Ace Attorney
- The Sprite Comic Kristoph Gavin: Ace Attorney has a group of criminals all codenamed after birds.
- Humans in Dæmorphing have dæmons, animal-shaped manifestations of their souls. The author prefers a scientific angle to Pullman's more symbolic approach, so snakes are not symbols of evil or deception and lions don't denote nobility. Tobias's Elhariel is a European storm-petrel, a bird that flies great distances alone. Jake's Merlyse is a whiskeyjack, a corvid that thrives in the harshest winter. Cassie's Quintavion is a vampire bat, manipulative towards its prey and intensely altruistic towards its cave-fellows. Marco's Diamanta is a timber rattlesnake, a patient ambush predator with close bonds to its friends. Rachel's Abineng is a sable antelope, a huge beautiful antelope that contends against lions to protect its herd. And Sixth Ranger Loren's Jaxom is a zebra duiker, a tiny shy antelope that will nonetheless fight ferociously to defend its territory.
- In the Eleutherophobia series, Tom's main battle morph is the king cobra as in Animorphs canon. While his Yeerk picked it out for him, the author nevertheless made it fit the real Tom's character; he looks passive, but he's quick to strike back in anger.
- In Sleeping Beetle, the heroes visit a castle which is almost overloaded with owl imagery. Its Romanian name, Castel Bufniţă, literally translates as "Owl Castle," and its owner can turn into an owl at will. However, this has nothing to do with the traditional notion of owls as being wise; it's because the owner is a strigoi mort, which according to vampiric lore turn into owls rather than bats.
- Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion frequently compares C.C. to a cat, fitting for her aloof yet playful demeanor. Other fanfics do this as well, noting how she does nothing but lounge around all day asleep, bother people, be disobedient to requests, and eat.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
- In Seventh Endmost Vision, a Final Fantasy VII fanfic (albeit with Remake elements as well), most characters have some light animal motifs, but it's most prominent with Tifa, Aerith, and Sephiroth:
- Tifa has a consistent cat motif, and is also compared to a lioness several times; it's even directly referenced in a chapter title calling back to Androcles' Lion. This seems to be a combination of Call-Back and Shout-Out to Cloud's own cat associations, since Tifa has taken his place as the main character; the lioness association is because Tifa is a powerful fighter, since unlike canon Cloud, she actually was a 1st Class SOLDIER.
- Aerith has been much less present in the fic, but in direct recollections is often associated with dogs; her and her lover, Zack, adopted a dog that he named Good Boy, and other characters remembering her compare her directly to a beaten dog. This seems to stem from her loyalty to her adopted mother, Lucrecia, who treats her poorly.
- Sephiroth's motif is, like in canon, snakes, but because this Sephiroth is a Good Counterpart to his canon self, the association is unusually positive; he is described as having great patience and poise, and he uses poison materia in his work as a healer, using it as a general antibiotic- useful in the Wretched Hive of Sector Eight's slums.
- Lucrecia herself has recently acquired a wolf motif; given the story's recurring fairytale motifs, it's probably a Big Bad Wolf reference.
Crossovers
- There's a
subgenre of crossover fics- usually referred to as 'daemon' fics- that focus on what kind of daemon [Character X] would develop and why.- Neala, depicts Harry Potter's daemon as a hare, to underline his Humble Hero tendencies. Ron's is a husky dog, symbolizing his loyalty and determination. Hermione's is a raven, which shows her intelligence.
- Alatus shows her as a dragon because "Harry cannot pretend he belongs in the muggle world."
- Tueri shows Dean Winchester's as a cougar."I'm good like this," she whispered back, when he asked her under cover of Sam watching cartoons that evening, licking a paw and scrubbing it over her ear. "We’re good, like this. People won’t fuck with us, and we can take care of Sammy. Chicks’ll think you’re all mature and shit cause I settled early, and everyone knows people with cat daemons are all mysterious and seductive." She’d flashed him a grin, all sharp teeth. "Try not to let ‘em down too much."
- In Our Souls Are Dust and Starlight, Donna's daemon is a tiger, much to her confusion - "I'm just a temp from Chiswick!"
- Neala
- Between My Brother and Me: Mors Omnibus:
- Dawn is associated with penguins (as a Mythology Gag to her starter Pokémon being a Piplup), having a Penguin Torpedo Attack Drone and her favorite picture book is the infamous "And Tango Makes Three"note , which represents the close bond she has with her family.
- Ash is represented by ravens as he can communicate with them, wears a hooded cloak that gives him the appearance of one and sometimes shouts "CAW!" to the sky. Ravens are known to be both tricksters and creators in Native American mythology and omens of death as they foreshadow Mieru's death but also because Ash is "repurposed" — aka he's an undead.
- Serenity is represented by a heron which is the animal shown on her war-fans. Herons are symbolized for their tranquility, determination and being messengers. Serenity is known to be calm, to the point of being cynical and she spouts long bits of exposition in the form of stories.
- Child of the Storm has a few.
- There's the canon association of James Potter with the stag, one that remains even when it's revealed that he was Thor (a first attempt at the whole 'humility' thing that went pear-shaped) - the pride and power associations still fit, and it gains an extra layer when one considers that stags are also associated with royalty, being sometimes referred to as 'the King of the Forest'. Thor is the Crown Prince of Asgard.
- Sirius, of course, is associated with dogs, with the associated Undying Loyalty, courage, sense of fun, and emphasis placed on family.
- Harry is frequently compared to a bird of prey, such as a falcon or a hawk, and when leaning on the more primal and inhuman side of his nature, letting out a 'scream of challenge' like that of a bird of prey - like birds of prey, he loves flying, he's got sharp eyes, he's independent minded, likes space to think, and often goes off on his own unless reminded that he doesn't have to.
- Both Loki and Jean-Paul are compared to cats (despite Loki's occasional habit of turning into a snake), fitting their loyal, affectionate, and perceptive natures, but equally fitting their often solitary, secretive, and enigmatic habits, and prideful and vain attitudes. Loki is specifically compared to the Cheshire Cat, right down to the smile, which he is implied to have inspired.
- Volstagg is referred to by his canon appellation of the Lion of Asgard, with the bulk, power, mane (beard), and of course, appetite, to match. Hercules is likewise associated with the lion, and is referred to as the Lion of Olympus. Both are noble, powerful, and prideful, as well as fathers.
- Maddie has a peculiar mixture of dog and cat associations - including the Quizzical Tilt when she's puzzled by something that's common to both. Her job/function is as Sinister's Hound, and she's described as his 'attack dog' and 'prize bitch'. However, her true personality, particularly as her Character Development progresses and she performs a Heel–Face Turn is more cat-like; she's prone to curling up (particularly if she's upset), she's somewhat solitary, only latching on to one or two people at a time, and definitely reserved (but affectionate to those who get past the reserve), as well as being persistently curious, leading to Curiosity Causes Conversion - twice.
- Essex/Sinister is described as having long, spider-like limbs, with unsettling ever-so-slightly inhuman proportions, fitting his habit of observing from the shadows, his intelligence and cunning, his habit of trapping enemies and targets in a web of intrigue, and then implanting paralysing venom (trigger words and psychic programming).
- A more heroic version of this is Natasha, who uses similar traits for good. There's also Peter Parker, who is briefly referred to in spider-like fashion (the Orisha Spider-God Anansi is also referred to, but only in passing), but it's actually a sign that he is a) part-vampire, being in the process of turning, b) possessed by Dracula. In the same section, more predatory traits, like an elongated Game Face, red eyes, and fangs are on show.
- Voldemort, of course, is associated with the serpent, partly because of Slytherin, but also because of his habit of changing to meet necessity like a snake shedding a skin, manipulating and stabbing supposed allies in the back when they least expect it, being utterly cold-blooded, more or less literally eating a rat by consuming Peter Pettigrew's life-force and stealing and reshaping his body to suit, and generally fitting the 'slippery' stereotype.
- Children of Time is full of this, sometimes in-universe. The Tenth Doctor's Puppy Eyes are almost a Running Gag. Professor Moriarty retains all his serpentine qualities, in the narrative and in the characters' thoughts, and Colonel Moran is as much the tiger as ever. Sherlock Holmes calls Beth Lestrade the "tigress that got away," a double play on words as Beth is very much the tigress and Moran is a famous tiger hunter. Holmes himself is described often as "feline" and "catlike," especially once he marries Beth.
- Beth also has an Affectionate Nickname for him: Kitty. That is all.
- Infinity Train: Blossomverse
- In Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail, Chloe Cerise is represented with a wolf. She draws the seal of Marchosias on a scabbard for her donut holer Cheshire (Marchosias is usually depicted as a wolf), she's interested in Lexi making wolf pajamas for himself, one of her stories was about the Moon God transforming into a wolf on the Wolf Moon and the author's notes says her favorite The Legend of Zelda game is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which has Link transform into a wolf. They translate both into her love of the supernatural and because she feels like she's so alone in the world...a lone wolf, you can say.
- In Infinity Train: Seeker of Crocus, Sara Diktaylis is connected to foxes. Her surname is Greek for "Foxglove" and her screen name is Vulpix_princess, Vulpix being a fox-like Pokemon (or rather, they're modeled after a kitsune). Like how kitsune are masters of illusion, she gives off the illusion of a proud boastful bitch when she's really a broken girl who lashes out in the world because a part of her is afraid to speak out, but she ends up stuck in a cycle of lashing out, violence and selfishness instead.
- Mirai SMP:
- Techno's animal motif is pigs, which is typically uses to visually represent him in accompanying imagery and is also used to refer to him by several characters. It is ambiguous in the story if he is just a human with this motif, a Half-Human Hybrid, or an actual Pig Man.
- Travis has physical dog features, and dogs are also used as a metaphor for him and his relationships several times, such as him thinking that he "doesn't want to be [Joko]'s dog". Dogs are typically portrayed in media as loving and friendly companion animals, but they can also lash out if scared and do notable damage — which reflects Travis in the fic quite well.
- In My Huntsman Academia, Izuku is repeatedly associated with puppies in the narrative due to his constant desire to please his teammates and teachers, his aw-shucks modesty and sweetness, his role as Toshinori's successor, and just how plain adorable he is in private. Of course, even puppies can bite, and Izuku bites back hard when the well-being of innocent people is on the line.
- In Rabbit of the Moon, Bell's fleetness of foot and meek personality get him compared to rabbits repeatedly. But he's also learned to be aggressive and brutal in combat to survive in Yharnam, which gets Mikoto to compare him to a black wolf with iron fangs, a reminder of his potential Beasthood.
- Danganronpa: Komm Susser Tod:
- Usagi Hino is associated with rabbits, with her first name being Japanese for "rabbit" and her wearing a headband akin to rabbit ears. Her execution is also titled "Wicker Rabbit Appointment" and involves her being set on fire inside a wicker statue shaped like a rabbit.
- Chie Midoriyama is based off of frogs, with her being the Ultimate Herpetologist, wearing a green raincoat, using "ribbit" and "croak" as Verbal Tics. and having a frog-themed bag as a Companion Cube.
- Iori Jabami, befitting his talent as the Ultimate Snake Charmer, is associated with snakes, ranging from him having Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness, to his last name being able to be read as "snake-devouring".
- Many Yaoi fanfics ascribe a dog motif to Matt, for his unquestioning loyalty and obedience to Mello, and willingness to follow the latter to the ends of the Earth.
- To complement this, some also give a cat motif to Mello. See also Boys' Love Notes.
- Jewel of Darkness: Doctor Fate has a vision of the future at the beginning of the second arc, which begins with a cat and a bird fighting in the shadow of a tiger. Word of God has confirmed that they represent Terra, Midnight, and Slade, respectively.
- Fate of the Clans:
- Cú Chulainn is compared to a wolf or dog. Calling him a dog while he's in earshot is a bad idea (Do it and he'll turn very unfriendly at a frightening speed). "Cú Chulainn" is Gaelic for "Culann's Hound". It was changed to that from Sétanta after he killed Culann's guard dog. This is even more prevalent when he becomes an Alter, being like an unrestrained savage beast. His altered older form is a werewolf. He takes being known as a guard dog seriously, willing to risk his life to defend what he considers to be his home or his family.
- Tamamo looks part fox. The appearance is integral to her legend, it being the reason she was hunted down.
- Kiyohime is called a dragon. She turned into a dragon in her legend and has a pair of white horns on top of her head.
- Chiron is called a horse due to him being a centaur.
- Neko is similar to a cat. She can even use an illusion to appear as a cat. "Neko" is also Japanese for "cat". She was distrustful of Caster when they first met.
- Ichigen's haiku refers to Kuroh as a dog. Kuroh has the nickname Black Dog. He wants to be Ichigen's protector for all the times he protected Kuroh.
- Mikoto is called a lion, Anna's lion doll being named after him. Mikoto's lazy and sleeps a lot but is clearly the one in charge. Cú Chulainn lampshades this by saying he can sense a lot of charisma which is why he's easily looked up to. His current hair style resembles a lion's mane.
- Misaki is the vanguard of HOMRA and his nickname, Yatagarasu, is a three-legged crow in Japanese mythology.
- "Saru" in Saruhiko translates to "monkey", which is why Misaki calls him that.
- Tenkei's former surname and the given name he currently goes under both refer to a bird. Mordred says he deserves the name Tenkei, which is "heavenly rooster" but given his cowardly nature it most likely wasn't a compliment.
- Cats for Mordred. Aside from chasing a cat in circles on all fours, she's rebellious.
- In Passing Days, Robin Hood's nickname for the protagonist Vy takes bird motifs as a Call-Back to Fate/EXTRA, where he calls her "little sparrow" just like how he referred to Hakuno as a "chick." The difference between Hakuno and Vy, though, is that the intent is more affectionate and respectful of Vy's work in trying to save Proper Human History.
- How Friendship Accidentally Saved Magical Britain: Taking a page from the Marauders, the Powers of Friendship give themselves pseudonyms inspired by their Patronuses. Elestren Parkinson is Carrion (vulture), Tom Riddle is Gold-Digger (Niffler), Fred Weasley is Vulpine (fox), George Weasley is Vandal (magpie), and Lee Jordan is Snoop (dolphin).
- Two protagonists of Guidestuck- being animals in canon- are themed after their original forms. Bec is gruff and stubborn, like a wild dog. Jaspers, a cat, is proud, sophisticated and a little bit spoiled.
- In Choosing Life Verse, ARTEMIS seems to have glommed onto wolves as its way of seeing things. It describes itself being a part of GAIA as a "pack", using the same word to describe Aloy, Beta and Elisabet's family unit. It even punctuates the word with a howling wolf sound-bite.
- Queen of All Oni: Female Shadowkhan seem to inherently have a snake theme, as both Jade and the Elders have it.
- Karasu is described as having bird-like features.
- In How Stormer Got Her Groove Back, Riot compares Stormer's personality to a cat: sometimes aloof, sometimes affectionate, and dangerous when angered.
- In Love Is A Funny Thing, Riot's pet-name for Jerrica is "songbird", referring to her beautiful singing voice.
Jojos Bizarre Adventure Eyes Of Heaven
- In Jonathan Joestar, The First JoJo, despite his large, bulky frame and height, due to his overall nature, Jonathan is repeatedly compared to a puppy.
- In A Good Day, this is used to show how different Ryuuko thinks she and her sister, Satsuki, are. The latter, appearance wise, as she put it, can be a compared to be crane, an animal that is associated with beauty and grace, while the former compares herself to a bulldog, which, apparently, corresponds with her appearance of being "short, stumpy, frumpy, fat, and rolly".
- From Kiryuuin Chronicles, we have Rei, who tends to be associated with birds, which is more apparent in chapter eight (titled "Releasing the Dove"). Apparently, this has something to do with their situation, considering that birds did seem to remind her of something that she couldn't do and that was fly, along with alluding to them living in an abusive home, the which they couldn't escape so easily, unless let out some how, like a bird would be unable to do if it were caged.Satsuki: Of course, birds reminded her of something that she nor any of us could do and that was fly, yet, at the same, they probably reminded her of how caged we are.
- Midoriya Izuku is associated with rabbits in fanon, because his hero costume hood, though designed to emulate All Might's iconic hairstyle, is more reminiscent of bunny ears.
- This is downplayed in Butterfly. Yaoyorozu gifts Izuku, Sero, and Hagakure with plush animals based on their hero costumes, and lists a few others that she has ideas for, but the only one with plot impact is Izuku's grinning bunny, which serves as a symbol of his emotions.
- The titular Butterfly also has a fairly obvious animal motif. Both of them are mentioned in Toshinori's internal monologue after Butterfly's death, as "a butterfly with wings that still flew," or "a little rabbit reuniting with his family across a river."
- Crimson and Emerald: Both Hawks and his mother have strong bird of prey motifs with their watchful golden eyes and tendency to ambush people. When it comes to Hawks’ relationship to the Commission, there’s a strong bird in the cage imagery.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- In Manehattan's Lone Guardian, Gray Ghost is associated with cats. Aside from having a cat for a pet, she sleeps wherever she pleases, shows up in places where she has no right being, can sneak up on others without being aware that she's doing so, and has a tendency to behave generally cat-like in casual situations.
- On the Alteration of Species has the Straw Hats transformed into an animal based on their personalities. Lampshaded by one character. Luffy becomes a monkey because monkeys are funny and enjoy to explore. Robin is a cat due to her observing and clever nature. Zoro a wolf, headstrong and powerful. Usopp a stoat, able to get away quickly and also stand their ground if necessary. Sanji becomes a horse due to his intelligent and sweet nature. Nami becomes a magpie which are known to like shiny things (see Thieving Magpie) and being very smart (see Clever Crows). And Chopper remains as a reindeer.
- It should be noted that creator Oda has given a Word of God answer to the question of what each pirate would be as an animal. Luffy is a monkey, yes, though Nami is a cat, Zolo a shark, Sanji a duck and Usopp an armadillo (Robin had not yet joined at that point).
- Persona 5 Adult Confidant AU:
- Like in canon, Munehisa Iwai has a gecko motif. He still has his gecko tattoo, it's his Phantom Thief codename, he wears a gecko mask as part of his outfit, and his Persona, Black Bart, resembles a humanoid reptile.
- Ichiko Ohya is given a cat motif, in part due to being a Composite Character for canon Ohya and Morgana. She often has a cat smile and cat-like eyes, is regularly curious, and when she declares herself the Series Mascot, she does so by slapping on Kawakami's cat ears and tail.
- In Clothes, please? Ren describes his fellow students as if he were narrating a nature documentary."You can plainly see the affectionate gaze the lioness gives to the male..."
- Several characters in Forum of Thrones sport these.
- Wolves are commonly associated with Wolfius Woodbark and Brandon Snow. The former embodies the imagery of a rabid wolf, while the latter stands for the calm and dignified sides of the animal.
- Argilac and Argella Durrandon are, like their whole house, compared to stags at several points of the story, as a means to symbolize their proud, regal behaviour.
- In Robb Returns, Littlefinger keeps getting compared to a weasel even though his personal coat of arms is a mockingbird.
- The one thing that finally signifies that Theon is more a Stark than a Greyjoy is him getting the seventh direwolf pup.
- In The Dancing and the Dreaming, the confident, long-haired woman Rose Quartz wears a lion mask to her masquerade ball.
- From Nightblade, the main character is heavily associated with cats and snakes, to the point of being described as purring and hissing at times.
- In Candy for Your Thoughts?, Alejandro is often compared to and referred as a snake, and to a lesser extent Duncan has a lion motif.
- The Random Drama Series has Faith/Kitsune whose nickname is Japanese for "fox". This is on top of her headband which has fox ears and her belt having a matching tail.
- Total Drama Legacy has a lot of these; Marlin is associated with fish, Emilia is associated with snakes, Storm is associated with rats, and Katherine is associated with cats.
- The Accidental Warlord And His Pack: The different clans all are represented by a different animal and have characteristics related to stereotypes of those animals. Cat witchers are mercurial, Bear witchers are stoic and stodgy, Wolf witchers are prone to heroics...
- Wolfblood: The similarities between Cat Witchers and actual felines are repeatedly highlighted.
- In fan works, Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier are commonly associated with sharks and rats, respectively. This probably originated with Michael Fassbender's distinctive and somewhat intimidating smile and the "adorable lab rat" line in the Cerebro scene.
- Sharks are notorious aquatic predators; Erik is a badass, a hunter (of Nazis), and first meets Charles when they're both in the water. Rats are small, cute (to those who like them), clever, and associated with science; Charles is a Badass Bookworm professor of genetics and his actor is both rather pretty and a bit on the short side.
