Kirby AUs
What's This?
This is the fun section for AU's! It's a lot more personal and rambly then everything else so be warned. Technically I would consider my headcanon an AU, as I've organized it all into one consistent interpretation of the world, plot, and characters, but I consider that "my canon", which the stuff in here is then based on.
Knirby AU the most important on here as effectively just an extension of my canon, and so there's probably decisions and arcs written about in the Timeline section that are more contextualized seeing where they end up there. And thus, Knirby AU is a springboard for lots of other AUs as well.
Everything I have written about the Kirby anime is here too. Sorry Kirby Anime Star Warriors! I genuinely love the anime, but it's just not where my heart lies.
And as well, as wacky as these AUs get, I hope you understand they're always written with canon in mind somewhere deep in them. They're not considered OC stories for a reason even if they seem divorced from the games.
Canon Based...
Gijinkaverse
A bit less of an AU and more of just, a different filter for my headcanon. (*this is to explain how gijinka stuff is applied to the blorbings)
Knirby AU
Knirby AU is a time-skip AU that basically starts the second game canon ends, but it's plot begins at Kirby's knighthood. Later in his childhood Kirby develops wings which inspires the beginning of his squireship with Meta Knight. As an adult and knight he begins reflecting on his childhood and new role, and revisits lots of old faces.
(See an KNIRBY AU LORE BIBLE for a few more deets!)
PLOT
Many years after the events of the games Kirby continued to live a peaceful life in Dreamland under the care of King Dedede and Sir Meta Knight, who by now had become a couple and ruled jointly. Once Kirby became a young teen and acquired a pair of wings, Meta Knight decided it would be the right time to start training to be a knight so he could continue being his homeland's guardian with class and chivalry.
The AU starts formally on Kirby's final test to graduate from squire to knight, by defeating Galacta Knight, The Strongest Warrior in the Galaxy. After passing his test and mercifully releasing Galacta Knight from his imprisonment, Kirby returns home to be knighted by King Dedede with all his friend and family present. He hadn't really considered a cool title or anything, because he doesn't want too much to change between him and others, but that is a vain hope.
Kirby spends time revisiting old friends and coming to terms with how his life has changed without him fully realizing. From those he hasn't seen in decades having changed or moved on, to those who've watched him grow up yet suddenly treat him differently - it's all a bit stressful. The old cast in this time-skip are revisited one by one in roughly chronological order, each helping Kirby find some new perspective or connection as an adult.
It's rather slice of life. As much as I would like to throw in a dynamic plot and some awesome action sequences, I think the core of this will always be character moments.
CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS
Like I said, character dynamics and personal arcs are the core of this. Some characters show up for important events, like how one of the first major plot points will be Kirby visiting Ripple Star with Gooey to see Ribbon, and some will be reoccurring to hang out and talk, like the Meta-Knights and some other Dreamlanders. There's also spot light on some OCs for worldbuilding purposes, to make Dreamland feel even more lived in.
Kirby's role in this is to be an anchor character to a lot of others as he grows more into his new role himself. He's the sweetest silliest boy, but as much as he is competent and assured in himself, he can be a massive doormat. His compassion and empathy are a strength that helps so many others, but is sometimes a self-destructive reflex he learns to compensate for as well.
The outlined characters so far are a few random Dreamlander ocs whom Kirby reconnects with, Sailor Dee who is like a cousin to Kirby, Chuchu and Nyunpun who are now a couple, and the Star Rod whom Kirby has a special connection with. Outside of Dreamland are Gooey who travels around Popstar and visits Dreamland sometimes, Ribbon who is now queen of Ripple Star and choosing an apprentice, and Magolor who makes rounds to Popstar in between helping revitalize his home planet. Others like Taranza, the Squeaks, Shadow Kirby, Elfilin, and even the Jamba are planned to show up too sometime.
Besides them and inevitable characters like the rest of the quartet, there are some other outstanding arcs too: Marx returns and becomes a nuisance to everybody but ends up dealing with the emotional issues that make him act like such a asshole, and eventually ends up as Kirby's partner through a lot of effort. Despite all his flaws and nasty exterior Kirby loves him to peices, MAYBE BECAUSE HE HAS BAD TASTE IN PEOPLE, but genuinely they become a loving lil' couple. Marx's nastiness actually helps Kirby learn to stand up for himself a bit more, and Kirby supports him through a lot.
The breadth of Galacta Knights backstory and his relationship with Morpho Knight are delved into with this AU. His soul was taken in some vague universe in canon, but Morpho decided, not exactly that he deserved a second chance, but that coming to Dreamland would be an interesting experience for the ancient warrior. A lot of his previous angst revolved around not understanding what he was, so to get a chance to be around others of his rare species is a special treat.
There are more smaller arcs that intersect with others and the main characters', but I am admittedly very biased towards my faves. It's only recently this AU has started taking on the shape of a plot and not a bunch of random character moments, so as I think more organized other cool character arcs will evolve out. I swear.
SIGNIFICANCE & INSPIRATION
This AU is sort of the baseline for everything else I write. As I said, a lot of stuff I've written for my canon comes back to this if it seems useless without this as context. Almost every other AU here too is based on the bones of this rather than game canon itself. I really enjoy Knirby as a character, he is delightful to me, and as much as I love the series itself for how it tackles its deeper emotional subjects with a whimsical, distant air, I like having a character who is still very innocent but not ignorant. Who can see the deeper harm and horrors of the world and people around him clearly but still believe in better things wholeheartedly.
As well, developing this AU has 1000% MarxKirby-pilled me. They are very funny characters. It's funny with them as kids too, but there's a clear disconnect because of the fact Marx is clearly just a menace of a child and Kirby is completely oblivious to his evil. But as adults, there's just something deeply funny about this disastrous sociopath and lovestruck sweetheart interacting. And in a way that leads to some very touching emotional beats about connecting with others IMO. I think this relationship as a central point embodies a lot of the ideas that drive my passion for this AU. And you'll see that in the focus of others.
In the end, the biggest inspiration behind this AU, is my wish to explore the character stories of Kirby in a more nuanced and mature setting. This means seeing those stories and characters through the eyes of someone who isn't a child, but also of me choosing to expand on things in a way inappropriate for a story about a child for children. This means getting into very complicated topics like mental illness, and politics, and sexuality, not because I think those are unapproachable for or above children, but I personally want to get into them in a way that is not meant for kids. I think Kirby itself has deliberately or vaguely brushed over nearly every topic I bring up before, and in my headcanon I try to expand them as much as they can while staying in series character. But this is for me to push that a fair bit.
I think this is still a series about the power of friendship and rainbows as told through funny colorful characters. It's just I'm going to pit friendship and rainbows against heartache and trauma and watch it still win. And the characters will be no less funny or colorful as they hurt eachother, reconcile, and grow into flawed but loving people.
Anime Based...
Starcats
Similar to the gijinkaverse this is an anthros design filter.
KRBAY Canon AU
KRBAY AU is similar to Knirby AU as in it's made up primarily of a timeskip to Kirby's adulthood to focus on how he deals with the adventures of his childhood, but there is also focus on pre- and inter-show headcanon. The most important of these being that Kirby is the child of Lady Galacta (shoutout to the fic Mother of Invention whom I stole mom Galacta from lol) and Sir Arthur, and due to his prodigious parentage he is roped into joining the modern GSA despite his wishes to live a humble life.
NME Meta Knight AU
NME Meta Knight AU is identical to the normal KRBAY AU, but in this Meta never defected to the GSA, as he was created after their collapse. He was a monster King Dedede hired to spy on Kirby and the kids, but really he is spying on both for Nightmare, with whom his loyalty lies. But spending time with Kirby and Tiff, he begins to realize how much he yearns for connection with the species he was meant to parody.
Human Based...
Baseball AU
I love a lot of things. I love cartoons and animation history, I love 20th century history, I love anthropology, I love psychology, I love sociology and political science, and I really really love Kirby. This AU is a lot of things situated at a chaotic intersection of all of those interests and is very self-indulgent :3.
Baseball AU is a 1950s US period-piece and political dramady AU built off of Knirby AU with a few extra interpretations thrown in to spice things up. Springing from Knirby AU, it focuses on the later romance plot between an adult Kirby and Marx and how they relate to each other and the adult lives they still may or may not be ready for. This plot is wrapped up in presentation meant to be both a love letter to and critical deconstruction of mid-century pop-culture and cartoons.
(IT IS HIGHLY RECCOMENDED YOU FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH KNIRBY AU BEFORE READING ABOUT THIS AU)
CW: Talking About Historic Racism and Other Bigotries, Sometimes Using Outdated/Politically Incorrect Language; Most Of That Isn't In This Summary, But Would Be Part of Further Discussion
THE MEDIUM
Being inspired by mid-century American art, animation, and culture, more than any other AU the visual aspects of it are very important to define. UPA has always been a primary inspiration for the AU's style, alongside its modernist-leaning contemporaries who meant to experiment with how the new medium of animation and moving cartoons could adapt to any story imaginable. In that spirit there is not one specific studio or cartoon which my style intends to mimic fully, instead growing as just a modernist take on my own sensibilities. Over time however, I have leaned more towards Hannah-Barbera because it marries that expansive world of modernist cartoons with the kitschy golden-age slapstick of Warner Bros that's still nearest and dearest to my heart. Characters are entirely intended to be human, and are written to be in that H-B zone of goofy but grounded, but they are heavily stylized as if still having fantastical colors or outfits. The details of colors and complexity of design wax and wane like those of these kinds of cartoons, and I enjoy trying to get the best out of my favorite worlds of animation from the era.
The holistic vision for the project typically oscillates between modern day adult animated sitcom borrowing from H-B and on occasion more experimental studios in look and movement, and (more realistically) a self-published webcomic with just a touch of a faded, pulp-print presentation. Animation is my biggest interest, and is where my mind goes to for most projects, but comics are another great visual medium I've been meaning to study too. Obviously I find it easiest to get story ideas out as doodles or rough comic sketches and have a growing collection, but I've also been growing one of short prose stories as well.
One more pipedream of mine is that of a Baseball AU video game. A Dreamcast dating sim from the year 2000 where you play as Marx trying to woo the men or drive them insane. It dropped on my head in a literal dream where I saw blocky Sonic Adventure-esque facsimiles of the cast running around and realized how good of an itch it scratched. My love for this style is only possible through its revival in the late 90s and early 2000s, and it would be great to pay homage to that as much as to the golden age. The vision of stylized, expressive models running around a fully 3D Dreamland, Texas is held deep in my heart, but the knowhow to make it a reality eludes me except on a few bursts of effort towards it.
EVOLUTION AND PLOT
Baseball AU is directly derivative of Knirby AU, beginning its conceptual life as a joke about Kirby and Marx's romance playing out like a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie only for Kirby to reveal at the end he's Jewish and his family celebrates Hanukkah instead. Throughout my first year developing my gijinkas I had started playing with racial/ethnic headcanons and related jokes, but didn't really have an outlet for them in the a-racial world of Kirby. I had a few human AUs here and there, but taking the Hallmark joke, another about Marx sucking at baseball, and my seasonal mid-century media fascination, this AU's core began to take shape: A rom-com-esque version of Knirby AU set in the mid-century US for the sake of playing with old sitcom aesthetics and race relations where our beloved stars Kirby and Marx play some goddamn baseball.
The baseball aspect - an intended one-shot plot of how Kirby and Marx met in this story - quickly fell to the wayside as I realized the potential for artistic and historical gimmicks for the burgeoning world of Dreamland, Texas and beyond. The plot has been workshopped a lot since then, but is still far more simple than Knirby AU - a very slice-of-life episodic pace with subtle arcs in the background.
The plot begins primarily through Marx's eyes, him being a very white and very new in town weirdo fumbling pick-up questions with Kirby, unsure of how to flirt with a cute but potentially straight black guy. Kirby is completely oblivious to his motives but entertains him as - race be damned - he loves making new friends. Through Marx's jumbled intentions, their pseudo-date ends up being playing some casual innings of baseball at the local field, with the two of them dragging most of the young adults of the tiny Southern town into the shenanigans. This, however, is confounded by the fact that the two of them naturally produced a white vs "colored" team comp, which slowly drives everyone but them away in discomfort. But as they bleed members, Kirby and Marx find more time to get to know each other away from their outwards personas. Eventually, after their ridiculous months-long courtship, they work up the resolve to signal their feelings to each other and finally confess. They start dating for real, still coming out to the diamond on the edge of town, or anywhere else where they can be in peace.
After that is the real meat and potatoes of the AU, as we meet the rest of the cast and the young couple dances around the consequences of their socially unacceptable union. Marx gets to meet Kirby's father and this AU's Meta Knight, Inigo, and learn about Kirby's mixed Afro-Latino and Jewish heritage (a virtually non-existent, but fun to cobble together background). Loitering on the "colored" side of town to hang out with Kirby, Marx runs into his friends who represent the non-dee enemies of Dreamland, and on the white side he eventually meets the AU's King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee who are the town's incompetent mayor-sheriff duo. Later on, my beloved Halcandrans* Magolor and Galacta Knight show up in Dreamland as Madiyar (or "Maddie" to sound less foreign) and Valentine, a discordant duo of Soviet refugees seeking a new life in the nothing little town. From there, like in Knirby AU, when not focusing on the pre-established cast, guest stars such Chuchu, Susie, and Elfilin show up for special arcs. This not counting characters relevant to the main cast and towns' past like Zero, Galaxia, Ribbon, and a humanized Star Rod, which begins to switch the perspective more to that of Kirby and his family.
Guest characters, holiday specials, crossover one-offs, elections, and spicy secret reveals comes as they do, emphasizing the character arcs rather than any greater narrative. Dreamland, Texas is the same little peaceful, nothing-burger community as the Popstarian country, where the most exciting developments are outside forces tripping over the spot usually on the way to something else. Of course, with the historical American setting comes some underlying societal evils, ones that are not ignored by the story but more endured. Characters like Inigo and Valentine in their side-plots make a very big fuss of the Southern town's segregation and rural poverty, and Kirby nor Marx are ignorant to how unfairly their union is looked upon. But it would be as much of a disservice to the gravity of those social realities to pretend these characters alone can fix them as it would be if they were ignored. In my interpretation of Kirby spirit, this AU is a story about living you best life and valuing those close to you, despite the maddening, never-ending nightmare that is the state of the wider world.
CHARACTER DYNAMICS & THEMES
The dynamics in this AU are endlessly entertaining to me, packing a lot of social and psychological commentary I've developed over the years into these silly little characters. The leading couple themselves have a relationship hinging on a shared jovial rebelliousness coming from incredibly different places - Kirby from a radical sense of universal acceptance and positivity, and Marx from a sociopathic devil-may-care attitude. And here, as in Knirby AU, their relationship builds around themes of trauma, empathy, and trust as they meet between extremes of their personalities. I keep finding more depth to write into their childish attitudes in adulthood as I grow into my own, whether they're parroting each other's silly tics or half-abashedly talking about childhood comforts. I myself am using the language of cartoons and kiddie video games to tell these heavy stories, which is my expression of a... somewhat absurdist worldview I think they share as well.
Then there is my beloved Inigo, who in his interactions with Marx and his friends, Valentine and Mayor D.D.D. (not his real initials), constantly has his patience for others and his own ideologies tested. He's grown quite judgmental of Kirby's tastes in partners over the years, and Marx ended up being no exception - not as much for his race as just his obnoxious personality. But when not engaging in the very slow process of warming up to Kirby's new partner, he tries to make both friendly and political small-talk with D.D.D. - a bond they've kept up for many years despite his frustrations with the mayor and D.D.D.'s occasional annoyance with his seriousness. Inigo is an idealist with a sharp tongue and half-finished law degree, and it's not until he begins to butt heads with Valentine that he gets a true outlet for this. His relationship with the loud and proud ex-Soviet hero inspiring him to try his luck with running for mayor himself in the closest we'll be getting to Revenge of Meta Knight in a civil society. This begins an extended arc playing on my interpretation of Meta Knightmare where Inigo flirts with his pinko tendencies with Val and still tries to stay true to institutional optimism working with D.D.D..
D.D.D. himself is a well-meaning and somewhat liberal mayor, but he's just charming enough to cover up his incompetence and lack of political vision. Outside of Inigo - whom he's friends with mostly out of fascination - he usually surrounds himself with yes-men, like his sheriff, Bandana. Nicknamed for his sad attempt at looking rugged, Sheriff Bandana is a fair bit younger than D.D.D. and used to look up to him for his charisma, but after joining the force to serve him he only got front row seats to his expectations being shattered. Nevertheless, Bandana continues on in the platonic shadow of his hero, and while similarly trying to pull the man into shape like Inigo, he tends to not be jealous of him. Ol' Bandana and D.D.D. are somewhat in their pre-modern arc states, which makes them incredibly engaging to write on their own and for the themes of political complacency. Most of the cast outside these two aren't very fond of the way the joint is run, but when you live in a quiet town like Dreamland its hard for most to imagine not just following the loudest most confident person around.
Last of the main cast are Madiyar and Valentine introduced a bit into the main plot, with their antics shedding light on the unavoidable xenophobia of a tiny hick town and the boogeyman-ification of the USSR during this period. The both of them are political refugees, but Valentine against every ounce of his will. Madiyar, like his theme-park and scam-shop building self in canon, was a capitalist fanboy who earned his place in political prison, whereas Valentine was a true hero to the regime's causes who nonetheless ended up cannibalized by his allies. Both of them met by complete chance, but somehow managed to form a jail-breaking dynamic duo all the way to the new continent. Madi's predatory business practices and Valentine's America-hating attitude fail to endear them to anyone at first, except Kirby, who found himself close with Valentine over a shared freak black-Jewish background and progressive worldviews. Kirby is the one to introduce him to Inigo, which after some initial tension leads to a very strong friendship between them which supports Inigo's main arc. The evil angel-good devil motif of Galacta and Meta Knight's designs gets turned into a parable on the optics and theater of political progressivism that I genuinely find myself thinking about in a lot of conflicts in real life.
Despite everything, this is very much just the tip of the iceberg of the political, philosophical, and psychological musings I've poured into this AU. It's not the easiest to lay out in synopsis because the hypothetical plot is incredibly lighthearted, but the significance of the interactions is meant to be apparent in how the cast of wackadoos navigates their world, making light where they can and suffering where they can't. As stated before, the racism of the world around them is a massive elephant in the room, but it's not some harrowing moral antagonist scorning our star-crossed lovers, it's just a terrible political reality of their lives, as cruel as it is absurd and ripe to be the butt of a few jokes. The racism is mundane but not benign - not a reflection of its deepest evils, nor a rose-tinted revisionism like that which pervades the time in popular culture. It's just there as it always was, and still is, and my characters are gonna survive it and live their little lives in spite of it.
At times this story does seem far too expansive and mature to just stay as a Kirby AU, but anytime I do think about filing off the numbers and making it an original work I just can't. The fill-in archetypes that are the Kirby characters are just too perfect for the story I WANT to tell, and I do find myself coming back to my interpretation of the series for inspiration time and again. The thematic core which has kept me attracted to Kirby all these years, is its expression of the idea that the world can be full of darkness and cruelty and tragedy, but there is so much offered in moments - big and small - of compassion, companionship, and understanding extended to all. It's not unique to Kirby, but I've been consistently enamored by how it uses every ounce of its presentation to make this true, most notably its earnestly sugar-sweet and approachable aesthetics under which it holds its complexity and maturity. I definitely feel like that is something I am putting into different words with Baseball AU - I'm using different cartoon aesthetics to talk about different evils. And I have no intention of severing these ties anytime soon even if it doesn't align with what most people associate with Kirby.
If no one like my Kirby period-piece race comedy but me then I'll just be cringe and free.
WII Baseball AU
This one is a bit more of a mess. Unlike BBAU which has an organized theme of being based in mid-century America, this is both an 80s highschool au for the older generation, and a 2000s/2010s one for Kirby's generation. It's soup right now but fun soup for jokes and bits, and a meaningful character arc every now and then.
Others...
Alpha an Omega AU (Wolves Xenofiction AU)
Do not worry your pretty little head for a second, this is NOT OMEGAVERSE!! I think that shit's repulsive honestly, this is far more cringe AND respectable. It's a xenofiction AU based on the, honestly awful, Alpha & Omega animated kids movie from 2010. I watched it just as a joke while making wolf designs of the Knirby AU cast, and tragically became hyperfixated on fixing it's plot with my Kirby characters. A real mess for the ages.
(IT IS HIGHLY RECCOMENDED YOU FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH KNIRBY AU BEFORE READING THIS)
ORIGINS AND MEDIUM
PLOT
ROLE CHOICES
EXTRA STUFF
Warrior Cats AU (Xenofiction AU)
Same vein as the Alpha and Omega AU really. I do think Warriors is undoubtably higher quality than that movie, and I have far more fondness for it, but it still sucks and I can fix it with characters from a property I like more!! This is a hypothetical WC arc inspired by the events of Kirby's Adventure and various other aspects of the series.
ORIGINS AND MEDIUM
Ever since I'd finished the first four arcs of the WC series sometime in 2018 I had fallen out of love with it. I tried to read some of A Vision of Shadows but after the first book the drama somewhat bounced off of me. But in 2022, I saw a PMV for the character Shadowsight from the proceeding arc, The Broken Code, and combined with stuff I'd heard about it I decided to give it a shot. I ended up VERY enthralled, the plot felt fresh and full of mystery and the characters were delightful, barring some pitfalls due to misogyny and love triangles. What killed me was the ending! It was horrible! And it made me realize, this series had no gawdamn themes!! It was made of paper and actively refused to ever say anything.
For that arc itself I have my own rewrite ideas, but just in general it made me remember how much I loved this series despite how little it delivered. So combining ideas from across the series and ones from better ones, I decided to make a Kirby AU that would address my problems with the series.
I suppose in the spirit of it's source, this should be seen as the outline of a book series. Of a typical 6 book arc and all. Writing, as in narrative prose, is not my forte, but it would be fun to think of this AU as a low-stakes space to experiment with my writing.
PLOT
Kirby is a rogue kitten who happens to come across the clans in a time of stress and fits their most recent prophecy. The clans, (as of right now) based on Dreamland, The Meta-Knights, and Floralia/The Land of the Sky, constantly fight over custody of the prophecy baby while only exasperating the conflict they all pretend to be worried about. As Kirby goes from clan to clan he has a way of highlighting all of the clans' pretensions and hypocrisy, while still befriending many of his peers and showing them there's more to clan life than endless squabbling.
The conflict plaguing these clans, is that their beloved Moonpool/Dream Spring has been unresponsive lately, and it puts them all at unease. Nightmare, embodied through some ancient curse or cat has been tampering with it to seek revenge and let the clans fall apart under their own weight of pettiness and hatred. By exposing the leaders to their own vices and inspiring his younger peers, Kirby is able to bring all of the clans together to defeat this evil as one.
After the mandatory big battle, the clans actually reconcile with how they've let rules and borders come between them and their shared experiences. And afterwards choose to live as allies and neighbors rather than as warring clans. Kirby is asked by many to become a leader, but instead decides he wants to live as a sort of clanless mediator and move between his friends as he pleases.
CHARACTERS
Kirby is likely a cream-colored, long haired tabby with blue eyes. He might be a colorpoint to so that he can have a big cute heart shaped-marking on the middle of his face. He starts out as the tiniest little kitten you ever did see, and by the end is a big jolly warrior who loves eating any prey he can find and sunbathing all day.
Leading our version's Thunderclan would be Dedede, who's name is Oakstar. A big brown shorthair with a big muzzle and big expressive blue eyes. His clan is tree themed, maybe living in or near a grove of apple trees. Oak himself wasn't clanborn and used to be a kittypet, so he overcompensated by being as ambitious as possible and earned himself the leader position, a loud mouth, and an ego. Bandana Dee now named Appleear is a ginger shorthair and the clan's deputy seemingly for no reason other than Oakstar liking him. And two waddle doo OCs of mine who've been turned into a pair of silly cream-colored medicine cats. A bunch of miscellaneous waddle dees make up the rest of their ranks.
In charge of the water themed clan is Meta Knight, now Midnightstar - a small but intimidating black spotted tabby. He's the oldest cat in the clans due to his unmatched fighting skills and wisdom which have allowed him to keep so many lives. He's still not above being a bit pretentious however. Captain Vul is his deputy as a beige and white older cat named Eaglesplash, and a ginger lil kitten representing Sailor Dee is all they have for a medicine cat. The other Meta-Knights are senior warriors too, and a few characters from water related regions are among them too like the animal friends.
Lastly is a very underdeveloped Floralia themed clan, ofc headed by the unproblematic Queen Sectonia, now know as Waspstar. Like Oakstar, her deputy is just some runt she picked out of nowhere - Taranza who is probably named Spiderstep. They probably live on a high ridge abundant in flowers and fruits, making them so familiar with insects.
Characters who are generally unaligned in canon make up the countless rogues roaming about who are usually harmless and more creeped out by the clans than hostile. And one in particular is a large mysterious ginger tabby, named Lionflare - who is this AUs Galacta Knight. He was an old leader who left after being a prophecy child himself, but only earning the luxury to watch the clans continue to bicker for generations. Anytime Kirby is lost or between clans he seems to come around and guide him.
REVISED WORLDBUILDING
The biggest revision is the addition of NARRATIVE THEMES to these stories. Friendship and rainbows ofc, but more refined to be - the importance of building community in times of strife instead of erecting walls and paranoia. Very specifically I was inspired by AVOS and how interesting the prophecy kittens were to be rogues and thrown around the clans, but the book seemingly had no issues with that fundamentally. I DO, and I'm going to use it to emphasize how the clans have more in common than different and that the barriers they construct between eachother are arbitrary. A kitty who makes the best out of being thrown around between them by befriending the younger cats and showing new perspective is really fun.
Another massive complaint I have with this series is how obvious it is that the authors don't care about cats lmao. I love animals and how creative xenofiction can be with exploring the world from the eyes and relationships of non-human creatures. With this like the A&OAU I wanna bring in a bit more animal realism when it comes to how the animals communciate and organize. More stuff about animal body language and how their social groups are usually family or clique-based. One specific example of this I like is how when cats interact with each other they usually don't meow or make other vocalizations, its for kittens and housecats trying to communicate with us. Oakstar used to be a kittypet so he's used to doing that, and it therefore makes him seem loud, childish and obnoxious compared to others. Just like our lovable, king.
There's also many changes to the way Starclan and the mystic aspects work I can think of, mostly of making them more distant and magical realism-y. But one thing is that with the 9 Lives I want them to have more impact. Leaders still live not too long lives in WC cause they lose them more than other cats or something like that, in this they make most cats far outlive others. This is going to be prevalent in the lives of Midnightstar as well as Lionflare, in supporting the idea of how cyclical the clan's fighting is and how much they need to rise above it. As well for a character like Waspstar it could show how the mystic qualities of a leader are sought for selfish reasons, like seeking a functional immortality.
My Little Pony AU
This is a highly "for-funsies" AU, without any real plot or writing besides me just loving the funny pony show.