Genius Loci: Difference between revisions

Some people are places. A Genius Loci is a location with a mind. A sentient planet, country, island, city, or street. Obviously, this is more common in science fiction and fantasy, though [[Magical Realism|a certain amount of animism in otherwise realistic series]] isn't unknown, and it may be [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane|only suggested]].

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Tower of God]]'' the eponymous tower "chooses" those who may enter and climb it. Recent events indicate that the Tower is not satisfied with how things are going inside.

* ''[[Eureka Seven]]'' gives us {{spoiler|the Scub Coral planet itself, a kind of [[Starfish Alien]] that communicates via [[Instrumentality]], but seeks another way through the Coralian title character.}}

* In ''[[Transformers Cybertron]]'', Primus' vehicle mode is Cybertron itself, and he actually transforms towards the end of the series. This makes for a really awesome [[Merchandise-Driven|toy]], complete with various canonical cities located on his body. According to [[All There in the Manual|the manual]], this applies to every Cybertron in every [[Transformers]] medium across the multiverse; he doesn't wake up much to avoid squishing inhabitants and such.

** Also, one forest and one city have turned out to be [[Turtle Island|giant turtle]] Digimon. (They're not the same turtle, either.)

== Comic Books ==

* [[The DCU]] has several examples:

*** Note that Ego preceded Mogo by several years; Mogo in fact may be a nonevil Ego [[Captain Ersatz]].

** Danny The Street (a pun on Danny LaRue), a sentient, transvestite boulevard (think gunshops and hardware stores with pink curtains and pastel-blue awnings) who moves around the world and acted as the [[Doom Patrol]]'s headquarters for a time. He eventually grew up into Danny The World before being torn down by cosmic repo men. Now he's slowly regrowing from Danny the Bungalow.

*** For a time, he was Danny the Brick.

*** In the issue where the hero tells us each city has its own personality, {{spoiler|he gets stuck in his city's dreams}}

** The Endless themselves are this. Dream of the Endless lives in the Dreaming, but he also IS the Dreaming.

** Fiddler's Green (or Gilbert, when he's in his [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] form) counts as this.

** Aquarius, a rogue living star responsible for the death of [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] Black Canary's husband.

** In Justice League International, during the Keith Giffen era, several important events revolved around the island of Kooey Kooey Koey, which was mobile and sentient.

* From the [[Marvel Universe]], the first foe the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' fought in the [[The Bronze Age of Comic Books|Bronze Age]] [[Revival]] was Krakoa, the Living Island, whose life had been [[Hive Mind|mutated into a single organism]] by a [[I Love Nuclear Power|nuclear test]]. Marvel also had the aptly-named Ego the Living Planet, who tangled with such persons as [[The Mighty Thor]] and [[Galactus]]. Another living planet known as Kathulos once appeared in a [[Doctor Strange]] story. [[Earthshattering Kaboom|He blew it up.]]

** Deadpool once destroyed a [[Genius Loci]] called Id, the Selfish Moon, which used to be a moon of Ego the Living Planet.

** Another living location is Spragg the Living Hill--it was a hill controlling people's minds. [[She Hulk]] fought him, then sent him to space...well, Mole Man sent him to space. On a geyser. He last appeared in a She-Hulk issue, being arrested by Cop Rocks in Space.

** In the ''Realm of Kings'' crossover, a fault in space opened the way to an alternate reality. In said reality it was revealed that {{spoiler|not only is the other universe sentient, it's an [[Eldritch Abomination]] that wants to consume ours.}}

* ''[[Books of Magic]]'' includes a dirty, cynical, slobbish character who is the spirit of London. Tim Hunter tells him, "[[Take That|I don't think I like you.]]" The spirit replies, " 'Course you don't like me. Nobody ''likes'' me, but plenty are fascinated by me."

* Mount Sorrow, a sentient, talking mountain from the ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Expanded Universe]] whose [[Swiss Army Tears|tears had healing properties]]. [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Sorrow This is not a joke].

* In [[The Authority]] Jack Hawksmoor can talk to and command all cities, implying that they are ''all'' Genii Locorum, albeit fairly sedate ones who don't interfere in their own affairs very often. Apparently they all have wildly different personalities, and even genders, though these are somehow strangely appropriate--the first time he fought using his city-powers, for example, Jack ''wore'' Tokyo like a [[Humongous Mecha]] suit.

** And more recently, a bizarre borderline example: Gaia Rothstein, a century baby. Her astral form looks like the ten-year-old girl she really is, but her physical form is an island... which looks like a walking, talking, two-mile high version of the [[Swamp Thing]].

* A [[Justice League of America]] limited series starring Zauriel and [[Martian Manhunter]] declares that {{spoiler|the reason the forces of evil fail in the invasion of Heaven that happens in the end is that God -IS- Heaven, down to the chairs, walls, and floor}}.

* ''[[ABC Warriors]]'' has Medusa, the consciousness of the planet [[Mars]].

* The original ''[[Transformers]]'' comic had Omega Supreme, who transformed into a rocket base with its own death tank.

* Barbelith, in ''[[The Invisibles]]''. Barbelith is a planetary-type body that helps "initiate" agents of the Invisibles into the higher mysteries. Its true nature, though, is pretty damn mixed; Dane isn't sure, yet Barbelith answers, "You made me" (it? [[Aliens From Earth|they]]?) Whoa, more and more questions...[[Figure It Out Yourself|better]] luck asking [[Grant Morrison]], maybe?

* The ultimate goal of Krona in Trinity was to learn from the worldsoul, the sentient soul of the planet Earth itself.

== Film ==

* Silent film ''[[wikipedia:A Trip to the Moon|A Trip to the Moon]]'''s most famous scene, where the space capsule crashes into the eye of the Man in the Moon.

* In some stories featuring a [[Haunted House]], the house itself will display attributes of a Genius Loci. One of the classic examples is in [[The Film of the Book]] of Shirley Jackson's ''The Haunting of Hill House''. The 2006 CGI movie ''[[Monster House]]'' is a more recent example.

* ''[[Hausu]]'', an incredibly bizarre Japanese horror film (by Toho, no less!!!) is about a sentient man-eating house.

* ''[[Rose Red]]'', a miniseries based on a screenplay by Stephen King and aired on ABC, features a house which is both alive and completely insane. It is implied in the miniseries that all locations are alive in some way, but that the eponymous mansion is the architectural equivalent of a [[Serial Killer]].

** So of course, knowing this, a bunch of paranormal investigators decide to [[Too Dumb to Live|poke it with a stick]].

* The movie ''[[Osmosis Jones]]'' treats each human being as a [[Genius Loci]], inhabited by trillions of sentient cells that lead human-like lives.

* The titular ship in ''[[Event Horizon]]'' is strongly implied to be this. At one point a character refers to the ship as "she" with the heavy implication it was more than just the standard anthropomorphism of vessels. This was not [[Star Wars|Han Solo's "girl."]]

* The Hotel from ''[[The Shining]]'' which slowly drives Jack mad and torments Danny. Well it's at least one of the theories.

== Literature ==

* Hill House, from Shirley Jackson's ''The Haunting of Hill House''. "Hill House itself, not sane, stood alone against its hills, holding darkness within."

* Ray Bradbury's short story [[Here There Be Tygers]] has an entire planet as one of these. The planet is very friendly and wants to do anything to please the astronauts who landed there, from creating fish that cook themselves to perfect weather up to attractive female companions. When several of the astronauts leave, one decides to stay behind. Despite the planet appearing unfriendly with volcanoes appearing on it, the astronauts know the one who remained will be spoiled rotten by the planet. The astronauts decide to list the planet as unfriendly since it would be to those who would exploit it (rather than appreciate its gifts).

* In [[Star Maker]] by Olaf Stapledon, stars turn out to be living organisms of a sort, as do the nebulae which preceded them.

* Gaia, the living planet in [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'s Edge''.

** Another example is in [[Isaac Asimov]]'s book ''Nemesis''. {{spoiler|"Nemesis" is the name of the red-dwarf star which is orbited by the gas giant Megas which in turn is orbited by the habitable world Erythro, and ''Erythro'' - or, more accurately, a form of life existing all over its surface - is the Genius Loci.}}

*** Don't forget Saybrook's Planet from "Green Patches". Every single organism on the entire planet, from the lowest bacterium to the most advanced terrestrial animal is merely a part of a single, amalgamated mind. (Referred to in the story as "Organized life").

** [[Word of God]] on the character of Tom Bombadil (aka Iarwain Ben-adar, Forn, Orald, the Eldest) is intentionally vague; but strongly implies that he is a kind of [[Genius Loci]], an avatar of uncorrupted Middle-earth.

** The main characters speak as if they sincerely believe that Mount Redhorn (aka Caradhras) is a ''genius loci''. However, the book never says whether so truly is the case.

*** [[The Film of the Book]] simplifies it: rather than the mountain being hostile, Saruman is the one causing the storms and avalanches that hinder the party. However, as [[Genius Bonus]], the spell that Saruman speaks in ''Quenya'' consists of him goading Caradhras to wake up and raise his wrath, while Gandalf's counterspell tries to put him back to sleep.

* The title city in the [[Ray Bradbury]] short story ''The Lost City of Mars''. After being rediscovered by Earthlings, it tries to trap them inside so that it has someone to entertain.

** Another, similar Bradbury short story is called ''The City'' and involves a sentient Martian city ambushing the human explorers and changing them into cyborgs, so they'll launch a bioweapon attack on Earth and avenge its defeat in an ancient war with humanity's ancestors. And the story's narrated almost entirely by the city itself.

** Yet another example from Bradbury is the short story ''Here There Be Tigers'' where a rocket expedition lands on a planet, which provides for them whatever they desire.

** The house in "There Will Come Soft Rains" could be considered one, in that it's a setting that's also a character. The only character in the story, in fact.

** And it doesn't just sit around and do nothing, hell no. {{spoiler|Demonreach is one of those directly responsible for Harry's resurrection in ''Ghost Story''.}}

* Mark Z. Danielewski's ''[[House of Leaves]]'', [[Mind Screw|possibly.]]

* In [[Harry Harrison]]'s ''Deathworld'' the hero finds himself on a planet whose flora and fauna are in constant full-on attack against the human miners/settlers. Everything is deadly, poisonous, powerful, stabby, etc. It turns out that the planet itself has a mind (is a mind?) and has been psionically directing the attacks.

* Frank Herbert's ''[[wikipedia:Whipping Star|Whipping Star]]'': The Calebans are living stars which interact with human beings through constructs called Beachballs.

** The eponymous mansion from ''Rose Red''.

** The Dark Tower is the ultimate example.

** The eponymous villain of ''[[IT]]'' is often equated with Derry, the town It inhabits.

* In William King's ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' [[Space Wolf]] novel ''Grey Hunter'', a temple is so permeated with evil that it is capable of possessing the minds of people who come there.

* In the [[Faction Paradox]] books, there's mention of the City of the Saved, a huge galaxy-sized colony in which every human being ever to exist lives again. And yes. [[Captain Obvious|It's sentient.]] Not so bad, and even quite nice... until you find its {{spoiler|"son" infested parts of its structure, transforming really nice places into industrial nightmares with specialized factories for the processing of human beings. }}

** Another Anne McCaffrey series, the ''[[Petaybee]]'' series, features the titular sentient planet that communicates via echoes and lightshows in caves, and changing the climate/topography of the land when it's so inclined to benefit its inhabitants or drive off bad guys.

* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' [[Horus Heresy]] novel ''Fulgrim'', the Laer temple makes Julius think that it's alive.

** Explicitly stated later-the Elf Queen gloats that marrying Verence, the king, will make her the queen, and then Lancre will have no choice but to accept her.

** Unseen University itself, which has a personality likened to that of [[Big Friendly Dog|a large, overenthusiastic shaggy dog]]. If it could get away with it, it'd roll over on its roof to have its foundations scratched.

* In a more serious tone than Mount Sorrow above, the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] has the rogue planet [[New Jedi Order|Zonama Sekot]]. Zonama refers to the world itself, while Sekot refers to its [[Hive Mind|self-aware, Force-sensitive biosphere]]. It grows living matter around mechanical components to produce intelligent [[Living Ship|Living Ships]], and has also built enormous hyperdrive engines into its crust, transforming itself into a world-sized [[Living Ship]] and earning the "Rogue Planet" appellation.

** The Galaxy of Fear series also includes [[Punny Name|D'vouran]] a planet {{spoiler|which is in fact a [[I'm a Humanitarian|carnivorous]] bioweapon.}}

* [[John Varley]]'s ''[[Gaea Trilogy|Titan]]'' bears the tagline: "The alien that is, itself, a world."

** Appears in the sci-fi trilogy Titan, Wizard, Demon. The rotating space habitat is sentient, all of its inhabitants designed for her entertainment. {{spoiler|it turns out the current Gaia is not actually the several million old habitat but instead an inhabitant who merged with the central core, and is overthrown by the main character at the end of the third book.}}

* The ''[[Sector General]]'' series includes a planet with living continents-- only one develops sapience, and it also happens to be ill. Anyone have an ocean-sized barf bucket?

* The [[Lost Woods]] around Ikos in [[Harry Turtledove]]'s ''Fox'' series.

* John DeChancie's ''Castle Perilous'' is a vastly powerful interdimensional demon torn from primal chaos, who happens to get [[And I Must Scream|trapped in the form]] of a city-sized castle. The whole "chaos" deal means it frequently changes its internal layout and contains portals to thousands of universes.

* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s classic story ''The Fall of the House of Usher'' is [[Older Than Radio|one of the first]] uses of this trope. The hero arrives to find the eponymous house and its surroundings so dark and twisted that they're literally becoming unearthly. The house itself is gradually revealed as bearing a malevolent will born out of the generations of family secrets and crimes that have stained its walls. With the deaths of the last two Ushers, the manor is [[Collapsing Lair|also destroyed]], while the rest of the landscape seems to have returned to normal.

* There is a [[Genius Loci]] of a single meadow in the Clark Ashton Smith short story ''Genius Loci''. And it is TERRIFYING.

* The Labyrinth in [[The Death Gate Cycle]].

* In one earlier book of the ''Bionicle'' series, two Toa end up trapped within a living room.

* In [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''Chthon'' and its sequel ''Phthor'', the eponymous Chthon is a living cave system contained within the majority of a continent; which communicates telepathically to those few sentient beings who also possess a similar ability. It is eventually revealed to be {{spoiler|a non-organic life form which evolved independently of organic life; and is inimical to all organic life. It's also in communication with similar inorganic life forms, and is part of the cause of the Chill plague, which is intended to destroy all organic life.}}

* Virtually everything that citizens of ''[[The Culture]]'' live on is controlled by a hyper-intelligent Mind that will respond to any reasonable request. (Nearly always.) A slightly unusual example since there is nothing supernatural about it: the Culture just builds their ships and stations that way.

* In ''[[Glen Cook|Cruel Zinc Melodies]]'', Garrett discovers that {{spoiler|a truly gargantuan fungal life form is living beneath his home city, and is both sentient and powerfully psychic. It's responsible for a series of "hauntings" in the theater Garrett's been hired to protect from sabotage.}}

** The nameless, green planet from ''Midworld'' and ''Mid-Flinx'' is home to a vast, all-pervasive, and [[Gaia's Vengeance|rather touchy]] gestalt consciousness derived from its collective vegetation.

* The [[Spellsinger]] series has several examples, including a slow-witted marshland called the Brulumpus and a maelstrom with a raunchy sense of humor.

* In Richard McKenna's ''Hunter Come Home'', the humans inflict such biological havoc, that the biomass becomes self aware in its own defense.

* Anne Rivers Siddons' [[The House Next Door]] is about the making of a [[Genius Loci]].

** The 1992 novel ''Transit'' featured a 22nd-century interplanetary subway system (the "stunnel") that had become so complex that it had evolved sentience.

** Lungbarrow, the Doctor's family House on Gallifrey, from the 1997 novel of the same name (and really, ''most'' Houses on Gallifrey).

** The ''[[Earthsea Trilogy]]'' has a sentient grove, among many other earthbound spirits called "Old Powers".

* The titular prison complex in ''[[Incarceron]]'' is sentient...or at least an A.I.

{{quote| "The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Annabeth said. "I told you, it's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."<br />

"You make it sound like it's alive."<br />

* Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age books feature one of the [http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/library-lions lions in front of the New York City Public Library] as a [[Genius Loci]].

* The French novel ''Planète Verte, Peur Bleue'' (approx. "Green Planet, Black Terror") has planet Isol 50, alias "That".

{{quote| ''"There's nothing you could be but the Swamp Angel." ''}}

** The TARDIS herself, which is technically a [[Sapient Ship]] containing its own [[Pocket Dimension]].

** {{spoiler|The House}} in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32 E4 The Doctors Wife|The Doctor's Wife]]" is what happens when a Genius Loci {{spoiler|goes ''bad.''}}

* ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'''s Castle Dran, a sentient castle/dragon tank-like ancient haunted house. That's just the ''exterior''.

* In ''[[Andromeda]]'', stars, black holes, and some planets and moons (and blue diamonds, and purple horseshoes) have embodied Avatars of varying power, {{spoiler|including Trance Gemini}}. This was not part of the original conception of the character or the show, but after the original producer left, [[Jump the Shark|things changed]].

** Well, I won't say it was not part of the original conception. [http://www.cyberspace5.net/agentrichard07/coda-script.htm The original producer wrote the same thing.]

** They're two twists on one basic idea. Just a shame it meant some of the foreshadowing came to nothing in the end.

* In ''[[Smallville]]'', Jor-El is basically a ghost haunting, and controlling, the Fortress of Solitude.

* ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'' had one episode where the local forest had a genius loci in the form of a child.

== Music ==

* "Ego the Living Planet" by Monster Magnet is, sadly, [[In Name Only|not about a living planet]].

** Gaia, the closest thing to a good Primordial, has a world-body of her own, currently off exploring the depths of the Wyld. (Her souls, the Five Elemental Dragons, are part of Creation's geomancy.)

** [[The Fair Folk]] in their native, unshaped state as well.

** There's also lots of smaller gods, of things like individual mountains, cities, forests and such. Some PCs can reasonably expect to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|beat them in a fight]].

** And the first real enemy in the quick start scenario is {{spoiler|a spirit of laziness and apathy that possesses an abandoned baseball stadium. And is actually capable of causing a [[Total Party Kill]].}}

** ''Shadowrun'' also has a phenomenon called "background count," in which the mana of a place can be warped by events that take place there. This doesn't exactly make the area alive, but it has an impact on anyone who visits.

* ''[[Rifts]]'' has quite a few. Millennium Trees are huge thousand-foot tall trees that form living cities, nurtured and protected by the Trees' own latent psychic field. And there's at least two living planets, one (Wormwood) is inhabited and in the middle of a demon invasion, and the other (Eylor) kept hidden by transdimensional slavers who have a monopoly on giant magical eyes [[Eye Scream|harvested from its surface]].

** In the storyline, the Yavimaya Forest.

{{quote| ''Kaysa speaks as the Elder Druid, but the Yavimaya recognizes only one voice: its own.''}}

** ''[[Werewolf: The Forsaken]]'' inherited Apocalypse's animism; as in its predecessor, there are numerous spirits of place, with the most significant to the Forsaken being Luna, the spirit of the Moon.

* The "Freedom City" setting of ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'' has Doctor Metropolis, the living spirit of Freedom City; think The Spectre with Jack Hawksmoor's powers and Doctor Manhattan's, um... sense of humor?

** In the same game, the Tzimisce can use their [[Body Horror|Vicissitude]] Domain to mold their ghouls together into living, breathing rooms for their homes.

*** This concept appears in the computer game adaptation, [[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]], when the player character enters the lair of a Tzimisce, complete with walls that {{spoiler|bleed when struck}}. It is easily the most atmospherically disturbing mission in the game.

* The ''[[Paranoia]]'' role-playing game takes place in Alpha Complex, a massive domed/underground city ruled by [[Big Brother Is Watching|Friend Computer]].

* Mongoose Publishing's ''[[Strontium Dog]]'' RPG. Queux is a living, intelligent planet that is billions of years old. It knows the secrets of the entire galaxy.

== Video Games ==

* The ''[[Seiken Densetsu]]''/''Mana'' games have a variation on this; while the Mana Tree is purported to be the Mana Goddess transformed, and in some games actually displays evidence of sentience, {{spoiler|it's actually a ''woman'' of a specific breed who sacrifices mobile life to fulfill the Tree's vital role to the functioning of the world.}}

** The game also has a secret project, "The Self-Aware Colony", which reduces the costs of maintaining and controlling your cities by turning them into Genius Loci. The cinematic for the project shows a city trapping a pair of dissidents before incinerating them, and even automatically cleaning both their ashes and the graffiti slogan they were writing from a wall. ''We Must Dissent...''

** Also, if it will negativity impact Planet, be careful with your actions, since otherwise you will likely get Planet to spawn the Mind Word army from hell on you. Basically, building map improvements that create a ton of resources or mass use of Planet Busters will do it.

* ''[[Silent Hill]]'''s eponymous town, though debatable as it may simply be haunted.

** This may require some elaboration: The whole town of Silent Hill is alive with a mystical force that takes your nightmares and fears and brings them to life, whether in monster form or in the form of a location (like a building or something). If Silent Hill wants you, you will end up in the town, either by being called to it or having an unfortunate accident in or near the town and ending up stuck in that Hell-hole. Later in the series, the power of the town grows to consume its neighbor, Shepherd's Glen.

** In both ''Oracle of Ages'' and ''Oracle of Seasons'', Link can enter the Maku Trees, which are also giant sapient guardian trees. However, there's only one room inside, and it only houses a character whose function is to transfer data between the two games, so the [[Genius Loci]] aspect doesn't really come into play. ([[Nintendo]] probably only put Farore inside the trees because they wanted her location to be the same in both games.)

** Arguably, the Moon from ''Majora's Mask''. Whilst it has a actual (rather intense-looking) face, it never moves it or shows any other signs of sentience. Like the rest of the game, it's all rather mysterious.

* According to the flying future-dolphins, the ocean becomes this in the good future of Earth in ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]: Tides of Time.''

* The [http://gillen.cream.org/thecradle.pdf Shalebridge Cradle] in ''[[Thief]] Deadly Shadows'' housed an asylum and an orphanage. {{spoiler|At the same time.}} Fueled by the sheer amount of brutal, institutional cruelty inflicted by the staff before a fire killed most of its inhabitants, It remembers things, likes to keep the things it remembers so it can play with them, and soon after you enter it...it remembers ''you''.

* ''[[Earthbound]]'' has Dungeon Man, a maze builder who opted to be literally turned into a giant walking dungeon.

* In ''The 11th Hour'', the sequel to ''[[The 7th Guest]]'', the mansion has apparently become the physical incarnation of Stauf himself, eg. one scene in the backstory involves two girls being ''raped by the house'', and one of them producing an [[Enfant Terrible]] as a result.

** Since GLaDOS controls much of the testing facility (possibly all, [[Alternate Character Interpretation|depending on your thoughts on her motives]]), she also functions as one.

** In the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC for ''[[Portal 2]]'', one iteration of Cave Johnson is in fact the entire planet.

* In ''[[Metroid Prime]] 3'', Phazon is implied at numerous points to be a sentient lifeform; in the first two games, it was assumed to be just a material. Phaaze, the planet that is the source of all the Phazon, is not only living, it spreads Phazon to other planets by ''giving birth''. (Some [[Epileptic Trees]] differ, but the point is that Phazon is living and Phaaze is made of Phazon, ergo Phaaze is living.)

* ''[[Albion]]'' has Argim, a former Iskai. During one of his experiments to find the secret of true immortality, Argim lost his body, and his consciousness entered the living plants that [[Bizarchitecture|made up his home]], and the creatures that took up residence there. The only way to communicate with him is by finding his brain (well an extension to it), which is still intact and has grown to just the right size to block the path to the [[MacGuffin]].

* ''[[La-Mulana]]'' has {{spoiler|the eponymous [[Temple of Doom]], which is the body of the Mother.}}

* [[System Shock]]'s Citadel Station, being completely controlled by the crazy AI [[A God Am I|SHODAN]], surely qualifies.

* Whale Island in ''[[Rune Factory Frontier]]'' was given consciousness by the spirits of the Runes, allowing it both to float in the air and speak directly to Raguna. However, the influence of the Runes on the island is growing weak, and if it should fade completely, it could [[Colony Drop|prove disastrous]] for the inhabitants of the town of Trampoli on the surface.

* ''[[Chzo Mythos]]''; {{spoiler|1=DeFoe Manor binds to the mind of John DeFoe, but not the house. The house is burned down. It's apparently the PLACE now. Which is a lot trickier to destroy and create the Bridge, requiring something on the order of a nuclear blast to annihilate.}}

** Let's not forget {{spoiler|the titular Eldritch Abomination, Chzo itself, which is so big that Trilby even says it's as much a place as a creature.}}

* The planet in ''[[Loco Roco]]'' is very much alive, complete with facial expressions. It is a rare player-controlled example where through using gravity alterations, lightning and earthquakes, you can affect the life of the inhabitants of the planet. There are also a solar and lunar body with facial expressions who often react to sound waves of the inhabitants of the planet. It's more cheerful than it sounds though.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has Nespirah and L'Ghorek, non-villainous [[Eldritch Abomination|gigantic crustacean-squids]]. [[Womb Level|Their insides]] could easily house ''several'' cities.

** In ''The Lost Age'', the Kibombo tribe worship a statue with a [[Magitek]]-mechanical maze beneath and inside it, and their witch-doctor has stolen a [[MacGuffin|rather important gem]] as a sacrifice to earn its favor. The statue eventually grants its favor to the witch-doctor, allows the party to recover the Black Orb, and challenges them both [[Bonus Dungeon|to earn even greater powers]]. Kraden lampshades that there are things in Weyard even he doesn't really understand.

* In the ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' video game, one level is in a ship, and when you leave, ''it transforms.'' You were inside Tidal Wave the whole time.

* Ar Ciel, the planet on which the "[[Ar Tonelico]]" games take place, has multiple wills that form a single consensus for the planet with each will governing certain aspects. Horus for example was the will that governed all the others as well as the earth (as in the surface of the planet) until it was mortally wounded when the sea of death was created and when it dies completely so will the planet and all the other wills. There are many other wills, some who you actually meet during "[[Ar Tonelico 3]]" such as Yurishca who governs the technological advancement of humanity and Soma who maintains balance through natural selection. The most recent will to come into existence is Ar ru whose role is to create planetary antibodies for the purpose of wiping out humanity which had delivered a quite possibly fatal wound to the planet. The end goal of the third game is to simultaneously heal the planet and communicate with Ar Ciel's consensus to convince it to forgive humanity.

* In [[Fallout 3]], which takes place in the ruins of Washington D.C 200 years after a nuclear war, the landscape is very desolate and befitting of the title of '''Capital Wasteland.''' The one exception is in a forest area called Oasis which earns its name with healthy plants and trees all over the place and pristine lake water. The source of this forest comes from an old character from Fallout 1 and 2 named Harold who last time we saw him had a mutant tree growing out of his head, apparently ''Bob'' as Harold named it mutated to the point that it enveloped Harold's entire body. Harold is now [[Body Horror|a living tree]] [[And I Must Scream|who has been rooted to the ground for 30 years]] and in the intervening period ''Bob'' (Harold treats the tree that has consumed his body as his friend and as a sentient being, either that or he treats the tree as a friend so he doesn't go insane from boredom) has been producing spores that have planted seeds all over the area which has sprouted the forest you now see. Even more amazing is that Harold claims that his mind is linked up to the entire forest, if he tries real hard he swears that his eyes can see through every leaf of every tree. The player has the option to apply medicine that could accelerate Harold's growth and in time his forest could envelop the entire United States making the entire continent a part of his living body.

== Web Comics ==

{{quote| '''Benjamin:''' That is the third person who gave me a flower today.<br />

'''Caprice:''' Mars likes you.<br />

* In ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'', a minor recurring character is a sentient tree. Fenton turns the tree (who assumes a maternal relationship to him) into a house, and Harelink later uses some spare space to set up their modem pool.

* ''[[Gene Catlow]]'' has ethereal entities tied to many locations. The most familiar is the Friendship Island Entity, who opposes a group of others known collectively as The Host.

** A kitchen built specifically for a cook that went up the pole and started poisoning everything he cooked (but amused the Heterodynes) that may or may not recognize Agatha;

** In the crypt is the Throne of Faustus Heterodyne, by which the seneschal of Mechanicsburg can communicate directly with Castle Heterodyne (the central brain itself is in the library), that considers Agatha a ''possible'' heir; and

** Also, played with in Black Mage. Nexus points are locations along the faultlines of reality which contain great raw energy and destructive force, but Black Mage is in the rather unique position of being the manifestation of a nexus point, so he's actually more like a [[Genius Loci]] unto himself. He's closer to an [[Eldritch Abomination]] than to human, and when he finally loses his [[Restraining Bolt|physical form]] he gets exponentially more powerful. [[Omnicidal Maniac|Unfortunately for the universe]] <ref> When this ''includes'' the legions of hell, that's really not a good sign</ref>.

* In ''[[Earthsong]]'' all of the planets have spirits, and can sometimes manifest in humanoid, ghostly forms. Many of the planets are said to be "asleep" and rarely venture in their spirit form, but the eponymous planet is an active part of the story.

** [http://www.missmab.com/DLoads/DMFA_Wallpaper28_800.jpg She can, however,] [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Ab_061.php change her looks]

* Lady Un-Deux-Un Rapplestreet from Thief of Hearts. She's the physical manifestation of the residual emotions of the people who have previously lived at 121 Rapple Street, and she enjoys tormenting Erik.

{{quote| '''Erik:''' Evil perverted bipolar old house...}}

* {{spoiler|The island entity}} in ''[[Gene Catlow]]'' is apparently becoming some form of this.

* In [[Skin Horse]] their newest client is Cypress, a sentient swamp. And her daughter, Venus.

* In [[Demon Eater]], the world of demons is actually the largest demon on existence.

* ''[[Vexxarr]]'' has [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=082806 the mother rock].

** There are also [http://orionsarm.com/eg-article/47eaf9af71def Envomes], sapient or transapient ecosystems.

* The wall in [[Draw With Me]].

** In asdfmovie5, a couple on a romantic getaway comment that it's "just you, me, and the Moon". The Moon comments that they should kiss.

* The Empty City is a sentient city that is also a [[Mobile Maze]] and a [[Living Labyrinth]] - representing the fear of being lost, if you get trapped inside it, you be will wander its streets until you die - in [[The Fear Mythos]].

* Being somewhat of a location that other people can enter, the Book from [[The Book of Stories OCT]] falls under this due to having a mind of its own.

== Western Animation ==

* [[Megas XLR]]: Coop once fought a gargantuan organic planet that ate radio waves.

* "[[The Fairly Odd Parents|MIKE, THE ]]''[[The Fairly Odd Parents|EVIL LIVING BUILDING]]''!''

** Bender himself is a sentient location earlier in the episode when he is colonized by aliens.

** Fry might count as well, when he is colonized by sentient worms. They have a statue of him labeled: "The Known Universe".

** Yivo in the second movie is eventually lived upon by people. Shklis body actually inspired our popular conception of heaven.

* His Elevated Eminence in the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' episode, "Crunch the Rockdog".

** The episode "Lice Capades" tells the story of a group of, yes, ''lice'' living on the scalp of one of the boys. The story becomes a parody of natural disaster movies ("The planet is trying to tell us something!") when the kid starts using delousing shampoo.

* As listed under [[Comic Books]], the ''[[Transformers]]'' animated canon has several examples, most notably Metroplex, Trypticon, Unicron, and Primus.

** Then there's also [[Transformers Cybertron|Primus]] who happens to be Cybertron itself.

* In one episode of ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'', it is said that Egon's ancestor (a magician) tried to refill a well, and woke up its Genius Loki (the term is used) in the form of a horse sized dragon, which thought he was his dad. The magician put it back to sleep. After a few centuries, Egon wakes it, this time house sized.

* ''[[Generator Rex]]'' gives us [[Big Bad|Van Kleiss]]. Though he appears human (if creepy) at first glance, his nanites are spread all throughout his home turf of Abysus. This means that the grounds and vegetation surrounding his creepy castle are effectively a part of him, and if his human body is destroyed [[Good Thing You Can Heal|he can simply reconstitute it]].

* ''[[The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack]]'': One episode had Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles finding themselves on a sentient (but gullible) moon and convincing it to carry them to Candy Island. The moon's traveling causes so much gravitational havoc that the sea god Poseidon has to intervene.

** In the original comics, Bofunga fled after spending years searching for Mogo {{spoiler|when he looked at the map he had made while exploring the planet and realized that the foliage on Mogo formed a ''Green Lantern symbol''.}}