bit more. I really want to succeed this time, and that means making sure I take care of myself and just don't fall into a pattern of constant work and no enjoyment for myself. Actually using the money I'm working so hard for will help. (Not to say I won't save, but I'm not going to guilt myself over some new books or a game.) I've got to learn not to just drop my hobbies. So I'm going to try and be more active with my RPs.

Also I'm getting married in T-minus 7 weeks and counting! So there's that, which is good but also stressful as all fuck. Bringing up some family shit too.

Yeah I thought the same thing, but hey fuck it, three credits is three credits. I can't promise I won't drink a lot, but I do promise to at least try. At least I always have a D.D. though, lol. Sorry to hear about the family drama, but congrats!! It may seems stressful now, but trust me when I say you'll look back on those feelings in a few years and laugh.

Ahaha, I'm getting married next week. I'm so nervous and happy at the same time. You won't see me from Wednesday to Monday. Saturday's the big day.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Crap, sorry I missed the chance to say congrats on your wedding date, been pretty busy. CONGRATS THOUGH DIZ!!!

No worries man. I was so crazy busy that day anyway.