History Main / RaisedAsAHost

** Ciel from ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' is the seventeenth in a long line of spare bodies prepped by a vampire wizard named Michael Roa Valdamjong in his plan for BornAgainImmortality. When Ciel was [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday sixteen]], Roa took over her body, but was quickly hunted down and banished by Arcueid. Unlike the previous sixteen hosts, however, Ciel somehow managed to survive the ordeal, realized [[NighInvulnerability she couldn't actually die]] as long as Roa was still around [[ParadoxPerson because they were still technically the same person]], and dedicated her life to hunting Roa, as well, which is when Shiki meets her in the story proper.

* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'' has the Star Plasma Vessels, young women who possess the ability to merge their being with another and allow for a form of immortality. Tengen, the ancient sorcerer who maintains the barrier around Tokyo's Jujutus High, has been using this technique for at least a thousand years, and the Hidden Inventory arc of the story revolves around protecting Riko Amanai, the newest Star Plasma Vessel who is scheduled to merge with Tengen and has been raised since a young age to accept her fate. She's been raised by Misato, whose family has been raising Star Plasma Vessels for generations, and Misato is noticeably conflicted over what's going to happen to her charge. [[spoiler:Riko's killed before this can ever occur, and by the present time of the story Tengen's form has become distinctly inhuman as a result of being unable to go through with it]].

* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'' has the Star Plasma Vessels, young women who possess the ability to merge their being with another and allow for a form of immortality. Tengen, the ancient sorcerer who maintains the barrier around Tokyo's Jujutus High, has been using this technique for at least a thousand years, and the Hidden Inventory arc of the story revolves around protecting Riko Amanai, the newest Star Plasma Vessel who is scheduled to merge with Tengen and has been raised since a young age to accept her fate. [[spoiler:She's killed before this can ever occur, and by the present time of the story Tengen's form has become distinctly inhuman as a result of being unable to go through with it]].

* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'' has the Star Plasma Vessels, young women who possess the ability to merge their being with another and allow for a form of immortality. Tengen, the ancient sorcerer who maintains the barrier around Tokyo's Jujutus High, has been using this technique for at least a thousand years, and the Hidden Inventory arc of the story revolves around protecting Riko Amanai, the newest Star Plasma Vessel who is scheduled to merge with Tengen and has been raised since a young age to accept her fate. [[spoiler:She dies before this can ever occur]].

* In ''Manga/AstraLostInSpace'', [[spoiler:pretty much all of the main cast were being raised as replacement bodies for one of their parents.]]
* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', [[spoiler:Inori's existence was created to be the host vessel for Mana.]]

* Each Living Doll in ''Manga/ShadowsHouse'' is a [[spoiler:human brainwashed into serving as the "face" of a faceless Shadow master. Once a Shadow comes of age, they undergo Fusion with their Living Doll, which allows them to take over the Living Doll's body while retaining their power as a Shadow. To ensure the process goes smoothly, the Dolls are constantly kept busy and repeatedly taught to "not fret over trivial matters" to stop them from thinking too much.]]

* Peter is revealed to have (unwittingly) been this in ''{{Film/Hereditary}}'' , being manipulated by his grandmother into becoming the host for the demon king Paimon. Complicated in that she was unable to perform the intended rituals when he was a baby, so she allowed Paimon to possess her grand-daughter Charlie until she could try again when Peter was older; this possibly makes for a double-case of this trope.
* In ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', it's revealed that Rey was supposed to be her grandad [[spoiler:Palpatine’s backup body to sustain his soul, which was suffering from his decaying clone body not being able to handle his Sith powers, though her parents, Dathan and Mirmir Palpatine leave her on Jakku under Unkhar’s (temporary) supervision until they could get Ochi, an assassin ordered by the still alive Emperor to bring Rey back “home” to Exegol off their backs and then pick her back up, though they are murdered by the Sith assassin for not giving her up.]] Needless to say, once Rey finds out, she tries to exile herself on Ahch-Tao like Luke did after her last fight with Kylo Ren/Ben Solo on the ruins of the Second Death Star, though the Jedi Knight gets her back into the game [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre by telling her that her bloodline to Palpatine doesn't define her]].

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', a book that explored what Earth would be like [[TheBadGuyWins if the Yeerks won]] featured a scene describing facilities where humans are [[BreedingSlave selectively bred]] and then strictly raised for hosts. This isn't typical of the Yeerks, but the fact that the human population is so massive compared to the Yeerks allows them to be choosy on what particular individual is desirable and which isn't.

* ''Literature/TheOldKingdom'': In the fourth book, ''Goldenhand'', Ferin was raised as a possible host for the Witch With No Face (Chlorr of the Mask) and given the best training, education and care possible. "Ferin" isn't even a proper name, but what she decides to call herself when she's sent to deliver an important message since she was always just called "The Offering". All the tribes that swear fealty to Chlorr practice this, and if the girl isn't chosen by the time she's 17 she is sacrificed instead to return the bit of Chlorr's power that she puts into each girl back to her. One of her flashbacks shows her tribe being reverent but distant to her, since one way or another they know they'll lose her.

* ''Series/The100'': Anyone on Sanctum born with black blood is deemed a "host", someone whose body can be inhabited by the Primes, the original founders of Sanctum, kept alive on {{Body Backup Drive}}s. In theory, a Prime can only take over a body if the host gives their consent, but since Sanctum is run like a cult, where the Primes are worshipped and giving your body to them is the highest honor, our MainCharacters aren't shy about saying the hosts are [[MoreThanMindControl brainwashed into it]].
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', this was the purpose of the Harsesis. A Harsesis is a child of two people under the control of Goa'uld symbiotes. Since the Goa'uld possess GeneticMemory, such a child would have the memories of both Goa'uld bloodlines, despite being 100% human. Due to the danger of this, it is strictly forbidden for two Goa'uld to have human children. Apophis and Amaunet plan to have one in secret in order to grow the child into a new host for Apophis, giving him greater knowledge (well, just Amaunet's side, since he already has all of his genetic memories). Through a series of events, SG-1 manage to get their hands on the Harsesis. The boy then ends up in the care of Oma Desala, an Ascended Ancient, who helps him ascend as well.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Trillian is home to Trill, a humanoid species, and a species of long-lived symbionts who can join with Trill and pass on the collected knowledge and memories of all the hosts they have had before. Because becoming a "joined" Trill confers such immense wisdom, many Trill compete and train their whole lives to earn a spot as a host. There is some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness with their introduction in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', in which the host bodies are portrayed as [[EmptyShell empty shells]] who are apparently raised like cattle, their personalities to be completely replaced by that of the symbiont, which is instead called a "parasite."
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In season 5 it is revealed that Sam and Dean Winchester's parents Mary and John were coupled on Heaven's directive through a cupid. The Winchester bloodline goes back to Cain and Abel and gives them the ability to be hosts for the Archangels Michael and Lucifer in preparation for their final fight on Earth once the Apocalypse has begun. Naturally, [[ScrewDestiny Sam and Dean rebel]].

* A few times in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'':
** This was originally [[spoiler:Noel/Mu-12's]] fate, being fused with the true Azure, she was meant to be the heart and fuse with [[spoiler:Hazama]], the body, to create a new Black Beast. But was spared thanks to Takemikazuchi.
** But this actually was the case with [[spoiler:Kazuma Kval]] in ''Literature/BlazBluePhaseShift'', being an [[spoiler:artificial human created by Relius Clover to serve as a body for Yuki Terumi. While originally his own person, Terumi slowly influenced his mind, making Kazuma act and think more like him until the two fused with Terumi completely overtaking Kazuma's mind.]]
** [[spoiler:Hazama]] was also the same way, being an [[spoiler:artificial human made by Relius to be fused with Terumi and become his body. But due to some lingering effects of the Mind Eater, the fusion was incomplete, leaving Hazama and Terumi sharing the same body.]]
* This ultimately turns out to be [[spoiler:Lord Mortimer's]] plan in ''VideoGame/TheCouncil''. [[spoiler:Depending on the ending you get, he'll reveal to Luis he usually steals the body of one of his children after they've proven worthy enough. He's sired many children during his life and, while he didn't raise Luis himself, he does mentor him throughout the game in order make him a suitable host. Depending on your actions, Mortimer may try and fail to possess Luis, successfully do so, or discard Luis when he finds out he's dying from poison.]]

* A recurring theme in the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}:

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'': [[spoiler: Shulk]] ultimately turns out to be this, [[spoiler: having been raised by Dickson because Zanza's soul has inhabited his body, waiting for the day he's able to assert control once again. Unfortunately for Zanza, despite his insistence otherwise, Shulk himself is ''not'' DeadAllAlong. While Zanza is still able to return, Shulk asserts his own will as an individual, ultimately defeating Zanza.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has [[spoiler:Doc Scratch]] who wasn't raised, per se (he pretty much [[BornAsAnAdult sprang into existence, fully formed]]), but his entire reason for existing is to prepare a universe for the arrival of his master [[spoiler:Lord English]]. At which point he dies, his body breaks open like an egg, and his master emerges from inside. [[spoiler:Scratch even foreshadows this by referring to himself several times as "an excellent host".]]

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Podcast/PlumbingTheDeathStar'', where they say that the natural consequence of the ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|1976}}'' universe is that every parent would raise children so that the parents could cause a FreakyFridayFlip, and then never learn the moral necessary to undo the body swap. This would effectively give the parent eternal life, so long as they keep having kids, switching bodies, and letting the kid they switched bodies with die of old age early.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': The entirety of [[spoiler:Horde Prime's]] army, to some extent. His ability to BodySurf allows him to inhabit any of their bodies at any time, making him functionally omnipresent and immortal. He's shown to maintain the corpses of his previous hosts, which all bear the same unique physical traits distinct from the rest of the army, which means he either grows that variety specifically as his official vessel or alters them once his current vessel dies.

* Continuing from Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} tradition, [[spoiler:Gray]] from ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' was raised to be a vessel for a Heroic Spirit -- namely, [[spoiler:King Arthur]]. The poor kid was the only successful try in a series of failed experiments, with their body, starting with their face, slowly morphing to match the proportions of the target Spirit. [[spoiler:Gray's thankful Waver took her on as her apprentice, as he's the first person who tries to understand her pain.]]

* Each Living Doll in ''Manga/ShadowsHouse'' is a [[spoiler:human brainwashed into serving as the "face" of a faceless Shadow master. Once a Shadow comes of age, they undergo Fusion with their Living Doll, which allows them to take over the Living Doll's body while retaining their power as a Shadow. To ensure the process goes smoothly, the Dolls are constantly kept busy and repeatedly taught to "not fret over trivial matters" to stop them from thinking too much.]]
* In ''Manga/AstraLostInSpace'', [[spoiler:pretty much all of the main cast were being raised as replacement bodies for one of their parents.]]
* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', [[spoiler:Inori's existence was created to be the host vessel for Mana.]]

* Continuing from Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} tradition, [[spoiler:Gray]] from ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' was raised to be a vessel for a Heroic Spirit -- namely, [[spoiler:King Arthur]]. The poor kid was the only successful try in a series of failed experiments, with their body, starting with their face, slowly morphing to match the proportions of the target Spirit. [[spoiler:Gray's thankful Waver took her on as her apprentice, as he's the first person who tries to understand her pain.]]
* In ''Literature/OnStrangerTides'', Beth Hurwood was not bred for this purpose, but as soon as her father learned about the fountain of youth, he planned to put her mother’s soul into her body. And if that’s not icky enough, the doctor he hired to make sure she was in perfect health wanted to do the same to her with HIS mother’s soul... for similar reasons.

* ''Series/The100'': Anyone on Sanctum born with black blood is deemed a "host", someone whose body can be inhabited by the Primes, the original founders of Sanctum, kept alive on {{Body Backup Drive}}s. In theory, a Prime can only take over a body if the host gives their consent, but since Sanctum is run like a cult, where the Primes are worshipped and giving your body to them is the highest honor, our MainCharacters aren't shy about saying the hosts are [[MoreThanMindControl brainwashed into it]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', while Ellen wasn't created to be a host herself, her creation was [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2017-11-22 part of a plan]] to create a host body for Magus.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': The entirety of [[spoiler:Horde Prime's]] army, to some extent. His ability to BodySurf allows him to inhabit any of their bodies at any time, making him functionally omnipresent and immortal. He's shown to maintain the corpses of his previous hosts, which all bear the same unique physical traits distinct from the rest of the army, which means he either grows that variety specifically as his official vessel or alters them once his current vessel dies.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Trillian is home to Trill, a humanoid species, and a species of long-lived symbionts who can join with Trill and pass on the collected knowledge and memories of all the hosts they have had before. Because becoming a "joined" Trill confers such immense wisdom, many Trill compete and train their whole lives to earn a spot as a host. There is some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness with their introduction in ''Franchise/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', in which the host bodies are portrayed as [[EmptyShell empty shells]] who are apparently raised like cattle, their personalities to be completely replaced by that of the symbiont, which is instead called a "parasite."

* In the [=TNG to VOY=] era of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', for a Trill to become a host of their native planet's symbiote is a great honor. It is a coveted position, and Trill train hard from a young age to be able to pass the extremely exclusive selection process. Even after acceptance, they receive several years of additional training. This is an unusual positively portrayed example, as the host retains their own mind and inherits the symbiote's memories instead of being fully taken over. The only major rule the joined Trills have to follow is that they put the symbiote's health and wellbeing ahead of their own, so that it can continue to be passed to new hosts if/when they die. In a medical emergency the symbiote's life must be preserved even if it means letting the current host die. The Trill as a people feel a very strong responsibility towards the symbiotes in this regard, even unjoined Trill who never wanted to be joined with a symbiote in the first place take it very seriously and will offer themselves as a host if it's necessary in an emergency to save one's life.
** Although it directly contradicts the plot of the first episode they appeared in on ''The Next Generation'' (like much of Trill lore that is established later), ''Deep Space Nine'' reveals they cannot enter into an intimate relationship with a person they previously had relations with in a previous host; to prevent the symbiote from reliving the old life instead of seeking out new experiences. This is in effect even if two joined Trills were together until death and it is several iterations of hosts since then, the symbiote hosts are forbidden from getting close again. Breaking this law means the symbiote will not be transferred into a new host upon the death of the current one, which would betray their primary responsibility described above.

** But this actually was the case with [[spoiler:Kazuma Kval]] in ''LightNovel/BlazBluePhaseShift'', being an [[spoiler:artificial human created by Relius Clover to serve as a body for Yuki Terumi. While originally his own person, Terumi slowly influenced his mind, making Kazuma act and think more like him until the two fused with Terumi completely overtaking Kazuma's mind.]]

** Also from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Illyasviel von Einzbern and her mother Irisviel are {{Artificial Human}}s created for the sole purpose of holding the Great Grail within their bodies. They are all copies of Justeaze, the original homunculus at the core of the original Grail who first devised the Holy Grail War centuries ago. They are effectively Justeaze's reincarnations and have access to her memories, and she can even speak through them on occasion. The fact that all of the Eizbern homunculi are ''much'' YoungerThanTheyLook and are[[note]]with the exception of Illya, who was conceived and born naturally and is actually OlderThanTheyLook due to [[NotGrowingUpSucks having her growth stop]] at the equivalent of the age of 10[[/note]] BornAsAnAdult helps their family members avoid getting attached to them, since Irisviel already looked like a full grown woman and had a daughter of her own by the age of 9.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent:'' [[spoiler:Grey, one of the main characters]] is revealed to be his for [[BigBad Master Albert]]. Specifically, he is DAN-003, one of Albert's creations, who he intents to put his will, knowledge and plans into, in the form of [[TransformationTrinket Biometal Model A(lbert)]], in case he somehow fails to finish his plan or see its fruition. Unfortunately for Albert, DAN-003 was forcibly awakened from his brainwashing process, causing him to gain a will and, after finding the truth, get driven to stop Albert.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Rose Quartz died passing on her HeartDrive to her son Steven, which makes most gems think they're the same person. White Diamond in particular proclaims that Rose created Steven not to be her son and his own person, but as an organic vessel for her to hide from her old life. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope She is swiftly proven wrong]] after White pulls her gem from his body, only for it to reform as a construct of Steven.]]

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', this was the purpose of the Harsesis. A Harsesis is a child of two people under the control of Goa'uld symbiotes. Since the Goa'uld possess GeneticMemory, such a child would have the memories of both Goa'uld bloodlines, despite being 100% human. Due to the danger of this, it is strictly forbidden for two Goa'uld to have human children. Apophis and Amaunet plan to have one in secret in order to grow the child into a new host for Apophis, giving him unprecedented knowledge (well, just Amaunet's side, since he already has all of his genetic memories). Through a series of events, SG-1 manage to get their hands on the Harsesis. The boy then ends up in the care of Oma Desala, an Ascended Ancient, who helps him ascend as well.
** The Goa'uld MadScientist Nirrti experimented in the creation "hok'tar" ("advanced humans"), hoping to create a better host body for herself. She was aiming for a body with enhanced physical strength, telepathy and telekinesis, among other powers, though the heavily mutated test subjects each only had one such power at the time SG-1 put a halt to her experiments.

** Although it directly contradicts the plot of the first episode they appeared in on ''The Next Genertion'' (like much of Trill lore that is established later), ''Deep Space Nine'' reveals they cannot enter into an intimate relationship with a person they previously had relations with in a previous host; to prevent the symbiote from reliving the old life instead of seeking out new experiences. This is in effect even if two joined Trills were together until death and it is several iterations of hosts since then, the symbiote hosts are forbidden from getting close again. Breaking this law means the symbiote will not be transferred into a new host upon the death of the current one, which would betray their primary responsibility described above.

** Although it directly contradicts the plot of the first episode they appearred in on TNG (like much of Trill lore that is established later), DS9 reveals they cannot enter into an intimate relationship with a person they previously had relations with in a previous host; to prevent the symbiote from reliving the old life instead of seeking out new experiences. This is in effect even if two joined Trills were together until death and it is several iterations of hosts since then, the symbiote hosts are forbidden from getting close again. Breaking this law means the symbiote will not be transferred into a new host upon the death of the current one, which would betray their primary responsibility described above.

* This ultimately turns out to be [[spoiler: Lord Mortimer's]] plan in ''VideoGame/TheCouncil''. [[spoiler: Depending on the ending you get, he'll reveal to Luis he usually steals the body of one of his children after they've proven worthy enough. He's sired many children during his life and, while he didn't raise Luis himself, he does mentor him throughout the game in order make him a suitable host. Depending on your actions, Mortimer may try and fail to possess Luis, successfully do so, or discard Luis when he finds out he's dying from poison.]]

* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', Inori's existence was created to be the host of Mana.

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* Each Living Doll in ''Manga/ShadowsHouse'' is a human brainwashed into serving as the "face" of a faceless Shadow master. Once a Shadow comes of age, they undergo Fusion with their Living Doll, which allows them to take over the Living Doll's body while retaining their power as a Shadow. To ensure the process goes smoothly, the Dolls are constantly kept busy and repeatedly taught to "not fret over trivial matters" to stop them from thinking too much.

[[folder: Film]]