#DMK is a parent

[cochineal-leviat]

"After a beloathed King's demise, a new prince rises to the throne - with a guardian to protect him and the Mirrorlands. But the father and son's duo's new lives come at a dear cost."

I never uploaded this fic on Tumblr, so for a little context, it's a Dark Meta Knight and Skirby-centric fic (Dad and son bonding) with them navigating the Mirror Lands pre-Amazing Mirror. DMK is his messed up self, and Skirby is a happy child along for the ride.

Dark Mind's presence complicates things.

If you want to start from the beginning, click here.

[startistdoodles]

I'm siding with Shadow Kirby on dad rights. He gets to say Paba/Papa and "love you" to DMK while the latter realises that this is the life he's living now.

DMK will negotiate and allow one (1) Paba and one (1) "I love you" per day but only when no one's around to witness it.

[mooniety]

ykw gk gijinka gets piercings too

this basically came to be when i was wondering what ear piercings mk would wear, leading to the idea of culturally significant earrings that individuals like only gk & mk wear to represent their hero/warrior status during the era when the ancients continued to thrive (in which both of them existed during that time, mk moreso near its end as uhhh fun local cutting board hc lore moment: he was created out of the fear that gk would eventually retire as fundamentally, ancient society needed gk in order to continue --as you can probably tell, mk was a failure thus gk get trap in funny pink ring pop hehehaha)

for dmk though he'd probably only wear the culturally significant earrings as the physical reflection of mk but nothing else, which fits with his vibe, perhaps rips in his ears or empty piercings would make more sense for him (rips in pointy ears seems much cooler though)

kirby doesn't wear those cultural significant earrings though --ancient society is ultimately a bygone era & i imagine mk would only keep his around to remind him of his past

in terms of actual proof of concept, i feel like they'd look similarly to & be worn like the earrings frieren from frieren: beyond journey's end wears:

guys what if i gave my mk gijinka 3 ear piercings & a hc about him considering getting a 4th one

[giantchasm]

Dazor: Hello Peony. I’d ask about your ghosts and powers, but it seems that’s already been covered. Could you say more how you feel on Nick and Rhiainfellt? Understandable if that’s too much, otherwise more about any of your parents’ friends?

...But it's okay! I have Glock. And you know what I think? You only need one good friend to truly be happy. And I've got more friends than that, anyways! They're just not my age. I know I should probably try to be nicer to Rhiainfellt. I can only imagine she feels really alone. A long, long time ago— like way before me or even my parents were born, there was this mass exodus of people who used magic from intergalactic society. Among these people, the Jambandrans especially suffered. Most of them... uh, didn't make the journey, and even fewer have survived to modern day. Rhiainfellt's the only Jambandran I've ever met. And I imagine that has to be pretty lonely. Not knowing anyone who looks like you. Not knowing your history or culture or where you came from. It also doesn't help that she can't use magic— just another thing that makes her stick out like a sore thumb amidst her family. And with all of that in mind, I wish I could like her, but... I dunno. She's depressing. She's really resentful, and I think she should give her mom more credit sometimes. I don't think she feels the way Rhiainfellt thinks she feels about her at all. Then as for Nick... kind of self explanatory, yeah? Just about any person associated with the Mirror World is nothing but trouble... and people allied with Dark Mind especially. I don't care if Nick's dads think Dark Meta Knight is nice. He's a monster! And the less time I spend around him the better. Sorry, Nick. Both that I can't hang out and that you have to be subjected to that buffoon. It's not your fault your parents have bad taste.

...Oh my gosh! What a colorful cast.

This is another ask that only ended up being so much about Peony and more about the world she lives in and the people surrounding her, but it was still fun to answer. I like and have thoughts on all of my fankids, even if she's the favorite.

I think I may be the only person out there who ships Daroach/Rick. To my credit, it started as a joke. But then I got... invested somehow? In my Kirbyverse they grew up together, were partners in crime for a bit, then had a messy breakup after Rick turned over a new leaf and Daroach didn't. And now they've made amends!

Pick is here too, of course, because there is NOTHING I cannot stand more than when people remove a canonical female love interest from the equation to ship her more popular partner with a guy. Not that Rick is a popular character or that it happens to him. But it's about the PRINCIPLE of the thing, y'know? And Rick has two hands.

Also, yes, before anyone gets on my case for it: DMK was involved with The Sectonia Incident in my interpretation of the Kirby universe. I think people can get... really weird about people writing the character that way sometimes?

There's this pretty aggravating trend I've noticed in the fandom where something that is not canon will get misconstrued as Objectively Canon (I.E DMK being involved with that, Void Kirby theory, ETC), then people who are annoyed with this misinfo will go around saying canon actually Objectively Disproved that thing. Which... it did not do, either. Canon makes no comment on these situations. There is no "correct" interpretation. Just let people have fun, man.

So, yeah! I think DMK deserves to be a little bit of a dick. As a treat. I think portraying him as not the instigator of that incident, but rather a loyal servant who helped Dark Mind get away with all of that makes him an interesting parallel to Taranza himself. I like writing it that way, so it's canon to my Kirbyverse and by extension the world Peony lives in.

Which is all to say Peony's not a fan of him. Even though, as usual, she's sort of simplifying the situation. DMK is not a wonderful person, but he's no bogeyman, either.

Rhiainfellt is interesting. I originally came up with her based on the simple idea of "Awww... wouldn't it be cute if one of the Mage Sisters adopted a Jambandran like Hyness adopted them all those years ago?" But the more I've fleshed her out the more... weird and messed up she's become. I think she has an American Psycho monologue going on in her head at all times.

A troubled kid for sure. You know it's bad when even the girl who talks to dead people thinks someone's a little too much. Ohhhhh, poor thing. 😔

To be clear she doesn't have another parent or anything, by the way. All hail Zan Partizanne's single mom swag.

@kirbyoctournament

[desultory-novice]

Dark Meta and Shadow Kirby

It must be the contrast, I think.

I am quite average on "Metadad" content but completely FERAL for DarkMetaDad. I think, with MetaDad, I feel like making Meta Knight Kirby's protector/caretaker sidelines the fact that Kirby has always been shown to be capable of taking care of themselves. MK gives them some mid-adventure training in a couple of circumstances (and stands in their way as a foe in others) but the support has never really been given in a way that gives me any kind of parental figure vibes.

Kirby, as we know him, doesn't need Meta Knight for anything.

However, Shadow Kirby is portrayed as being mentally/emotionally weaker than regular Kirby. They spend most of KatAM hiding. Dark Meta Knight, meanwhile, is Meta Knight with the edge and aggressiveness cranked up. The concept that this violent, brooding, avenging bat knight has made it his mission to secretly defend the hero that SHOULD be defending everyone else? All while playing the villain so that Shadow Kirby's own reputation isn't besmirched? The fact that even Shadow Kirby can't say for sure but has seen just enough to still believe in Dark Meta Knight even after all this...

I love it. I love that Shadow Kirby comes out to confront you one last time, right before you face off with Dark Meta Knight in Radish Ruins. (Almost as if to say "...Wait! It's not him! He's not the one responsible!" threatening to undo DMK's clever sabotage(*) against Mind. But it's too late. There's no stopping what was set in motion.)

And after Dark Meta Knight is defeated a second time and shattered? It is only then, after losing his guardian, that Shadow Kirby is forced to grow up and assist you in fighting Dark Mind.

...By handing you, of all things, a sword.

Dark Meta Knight returns, of course (somehow) and it is after that that Shadow Kirby begins to take up the habit of going aggressive on regular Kirby, interrupting his fights and challenging him to duels. Gee, I wonder who he learned that behavior from? XD

[Last Minute DMK Sympathy Additions!!] Because I spent last night talking about this with Thecrashman

While we were discussing DMK and the mirror world being a bit of a hellhole under Dark Mind's rule, the concept of What happened to the Meta Knights came up. Did DMK just not recruit them or did something happen to them? I assumed the latter, given how... beat up Dark Meta looked. Guy's cleared been in some brutal battles.

We discovered that DMK's mirror abilities (and only he has such abilities. Neither Shadow Dedede (being entirely consumed by Dark Matter) nor Shadow Kirby are able to use these "mirrors") allow him to summon exactly six mirrors to reflect himself in...

...Plus Sailor Dee makes six.

Were they shattered by Dark Mind? Was DMK able to put them "back together" but not able to restore them on his own? Unable to look at the still broken/empty reflections of those once under his command, he used his powers to reflect himself in their mirrors.

The image of a scarred, heartless man. A failure time six.

No wonder he tries to be hands off with Shadow Kirby. He already has evidence he can't cut it as a protector.

[y0d00p]

this particular concept is harder to convey in canon form, so this mainly applies to gijinkas, but my headcanon is that the healthy weight for a (kirby/meta knight species) is fat. this is in tandem with the species having a voracious appetite. the appetite is much higher in youth and usually tapers off later in life (100s of years). also of note is that it's good for them to get a ton of sleep. like, domestic cat amounts of sleep.

kirby and sk for example are "chubby", they're healthy for their age (equivalent of their teens) and still in the stage of life with a BIG appetite. mk and dmk are basically middle aged and at the tail end of their biggest appetite.

mk would appear "fit" by human standards, but for his kind he is notably underweight. he was raised by adoptive parents unfamiliar with the needs of his kind, who prevented him from basically pigging out like he should have been (they meant well. they didn't know better). not only his physique but his height/overall size was slightly stunted from undernourishment. he is pretty small for his age.

obviously this has given him a particular relationship with food. most of his proper meals are quite healthy and light, but then there's the daily affogato and secret cakes... as a child, "treats" were rare. now as an adult, he can eat as much as he wants, but he still has this deep rooted compulsion to hide his indulgences and limit himself. he does not actually know that his restrained eating habits are unhealthy for him.

he also does not sleep enough. at all. chronic under-sleeper here.

mk would benefit from having someone to show him that he is actually the odd one out, and help him stick to a more substantial diet and sleep schedule. in my case this is dmk. once mk starts to fill out, he develops better stamina and even feels a bit more energetic and strong. he is healthier and happier. he is a bit self conscious of the weight gain, of course, but he has many many friends to reassure him and help him along.

this is mostly about mk lol, but to add. dmk is just a bit overweight. he is actually slightly bigger (borb)/taller (gijinka) than mk, thanks to actually eating very well as a child.

technically galacta is older than mk and dmk, but was sealed and put in stasis in (the equivalent of) his 20s or so. so he came out of the crystal still in the peak of his Massive Appetite. and galacta is a mountain of a man, so he needs to eat even more to sustain himself. not to mention the cosmic nuclear infection he's got going on that's eating him from the inside out probably sets off his diet some. galacta eats like an industrial trash compactor, and he's still just a bit underweight.

morpho is not of their kind, but just mimicking it. since they siphon energy from galacta to maintain their form, they purposefully keep it veeery petite to put as little strain on him as possible. if they were an actual borb, they would be considered severely underweight.

[blueberryfruitbat]

I always imagined that DMK as a dad would be super proud when his kid goes through their edgelord phase and support in a way parents don't normally like "you want to go to hot topic?? HELL YEAH!" "embrace the darkness, son!"

DMK fr kinda that cringefail edgelord (/aff) dad that supports his kid's overpowered edgy OCs and watches fandom AMVs with him.

[askkirbnfriens]

Skirby, how much of a parental figure do you see DMK as?

[ask-dametagala]

Infiltrating the castle!

[Cut content, part 1]:

Underneath the giant christmas tree, where Gala and Dameta were supposed to meet up again, they encounter Cashier Dee.

They were going to ask for an autograph for their little brother, who was hiding right behind him! The poor thing was really shy, not to mention there was a scary guy standing next to his idol....

However, once GK opened up, the little dee immediately came out and became extremely sociable.

Oh btw, his name is Blueberry Dee, here's how he looks like!

Galacta finds it easy to talk to the dees, especially children. So that's why he becomes extra talkative in this bit with little anxiety! They talk about Cashier Dee's family and it makes DMK feel...VERY awkward. He did kind of kill their mirror counterpart multiple times in the past. Even though he techincally had no conscious while doing it, Dark Meta Knight still couldn't excuse his actions. As the convo went on, he became increasingly more anxious and guilt-ridden, subconsciously retreating back into Gala's fluffy wings as he does so (he does that a lot lol).

And after all that was finished, they'd fly to the cliff like in the story.

Here's Cashier Dee's dialouge about his past:

Cashier Dee: Oh, our parents? I think we had a dad in the past...I'm not so sure. Though I remember very clearly that somebody left us at the coast of Orange Ocean to go join some team to explore the galaxy. It's odd, isn't it?

Edit: ^^ Above me is old Cashier Dee lore. It was implied Sailor was their father but now they're brithers! It felt weird making Sailor a deadbeat now LOL

[Part 2]

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

if we’ve covered some red flags, what are some of your green flag ships? like of those “fuck yesssssss” ones that you really enjoy

AYO SELF CARE HOURSSSSSS. i do genuinely like talking about the controversial ships but thank you for the positive vibes anon! love that

under the cut, just because the post is a little long:

actually im not super into shipping i think? i definitely value being able to imagine a dynamic for even the nichest pairings and have a lot of fun stretching or emphasizing certain parts of each characters' personalities to get them to work the best while opening up the potential for some development on each characters' side (thats exactly why im doing the ship bingo! its a ton of fun!), but theres very few things i actually like. Ship beyond surface level thoughts tbh. and recently the things i actually do ship have gotten increasingly niche. so enjoy this ramble that mostly pertains to specifically me and only me LMAO /lh

metadede ofc is the big one. not niche obviously. extremely beloved by me hiiiiiiiiii. they just have so much to work with in canon it makes so many varied interpretations which are a blast to see honestly. in general i love seeing how people portray their friendship too. an idiot whos smart to smart guy whos an idiot communication. enemies to friends to lovers..... their personalities bounce off of each other really well and the content the community makes is always a+. actually im going to take the opportunity to share my favorite mtdd fic ever. this is like pretty much peak metadede to me if anyone wants to know what i hope my personal interpretation will live up to [link!]

people might be able to tell ive been getting very into dametaberge. oh my god im so insane. no one look at me. dmk+jambacult found family Real. i have like three comics in my drafts for them. its mostly dametaberge thoughts rn but i like to think susie joins them later to make a poly ship. dmk and susie are a little tense at first but susie is, "like so over her knight phase," as she says, which dmk is extremely conflicted about whether to be offended or relieved at. and then they learn how to relax around each other and are always the two in the relationship to have awful destructive ideas, which flamberge vetos or approves of on a case by case basis. they get very happy and excited when flamberge approves of their awful plans

and of course my beloved gsa ships.............. theres falsgato which i am incredibly insane about thanks to my friend dragging me into it and now its a thing in my animeverse. enemies to friends to lovers I KEEP SAYING IM SO WEAK FOR THAT. dragato was a huge asshole to falspar for Various reasons regarding the nature of the gsa and perhaps dragatos own personal insecurity, but once they lost the war they got to bond since dragato like, realized how little the shit he antagonized falspar for actually mattered in the first place. and falspars a guy who really sees the best in people and ahahahghdjk its a whole thing its a whole thing i wont go into it rn LOL

theres also metarthur which is my very very beloved longtime rarepair. which i um. uh. ahahahah............. i get very slightly nervous talking about on main because a lot of people hc arthur as meta knights dad or parental figure but i shouldnt be nervous about hc differences really....... anyways theyre supposed to be like parallels of each other. people who are opposites thematically (arthur being leader of the gsa; mk being a former deeply infamous demon beast) who find themselves in similar positions in that they both kinda struggle with their sense of purpose vs their sense of self. meta knight sees his past struggles in arthur and so he finds himself drawn to him. he cant really Solve his situation, but (during their war-time relationship specifically) he hopes to offer some solace to him which functions as a form of catharsis to mk himself too. the two get to connect and understand each other in a unique way. i wont get too into this one right now either lol since the dynamic changes a lot depending on if its their during-war relationship or post-war relationship but theres the basics. i have a comic expanding on their general relationship in my drafts too but its at the bottom of my to-do list tbh. maybe someday though

im only into this one casually nowadays but morphogala... you really cant go wrong with "knight of death saves the greatest warrior in the galaxy from their torturous fate". something something the themes of wishing for the release of death being subverted into yes, death itself releasing you but in a way that actually Saves and rescues you instead. the hope and love in spite of all of the hopelessness AHHHHGH the themes of this one make me so weak. theres so much potential...... i really love this one on an aesthetic level too

you know i take my comment on "not super into shipping" back i think my multishipper ass has disillusioned myself into thinking being insane about like 4-5 ships isnt enough or isnt the norm. maybe i am insane about shipping......... oops

ships that make my thumbs up list in that i like them in concept but dont ship myself would be: marxolor; any of wave 3 x each other tbh. i have them as just besties in my hcs but paired up in any way is very fun; i kinda like shadow metadede but im really particular about the dynamic of that one; fransoos gets a very big thumbs up from me for themes and concept+enemies/rivals to lovers; metagala is. i dont super get it myself but the aesthetics alone are absolutely on-point enough to put this one in the thumbs up category. yayyyyyyy. im sure theres more that im missing but i think that covers any that arent too niche

[sortanonymous]

I drew Queen Pikiria in Meta Knightmare! (plus some info on her and also someone else's much better drawing of her) (Part 1!)

It was a painful mess of flipping between different colorized versions, but I've drawn my AU/fic's version of Pikiria, adopted daughter of Sectonia & Taranza and the Crown Princess-turned-Queen of Floralia. (Based off Pirka from the light novels, but so different in personality, background, and name that she's essentially an OC.) I definitely could have drawn it better (I probably should have added a Dreamstalk flower to the center of the bow, but not only is it too late, but it's a pain drawing either that bow or any kind of flowers), but I feel like this was an okay first effort. Forget mine though, because also after giving a suggestion and a tiny bit of coloring advice, here's the (official?) colorized version of Aiden Stolidus's (aka "insane guy") much better drawing on Amino, even if there's no crown! (Yes, that site still exists and I still look around on there even though I never post.) Honestly, if you need any art of this character as a basis for your own, AU or not, this is the definitive answer. They knocked it out of the park! (Don't worry, I got permission.)

Now take rather randomly organized some info and HCs on her under the cut, even if I might just reuse them for a bigger post if I draw her Spydeair parents soon (and also some of these are carried over from that "How Sectonia and Taranza Became Pikiria's Parents" post from a while back, which itself was half a Cliffnotes version of the Our Little Miracle fic)! (SPOILERS FOR META KNIGHTMARES II AND III, OF COURSE)

She's a Fairie, a species of fairies distantly related to the Spydeair species. (Might also have just a bit of relation to the Ripple Star fairies, but not a lot and I'm not sure.)

These first few points will simply summarize things you can already find in the fics, but I'll bring them up for context. To summarize her adoption yet again (Our Little Miracle), she floated into relatively-newlywed Sectonia and Taranza's garden hours after her birth and after some weeks of taking care of her and eventually deducing how she got here, they happily adopted her as the Crown Princess of Floralia.

Fast forward to her 12th birthday, which was also Sectonia's 35th birthday (The Insane Following Stuff, specifically chapters 5-11). After meeting (most of) the Meta-Knights and getting them to Sectonia just in time for both the queen's surprise b-day party and an attack by Dark Mind's Mirror World forces (long story short, DMK has beef with Secty's family here), she had to use her lightning-fast Fairie wings to save her father from getting crushed by debris. That night, she learned that she'd immediately have to fly all the way out to the planet Skyhigh to be trained for her future for the next 236 months like a glorified college. (Her parents had known this since she was like 6, but were always vague on telling her and just didn't want to think about it.) She emotionally said farewell before flying off into space.

About four and a half years later (chapters 17 and 21-25 of The Insane Following Stuff, to be exact), she had done very well on Skyhigh, taking after her mother and becoming a spectacular and speedy dual-wielding swordswoman nicknamed "Pikiria the Quick", although she was still rather homesick and waiting for a good time to spend her single vacation day. That came sooner than expected when her mother, after over four years of emotional struggles (from Pikiria's departure and fear of Dark Mind's forces) compounded by the Dimensional Mirror's grip on her, caused the darkness transmitted from it to take over and her to have a meltdown. Upon detecting her telepathic cry for help/farewell in a nightmare, she immediately rocketed back to Royal Road just in time to stop her possessed mother from killing the Knights, and both she and her father were able to comfort her and let her regain control. After staying for the next 24 hours to reconnect with and check on her parents, as her mother slowly started to recover, she emotionally went back to Skyhigh.

Once those 236 months were up (chapters 13-18 of The Later Roller Coaster), she had just gotten ready to return home for good and become Floralia's top defender/crown princess when she got another urgent telepathic message from her father and rushed back in panic. In the last few weeks, her mother's corruption had come back with a vengeance and the entire kingdom was on the brink. She reunited with her father and after launching the Dreamstalk mission with him and the people as a last-ditch effort to save both the kingdom and hopefully her mother, she got the Knights up to Royal Road. But the plan imploded down the stretch and right after watching her father get blasted out the window by her warped mother (which she thought killed him), she and Meta were forced into a battle with DMK/Shadow Knight, her mother's (even further corrupted) corrupter. While they did force him to retreat into space, Pikiria was in horror as her mother in Dreamstalk form seemed moments away from death when Hypernova Kirby had the beam pointed toward her. While a sympathetic Kirby did use the beam to instead severely weaken her corruption, thus giving the family a brief moment of reconnection and joy, with the corruption still deep within her, Sectonia went into slumber to fend off the darkness until a potential cure was found. Right before though, she asked Pikiria to succeed her and Taranza on the throne to become Floralia's new queen and clean up the mess just made, which she emphatically agreed to.

Nearly two and a half years after that (chapters 21-24 of The Later Roller Coaster), when the Star Dream crisis happened, she flew into the Access Ark alongside the Knights and eventually had to rush out, though not before she had to fight a clone of her mother's corrupted form. She was able to defeat her through her memories of her real mother's swordfighting technique and escape alongside the crew, but after witnessing a certain shocking loss on the way out, she returned home with even more appreciation for her father.

The story continues in Meta Knightmare IV: The Unforgettable Star-Studded Finale later this year!

MORE HC's COMING SOON IN PART 2!

[cochineal-leviat]

Skirby Doodles

I was feeling uninspired yesterday and decided to just doodle. Remembered I don't draw Skirby all that often and decided to rectify that. I might make some sketches into full pieces. Who knows.

A few close-ups

The hammer Kirbies is inspired by me getting my ass kicked by Skirby the first time I played solo mode in Kirby Fighters 2. I love him, but every time I see him in that game, I want to murder him.

A silly idea that came to me while doodling. Basically a Surfer Teen Beach AU where these get really competitive at surfing. One of them is from out of town and is staying with the family of the other Kirby (can't decide if the city kid is Kirby or Skirby. It would be hilarious, though if Kirby had to stay with DMK and Daroach as his host parents). They have a sibling rivalry going on despite being cousins. Bandana Dee would be there as a mediator and Prince Fluff as the smart guy who is the main guy who uncovers the mysteries of their quiet beach (although I think if I were to make this AU, I wouldn't put romance in it because I would want to focus on these two fighting and then making up for the 'movie's finale' where they take out a rich man's oil rink or something. I don't want Fluff's role to be reduced to the love interest either of these two Kirbies have a crush on. Can't do that to my favourite Blorbo)

I want these two to duke out human style, with fists or through sport. I'm fine with either.

Feline-like puffballs are one of my favourite headcanons.

[thedragonofdoma]

Introductions

So I realize that, in a setting where just about everyone has their own characters and stories they want to tell, it can get exhausting trying to figure out what each character's deal... is. And mine are no better, given my tendency to not elaborate much on their stories and personalities beyond the occasional wolqotd. So, to try and clear away some of the fog, here's an introduction to the characters I'll probably be posting about on here.

Fair warning, this is a LONG post.

The easiest place to start is with my primary character, Zaya Dalamiq. She is a Xaela Au'ra from Doma, whose parents immigrated from the Azim Steppe.

Zaya's story is one of connections and vulnerability, culminating in her replacing Gosetsu as one of Hien's trusted retainers and advisors, alongside Yugiri. Zaya is a (non)wol x Yugiri ship, and sees Hien as a non-blood related sibling. She also has close relations with Lyse Hext, Magnai Oronir, and Aymeric de Borel.

Zaya has two custom jobs called Demon King (DMK) and Sohei (SOH). Demon King mixes aspects of Dark Knight, Warrior, and Samurai; while Sohei is a very straightforward blend of Monk and Dragoon. She does not possess the echo, and was born with unnaturally thin aether, to the point she is unable to use magic of any sort without the use of crystal conduits. In exchange for this defecit -- and to explain her DRK capabilites -- Zaya has a natural affinity for Dynamis, to the point she is able to freely manipulate the energy as if it were aether.

Zaya is also a talented artisan, specializing in metalwork such as Armorcraft, weaponry, and goldsmithing. A lot of her spare time is spent around the Doman Enclave, training the guard and working to help Doma's reconstruction in the wake of Stormblood.

She's an extremely emotional woman with a measured and controlled exterior that she's developed to oppose her empathetic nature. She is strongly loyal to her friends and Doma both, and puts 110% into every single thing she does. Unfortunately, she does suffer from Impostor Syndrome, and always assumes herself at fault for problems or tragedies, so there's still some stuff that could be worked on.

================================================

Next on the list is Lernea, Zaya's Ancient counterpart. She's much less developed than Zaya, but still has a good bit of lore surrounding her place in the world and how her story goes.

Lernea is a researcher in Elpis, though 'researcher' is a lofty title for what she really does. Put as simply as possible, Lernea's job is to fight things. Despite lacking the level of aetheric control necessary to actually test and evaluate concepts, Lernea serves to test a being's combat capabilities and to determine whether a certain concept will be a threat to the outside world.

Compared to Zaya, Lernea is far more confident and headstrong, to the point of appearing arrogant and brash. She has a short temper, and lives for the thrill of battle, though this comes from an innate desire to protect -- one that, for the most part, could only be satisfied with testing -- which has persisted into her various shards, including Lyna, who I've picked to be Zaya's reflection in the First.

================================================

Moving on to the more... conceptual characters, we have Kanemi and Kawami Munakata, two Hingan Au'ra that come from a wealthy mercantile family near Kugane. Originally conceived to be foster siblings for Zaya, these two have ended up being their own characters with their own stories.

The older of the two, Munakata Kanemi, is usually depicted as a soft-spoken caretaker, leaning heavily into the stereotypical Healer Archetypes. Being the next head of the Munakata family, she doesn't get to do much in the way of combat, as her talents lie more in commerce and communication. Her job is a custom rendition of White Mage, meant to present a far more Eastern aesthetic than the normal job allows.

The younger, Munakata Kawami, is actually from a branch family of the Munakata clan. Despite that, she grew up in the same house as Kanemi, and the two are more like sisters than cousins. Kawami is much more rambunctious and mischievous, fitting well into the 'gremlin' caricature. While originally designed to be a Monk, I've recently changed Kawami to being a Samurai, having trained with the Sekiseigumi in Kugane before eventually swearing her sword as Kanemi's personal protector.

To that end, the two are never far from one another, and I struggle to picture them without the other.

================================================

Of course, I've some other characters that I may eventually explore, but for the time being these are the ones most likely to appear!

Thank you for taking the time to read through this! I've not been doing this sort of stuff for very long, but it means a lot to me to be able to share something I'm passionate about with others.

[desultory-novice]

Lightning Round!!

(Aka, Dess gives quick answers to a whole week's worth of asks else I'll NEVER clear out my inbox! XD ) 10 asks! Let’s get started!!

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Wow, yeah! This actually makes a lot of sense. Zan seeing the culture of the man who saved her life be used that way? (And given Hyness has very sore feelings about Halcandra?) You actually think she'd be a little more upset! Then again, teasing each other on Twitter is probably about the right level of aggression for the Kirby series!

I'm generally live and let live on the matter, since for some people, the anime is the most accessible form of Kirby (or maybe they just like itty bitty Kirby because cute? Which is true!) but I would personally love to see in increase in a Kirby with wisdom and agency and the canonical ability to handle themselves over a Kirby who needs to be reminded when nap time is. Let's not forget that Kirby's friends are there in the first place not because Kirby requires a parental figure but because Kirby was the one who saved THEM! Multiple times!

@wyverewings​ Pretty sure that came from DeafeningGardenerPanda's translation of the Dreamy Gears novel. It was called "Kaze no Machi" (Wind Town or Town of Wind) which Panda smartly localized as "Breezeburg." (”Brighton” was another one. I think the Japanese was “City of Light?”)

Agreed on both points! It makes Triple Deluxe easier to play too! (Such violent inhales in that one! ^^; ) And I get what you're saying about Kirby! (Everyone is a significant other! Hee!) But I feel the exact same! Kirby loves everyone, equally, but it's the love of a friend-shaped friend!

@thecrashman​ I'm glad that DMK getting neglected in Dream Buffet was a one time thing, because I'd love to see more content putting the mirror opposites face to face! Or back to back, fighting together?! (I've never seen Jack vs The Ninja - must look it up now - but that DOES sound badass!) DMK is seriously under-explored. I think the Sectonia mis-understanding doesn’t help...

Huh. Just went back to Dream Collections script and he DOES say he's a traveler from "another dimension." Same kanji as used with AD in other places, but not written out in English as it sometimes is.

You know, I really do think this is all going to tie back to the TDX Magolor portrait?? I mean, Sectonia seems to have dimensional abilities. I can’t quite remember now, but I think you're traveling through dimensional portals in the later stages? Implied to be created by her or Taranza? So she probably could have helped Magolor reach there if they attempted to cooperate at one time. 

(DriftwoodMFW had this really great theory that the reason Joronia’s mask was labeled “old friend” wasn’t just because she was Taranza’s old friend but that Magolor thought of her as a friend too! Or didn’t at the time, because he wasn’t good with friendship, but thinks of her that way now?)

But yeah, who knows! Lots of possibilities there! (Fiddling around with Star Dream opened one up, so you could be right that anything Ancient/Energy Sphere-powered can open up a rift! Maybe Magolor even got ahold of a single energy sphere and BLIP! Insta-Halcandra!)

No problem! It's easy if it's content I'm interested in! (That's how I got so good at Japanese! Back when I was studying, there was a lot less translators/translations around and I was so hungry to learn info that wasn't available otherwise!)

Anyway, you're welcome and thank you so much for your care and concern for me! Gah, everyone here is so sweet, even when I feel like I must get repetitive with my complaining about being tired or needing breaks! But anyway, I'm almost always happy to talk about Marx and Marx speculation! 

...Especially if it helps Marx escape that image of “lol so zany, has literally nothing going on with him outside of having a terminal case of the crazies” that I occasionally get tired of. So I’m glad I was able to share some of what I noticed!

@driftwoodmfb​ Wah....Ah, thank you so much! You always have such nice things to say! I can't even express how nice it is to have people enjoy my stories!

I don't even know how I ended up this way myself! I kind of have an overabundance of empathy, which has hurt me sometimes but mostly taught me to always be as kind and as thoughtful as possible. Silly Dess fact, but I have this poem, “Desiderata”, that's been hanging on my bedroom wall since I was a very young child. I try to always refer to it when I'm feeling sad or lost. I recommend everyone give it a read. It's really good advice??

“Desiderata”

Also, the Kirby series really speaks to me. And by playing with it, I can exercise the part of me that wants things to be spooky and sad but also funny and heartwarming! (And if my drawings come off as warm and happy, that's probably me just being so happy that I like where my art is at finally! It’s only about now I realize just how much and for how long I’ve always dreamed of being an artist!) Anyway, I hope I can continue to make people smile!

I once wanted to make a Marx spin-off game in GB Maker, that was just like Kirby's Dream Land only... different! It would play with the concepts of dreams and “reality” - because I can't stop being obsessed with my own Noddy Marx HC! (I started making sprites for it but fell off quickly.)

I also think Marx would be great in a Magolor like epilogue, starting from almost nothing and having to kick at enemies to survive until you get further along, with him gaining his powers of flight back toward the end!

But I’d also love to combine a Marx spin-off with Kagero Mansion (which I also HC as having been originally designed for him - the stuff with the clock just screams "Galactic Nova was designed for this game!") It would play strongly on having these spooky elements, like the haunted house level in Forgotten Land, but stretched out over a whole game! There'd be all these traps and puzzles, slightly more tricky than your average Kirby game!!

...I should really hurry up and learn Unity... I bought the Corgi platformer engine for myself to push me to learn game programming last year but I got so busy I haven't cracked it open yet, eep! But hey! Watch this space! I may yet make a Marx spin-off of my own!! (Yeah right, Dess, you have NO free time for that... Wahhh, it’s true...!)

@eliastheownerof0axolotls​ The Soul bosses actually share all sorts of attacks, but since Drawcia and Marx are the original Soul bosses, it really all calls back to them! Which is kind of great?! It just makes sense that Marx and Magolor would have these little things in common! (Even though one is a magician and one is a wizard.) 

I'm really excited about the fact that the Master Tree uses Marx's seed attack! Maybe someday we'll get an explanation as to if there's SOMETHING ELSE connecting all these bosses together?!

[y0d00p]

Damm, so sorry that that's happening to you!

Would you like to share some Dark Meta x Meta Knight headcanons to cheer ya up? If you want to! Feel free to gush about them!

it's okay, i am far from the one most affected by the situation. at this point i'm just trying to find humour in the whole thing and appreciate what i have :) i have amazing friends including my partner, cool and wonderful acquaintances/mutuals as well and each of them is worth a thousand bitter internet randos. i appreciate the kindness! and the drawing! wtf cute

as for headcanons well, hmm, for once i dont have anything immediately in mind. uhhh how about

i think dmk is actually pretty good with kids. he knows how to tone down the scariness when interacting with little ones and he's kinda immature and hedonistic so he's good at thinking on their level. he's the guy that's like "toddlers got it all figured out, i just want a juice and a nap"

mk on the other hand has trouble with them, i think he's sort of stuck treating kids like miniature adults. i think as a child he had a lot of expectations on him and his parents, while not cruel or neglectful, lacked some warmth, so he's ended up much the same way when it comes to kids

all that to say i like to think when they become closer (friends, partners, whatever you like) dmk actually teaches mk how to be a better father figure, to cool down the harsh expectations a bit and learn to be a bit more, vulnerable i guess?

[quotes-of-dreamland]

Meta Knight canonicaly gave a sword to a child in an effort to prepare said child for a much greater danger.

Dark Meta Knight attemps to put a sword IN TO a child in an effort to end said child's life.

Neither is responsible but one is cleary a far worse parental figure

i adore meta knight with all my heart but

(also i don't remember dmk harming shadow kirby at any point? just kirb & co. - it's been a while since i've played k&tam so i could be wrong though)