Powers in the Elsaverse

Powers in the Elsaverse are defined as the mental and sensorial unnatural abilities some characters have in this fictional universe. These powers are originated in the Elsaverse's parallel universe, where they are more or less common and perfectly known by the population, and were slowly leaked into Sangrive for years, through the interdimensional portal Morland kept open in his mansion's dungeon.

Origins and Nature
Few details about powers' real origin and nature are provided, beyond the fact that they come from the parallel universe and seem to consist in enhanced mental abilities and sensorial-related skills. No examples of classical fictional powers, like flying abilities, have been depicted so far, and many of them actually consist in the subject being able to influence or trick other people's senses and awareness. It's not clear whether these powers are innate in the parallel world or a result of some kind of personal development of the subjects, although a genetic factor seems to be involved, as children from parents with powers tend to have powers too, albeit different ones.

In Sangrive, though, all documented cases follow a similar pattern: they are people raised in the city, with a very distinctive character trait since their childhood, or who extensively trained or practiced a specific skill from a very young age, and who experienced that trait or skill turning into a real power when they reached college age. The canon explanation given in Saving Chloe (2018) is that those powers were slowly leaking into town through the interdimensional portal Morland kept open in his mansion; this seems to indicate that powers are kind of an infection, that only unleashes all its potential on very specific subjects. No Sangrive local who was already born when the portal was open, around 40 years ago, presents any power, thus meaning that only some children are effectively affected by that power leak. Again, it's not clear whether these kids' distinctive traits were innate to them or are also a result of the power leak: Alexis, who only moved to Sangrive in sixth grade but still developed a power, could prove that traits are innate and then enhanced by the power leak later on, but Joey's power hardly fits in that explanation, as it's quite difficult to imagine what innate human trait could be enhanced to let him communicate with dead people.

As it's explicitly stated in Chasing Beth (2021) post-credits story, and also hinted several times throughout the whole saga, most powers can be turned on and off at will and focused on specific targets, but their intensity can rarely be graduated. Some people who are still unaware of them having a power are probably using theirs unconsciously, but, usually, the person with a power can train that skill to master their control over it. However, powers' impact on others varies greatly depending on the power, as some of them have almost no limits to their effectiveness and can even be lethal, while others have a limited range or only work individually or with people from the parallel universe, and can be blocked by partial or total immunity even by ordinary humans.

Side Effects
One of the most interesting aspects of the way powers are portraited in the Elsaverse saga is how those powers effect their bearers' daily life and even mental health. The most obvious example of this would be Jessica Springfield, who was dragged down into a self-destructive spiral partly due to the thought that the feelings of her closest friends for her may not be real, but involuntarily induced by her power. The fact that the power's first manifestation sometimes occurs in a tragic manner, like Jessica's realization of her powers, or Sarah Murray's own experience in Darkness Falls (2018-2019), can also hit hard, and the storytelling tends to put an emphasis on those emotional situations. But, in most cases, the main problem these people have to face is that they all think they are alone in this, and that their power is a singular case in the world. The fear to be discovered by others and outed as "freaks" leads them to keep their abilities as a secret even for their closest ones, to the point that a vast majority of the people with powers are depicted as lonely individuals who have distanced themselves from others. And even those who can trust that secret to others, like AAA (2018-2019) protagonists, are so used to think they are unique that never even imagined that there could be other people with powers too. Paul's first meeting with Xara's Angels in Saving Chloe and Jessica's role in that group are pretty explanatory of this mental burden: even though most of these people are already aware they have a power, Xara still needs Jessica to calm them down when raising the topic to them, as they feel exposed and threatened after realizing someone else knows about their unnatural ability.

There are other minor side effects that some people experience, especially when they rely so much on their power. For instance, Alexis, who can read people's emotions just by looking at them, seems to have a really hard time to understand people's tone and intentions in written exchanges, when she can't see her counterpart. In other cases, like Joey's empathy and ability to see the human side of stories, the subject developes a secondary trait, derivated from their original power. Other side effects are of a more physiological nature, like Beth's health issues after coming back from a traumatic period in the desert in which she was using her power almost permanently, or the progressive tiredness Brandon Henderson experiences when he repeteadly uses his power again and again, thus slowly decreasing its effectiveness; not to mention the physical pain Emily is forced to bear whenever she heals another person's injuries.

Confirmed Cases
Here's a list of Elsaverse's characters with confirmed powers, ordered by their first appearance in the saga (even though their powers may have been unveiled later on).

Likely Cases
Some characters seem to have special abilities which are very likely to be an actual power, but the real nature and dimension of this power have not been disclosed yet.

Controversial Cases
There are other characters with special abilities that could be labelled as powers, but those skills may have other possible origins or are explicitly said not being powers: