History Main / TrueSight

* In ''FanWork/PersonaHeavenAfreaknamedpete'' as her power over her Persona increases Hiyori begins to be able to see what people playing VRMMOs look like IRL and in the real world can see whatever they want their ideal self to be.

* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': Kallen Geass, in a nutshell - in addition to giving her XRayVision, it also allows her to see the Prorok Robeast ''while in the Blade of Marmora base's pocket dimension.''

* In ''LightNovel/{{Reaper}}'', Sofi can see the usually invisible effects of magic, the true forms of shape changers, and even see Death's true form. Though she was almost overwhelmed seeing Death's true form.

Whatever the case, to see to the heart of the matter, you need the True Sight. This trait cuts through illusions to show objective, absolute truth, rendering all of that stuff above useless. Of course, it may well come at a price, either on a per-use basis something or more permanent, such as the loss of your [[BlindSeer earthly vision]]. On the other hand, it may just be hereditary, or a natural ability of your particular race, in which case, lucky you. Or it could be an ability bequeathed by some special object.

While True Sight always involves true perception, it doesn't always give the user the ability to properly interpret what they see. Thus, they may see the truth and still come to an incorrect conclusion, and there may be reliable ways of fooling them. Frequently, [[MundaneSolution non-magical or low-tech methods]] work just fine: True Sight could see through a wizard's use of an illusion spell to make themselves look like someone else, but can be defeated by someone disguising themself using makeup, a fake beard, and different clothing.

Additionally, there can be "degrees" to True-Sight. If the illusion looks faded out to the user for example, then the True-Sight user will know that there is an illusion there. However, if the True-Sight pierces right through the illusion (making them see things ''exactly'' as they really are), then a True-Sight user might fail to point this out to others around them (like not pointing out an illusion hiding a hole in the floor to the party because they think everyone else should be seeing such an obvious hole in the floor).

* In ''Tabletopgame/{{Shadowrun}}'', magicians can use Astral Perceiving to see a person's true aura.
* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has ''ten'' different kinds of True Sight. Mage Sight allows a mage to perceive the world through one of the ten Arcana. All Arcana will allow you to see magic, but Space Sight will allow you to instantly judge distances and perceive spatial anomalies, Life Sight lets you tell how healthy a person is, Spirit Sight lets you see dematerialized spirits, and so forth.

* A major strategy element in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' is the use of optical camouflage, concealment, and cover to be unseen by the enemy. As such, there are several units and building types that have "Detector" status, meaning they can thwart such tricks. The same aspect is used in '' VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' (even using the name TrueSight for the passive version).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Things are not as they seem. What you see is not what's truly there. It may be a building rendered {{Invisibl|ity}}e, or a person who has [[VoluntaryShapeshifting taken the guise of another]]. It may be InvisibleToNormals, hidden by thermostatic camouflage, holographic, a PerceptionFilter, a {{Glamour}}, or even some kind of implausibly specific hallucinogen.

Things are not as they seem. What you see is not what's truly there. It may be a building rendered {{Invisible}}, or a person who has [[VoluntaryShapeshifting taken the guise of another]]. It may be InvisibleToNormals, hidden by thermostatic camouflage, holographic, a PerceptionFilter, a {{Glamour}}, or even some kind of implausibly specific hallucinogen.

* ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiracies'': The main character, Nick Logan, is capable of perceiving the true appearance of camouflaged aliens, whether they are shapeshifters (Lycanthropes), using holograms (Vampires) or installed inside a human host (like the Vodun).

While True Sight always involves true perception, it doesn't always give the user the ability to properly interpret what they see. Thus, they may see the truth and still come to an incorrect conclusion, and there may be reliable ways of fooling them.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and other Kryptonians' have the ability to see through illusions since their super-senses allow them to check the full spectrum to make sure that something is real. In ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica''/''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' crossover ''The Lightning Saga'', ComicBook/PowerGirl and Superman use their x-ray vision to see through [[ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} Princess Projecta]]'s mirages.

->'''Dabbler:''' She saw through it! That orb gives her the most powerful truesight I've ever encountered. A succubus glamor is designed to be impenetrable!\\

Things are not as they seem. What you see is not what's truly there. It may be a building rendered {{Invisible}}, or a person who has [[VoluntaryShapeshifting taken the guise of another]]. It may be InvisibleToNormals, hidden by thermoptic camouflage, holographics, a PerceptionFilter, a {{Glamour}}, or even some kind of implausibly specific hallucinogen.

Whatever the case, to see to the heart of the matter, you need the True Sight. This trait cuts through illusions to show objective, absolute truth, rendering all of that stuff above useless. Of course, it may well come at a price, either on a per use basis something or more permanent, such as the loss of your [[BlindSeer earthly vision]]. On the other hand, it may just be hereditary, or a natural ability of your particular race, in which case, lucky you. Or it could be an ability bequeathed by some special object.

Additionally there can be "degrees" to True-Sight. If the illusion looks faded out to the user for example, then the True-Sight user will know that there is an illusion there. However if the True-Sight pierces right through the illusion (making them see things ''exactly'' as they really are), then a True-Sight user might fail to point this out to others around them (like not pointing out an illusion hiding a hole in the floor to the party because they think everyone else should be seeing such an obvious hole in the floor).

Often a function of the MagicalEye. Not to be confused with precognition, the domain of {{Seers}}, or [[PsychicPowers clairvoyance]], usually the viewing of distant places. Often bundled with SupernaturalSensitivity and/or AuraVision. Supertrope of SeeThruSpecs, glasses or other lenses that have this ability, and SeeTheInvisible, which affects only {{Invisibility}}. Compare ByTheEyesOfTheBlind, in which something can only be seen by certain people; like a True Sight but in reverse. Contrast GlamourFailure, when the illusion has some flaw that can be perceived by normal sight. See also the antithesis, AntiTrueSight.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Sight}}'' Ichigo has ability to see Zanpakutou spirits, which the manifestations of the wielder's soul, making Ichigo become [[TheEmpath an empath]] and a LivingLieDetector through seeing them. The price of his ability that it gets stronger the zanpakutou can interact with him and the world around him, meaning the spirit can touch or hurt him if they desired to. [[spoiler:It has gotten strong enough that he can have other people physically interact with their Zanpakutou spirits.]]
* In ''Fanfic/HarmonyTheory'', Detective Hard Boiled's special talent includes true sight and LivingLieDetector. He can see things that are invisible and see through illusions and Changeling disguises.

* ''Fanfic/CitadelOfTheHeart'' has the entire HumanSubspecies of ''H. s. ultimorius'' of being able to see through {{Paper Thin Disguise}}s and anything even remotely similar in concept for better or worse. However, they can't turn the ability off; it's always ''on'' for them, meaning they can't force themselves to be fooled by whatever disguise or AFormYouAreComfortableWith is going on instead of seeing nothing but the truth. Typical side effects of laying eyes on Eldritch entities utilizing the latter tend to include overall SanitySlippage by the second for as long as visual contact lasts, eventually causing them to GoMadFromTheRevelation should they stare at such entities for too long. Grandis and Chronicler are the first individuals of this species made known in the fic, and Chronicler's HalfHumanHybrid nature actually allows him to turn off the effects of his TrueSight; something Grandis is actually impressed by considering Chronicler otherwise displays an amplified version of TrueSight overall, including being able to utilize XRayVision and a sonar-esque ability to see and interact with things.

* ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy:'' Krauss provides the BPRD with special goggles capable of seeing through magical glamour; the BPRD uses them to find trolls disguised as humans. As a ContinuityNod to the first film, when Hellboy himself is seen through these goggles, he's shown with longer horns and a fiery crown -- accoutrements of the Prince of Hell role that Hellboy has been rebelling against.

* In ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy,'' spirits brought into the human world are either invisible or [[{{Glamour}} disguised]], but can be properly seen on the "higher planes." Bartimaeus himself can see in seven planes,[[note]][[SourGrapes There's no reason to see more than that, anyone who claims that they can is just bragging.]][[/note]] so that he might be looking at what seems like an ordinary person but know that they're actually another djinni. Magicians have special contact lenses that let them see a few other planes, but not all seven.

** Wizards can use their Sight at will, with the caveat that anything they see, however wonderful or horrible, can never be forgotten, ever. It remains in their mind's eye, as fresh as if just seen, for the rest of their lives. When Harry catches a glimpse of an ancient horror, he has to ''rearrange the way he thinks'' just to make the seizures stop, and even then it's a good while before he stops shuddering. He only survives by learning to cope with what he Saw and uses all the other wonderful and horrific and terrifying things he has Seen to help his mind realize this thing isn't that special.
** ''Storm Front'' features a drug called [=ThreeEye=] which could temporarily give Sight to {{Muggle}}s, although the users don't realize this and think their trips to be hallucinations. Repeated use will make the Sight impossible to turn off, and seeing the true supernatural nature of the world around you (including the things you normally can't see at all, and don't ''want'' to) will inevitably reduce the user to permanent insanity.
** Also, in some novels, Harry creates an ointment to see through the Sidhe's glamour, which acts like a lesser version of True Sight, with the advantage that non-magic users can benefit from it as well.
** Mercenary Goodman Grey, a talented shapeshifter who inherited his powers by being [[spoiler:the scion of an evil Skinwalker, the above mentioned horror Harry Saw and sent his mind into siezures, and a mortal woman]] has some level of this. When Harry speaks with him outside of the home of Knight of the Cross Michael Carpenter, Grey refuses even invited entry to the yard, and his eyes look to two innocuous spots on the yard. Harry takes note and knows [[spoiler:that two {{Guardian Angel}}s take spots in those areas in their duty to protect the Carpenter House from supernatural threats]] and what is hidden is invisible to even magical senses short of using one's Sight.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', "Mad-Eye" Moody's magical false eye can see through solid objects, clothes and incidentally, invisibility cloaks.

* Creator/DeanKoontz's novel ''Twilight Eyes''. Only people with special purple eyes can see the creatures known as Goblins as they really are. It's later revealed that this manifests in different way including True Smell.
* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', certain human characters are able to see through the mist. Rachel Elizabeth Dare uses this ability to guide Percy and Co through the Labyrinth.

* "Witch Sight" in the ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'' series is able to detect spells and see through illusions.
* Way back in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', this was one of Sun Wukong's [[GodModeSue many, many powers]].

* In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's ''Literature/TheBoyAndTheDarkness'', after Danny lets a [[HumanoidAbomination Flying]] go, the other Wingers punish him by [[EyeScream cutting out his eyes]]. The Sunny Kitten restores his eyesight with the True Light. As a side effect, Danny's new eyesight is this trope. He is able to see through low-density objects (e.g. wood but not stone or metal) and becomes a LivingLieDetector. The Kitten warns Danny, though, that his new True Sight can cause him to see only the dark in people and develop a HolierThanThou attitude towards the others.
* In the novel of ''Literature/SentouYouseiYukikaze'', Yukikaze has a specialized sensor suite dubbed "Frozen Eye" that is far more sophisticated than any other plane in the Faery Air Force. This also turns out to be the only thing that can detect [[spoiler:miniature JAM teleportation portals]]. In the first novel, it's unclear what is being detected because it only shows up as a solid straight line on the cockpit computer screen, but in the second novel, it is revealed that what Frozen Eye is actually detecting is [[spoiler:a series of tiny vibrations in the air that outline the opening of a portal]], which is invisible to both the naked eye and regular radar.
* In ''Literature/TheFalconer'', the protagonist uses a special kind of thistle to be able to see fairies. There are people who can see fairies without such means, but they are very rare, and in great danger to be killed by the fairies, most of whom are malevolent.

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': The ability of certain Knights Radiant to see into Shadesmar acts as this. Certain spren can make themselves invisible in the Physical, but they'll still be visible in Shadesmar. Similarly, because of their corruption by Odium Fused souls look different than human or singer souls, allowing a Radiant to unmask ''mavset-im'' (Fused who can create illusions).

* On ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' the titular Grimms have the ability to see wesen (creatures revealed to be the basis of all fairytales) when the wesen lose control over their ability to hide their true forms. Any human can see a Wesen's true form, but that requires the Wesen to actively go "full [[GratuitousGerman woge]]", which requires even more effort than maintaining their human disguise. As one episode reveals, repeatedly going "full woge" can result in the Wesen being unable to maintain his or her human appearance for long.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', angels are naturally able to see the demons' true faces (which are apparently rather monstrous) instead of the face of the person that the demon is possessing. People about to be DraggedOffToHell by [[{{Hellhound}} Hellhounds]] can also see demons' true faces. As Bobby puts it "You're hell's bitch, so you can see its other bitches." [[spoiler:Dean]] uses this as an EleventhHourSuperpower and prevents one demon from getting the drop on them, and stops Sam from killing the child they think Lilith is possessing as he can see she's not possessed anymore. [[spoiler:Lilith gets around this by possessing Ruby's body, since Dean can't tell their faces apart.]]

* [[TheFairFolk Fairy tales]] frequently include a means for mortals to see the fair folk and/or see through their {{Glamour}}. Common mechanisms are a special ointment to be applied to the eyes, [[TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf looking in a mirror]], and looking through a stone with a natural hole in it. Having [[InTheBlood fairy ancestors]] also usually helps.
* One such ointment appears in a Slavic tale where a bandit hero was invited to the local lord's palace to make peace. His best friend accompanies him and, suspicious of the lord's men and their strange behavior, sneaks some of their ointment and applies it to one eye. Upon closing the other eye, he sees that the palace is really a ruin, the other guests are withered trees, the lord's men are hounds, and the lord is {{Satan}} himself.

* A major strategy element in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' is the use of optical camouflage, concealment, and cover to be unseen by the enemy. As such, there are several units and building types that have "Detector" status, meaning they are able to thwart such tricks. The same aspect is used in '' VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' (even using the name TrueSight for the passive version).

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has invisible wards, traps and champions which can only be revealed by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin True Sight]]. This can be provided by certain wards, trinkets, defensive towers and (until the Season 4 updates) Oracle's Elixir would give the champion using it a true sight radius.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' enemies could detect players in a variety of ways, sight being one of them. If an aggressive monster saw a player that wasn't absurdly higher in level than the monster, it would attack the player. Players could use magic spells or Invisible Powder items to become invisible for a time, or until they took most actions beyond simple movement, thus allowing them to safely prance in front of mobs that would otherwise attack on sight. In some cases, either Square Enix didn't want players able to traipse through an area without a fight, or were just being dicks, and made mobs with True Sight. Meaning they could see players through their invisibility. There were also mobs with True Sound, allowing them to detect players near them through the Sneak status that functioned like invisibility, but for sound. The key difference being that you could safely run behind True Sight mobs, but True Sound mobs would hear you, though sound detection distance was usually considerably less than sight detection.

* The [[SeeThruSpecs Lens of Truth]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' let you see invisible objects and creatures, see through walls that were normally opaque but weren't really there, and also see the contents of chests without opening them (thus avoiding booby traps, and wasting money, ammo, etc. when you can't carry any more.) It returns in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' had something similar in the form of the magnifying glass.
* Several characters (mostly those with great spiritual power) are able to see Amaterasu's true form in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate2'' has the ''AD&D'' version, which tends to be the go-to spell to eliminate invisibility and illusory defenses once the party is high enough in level to cast it. It was intended to be in part 1 as well (it is mentioned in the file spell.ids), but got dummied out, probably because in a vanilla game, clerics and especially wizards are unlikely to get high enough in level to actually use it.

* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': Sydney is surprised to find that her yellow orb, which gives her telepresence, also gives her an incredibly powerful truesight that can pierce even a succubus glamor with ease. Unfortunately, it has no ability to see through more mundane disguises, and [[UselessUsefulSpell illusionists are very rare on Earth]].

* A main character of ''Webcomic/{{Metempsychosis}}'' is given the ability of truesight upon making eye contact with an extradimensional dragon.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'' supernatural beings may or may not see through eachother's illusions depending on specialties, experience and power level, but the only mortal known to possess true sight is InspectorJavert... he is also low key AntiMagic. It might be a supernatural ability, or he might be just too stubborn and cynical for this crap. Likely has something to do with his [[Literature/LesMiserables Romani ancestry]] (to phrase it less politically correctly, he's at least half-Gypsy) and/or his comic-only relation to Morgan le Fay.

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' Kat sees straight through glamours caused by by the ether. Where others see an infinite labyrinth full of bizarre creatures, she sees a few divider walls hung with cheap Halloween decorations. Why isn't totally clear, but is presumably related to the way she sometimes appears within the ether as a [[AngelicAbomination terrifying metal angel]]. This lets her effortlessly manipulate etheric devices in ways that astound those around her, though it does come with a drawback.

* In a meta example, mods on this very wiki are able to see other users private messages. They are also the only users with the ability to view the mod jabbering threads.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Sight}}'' Ichigo has ability to see Zanpakutou spirits, which the manifestations of the wielder's soul, making Ichigo become [[TheEmpath an empath]] and a LivingLieDetector through seeing them. The price of his ability that it gets stronger the zanpakutou can interact with him and the world around him, meaning the spirit can touch or hurt him if they desired to. [[spoiler: It has gotten strong enough that he can have other people physically interact with their Zanpakutou spirits.]]

%% * Zoey's Seer Stone from ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight''.

* In the novel of ''Literature/SentouYouseiYukikaze'', Yukikaze has a specialized sensor suite dubbed "Frozen Eye" that is far more sophisticated than any other plane in the Faery Air Force. This also turns out to be the only thing that can detect [[spoiler: miniature JAM teleportation portals]]. In the first novel, it's unclear what is being detected because it only shows up as a solid straight line on the cockpit computer screen, but in the second novel, it is revealed that what Frozen Eye is actually detecting is [[spoiler: a series of tiny vibrations in the air that outline the opening of a portal]], which is invisible to both the naked eye and regular radar.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI" enemies could detect players in a variety of ways, sight being one of them. If an aggressive monster saw a player that wasn't absurdly higher in level than the monster, it would attack the player. Players could use magic spells or "Invisible Powder" items to become invisible for a time, or until they took most actions beyond simple movement, thus allowing them to safely prance in front of mobs that would otherwise attack on sight. In some cases, either SE didn't want players able to traipse through an area without a fight, or were just being dicks, and made mobs there "True Sight." Meaning they could see players through their invisibility. There were also "True Sound" mobs, that could detect players near them through the "Sneak" status that functioned like invisibility, but for sound. The key difference being that you could safely run behind True Sight mobs. True Sound mobs would hear you, though sound detection distance was usually considerably less than sight detection.

* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' during the Ascension in the Crystal Desert the player wants to achieve this. However this is for storytelling only, since the player doesn't gain any special ability and is meant to cut through the invisibility of the ''Unseen Gods'' ([[spoiler: The Mursaat, powerful mages]]). So a player who skips the middle part will still be able to see and fight the ''Unseen Gods'' properly.

* ''Website/ChatoyantCollege'': In Book 1 we find out that [[spoiler: Dawn]] has the gift of true sight. Later, we find out this is because [[spoiler: Dawn's Aunt Pru was given a special ointment by a faerie man]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "Mortal Recoil", the Ice King is revealed to be able to see spirits with his "wizard eyes", and was thus the first to notice [[spoiler: the Lich had possessed Princess Bubblegum]]. In "Beyond this Earthly Realm", Finn is trapped in the "spirit world", and must rely on the Ice King's help since the Ice King is the only person he knows who can see him.

** ''Storm Front'' featured a drug called [=ThreeEye=] which could temporarily give Sight to {{Muggle}}s, although the users don't realize this and think their trips to be hallucinations. Repeated use will make the Sight impossible to turn off, and seeing the true supernatural nature of the world around you (including the things you normally can't see at all, and don't ''want'' to) will inevitably reduce the user to permanent insanity.

* In ''Literature/TheFalconer'' the protagonist uses a special kind of thistle to be able to see fairies. There are people who can see fairies without such means, but they are very rare, and in great danger to be killed by the fairies, most of whom are malevolent.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Reaper}}'' Sofi can see the usually invisible effects of magic, the true forms of shape changers, and even see Death's true form. Though she was almost overwhelmed seeing Death's true form.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', angels are naturally able to see the demons' true faces (which are apparently rather monstrous) instead of the face of the person that the demon is possessing. People about to be DraggedOffToHell by [[{{Hellhound}} Hellhounds]] can also see demons' true face. Bobby puts as "You're hell's bitch, so you can see its other bitches." [[spoiler:Dean]] uses this as an EleventhHourSuperpower and prevents one demon from getting the drop on them, and stops Sam from killing the child they think Lilith is possessing as he can see she's not possessed anymore. [[spoiler:Lilith gets around this by possessing Ruby's body, since Dean can't tell their faces apart.]]

* Witches and Wizards on the Literature/{{Discworld}} have not second sight, but First Sight, and can see what's really there rather than what they expect to be there. This is partly because of magic and partly because they have no WeirdnessCensor. In ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'', Tiffany is told that the way to find the "witches' school" is to stand on a hill, open your eyes, and then open your eyes again. She realizes (eventually) that witches' school isn't a place, and just means seeing the world properly.

* In ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy,'' spirits brought into the human world are either invisible or [[{{Glamour}} disguised]], but can be properly seen on the "higher planes." Bartimaeus himself can see in seven planes[[note]][[SourGrapes there's no reason to see more than that, anyone who claims that they can is just bragging]][/note]], so that he might be looking at what seems like an ordinary person and know that he's actually another djinni. Magicians have special contact lenses that let them see a few other planes, but not all seven.

Additionally there can be "degrees" to True-Sight. If the illusions looks faded out to the user for example, then the True-Sight user would know that there was an illusion there. However if the True-Sight pierces right through the illusion (making them see things EXACTLY as they really are), then a True-Sight user might fail to point this out to others around them (like not pointing out an illusion hiding a hole in the floor to the party because they think everyone else should be seeing such an obvious hole in the floor).

[[folder:Literature]]]