#And a bunch of others but it's mostly about Sectonia

[desultory-novice]

Before everyone's like, "Damn, Dess, you said you wanted to make Dark Matter Swordsman a tragic bad guy like Queen Sectonia and President Haltmann but Noir's life is implausibly bad???"

Oh trust me, I have various HC that Joronia's life was pretty awful too, going from her happy (?) childhood to "Sectonia."

And I know someone's going to ask, so let me elaborate! XD

In the Dess-verse, the various insectoid species of Popstar were a collection of small, constantly-warring, bloodthirsty nations. Joronia's tiny kingdom was the smallest. She trained from a young age in military and magic arts because unlike the others, she HAD to fight on the frontlines. They didn't have enough power without her.

Her first parasitic bodyswap was not by choice.

The young queen was struck with a mortal wound on the battlefield. Taranza, drawing forth powerful magic he never knew he could harness before the trauma of seeing his best friend bleeding out before his eyes, immediately incapacitated the enemy commander and dragged their healthy body before her as a suitable vessel.

She initially had no intentions of relying on this power. It was Taranza who begged her to do it. For herself, for her people... for him. Please, you can't die, Joronia. She was so weak she couldn't even SEE what she was doing at this point, left to follow bloodborn instincts and half-remembered stories from queens past...

...She wakes up later from death in the very body of the person who tormented and enslaved her people and "killed" her. (Definitely not traumatic. Nope, nope.) A~nd that could be said to be the beginning of her obsession with beauty and bodyswapping.

Taranza would later get her the mirror, of course. He knew it was in some way magical and actually hoped it would help Joronia to always see "her true beauty" regardless of what body she was in. And well, we know how the story played out from that....

(Meanwhile, Max's tragedy wasn't a constant stream of death and body horror happening to HIM - it happened to the people he loved...)

BONUS:

"Why yes, I can be trusted with Kirby characters...!"

Dedede - former lab animal; only survivor of his species Marx - sleep deprivation; uncontrollable mutations Adeleine - raised in a post-apocalypse; dead brother Dark Matter Swordsman - COUGH COUGH COUGH Dark Meta Knight - lover turned into a meatsuit; rendered mute Daroach - lab animal subjected to numerous experiments Magolor - severe, lasting mental and physical trauma Sectonia - forced body-swaps and boatloads of paranoia

(The sad thing is, I'm probably missing several characters! Though I tried to stick to those I'd given non-canonical trauma to. Meta Knight's potential war vet status, and the Haltmanns, the Mages, and Leongar + Fecty's stories are all there on the page, mostly.)

[void-ink-studios]

New batch of Incarnations AU designs! This time, we have the bunch I call the Redeemed Star Allies! All of the Star Allies that were once villains! Are they on Kirby's side? Their own side? Who knows! But at least they're not invoking the wrath of eldritch abominations anymore! Lore under the cut as always!

If you like it, reblog please!

Magolor: An intrepid little alien explorer, and a far off descendent from the Ancients. Originally after the Master Crown as a journey of discovery and cultural heritage, the allure of the crown and the Dark Matter within corrupted his heart. After getting kicked around by both the Star Family and the alternate dimension purgatory, he now peacefully dwells on Popstar as a researcher and inventor, looking into the past of the Ancients and making trinkets for the citizens of Popstar. And maybe make some money on the side.

Marx: An oddball, even among Popstar, Marx was everyone's punchline, always laughed at rather than with. Until he discovered the rumors of the Clockwork Wishing Star, and plotted against the people of Popstar. After turning the Sun and Moon on each other, and stealing Kirby's wish, Nova grants him the power of an Incarnation, becoming the unofficial Incarnation of Madness. Filled with overwhelming madness and nearly losing himself, Kirby hurls him into Nova, detonating the construct. He at least kept some of the powers as well as arms. He's still quite the trickster, but at least his antics are mostly harmless.

Daroach: The world renown gentleman thief, and kingpin of the Squeak Squad, Daroach strikes fast and glamourous. After hearing rumors of a great secret treasure in Castle Dedede, he decides to set his squad out on their biggest score ever. After a straining back and forth between the squad, Dedede and Meta Knight, and Kirby, Daroach finally opens the chest out of frustration, accidentally unleashing the ruthless Dark Nebula. After experiencing the madness of Dark Matter and the horror of possession, Daroach was thoroughly humbled by Kirby. He now lays mostly low with his gang of thieves but occasionally emerges to help either Kirby or the Meta-Knights. There seems to be some history between him and Captain Vul, however.

Dark Meta Knight (Umbra Knight): Both a villain and a victim, Dark Meta Knight is what could've been, if Meta Knight fell further into Nightmare's influence. The Mirror's Incarnation of Ambition, and a slave of the nightmarish Dark Mind, Dark Meta Knight was torn down and built back up as a weapon for invasion behind the Mirror. After being kicked around by both Kirby and Shadow Kirby (now known as Shade) twice, Dark Meta Knight confronted his counterpart from Popstar, breaking down his violent, lonely life. Meta Knight sees him as a brother he couldn't protect and tries his best to get him settled in a more peaceful life, both in Popstar and the Mirror world. Dark Meta Knight, for his rebirth, chose the new name for himself, Umbra Knight.

Susie: A girl once trapped in an alternate dimension, now head of the largest robotics company this side of the galaxy, Susie is equal parts intelligent and charismatic. She doesn't stick around on Popstar very long, or visit very often. But when she's planet side, she often collaborates with Magalor in technology (and bonds over the shared trauma of being stranded in another dimension). She carries herself with a degree of maturity not often seen on Popstar, hence why she gets along mostly with Meta Knight and his crew.

Taranza: Once a prince, now a king, Taranza is the current sitting leader of the Sky People, after the defeat of the tyrant Queen Sectonia. He's often seen at Castle Dedede, trying his best to broker some peace between these two kingdoms. He also shares with Meta and Kirby any and all information he's gathered about the Mirror, in an effort to bridge the gap and heal the alternate world. He has many regrets, especially with Queen Sectonia, and he tries his best to be a good leader and diplomat, to undo at least some of the damage he's done. He's inquisitive and curious, friendly now that he's on the Star Allies' side.