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Twin Telepathy: Difference between revisions
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In fiction, at least, it is common for twins - especially identical twins (or brother-sister twins who [[Half-Identical Twins|seem otherwise identical]]) - to seem to share a [[Psychic Link]], even in series which do not otherwise have any paranormal element. This connection may vary from a vague feeling of when the other twin is in danger, to continuous [[Telepathy|telepathic]] communication, to being an outright [[Hive Mind]]. They often [[Synchronization|experience each other's injuries]] as part of their link, and frequently [[Finishing Each Other's Sentences|finish each other's sentences]]. In a very few cases, the siblings involved are not twins.
Thanks to the [[Mindlink Mates]] trope, this level of closeness can lead to [[Twincest|other interpretations]] of their relationship.
Compare with other types of [[Psychic Link|Psychic Links]].
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* ''[[Trigun|Trigun Maximum]]'' has a pretty literal example, with {{spoiler|Knives's ability to invade Vash's mind and the plants' general ability to communicate with each other over great distances. When Knives is using his power, Vash can also 'feel' it from kilometers away}}. On the other hand, they disagree on almost everything and really don't understand each other. In fact, they suffer from a really bad communication breakdown.
* In the manga of [[Ouran High School Host Club]], during the test of courage chapter. Hikaru and Kaoru are separated, and the latter gets locked in a classroom. Hikaru somehow manages to find Kaoru and explains that he had heard his twin's voice telling him where he was, even though Kaoru had no way of telling his twin his whereabouts and Hikaru could not have found out through someone else.
* Ako and Riko from [[Kiss X Sis]] tend to know when the other is up to shenanigans. They even [[Lampshade]] it when one of them is having a particularly [[Ecchi]] [[Imagine Spot]] by the other one calling them out on it.
* Seen in Volume 8 of [[Arisa]]; as Tsubasa is hurt, Arisa flatlines in the hospital, and Tsubasa even says not to underestimate the bond between twins as she races to help Arisa.
* Sorta used in the [[Vampire Princess Miyu]] manga, with the Minami twins. Eldest twin Rima can't leave their home {{spoiler|because she's a fullblooded mermaid who lives in a tank}}, but she can see the outside world through the senses and specially the eyes of Mari, the youngest twin.
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** In ''Cold Fire'', the third book of the ''[[Circle of Magic|The Circle Opens]]'' series, also by [[Tamora Pierce]], the main character teaches magic to a pair of twin girls who have this kind of connection, although, as in the previous example, it is more empathic than telepathic, and appears to be mostly restricted to knowing when the other one is hurt or in danger.
* ''[[Dexter]]'' comments on the apparent telepathy between Astor and Cody (sister and brother, she's three years older). Judging by his comments in the novels, either he's noticing it more (and finding it more worth mentioning) or it's getting stronger as they get older.
** Dexter himself seems to experience this, at least in the novel, with {{spoiler|his older, almost identical, brother, Brian, to the extent that Dexter often finds himself inadvertently observing Brian's murders and on at least one occasion instinctively knowing his location, initially leading both he and the reader to suspect that Dexter may be the real Ice Truck Killer.}}
* In ''Dead Beat'' of ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Harry notices a pair of twins in the pub that he knows by sight that have twin telepathy. In the scene, they're playing chess together, which (amusingly) Harry finds somewhat masturbatory.
* In the first book of the ''[[Evil Genius Trilogy]],'' Jemima and Niobe (AKA [[Meaningful Name|Jem and Ni]]) are psychic twins that used their telepathic link to coordinate several successful burglaries, until they were enrolled in the [[School for Scheming|Axis Institute]]. Unfortunately, their bond doesn't survive the strain of the coursework, and their part in the novel ends with Ni stoving Jem's head in with a computer monitor.
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* ''[[The Power of Five|The Power of Five's]]'' Jaime and Scott Tyler's power; both can read minds but decided to read each other's minds instead of other people's because of the evil thoughts humanity can possess.
* In [[Julian May]]'s ''[[Saga of the Exiles]]'' tetralogy, twins Kuhal Earthshaker and Fian Skybreaker are so closely linked that they more-or-less form only one person between them.
* The twin brothers Jacob and Alex Teller of ''[[The Shapeshifter]]'' series have psychic link as well as a knack for impersonations.
* In ''Slapstick'', by [[Kurt Vonnegut]], the main character and his sister can think as one and combine their intelligences if close together.
* Kathryn Lasky's ''Starbuck Family'' series of juvenile mysteries features two sets of telepathic twins: [[Half-Identical Twins]] Liberty and July, and their identical younger sisters, Charly and Molly. Their [[Twin Telepathy]] allows all four to communicate with any of the other three, despite the pairs being several years apart in age.
* In ''The Stone Prince'' by Fiona Patton, a novel about a royal family touched by the gods, two of the characters, identical twin princes, are linked Seers. They were Siamese twins at one point (broken apart during birth) and have complementary powers -- one gets his visions at night, the other in the daytime. As knights, they fight cooperatively, without thinking, and other sets of twins in the realm try to imitate their style. And finally, when one goes insane, the other nearly goes with him. Since inheriting the throne would involve literally becoming the vessel of their God, that too would be problematic Would the God know which one of them was first-born, or would It take both of them? If it picked on one, what would happen to the other? There are hints that this has indeed happened in the backstory, and that it ended badly. Oh, and they sleep together, though no sex is implied.
* The Angevin Empire of the ''[[Lord Darcy]]'' series does the same in Michael Kurland's ''A Study In Sorcery'', using [[Twin Telepathy]] to send covert messages across the Atlantic and keep real-time tabs on their New World settlements. Only thirty-six people are entrusted with the secret of this communication method.
* The [[Robert A. Heinlein]] juvenile ''[[Time
* In Heinlein's ''[[Time Enough for Love]]'', [[Opposite Sex Clone]] twins Lapis Lazuli Long and Lorelei Lee Long claim to possess this. It's never verified (and the other characters display an uncharacteristic lack of interest in exploring the phenomenon), but they do talk in [[Finishing Each Other's Sentences]] and generally behave like [[Single-Minded Twins]].
* Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are shown to have instances of [[Twin Telepathy]] in the ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' series, although it only seems to manifest at plot-relevant moments.
* Bran and Matthew Maddox of ''[[A Swiftly Tilting Planet]]'' possess the ability to sense what the other is [[The Empath|feeling]].
* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', {{spoiler|Squirrelflight and Leafpool}} had this in their earlier books.
* Kestrel and Bowman Hath, the main characters of William Nicholson's ''The Wind on Fire'' trilogy, have this for no adequately explained reason. Actual telepathy, not just an empathic connection.
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* Mas and Menos of ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' apparently have this, as Mas was able to sense when Menos was frozen.
* [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]] and [[She-Ra]] exhibited instances of this trope from time to time, although not frequently.
* [[Invoked]] on ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]],'' when [[Superboy]] and [[Superpower Lottery|Miss Martian]] go undercover as supervillain twins. Since Miss Martian is psychic, Superboy explains their connection as being a result of this trope.
== Real Life ==
* According to various real-life stories, this trope is indeed [[Truth in Television]], at least occasionally.
** In an episode of ''[[Iron Chef|Iron Chef America]]'', guest judges [[Sister, Sister|Tia and Tamera Mowry]] noted that the challengers, identical twin chefs Nicola & Fabrizio Carro, were a lot quieter than everyone else and communicated more with slight glances and motions. The girls said they did the same thing. Of course, that comes more from simply being ''extremely'' familiar with each other than anything that would mean [[Synchronization|kicking one means the other feels it.]]
** A pair of French identical twins, appropriately known as Les Twins, are a dance duo that have said that they can "feel what the other is going to do before he does it". This can be seen in their freestlye dance battles, where the two are effortlessly in sync with one another.
* Horrifyingly tested by the Nazis in Wold War II. Mengele in particular was fascinated with identical twins and would perform experiments to see if they could feel each other's pain or distress by separating them and giving one good conditions and then torturing or inducing diseases in the other.
* A somewhat less fantastical possible explanation for identical twins, at least as children while their environment has been mostly the same, seeming to know each other's thoughts and mimic one another's actions unprovoked: given the same genetic predispositions and similar parenting and resources, they're wired to have predictably similar thoughts and actions, and to make similar decisions given the same stimuli.
** Which means the real life examples are rather [[Single-Minded Twins]], not as extreme as in fiction, of course.
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