Sometimes I feel like a fake hypno fan because I'm not the biggest possession fan and all the really cool hypnokinksters are really into possession*. But, I think possession has quite a bit of sauce so I want to ramble about it.
First, the signifiers. I'm a sucker for the ghost flying into someone and possessing them type imagery. In particular, the "different character's silhouette outlining them" type stuff is cute and fun. Further, I think "one character speaking with another character's voice-style" is really hard to pull off but can be really, really evocative.
Then, I also really like the... "minor character design changes to indicate possession". I don't just like it for tf kink reasons I promise. Little hair extensions, earrings that the possessor always wears, smiling in a really distinctive way, wearing an item that glows with the body's original owner's soul. Or, my favorite, eyes that match the possessor.
All of that is really fun, but like what I really care about is the meat of it. The substance. As I'm not the biggest possession fan, it's hard for me to really talk about this, and I'd love to hear y'all say what about it really appeals to you. But, in my eyes, there's a few different appeals to possession.
On the one claw, it's, of course, about control. Possession is frequently depicted as this very deep violation. Of course it's about your body. This thing that is you, that should only ever be you. Taken away from you by someone else. But more than that, it's about your life. Someone else walking around as you. Doing whatever they want with your friends, with your family. Your possessor has control over you beyond anything else. Fighting back is all but impossible. You have to compromise just to get to have a say in your life.
On the other claw, it's about intimacy. Letting someone into you. Letting someone control you. Letting someone be you. The abdication of self at an unimaginable level. I think with this, I tend to see a lot of focus on being empty and being filled. There's a kind of ritual to it. Let them fill you and be who you are at your core. Give up on your own individuality. Trust your possessor to be you better than you could have been. If there was a thing at the center of you controlling you, there isn't anymore. What is it to be possessed as something that doesn't feel like it had a soul in the first place?
I like these dimensions a lot. I'm a sucker for violation and this mode of control that leaves the host kicking and screaming and begging to be let out is truly special. I'm a sucker for ritual and it's really hard to beat a display of intimacy that overwrites everything inside you, replacing you with someone better than you that is you now forever and ever. And, I'm sure there are other dimensions too that have more going on.
But like, damn, don't you just want to wrap your claws around someone's being and force it to be your new host for a little while, reshaping its mind and body in your image and in ways that'll never ever wash out, before ultimately leaving it hollowed out emptier than it was before until it inevitably falls victim to another twisted thing like you? Isn't that just lovely?
*if you respond to this post to say "I'm not into possession!" or anything like that: please don't! I'm not interested in that kind of discussion, this is a post about possession. If you're not into possession, your goal is to go back and read this post until you get into possession, ok? Good. If this post isn't enough, go browse possession smut instead and hopefully that'll fix you.
