shapeshifting questions

if you ever did it, became your inner critter, what would you do then? what if it was permanent? what if it required the sacrifice of life, be it someone else's or your own? could you do it? would it be worth it? would you be willing to give up your life, everything you knew, everyone you loved? if it worked, how would you eat? if you are very large, what would you do? where would you go? what if the government knew, would they chase you or try to destroy you? would it be worth it? what if the shapeshifting we were meant to undergo is purely symbolic / figurative? just some things ive thought about over the years ^^

What I'd be willing to give up depends on the context of the transformation. If for instance it turned out I was actually just on a drug trip all this time, then yes, I would be willing to give up everything. The reason for this is that it wouldn't actually hurt anybody, as they aren't actually real. It would hurt me, certainly, but it would be worth the pain.

But if it were magic or just some random thing, then it would be a lot harder. There is no way I would sacrifice someone's life for it. I could not live with the guilt. I'd be willing to give up my life and everything, but one cannot give up their life without hurting others somehow.

For where to go, what to eat, I don't see that as a huge difficulty. There are plenty of pretty deserted places in this wide world, and I'd assume I could hunt for food pretty easily...if not, I'd just steal food from campsites and freak campers out.

I think the best solution to the government problem would be to send things to newspapers and internet forums with evidence, and have a couple of people hold letters in case of suspicious death. That way the public would know, which makes it harder to capture you without backlash, and even if they do manage it everyone would know from the held letters. That sentence wasn't expressed in the clearest way but I can't figure out a better way.

As to symbolism...I don't know. A symbolic shift would still be somewhat dramatic, changing your whole life view. It's worth hoping for at least.

for the symbolic view, i think i have already 'shapeshifted' fully and completely. kinda hard to explain, but everything about me has slowly and subtley shifted to dragon. (lol im wearing black pants and a black shirt with a green belly XD)

Well, I would undergo that physical change. Though, I think it would be quite hard to sacrifice someone else; to a degree that I think I wouldn't do it. Especially if it requires a sentient or a reptilian sacrifice. The first thing I'd do... Is fly. Fly around the globe to see my friends, and roarr my freedom to the skies. It would worth my life here as I know it. I would throw it all away to get back what was mine, to get my wings, tail, scales and talons back. I would endure all the pain he transformation would inflict on me, it would be definitely worth it. I think, I'd live somewhere in the woods, I'd choose a bigger wilderness and create a new myth there. Like Nessie, or the Yeti. It does good for people, it gives them something to believe in, and I think dragonkin would like to have a mythos of their own.
The government wouldn't be all that problematic to evade.
And in a way, I believe I had partially went under that change you speak of, Draco.

To be honest, with the exception of my health issues, I'm rather enjoying experiencing life in human form. If I could physically shapeshift back into daekar form I would want to be back home on Illsyndra. I certainly would NOT want to do so here on Earth, as I really doubt humanity, in general, would accept me.

For now I'm happy just experiencing mental shifting.