There were plenty of ultra-conservative politicians who want to severely limit Animalians' freedoms or even ban conversions outright. But there was another group of ultra-conservative politicians who want to continue with conversions, but for all the wrong reasons. Homosexuality is incredibly rare in the animal kingdom outside of humans. Not only did it mean that all uplifted Animalians were straight, but their new brain chemistry and mating instincts made converted humans eventually become interested in the opposite sex. But Animalia was not selling itself as a 'cure for gayness'. Conversion didn't force people to become straight, it only made them bisexual and more open to a relationship with the opposite sex.
Admittedly, many former gays and lesbians have found themselves falling in love with a member of the opposite sex, but that was not a hard and fast rule. There were some same-sex couples who ended up marrying, even if the marriage were more open than conventional ones. A very good example would be Ella and Simone. The two of them may enjoy the occasional romp with their 'boy toys', but their devotion was clearly more towards each other. A more convoluted example would be the pairings of Herman & Jason and Arlene & Moxie. While it was officially two same-sex marriages, it often worked like a four-way marriage. Quite a few people wondered how the kids will eventually be raised.
But still, there were some former gays who started drifting towards the opposite sex. For example, there were Jack and Stefan. They had converted with other gay men at Mr. D's suite. Jack had become an otter while Stefan became an orca. The two of them didn't immediately fall out of love for each other. In fact, the first few nights had featured some rather lively sex. But Jack's attention was turning more towards the unattached females of the otter clan. Stefan didn't resent him for it. If they were being honest, their relationship had been more about being 'friends with benefits' than anything more committed.
And in spite of himself, Stefan found himself becoming infatuated with the orca he had been paired with. Jan was a lot cuter than one would expect a killer whale to be. Part of it was because of the way her eye spots ended up surrounding her actual eyes, making her look like she was wearing glasses. She also tended to acted a lot meeker than her cetacean body would suggest. It was surprisingly endearing how an 8-foot killer whale woman can act like she was a much smaller girl.
It also turned out their pairing wasn't just for Stefan's therapeutic benefit. Jan had her own issues she was trying to work out. She became an Animalian mostly because she wanted to reinvent herself. But she also had a crippling fear of swimming. Specifically, she feared that if she ever went into water more than 3 feet deep, she'd end up drowning. Stefan wasn't sure why she had this specific phobia, but he had a feeling it was related to a traumatic experience. He didn't want to reopen old wounds, but he could help her ease into becoming more comfortable in the water.
Fortunately, Stefan knew a guy with a backyard pool. Well, he knew a guy who knows a guy who has a backyard pool. It would be a quiet place away from peeping eyes. It might not be quite deep enough for a pair of orca Animalians to really swim, but it was deep enough to help Jan get adjusted to deeper waters.
"You see? You can't drown here unless someone is forcing you," said Stefan as he leaned on the edge of the pool.
"I guess it's not that bad," said Jan as she went back and forth in the pool. It was small enough that she didn't really need her tail to swim. Her flipper-like feet were more than enough. Jan was wearing a modest one-piece, even if it was stretched across her cetacean curves.
"You know, there's something I've been wondering," said Stefan, "If you're so afraid of drowning, why didn't you become a fish Animalian. You'd never be able to drown."
"I don't think I'd ever be able to handle breathing underwater," said Jan, "I'd definitely panic and I'd probably find some way to suffocate myself, one way or another."
"I wouldn't have imagined it like that," admitted Stefan, "So why an orca in particular then?"
"Well, it's the largest sea mammal possible," said Jan, "I don't imagine they'd uplifting any big whales."
"I should think not," said Stefan, trying to imagine a humpback whale Animalian. Of course, there were dinosaurs bigger than that, but all Dinotopians started out as humans and apparently something about that put in an innate size limit. "So why did you want to be so big?" asked Stefan.
"Because I was sick of being small," said Jan. She reached out of the pool and dried her hands before picking up her phone. After a little swiping, she showed it to Stefan, "This is what I used to look like." Stefan actually wasn't surprised that Jan was a mousy woman with large glasses. She certainly the personality of one. What was more surprising was that compared to the other people in the picture, Jan was obviously below average in height. Stefan couldn't say if she was dwarfish, but she would obviously be the shortest woman in a room of average-ranging people.
"Well, I can see why you would want a height boost," said Stefan.
"Yeah, my transformation was pretty intense," said Jan, "You wanna see it?"
Stefan raised his eyebrows, "You recorded your transformation?"
"Well, it's more of a slideshow than a video," said Jan, "I set up my camera to take a picture a second."
"Well, I think that would be worth watching," said Stefan.
Jan brought up the photos and started cycling through them. They started with her human self holding a glass of what could only be killer whale milk. It showed her drinking it, though it was a little odd watching the level of milk drop in sharp increments. The shots of her transforming were also rather strange to watch in stop-motion. Stefan watched Jan grow taller as her clothes became ill-fitted. As more skin was revealed, he could see it turning black and white. It got particularly interesting when her breasts started getting too big for her blouse to handle. Unlike Stefan, Jan didn't have a dorsal fin coming from her back to break the tension sooner as, like other such female Animalians, her dorsal fin grew from the back of her head. But Stefan got a good view of Jan's blouse stretching to the limit before exploding out to reveal her large breasts. Her pants and panties hadn't lasted nearly as long, especially with a large tail to add more pressure.
"I can tell you liked that," said Jan in a teasing tone.
It was at that point that Stefan noticed the very obvious tent in his trunks. Even the prehensile nature of a dolphin's penis did nothing to hide his bulge. "Ok, that usually doesn't happen," he said with embarrassment.
"You mean it usually doesn't happen with women," said Jan, sounding more seductive. Stefan looked over to see that she had slid off the top half of her swimsuit, revealing her big breasts. "Remember, you're not just helping me with my problem. I need to help you get used to women," she said.
Stefan didn't find himself objecting much to the offer. His hidden rudder certainly wasn't saying no. "You know, this could help you as well," said Stefan thoughtfully.
"How so?" asked Jan.
"Well, if you learn to associate water with pleasure, it'll help you get over your reluctance to swimming," said Stefan.
"Hmm...you make a pretty good point," said Jan. She slid off the rest of her swimsuit, allowing Stefan to see her in all her bare glory. "Shall we start our therapy?" she asked, moving close enough to push her breasts into his chest.
Stefan reached down and untied his trunks before pulling them off. His penis reached out and felt between Jan's legs. "Yes, I think it's time we took a plunge," said Stefan before he found her cleft and entered her.
It was a backyard pool, so there wouldn't be any people spying on the orcas as they had sex. But they would certainly have to clean out the pool afterwards. Next time they wanted to have aquatic sex, it would have to be someplace where they'd have more room and less spilling.