Master Of Puppets - Part 60
September 9th, 2013, 4:13 pm
Average Rating: 5.00
September 9th, 2013, 5:15 pm
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And with that, the longest segment of KA history that spanned a total of just under six months is now completed! I've got a lot to talk about here, so prepare yourselves for a long author comment.
The idea for Master of Puppets, at its most basic, was conceptualized somewhere between Helping Hand and Tear In The Fabric. The basic idea was that the nine main characters of Kirby Adventure would face off against themselves, and each one would individually defeat the other by exploiting their weaknesses and using that as an advantage. It was conceived as a character-building segment, since the characters would need to learn more about themselves in order to defeat their mirror-image and escape insert-location-here. This was not really what happened in the final product.
Master of Puppets was originally planned to happen after Division Addition, but Gigi's insistence caused Such An Odd Eight to be wedged in between. This actually provided me with an opportunity to tie the two segments together, as originally, there wasn't even going to be a clone who started the whole scenario, the Squad would just suddenly wake up in the realm area thing. With Kaxo's characterization mishaps in the crossover, though, plus the fact that I needed to have something to do after I sent the 20TK characters back, I decided to introduce one of the clones early and have the two segments tie in together.
Not-Kaxo's introduction wasn't exactly executed perfectly, though. As some of you pointed out, the plot twist that Kaxo wasn't actually Kaxo was somewhat rushed and didn't have any build-up. The reason for that is because, well, it WAS kind of rushed. I shoved it in near the end because I needed something to fill up 4 comics at the end of Such An Odd Eight, and Kaxo already had some characterization issues when Gigi used him. That's why in the beginning of Such An Odd Eight, Kaxo pretty much acts normally. I hadn't developed the idea of Not-Kaxo until very late into Such An Odd Eight.
Creating the realms was interesting, because I really had no idea what they were going to look like. Basically, I just made an incredibly blocky undetailed black-gray-and-white area in Photoshop, and added filter unto filter unto filter until I achieved the result that was seen in the comic. In the end, I think the realms worked out okay, though I really wish that I had a better name to call them than simply 'realms' or 'areas'. Heck, their Photoshop names were called 'Puppetmaster Realms', so they really don't have much of a name.
When the time came to actually use the clones idea, though, the original plan of each Kirby fighting against their own clone and utilizing a weakness, that's when that original idea began to falter. While Not-Kirby started off a bit evil-ish, and Not-Caiya sort of followed suit, everyone else after Not-Kaxo's reappearance was hard to get the way I originally intended. The reason being was that trying to make some of them evil, especially Raize or Saia, just would not have worked and kept them in character as well. The clones couldn't act the same way of the original plan because they wouldn't be acting like the character they're a clone of. Thus, I began to change my plans a bit.
Raize and Saia's encounters were where I began to really change things, since the two groups didn't fight (well, technically Raize did, but in a game). Vezo's and Keito's encounters were done alright, but Shat'l's was probably the weirdest.
When it came to using Shat'l, the first thing I needed to do was establish why he didn't forsee Not-Kaxo showing up: his future sight was being blocked, and couldn't see anything with it at the moment. However, since I've previously established that Shat'l is physically weak, I didn't know what to do with him. I gave him that little dreamscape off-screen fight because, for one thing, it would allow him to fight with his clone, but for another, I couldn't really do a color change of the realm like I did with the other encounters. However, the dreamscape provided a new problem: lack of creativity. It was a dreamscape, where literally anything could be possible, but due to struggles to balance out all the other encounters, and a limitation because of sprites, I barely even showed anything in that, so that was a bit of a disappointment.
The original plan for Master of Puppets was always a character-development segment, and while parts of the original idea didn't come through well, the characterization definitely did. Four characters who I feel got some new depth to them were Kaxo (by far), Caiya, Raize, and Kirby. So, let's talk about that, starting from reverse order just because.
Kirby's the one main character I've always had a problem with. Ever since writing The Beginning... back in mid-2011, I started to remove the silly-side from his personality and replace it with a more angry, serious side to him. This was especially evident in Jetting Across The Ice and Tree To Tree, to me. However, as good friend Torkirby pointed out to me, that's not really what any Kirby personality should act like. It's hard to really conceive a completely serious Kirby, so I knew then that I needed to work on him a bit. This was where, unlike with Kaxo's case, the crossover definitely helped his character. The way Gigi wrote my Kirby was honestly a better job than the way I had been writing him in segments prior. While I couldn't exactly have him completely be unserious now that I had given him that character trait, I definitely could tone it down more. Thus, his thinking of Gigi's Kirby at the end of Master of Puppets was used an excuse to get Kirby to act more like, well, how Kirby should act. Originally, I was going to use the excuse that Master Green acted serious but nobody took him seriously, so Kirby had the idea that since he was acting so serious too, he should tone it down before nobody takes him seriously. I'm glad I didn't use it though because it just sounded stupid writing that out.
With Raize, I honestly didn't feel like I did anything new with him, however I had been receiving complaints (looking at you, Jarkers. "Ulti has trouble working with Raize as well, and Raize is his character" indeed.) about how Raize had been used in the comic. Apparently I hadn't been making his personality clear enough, so I tried to do it better during the Battleship scene. Hopefully it worked.
Caiya's little breakdown scene was actually the one good thing I can say that came out of my 10th grade Health class. During one period of Health the day before that comic, the class watched a video about people with multiple personalities, and how some of their lives were. After one scene where a woman had a mental breakdown, all I could think about was Caiya and her split personality disorder thing (I still haven't really settled on what disorder it actually is, since I've said its three different things over the course of Kirby Adventure.) Thus, that comic was born, where Caiya is shown to have an extreme sensitivity to those kinds of condescending comments about her in her dumb side. She felt very vulnerable to me while writing that, and I knew that afterwards I needed to have the reconciliation scenes in the epilogue where Kirby (originally Keito) would reassure her that he doesn't think of her as an spastic idiot just because of an admittedly rather hyperactive personality of hers. Overall, I think that all worked very well.
And now, the doozy. The big one. It's time to talk about Kaxo.
I wish I could say the development I gave to Kaxo during this segment was planned from the very beginning, but in all honesty, it wasn't. I don't exactly remember when I came up with the idea, but it must have been around Jetting Across The Ice or so. The reason I say that is because, in all honesty, Kaxo's characterization in the Kirby's Dream Adventure crossover is almost equally as bad as his characterization in 20 Times Kirby, and yet I never had any qualms about Kaxo back when BSX was writing him, as is evident in my comments back then.
The reason I developed Kaxo's personality with the whole "trying to get them to prove themselves" thing was because I needed Kaxo to not simply be a single-minded bully character. He needed development, otherwise he would simply continue to be a complete jerk and only escalate from there.
The problem with the new personality development, though, was that I couldn't ever find a good place to fit it into. Tree to Tree wouldn't have made sense, since Kaxo was adventuring with Shadik and also hated acknowledging FP, Jetting Across The Ice had him fight against Zykan, Tear In The Fabric had him say 'bwop' and that's about it, and Division Addition didn't feature him. Thus, when the crossover happened, Gigi had no way of knowing Kaxo's underlying development which I had been unable to insert into the comic pages yet.
When Gigi wrote Kaxo as focusing only on bullying, I really only have myself to blame. Yes, the characterization was off, but Gigi really couldn't help that fact. But now that you can see WHY Kaxo does his pushing around of weaker Kirbies, I really hope you can realize why exactly Kaxo wouldn't help Larry tie up Raven as a pinata, cover her with paint, tape her mouth shut, and have the intent of beating her to death with a baseball bat. That line about being upset that Raven wasn't killed was really the nail in the coffin, though. That was clearly not anything Kaxo would do. If that line hadn't been said, I suppose I could've just wrote it off as Kaxo being stressed out or something, but Kaxo would NEVER want to kill another Kirby. Yes, he killed Mirror Kirby's pet in the other crossover, but we have no idea what it looks like. It could've been (and probably was) a giant, evil-looking, monstrous creature that Kaxo perceived as an enemy or a challenge. Raven, though, there's no excuse I could have ever pulled. Thus, that inspired Kaxo's line about how he doesn't kill Kirbies, not even wanting to do so with Talzo.
Working with the background and development was actually really convenient, in a way. A LOT of early stuff such as Kaxo hating Fanhal, Fanhal going to Hali about Kaxo's bullying and getting his promotion, Kaxo and Saia meeting in The True Arena, all of this was entirely coincidental that it worked out so well. I was able to establish that Saia is closer to Kaxo than any of the other Squad members, and gave Kaxo a real reason for hating Fanhal.
Kaxo writing the letter to Raven was an idea that I had mid-Master of Puppets, because it felt like it would be something that Kaxo would do. You can expect to see the arrival of that letter sometime after these crazy time travel shenanigans are done in 20 Times Kirby.
I suppose all that's left to talk about is Master Green, and how that idea came to be.
Originally, the Master of Puppets was some weird OC character called Puppetmaster (hence the title of the segment as well as the earlier sprite sheet name I mentioned, 'Puppetmaster Realms'). The Puppetmaster would basically look a lot like Wiz only slightly thinner and with a feathered cap. At some point, sometime after I used the Jellicents in Saia's encounter, I somehow had Master Green pop into my head. I might have been thinking if any Kirby characters already had 'Master' in their name, and Green showed up first. I tried inserting him in the role, and if I gave him some form of magical control, I honestly saw it working well. The Jellicents would be related to him since they're both jellyfish-like creatures with electrical powers, and Master Green would be a hopeful surprise to the readers. Originally, he would just be dressed in the thin cloak and feathered hat that the original Puppetmaster idea had, but I ended up completely doing away with that idea and just using Master Green in general.
One thing I have to say about the climax of the story, where Not-Kaxo prevents Master Green from escaping, is this: The whole set-up was intended to really showcase the difference between Not-Kaxo and Kaxo. Most likely due to Not-Kaxo's prolonged contact with Master Green, what with him being first and all, Not-Kaxo was a lot more cruel than actual Kaxo was. In my head, I was writing Not-Kaxo the way a lot of readers considered Kaxo: a cruel jerk who only cares about himself. I've seen a lot of comments over time about Kaxo's personality, such as in Tree To Tree ("Wait, KAXO is advocating coordination and teamwork?") and A Different Type Of Comic ("Kaxo wasn't any more violent than ever before. He acted normally, as a matter of a fact, he acted NICER than usual!"). Even in Master of Puppets I got some comments like that ("The more people he kills, the less people left to pick on."). So, I took some of those examples and basically took away from what makes Kaxo act the way he actually does: I took away any sense of compassion or empathy from his clone. This made Not-Kaxo act like a complete jerk, even to Master Green, the one who created him. Thus, the climax I wrote was used to emphasize the difference between what readers thought of Kaxo beforehand (Not-Kaxo) and what Kaxo was actually like (Kaxo). Kaxo does the morally right thing and warns Not-Kaxo and Master Green about the closing portal and the fading world while they're distracted, whereas Not-Kaxo decides to do whatever he wants and prevent Master Green from escaping too. I feel like when I made Kaxo hesitate before warning the pair, he was contemplating doing exactly what Not-Kaxo did (intentionally preventing them from escaping by not saying anything) or doing the right thing. Obviously, he chose the right thing, but the idea was still there. Not-Kaxo simply acted on it, and in the end, he crossed too many lines and is now in prison.
So, yeah. That's Master of Puppets. Funnily enough, despite making a few changes mid-way through, the segment lasted exactly how long I estimated: 60 parts. Right from its very conceptualization, I intended for it to have around 60 parts, and I ended up with exactly that. Go figure.
The big question is, what now? Master of Puppets is done, thus finally completing Chapter 3 of Kirby Adventure. There's a few things that are gonna change now. First off, once the next segment and chapter begin, the archive will be updated to group by Chapter rather than by segment. This will affect the drop-down menu as well, but the segment select buttons on the normal comic pages will still be around to select specific segments. This will simply make Chapter beginning and end more clear for readers, since I've gotten quite a few questions about it, and now that there are going to be 4 chapters to choose from, I feel like that's a good number to make the switch.
As for updates: you may have noticed that I've been updating daily for about a week. However, today was my first day of school, and so I'm going to be a bit too busy with schoolwork and upcoming Let's Plays, so daily updates aren't going to be a thing for now.
However, Kirby Adventure as a whole will be updating less from now on. Instead of around three comics a week that has been going on ever since adopting Gigi's schedule for the crossover, you're gonna get around 1 to 2 comics a week. Why? Well, I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of rejoicing for the reason.
I'm gonna be going back to Yoshi & Kirby again.
I hope to have 2 updates for both Y&K and KA a week, starting this week, and was planning on doing as soon as Master of Puppets, and subsequently Chapter 3, were completed. I'll be continuing Yoshi & Kirby right off from where it's been on technical hiatus since October 2012, and Kirby Adventure will have a bit of a relaxed, calmer segment following, to start off Chapter 4. Hopefully this gets some of you guys to shut up about Y&K updates.
However, if I start to slack off on Yoshi & Kirby now, for once I'll actually encourage those kinds of "you need to update" comments. I don't intend on slacking off, but unless I provide a schoolwork-related reason, then feel free to (politely) make sure to tell me that I should update the comic. This is only after at least one week has passed without an update, though, got it?
Anyways... now that that's all said and done... see you guys next time for the next Kirby Adventure segment.
Actually, one last thing. What did you guys think of this segment? Considering all the flak it got when it first started, I'd like to see overall opinions now that it's finished.
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User's Comments
Super Froakie 64 DS,September 9th, 2013, 6:13 pm
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It was a good segment. Also, I can't wait until chapter 4 starts.
BattleStarX,September 9th, 2013, 6:20 pm
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Very, very good character development, UY, that's what I thought of this. And since Sprite Comics lack a lot in the artistic end (if you listen to some,) character development is what it needs to fuel the comic.
And it showed me how I did things wrong with certain characters while I was holding on to them for the KDA/KA crossover. And when I make it up to them for their remakes, they are changes I intend to fix now.
Not to mention I also have a certain *something* now for the end of my current dual-segment.
Very well done, UY, very well done indeed.
MecanicalCH, September 9th, 2013, 6:27 pm
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*from reading author text-wall he has grown a mustache and a beard...and it turned white...*
meta-eggplant,September 9th, 2013, 6:30 pm
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Yay! Yoshi and Kirby is finally updating again! :D
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 6:59 pm
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I think this segment was amazing. I liked it a lot.
I mean a WHOLE lot. When I was surfing the web one day, I found this comic. Master of Puppets part 1, to be exact. I read through the archives in a day, and hung around to see the updates. Eventually, I worked up the courage to make an account and actually post something here.
You see what I'm getting at? This comic, this SEGMENT, is the whole reason I'm on SmackJeeves in the first place. Obviously that means something is good about this segment, and your writing in general, or I would have lost interest halfway through Chapter 1 and passed up a chance to get in on all of this shebang.
So yeah, I think this was a great segment. In fact, I think this was an amazing segment, definitely worth waiting six months for the end. Keep it up, Ulti.
And congrats for finally finding time for Yoshi & Kirby. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Luigi_96, September 9th, 2013, 7:01 pm
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" I'm gonna be going back to Yoshi & Kirby again."
And with those words, there was dancing in the streets. YESSSSS! :D
As for the segment, I liked it, but I'm not the type to notice flaws in anything except my own stuff and stuff that's really bad.
DarkNut255, September 9th, 2013, 7:02 pm
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I personally enjoyed this segment, and all the development.
Kirby did feel like a too serious stick in the mud at times, especially in Tree to Tree (although I probably noticed it more than Jetting Across the Ice since Kiblar was my cameo), and it's good that he's changing.
Raize didn't get too many lines, so I never really knew his personality much, and I do really like it.
Caiya might be my favorite, mostly because she rarely acknowleged the personality thing.
Kaxo worked well, yet I never really noticed his jerkiness in 20 Times Kirby, mostly because I was shocked that Larry would be that harsh.
Green was a character I never expected (mostly because I never played Kirby's Dream Land 2, I dunno why, I have Dream Collection, and it's on there), but I enjoyed it, and his character.
I definitely saw Not-Kaxo as being far more of a jerk than Not-Not-Kaxo (or just Kaxo), and again, I liked that.
Overall, this might be my favorite segment, even better than Escape! or Meet the KAS.
Oh, and I'm REALLY exited for Yoshi & Kirby. REALLY REALLY exited.
Jarkes, September 9th, 2013, 7:07 pm
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...I'm actually starting to like the "Jarkers" misnaming. If I ever have a blatant author avatar-type character show up in any of my MLP fanfics (who would probably be a parody of those types of characters), that'll probably be a running gag.
As for Raize... maybe I was a little douchey when I made some of those comments, but Raize always seemed a little bit bland to me. Thankfully, much like Kaxo in this segment, Raize's personality has become much clearer, and I can see it more easily in earlier segments now.
...Be perfectly honest with me: You put the line about the Pep Brews on that one page just to surprise me, didn't you?
...Wait, Yoshi & Kirby is going to be updated again? *cue filly Twilight Sparkle hopping; I'd look for a gif of it, but I'm lazy* YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!
...Though I'm kind of curious as to what exactly you meant by "technical problems."
Jarkes, September 9th, 2013, 7:09 pm
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@Sapar: ...Wait, really? It feels like you've been around a lot longer than that... Or did this segment just take a lot longer to finish than I realized it did?
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 7:16 pm
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@Jarkes: Actually, I technically HAVEN'T been around that long. I didn't actually make my existence known until the 21st comic or so.
Ultimate Yoshi,September 9th, 2013, 7:18 pm
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@Jarkes: That line was moreso to semi-explain the oddity of that incident and how it sort of fits into his character now. But I was thinking of you when I put it in, as evidence by my author comment on that page.
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 7:34 pm
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@Sapar: Without this chapter, you wouldnt exist. i only existed because of marios day job
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 7:35 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: Yahrlly
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 7:37 pm
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@Sapar: *hugs* thank you UY
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 7:40 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: *hugs*
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 7:43 pm
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@Sapar: i existed since 2010. i have seen kirby strike force, the lost kirby comic
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 7:44 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: Lost? You mean it's... DEAD? *n*
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 7:50 pm
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@Sapar: yeah
but it was AWESOME
heck my friend, Yoshi700, made an over 100 page hand drawn tribute to it and
HE NEVER POSTED THEM ONLINE
i am one of the two who read it.
Sapar, September 9th, 2013, 7:51 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: So kruel *n*
IT WAS SO YUNG ;n;
kirby knight 1000, September 9th, 2013, 7:53 pm
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@Sapar: ikr.
I remember one of the comments i made...
Sapar, September 9th, 2013, 7:53 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: Do tell
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 7:58 pm
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@Sapar: it went something like this:
"LAWLAWLAWLROFLMAOLOL
Apology!
Apology declined!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL"
Sapar, September 9th, 2013, 7:58 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: BRILLIANT
kirby knight 1000,September 9th, 2013, 8:02 pm
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@Sapar: yes, i had quite the vocabulary
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 8:03 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: UV KORSE
Guest,September 9th, 2013, 8:05 pm
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...you still need to update the Mokees.
Also, I began to notice Kirby's grouchiness during the Ignus fight (and that he did not apologize after Talzo and his crew retreated.)
kirby knight 1000, September 9th, 2013, 8:05 pm
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@Sapar: are you my swiss stepbrother?
Sapar,September 9th, 2013, 8:24 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: Nah, I am a fetus.
Tygah,September 9th, 2013, 10:12 pm
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Finally caught up on this!
Remember me, Ulty, A long time fan? :D
Well this was an interesting segment. I really did enjoy it a lot! Can't wait for the next segment, good sir!
Omega Kirby, September 10th, 2013, 9:57 am
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WHAT ABOUT THE MOKEES!?!?! WHAT ABOUT THEM!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?
Everyone, post I'm a mokee if you want the mokees back!!!
Omega Kirby, September 10th, 2013, 9:57 am
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I'm a mokee
kirby knight 1000,September 10th, 2013, 3:45 pm
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@Sapar: *puts in water filled jar*
there now you can grow
Sapar, September 10th, 2013, 4:24 pm
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@kirby knight 1000:*becomes flower*
I'm a Sugarman, but I'd marry a Mokee O.o
kirby knight 1000, September 10th, 2013, 5:03 pm
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@Sapar: can i be the wedding planner!?
Sapar,September 10th, 2013, 7:04 pm
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@kirby knight 1000: Why would I plan anything? *spontaneous marriage*
Kuribo (Guest),September 11th, 2013, 5:48 pm
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I'm a mokee!
Super Froakie 64 DS,September 12th, 2013, 12:42 pm
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I'm a mokee!
@TaterOfTheTot: Maybe they draw exactly like UY? Nah, they stole it.
SkyraTwilight812, September 12th, 2013, 5:37 pm
ReplyI loved this section
I've been reading this comic since somewhere around A Tear in the Fabric, and I have to say that this is my favorite part yet. the character development in Caiya and Kaxo was very well done, and it's nice to see Raize get some more personality to him. I never really understood Caiya's serious side that well, or how she felt about her other personality. I might be wrong, but it doesn't seem like her intelligent side has appeared much. I hope it shows up more often. Though I still won't be able to take her childish side seriously. It was interesting to see Kaxo's true personality, and hear his reasons for being like he is. I never really saw him as a jerk as much as a powerful fighter who sometimes got a little carried away. That would explain why the kirbies he's defeated are still alive.
As for you restarting Yoshi & Kirby, I'll have to check it out soon, as I never really read it.
And as a random note, I can't believe no one mentioned the song "Brother my Brother" during this segment. It fits the whole thing so well! Well, kind of.
DarkMario1000, September 14th, 2013, 12:45 pm
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Indeed, quite the long author comment
Too bad I'm not going to make such a long one.
But at least it explains more how Master of Puppets and its pages came to be.
I enjoyed this last segment of this chapter though…to at least answer the question. =p
Nekotive, May 27th, 2014, 5:04 pm
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What, nothing from Gigi?