Basic Trope: A loved one (or a likeable villain) becomes a monster, losing their humanity in the process.
- Straight:
- Alice and Bob spend the first act adventuring together, then Alice is transformed into a Humanoid Abomination by the Big Bad.
- Alice is a Noble Top Enforcer of a Police State who helps Take Over the City with iron fist, but she gets unwillingly transformed into a monster halfway through.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice and Bob spend the entire story travelling, with Alice as a Deuteragonist. Suddenly, at the end she's warped into a monstrous Big Bad by a Diabolus ex Machina.
- Alice is a Galactic Conqueror and an Omnicidal Maniac who, in spite of her sheer sadism, does not enjoy being turned into an Eldritch Abomination.
- Downplayed: Circumstances turn Alice against Bob and she becomes a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
- Justified: Alice was infected with The Corruption and she doesn't enjoy the every second on it, especially when she has loved ones.
- Inverted:
- Alice, a monster which has been plaguing Bob is transformed into a normal human.
- Alternatively, Complete Monster.
- Subverted: Alice's mind remains intact, and she simply becomes a cute monster girl.
- Double Subverted: While it hasn't outright changed her mind, her personality is being subtly altered. A bit more exposure to The Corruption and some Fantastic Racism is all it takes to make her go Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
- Parodied: Alice is sunburnt and becomes a bit snippy from the soreness. She and everyone else worries that she's slowly transforming into some sort of demon.
- Zig Zagged: How "tragic" the transformation is portrayed as varies. Sometimes the mere mention of Alice is enough to driver Bob into a Heroic BSoD, other times they fight her off with no mention of who she once was.
- Averted: Alice is infected with a monster virus, but receives the vaccine in time and the change never begins.
- Enforced: The writers want a character to turn evil, however they wrote themselves into a corner by making the cast seem too close to turn against each other. They come up with the idea of having Alice transformed into a monster to explain it.
- Lampshaded: "Why can't it just be a mook? No one cares about them!"
- Invoked: The Big Bad transforms Alice specifically to upset Bob.
- Exploited: Alice realizes that she's transforming into a dangerous monster, and positions herself near enemy lines to ensure she'll at least only harm the villains.
- Defied:
- Alice, Bob and the rest of the cast make sure that everyone they care about (and themselves) are vaccinated, sanctified and otherwise protected from whatever the Big Bad might come up with.
- Alice is physically turned into a monster but has enough Heroic Willpower to retain her mind and stay on the heroes' side.
- Discussed: "I hear the the Overlord has the power to transform humans into monsters against their will!" "I hope he doesn't do it to anybody we care about!"
- Conversed: "Is this the part where the villain's Mad Scientist straps Alice to his operating table and transforms her into a monster to distract the others while he makes his escape?"
- Implied: Alice the monster takes a moment to reminisce about her youth (or her loved ones). It's not clear, but it sounds like she may have been human.
- Deconstructed: It's a case of Cursed with Awesome. Alice gets a bunch of new powers, nothing happens to her mind, and Bob thinks her new form is sexy. Overall, Alice is happy as a monster.
- Reconstructed: Being a monster may have some advantages, but Alice faces too much Fantastic Racism to remain on the side of good. Soon, she ends up turning evil.
- Played For Laughs: Evulz's magic only puts Alice in a Latex Perfection monster disguise. She finds the zipper and gets out. Cue an "Oh, Crap!" from Evulz as Alice returns the intended favor.
- Played For Drama:
- Bob kills Emperor Evulz after witnessing Alice's transformation. However, he is still forced to Mercy Kill Alice. The guilt from her death never truly leaves Bob.
- Alice has already been an Omnicidal Maniac with Well-Intentioned Extremist intents, but the moment she turns into a monster, she is even horrified by herself, even around the minions.
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