Summary
Possession is the ability to take direct control over someone or something internally. This ability is most commonly associated with spirits or demons possessing living people, however this ability can extend to possessing non-living things, including objects (inanimate or otherwise). Most commonly, the user is depicted as directly influencing the possessed victim's physical form via their soul inhabiting the victim's body. This is in contrast to abilities such as Body Puppetry or Mind Manipulation, which influence the victim's actions through external means such as Mind Control or forcing their body to respond to certain stimuli.
Types
- Type 1: Bodily Possession: Users are shown to take possession of a body. This type is further separated by three distinct "aspects":
- Aspect 1: Conscious Possession: Users are capable of possessing a target's body, however the victim's mind and soul remain unaffected and they are aware that the possession is happening.
- Aspect 2: Unconscious Possession: Users are capable of possessing a target's body, rendering the victim unconscious in the process. The level of unconsciousness varies from context, and the possessed victim may or may not be able to wake up mid-possession given the right circumstances. In extreme cases, a victim might be killed as part of this ability rather than being left unconscious alone.
- Aspect 3: Soul Transferal: Users are capable of possessing a target's body by forcing the victim's soul out of their body and putting their own soul in its place. Given that such a feat requires a direct influence over the soul, characters with this aspect of Possession naturally "possess" some form of Soul Manipulation.
- Type 2: Object Possession: Users are shown to take possession of an inanimate object. This type is further separated by three distinct "aspects":
- Aspect 1: Inanimate Possession: Users are capable of taking possession of a non-living object and inhabit it, but are not capable of doing anything with the object from inside it, aside from communicating with others from within it.
- Aspect 2: Animative Possession: Users are capable of taking possession of a non-living object and inhabit it, exerting a degree of influence over the object in question, with the caveat being that the possessor can only do things with the object that are a part of the object's function, such as causing a car to move or a door to lock. Depending on the type of object involved, characters with this aspect of Possession may "possess" some form of Technopathy.
- Aspect 3: Transformative Possession: Users are capable of taking possession of a non-living object and inhabit it, and can exert significant influence over the object in question, such as causing an otherwise-completely inanimate object to move or to change in such a way that allows the character to move while inside it. An example of this would be a user that possesses a statue of a figure, only for that statue to start moving as though it was a normal person due to the possession. This aspect also applies to feats in which an object visually changes its form to better accommodate the possessor, such as a possessed object suddenly sporting limbs or other parts to aid in performing actions. As with Aspect 2, depending on the object, users with this aspect may "possess" a form of Technopathy or other manipulation-based and transformative powers to coincide with their possession.
Notable Users
- Multiple Casper the Friendly Ghost characters
- Multiple Danny Phantom characters
- Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)
- Mario (Super Mario)
Notes
- It is common in fiction for a possessed character to exhibit some sort of visual marking to show that they're possessed, such as the color of the victim's eyes changing to match with the possessor, or for their eyes to glow in some way. Depending on the context, this may be intended as a visual metaphor that exists only for the audience to recognize, or it may be intended as an in-universe symptom of the possession in progress. It is likewise common for a body's voice to change to match with the possessor, and again it depends on the context as to whether this is to be seen as a detail that's exclusive to the audience to find or an in-universe symptom of possession.
- It's possible that certain pieces of fiction may choose to broaden the concept of possession beyond what's described on this page, such as possessing a target's mind or soul as opposed to their body or to fully corrupt the victims (even after the fact) that were possessed as an inherent part of the process. In such cases, profile creators are encouraged to try and find the closest approximation towards what's on this page and to explain the uniqueness of the Possession on the subject's profile, making sure to reference the other abilities that are included as a result of the feat in question. Do note, however, that you are not required to list an aspect or a type on your profile. In the event that the Possession feat being evaluated carries widely different circumstances and applications than what's on this page, you can still label the feat as Possession and simply explain the full details in parentheses.