History Main / ForgotAboutTheMindReader

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] near the end of the comic. When Liquid executes FOXHOUND's hacking specialist for discovering the upcoming [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Shadow Moses terror plot]], Ocelot comments that his partner Eddie will certainly notice. Liquid states that he'll kill Eddie too before suddenly remembering that he's a psychic and therefore will see an ambush coming. Liquid has Mantis, a much more powerful psychic, [[SubvertedTrope ambush him instead.]]

* Harry tends to grumble about this in the sequel of ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', thanks to his powerful PsychicPowers and the fact that he lives in a school full of [[HormoneAddledTeenager teenagers]].

-> ''I would like you all to know that whatever thoughts of mine you're reading are totally made up. They aren't real.''
-->--'''Marco''', ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] near the end of the comic. When Liquid executes FOXHOUND's hacking specialist for discovering the upcoming [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Shadow Moses terror plot]], Ocelot comments that his partner Eddie will certainly notice. Liquid states that he'll kill Eddie too before suddenly remembering that he's a psychic and will see an ambush coming. Liquid has Psycho Mantis, an ''immensely'' more powerful psychic [[SubvertedTrope ambush him instead.]]

* In ''Film/MinorityReport'' main character Anderton kidnaps one of the three children used to predict future crimes and brings her to somebody to have her mind scanned, who wastes no time in wondering out loud if she's reading his mind right now and then blurts out this little gem: "Those thoughts about my cousin Elena, those were *just* - *thoughts*!"

* In ''ShamanKing'' this happens with Hao as the Mind Reader. [[spoiler: With Anna too, before she lost that power.]]

* In episode 17 of "OuranHighSchoolHostClub", this happens to Haruhi when she wonders how Tamaki and Kyouya compliment each other so well. Kyouya, being the Shadow King that he is, repeats back her pondering almost word for word.

* Played straight, if externally, in ''{{Starcraft}}'', when Kerrigan cuts short her introduction to berate Jim Raynor on the thoughts he was having about her:

* Reversed in a notable episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''. Dexter tries to gain telepathy to read his father's mind and find out what his birthday presents are. He ends up having his every thought uncontrollably communicated to everyone, which leads numerous times to insulting people.

* Subverted in ''Manga/FairyTail'', when [[ArcVillain Brain]] tells Cobra he did well against Natsu, while Cobra can hear him thinking [[YouHaveFailedMe otherwise.]] Except Brain ''knew'' this, and said what he did [[FauxAffablyEvil simply to mock Cobra.]]

A character is thinking something either unflattering or romantic about another character. He's rambling on via internal monologue without a care in the world...until he remembers that the character he's thinking about [[MindReading can read minds]]. Still speaking only in his head, he gasps, "Oh God, did she just hear that?" The answer is ''always'' "Of course she did."

* A dramatic version from ''Series/{{Angel}}'', where Lorne can read people's auras and thoughts when they sing. Wesley is meant to be taking baby Connor for the night, picking him up from current babysitter Lorne, but actually plans on kidnapping him (for complicated, if well-intentioned, reasons). He nearly escapes without suspicion, but when Connor starts to fuss Wesley unconsciously hums a lullaby to him, before meeting Lorne's eye and [[OhCrap realising what he's just done]].
* Used word-for-word (save for "he" instead of "she") in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' between Audrey and the telepathic Matt.

* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] gets the 'temporary powers' version and finds out what Xander's ''really'' thinking:

* In [[LegacyOfTheDrowSeries Siege of Darkeness]] where in order to protect himself from the mind reader he's confronting, one character will repeatedly picture himself performing gratuitous sex acts with said mind reader, repelling her.

* Doctor Nemesis of ''[[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} X-Club]]'' gets saddled with this problem after a telepathic starfish bonds to his head and starts broadcasting his internal monologues. He and Doctor Rao discovered the starfish was telepathic when it broadcasted that Doctor Nemesis frequently admires Doctor Rao's "shapely behind". The starfish later broadcasts Nemesis' jealousy of Cyclops' costume and his craving for his co-worker Jeffries' friendship.

** The first three lines were lifted almost directly from an episode of ''NightCourt''. Christine isn't a telepath, however, she just knows Fielding has a dirty mind. Fielding's final line is a slow "Fair enough..." while nodding and grinning slyly.

* In ''Franchise/CityOfHeroes'' everyone in Paragon City seems to forget that it's pointless to try to keep things from Sister Psyche' since she is stuck listening to surface thoughts all day everyday anyway.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* {{Superman}} Expy the Plutonian from the comic series ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' has superhuman hearing. While not the same as telepathy, it allows him to hear what everyone on earth is saying about him, ''all the time''.

[[folder:Film]]
* Played for serious dramatic effect in ''{{Film/Serenity}}'', wherein key members of the corrupt government's parliament are brought in to observe a SuperSoldier in the making. What everyone forgot is that the prototype soldier's brain had also been experimented on to make her a psychic, which led to a dangerous secret leaking out, and [[spoiler: the Operative being unleashed to do everything in his power to murder an escaped River.]]
* For some reason, this keeps happening in ''Film/WhatWomenWant'', even though most of the female characters have no idea Mel Gibson's character has gained telepathy. One of the more painful examples has to be Helen Hunt's character thinking, "Oh, God, I just stared at his crotch!" -- and ''covering her eyes'', because that does ''not'' look suspicious at all.
* In ''Film/MinorityReport'' main character Anderton kidnaps one of the three children used to predict future crimes and brings her to somebody to have her mind scanned, who wastes no time in wondering out loud if she's reading his mind right now and then blurts out this little gem: "Those thoughts about my cousin Elena, those were *just* - *thoughts*!"

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* [[http://dilbert.com/strip/1993-05-19 This]] ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon.
** In the book, Scott Adams's commentary on the cartoon reads, "It's probably a good idea women don't know what men are thinking most of the time."
[[/folder]]

* The ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship'' comic [[http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF160-The_Dreamcatcher3000.gif "The Dreamcatcher 3000."]]

--> '''Naomi''': (Yeah, I'll fix you up ''real'' good, you stupid won't-die son of a bitch...)
--> '''Mantis''': Hello? Mind reader floating ''right here''.

*** This goes into MindScrew territory later on [[spoiler:when we learn that Mantis' mind reading [[ConsummateLiar never worked on Ocelot in the first place]]. Basically, Ocelot went around ''pretending to relish the fact that Mantis can't hear his thoughts'' while being immune already in order to put up a show for the person who gave him the anti-telepathy nanites.]]

* This is exactly what happens to Ranma in the climax of the ''RanmaOneHalf'' manga, where it's deliberately left ambiguous whether his declaration of love for Akane was internal or external. She reacts as though it was the latter, though.

* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' cartoon, the title character is in the restaurant with his date, and his date has a look of increasing alarm on her faces (yes, faces). The following scene is typed from memory, but in essence it goes as follows:
-->'''Dilbert:''' I must admit, this is the first time I've been on a date with a two-headed telepath. Now I'm sure some of the thoughts you're picking up seem strange and disturbing, but I assure you, these are perfectly normal thoughts for a guy.
-->''The date's hair stands on end and her eyes bug out.''
-->'''Dilbert:''' Well, maybe not that last one.

** One of the books[[note]]''Liberty's Crusade'' by Jeff Grubb[[/note]] reveals that he merely [[ShesGotLegs complimented her legs]].
*** That wasn't Raynor. ''Starcraft: Flashpoint'' has Kerrigan remembering the incident, and it was apparently something much more graphic.

* Played for serious dramatic effect in ''[[{{Film/Serenity}} Serenity]]'', wherein key members of the corrupt government's parliament are brought in to observe a SuperSoldier in the making. What everyone forgot is that the prototype soldier's brain had also been experimented on to make her a psychic, which led to a dangerous secret leaking out, and [[spoiler: the Operative being unleashed to do everything in his power to murder an escaped River.]]
* For some reason, this keeps happening in ''WhatWomenWant'', even though most of the female characters have no idea Mel Gibson's character has gained telepathy. One of the more painful examples has to be Helen Hunt's character thinking, "Oh, God, I just stared at his crotch!" -- and ''covering her eyes'', because that does ''not'' look suspicious at all.
* In ''MinorityReport'' main character Anderton kidnaps one of the three children used to predict future crimes and brings her to somebody to have her mind scanned, who wastes no time in wondering out loud if she's reading his mind right now and then blurts out this little gem: "Those thoughts about my cousin Elena, those were *just* - *thoughts*!"

* ''Something Is Out There'' (a short-lived sci-fi series on NBC). The alien protagonist Ta'Ra is telepathic; unfortunately she's also a hot chick so she's constantly angry over how these Earth people want to "do that with her body" (her species has a [[BizarreAlienBiology somewhat different way of making love]]).