Derp Kirby

Originally created in Toontown Online on December 31st, 2010. He still is used in the reboot, Toontown Rewritten, but what's written here is a mixture of a reflection upon myself, the mental strength I want to gather in the future, and just a way to express some tropes/media I like.

A cosmic traveling mercenary who fights ultimately for good, although to others it may seem like he doesn’t care who he works for as long as he gets the job done, but that’s because he’s always keeping his thoughts and feelings a secret from those he believes don’t need to know it. He wasn’t always a traveler though, only doing so after a past experience. He’s always been interested in improving in combat, especially in his younger years where he was first starting out. Being mentored by an old friend named Slippy about various fighting strategies, he was able to catch on very fast about how to efficiently take out his enemies and determine strategies on the fly. Slippy has long since retired, but occasionally enjoys learning how fighting has changed in Derp Kirby’s time.

As a cosmic traveler, Derp Kirby’s main method of transportation is the Warp Star. It’s capable of traveling from galaxy to galaxy in minutes, allowing Derp Kirby to experience almost any kind of environment. He usually doesn’t have a set place in mind unless he's been given a job in advance, so he lets himself get surprised by what he visits next. Although if there’s a looming darkness or trouble in a nearby planet, he’s more inclined to check that out.

Derp Kirby is an analytical combat specialist with plenty of past experience. Previously he was a lot more expressive and outgoing, but after being taken advantage of by Tatiana, a former romantic interest that ended up taking advantage of him, he decided to take a more neutral/stoic approach to many situations and interactions (but against a cocky enemy on their last legs, he'll likely talk some smack before finishing them off). That said, if he's with someone he feels very comfortable with and has known for a long while, then he may show some emotion and play along with certain jokes. With allies, he acts more like the team's tactician and/or mentor depending on the situation. He's always willing to discuss his thought process on developing strategies. Although with both friends and allies, while he cares for their safety he will almost never show it outside of rare scenarios. He isn't the type to express how he feels. Against enemies, he seems like someone who doesn't flinch or fear anything, no matter how much they threaten him. His mental fortitude has been strengthened over time to prevent showing fear and stress, but it's possible that he can't maintain his composure against Tatiana specifically, should they meet again. It's often difficult for most enemies to keep up with him, so they feel that they need to play on the defensive if they lack very specific abilities. When not in any combat scenarios, Derp Kirby often prefers to relax and enjoy his own time. This usually consists of sleeping, it's common enough that he's been given the nickname "Sleepington." Otherwise he wants to get his own obligations and projects done, leaving little room to commit to any major luxuries.

Derp Kirby shares the "Copy Ability" as a normal Kirby would have, but he has an extra way to copy an opponent's ability. He actually prefers not to Inhale for it unless it's absolutely necessary, this is due to how Inhale can be resisted by incredibly heavy targets and that some opponents will just stay out of range. His preferred method is through analysis. His glasses aren't just a cosmetic - it's a scanner that allows him to analyze his opponent's moves and special abilities. When given enough information, he unlocks the ability for himself. Because of his scanner, he has access to every Copy Ability he obtains permanently. If he doesn't have his scanner though, then he's forced to Inhale to copy abilities. (His combat abilities without a Copy Ability are incredibly powerful, regardless.) The Copy Ability has some limitations though. For spiritual manifestations (think of Personas, Stands, apparitions, etc) he cannot copy the same exact manifestation. He may be able to copy its actions or abilities, but he cannot summon the same one the original owner has. (He may have his own that just hasn't been unlocked, though!) He can only use one Copy Ability at a time, although elemental fusion with some abilities are possible. If a Copy Ability uses a weapon like a Sword or Bomb, he can apply an element to it like Water, Poison, Ice, Fire, etc to strengthen it and add extra effects. For non-weapons, he has to work with what he gets. His available pool of Copy Abilities by default are nearly every one from the Kirby games and Super Smash Bros. games, including Super Abilities and Ultimate Weapons from the aforementioned sources. He also has access to Toontown-based Copy Abilities with Gags, his Magic ability is expanded to include various spells from Wizard101. Should he copy someone with a unique fighting style (Taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Gunslinger, etc.) he will have proficiency in that fighting style as well without the potential downsides. Without a Copy Ability, Derp Kirby's combat abilities are similar to the Suplex and Fighter abilities from the Kirby games, just without the capability to fire energy-based projectiles from the latter's ability. His small stature and above average speed allow him to weave through most attacks, but this comes at a cost of range. He still has to get relatively close to deal damage, but he can always grab a nearby weapon to throw or Copy. He can also utilize his Inhale to throw projectiles back at the enemy or take an easy ability that way. Derp Kirby has a trump card that works regardless of whether he has his scanner or not, though. That ability is stopping time itself. He keeps a Time Stop ability essence in his stomach for storage (think of ability bubbles from Squeak Squad) for when things get incredibly rough or if he has to run. This can also be used to counter an enemy's time stop, but his time stop only lasts for 7 seconds and requires a 30 second recharge once the time stop has expired before being used again.

Derp Kirby actually shares very little weaknesses in combat, as he has very high endurance and his rubber-like body avoids any serious injuries from sharp and blunt weapons. If your goal was to defeat him, you'd have to target his mind. If you can steal his memories/consciousness & his capability to use the ability "Copy Ability", that would put him into a comatose state, slowly deteriorating him. Physically killing him would be next to impossible unless you have an ability that can get him from the inside (which even then, good luck, his body is still basically a black hole inside) or ignore his durability outright (dimensional-level shenanigans, basically). His general weaknesses beyond that are purely psychological, but only if he's cooperating with those he cares about. Forcing him into a lose-lose scenario of either defeating the opponent & losing a valued one vs taking a heavy/killing blow & saving the valued one is a major way to get him. He prefers to work alone due to this, but he may be forced to risk this possibility.

10 years ago, he met a girl named Tatiana while out training. They got along pretty quickly, sharing a lot of the same interests and humor at the time. One thing led to another and they began dating. This didn’t heavily impact much for a while, but Derp Kirby’s growth to be significantly more analytical towards combat situations actually came from his experience with Tatiana as a teammate. She was, while very cooperative and quick to help, not the most experienced. Mercenaries that were recruited for certain objectives alongside Derp Kirby and Tatiana would also raise trouble based on Tatiana’s shortcomings, so he felt a need to pick things up himself and make sure nothing would go wrong. This is when he first got his scanner and started paying attention to how enemies act and fight. Cooperation between him and Tatiana got significantly better and she was able to pick up on some key strategies with Derp Kirby, even without his initial input. Outside of combat they were very close, sharing just about anything and everything with each other and hardly being separated. Moving to a year & a half ago, Derp Kirby would notice some differences in Tatiana’s behavior and treatment towards him. She was a lot more distant and despite talking it out various times, nothing really changed. They also got into a lot more arguments and fights over very trivial things and situations that could have been outright avoided in the first place. It wasn’t until a while later that she told him that she didn’t hold the same feelings as she used to. Due to how long the relationship lasted before this, Derp Kirby took a huge mental and emotional hit. While they both tried to make this work for an extra month, it was officially just called off. Derp Kirby was devastated for a couple months and eventually had to stop talking to her since it just made things worse for the both of them. Once they separated fully, Derp Kirby actually ended up learning the actual truth. She didn’t actually appreciate him or the relationship entirely. She lied about various compliments she gave towards him. She proved to him indirectly that she was never interested in caring about him or actually putting effort into their relationship in the first place. Instead, their relationship was built off of lies that he believed so easily. This is what pushed Derp Kirby to be hardly expressive emotionally and built up his mental fortitude. Once he learned about this truth, he vowed to never let this happen again and worked on himself. Tatiana does know all of his weaknesses to a T, though. She could return one day with the intent to harm him if that’s what fate has in store, which would be a very difficult situation for Derp Kirby. He hardly ever talks about this experience, only keeping it to very trustworthy individuals.