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cochineal-leviat · 8 months

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Kirby reference The Midnight Soirée chapter 1 & 2

This is Kirby in full! Usually, I would do a full rotation, but I'm too lazy. Unless the other side profile differs greatly, I will keep doing only one side profile for every reference I post.

Fluff 1-5

A warning for minor spoilers for The Midnight Soirée.

Colour Pallete:

Although saturated, Kirby's palette is colourful and uses all colours on the colour wheel except for purple and orange (well, the blue in his eyes is slightly purple and brown is desaturated orange). Kirby is a colourful character; I want to convey that in their colour palette. I had to use grey for the trousers to naturalise the other colours, but I'm pretty happy with it even though it took me a long time to find the right colours to use. Kirby's colour palette is more suited for the natural life on earth than Fluff's reference (which you can see in the preview I posted), as Fluff's colours are much more saturated and benefiting of a supernatural creature whose domain is in the void.

The boots and gloves are red to match each other, but also because I am a sucker for Kirby's iconic red shoe look, I wanted to keep that fun detail in his human form. The gloves/gauntlets were a gift from Meta Knight gift before they embarked on their journey. They are red because Meta Knight used Duke Dedede's favourite colour. As are the boots Bandana Dee gave to match the gloves as Meta Knight and Bandana Dee coordinated their gifts. Duke Dedede chose a blue cloak to represent both Meta Knight and Bandana Dee as they are associated with the colour blue (dark blue for Meta Knight and sky blue for Bandana Dee)

(*More on the cape in the next reference)

(**More on the tunic itself on the reference - sans cape)

Instead, like Meta Knight did by stamping his sigil on Kirby's gloves, Duke Dedede gave Kirby a belt buckle with his emblem. It is subtler than his original plan of emblazing his logo on the back of Kirby's cape. As cool as it would have been, as Kirby laments in Chapter 2 of MS - it would have been too eye-catching and drawn highwaymen to Kirby, who needs to keep a low cover if they want to explore the continent of Popstar without being bothered every turn.

Kirby's clothes are dirty, and doing upkeep on his clothes is difficult while travelling. But they are not super filthy, as Kirby has not travelled that far from Sunset Mountain Range. They are a week away on horseback from the infamous southern mountains of the country of Dreamland. Although Kirby has been taking the scenic route stopping by all the sights and staying at every village to get to know the world beyond the mountain he grew up in. (Well, he was born at the base and only started living at the summit with Dedede, Bandana and Meta after a good while of being friends)

Hood up! Kirby and * more information about the cape. The rabbit fur is missing some strands because of Kirby's rough travelling style and habit of getting into fights. The fur comes from the rabbits' Sunset Mountain is famous for as Dedede's dukedom handles livestock and its savoury cuisine. (They know how to throw a good potluck). It is customary in Southern Dreamland to sew a travelling gift with this rabbit fur for luck in one's travels. Duke Dedede personally caught the rabbit, skinned it and made a parting dinner with it to wish Kirby safe travels, as the gift would be moot if he did not prepare the rabbit himself.

You can see a subtle star design on Kirby's back with the hood up. The whole cloak represents Kirby's name and connection to the stars. Kirby's full name is Kirby From the Stars/de las Estrellas (the latter is a surname Meta Knight gifted Kirby to protect them from human society and from the Nightly Folk). A nickname that transformed from 'Kirby Godess gifted' to 'Kirby Godess's gift', 'Kirby Starbright' all the way to' child descended from the star' as Kirby's actions proceeded him. Dedede commissioned this cape in Kirby's honour to call back to their first meeting and the amount of effort and work it took for them to become friends/family. Kirby's greatest treasures are the three gifts from his friends (cloak, gloves and boots).

Dirtless! Kirby. This is after Kirby landed in Underhill. Fluff repaired his cape and polished his shoes and gloves. Other than that, there is not much to say. The patch to Kirby's trousers is left intact because Fluff thought it was a part of the outfit and not a literal patch-up job Kirby did because he tore his pants in the first week of travelling.

**As you can see, without the cloak, Kirby lacks the colour blue (aside from his eyes). The green sweater contrasts the red of the boots and gloves, and the yellow contrasts all the blue shades. As for why the tunic is split colour - it is because originally, the tunic was entirely yellow. But that didn't fit Kirby, plus I wanted Kirby to have pink on him as he wouldn't have pink hair as a human (yet). Since the cloak covers the tunic, it doesn't attract too much attention, and even then, a lot of peasant clothing had fun designs. As long as something doesn't look too fancy, Kirby won't be mistaken as a noble or servant of a noble.

I lovingly call this tunic the Strawberry Custard Tunic. Strawberry because pink for Kirby and the Custard for the yellow dye in relation to Keeby, with the original tunic colour being a reference to them. The tunic's design is inspired by the Hylian tunic from BOTW/TOTK. Which was probably obvious with the leather chest plate. The tassels bring out Kirby's playful side and help spread the pink/yellow across the whole tunic. One side is longer than the other simply to enhance the design a bit, as an even-cut hem is not Kirby's style. Even if I gave Kirby an even-hem, it would slit at the sides for more spatial movement. Kirby's earthen look isn't all that exciting, so the little details go a long way, like the sleeves of the outer tunic, which are flowy and stitched to create folds.

As Kirby bemoans, his tunic isn't very pretty or festive, so they were so tempted to wear the dresses in the closet in chapter one. It is a shame I never got to draw/write Kirby with a dress. Well, maybe next time. :)

And finally, at the end of chapter 1, Kirby with the blue rose behind his ear. A blue rose symbolises mystery or attaining the impossible. They are notorious for their 'love at first sight' meaning, and as Fluff gave Kirby one thornless rose, this meaning is amplified as gifting one rose means 'you are the one/you are still the one' and a thornless one also means 'love at first sight'. So it's 'love at first sight' message is doubled. It also adds Fluff's blues to Kirby's palette and nicely matches Kirby's blue cloak.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 sees two major differences to Kirby. His hair change, and the sash Fluff gives them. The sash was neither a gift nor a deal because Fluff's sash tied Kirby to Fluff. This way, Fluff knew where Kirby was throughout the whole night. Once Kirby discarded the sash later in the fic, Fluff lost his ability to locate Kirby.

Fluff changed Kirby's hair pink as a part of a mini deal. Interestingly enough, the pink used for Kirby's hair is not Fluff's brand of pink but the same pink as Kirby's split tunic. It also fits them more than the blonde hair did. Though I am sure many people in their world would disagree with this statement. (The pink also fits the blue rose better. Though that might be my bias showing)

(A closer look comparing Kirby with their natural blonde hair and the pink hair Marquis Fluff magicked without the blue rose.)

I made Kirby blonde because it's the brightest colour next to pink, as I could not make Kirby pink-haired from the start. Pink hair on a human would be really suspicious. If Kirby had been born with pink hair despite being fully human, he would have been tossed into the woods, never to be seen again. Either mauled to death, succumbing to starvation/dehydration or taken in by one of the elusive fae this story is centred around. Now, Fae! Kirby would be a very interesting character to write about. But that is not for this story...

Kirby's dirty blonde hair (or pudding blonde, as I like to call it) makes the blue of his cape stand out more. If I had chosen brown hair, which is closer to pink and easier to make a gradient out of, it would have blended too much with the fur on the cloak. This worked back when Kirby's cloak was more on the green/cyan side. But that was before I made Kirby's cape and Fluff's tights match. (Though Kirby's hair does appear brown in low light/the dark)

I can also geek out about Kirby's eye colour with this close-up. Kirby's eyes have violet shading in this AU to bring in the colour purple to their palette and accentuate the blues. But also to differentiate this Kirby from canon Kirby as I paint puffball Kirby and Gijnka Kirby with green-blue eyes. Kirby's undertunic woollen sweater is already green, so it would have been too much green. Plus, I couldn't have it contrast with the pinks Kirby uses/is going to use. Blue/violet is a nice compromise as it is analogous to purple.

And now the last touch - the flower crown Fluff weaved into Kirby's hair as Kirby took a nap. They are just a bunch of pink and white roses. Nothing sinister about it :) (I got a little lazy with them, but you get the gist)

Okay, but seriously. The meaning of white and pink roses is peculiar. On their own white roses represent loyalty, purity, and innocence. It is a popular wedding flower and can also mean: eternal love and a brand new start. Pink Roses mean grace and sweetness. Other interpretations include; gentleness, appreciation, joy, thankfulness, and elegance. Pink and white roses are used in anniversaries, graduations or as wedding gifts.

Combined, the Blue rose, pink and white roses mean: "Love at first sight, pure/gentle and graceful/elegant person - I attained the impossible/mystery, and I am thankful for this joy/new beginning you bestowed upon me."

And so, in the end, Fluff's magenta and blue shades have been added to Kirby's colour palette. More of Kirby's references follow after Fluff's turn with his early chapters appearances.

Thank you so much for making it to the end of my design notes. Until next time. ♪(^∇^*)ブ

(Don't be afraid to ask questions about this AU. I am all too happy to answer them)

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