#Crowned Marx + Clockwork Mechalor

[desultory-novice]

I found out that if you layer the True Arena Mix (Phase 2) of OVERLORD on top of itself, you get this sort of tinny Magolor voice.

Perhaps you could use this info for Mechalor?

Ooh, neat! I ought to try that! And I suppose I could use...

...Wait....

In the True Arena Mix...

...Magolor is crying for help....

...

You all do remember how Mechalor was born right?

...

I DID say that Mechalor loves to shock people by casually info dumping his gory death and rebirth in TMI levels of detail but it seems even he has a soft spot for Kirby...?

That or he doesn't want to be caught in a moment of weakness...

(And yes, he did insist everyone start calling him "Mechalor." He'll viciously tease anyone who doesn't! Marx is still his friend :cough: and more :cough: in this universe and calls him "Magolor" anyway. He's the only person Mechalor begrudgingly allows this from.)

[desultory-novice]

I should be in bed but talking about Clockwork Mechalor made it only feel right to draw some Crowned Marx as well. Especially since I only mentioned his experiences softened him up some.

Crowned Marx doesn't have the ability to split his body that regular Marx displays. The damage the Master Crown did to him via slicing his body this way and that with its thorned blades left permanent scars on his body. Again, unlike regular Marx, who seems immune to pain or at least brushes it off fast, these scars actually hurt him.

On the upside, he is able to exercise a little bit of power over the inert crown gold left in his body to form claw like hands and little tiny thorned wings he can use to glide... but not fly.

[desultory-novice]

I almost forgot that I too had AU'd Magolor.

Mechalor is a clockwork Magolor who wished on a Galactica Nova and it went horribly wrong. He has flashlight eyes and loves to shock unsuspecting people by telling them the story of how he died in TMI levels of detail! (He's...he’s a bad Magolor...)

[desultory-novice]

Ok so what if Magolor Nova and Crowned Marx

Amusingly, I just ran into this discussion about Galactic Nova that's totally relevant here: It brought up "Why did Nova fly menacingly toward Popstar after Marx made his wish?" Because it fulfilled Meta's wish without moving an inch.

Their theory was Galactic Nova needed the stars of the milky way to use its full power. When the stars bailed to help Kirby, Nova lost a significant chunk of wish-granting power. The best it could do for Marx was just do whatever it was doing. (Collide with Popstar?)

I bring this up because this means as long as Magolor still made others do his handiwork, he'd suffer the same fate as Marx did if he stole a wish from Nova. The star would de-power itself because he wasn't the person who summoned it. With that out of the way, let's talk BOSS FIGHTS and THE AFTERMATH!

[Descriptions + sketches below. CW: Disturbing imagery warning for Marx's fight. Magolor's defeat too, actually.

Magolor + Galactic Nova

For Magolor, once Nova starts to power down (immediately before the boss fight) he almost immediately gives up on it fulfilling the rest of his wish and uses his (now Nova-boosted) magic power and starts disassembling the clockwork star, which rests in the distant background of the battle as a creepy, mechanical skeletal husk.

He uses his magic to morph its detached parts into various physical enhancements/weapons for himself. Breaking the compass off to telekinetically fling around like a pair of spears or forming a giant fist to hit you with out of the piano keys, managing to wield them all at once with multiple powerful magic circles. Meanwhile he's removed chunks of the Nova's face to use as protective armor swirling around himself as he faces off against Kirby.

(This battle would be pseudo-3D/1st-person, most closely resemble the battle with Star Dream and with Void Termina, as you're trying to get close enough to Magolor while facing off against a barrage of weaponized Nova parts.)

Unlike Marx, who goes haywire and crashes into Nova and explodes, the end goal of the fight with Magolor is about wearing him and his magic down so that Nova can take its parts back, re-assembling itself slowly in the background the more punishment you inflict on Magolor. This reaches its denoument with a tired Magolor competing against Nova's own gravitational pull to maintain some control of his clockwork armor until a stubborn Magolor loses the struggle and is sucked backwards into Nova, ending up being bricked up INSIDE the restored (now quietly ticking away) clock.

A Post-Nova "friendly" Magolor returns as something of a part-Nova cyborg. A clockwork Magolor replica, made of plated metal and springs. This (implied horrifying) experience hasn't changed his personality in the slightest, however.

--

Marx + The Master Crown

As for Marx, his first phase goes all in on the idea of fusing "the jester" and "the king." Much like how Magolor did, he experiences a dramatic makeover once he dons the dreaded diadem. His accessories become larger, more fanciful, and more gaudy.

This Marx is glutted on crown-fueled greed and thrills to kick back and be the one who runs the show. His fight is not a brawl but a full on trick boss, like Squashini in Epic Yarn, only ramped up to 11.

Marx spends this phase chilling in the background, watching and giggling as he uses the crown's limitless magic power to make YOU into the fool, having you jump through impossible (flaming) hoops in his deadly show and laughing maniacally when Kirby takes any damage. He gets bored though, and eventually, angry enough to leave his safe perch once you destroy enough of his tricks.

When you overpower him with the Ultra Sword, just like with Magolor, the Master Crown shows its true colors, turning against Marx just like it turned against Magolor.

The fight then turns into a nightmare version of "The Greatest Living Show" with the Master Crown transforming/taking over Marx's fun little stage and extending its tendrils into long golden meat hooks it sinks into Marx, flinging and slinging him at Kirby, ripping Marx in two and trying to smoosh you with the two halves.

It uses the thorned horns from Magolor's fight like scissors, cutting his "strings" loose then grabbing him from a different angle to signify a different attack pattern/phase of the fight.

Post-Crown Marx, like canon Magolor, begins to show some personality changes after his awful experience, steering away from tricks that hurt or upset people and focusing more on being a sassy entertainer. As for physical changes, he doesn't have scars from the crown's tight grip like Magolor (...is often HC'd to have...) but the rips and tears in his body from the crown pulling him apart persist, only they're filled in with gold now, like a piece of kintsugi pottery.

[desultory-novice]

"ISN’T MY BODY COLD?" "...Yeah. But the cold feels good on my scars."

…Did anyone expect me to NOT draw late night sad cuddles after dropping new Marx + Magolor variants?/lh

[desultory-novice]

You said the Mechalor/Crowned Marx AU wouldn't have much impact, but could you not extend the format to some other villains? Taranza hunting down Star Dream to try bring Sectonia to her senses, only to make things worse. Susie, trapped and contorted by the Dimension Mirror, now just trying to find her father after her accident.

This is the first ask Mechalor Anon sent me, btw!

I'm half putting this up for interested readers, because it was a fun read, but also for Anon themselves, as I included some fresh commentary on their ideas as well!!

...

>Not much impact

You know, I sometimes forget how popular my little AU ideas can get! (Hmm. Can I claim the title "CEO of Kirby AUs?" Is that one taken?)

ATM these asks ended up leading to the formation of the Permadeath Swap, which I'm working on the second half right now, but there's a lot good here too I don't want to leave on the table!

>Taranza + Star Dream

Ohoho... the fact that Taranza might seek out a DIFFERENT cursed Ancient Artifact to try to undo what the previous cursed Ancient Artifact he got did is so broken in a very delightful way! (And I hate to say it, but it feels very in character for Taranza ^^; )

And that Susie story...feels very much like what may have happened to Parallel Susie! Although, given how she no longer has the hair accessory her father gave her, I think it didn't end so well...

>Permanent changes for Taranza...

Is it sad the first thing that came to mind is "Sectonia actually does real permanent damage to him?" Like...physical abuse? Maybe, since she's losing her mind due to Star Dream eating up her memories and the last traces of "Joronia", she sees Taranza and tries to erm, force HIM to evolve to become more "like her." Doing things like destroying four of his hands, breaking his mandible/horns and blinding him in all but two of his eyes. Like, at this point, she can't even recognize / remember what caused the changes in herself so she just thinks that by breaking him she's helping him to "evolve." Of course, he never seems to "get there" so she just keeps going...

Oooh, god, wouldn't that would be awful...? The other awful thing of course is that by this point, Taranza might just accept all the horrible things she's doing to him with a smile because he wants them to be the same too (inside, he knows this is wrong, but he can't speak up about it because it means accepting how BAD things have gotten.)

Keep smiling, Taranza. Joronia used to say your smile was beautiful. If you stop smiling...what body part will she take next?

-

PS: I actually forgot while writing this that she wouldn’t be her BEE self because it would just be the star and not the mirror (so much for god reading comprehension…) but uh… just go with it. >.<

(Btw, I’m reminded just how dark this AU can get. I don’t know what it is about the BossSwap that brings out the worst in me….!)

>Max's Eternal Search

Something I really like about the thing with Max is that when Star Dream began messing with him, became obsessed with money - to the point that it was the only thing he thought about. Everything he has is expensive. Everything in framed in terms of how much ludicrous amounts of money it costs in his own fictional currency. ("Company store" indeed.) Everything is covered in gold + gemstones. Greed incarnate. But...

...This Max would probably become obsessed with looking through the mirror instead. If he stops looking for even a moment, he might miss catching a rare trace of Susanna. And so he uses his technology to expand the mirror's reach and makes sure EVERYTHING he owns is absolutely covered in mirrors/mirror-dimension feeds. (Take THAT, Versailles!) You can't see his eyes, as they're always covered in visors projecting the mirror. He doesn't even LOOK at you when he's talking down to you because he is still looking for Susanna...

>Daroach + Hyness Swap

"None of these are great?"

WHAT?! I love this idea?! A Daroach + Hyness swap?! This is going on the to-draw list for sure! And by draw, I mean I now need to see the Mage Sisters dressed up as a pack of 1920s-esque lady thieves! The Jamba cult in a wacky heist story is too good.

No, really, this one is galaxy-brained! Multiverse-brained, even!

Plus, Squidward I mean Hyness and Dark Nebula just...they'd be so cute together?! (...Don't look at me that way... >.> ) Also, Dark Hyness would probably look like some kind of skrunkly cthuhlu (Nebula's arms sticking out from under his hood/veil) and that's just great?!

Fun fact: It is not a Squeak who steals Kirby's cake but WADDLE DEE (the traitor!!) And yet, I can totally see Flamberge in the role of starting things off this time. 

Zan: "Is everyone ready?" 

Berge: "Hold on, I gotta finish this."

"...Berge? Where did you get that?" 

"Huh? I grabbed it along the way. Figured you'd start complaining if I made us stop to eat in the middle of the mission! Smart, huh?" 

"Are you telling me...you found a slice of cake...just lying on the side of the road?" 

"No way! That'd be silly, Zan!" 

"I'm trying to ask, who did you take it FROM?" 

"Dunno. Didn't ask their name! Haha!"

"...BERGE...!"

-

My weak attempts at writing the sisters aside, you're right about Daroach and the Squeaks being quite easy to fit into this plot. After all, Daroach already expressed interest in the Jamba Heart! Given it's probably close to the galaxy's "largest jewel" in size, he might already have his heart set on stealing it! Perhaps he finds it but it has lost its glow. (The Heart Spears are still restraining Void Termina, after all.)

He uses what little magic he has to try and restore the gem's sheen, but just as it does, the Jamba Heart splinters and cracks. So he sends Spinni, Storo, and Doc out to gather the missing pieces, breaking up the cohesion of the close-as-family group as he stays behind to make sure... it's, you know, that it's safe... All the while, the Heart takes up more and more of Daroach's thoughts...

Also seeing the Squeaks all dressed in black... Yeah, I like this swap...!

>Various Elfilis Swaps

I think the funniest thing about swapping the two geminis and Zero/Zero 2 is that you would either have Gooey playing the role of your "Elfilin" figure... or Dark Matter Blade!!

And something about the perpetually friendless, socially awkward Blade attempting to assist or (...god...) give commentary on what's going on is just very fun to imagine.

Let's ignore the fact that Dark Matter would almost certainly play the role of brainwashed Dedede in that situation and just go with it!

Lastly, while I really, really, really like the Daroach + Hyness swap (it's probably my favorite just because I'm still having the time of my life imagining the super serious Hyness and the Sisters in the madcap "Wacky Races" plotline that is Squeak Squad) but I like this possibility too! Especially if you have it so it's an unexpected consequence of the botched summoning. (Although it WAS secretly effective! This is just what happens when you touch the mind of a dimensional rift opening psychic from across time!)

[desultory-novice]

Mechalor AU Anon retuning to bring up a few things that came to mind.

1) I can imagine that Marx, due to having not gotten the Nova wish, would instead roll around on and attack with gem apples as opposed to his usual beach balls.

2) in Marx Epilogue, would the Ultra Sword sequence go differently on account of Marx not having hands? Maybe he uses a different Super Ability (Flare Beam as an example) or perhaps a different move entirely (Something based on the Crowns Cutters? A black hole akin to his splitting attack from his canon self?)

3) What happens to Nova after Magalors defeat? Its described to be "quietly whirring", so I assume it is just functioning on low power mode, but would it eventually fly away? Crash land on Popstar? Maybe it stays orbiting the planet, becoming a new background element (one that I'm sure would draw some attention from other worlds).

And 4) Would Mechalor, on account of him being reconstructed out of his magic and Nova's parts, be able to use any of his boss fight attacks without needing to deconstruct the god clock? Would he maybe even be able to make a wish on himself if given the needed power?

(Oh and 5) I feel like Mechalor "not changing from the experience" [being trapped inside Nova and having to pull himself together] seems a bit strange when Marx in canon changes from his own experience, even if it's a small amount. We don't see Marx try betray anyone, nor him try snatch up some other power source, but it seems like Mechalor still would. Idk maybe I'm reading too much into this.

6) (last one for real this time) what would the Marx Soul equivalent be? Magalors essence creeping into Nova and infecting all of it, remaking himself out of ALL of Nova rather than bits and pieces? Magalor just absorbing it's power as it explodes (assuming Kirby hits him into Nova's core just a little harder) and refusing to die, perhaps subconsciously making a wish to the last remnants of Nova? Maybe he isn't even strong enough to manifest one, and he simply *tries*, making a mess of magic, Nova pieces and himself that shambles towards Kirby, its one goal being taking them down with it.

(Love your work BTW)

More BOSS SWAP AU Time!

1) Adorable! I love it! (And I didn't even think about this but now we have Shopkeeper(?) Marx as he waits patiently (?) for the Master Tree to grow to full size so he can get the power to go home?)

...Also BEHOLD Marx's little (cursed) Master Crown hands.

2) I would say the Epilogue is the first place/time Marx begins to learn how to manipulate the Crown Gold left embedded in his body. He might not have a full on "body split" attack, but I imagine if the Crown uses its roots to try and impale Marx, finishing him off, Marx grits his teeth and forces his weak and aching body apart ju~st enough so the roots all impact the molten gold parts of him...

...Mistelteinn becomes trapped, frozen in metal that is of equal (limitless) strength to its own...and that's when the bells on Marx's hat begin to vibrate... faster and faster, building up static energy, growing to a greater and greater size until they nearly consume the screen! Marx unleashes the the dual sparks which collide into Mistelteinn, the gold transmitting the electricity (shocking Marx a little) but doing devastating damage to the tree!

It explodes magnificently and shaken Marx gets a charge of power  from the experience. (As well as a boost of confidence, once he gets his requisite good cry out, that is.)

(I do love the idea that he would specialize in Flare Beam instead of Ultra Sword, given his own hat is "Beam" like in nature)

3) I would say that yes, Nova remains a presence in orbit around Popstar for a while (similar to the Dreamstalk) however, it is currently inert and incapable of granting further wishes - this is partially because it is still in the process of "carrying out" Magolor's wish, which I speculated in another post to be something like "...immortality!" or "...that nothing can stop me" (ie: though Magolor has been crushed and effectively buried alive, he can't die. This is why I describe his "death" as gruesome btw.)

But once Mechalor finally emerges from the Nova and is no longer in the process of ~dying forever~ the Nova probably blinks out of existence and back to wherever Novas go pre-summoning.

(TLDR, the Nova couldn't leave to continue doing Nova things because it's like a computer running hot trying to run a complicated program and as a result, everything else is stalled/lagging.)

4) Hmm, I feel like Magolor wouldn't really have anything new in his arsenal, so much as he would have more tech/cyborg/robot versions of his regular moveset? Or as best as he can replicate them. Although yes, that might manifest as Nova-inspired moves! He could crush you with the pendulum-mace as opposed to using the Ultra Sword or he could throw light bulbs on the ground that explode into glass shards after a while. (Oh no! Why are his moves more violent?! XD)

5) No, no, that's fair!/pos That was mostly a sassy quip of me comparing Mechalor to the radical changes in motivations Magolor experiences going through the Epilogue! You're right in that he does change. Even though Mechalor will say he was unaffected by his experiences, it's clearly not true.

The main difference is that he never considers himself to have "turned over a new leaf." He hasn't particularly decided on anything he wants to do with his "life" (as much as you can call it that.) He hasn't remembered any dreams he once had or tried to pursue them. He's "happy" being goofy, lying pest to his friends and fellows.

(The number of scare quotes here ought to tell you how Mechalor is not really okay and definitely not unchanged, he just wants to pretend to be. Because really, his continually reoccurring/repeating death(s) inside the Nova was quite simply mind-breakingly horrific and there's no way you don't come up with any number of mental systems and loopholes and deals with yourself and whatever divine figure you believe in trying to avoid such a reality....)

6) Ahaha! Ohh boy, I hadn't even thought about their Soul form equivalents! Considering in both their cases, their Soul forms are just them but more horrible and... Oh...

Oh great... my horror brain just imagined for BossSwap!Marx Soul, the Master Crown's thorn blades suddenly start spinning, turning them into buzzsaws and it gaining a new "attack" where it basically sends a spray of damage-inducing Marx-ian blood shower and gore at you... >.> Dess's Brain, why do you do these things...?!!

Answer: Honestly, I'm probably processing too many Castlevnia games as a child... I'll admit that Boss-Swap Marx's fight was heavily inspired by my memories of being a little (a lot) traumatized by the fights with Beelzebub (SotN) and Puppet Master (DoS)

...Let's not even talk about Legion. Those damned screams...

Err, right! Mechalor Soul! Given the way the True Arena plays out in Super Star Ultra, with it taking place directly after Marx's defeat, I imagine we'd have to go the same with Magolor here, starting with him still entombed. Since these fights (at least Marx and Magolor's) are highly reminiscent of their original fights, just with new patterns, I would say... maybe something like your remaking himself idea?

Perhaps you end up with a redo of the original Boss-Swap Magolor fight, with you fighting the pieces of Nova being wielded against you like weapons, only...you can't SEE Magolor yet. It's only when you get to the second, new phase does he reveal himself from within the Nova as the controller of this fight, appearing as a half-machine, half-corpse pre-Mechalor grisly mess? (Agh, nooo, why is this AU getting gorier all the time? ^^;; It started out so simple and now it's gone full horror with blood and guts and ruined bodies... Sob...)

So... basically like a "haunted" version of the Magolor battle with a last phase added in? And if he needs an original "death scene" ala Marx Soul's being split in two and screaming, I can imagine something similar to his original loss only with a jumpscare element Instead of Magolor being pulled into the background, the awakened Nova JUMPS to the foreground of the screen (like Star Dream) while Magolor is passed out/unconscious (alternatively, while he's stunned and in complete and total terror) and clasps shut on him.

Get back in your coffin, buddy.

...

......

.........I swear I'm doing all right mentally. >.<

[desultory-novice]

I like the shifting gold veins. Its like his splintered body is ever-shifting, barely holding itself together. Great contrast to a more static Clockwork Mags.

...! I like that, actually! Let's go with that!

You're right about the parallels/contrast with Clockwork Mags too. Didn't even think of that when drawing them but it's clever!

Speaking of, their friendship dynamics have swapped sides too...

-

Mechalor still loves to shock people without remorse. (Sometimes literally "shock.") And he lies, like, all the time. "KIRBY, DID YOU KNOW... <tells blatant falsehood with a straight face>?" types.

Marx...doesn't really like to mess with people that much anymore. He finally knows what it feels like to hurt and be hurt and it turns out, that's not fun at all. That and, at least from Marx's perspective, his Master Crown scars defeat the "harmless, innocent" facade he used to use to get away with everything. (No one actually minds them, mind you, but to him, it ruined a part of his gimmick.)

As a result, he's now the one who puts a damper on Magolor's unending stream of hijinks and bad ideas.

Mechalor finds this change in his friend a little dull ("WE HAD SO MANY PLANS. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?") but he keeps up his reationship with Marx despite their new differences because...

...Marx was the only one who knew him really well before the Nova incident. Unlike the apologetic Main Game Magolor, Mechalor has failed in his attempts to make a serious apology/gain real friends. (Kirby cares about literally everyone, but Mechalor can't seem to bond with Taranza or Susie or Bandee or the others...) When they're all together, he's treated somewhat like "the annoying team robot that no one can turn off." (even though he's more like a cyborg.)

To his surprise, this doesn't actually bother him! But that's because he seems to be losing touch with his humanity. That Marx is the only one who insists on calling him Mags/Magolor despite Mechalor's attempts to get him to stop pulls a wire in Mechalor's clockwork heart that he just can't bare to cut loose. So lets himself share with Marx the kinds of thoughts he's...not sure how to tell anyone else. 

(Meanwhile, Marx, when he's not resting off the pain, talks to him about this new dream he's got to se up The Grand Marx Circus.)

--

As for their status as a potential couple in this AU, they probably were boyfriends - in the past. They're something else now that they can't quite figure out. To Mechalor relationships are very "???." He can't even process how he might be Marx's boyfriend again like this. (But that's just part of the whole "losing himself" up above.) Marx also knows they can't just "go back to before" but he can't forget and will still come up with reasons to nuzzle up to Magolor.

[desultory-novice]

What was soon to be Mechalor's wish?

Are questions about this AU okay? You said no RPing, but I assumed questions to you are okay

Hmm. Probably Limitless Power or to be As A God. Alternatively, he wished for immortality/"...that nothing can stop me", which makes his "death" EVEN MORE messed up. (So...yeah, probably that one.)

And yes, while I can't do any RP/ask blog/character interaction type stuff for Mechalor, you can go ahead and send asks for details or comment on this like with my other AUs.

Tbh, this one's kind of bare outside of the fact that Magolor wished on Nova and was thwarted and Marx stole the Master Crown and got CLOWNED but maybe something will build from it...?

...And ohhhh yeah. It was BAD.

It messed Marx up (Marx, MARX of all people) so bad that it got him to be a little bit... nicer... in the aftermath, after Kirby saves him.

Dess imagines that the Master Crown, at least by the time we encounter it, is a cursed artifact that pretty much feeds off of doing horrible things to its host. Once it "awakens" while in Marx's possession, it changes its form to suit this purpose.

Anyway, see my notes HERE for more.

(Including how Mechalor died.)