History Main / Paradise

[[redirect:WebOriginal/{{Paradise}}]]

[[redirect:WebOriginal/Paradise]]

A WebOriginal SharedUniverse [[FurryFandom Furry]] setting (whose stories are [[http://shifti.org/wiki/Paradise_(Setting) available here]]) which grew out of a story called "A Kind of Paradise" (after a song from the ''WolfsRain'' soundtrack) by [=JonBuck=] and now includes stories by many other authors.

The premise of the setting is that, starting in 1987 in a world similar to our own, an unknown force began to cause people to change (or [[CapitalLettersAreMagic "Change"]]) into FunnyAnimal versions of themselves, starting with 1 person the first year, 2 the next, doubling every year (meaning that, by 2020, the entire population of the world will be Changed). Some of the Changed also change gender at the same time.

Thanks to a [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] or "Veil", these changes are InvisibleToNormals, to whom the Changed continue to look like their original human selves. For the first part of the series, Changed must carefully [[{{Masquerade}} pretend everything is normal]] for fear of ending up in mental institutions or worse, revealing their condition only to [[BrokenMasquerade a trusted few]] "normal" humans. Later in the series, the WeirdnessCensor begins to break down and [[TheUnmasquedWorld Changed are eventually revealed to the world]].

[[WordOfGod JonBuck]] notes that, "This setting is intended as a mix of WishFulfillment and darker, more realistic consequences." As such, many characters are [[AuthorAvatar Author Avatars]] with their names and the names of friends and family changed. Some {{Transsexual}} characters are the result of AuthorAppeal, whereas others represent characters who genuinely do not want to be gender-changed having to come to terms and deal with it.

If this article confuses you, [[IThoughtItMeant you were probably looking]] for {{Heaven}}.

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!!The series provides examples of:

* AllPeriodsArePMS: Inverted in a couple of instances. Men who are Changed into forms that have mating seasons in the fall, such as moose, elk, etc., display extreme irritability and possessiveness during that time of the year, and are prone to losing their temper over the slightest provocation (especially regarding [[NotWhatItLooksLike what appear to be advances]] toward their Significant Other).
* AlternateUniverse – A PresentDay world like our own, except that people began Changing in 1987. Also, [[WordOfGod JonBuck]] has asked that no current real-world politicians be used in stories order to avoid [[StrawmanPolitical political unpleasantness]], so the President, members of Congress, and other governmental figures are all fictitious.
* {{Animorphism}} – The entire basis for the setting is the involuntary (and invisible) transformation characters go through into {{Funny Animal}}s.
* AttractiveBentGender – It is explicitly stated in some of the stories that the gender-Changed get a special "bonus" in the attractiveness department (especially as regards BreastExpansion), even beyond the ordinary such enhancements that Changed get in general. In the Non-Canon Future Stories one of the main cast has used her status as a TG to become a successful pornstar.
* BrokenMasquerade – Even early on, before the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] comes down, some unChanged characters start to notice odd things about Changed and either manage to see them, or convince them to explain what is going on. Characters who have been let into the "conspiracy" in this way are called "Known". A common one is altered physical traits in a ghost image. Bears taking on sudden amounts of weight, a tigress whose hair is striped orange and black, and a rat whose eyes have become red, all in their ghost images as well as true selves.
* ButICantBePregnant – In one of Eirik's stories, "Reverberations", a gender-bent character's unexpected pregnancy [[spoiler:invokes the setting's RetGone effect (see entry below), causing all extant pictures and identification of her to take on her new female identity instead of her old male one (and incidentally confusing the hell out of her family, since the RetGone Effect does not include FakeMemories)]].
* TheCameo - Characters from one author or story often make an appearance in another, so far the most common one is =MatthiasRat='s character CM.
* CapitalLettersAreMagic – Characters who have been through a change are called the Changed; non-Changed who know about them are called Known (although, technically, it should ''probably'' be Knowers, Knowing, or Knowledgeable, given that they ''know about'' rather than ''are known by'' Changed).
* CassandraTruth – Frequently applies to characters who try to convince others that they are now actually {{Funny Animal}}s but just don't ''look'' that way. There are ways to short-circuit the WeirdnessCensor temporarily, however.
* CarnivoreConfusion - In one story a recent changed believes that his friend who he is seeing as a tigress for the first time is lying about being his friend's true appearance in order to kill and eat him. The reason he thinks this? He's a rat now. It probably didn't help that upon noticing [[GenderBender "his"]] friend she said outloud "Something in here smells wonderfully delicious."
* Catchphrase - Gabriel Locke has a habit of saying "Shut Up Cale!" at least once every story he's in. Additionally he has a habit of using big words and never referring to transgender characters by their new sex.
* CloudCuckoolander - Cale "Iris" Vinole behaves so insanely that many avid readers ponder how she's even able to keep up the masquerade at all.
* ContinuityLockout: Very easy to happen.
* ContinuitySnarl – Since stories are written by different authors, some of these are bound to pop up.
** Most obviously, [=JonBuck's=] "Tall Tales" is strongly implied to take place in October (a character in Jetfire's "Clearing the Air" complains about its effects in a scene set on October 22nd), but Nikon's "Changing Perspectives" (which takes place concurrently with "Tall Tales") is set in November.
* CursedWithAwesome – For all that the Change is disturbing and life-changing, it brings with it some advantages, including heightened senses, athletic ability, and a bit of WishFulfillment body modification (most commonly BreastExpansion). In "Confession Building", it saved a character's life [[spoiler:when he was abducted by robbers who shot him in the head—except that since he'd Changed into a shorter form, the bullet passed harmlessly over his ''real'' head]].
* DiscountLesbians: Averted: Christopher Mattiaz from [=MatthiasRat's=] stories, [[spoiler:unwilling to become a "lesbian", has not been intimate with his wife in the two years since he changed gender six days after they were married]]. But played straight with [[spoiler:JF]] and AT in Paradise Veil, which gets us this little gem. "Hey you think it's weird seeing two guys kiss? Imagine how we feel, not only are we both women, but we're also a cat and a dog."
* FictionAsCoverUp – Inverted. In the years leading up to the dawning of TheUnmasquedWorld, a greater-than-normal number of shows and stories featuring anthropomorphic animals were featured in popular entertainment—apparently to get the general public acclimated to seeing them around.
* FullBodyDisguise / InvisibleToNormals – After they Change, characters have an illusory full body disguise of their old human selves, whether they like it or not, especially early on when the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] is stronger. A man who turned into a female bear might look much like his old masculine self, just a little overweight—which means he will need to [[WholesomeCrossdresser continue to dress like a man]]. Hair colors also seem to be a problem for these ghost images.
* GenderBender – A small percentage of Changed also change their gender. Given the WishFulfillment nature of the setting, the number of gender-Changed who appear within stories is somewhat disproportional to the amount that exist setting-wide.
* GirlsNightOutEpisode – Slightly subverted in that, in the story occasions in which this happens ("Election Fever", "Family Tree"), it is frequently in order to help someone involuntarily female get comfortable in her new femininity.
* InvoluntaryTransformation – The Change. It happens either one time or once per year, and there is no "cure" to allow reversion back to human form
* [[IsThisAJoke Is This a Joke?]] – Frequently the reaction of people when they start to Change, or of unChanged when Changed try to reveal their new nature.
* JumpingTheGenderBarrier – A number of stories feature gender-changed characters falling in love with someone of the gender they used to be, though they did not necessarily know them before the change. In one instance a woman who used to be a man falls in love with a man who used to be a woman.
* KeepingSecretsSucks – Changed who have to maintain the {{Masquerade}} over the long term, keeping their true condition from friends and loved ones, often find it harder the longer they have to keep silent—especially if their change includes a GenderBender, since some people can see their new gender while the masquerade makes them look like their old one.
** Christopher Mattiaz from [=MatthiasRat's=] stories [[spoiler:has not been able to be intimate with his wife for two years because he [[GenderBender changed gender]] six days after their wedding—and can't tell her ''why'' either]].
** Joey from Jetfire's "Veil" series [[spoiler:kept his Change from his parents over three years and two gender changes before breaking down and telling them the truth—which made for fairly awkward interfamily relationships for the following month or so]].
* LawOfConservationOfNormality – In stories set in 2009 and beyond, when the [[TheUnmasquedWorld masquerade has been broken]] and the Change is known to the world. One of the later stories in the setting, "Family Tree", involves a family holiday get-together after the Change has become widely known. Most of the family has Changed, and the last holdout's impending Change (and the possibility of it involving [[GenderBender gender bending]]) is treated as a perfectly ordinary matter. [[spoiler:Then when said holdout ''does'' Change, and gender-change, the rest of the family takes it in such stride that the hapless Changee is actually less overwhelmed by the Change than by his family's reaction to it.]]
* Laws of Gender Bending:
** FirstLawOfGenderBending – Except for those who have secondary Changes after the first one (and hence a chance to change gender again), all gender changes are permanent.
** SecondLawOfGenderBending – A number of stories follow the journey of gender-changed characters as they come to accept and then enjoy their new (usually female) gender.
** ThirdLawOfGenderBending – Some stories take this a notch further, with feminized characters receiving a GirlinessUpgrade (because TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody) and throwing themselves into it all the way.
* LegoGenetics – Averted. The Change is caused not by meddling with genetics, but by something working at a deeper level of reality. And when Changed of different animal types have children, the children will usually be of one or the other parent's type (or occasionally something entirely different), not a chimera.
* ManIFeelLikeAWoman – A common reaction to feminization in the setting, especially in later stories such as "Family Tree" where it is no longer entirely unexpected.
--> "But for God's sake! Stop playing with [your new breasts] in the family room!" Diane's mother hissed. "You don't even realize you're doing it!"
* {{Masquerade}} – Changed must pretend everything is normal, that they are still the human beings they used to be—because if they are not able to keep their new differences hidden they will be committed to mental institutions, or worse. Early on, a group of cautious Changed formed [[TheConspiracy a conspiracy]], the Changed Network, to help newly-Changed keep their secrets; said conspiracy largely fell by the wayside as too many people Changed for them to be able to control. Eventually, the masquerade broke entirely as the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] began to fail.
* NotAMask – In "Tall Tales", characters who began to see through the Veil assume that the Changed are wearing costumes. Of course, they are all attending a FurryFandom convention at the time.
* OddlyCommonRarity – Even though only 1% of the Changed change gender, and even fewer change gender ''multiple times'', a remarkable number of gender-changed (and a couple of multiple-gender-change) furries are represented in the stories, particularly as main characters.
** Also, two gender-changed characters falling in love happens more often than one might expect.
* OldFriendNewGender – As part of the RetGone effect for gender-Changed, family members may be surprised to discover that photos of their brother or son now show their sister or daughter, even though their memories of said person's original gender remain intact. Also, those going through the Change themselves will start to see friends' or loved ones' new animal forms (and genders) in person, or in photos they happen to have about.
* PinocchioSyndrome – Affects most characters after the Change, especially the ones who changed gender at the same time. One particularly poignant case affects Christopher Mattiaz , a character from [=MatthiasRat's=] stories, [[spoiler:who changed genders six days after getting married and hasn't been able to be intimate with his wife for the past two years at the time the story begins]].
* {{Pun}} - Things named by the Changed, much like things named by the furry fandom, tend to end up like this. Lampshaded in a recent story, Unforseen Gifts.
--> (Furgonomics? Was everything in the future going to become a bad pun?)
* PunnyName - Hugh, the Snow Leopard from Hawl's stories has "Hugh Mann Phileas" (Human Felis) as his full name, it's always worth mentioning that Gabriel's middle name is Zedimouse, after his grandfather's first name. Gabriel is a rat. Spoilers:And during the quarantine, his grandfather becomes a mouse.
* RealityWarper – TheVirus responsible for the Change is not a biological virus, but rather [[spoiler:a computer virus altering reality in a simulation running on a post-Singularity computronium computer]].
* RetGone – As the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] begins to wind down, gender-bent Changed discover all extant documentation about themselves is [[RetCon retconned]] as reality itself is edited to reflect their new gender. Their driver's licenses and other identification have newly-feminine names, and all photos all the way back to when they were babies will show a girl instead of a boy (or vice versa). Hence, as far as the world is concerned, the character's original gender is "RetGone"—records will show that the former "he" has always been a "she" (or vice versa). (Memories of those who knew them before are not affected, however. Also, while people who already know them will continue to see them as their original gender, strangers they meet will see them as the new one. For two years, then it stops mattering whose looking)
* ASharedSuffering – Changed, especially from the early waves where they are few and far between, often fear they're alone or outright going crazy. After spending weeks, months, or even years alone, they are so relieved to find out there are others like them that they might break down and cry.
* TheSingularity / TheVirus / Creator/CharlesStross – [[spoiler:WordOfGod is that the world of Paradise is actually a simulation running inside a Charles Strossian post-Singularity computer, and the Changes are caused by a couple of intelligent computer viruses that snuck in.]] Of course, since this will probably never be known ''within'' the setting itself (save for the brief [[AuthorAvatar author cameo]] who spouted off the "theory" in "Tall Tales"), it can be entirely ignored in terms of writing or reading the stories.
* SmellsSexy - Apparently if you're a predator, anyone whose an animal you would normally eat in nature, smells yummy.
* SoapOperaDisease – Inverted. In order to prevent Changed from being injured by medical practitioners because of physiological differences the medics can't see, the Changed invented a fictitious ''real-world'' disease—"Sleeping Sickness (Ivory Coast Variant)"—and issued medical alert bracelets for it so that a Changed or Known physician could be alerted at need.
* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay – Used several times by Changed to convince friends or loved ones that their new FunnyAnimal form is "really them".
* TamponRun – Many newly male-to-female gender-Changed find themselves effectively doing Tampon Runs for ''themselves'' (before the [[TheUnmasquedWorld masquerade breaks down]], at least): still apparently male, they must shop for feminine accessories and hygiene products.
* ThereAreNoGlobalConsequences – After [[TheUnmasquedWorld the unmasquing]], the world seems to go on largely the same as usual (with one or two notable exceptions), with Changed being generally accepted into society. This is probably due to lingering effects of the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]], which may still be influencing humanity even as it lets them see the Changed's true faces. (It may also be that stories in which more global consequences do happen simply haven't been written yet.). Actually in Travelers it is revealed that the Change is sensationalized and becomes a giant fad, additionally several technologic advances are made due to a sudden desire to go green brought on by turning into animals. In the non-canon "Future Series" they even invent a device that allows one to change into any mammalian form of either gender at will, which basically ends any and all segregation between sexes and the need for gender pronouns.
** Partially justified by the various governments of the world having some advance warning; they didn't know the Reality Distortion Field was going to fail, but they ''did'' know that the number of Changed was doubling each year and it was going to be impossible to keep a lid on this permanently.
* {{Transsexual}} – Some (not all) [[GenderBender gender-bent]] characters are WishFulfillment [[AuthorAvatar Author Avatars]] for transgender or would-be transgender individuals in real life.
* TheUnmasquedWorld – Post-2009 in the setting, Changed have become widely-known—and by and large commonly accepted thanks to the LawOfConservationOfNormality.
* ViralTransformation – The Change is caused by a "reality virus" that transforms humans into {{Funny Animal}}s at a rate that doubles every year.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting - In an Alternate Future version of the setting The Change has lead to people becoming this. One comments that he uses his human form to sleep in his bed without getting fur all over it.
* WeirdnessCensor – A powerful "Reality Distortion Field", otherwise known as "the Veil", prevents normal people from noticing that friends or relatives have changed into FunnyAnimal (and possibly [[GenderBender gender-bent]]) form. It is only able to cover their bodies, however—they will still leave animal footprints, and any fur, horns, claw trimmings, etc. they shed will be visible to others. It begins breaking down as the series goes on, and finally starts failing completely in certain areas in 2009.
* WholesomeCrossdresser – Any gender-Changed invariably ends up one of these, since he or she cannot dress as the gender he or she ''really'' is or it will look strange to those not [[BrokenMasquerade in the know]] until the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] comes down. Affects male-to-female changes more than female-to-male, of course, as far fewer people will find anything odd in a "woman" wearing jeans than in a "man" wearing a dress.
* TheWorldIsNotReady – The reason given by leaders of the Changed Network in early stories for trying to keep their Changed status secret for as long as they can. Subverted by second story arc, when the Changed Network and various interested government agencies start working very hard indeed to ''make'' the world ready. [[EarnYourHappyEnding They succeed.]]
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* ThereAreNoGlobalConsequences – After [[TheUnmasquedWorld the unmasquing]], the world seems to go on largely the same as usual (with one or two notable exceptions), with Changed being generally accepted into society. This is probably due to lingering effects of the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]], which may still be influencing humanity even as it lets them see the Changed's true faces. (It may also be that stories in which more global consequences do happen simply haven't been written yet.). Actually in Travelers it is revealed that the Change is sensationalized and becomes a giant fad, additionally several technologic advances are made due to a sudden desire to go green brought on by turning into animals. In the non-canon "Future Series" they even invent a device that allows one to change into any mammalian form of either gender at will, which basically ends any and all segregation between sexes and the need for gender pronouns. This MTF-Troper is envious and wishes she could have that over SRS.

* AllPeriodsArePMS: Inverted in a couple of instances. Men who are Changed into forms that have mating seasons in the fall, such as moose, elk, etc., display extreme irritability and possessiveness during that time of the year, and are prone to losing their temper over the slightest provocation (especially regarding [[NotWhatItLooksLike what appear to be advances]] toward their Significant Other).

* Catchphrase - Gabriel Locke has a habit of saying "Shut Up Cale!" at least once every story he's in. Additionally he has a habit of using big words and never referring to Transgendered Characters by their new sex.

* {{Transsexual}} – Some (not all) [[GenderBender gender-bent]] characters are WishFulfillment [[AuthorAvatar Author Avatars]] for transgendered or would-be transgendered individuals in real life.

* TheSingularity / TheVirus / CharlesStross – [[spoiler:WordOfGod is that the world of Paradise is actually a simulation running inside a Charles Strossian post-Singularity computer, and the Changes are caused by a couple of intelligent computer viruses that snuck in.]] Of course, since this will probably never be known ''within'' the setting itself (save for the brief [[AuthorAvatar author cameo]] who spouted off the "theory" in "Tall Tales"), it can be entirely ignored in terms of writing or reading the stories.

* MenstrualMenace – Inverted in a couple of instances. Men who are Changed into forms that have mating seasons in the fall, such as moose, elk, etc., display extreme irritability and possessiveness during that time of the year, and are prone to losing their temper over the slightest provocation (especially regarding [[NotWhatItLooksLike what appear to be advances]] toward their Significant Other).

* TheWorldIsNotReady – The reason given by leaders of the Changed Network in early stories for trying to keep their Changed status secret for as long as they can.

* SomethingsDifferentAboutYouNow – As part of the RetGone effect for gender-Changed, family members may be surprised to discover that photos of their brother or son now show their sister or daughter, even though their memories of said person's original gender remain intact. Also, those going through the Change themselves will start to see friends' or loved ones' new animal forms (and genders) in person, or in photos they happen to have about.

* CarnivoreConfusion - In one story a recent changed believes that his friend who he is seeing as a tigress for the first time is lying about being his friend's true appearance in order to kill and eat him. The reason he thinks this? He's a rat now. It probably didn't help that upon noticing [[genderbender "his"]] friend she said outloud "Something in here smells wonderfully delicious."

* AttractiveBentGender – It is explicitly stated in some of the stories that the gender-Changed get a special "bonus" in the attractiveness department (especially as regards BreastExpansion), even beyond the ordinary such enhancements that Changed get in general. In the Non-Canon Future Stories one of the main cast has used her status as a TG to become a successful pornstar
* AWorldwidePunomenon - Things named by the Changed, much like things named by the furry fandom, tend to end up like this. Lampshaded in a recent story, Unforseen Gifts.
--> (Furgonomics? Was everything in the future going to become a bad pun?)

* Punnyname - Hugh, the Snow Leopard from Hawl's stories has "Hugh Mann Phileas" (Human Felis) as his full name, it's always worth mentioning that Gabriel's middle name is Zedimouse, after his grandfather's first name. Gabriel is a rat. Spoilers:And during the quarantine, his grandfather becomes a mouse.

* DiscountLesbians: Averted: Christopher Mattiaz from [=MatthiasRat's=] stories, [[spoiler:unwilling to become a "lesbian", has not been intimate with his wife in the two years since he changed gender six days after they were married]]. But played straight with [[spoilers:JF]] and AT in Paradise Veil, which gets us this little gem. "Hey you think it's weird seeing two guys kiss? Imagine how we feel, not only are we both women, but we're also a cat and a dog."

* AttractiveBentGender – It is explicitly stated in some of the stories that the gender-Changed get a special "bonus" in the attractiveness department (especially as regards BreastExpansion), even beyond the ordinary such enhancements that Changed get in general.

* BrokenMasquerade – Even early on, before the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] comes down, some unChanged characters start to notice odd things about Changed and either manage to see them, or convince them to explain what is going on. Characters who have been let into the "conspiracy" in this way are called "Known".

* DiscountLesbians: Averted: Christopher Mattiaz from [=MatthiasRat's=] stories, [[spoiler:unwilling to become a "lesbian", has not been intimate with his wife in the two years since he changed gender six days after they were married]].

* FullBodyDisguise / InvisibleToNormals – After they Change, characters have an illusory full body disguise of their old human selves, whether they like it or not, especially early on when the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] is stronger. A man who turned into a female bear might look much like his old masculine self, just a little overweight—which means he will need to [[WholesomeCrossdresser continue to dress like a man]].

* InvoluntaryTransformation – The Change. It happens either one time or once per year, and there is no "cure" to allow reversion back to human form.

* RetGone – As the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]] begins to wind down, gender-bent Changed discover all extant documentation about themselves is [[RetCon retconned]] as reality itself is edited to reflect their new gender. Their driver's licenses and other identification have newly-feminine names, and all photos all the way back to when they were babies will show a girl instead of a boy (or vice versa). Hence, as far as the world is concerned, the character's original gender is "RetGone"—records will show that the former "he" has always been a "she" (or vice versa). (Memories of those who knew them before are not affected, however. Also, while people who already know them will continue to see them as their original gender, strangers they meet will see them as the new one.)

* ThereAreNoGlobalConsequences – After [[TheUnmasquedWorld the unmasquing]], the world seems to go on largely the same as usual (with one or two notable exceptions), with Changed being generally accepted into society. This is probably due to lingering effects of the [[WeirdnessCensor "Reality Distortion Field"]], which may still be influencing humanity even as it lets them see the Changed's true faces. (It may also be that stories in which more global consequences do happen simply haven't been written yet.)

A WebOriginal SharedUniverse [[FurryFandom Furry]] setting (whose stories are [[http://shifti.org/wiki/Paradise_(Setting) available here]]) which grew out of a story called "A Kind of Paradise" (after a song from the ''[=~Wolf's Rain~=]'' soundtrack) by [=JonBuck=] and now includes stories by many other authors.

* [=~But I Can't Be Pregnant!~=] – In one of Eirik's stories, "Reverberations", a gender-bent character's unexpected pregnancy [[spoiler:invokes the setting's RetGone effect (see entry below), causing all extant pictures and identification of her to take on her new female identity instead of her old male one (and incidentally confusing the hell out of her family, since the RetGone Effect does not include FakeMemories)]].

* [=~Girl's Night Out Episode~=] – Slightly subverted in that, in the story occasions in which this happens ("Election Fever", "Family Tree"), it is frequently in order to help someone involuntarily female get comfortable in her new femininity.

* [=~Something's Different About You Now~=] – As part of the RetGone effect for gender-Changed, family members may be surprised to discover that photos of their brother or son now show their sister or daughter, even though their memories of said person's original gender remain intact. Also, those going through the Change themselves will start to see friends' or loved ones' new animal forms (and genders) in person, or in photos they happen to have about.

* OddlyCommonRarity – Even though only 1% of the Changed change gender, and even fewer change gender ''multiple times'', a remarkable number of gender-changed furries are represented in the stories, particularly as main characters.

* {{Masquerainment}} – Inverted. In the years leading up to the dawning of TheUnmasquedWorld, a greater-than-normal number of shows and stories featuring anthropomorphic animals were featured in popular entertainment—apparently to get the general public acclimated to seeing them around.

* {{Wangst}}: Pretty much the entire point of the "Ranty Raccoon" story, which shows a person who had changed during the parts of the timeline when there weren't as many transformed people, so he feels alone and acts only like his journal understands him. Or, depending on how you interpret it, he's just a complainer...since we don't know what this raccoon is like in real life.

* [IsThisAJoke Is This a Joke?] – Frequently the reaction of people when they start to Change, or of unChanged when Changed try to reveal their new nature.

* [=~Is This A Joke?~=] – Frequently the reaction of people when they start to Change, or of unChanged when Changed try to reveal their new nature.

* {{Animorphism}} – The entire basis for the setting is the involuntary (and invisible) transformation characters go through into FunnyAnimals.

* [=~But I Can't Be Pregnant!~=] – In one of Eirik's stories, "Reverberations", a gender-bent character's unexpected pregnancy [[spoiler:invokes the setting's RetGone effect (see entry below), causing all extant pictures and identification of her to take on her new female identity instead of her old male one (and incidently confusing the hell out of her family, since the RetGone Effect does not include FakeMemories)]].

* CassandraTruth – Frequently applies to characters who try to convince others that they are now actually FunnyAnimals but just don't ''look'' that way. There are ways to short-circuit the WeirdnessCensor temporarily, however.

* ViralTransformation – The Change is caused by a "reality virus" that transforms humans into FunnyAnimals at a rate that doubles every year.

* InvoluntaryShapeshifting – The Change. It happens either one time or once per year, and there is no "cure" to allow reversion to human.

* JumpingTheGenderBarrier – A number of stories feature gender-changed characters falling in love with someone of the gender they used to be, though they did not necessarily know them before the change. (In "After Hours", [[spoiler:a woman who used to be a man fell in love with a man who used to be a woman]].)