Furries

Few have witnessed the initial arrival of these creatures, but they are said to start as small, glowing puffballs. Attracted to music and rhythm, these metaphorical larvae will often latch onto the first genre of music they find. Once they have thoroughly observed the dance, fashion, art, and general culture of their chosen style, they begin growing at a surprising rate.

Fully-grown members of this species are semi-humanoid, with features of one or more animals. While there is a great variety in physical build, some consistencies include: an unusual amount/style of eyes, a long thin tail, and color-changing fur. Most of the creatures pull features from mammals, though bug, bird, reptile, and even fungus-like features have also been observed. Rare cases have looked almost entirely animal, though they exhibit the same human-like intelligence as the traditional humanoid variety.

The species’ color-changing capabilities are particularly curious. This ability is only displayed in their fur or similar extremities (scales, feathers, nails, etc). Their internal organs and places of exposed skin (nose, paw pads, ear, etc) tend to stay the same shade. Despite all of the creatures having the ability to display a wide range of colors, most have a preferred palette that they will stick to. Patterns are also possible, though it is a skill that only some will choose to develop. The most dedicated of color-shifters can even create works of art on their own fur. Color-changing could have originally evolved for camouflage, but currently, its main function is simply for aesthetics. It also seems to function as a method of non-verbal communication. Some will purposefully change color to display or hide their current mood, or involuntarily change when surprised or experiencing a strong emotion, making it an important element of the species’ body language. There is no exact color for each emotion, so learning to read the colors requires getting to know each individual!

Having no “parents”, the creatures will simply name themselves, often after their chosen music genre or something related to it. Names can be a popular dance, an element of fashion, a band, a place, an instrument, or anything else within their area of obsession. Also, while the creatures reproduce asexually and demonstrate no biological sexes, some may choose to identify with human gender norms.

There have been rare occasions where creatures seem to lose interest in their originally chosen theme. While they cannot re-form themselves, they may choose a new genre (or simply not align with a genre anymore), change their name, try different palettes, or dress differently. Opinions on genre changing are varied, but majority opinion seems to be very accepting.