History Main / LivingBodysuit

* ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'': Immortals has a race of humans known as bodythieves, who could take complete and permanent control of their victims, their last body dying as if it through natural causes.

** The Dominate discipline from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' also had the Possession ability. The Animalism discipline had a similar ability that only worked on animals.

Unlike the average meat puppet, the Living Body suit is also completely under the hijacker's direct control (though there are exceptions to the rule); this can usually leave the possessor's real body (if any) prone to attack, due to being comatose without a soul, or mind, which can in itself lead to a DemonicPossession from ''another'' BodySnatcher.

* In ''{{Angel}}'' when Illyria tried to return to life its body had been destroyed eons ago, requiring it to find a new one. [[spoiler: It takes Fred's, though the process kills her body and destroys the soul.]]

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' (v3.5) held a necromancy spell called "Magic Jar" which allowed a spell caster to possess a Living Bodysuit while the body's original soul was sent to a jewel of a container. Also, Psionic characters held the chance to switch minds or dominate those of their victims, allowing for a Living Bodysuit to be made with a mere thought!

* ''WorldOfDarkness'': Immortals has a race of humans known as bodythieves, who could take complete and permanent control of their victims, their last body dying as if it through natural causes.
** VampireTheRequiem has a discipline called Domination, which holds as its heighest level of power the ability called "Possession" allowing the vampired in question to tranfer his/her mind into the body of any living bodysuit until that body falls unconcious (this can be a serious drawback however, if the vampire uses this ability and doesn't move their own body away from possible exposure to sunlight).

* Excruciators from ''MonstersAndOtherChildishThings'' have a particularly nasty way of rendering people into a Living Bodysuit. They're bizarre and overly-tentacled monstrosities, so to hide their true nature they literally hollow out a person, then use their ([[AndIMustScream still living and conscious]]) outer layer as a suit to disguise themselves as human. Oh, and there's no indication in the game that the bodysuit can be saved or returned to normal.

* In ''MassEffect'', The Reapers can commandeer their mooks and boost their combat abilities significantly. [[spoiler:Sovereign can even resurrect Saren's [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul mostly-cybernetic body]] for this purpose, while Harbinger relies on genetically-engineered mooks.]]

** The Earthbound from ''DemonTheFallen'' usually have their [[DealWithTheDevil Thralls]] hollowed out of all free will so that they can ride the meat puppets as they wish.

* Rasputin in ''{{Hellboy}}'' is this, in that he has some part of the EldritchAbomination creature inside of him, which, when released, is much bigger than Rasputin's normal body.

* Edgar the Bug from ''MenInBlack''.

* Impa in LegendOfZelda: Oracle of Ages gets possessed by [[BigBad Vera]] in order to sneak into the Oracle's sanctuary with Link.

** The Dominate discipline from ''VampireTheMasquerade'' also had the Possession ability. The Animalism discipline had a similar ability that only worked on animals.

* ''[[YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less benevolent spirit.

* Digimon season 2 has [[spoiler: Malomyotismon]] hiding out in [[spoiler: Owikawa]]

Note that when a Living Bodysuit is possessed by a monstrous entity of evil or horrific alien origin (e.g a demon or aberration), it becomes [[CthulhusTux Cthulhu's Tux]].

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'', Lyta Alexander is Kosh's suit whenever he wants to travel or run errands incognito.
* In ''TheVampireDiaries'' a spell is used to possess[[spoiler: Alaric]] with [[spoiler: the ancient vampire Klaus.]] Given the level of [[spoiler: Klaus' apparent paranoia, this is likely to avoid exposing his real body to danger.]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' (v3.5) held a necromancy spell called "Magic Jar" which allowed a spell caster to possess a Living Bodysuit while the body's original soul was sent to a jewel of a container. Also, Psionic characters held the chance to switch minds or dominate those of their victims, allowing for a Living Bodysuit to be made with a mere thought!
** ''{{Ghostwalk}}'' is a setting that details on a city of ghosts characters can venture to, and become part of. One type of ghost the characters can choose to be allows for them to possess specific races they choose after gaining the ability.
* ''WorldOfDarkness'': Immortals has a race of humans known as bodythieves, who could take complete and permanent control of their victims, their last body dying as if it through natural causes.
** VampireTheRequiem has a discipline called Domination, which holds as its heighest level of power the ability called "Possession" allowing the vampired in question to tranfer his/her mind into the body of any living bodysuit until that body falls unconcious (this can be a serious drawback however, if the vampire uses this ability and doesn't move their own body away from possible exposure to sunlight).
** The Dominate discipline from ''VampireTheMasquerade'' also had the Possession ability. The Animalism discipline had a similar ability that only worked on animals.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''{{Geist}}'' was famous for the possession mechanic, as you made everyone your personal costume and disguise.
* ''{{Bioshock}}'s'' Big Daddies are perhaps literal examples of this trope, as they are made by grafting human organs into a diving suit.
* In ''MassEffect'', The Reapers can commandeer their mooks and boost their combat abilities significantly. [[spoiler:Sovereign can even resurrect Saren's [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul mostly-cybernetic body]] for this purpose, while Harbinger relies on genetically-engineered mooks.]]
* An arguably nicer BioWare example is the sweet little girl Wild Flower in ''JadeEmpire.'' The poor child has two entities battling for supremacy inside her. You end up having to forcibly evict one of them.
* In the [[HGame Illusion game]] ''School Mate 2'', the female lead accidentally desecrates a shrine to [[ThreeFacesOfEve three sisters]], who take revenge by possessing her until she performs a series of tasks, all of them sexual, with the assistance of a male acquaintance who was present. [[ManySpiritsInsideOfOne Any of them can hijack her body at any time, switching hair, eyes and bust to each character]], but they're also capable of [[MindScrew manipulating her without taking direct control]]. [[spoiler: In the end it was all [[ShipperOnDeck an excuse to get the leads hooked up]], and enjoy some pleasures of the flesh while they're at it. There was no curse to be broken so they can still seize control, but by that point they have a more cooperative relationship.]]
* Eddie from ''GuiltyGear'' is actually the shadow that Zato-One manipulates for his attacks. However, after a bout of RealLifeWritesThePlot following the death of Zato-One's seiyuu, Eddie was made the primary host of the body with Zato-One merely acting as the vessel through which it connects to reality.

* ''[[YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.

* In the [[HGame Illusion game]] ''School Mate 2'', the female lead accidentally desecrates a shrine to [[ThreeFacesOfEve three sisters]], who take revenge by possessing her until she performs a series of tasks, all of them sexual, with the assistance of a male acquaintance who was present. [[ManySpiritsInsideOfOne Any of them can hijack her body at any time, switching hair, eyes and bust to each character]], but they're also capable of [[MindScrew manipulating her without taking direct control]]. [[spoiler: In the end it was all [[ShipperOnBoard an excuse to get the leads hooked up]], and enjoy some pleasures of the flesh while they're at it. There was no curse to be broken so they can still seize control, but by that point they have a more cooperative relationship.]]

Unlike the average meat puppet, the Living Body suit is also completely under the hijacker's direct control (though there are exceptions to the rule), this can usually leave the possessor's body prone to attack, due to being comatose without a soul, or mind, which can in itself lead to a DemonicPossession from ''another'' BodySnatcher.

[[folder:Manga & Anime]]
* ''[[YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'', Lyta Alexander is Kosh's suit whenever he wants to travel or run errands incognito.
[[/folder]]

* ''[[YuGiOh: Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.

* ''YuGiOh'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.

* ''[=~Yu-Gi-Oh~=]'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.

* In ''MassEffect'', The Reapers can commandeer their mooks and boost their combat abilities significantly. [[spoiler: The Sovereign can even resurrect Saren's [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul mostly-cybernetic body]] for this purpose, while the Harbinger relies on genetically-engineered mooks.]]

Note that when a Living Bodysuit is possessed by a monstrous entity of evil or horrific alien origin (e.g a demon or abberation), it becomes [[CthulhusTux Cthulhu's Tux]].

Also, should the body of the possessor be destroyed, the hijacker either becomes a permanent resident in the [[BodyAndHost Host]] (usually the occurence when regarding soul possessors), or dies along with its physical presence, (this usually happening to mental possessors) thereby freeing the host of control.

* ''YuGiOh'' centers around the main character of Yugi Moto, who acts as a Living Bodysuit for an ancient Pharaoh's soul, while another character, Ryo Bakura, acts as such for a less ''benevolant'' spirit.

* An arguably nicer BioWare example is the sweet little girl Wild Flower in JadeEmpire. The poor child has two entities battling for supremacy inside her. You end up having to forcibly evict one of them.

** ''GhostWalk'' is a setting that details on a city of ghosts characters can venture to, and become part of. One type of ghost the characters can choose to be allows for them to possess specific races they choose after gaining the ability.

** VampireTheRequiem has a discipline called Domination, which holds as its heighest level of power the ability called "Possession" which allows the vampired to tranfer his/her mind into the body of any living bodysuit until the body falls unconcious. (This can be a serious drawback however, if the vampire uses this ability and doesn't move their own body away from possible exposure to sunlight.)

* A nicer BioWare example is the sweet little girl Wild Flower in JadeEmpire. The poor child has two entities battling for supremacy inside her. You end up having to forcibly evict one of them.