History Main / AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'''s Velvet Room is an inanimate example, taking different shapes depending on who its current client is. That said, visitors connected to each other see the same place- the Phantom Thieves see the desolate prison that their leader Joker does, and the third game's SchrodingersPlayerCharacter|s (who are siblings or each other's AlternateSelf depending on the canon) see the same perpetually moving elevator, as does [[spoiler:Aigis, who inherited their Wild Card and heroic legacy]].

* In ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries,'' [[LoveGoddess Aphrodite]] looks like a person's ideal of beauty, meaning that she's different for each person and can even change while you're talking to her. When [[TheHero Percy]] first meets her, he thinks that she looks like a cross between [[BadassBookworm Annabeth]] (for whom he's recently had a LoveEpiphany) and an unnamed TV actress whom he used to have a crush on. At other times (particularly, it seems, while she's appearing to heterosexual women) the exact details seem to be constantly in flux.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone,'' the Mirror of [[SdrawkcabName Erised]] shows a person whatever their greatest desire is, but nobody else can see it. Harry sees [[OrphansOrdeal his dead family]] and tries to show them to Ron, but Ron sees himself, [[OvershadowedByAwesome having matched all of his older brothers' accomplishments]]. This is important for the climax, as the mirror shows Harry how to get the MacGuffin while the villain can't see it.

* The Truth in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' takes the form of a silhouette of the one talking to it, because what everyone is actually seeing is their personal "truth" connecting them to all other life in the world.

* In the anime and manga adaptations of ''Literature/VillainessLevel99'', Yumiella appears to be an AloofDarkHairedGirl to most people. However, due to having [[LightDarkJuxtaposition opposite elements]] and a large difference in level (Yumiella already hit the level cap), Alicia can only perceive Yumiella as a glob of dark fog with ScaryShinyEyes.

* The Creator/PhilipKDick story "Faith of Our Fathers" uses a variation on this. A TrueBeliever in a future {{dystopia}} attempts to watch a televised speech by the all-powerful leader while under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug, and sees the leader transform into a hideous EldritchAbomination. He is then informed that what he took was not a hallucinogen, but an ''antidote'' to the hallucinogens that are in every citizen's rations... The leader is in fact an alien monster, but no one can grasp his true form because he has a whole handful of different appearances -- which one you see ostensibly depends on your personality.

* The maid in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryMurderHouse'' appeared young and beautiful to the husband, but middle-aged to the wife.

* ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'': How the zombies are depicted changes on how they're perceived by whoever sees them. Amongst each other, the zombies look like normal girls, albeit with greenish-blue skin and the occasional bandages or [[ScaryStitches Scary Stitches]]. However, when people are frightened by their appearance—including each other when they realize their makeup washed off in public—their putrefied complexions, sunken features, and bulging red eyes become apparent, reminding the viewer that they're still walking corpses.

* There are some optical illusions that appear differently to different people (or to the same person, depending on how their brain is processing them). One notable example was a phot of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress dress]] that went viral in 2015, which appeared blue and black to some people, and white and gold to others.

** The Realm of the Dead appears different to everyone. For Antimony and Mort, it appears (or so we're told) to be a majestic [[TheUnderworld underworld]], filled with enormous libraries, labyrinthine mazes, and enormous creatures of glory. For Kat, the devoted [[TheSkeptic skeptic]] - as well as the audience - it appears to be nothing more than a cheap haunted house run by guys in dollar-store costumes.

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'': In ''The Traitor's Hand]]'', the Slaaneshi sorceress Cain and a squad encounter has the ability to appear as the person each viewer cares the most for. [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther Cain sees her as Amberley]] (and is about to shoot another Guardsman for looking at her with the same expression and calling her by a different name)... until [[AntiMagic Jurgen]] shows up, breaking the spell and revealing her as a homely middle-aged woman.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', this is TheReveal for [[spoiler:Xion. She is a being made out of memories siphoned off from Sora, and her appearance is different to many people when they look at her. Who they see is mainly dependent on the individual's relationship to her or to those connected to Sora. Roxas, Axel, Riku, Naminé, and a few others see her as a black-haired girl with Kairi's face - this is the appearance Xion also sees herself as. Axel writes a report that indicates he may have initially seen her as Naminé, although it's unclear if he was merely commenting on their resemblance; Xigbar sees her as Ventus. Xemnas sees her as Sora. Saix sees her as a faceless puppet, which is part of the reason why he calls her [[ItIsDehumanizing "it"]] and can't understand why Axel cares about her. In the manga adaption of ''Days'' Riku and Naminé occasionally would see Xion as Kairi, while in the novel adaption it's implied Riku sees her, very briefly, as Sora when he finds her at the Destiny Islands. [[note]]Riku also initially mistakes her for Sora when he dives into Sora's heart at the end of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]''.[[/note]] Towards the end of the story, Xion's appearance becomes very unstable and starts to oscillate between looking one particular way, to looking like Sora to everyone, even to those who would see her as someone else.]]

* Subverted in ''Series/TheMiddleman'', when Wendy and the Middleman visit the Underworld.
-->'''Wendy''': This is the Underworld? So all those temp jobs really were hell on earth.\\
'''Middleman''': What do you mean?\\
'''Wendy''': It was a joke. You know, because this is supposed to be the Underworld, but instead it looks just like a boring old office building.\\
'''Middleman''': Sands of Zanzibar! You see an office building? \\
'''Wendy''': Yeah. You don't?\\
'''Middleman''': I see a field. Wild. Overgrown. Barbaric. Look, over there! A feral rabbit.\\
'''Wendy''': Seriously?\\
'''Middleman''': No. I see an office building. \\
'''Wendy''': Wow. Somebody's funny in the Underworld.

** Pleasure [=GELFs=] can appear to any onlooker as their perfect mate, despite looking like disgusting green blobs in their natural form. This results in a confusing conversation when Kryten and Lister meet one without knowing what she is and Kryten can't understand why Lister finds her so attractive, because he's aware that the fem android he's seeing doesn't fit human standards of beauty. Cat is so vain and egotistical that when he goes to meet the GELF he ends up having a cheerful conversation with a copy of himself.
** Also Psirens, whose true form was some sort of giant beetle thing.

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

* If you can believe it, the original concept of [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos The Slender Man]] was ''not'' TheBlank we all know and love. He had a face that looked different to everyone, and only appeared faceless in pictures and videos due to GlamourFailure. Needless to say, this aspect of the character was quickly dropped in favor of making him genuinely faceless.