History Literature / SpectralShadows

* AscendedFanfic: Considering it began as a Bambi fanfic and directly adopted characters and elements from My Little Pony, Doctor Who, The Get Along Gang, Mega Man, Sailor Moon, Progressive Rock songs, The Secret of Nimh, Disney and too many others to name before being slightly changed to its current form, it could be seen as the biggest example of this trope as well as a {{Mega Cross Over}}.

''Spectral Shadows'' is an online web serial that first made its debut on its Live Journal page on June 5, 2004. Currently planned for 34 parts, but so far only serial 1 has been completed, with serial 2 being incomplete and on indefinite hold due to the author not only having insufficient knowledge to write it, but also finding more popularity in catering to and parodying the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom with serial 11, the current "active serial".

The story is written by former {{Otaku}} "Perri Rhoades" with art drawn with colored pencils in a purposely childish style by artist Tigers Kitten Creations. Originally, the serial was to follow the adventures of Jonathan and Rael Ommandeer, two anthropomorphic deer who befriended a human, Christine Rhoades James, and the sorts of adventures that they took on throughout all of space and time. However, as of serial 11, it is more about events that are heavily parallel to the author's own life. The author claims it as an "Allegorical Sci-Fi and Fantasy Serial" which seems to be an excuse to make commentary on how the author views some facet of life - be it politics, music, religion, society, GLBT, ex-friends, or otherwise.

The plot has a knack for being all over the place without seeming to follow a set direction, from a virtual {{Role Playing Game}} to a planet, [[Music/{{Rush}} Cygnus]] , that is AfterTheEnd where [[FunnyAnimal half-animal half human creatures]] rule, with 50 individual towns with their own religions and ways of life based off of various forms of entertainment and media from the Elder Race (Read: Humans) and where [[{{Matriarchy}} females are the dominant gender]]. Some could say the story is easily both a SciFiKitchenSink and a FantasyKitchenSink as well as an AscendedFanfic.

Spectral Shadows also has its own fictional story behind it, being that it was a [[RadioDrama Old Time Radio Serial]] that was from TheForties and is continually being rediscovered and serialized on the internet for modern audiences with elements that were "too strong" for 40's radio drama being added into the story. It's also hinted that the one who originally introduced this story was actually a character from the story itself who traveled to the human world.

You can read Spectral Shadows either on its official Live Journal page[[http://spectralshadows.livejournal.com/]], or on Perri Rhoades' Fur Affinity page[[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/perrirhoades/]], and recently a new venue over on Blogspot [[http://spectral1shadows.blogspot.com]]. Now has its own wiki [[http://spectralshadows.wikispaces.com]]. And now has its own [[Shoutout/SpectralShadows Shout-Out Page]].

The story is written by former {{Otaku}} "Perri Rhoades" with art drawn with colored pencils in a purposely childish style by artist Tigers Kitten Creations. Originally, the serial was to follow the adventures of Jonathan and Rael Ommandeer, two anthropomorphic deer who befriended a human, Christine Rhoades James, and the sorts of adventures that they took on throughout all of space and time. However, as of serial 11, it is more about events that are heavily parallel to the author's own life. The author claims it as an "Allegorical Sci-Fi and Fantasy Serial" which seems to be just an excuse to make commentary on how the author views some facet of life - be it politics, music, religion, society, GLBT, ex-friends, or otherwise. Recently, the serial has become nothing but a giant TakeThat bordering on Sonichu levels of self insertion and delusion.

** This also applies to Kacey who appears to be going through situations mirroring the author's own life albeit in a way that makes her appear to be the victim

* FantasyKitchenSink: The series can easily be this. There's vampires, world creators, evil spirits, evil legendary armor, swords that drain spiritual energy, swords generated based on one's own spiritual powers, world warping magical powers, and more. Most of this is due to the author's blatant borrowing from multiple inspirational sources they grew up on and simply changing the names to avoid copyright issues. Most of the elements in this series were not created by the author.

* GuyOnGuyIsHot: While most on Cygnus would think Guy on Guy is abhorrent there are some, namely members of the "Pure Human Fandom", who think this is, leading to various unsafe practices. This is a result of the authors own views on homosexuality between men.

* {{Homage}}: Numerous. Though must are closer to barely disguised knock-offs of popular media smashed together and qualify more as blatant rip offs.

* ShoutOut: Much like Homages, there's plenty of them in all sorts of shapes and sorts. Some fall more into the category of being obvious knock offs due to the author using a large amount of ideas from other series they were interested in and very few of their own. Goes very much into {{Reference Overdosed}} territory.

The story is written by former {{Otaku}} "Perri Rhoades" with art drawn with colored pencils in a purposely childish style by artist Tigers Kitten Creations. Originally, the serial was to follow the adventures of Jonathan and Rael Ommandeer, two anthropomorphic deer who befriended a human, Christine Rhoades James, and the sorts of adventures that they took on throughout all of space and time. However, as of serial 11, it is more about events that are heavily parallel to the author's own life. The author claims it as an "Allegorical Sci-Fi and Fantasy Serial" which seems to be an excuse to make commentary on how the author views some facet of life - be it politics, music, religion, society, GLBT, ex-friends, or otherwise.

* FantasyKitchenSink: The series can easily be this. There's vampires, world creators, evil spirits, evil legendary armor, swords that drain spiritual energy, swords generated based on one's own spiritual powers, world warping magical powers, and more. Most of this is due to the author's blatant borrowing from multiple inspirational sources they grew up on.

* GuyOnGuyIsHot: While most on Cygnus would think Guy on Guy is abhorrent there are some, namely members of the "Pure Human Fandom", who think this is, leading to various unsafe practices.

* {{Homage}}: Numerous. Though must are closer to barely disguised knock-offs of popular media smashed together.

* ShoutOut: Much like Homages, there's plenty of them in all sorts of shapes and sorts. Some fall more into the category of being obvious knock offs due to the author using a large amount of ideas from other series they were interested in. Goes very much into {{Reference Overdosed}} territory.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Subverted with Christine, [[spoiler: Who's fate is to return to her home and face her Heroic Sacrifice.]]

The story is written by former {{Otaku}} "Perri Rhoades" with art drawn with colored pencils in a purposely childish style by artist Tigers Kitten Creations. Originally, the serial was to follow the adventures of Jonathan and Rael Ommandeer, two anthropomorphic deer who befriended a human, Christine Rhoades James, and the sorts of adventures that they took on throughout all of space and time. However, as of serial 11, it is more about events that are heavily parallel to the authors own life. The author claims it as an "Allegorical Sci-Fi and Fantasy Serial" which seems to be an excuse to make commentary on how the author views some facet of life - be it politics, music, religion, society, GLBT, ex-friends, or otherwise.

* WarIsHell: According to Christine Rhoades, her father Harrison James would wake up in the night from nightmares due to all the horrors he witnessed in Chikyu's [[WorldWarII Second Great War]].

** Over in Serial 11 we see a white, long blue haired female rabbit named Twee Galaxy, or according to her driver's license, Perri Prinz, which mirrors the author's screen name on {{Second Life}} and shares many of the author's experiences, opinions, and even the same online lover.

* IntellectualPropertyReligion: Over in Serial 11 - The Planet of Genetic Misadventure we have Cygnus which is chock full of these -- there's [[FilmNoir Noire]], [[TheWizardOfOz Oz]], [[{{Funk}} Funkenville]], [[{{Music}} Rockville]], and more.

''Spectral Shadows'' is an online web serial that first made its debut on its Live Journal page on June 5, 2004. Currently planned for 34 parts, but so far only serial 1 has been completed, with serial 2 being incomplete and on indefinite hold due to the author not only having insufficient knowledge to write it, but also finding more popularity in catering to and parodying the UsefulNotes/{{Furry Fandom}} with serial 11, the current "active serial".

The plot has a knack for being all over the place without seeming to follow a set direction, from a virtual {{Role Playing Game}} to a planet, [[{{Rush}} Cygnus]] , that is {{After The End}} where [[FunnyAnimal half-animal half human creatures]] rule, with 50 individual towns with their own religions and ways of life based off of various forms of entertainment and media from the Elder Race (Read: Humans) and where [[{{Matriarchy}} females are the dominant gender]]. Some could say the story is easily both a {{Scifi Kitchen Sink}} and a {{Fantasy Kitchen Sink}} as well as an {{Ascended Fanfic}}.

Spectral Shadows also has its own fictional story behind it, being that it was a [[{{RadioDrama}} Old Time Radio Serial]] that was from {{The Forties}} and is continually being rediscovered and serialized on the internet for modern audiences with elements that were "too strong" for 40's radio drama being added into the story. It's also hinted that the one who originally introduced this story was actually a character from the story itself who traveled to the human world.

You can read Spectral Shadows either on its official Live Journal page[[http://spectralshadows.livejournal.com/]], or on Perri Rhoades' Fur Affinity page[[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/perrirhoades/]], and recently a new venue over on Blogspot [[http://spectral1shadows.blogspot.com]]. Now has its own wiki [[http://spectralshadows.wikispaces.com]]. And now has its own [[Shoutout/{{SpectralShadows}} Shout-Out Page]].

* {{Abusive Parents}}: Harrison James was this to a degree to Christine when she was younger. Over in Serial 11 there's Princess Jenny from the town of Webberton. Her mother could arguably be this. Also over in Serial 11 we have Kacey Caddell's parents, who don't care much for their child and may have actually partaken in cases to have Kacey terminated as per Suburbia's status quo.

* {{Adult Fear}}: What caused [[spoiler: Christine to lose her memories.]] We'd also say Father Mouse ''massacring'' the Webberton School full of innocent Webbertonian kittens works for this.
* {{Aerith and Bob}}: In Serial 1 we have Jonathan Ommandeer, and Raelian Ommandeer. Then there's Shane and his robotic companion, Rocie.
* {{All There In The Manual}}: Information regarding other characters not seen and Serials yet to be written can only be learned about by reading the extra stuff on the LiveJournal Pages.
* {{The Alliance}}: as an adult, pre-serial 11, Christine James was an ambassador for an interplanetary rebellion against the [[{{TheEmpire}} Astral Pirates' Empire]].
* {{Alternate Universe}}: {{Word of God}} says that the "Somebody Else's Dream AKA The Episodes From Hell" story arc in Serial 11 is this.
* {{After The End}}: Cygnus in Serial 11 would qualify; in addition S31 sees the cast visiting Post-Ommadawn Chikyu.
* {{Amazing Technicolor Population}}: Various places in the serial, especially The Aslander School of Magic, and Cygnus.
* {{Amazing Technicolor World}}: Pentalous is described as this in S4.
* {{Anachronism Stew}}: Cygnus would fit, with all the different towns and ideas being all over the place as far as time and ideas goes.
* {{And Now For Something Completely Different}}: Serial 11 might come off as this, especially in comparison to S1 and S2.

* [[{{AntiMagic}} Anti-Magic]]: In a universe where {{Your Mind Makes it Real}}, it stands reason that if one's unbelief is strong enough, then it could effectively be this. Word of God says [[spoiler: That Spike's unbelief in Blair's magical powers might end up being this]]
* {{Anyone Can Die}}: Don't think being important will save you. [[spoiler: by serial 11 we learn that Raelian is dead, though he is reincarnated as Sir Jon's son, Perry Rhoades. Christine James learns that she is to die in her own time period shortly after her arrival on Cygnus.]] In addition, seeing as serial 2 takes place in The Aslander School of Magic, a virtual roleplaying game, this should come as no surprise. [[{{DeathisaSlapOntheWrist}}Especially since you will respawn the next day, provided you have at least one life.]] Which can only be obtained by killing another player.
* {{Aristocrats Are Evil}}: A lot of upper class and ruling families in Serial 11 are pretty morally bad. Sir Jon and the rest of the Rhoades Family are a subversion of this as well as Jenny after her first appearance.
* {{Arm Cannon}}: Princess Electra, an anthrodroid, in Serial 2.
* {{Artifact of Doom}}: [[spoiler: In the Town of Halloween there's the Book of Secrets, which is what Blair Montgomery is after. It is easily very much this]]
* {{Ascended Fanfic}}: Considering it began as a Bambi fanfic and directly adopted characters and elements from My Little Pony, Doctor Who, The Get Along Gang, Mega Man, Sailor Moon, Progressive Rock songs, The Secret of Nimh, Disney and too many others to name before being slightly changed to its current form, it could be seen as the biggest example of this trope as well as a {{Mega Cross Over}}.
* {{Asshole Victim}}: Dr. Reinhart whenever Christine manages to put him in his place, especially if it follows the Doctor's mistreatment of Kacey. The conspirators who get offed out in No Fur's Land could qualify as well, given that they were willing to kill Princess Jenny to start a war.
* {{Attack Drone}}: Blair's "Secret Weapons" can be used as this.
* {{Attempted Rape}}: Though Cygnusians technically can't rape, Perry does try to manipulate Christine's body so that it will want him. Against Christine's consent.
* {{Author Appeal}}: Many of the plots were created by the author to voice their political and ethical opinions as well a {{Take That}} to society, fandoms, and people from their life.
** In addition, there's a huge amount of allusions, references, and in jokes to pretty much anything the author likes or has liked in their life.
* {{Author Avatar}}: Over in Serial 11 we see a white, long blue haired female rabbit named Twee Galaxy, or according to her driver's license, Perri Prinz, which mirrors the author's screen name on {{Second Life}} and shares many of the author's experiences, opinions, and even the same online lover.
** This also applies to Perry Rhoades who was the author's original self-insert
** [[spoiler: Ra is also this.]]
* {{Author Filibuster}}: Serial 11 is this easily in comparison to the other Serials at times.
* {{Awesome McCoolname}}: Spike Malone, among other characters.
* {{Ax Crazy}}: Dorothy Rhoades, Perry Rhoades' first wife, falls victim to the incurable disease "Red Vision", which makes any creature essentially this trope.
* {{Bad Future}}: Lappina gets a glimpse at this in the Chamber of Three Doors.
* {{Badass Adorable}}: It's a story full of animal characters.
* {{Badass Longcoat}}: Spike, Richie, Jasper (While in his Dream Sequence in Noir).
* {{Badass Normal}}: The Amazing Detectives Agency and [=Ratzo DiCaro=] definitely count. Pretty much, anyone in Noir. Also Jasper when he's [[spoiler: Not the Shadow Cat]].
* {{Barbie Doll Anatomy}}: Christine appears to have this in a piece of artwork showing her transforming into a Cygnusian, with a side of {{Godiva Hair}}.
* {{Bare Your Midriff}}: Tabby's outfit in Serial 2; Saint Saffron's default outfit, and Willow's and Melanie's brothel outfits in Serial 11 feature this as well.
* {{Because Destiny Says So}}: Why Christine must eventually return to the past and pull her {{Heroic Sacrifice}}. Justified in that Christine's Heroic Sacrifice is part of established history, and never returning to do so can potentially undo the future and cause all sorts of temporal issues.
* {{Becoming the Mask}}: [[spoiler: Clover Lappina originally shows up to rope Perry into marriage just to gain wealth and social status, all the while pretending to be in love with him. She eventually grows to actually love him.]]

* {{Beware the Nice Ones}}: Christine, while normally nice, caring, even angelic to a degree, can appear rather threatening and powerful should one of her friends come into danger.

** BiggerBad: Salocin.

* [[{{BigShutUp}} Big "Shut Up!"]]: Queen Sonny pulls this off in Ep 55 when the reporters and other civilians of Suburbia keep clamoring too much and she needs to get their attention. It works without a hitch, seeing as Suburbians see Sonny as their mother figure and she hardly ever yells or shouts.
* {{Bigger on the Inside}}: The Rhoades Mansion is supposed to be like this.

* {{Bland Name Product}}: One drink Vicki holds in an image is said to be called "Cozi-Cola".
* {{Bloodier and Gorier}}: Serial 2 is this, especially in comparison to serial 1. Sure, there was some violence in serial 1, but as the Serial Index on the Live Journal page tells us, serial 1 is only rated G, while 2 is rated PG for violence. Serial 11 also is a little more violent, especially since we get to see the effects of Red Rain, the genetic weapon that nearly killed all life on Cygnus, via a dream sequence. [[NightmareFuel It isn't pretty.]]
* {{Body Horror}}: The effect of Red Rain on the living. Also Blair's forced transformation of [[spoiler: his two Noirian Thugs after they've failed him]].
* {{Brainless Beauty}}: Inverted by a lot of characters that are beautiful, such as Michelle Duarte, Christine Rhoades, Vicki Anderson, and more in S11.

* {{Break the Cutie}}: What happened to a [[spoiler: young Christine]].
* {{Bridal Carry}}: How Perry carries Lappina upstairs in one scene. He also most likely carries Kacey in this fashion following the squnk's first encounter with Christine.
* {{British Stuffiness}}: Camelot, dear boy.
* {{Broken Record}}: "I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery."
* {{Call Back}}: In Serial 1, Shane warns his new squires, Jon and Rael, that they should be put to sleep while their bodies are transformed into an anthro form due to the extreme pain of the process. Sir Jon brings this up to Christine when she turns from a human to a Cygnusian Fox. Christine decides to stay awake and [[{{Squick}} safe to say he was correct]].
* {{Calling Your Attacks}}: "REI CANNON!"
* {{Chainsaw Good}}: How Makura chooses to kill [[spoiler: Roxanne Lazzaro]] during the "Episodes from Hell".
* {{Character Development}}: Rael, Jon, Christine, Vicki, Kacey, Ratzo, Clover Lappina, heck any named character has a fair chance at eventually undergoing this. [[spoiler: Lappina even got to the point where she confessed all her crimes to Ratzo [=DiCaro=], a Norian Detective. To the Noiran religion, this is akin to a sinner fully disclosing all sins to a clergyman. Keep in mind that Lappina used to be a gang member]].
* {{Charm Person}}: Over in Serial 2, one can learn the power of "Charm Magic" if their "Charm" stat is high enough. Christy is said to have a high charm stats, and Ariel seems to be able to do this to others. Clover Lappina is this also somewhat when she first appears in Serial 11. Michelle is also this to male Cygnusians, and is fairly adapt at it.
* {{Children Are Innocent}}: Or at least, retaining childhood qualities can make one innocent, as Lukas is still a child, but it quite the evil little bastard.
* {{Cold Blooded Torture}}: According to the Live Journal page's character index, Omega, the {{Final Boss}} of the Aslander game, likes not to kill players after capturing them, but either turn them into one of his slaves...or subject them to his obnoxiously avant-garde art rock music. Most opt to become his slaves.
* {{Cool Bike}}: Gene Taylor's motorcycle, Amazing 2.
* {{Cool Car}}: Xanthus, Saint Saffron's car; The Shadow Cat's car; Chico, Rick's truck; and Spike Malone's car, Amazing 1, is most likely this.
* {{Cool House}}: The Rhoades Mansion could be this.
* {{Cool Plane}}: Riche Watson's plane, Amazing 3.
* {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}: Blair Montgomery in serial 11 qualifies. Miyan's constant warnings to Perry for him to not trust her may be signs of this as well, especially when [[spoiler: she becomes CEO of Rhoades Instruments]]. In fact, part of Suburbia's religion is that this trope is a necessary evil in order to have a thriving economy.
* {{The Corruptible}}: Seems like anyone can be this, as even Christine loses her child-like qualities and becomes concerned mainly with {{Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll}} (well, not drugs, but definitely the other two).
* {{Crapsaccharine World}}: Some of the towns can be seen as this.
* {{Crapsack World}}: Cygnus, since it is {{After the End}}, and not everything is as it seems with the towns.
* {{Crisis of Faith}}: According to the Plot Synopsis on the Live Journal page, this happens to Jon in Serial 5.
* {{Cute Critters Act Childlike}}: Subverted.
* {{Deadpan Snarker}}: There's a few here and there. Jasper can be this sometimes.
* {{Death is a Slap on the Wrist}}: Serial 2 has this a lot, as a player killed in The Aslander game will just respawn the next day, if they have any spare lives of course.
* {{Deal With the Devil}}: Axel Rhoades, Christine's cousin, is said to be doing this for power and youth. Luscious Rhoades and [[spoiler: Blair Montgomery]] are also dealing with some evil forces for their own goals as well.
* {{Death Seeker}}: Ian is described as this on the Livejournal's Character Sheet.
* {{Democracy is Bad}}: Or, at the very least, "Democracy is A Dangerous Experiment".
* {{Demonic Possession}}: The malignant entity known as Makura inhabits The Shadow Cat's armor and at times has been shown to have the power to take over his body. This also happens to [[spoiler: Christine, after she gets all her memories back the first time. Nicholas]] is also subject to this, due to being host to Lucious' evil soul.

* {{Digital Avatar}}: Serial 2 is said to be taking place on some kind of virtual roleplaying game, so there are characters that aren't actually animal characters in real life, but rather just play one online; examples include Christine James, who plays a red fox, and Russel, a human who plays a blue and white rabbit who got into the game simply because he likes furry women. Second Life knock off Another Life over in serial 11 is also full of these.
* {{Dispel Magic}}: Belief is what gives magic its power. So it is actually possible to dispel magic with enough ''disbelief''.
* {{Driven to Suicide}}: Many humans on Cygnus when the Red Rain fell, especially since suicide would be a less painful way of dying.
* {{Enfant Terrible}}: Lukas, [[spoiler: Lappina's future child]], is this, with a side of {{Ax Crazy}}.
* {{Ensemble Cast}}: Practically any named character gets their fair share of the screen time.
* {{Even Evil Has Loved Ones}}: Blair Montgomery, despite public opinion, 'does' love someone. [[spoiler: Too bad his plans with his loved one involve ruining the world.]]
* {{Evil Brit}}: Camelot is quickly shaping into this, especially with more recent episodes.

* {{Evil Laugh}}: Blair is prone to doing this on occasion.
* {{Evil Versus Evil}}: Camelot and Webberton.
* {{Exploring the Evil Lair}}: Happens to Blair's castle a couple times.
* {{Fan Nickname}}: "Cygnusian" never actually appears anywhere in the story, however it is used to refer to the aliens on Cygnus both in discussions and on the wiki.
* {{Fantastic Racism}}: Most Town folk are like this towards mutants; Leela/Saint Saffron is a shining example of this.
* {{Fantasy Kitchen Sink}}: As noted above, the series can easily be this. There's vampires, world creators, evil spirits, evil legendary armor, swords that drain spiritual energy, swords generated based on one's own spiritual powers, world warping magical powers, and more. Most of this is due to the author's blatant borrowing from multiple inspirational sources they grew up on.
* {{Fate Worse Than Death}}: [[spoiler: Shane was crystallized and is used as the power source to his own Sound Chaser. This happens sometime before Serial 11]].
* {{Film Noir}}: In Serial 11's Cygnus there's a town named Noir, which takes its religion and way of life after old film noir gangster shows. They emulate this even down to the cars that are used; despite every other town using solar power, Noire uses gas-powered cars because they didn't have gas powered cars back in those times.
* {{Flat Earth Atheist}}: Some characters from Noir, such as Leela and Spike, tend to not believe in magic, though in Spike's case it's more or less feeling that there's SOME kind of science behind it and it's not "real" magic.
* {{Frickin Laser Beams}}: Blair's Castle's defenses.
* {{Friendly Enemy}}: Blair seems to be this towards Jasper.
* {{From Bad to Worse}}: Kacey, Christine, and Vicki manage to escape the fire [[spoiler: that Lappina believes she started]], but Christine's injuries put her in a coma, and Kacey has most of her fur burned off and is on life support, leaving only Vicki alive with some injuries and a broken leg. In come Kacey's parents demanding to be put out of her misery.

* {{Genre Busting}}: It can be said to be a scifi fantasy soap opera, but the Serials themselves are planned to cover multiple genres, and Serial 11 seems to have multiple Genres in itself. Not only that, but the author makes the Badass Boast on her LiveJournal that if someone claims two genres fused together cannot work she'll do it just to prove that it can be done.
* {{Genre Roulette}}: Despite being under the banner of "Furry Soap Opera" there are times when serials can have quite different genres or types of stories, if the Synopsis page is anything to go off of.
* {{Ghost City}}: Some of the areas in No Fur's Land are like this, being ruins of the Elder Race's cities and towns, such as the Lost Ferals' home.
* {{Ghost Story}}: An aging ocelot from Halloween tells one over in episode 130 of serial 11.
* {{Grand Finale}}: Serial No. 34, "I Pity Inanimate Objects", is the intended series final.
* {{Gratuitous Japanese}}: There's a decent amount of names of either characters or races that mean something in Japanese. For example, there's Kitsune in Serial 1; Ra's full given title is Taiyo Kami-Sama, and "Kami-Sama" is how the Japanese refer to the Christian God (Supposedly). Then there's Princess Lumira, from the planet Urusei, which means "Obnoxious" in Japanese.
* {{Grim Reaper}}: Rinne-Ra, aka Lord Death, is essentially this.
* {{Guy On Guy Is Hot}}: While most on Cygnus would think Guy on Guy is abhorrent there are some, namely members of the "Pure Human Fandom", who think this is, leading to various unsafe practices.
* {{Hand Cannon}}: Lappina's magnum, especially the one she can use in her Dream Sequence that comes loaded with ''explosive rounds''. Princess Electra's Arm Cannon could be this too.
* {{Haunted Headquarters}}: The Rhoades Mansion is this, especially in the earlier serials set in Chikyu. The S11 incarnation of the mansion is this at times too.
* {{Haunted Heroine}}: Christine, especially in earlier Serials.
* {{Haunted House}}: The Rhoades mansion seems to be this in earlier serials.
* {{Heroic Sacrifice}}: [[spoiler: Christine's]] eventual fate.

* {{Horror Literature}}: The Story tends to dip into this genre at times.
* {{Humanity Ensues}}: Sir Jon is ordered by the Dream Weaver to become human to accomplish his goals in Serial 29. He's not happy at all.
* {{Humans are Bastards}}: To the extent that other sentient life forms in the galaxy think them some sort of plague.

* {{Humans are Flawed}}: Again, to the extent that pretty much each other sentient form in the galaxy thinks less of them.
* {{Hyperspace Arsenal}}: The Omman Knights' cloaks enable this, as they effectively act as a mini-portal between themselves and their Soundchasers.

* {{Info Dump}}: In the beginning of Serial 11 Sir Jon helps Christine regain her lost memories by using the power of his house, which is actually his own Sound Chaser. These memories are projected in the room, and Christine narrates what's happening in a hypnotized state.
* {{Intellectual Property Religion}}: Over in Serial 11 - The Planet of Genetic Misadventure we have Cygnus which is chock full of these -- there's [[{{FilmNoir}} Noire]], [[{{TheWizardofOz}} Oz]], [[{{Funk}} Funkenville]], [[{{Music}} Rockville]], and more.
* {{Interspecies Romance}}: All over the damn place.
* {{Intimate Psychotherapy}}: Played straight quite often in Serial 11.
* {{Jerkass Facade}}: [[spoiler: This seems to be the reason why Jasper acts the way he does towards women in present day Serial 11, as his vow he made to the Shadow Armor means he cannot fall in love with a woman, or else]]
* {{Late Arrival Spoiler}}: Happens if you don't read the serials in order. Happens with serials 2 - 10 by default from reading Serial 11.
* {{Life Embellished}}: The entire Another Life subplot as well as the characters in it, most notably Perri and her lover.
* {{Living Statue}}: Harrison James when he becomes "The Iron Man".
* {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}: The "Character List" of the LiveJournal page boasts some 115 Characters. Word of God says there's easily more than that, even if only a handful are actually fleshed out.
* {{Mad Scientist}}: Dr. Penning in the various serials involving Chikyu. Not only does he try to experiment on Rael, he also creates The Anthrodroids, android anthro animals based on the author's opinion of the Reploids from Mega Man X.
* {{Magic Versus Science}}: The series seems to follow this at points (or at least, some characters subscribe to this belief), but it's eventually subverted as characters that use magic (like Sir Jon and Christine) reveal that magic is actually just another science in of itself.

* [[{{MaleToFemaleUniversalAdaptor}} Male-to-Female-Universal-Adaptor]]: In the case of Cygnus. The way they mate is similar to humans, yet contains several key differences from human sex. Though Cygnusians are fully capable of mating with humans.

* {{Mind Control}}: [[spoiler: This is how Blair will get Princess Kara of Halloween to marry him]].
* {{MsFanservice}}: Saint Saffron is this, to her own fans (or just people that know of her), even to other furs she might kill (Such as the car station owner during the Episodes from Hell/Somebody Else's Dream segment).
* {{Muse Abuse}}: In their Livejournal, the author has made no secret of the fact that they include events paralleled from their real life and create characters based around people they know of. Seems to be Type B.
** Kacey's entire "Another Life" segment in Serial 11 could be considered this, including most (if not all) of the characters and situations mentioned in it.
* {{Neck Lift}}: Blair does this to Lappina at one point.
* {{No Sense of Personal Space}}: Christine Rhoades (Christine James when she gets transformed into a rather child-like and playful, yet mature and mindful anthro fox at the beginning of serial 11) does this to Kacey Caddell, a cute, but yet over weight and terminally shy anthro squirrel. Christine pounces Kacey in a cat-like fashion. Kacey, being very much squirrel like, doesn't take to it well.
* {{The Patriarch}}: Harrison James was most likely this while still human. Sir Jon appears to be this at times, though he will leave matters up to Miss Sonny (seeing as she does have more power than him, she just focuses more on family matters) when the need arises. Some towns on Cygnus, surprisingly, are this.
* {{Power Glows}}: This happens to Christine an awful lot in Serial 11 when she uses her healing powers extensively. Her fur turns to a golden color and angel wings seem to appear. According to {{Word of God}}, this also happened to Christine when she used her powers as Christy in the Alsander School of Magic.
* [[{{PreAssKickingOneLiner}} Pre-Ass Kicking One Liner]]: "Eat my lead, bitch!" Says Lappina [[spoiler: to Dorothy before blasting her away in the Episodes from Hell]].
* {{Professional Gambler}}: Sir Jon. He's the "Master of Games" for a reason.
* {{Punched Across the Room}}: Given the increased strength of Cygnusians, it happens here and there.
** Though in Ratzo's case, she was more or less swatted across the room.
* {{Put on a Bus}}: Lorri Rhoades, Perry's sister, leaves literally in the first episode of Serial 11 to give a concert. She's mentioned far later in the serial but for the time being, it looks like this.
* {{Reincarnation Romance}}: Happens quite a bit. Not surprising, given that characters seldom ever die off for good; most are simply reincarnated into another form, or in Sir Jon's case [[spoiler: achieve power over death and is revived]].
* {{The Reveal}}: Usually with who someone was in a past life. Especially during mating dreams in Serial 11 (Mating dreams are essentially dreams or visions one has while joined with a mate. They can either be memories or just dreams, but the main characters tend to get either their own memories or memories from a past life as a vision); [[spoiler: During Christine and Perry's join, it's revealed that Vicki is the reincarnation of Melinda the unicorn, and Perry is a reincarnation of Sir Jon's brother, Rael; later down the road we see Kacey is a reincarnation of Kimmy, someone Christine used to love back on Cygnus, as well as Jock Walsh's past life. And that Christine was in love with the past lives of Vicki and Kacey. The author certainly loves making things complex.]]

* {{Magic Versus Science}}: The series seems to follow this at points (or at least, some characters subscribe to this belief), but it's eventually subverted as characters that use magic (like Sir Jon and Christine) reveal that magic is actually just another science in of itself.
* {{Sealed Evil in a Can}}: The "Malignant Entity" [[spoiler: Makura]] in Serial 4 is this. And it's accidentally set free.
* {{Scifi Kitchen Sink}}: much like the aforementioned Fantasy Kitchen Sink, there's a whole lot of scifi elements, from time travel, to mechas, an intergalactic internet that spans space and time, an evil galactic empire controlled by Space Pirates, mad scientists, and a planet populated by creatures that are half animal half human (with some that are more animal than human, and vice-verse).
* {{Serious Business}}: It doesn't matter what a Town's religion is based off of, it will always be this to the residents.
* {{Shout Out}}: Much like Homages, there's plenty of them in all sorts of shapes and sorts. Some fall more into the category of being obvious knock offs due to the author using a large amount of ideas from other series they were interested in. Goes very much into {{Reference Overdosed}} territory.
** And now there's a [[Shoutout/{{SpectralShadows}} Shout-Out Page]].
* {{Supernatural Soap Opera}}: In novelized online form.
* {{Time Machine}}: Soundchasers, the Pyramid-shaped shape-changing ships that Time Captains use.
* {{Time Travel}}: Oh dear lord. Lots of it. Just ask the author sometime. Chances are someone you meet is either a reincarnation of someone from earlier (or even from the future), or a different form of someone Time Traveling.
* {{Title Drop}}: We do see references to either a "spectral shadow" or "spectral shadows". On occasion, serials might Title Drop their own titles as well.

* {{Trailers Always Spoil}}: Guaranteed to happen if you read the Synopsis page.
* {{Trans Nature}}: Kacey over in Serial 11. She's a submissive person herself, though with the Matriarchy in place, being female and submissive is a no-go, so she seeks to become male so that she can be submissive without being ostracized by society. Word of God says that if she's put into an environment where she can be both female and submissive, then she wouldn't seek to gender change.
* {{Unwanted Spouse}}: Seeing as Cygnusians marry whoever they knock up or get knocked up by, it seems like many marriages could end up like this.

* {{Vigilante Man}}: Saint Saffron is easily this; The Shadow Cat may also fit this trope, but he'd be an inversion given that he doesn't harm innocents, let alone actually kill anyone (unless possessed by the spirit of his armor).
* {{Virtual Soundtrack}}: Some serials contain lyrical cues and have places or characters in them named after things from a musical track or album that inspired the author.

* {{Voluntary Shapeshifting}}: It's suggested that Time Captains can do this.
* {{War is Hell}}: According to Christine Rhoades, her father Harrison James would wake up in the night from nightmares due to all the horrors he witnessed in Chikyu's [[{{WorldWarII}} Second Great War]].
* {{Web Serial Novel}}
* {{Wicked Cultured}}: Omega in Serial 2 might be this.
* {{Winged Humanoid}}: Avians on Cygnus. There's also a griffin that one of the members of the Alien Princess' Club blasts the head off of during their match against The Warriors' Club. Oh, and
* [[{{YouCantGoHomeAgain}} You Can't Go Home Again]]: Subverted with Christine, [[spoiler: Who's fate is to return to her home and face her Heroic Sacrifice.]]
* {{You Gotta Have Blue Hair}}: Vicki and Twee Galaxy over in Serial 11.
* {{You Have Failed Me}}: Blair to [[spoiler: The Noirian Henchmen he hired]].
* {{You Need To Get Laid}}: Told to both Christine and Kacey repeatedly in Serial 11 when they make the choice to be celibate. More so to Christine than Kacey.

* {{Badass}}: A lot. Villains, heroes, protagonists, a lot of characters either have their defining bad ass moments, or are just a badass in general.

* {{Blondes are Evil}}: Michelle in Serial 11. Subverted by Kacey.

'''Spectral Shadows''' is an online web serial that first made its debut on its Live Journal page on June 5, 2004. Currently planned for 34 parts, but so far only serial 1 has been completed, with serial 2 being incomplete and on indefinite hold due to the author not only having insufficient knowledge to write it, but also finding more popularity in catering to and parodying the UsefulNotes/{{Furry Fandom}} with serial 11, the current "active serial".

* {{Vigilante Man}}: Saint Saffron is easily this; The Shadow Cat may also fit this trope, but he'd be an inversion given that he doesn't harm innocents, let alone actually kill anyone (unless possessed by the spirit of his armor).

* FrickinLaserBeams: Blair's castle defenses shoots lasers.

* {{Frickin Laser Beams}}: Blair's Castle's defenses.

* {{Guy On Guy Is Hot}}: Subverted by the fact that on Cygnus, two men cannot have sex at all.
** Supposedly, this is a belief of the "Pure Human Fandom" leading to dangerous, life threatening practices and the use of unsafe devices made by the "Peach Fuzz" corporation.

* {{Hyperspace Arsenal}}: The Omman Knights' cloaks enable this.

* [[{{MaleToFemaleUniversalAdaptor}} Male-to-Female-Universal-Adaptor]]: In the case of Cygnus. The way they mate is similar to humans, yet contains several key differences from human sex. Though Cygnusians are fully capable of mating with humans.

* {{Vigilante Man}}: Saint Saffron is easily this; The Shadow Cat may also fit this trope, but he'd be an inversion given that he doesn't harm innocents, let alone actually kill anyone (unless possessed by the spirit of his armor).
* {{Voluntary Shapeshifting}}: It's suggested that Time Captains can do this.

* {{Death Seeker}}: Ian is described as this on the Livejournal's Character Sheet.
* {{Deal With the Devil}}: Axel Rhoades, Christine's cousin, is said to be doing this for power and youth. Luscious Rhoades and [[spoiler: Blair Montgomery]] are also dealing with some evil forces for their own goals as well.

* DispelMagic: Belief is what gives magic its power. So it is actually possible to dispel magic with enough ''disbelief''.

* {{Ensemble Cast}}

* [[{{AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent}} And Now For Something Completely Different]]: Serial 11 might come off as this, especially in comparison to S1 and S2.
* {{AllThereInTheManual}}: Information regarding other characters not seen and Serials yet to be written can only be learned about by reading the extra stuff on the LiveJournal Pages.
* {{Author Appeal}}: Many of the plots were created by the author to voice their political and ethical opinions as well a {{Take That}} to society, fandoms, and people from their life.
** In addition, there's a huge amount of allusions, references, and in jokes to pretty much anything the author likes or has liked in their life.
* {{Author Filibuster}}: Serial 11 is this easily in comparison to the other Serials.
* {{Ascended Fanfic}}: Considering it began as a Bambi fanfic and directly adopted characters and elements from My Little Pony, Doctor Who, The Get Along Gang, Mega Man, Sailor Moon, Progressive Rock songs, The Secret of Nimh, Disney and too many others to name before being slightly changed to its current form, it could be seen as the biggest example of this trope as well as a {{Mega Cross Over}}.
* {{Adult Fear}}: What caused [[spoiler: Christine to lose her memories.]] We'd also say Father Mouse ''massacring'' the Webberton School full of innocent Webbertonian kittens works for this.

* {{Animorphism}}: Early in Serial 11 Christine James undergoes the transformation into Christine Rhoades, her fursona.

* {{The Alliance}}: as an adult, pre-serial 11, Christine James was an ambassador for an interplanetary rebellion against the [[{{TheEmpire}} Astral Pirates' Empire]].
* {{Alternate Universe}}: {{Word of God}} says that the "Somebody Else's Nightmare" story arc in Serial 11 is this.
* {{Amazing Technicolor Population}}: Various places in the serial, especially The Aslander School of Magic, and Cygnus.

* {{Aerith and Bob}}: In Serial 1 we have Jonathan Ommandeer, and Raelian Ommandeer. Then there's Shane and his robotic companion, Rocie.

* {{Author Avatar}}: Over in Serial 11 we see a white, long blue haired female rabbit named Twee Galaxy, or according to her driver's license, Perri Prinz, which mirrors the author's screen name on {{Second Life}} and shares many of the author's experiences, opinions, and even the same online lover.
** This also applies to Perry Rhoades who was the author's original self-insert
** [[spoiler: Ra is also this.]]

* {{Bad Future}}: Lappina gets a glimpse at this in the Chamber of Three Doors.

* {{Because Destiny Says So}}: Why Christine must eventually return to the past and pull her {{Heroic Sacrifice}}.

* {{Bigger on the Inside}}: The Rhoades Mansion is supposed to be like this.
* [[{{BigShutUp}} Big "Shut Up!"]]: Queen Sonny pulls this off in Ep 55 when the reporters and other civilians of Suburbia keep clamoring too much and she needs to get their attention. It works without a hitch, seeing as Suburbians see Sonny as their mother figure and she hardly ever yells or shouts.

* BlandNameProduct: One drink Vicki holds in an image is said to be called "Cozi-Cola".

* BodyHorror: The effect of Red Rain on the living. Also Blair's forced transformation of [[spoiler: his two Noirian Thugs after they've failed him]].
* BrainlessBeauty: Inverted by a lot of characters that are beautiful, such as Michelle Duarte in S11, but aren't stupid at all.
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler: happens to Miyan, Lappina, and Kara]].
* BritishStuffiness: Camelot, dear boy.
* {{Break the Cutie}}: What happened to a [[spoiler: young Christine]].
* BridalCarry: How Perry carries Lappina upstairs in one scene. He also most likely carries Kacey in this fashion following the squnk's first encounter with Christine.
* BrokenRecord: "I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery."
* CallBack: In Serial 1, Shane warns his new squires, Jon and Rael, that they should be put to sleep while their bodies are transformed into an anthro form due to the extreme pain of the process. Sir Jon brings this up to Christine when she turns from a human to a Cygnusian Fox. Christine decides to stay awake and [[{{Squick}} safe to say he was correct]].

* {{Character Development}}: Rael, Jon, Christine, Vicki, Kacey, Ratzo, Clover Lappina, heck any named character has a fair chance at eventually undergoing this. [[spoiler: Lappina even got to the point where she confessed all her crimes to Ratzo [=DiCaro=], a Norian Detective. To the Noiran religion, this is akin to a sinner fully disclosing all sins to a clergyman. Keep in mind that Lappina used to be a gang member]].

* {{Crapsack World}}: Cygnus, since it is {{After the End}}, and not everything is as it seems with the towns.
* {{Crapsaccharine World}}: Some of the towns can be seen as this.

* {{Deal With the Devil}}: Axel Rhoades, Christine's cousin, is said to be doing this for power and youth. Luscious Rhoades and [[spoiler: Blair Montgomery]] are also dealing with some evil forces for their own goals as well.
* {{Death is a Slap on the Wrist}}: Serial 2 has this a lot, as a player killed in The Aslander game will just respawn the next day, if they have any spare lives of course.
* {{Death Seeker}}: Ian is described as this on the Livejournal's Character Sheet.

%%* {{Bare Your Midriff}}:

%%* BeeAfraid: Blair Montgomery's "Secret Weapon".

* {{Fanfic}}: In the form of an {{Alternate Universe Fic}} named ''Fanfic/{{Cyberdine Dreams}}'' by Niko Linni.
** ...which has been discontinued and re-rebranded under the Dream Parallax name. Its still an Alternate Universe Fic, however.

* {{In Media Res}}: Serial 11 pretty much begins like this.

* {{Bare Your Midriff}}:

* {{Berserk Button}}: Never threaten Christine's friends (Or try to use their pain to get back at her [[spoiler: as Reinhart tries to do to Kacey after Christine rejects him]]). Putting any of Sir Jon's friends or family in danger is a foolish idea as well. Also, don't act a bunch of hypocritical children around Miss Sonny. She's nice, but if you push her buttons...

* {{Big Bad}}: There's Omega the Crimson King in Serial 2, a "Malignant Entity" [[spoiler: who's actually Makura]] in Serial 4, Dr. Penning seems to be this, at least to Rael in Serial 7, [[spoiler: Blair]] seems to be set up as the possible Big Bad for 11, [[spoiler: Dorothy Rhoades]] in Serial 13, the unnamed reptilian crime lord for 14, Dr. Penglous [[spoiler: who's just Dr. Penning regenerated]] in Serial 18, The Black Widow computer in Serial 31, and Dr. Penning, The Black Widow, and the Astral Pirates in Serial 32. The Astral Pirates also serve as a major antagonistic force for most of the serials involving Chikyu.
** {{Bigger Bad}}: Salocin.
* {{Big Good}}: Sir Jon and Miss Sonny in Serial 11. Shane in Serial 1 could be this. And then there's the Fox Fairy King in Serial 2.

* {{Body Horror}}: The effect of Red Rain on the living. Also Blair's forced transformation of [[spoiler: his two Noirian Thugs after they've failed him]].
* {{Brainless Beauty}}: Inverted by a lot of characters that are beautiful, such as Michelle Duarte in S11, but aren't stupid at all.

* {{British Stuffiness}}: Camelot, dear boy.

* {{Bridal Carry}}: How Perry carries Lappina upstairs in one scene. He also most likely carries Kacey in this fashion following the squnk's first encounter with Christine.
* {{Broken Record}}: "I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery. I have never met Blair Montgomery."
* {{Call Back}}: In Serial 1, Shane warns his new squires, Jon and Rael, that they should be put to sleep while their bodies are transformed into an anthro form due to the extreme pain of the process. Sir Jon brings this up to Christine when she turns from a human to a Cygnusian Fox. Christine decides to stay awake and [[{{Squick}} safe to say he was correct]].

* [[{{EverythingsWorseWithBees}} Everything's Worse With Bees]]: Blair Montgomery's "Secret Weapon".

'''Spectral Shadows''' is an online web serial that first made its debut on its Live Journal page on June 5, 2004. Currently planned for 34 parts, but so far only serial 1 has been completed, with serial 2 being incomplete and on indefinite hold due to the author not only having insufficient knowledge to write it, but also finding more popularity in catering to and parodying the {{Furry Fandom}} with serial 11, the current "active serial".

* {{Bland-Name Product}}: One drink Vicki holds in an image is said to be called "Cozi-Cola".

* {{Digital Avatar}}: Serial 2 is said to be taking place on some kind of virtual roleplaying game, so there are characters that aren't actually animal characters in real life, but rather just play one online; examples include Christine James, who plays a red fox, and Russel, a human who plays a blue and white rabbit who got into the game simply because he likes furry women. Second Life knock off Another Life over in serial 11 is also full of these.

* {{Fan Nickname}}: "Cygnusian" is actually never said in story, but is used by some readers in relation to the animal people on Cygnus.

You can read Spectral Shadows either on its official Live Journal page[[http://spectralshadows.livejournal.com/]], or on Perri Rhoades' Fur Affinity page[[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/perrirhoades/]]. Now has its own wiki [[http://spectralshadows.wikispaces.com]]. And now has its own [[Shoutout/{{SpectralShadows}} Shout-Out Page]].

* {{Hand Cannon}}: Lappina's magnum, especially the one she can use in her Dream Sequence that comes loaded with 'explosive rounds'. Princess Electra's Arm Cannon could be this too.

* {{Abandoned Area}}: Plenty of places in No Fur's Land have these, a prime example being the city ruins the Lost Ferals live within.

* [[{{DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything}} Does This Remind You Of Anything?]]: All over the place.

* {{Girl On Girl Is Hot}}: Seen specifically with Christine and several of her relationships. Pushed into {{A Threesome Is Hot}} on Cygnus by the fact that women can only reach orgasm if a man is involved.

* {{Het is Ew}}: Averted and turned on its ear as heterosexual couples are the normal default. Especially seen in Serial 11 where gay sex is portrayed as unnatural, lesbians cannot reach orgasm without a man, and breeding (ie - heterosexual relations) is seen as so important that "mating breaks" are part of a normal working day.

* {{Sophisticated as Hell}}: Omega from Serial 2 is suggested to be this, if his Character List entry is anything to go off of. He speaks in an English accent and is said to be always polite. Despite being a Big Bad.