It likely goes without saying that I’ve been lurking in the furry community for a very, very long time. I’ve seen a lot of trends and in-jokes come and go, and I’m arguably worse off because of that.

Something I’m definitely better off because of, however, is the wide range of fan/community species that have been created over the last couple of decades, ESPECIALLY in the last 10 years.

It usually goes the same way every time a new one shows up: I open e621, see a species I don’t recognize, and then see that it has its own tag. I either go “awesome, a new fan species!” or “why the hell does this have a tag?” Either way, the new species tends to have some decent staying power, either holding onto a small following amongst a few dedicated users or absolutely breaching containment and showing up everywhere.

I’m quite fond (understatement) of a few in particular, and indifferent to some others, so I figured it would be fun to talk about them – specifically in the degrees to which I want them to blast my ass open! Nothing unusual about that! We all have fun here, right?

As a disclaimer, I would like to specify that I won’t be covering any closed species in this post, because I couldn’t be bothered to care enough and also don’t feel like opening that proverbial powder keg.

Sergals

Oh man, what a classic!

Arguably the original popular furry species (at least in my heart), sergals are an alien species created for the Vilous setting, and have since seen a great deal of representation outside of their original works – though, not as much now as they used to see back then.

This might just be my perception, but I feel like the number of sergal OCs that I’ve seen out “in the wild”, as it were, has gone down steadily over the last 10 years. For the record, it’s not a dead species at all – I just haven’t seen it as much.

Sergals have sharp, shark-like snouts, but with the fur of a typical mammal/beast. Their fur is typically quite long on the rest of their body as well, though this can vary from example to example. They also tend to be fairly tall from what I’ve seen, and have large-ish feet with digits that are distanced apart.

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t actively seek out art of this species anymore, but I’m always happy to see one pop up on my feed. It’s a bit like seeing an old friend, except the “old friend” in question is usually showing off his penis to me.

Here’s one of my favorite sergal pieces, along with its respective e621 link.

Artist: reddyrennard

e621 source

Protogens

You wanna talk about furry species that have breached containment?

Protogens are the modern darling of the furry community. They showed up sometime in the mid-to-late 2010s if I’m remembering correctly, and since then have grown in popularity to the point that I’d argue it is the furry species right now. There are protogen models available for v-tubing. You can find protogen profile pictures everywhere on Steam. They’re a pretty big deal.

And that’s for a good reason – they’re cool! I’m always a fan of implementing aspects of technology into fictional creatures, and protogens do it in a way that that feels just as attached to fantasy as it is to futuristic tech.

Protogens sport a head visor that covers most of the front half of their head, only stopping around the ears. These visors are (as far as I’m aware) limitless in their expressiveness. They can display just about any emotion to any degree they want, and typically do it in a way that closely relates to their individual designs. They’re not necessarily my favorite species to do this sort of thing – for my two cents, there’s another species that I like a bit more than this one. Regardless, though, they’re undeniably neat. I just think they’re neat. I wanna pinch their little cheeks and lift them up into the air. They don’t really have cheeks, but still.

At least not cheeks in the front!

I’ve seen a lot of protogens with magnum asses. I know it’s not universal by any means, but it seems to be a popular design choice for those with protogen OCs. Nothing wrong with magnum asses, of course, it’s just not my first choice.

There’s definitely some good art out there though! Here’s one of my favorites.

Artist: symbolicproto

e621 source

Synths

Synths are the Linux-esque “I’ll just do something else, then” response to protogens. And rather than unpack that loaded sentence, I’ll just proclaim that I’m probably right and you should email me 50 dollars. Look, it’s 10:30 PM over here as I’m writing this, I’m tired.

Synths were created by the artist Vader-San as an explicitly open and modifiable species that, to me, feels like the scalie counterpart to protogens. I don’t particularly know why I like this species more than protogens, but something about it clicks for me. Besides Vader-San just being a really talented artist, it feels like their design is more rooted in the monstrous and mechanical. While I don’t have strong feelings about the latter, I can at least respect the added cohesion that leaning into that aesthetic even harder than protogens do provides. As for the former…

As I create more posts for this site, it’ll become more and more clear that I am pretty deeply attracted to creatures that are far-divorced from the conventional, plantigrade, human body type. And while synths aren’t that much more detached from humanity than protogens are, there are enough small touches that it just feels like… more.

Also, if I’ll indulge for a moment, their faces are fucking beautiful. There’s an air of slight mischief and intrigue in their eyes, but it almost feels like that’s all just a front. Like some kind of protection on their part against you being dragged into a different world and history that they are painfully familiar with, but that is nearly impossible for you to begin to grapple with. It’s a species design that, I feel, naturally invites the viewer to begin asking questions about the character and get to know them better. This makes eventual romantic and sexual interactions with them very enticing and interesting to me. They have so much to unpack, and I want to be there to unpack it with them.

Here’s one of my favorite pieces.

Artist: toastedfox

e621 source

Now, I’ll try to avoid gushing too much about the other species, as I don’t want this post to get too lo- oh shit, is that felkins up next?

Felkins

Oh no. Oh no oh boy oh man. Guhhh.

I feel like it’d be best if I first provided some background information about myself. I have a large collection of gay furry porn (majority of it being pinups) saved locally on my computer. As of writing this, it’s currently at about 4,187 files totaling more than 12 gigabytes – and that’s after several prior attempts to shave the number down. All of them are carefully renamed and organized with artist names, OC names, species, and body type. Yes, I regularly add to it. No, I am not okay.

Of those 4,187 files, 1,767 of them have “dragon” in their file name. I love dragons. A lot. In fact, most would say I love them too much, but there is no such thing! They are the ultimate creature of sexual fantasy and power dynamics. They are a force to be reckoned with, and they can either exert than power onto you in a show of dominance, or they can go out of their way to protect and cherish you in a show of mercy or compassion. They are deeply complex creatures, and I’ll probably never stop gushing about them in the 18+ Zone of my site, so keep that in mind.

Inversely, the number of files with “equine” or “horse” in their name is… 9. 9 files. Several of them are dragon hybrids, so the true number is probably even lower. Horses are a staple of furry culture and they’ve been there since the beginning, yet I feel like their appeal is considerably overstated. Are they conventionally attractive? To many furries, yes.

But that’s the problem for me, if I’m being honest. They’re too conventionally attractive. They feel like the furry equivalent of a shirtless bodybuilder that gets plastered on the label for a tub of protein powder. There’s nothing wrong with liking that sort of thing, but I struggle to find any way to see them as thrilling as people say they are. Horses may have the size and stature to square up to another beast, but they don’t contain the raw energy of a dragon.

Furries observed this conundrum and decided to create one of the hottest fantasy races in existence.

Felkins are the logical end stage of a dragon-horse hybrid. They have multiple characteristics of the equine body type carried over, but their overall presence still exudes that of a powerful beast, maybe even more so than some dragons. They rarely have wings, but what they don’t have in the flight department they more than make up for in sheer volume. They’re an unstoppable brick wall of strength.

If you approached a felkin, it would likely be trivial for them to knock the air out of your lungs and overpower you in a matter of seconds. From there, you’d be at their mercy as their large tongue ran across your face and a large, knotted horse cock throbbed against your stomach. As they’d sit on top of you, you’d realize that their weight outnumbers yours by multitudes – and that, combined with their thick fur and wide stature, would mean that you were impervious to attack or disruption from the outside world’s many threats. Besides, this isn’t about all of that; it’s about you and him now.

Alternatively, you approach the felkin and they greet you with a smile. You have a pleasant conversation about your day with them, and they invite you to snuggle up against them in their stable, where their large paws are wrapped around you and a loud but soothing rumbling comes from their snout as they rest.

These two creatures are one in the same, and that is the grand appeal of felkins. A beast with the homeyness and hospitality of a stable horse, but with the fangs, claws, and ferocity of a dragon that can be unleashed at any time they wish. If you play your cards right, you might just get to explore those capabilities with them in a much more intimate manner.

Won’t you play their game?

As you can imagine, this might be my favorite furry species. Because of that, here are several of my favorite art pieces featuring them. (I couldn’t bring myself to pick just one.)

Artist: theotormon

e621 source

Artist: arsauron and greame

e621 source

Artist: magayser

e621 source

I intend to write about more species than this, but it's currently 2 AM and I can feel my spine going limp like a noodle just sitting here. Expect another part to this post sometime soon!