The King of Fighters - jkflay's Furry AU Page

Aka the place where the context for my KOF brainrot from work flourishes

If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a furry and that I'm a fan of KOF. So I guess it'd only be inevitable that these two likes of mine would crossover, especially after hours of work where I'm putting things back where they belong with nothing to do but have my head in the clouds. So after some years of working and daydreaming, my little personal AU has become so solidified in my mind that I can write so much about it all alongside my previous KOF headcanons and fanon things. And so I'm dedicating this page to all of that, from worldbuilding, to who is what animal, to what stories I've thought about in this world. With all of that said...

Worldbuilding

If you didn't know, I love worldbuilding - it's one of my favorite aspects of fantasy and sci-fi and it's something that can make or break something for me. Sure you could go, "humans are anthropomorphic animals case closed" but that leaves you a ton of questions and holes to fill. If people are animals, what are the animals of this world? What type of animals are people? Is there a divide between predators and prey animal people? Is there divison between mammals, avains, reptiles, amphians, fish and insects? What do the animal people eat? How does society function in a world of so many races and species of animals? There's so many things to think about that you wouldn't consider until you get into the nitty-gritty of it. Series like Beastars and A Centaur's Life are prime examples of series that focus on the world of anthro-animals and fantasy creatures and the ways the differences and alterations between ours and theirs, and I love that so much! (I could go without the anime "fanservice" of teenagers in A Centaur's Life so be aware of that and skip those gross bits)

So what would this world of KOF anthro animals be? Well first off it'd take place in the modern day cuz KOF does, it'd be silly if it didn't, and anything that happened in the games happened in this world (the Orochi stuff, the super sci-fi nonesense, the interdimensional gods, etc.). The types of anthro-animal races in this world are Mammals, Avains, Reptiles, and Amphibians; the equivalent of feral animals in this world are evolved versions of crusteaceans, fish, insects, arachnids, and... humans. Yes, humans - humanoids to be exact. Harpies, ogres, mermaids, dwarves and such these are all animals in this world and these along side the others are the source of meat for the people of this world. Speaking of the people, there is a ton of variety in regards to the races and species inhabiting this world. Cats, walruses, chickens, snakes, camians, axolotls, Galapogos tortoises, lemurs, chimpanzees, aardvarks, swans, Avali - if it fits it's a person. For mythical cretures, it's a bit complicated; for dragons they're born at random, grow wings (of any kind) when they mature and can't make more dragons themselves - phoenixes are able to come back to life but they stay dead for about 9 months and can only ressurect 9 times before they die for real; unicorns, pegasi, and alicorns have a bit of magic (though anybody can summon magic and stuff since KOF is like that); Hybrid animals between different races such as Mammal + Avian are a thing and referred to Chimeras.

That's the basis of the world. Enough rules and building that makes it distinct and fun to think about, while adhereing/adapting to the KOF world. I hope it makes sense and that you find it as fun as I do.

Who is What Animal?

My methodology for deciding what character is what animal is a little more in depth than some would assume. As the wise deer-time on Tumblr dot com once said,

When I decide what characters are what animals, I try to make that animal align with their stories, their themes, their personality, their design, if it fits them then it is them. You may not agree with me on what I make some characters, but in my opinion these fit who they are and I hope that the reasons I give helps you see what I'm going for.

A while ago I made a little chart with furry versions of the KOF XV roster but it's too big for this page to properly render out, so instead I'll make a simple list with art of who is what, some notes for why if I have some, and if that why is long then so be it.

~King of Fighters XV Roster

- Shun'ei: Dragon (Amp. Specter Wings: Fire=Butterfly, Water=Insect)

Shun'ei is a far departure from the rest of the KOF protagonists in a lot of ways, and I want to show that with my choice of animals for them being a type of "escalation" per-say: from a domestic herbivore to a wild herbivore to a wild carnivore to a mythical carnivore. I feel that if KOF was initally conceived as a furry series or was made in a world of furries it'd go like that as a sign of "You think that guy was cool, wait til you see THIS guy who's an even cooler animal!" Back to Shun'ei himself, him being a dragon would be more than a marketing pull, but also a sign of his connection to a greater/cosmic power: his Amplified Specters. They're an other-worldly power with a ton of world changing potential and of all animals I think of - real and fictional - dragons are the ones I think fit Shun'ei best. And that point on potential and power are particularlly important for Shun'ei: he struggles with controlling his powers and thus closes himself from others keeping himself from growing. By the end he matures and opens himself to letting go of his fears of rejection/hurting others and mastering his powers and growing real wings.

- Meitenkun: Ragdoll Cat

I'll be honest, the decision to make Meiten' into a cat is mostly because of favoritism on my part. Realistically SNK would make him a lamb because of 'counting sheep to go to sleep' but this is my AU and I get to do what I want. As for why specifically a Ragdoll cat, they're super flexible and if you've seen Meiten' in game you know how flexible he is in his moves, so I think it fits.

- Benimaru: Cheetah

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- Isla: Dragon (Amp. Specter/Amanda: Wyvern Wings)

Alot of the same reasons for why Shun'ei is a dragon applies with Isla too. Though with her it's to show their similarities and difference between them. Both teens close themselves from others, with Isla's reason for being because of her pasted of distrusting adults/authority so she rejects connection with pretty much everyone. And this rejection prevents her from growing her wings out like Shun'ei.

- Heidern: Velociraptor

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- Dolores: Wild Boar

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- Kyo: Jacob Sheep

Kyo is the character I have the most to say about why he's a sheep so buckle up buckaroo. Steel wool is a type of firestarter, Kyo makes fire so that pun is an easy connection; the first fully cloned animal was a sheep and considering Kyo's cloning deal it makes sense; Kyo's design changes over the course of the series so him having horns that grow over time would be a clever way to show that growth. Additionally, Jacob's Sheep usually grow multiple horns and I think that NESTS would cut them down for DNA. Having one set stay stunted and another grow could be a fascinating way to show that NESTS impacted him but he's moving on in a way; Continuing on with this, overgrown wool greatly weighs down and hurts sheep. I think that NESTS would shear his inital wool coat, and from then on Kyo would grow and keep a new coat to the point where it becomes overgrown. It'd be a literal metaphor of Kyo carrying the weight of his NESTS trauma and using it to shield him both from harm and kindness. He believes that the coat helps him, but it's only a barrier between others.

- Iori: Domestic Cat

Honestly, this one's an easy call; Iori loves cats, he's a loner, associated with darkness and such, if I made Iori anything other than I cat I think I'd be called crazy.

- Chizuru: Red-Crowned Crane

Chizuru is literally Red-Crowned Crane colored. If I were to make it any clearer on why I made her into Red-Crowned Crane I'd show you a "it's the same picture" meme over and over.

- Chris/Orochi Chris: Field Mouse

I've always kinda seen C.Y.S. as a parallel/bizzaro version of the Three Sacred Treasures, so that'll influence what type of animals I'll make C.Y.S. Making Chris was an easy decision in my opinion, how cute and harmless he looks but in reality he's anything but; like how mice irl are so cute but destroy so much infrastructure. As for what he parallels in furry Kyo, both of them are innocent looking herbivores/prey animals, but are destructive or dangerous in their own way.

- Yashiro/Orochi Yashiro: Crocodile

Had to go with something rough and tough for Yashiro with him being the muscle of the band. He's a parallel to Iori, with both of them being predator animals, though taken to the extreme with Yashiro being a giant and bulky beast.

- Shermie/Orochi Shermie: Cave Bat

For Shermie, I made her a bat in parallel to Chizuru being a bird, both being flying animals and the only girls of their group, but filling different roles with different demeanors. Plus with Shermie's hidden eyes and how bats have poor eyesight, I thought it was a no brainer.

- Terry: Hudson Bay Wolf

I feel that if I didn't make Terry "The Hungry Wolf" Bogard a type of wolf, I'd be insane.

- Andy: Golden Retriever

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- Joe: Howler Monkey

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- Athena: Phoenix (Cockatiel)

In her original game "Psycho Soldiers" Athena is able to transform into a phoenix as a power-up, so as a reference to that she's a phoenix. As for her being a cockatiel, I feel that - as a little bit of a joke - because Athena changes her appearance every game perhaps she changes what type of parrot she resembles (like she's being "reborn" as a phoenix). Maybe in '98 she was a Crimson Rosella parrot, maybe in XIII she was a Scarlet Macaw, maybe in 2001 she was a Plum-Headed Parakeet. For XV, she's a little cockatiel.

- Mai: Flemish Giant Rabbit

So fun fact: the day I made this art was the day that Mai come out in SF6 and I had no idea. Fun coincidence. Anyway, Mai being a rabbit seems very obvious too me: she hops and bounces all around the stage, her ponytail reminds me of rabbit ears, and her cheery personality is very bunny like in my opinion.

- Yuri: American Oppossum

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- Ryo: Grizzly Bear

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- Robert: Bengal Tiger

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- King: White-Tailed Deer

King's whole thing was disguising herself as a man in the AOF games - which KOF dropped cuz sex appeal sells - so to reflect that I made her a deer as they're one of the most obviously gendered animals out there with her having antlers. Additionally, in the games when King is K.O.'d by a strong move her shirt bursts open showing her breasts; as an alterntive, in her deer form her antlers would break, showing her as a woman. But there's another, eviler reason I made her a deer. The whole reason she fought in the AOF games was to get enough money for a surgery her little brother needs to walk again. The reason for him not being able to walk was due to an injury, but I have a much more diabolical source for this version: Chronic Wasting Disease. Perhaps in this version, King's little brother is also a deer suffering from Chronic Wasting Disease and she enters these tournaments not only for the thrill and her friends, but also to afford treatment for her little brother. Irl CWD is fatal, but I imagine that a modern day animal world would find a way to stave it off temporarily like how we do with cancer.

- Luong: Cape Cobra

Luong's a pretty sneaky and seductively dangerous character, and I feel that her being a snake would fit her to a tee. I chose a Cape Cobra specifically because it's venomous so she could take someone out with her kisses/bites.

- Blue Mary: English Pointer

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- Vanessa: Red Fox

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- K': Dutch Rabbit

With how his jacket has "Beast of Prey" on his jacket you'd assume he'd be a predator or carnivore, but you'd be mistaken. K' - along with a couple of the NESTS characters - were experimented, cloned and genetically engineered by NESTS; and to reflect that origin I chose an animal related to laboratory testing: a rabbit. I chose rabbits specifically because K' is very speedy - what with his shadow teleport-thingy, his zoom kick, and how alot of his moves are kick based and rabbits kick alot. Plus when rabbits are angry they loudly stamp on the ground and I can picture K' doing that.

- Maxima: Polar Bear

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- Whip: Dutch Rabbit

With K' being her brother and was similarly experimented and cloned by NESTS, I figure it'd be good to make her a rabbit too.

- Krohnen: Protogen (Sheep + Rabbit mix)

Given how Krohnen's a clone/artifically made, I figure that Krohnen should be something artifical too. And protogens are kinda that. For Krohnen specifically, he has a wooly sheep body/tail and horns from Kyo, and rabbit ears and legs like K'. He gives off a hostile aura and barrier with his protogen mask that fits with his cocky attitude and be a subsitute for his goggles. Though what's under there is a bit of an opportunity; protogens don't have a canonical "unmasked" face according to their lore they can't breathe/function without them. But here, I'll bend the rules a bit to say that under the mask, Krohnen's face would be a sheep/rabbit mix.

- Angel: Siberian Lynx

Angel already is cat-coded with all of her "nya"-ing, but the reason why she's a lynx is because lynxes have those giant paws and with how Angel's a grappler and how silly she is I think it fits.

- Kula: French-Lop Rabbit

With how K' and Whip are both rabbits and how Kula is kinda their little sister, you'd think that'd be the reason why she's a rabbit and that's partially the case. Kula gives off cute animal vibes and a cute little bunny fits. Additionally her hair can be represented with lop rabbit ears and I think that'd be fun.

- Leona: Snow Leopard

Leona's part of a military group and often espionage is a part of it. Snow Leopards (Sneps) are famous for how well they blend into their mountain habitat. I feel that it fits Leona's personality and vibes, plus when Sneps get surprised they do a super funny leap away and I feel like Leona would do that.

- Ralf: German Shepard

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- Clark: Labrador Retriever

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- Ash: Arctic Fox

If you thought Ash wasn't going to be a fox of some kind, you have marbles for a brain. Ash is a trickster through and through, it would've been heresy if I didn't make him something that gives off a sneaky vibe. As for why an Arctic Fox specifically, frankly it's because it fits his color scheme.

- Elizabeth: Blue Picardy Spaniard

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- Kukri: Milk Snake

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- Antonov: Domestic Bull

Beneath all that beef he's a loveable softy, like a farm cow. And in his XIV design his belt had cow horns so I figure I'd embrace the cow aesthetic.

- Ramon: Siberian Tiger

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- King of Dinosaurs: Tarantulosaurus-Rex

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- Rock: Coywolf-Goose Mix

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- B. Jenet: Squirrel Monkey

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- Gato: Ocelot

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- Geese: Phoenix (Cotton Patch Goose)

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- Billy: Domestic Goat

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- Yamazaki: Black Cat

I'll be honest the entire reason why Yamazaki is a cat and not a hyena (he has a crazy hyena laugh) is because of a friend of mine draws him as a catboy...man. Though I will add that him having that white furcoat means that he probably killed and skinned someone for it. Makes sense for a guy like him.

- Haohmaru: Japanese Bantam Chicken

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- Nakoruru and Mamahaha: Mountain Hawk-Eagle and Harpy

Nakoruru is pretty much the only fighter in KOF that fights with an animal, so it's pretty obvious that I'd make Nako' into a Moutain Hawk-Eagle like Mamahaha is. But for Mamahaha, remember what I said about how some of this world's animals being human-like creatures? Here's where I cash that logic out: Mamahaha is a harpy here. Now it's a near complete swap for the two of them.

- Darli Dagger: Ring-Tailed Lemur

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- Omega Rugal: Black Panther

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- Goenitz: Dragon

Goenitz being a pretty iconic villain in the KOF pantheon I feel that he should be a powerful and intimidating animal. I decided that a dragon fits him for that reason, dragons embody those traits and with him being able to control the wind, it brings to mind dragons flying through giant windstorms or whipping up tornados on their own. Additionally, since Goenitz is one of several resurrected characters in KOFXV, I deliberately gave his dragon-self feathery angel wings and a halo like set of horns to represent him dying once.

- Shingo: Great Pyrnees

With Shingo's cheery and overly-loyal personality it's obvious that Shingo would be some type of dog, he's basically a big puppy. The reason for him being a Great Pyrenees dog ties into Kyo: Since I made Kyo a sheep I figured Shingo should be sheep herding dog, and of all of the breeds of dog, Great Pyrenees dogs are some of the most dedicated of the bunch.

- Kim: Javan Mongoose

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- Sylvie Paula Paula: Dutch Angel Dragon

With how out-there Slyvie is with her 'RAWR XD' energy it feels that no real animal would fit her. Personally, I think she's the type of person to have 70+ fursonas and OCs with eyeballs and rainbows all over them and not know what a furry is. And what's more quirky of a furry OC species than a dragon? And not just a dragon, but a fluffy feather-y dragon? Thus, she's a Dutch Angel Dragon.

- Duo Lon: Southern Pacific Rattlesnake

Duo Lon's very serpent like as is, what with his super stretchy arms that strike like a snake, so making him one made sense. As for Duo Lon being specifically a type of rattlesnake, I think they're some of the more outwardly intimidating ones, what with their rattle and what not.

- Najd: Folf (Fennec Fox + Gray Wolf)

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- Hinako: Wolverine

This choice is more of a "gameplay-vibes" choice than anything. Someone I fight often mains Hinako, and they're really good with her. It feels like an uphill battle trying to beat their Hinako, so whenever I think of her I associate her with brutality and savagery. And wolverines are the epitome of those qualities. So, she's a wolverine.

- Vice and Mature: African Lion and White Lion

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I did intend to make art of other KOF, Maximum Impact and other art of other characters but unfortunately the overload of images keeps crashing my PC so for the sake of my and your browsing experience I'll keep these pictureless and summaryless (RIP), but I have a FurAffinity folder with all of the KOF Furry renders I've made. Anywho on with the list:

~Other KOF Characters~

- Nameless: Avali

- Kyo-1 and Kyo-2: Jacob Sheep

- Kusanagi: Demon

- May Lee: Poison Dart Frog

- Xanadu: Killer Whale

- Chang and Choi: African Elephant and Lesser Weasel

- Tung Fu Rue: Galapagos Tortoise

- Goro Daimon: Galcier Bear

- Candy Diamond: Synth

- Diana and Foxy: Island Foxes

- Alice Garnet Nakata: Domestic Cat

- KOF for Girls Protagonist - Striped Skunk

- Nagi: Kitsune

- Yomi: Yatagarasu

- Wolfgang Krauser: Doberman Wolf-Dog

~Maximum Impact Characters~

- Alba Meira: Mustang

- Soiree Meira: Belgian Draught

- Lien Nevelle: Swift Fox

- Mignon Beart: Spirit Bear

- Chae Lim: Siberian Musk Deer

- Luise Meyrink: Alicorn (Zebra with Butterfly Wings)

- Nagase: Panda Bear

- Ninon Beart: Spirit Bear

- Xiao Lon: Southern Pacific Rattlesnake

~Various SNK Characters~

- Marco Rossi: Peregrine Falcon

- Eri Kasamoto: Cheetah

- Fio Germani: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

- Tarma Roving: Doberman

- Nadia Cassel: Ball Python

- Trevor Spacey: Reindeer

- Munch Mobile: MM.EXE

~ Other FG Characters~

- Sol Badguy: Dragon

- Ken Masters: Golden Retriever

- Chun-Li: Hainan Peacock-Pheasant

- Bakuryu/Keji Ogami: Eastern Mole

- Lars Alexandersson: African Lion

Stories in this AU

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Thank you for checking out my Shrine and this silly AU page, and remember... play KOF!

- And Now the Mausks -

Anywho, have fun if you can : D