Basic Trope: Someone transforms based on how they view themself.
- Straight:
- Bob views himself as being tall, which leads to him suddenly gaining a foot in height.
- Alice is a furry with a wolf fursona, which she transforms into.
- Jack is an egotistical asshole, and he transforms into a rich supermodel.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob becomes 50-foot-tall and accidentally destroys the surrounding area just by walking.
- Alice becomes an actual wild wolf.
- Jack becomes an actual deity after viewing himself as a god.
- Downplayed:
- Bob gains a millimeter in height over a few seconds.
- Alice gains a tail and wolf-ears.
- Jack's body becomes noticeably sleeker after becoming more confident of his looks.
- Justified:
- Alice is a standard Shapeshifter.
- Bob is cursed with having thoughts become reality.
- Inverted:
- Bob always becomes the opposite of what he views himself: If he views himself as fat, he becomes skinny.
- Bob ends up transforming into what others view him as.
- Subverted: Bob is convinced he will turn into a Dumb Jock himself after hanging out with the other jocks, but he goes home feeling the same.
- Double Subverted: When he gets home, Bob's brother yells in shock "Who are you?!", to which Bob smugly (yet obliviously) says "I'm Bob, bro. Are ya dumb?"
- Untwisted: The jocks saw Bob suddenly transform but were too mortified to say anything.
- Parodied:
- Jack views himself as an "alpha male", then transforms into a woman.
- Jack believes in the "10% of the brain" myth and imagines himself as using 100% of his brain, resulting in a fatal seizure.
- Zig-Zagged:
- Bob imagines himself with big muscles, which results in him transforming into a hulk, but the effect only lasts an hour, after which he is actually left with less muscle mass than before.
- Jack is simultaneously self-perception shapeshifter and an Empathic Shapeshifter. Jack imagines himself as with big muscles, while Alice imagines Jack as being a hyena. Jack transforms into a big-muscled hyena.
- Averted: Bob thinks he has gained weight, but he is just imagining it.
- Implied: While working out, Bob imagines himself with big muscles. Suddenly, the weight he's lifting feels a lot lighter.
- Lampshaded: "If I have gained muscle the next time you see me, just know that my ego will have gotten bigger too."
- Invoked:
- Bob buys a loose t-shirt and wishes he fit into it perfectly.
- Exploited:
- Jack uses his powers to gain immortality.
- Jack is a dictator who views himself as an ultrapowerful god, which in turn helps him retain absolute authority over the national and a deeply ingrained cult of personality.
- The Bully knows about Bob's powers and verbally demeans Bob to ensure that Bob always has a low self-esteem, which results in Bob always being physically weak...
- Defied: ...However, Bob eventually stands up for himself and avoids becoming any weaker at the hands of the bully.
- Discussed: "Does Alice shapeshift because she feels doesn't feel comfortable with her old form?"
- Conversed: "Alice is still figuring out her identity, so of course being able to change form is useful in this process."
- Played for Laughs: Bob makes a bad pun, then sees himself turning into a clown in the mirror.
- Played for Drama:
- Bob's body dysphoria is only worsened by transforming into already exaggerated forms of his self-perception, leading into a downward spiral in which his body becomes unsustainable.
- Alice fears werewolves and becomes a werewolf.
- Jack becomes more and more egotistical, resulting in him becoming an all-powerful Mew-based deity, but at the cost of him alienating his friends and family.
- Played for Horror:
- Jack gives Alice a drug that causes her to hallucinate her turning into an Eldritch Abomination, which she actually turns into.
- Bob unintentionally imagines himself as an inanimate object.
- Deconstructed:
- Reconstructed:
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