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Description
"A brooding war veteran standing straight with pride on the edge of a cliff, stormy waves crashing against the alcove below as his hair bristles against his head with the bellowing wind, expression set in stone and unfaltering, back turned on the world as it turned its back on him. My, I do believe I've wandered into a cliche."
Meta Knight's already grim expression turned a shade darker at the sound of the voice, young and feminine with an air of masked and controlled malicious intent, almost tantalizing if the presence of the voice's bearer didn't make him involuntarily jolt with the leftover fear she had instilled in him.
"Miss Suzanna, what is it you need?" The knight used his company's full name, indicating he meant business and was not in the mood for idle chat, especially with her.
"You know I go by Susie, Meta," The woman answered, approaching his position on the cliff with elegant confident strides. She was still dressed in her usual outfit, hair rolling out the slit on the back of her helmet in waves. "I was just wandering around and, having stumbled upon this cute scenario, felt the need to express myself with a sentence long poetic prose,"
"You don't 'wander around,' Suzanna," Meta Knight responded with a clipped tone, seeing through his companion's elegant lie.
"Susie," Susie corrected again, "And you caught me. I was actually searching for you," A barely visible yet still present grin spread over her pale lips when Meta Knight shuddered slightly at her statement.
Meta Knight finally turned to face her, pale silver eyes, yellowed by his mask's filter, narrowed down at her. "What do you mean?" His voice had a threatening edge to it, but lacked a sense of authority. It was the tone of cornered prey.
"Just wanted your opinion on a few moral issues," Susie's chipper tone contrasted greatly with the established mood, smiling with a soft gentleness as the sky darkened and dark gray clouds were carried of in the wind towards the mainland.
Meta Knight stayed silent, giving Susie a wordless prompt to continue. "With the recent attack by those Jambandrans, you were once again influenced by dark power, and corrupted by it,"
"Where you going with this?" Meta Knight kept his voice level, and glare icy.
"What does it feel like, for a control freak like you, to lose all control?" Susie's cerulean colored eyes lit up with the same maniacal glee that clouds the vision of a mad scientist as he towers over his test subjects.
Meta Knight stayed silent, surveying Susie with cold, judging eyes. He tried to pry her apart and examine her ideologies with the same careful probing lens she utilized to see his own darkest fears and secrets. She wasn't wrong in calling him a control freak. He remembered each time he wound up as a play toy, a puppet, for some vile being to manipulate him to their own malicious ends.
First was when Yin Yarn, along with his two eccentric nieces, invaded Dreamland, subjugating him to their dark control. Susie herself was next, when his aerial defense against the Haltmann Works Company failed, she decided his strength was admirable, stripped him of his humanity, replacing his veins with wires and brain with circuit boards, transforming him into a mindless security protocol. He still had scars from where the bolt were later removed as permanent reminders of this encounter. Lastly, the influence of the Jamba Hearts, was the newest incident in which, as Susie put it, 'the control freak lost all control."
"It's not a feeling I'm comfortable sharing," Meta Knight tried to step aside from the inquires with respect in an attempt to uphold his moral code. He began walking away from the cliff side, cape billowing against his sides.
"Silly Meta," Susie laughed, the vibrant giggles rolling off her tongue with a calculated grace. "Just by saying that, you've unveiled just how much that bothers you. You clearly can't talk about it because you loathe that feeling. Being helpless, being controlled, is something you despise. Not saying that anyone would enjoy it. But for you, it's something else entirely. You have to be in control. Because, in your mind, how can you call yourself a strong and honorable knight if you can't even stand up to an evil influence."
Meta Knight stopped, a sense of finality washing over him. He knew Susie was proficient at reading people through their actions and words, but he never expected something to this level. In an instant, he remembered why she terrified him.
He kept his exterior calm, not fidgeting and not looking at Susie. He didn't want to see the victorious look on her face, having bested Dreamland's strongest knight. With the calculated efforts of a chess master, he planned a counterattack.
After a few seconds of muted quiet, with only the sound of the distant waves and a crying wind to fill the void caused by the lack of voices, he turned to face his adversary. "Now I have a question for you, Suzanna," Meta Knight refused to call her by that nickname, which itself was a cute but easily detectable mask to hide her cunning mind. He didn't acknowledge the advantageous position she had gained, standing tall, trying not to be intimidated by the fact she beat him in height, as well.
Susie didn't correct the knight with her preferred name this time around. She shrugged in a carefree manner, all while still keeping a close and examining eye on her foe. "Your move," she said, acknowledge the game at hand.
"Do you believe in moral depravity?" Meta Knight asked, voice curt, eyes sharper than his blade. "Do you believe it is possible to go beyond the point of no return? To be so evil, that nothing can redeem you?"
"Well, you're one to ask about moral depravity, being the anti-hero of this tale," Susie chuckled, cradling her chin between her thumb and index finger. Meta Knight stayed silent, demanding an answer.
"You got me. I don't know how to respond," Susie finally answered, posture slightly slumping in an admittance of defeat, "Of course, you'd want to believe there's good in everyone. It's human nature to think that. But there are plenty of horrible people out there, those who don't deserve to exist. Then again, you don't truly ever know if there could be something to make them change their tune."
Susie pulled at a strand of her rosy hair, kept in place by her two signature orange barrettes. "What about you? Do you have some wise remark you planned to throw back in my face?"
"I wasn't planning on throwing anything back in your face," Meta Knight said calmly. "Just wanted to hear your point of view on the matter,"
"That you've done," Susie replied, "Now I want to hear yours."
"I truly believe in the concept of moral depravity," The knight, face stony and unreadable, responded, "I wholeheartedly believe in it."
"There's something you and Pinky would disagree on."
"So it seems," Meta Knight said, knowing full well whom Susie was referencing. "True evil exists, and I've made it my mission to exterminate it."
"Well that's lovely," Susie replied in a nonchalant manner, clearly bored with Meta Knight's theatrics. "So, what's this about? You think I'm morally deprave?"
"No," Meta Knight shook his head, "I don't believe you are."
The two surveyed each other, analyzing with mutual cold stares.
Meta Knight broke the silence, the grasping attempt at control indicating anything but, "Which is the only reason I'm not at your throat. Kirby deemed you as someone to help, and I agree with that sentiment. However, your prideful attitude draws conflict, and your attempts to put me out of my comfort zone are not appreciated. So, I ask you to leave me be," With that final statement, he whirled around on his heels, beginning the trek back to the castle.
Susie stayed where she was, gazing at the knight's retreating figure. "They do say the prideful are the world's biggest hypocrites," She said softly to herself. She smiled. She was happy. Why wouldn't she be? She had won.

So here is the next character study, this time focusing on Meta Knight with a little bit of Susie. The issues tackled this time were control (for Meta Knight) and moral depravity (for both Meta Knight and Susie). I liked the idea of them interacting, since they have a very antagonistic relationship. The setting is the same as for the Kirby-Magolor one, as it provided a nice juxtaposition in tone. The previous one was a lot more light hearted as a couple friends discussed life views. This one, however, is a lot more dark and moody, as two people who barely tolerate each other (at least on Meta's part; Susie is more lax) try to analyze each other like people playing chess. The time frame, as you could have guessed, is a little bit after Star Allies.

Description
"A brooding war veteran standing straight with pride on the edge of a cliff, stormy waves crashing against the alcove below as his hair bristles against his head with the bellowing wind, expression set in stone and unfaltering, back turned on the world as it turned its back on him. My, I do believe I've wandered into a cliche."
Meta Knight's already grim expression turned a shade darker at the sound of the voice, young and feminine with an air of masked and controlled malicious intent, almost tantalizing if the presence of the voice's bearer didn't make him involuntarily jolt with the leftover fear she had instilled in him.
"Miss Suzanna, what is it you need?" The knight used his company's full name, indicating he meant business and was not in the mood for idle chat, especially with her.
"You know I go by Susie, Meta," The woman answered, approaching his position on the cliff with elegant confident strides. She was still dressed in her usual outfit, hair rolling out the slit on the back of her helmet in waves. "I was just wandering around and, having stumbled upon this cute scenario, felt the need to express myself with a sentence long poetic prose,"
"You don't 'wander around,' Suzanna," Meta Knight responded with a clipped tone, seeing through his companion's elegant lie.
"Susie," Susie corrected again, "And you caught me. I was actually searching for you," A barely visible yet still present grin spread over her pale lips when Meta Knight shuddered slightly at her statement.
Meta Knight finally turned to face her, pale silver eyes, yellowed by his mask's filter, narrowed down at her. "What do you mean?" His voice had a threatening edge to it, but lacked a sense of authority. It was the tone of cornered prey.
"Just wanted your opinion on a few moral issues," Susie's chipper tone contrasted greatly with the established mood, smiling with a soft gentleness as the sky darkened and dark gray clouds were carried of in the wind towards the mainland.
Meta Knight stayed silent, giving Susie a wordless prompt to continue. "With the recent attack by those Jambandrans, you were once again influenced by dark power, and corrupted by it,"
"Where you going with this?" Meta Knight kept his voice level, and glare icy.
"What does it feel like, for a control freak like you, to lose all control?" Susie's cerulean colored eyes lit up with the same maniacal glee that clouds the vision of a mad scientist as he towers over his test subjects.
Meta Knight stayed silent, surveying Susie with cold, judging eyes. He tried to pry her apart and examine her ideologies with the same careful probing lens she utilized to see his own darkest fears and secrets. She wasn't wrong in calling him a control freak. He remembered each time he wound up as a play toy, a puppet, for some vile being to manipulate him to their own malicious ends.
First was when Yin Yarn, along with his two eccentric nieces, invaded Dreamland, subjugating him to their dark control. Susie herself was next, when his aerial defense against the Haltmann Works Company failed, she decided his strength was admirable, stripped him of his humanity, replacing his veins with wires and brain with circuit boards, transforming him into a mindless security protocol. He still had scars from where the bolt were later removed as permanent reminders of this encounter. Lastly, the influence of the Jamba Hearts, was the newest incident in which, as Susie put it, 'the control freak lost all control."
"It's not a feeling I'm comfortable sharing," Meta Knight tried to step aside from the inquires with respect in an attempt to uphold his moral code. He began walking away from the cliff side, cape billowing against his sides.
"Silly Meta," Susie laughed, the vibrant giggles rolling off her tongue with a calculated grace. "Just by saying that, you've unveiled just how much that bothers you. You clearly can't talk about it because you loathe that feeling. Being helpless, being controlled, is something you despise. Not saying that anyone would enjoy it. But for you, it's something else entirely. You have to be in control. Because, in your mind, how can you call yourself a strong and honorable knight if you can't even stand up to an evil influence."
Meta Knight stopped, a sense of finality washing over him. He knew Susie was proficient at reading people through their actions and words, but he never expected something to this level. In an instant, he remembered why she terrified him.
He kept his exterior calm, not fidgeting and not looking at Susie. He didn't want to see the victorious look on her face, having bested Dreamland's strongest knight. With the calculated efforts of a chess master, he planned a counterattack.
After a few seconds of muted quiet, with only the sound of the distant waves and a crying wind to fill the void caused by the lack of voices, he turned to face his adversary. "Now I have a question for you, Suzanna," Meta Knight refused to call her by that nickname, which itself was a cute but easily detectable mask to hide her cunning mind. He didn't acknowledge the advantageous position she had gained, standing tall, trying not to be intimidated by the fact she beat him in height, as well.
Susie didn't correct the knight with her preferred name this time around. She shrugged in a carefree manner, all while still keeping a close and examining eye on her foe. "Your move," she said, acknowledge the game at hand.
"Do you believe in moral depravity?" Meta Knight asked, voice curt, eyes sharper than his blade. "Do you believe it is possible to go beyond the point of no return? To be so evil, that nothing can redeem you?"
"Well, you're one to ask about moral depravity, being the anti-hero of this tale," Susie chuckled, cradling her chin between her thumb and index finger. Meta Knight stayed silent, demanding an answer.
"You got me. I don't know how to respond," Susie finally answered, posture slightly slumping in an admittance of defeat, "Of course, you'd want to believe there's good in everyone. It's human nature to think that. But there are plenty of horrible people out there, those who don't deserve to exist. Then again, you don't truly ever know if there could be something to make them change their tune."
Susie pulled at a strand of her rosy hair, kept in place by her two signature orange barrettes. "What about you? Do you have some wise remark you planned to throw back in my face?"
"I wasn't planning on throwing anything back in your face," Meta Knight said calmly. "Just wanted to hear your point of view on the matter,"
"That you've done," Susie replied, "Now I want to hear yours."
"I truly believe in the concept of moral depravity," The knight, face stony and unreadable, responded, "I wholeheartedly believe in it."
"There's something you and Pinky would disagree on."
"So it seems," Meta Knight said, knowing full well whom Susie was referencing. "True evil exists, and I've made it my mission to exterminate it."
"Well that's lovely," Susie replied in a nonchalant manner, clearly bored with Meta Knight's theatrics. "So, what's this about? You think I'm morally deprave?"
"No," Meta Knight shook his head, "I don't believe you are."
The two surveyed each other, analyzing with mutual cold stares.
Meta Knight broke the silence, the grasping attempt at control indicating anything but, "Which is the only reason I'm not at your throat. Kirby deemed you as someone to help, and I agree with that sentiment. However, your prideful attitude draws conflict, and your attempts to put me out of my comfort zone are not appreciated. So, I ask you to leave me be," With that final statement, he whirled around on his heels, beginning the trek back to the castle.
Susie stayed where she was, gazing at the knight's retreating figure. "They do say the prideful are the world's biggest hypocrites," She said softly to herself. She smiled. She was happy. Why wouldn't she be? She had won.

So here is the next character study, this time focusing on Meta Knight with a little bit of Susie. The issues tackled this time were control (for Meta Knight) and moral depravity (for both Meta Knight and Susie). I liked the idea of them interacting, since they have a very antagonistic relationship. The setting is the same as for the Kirby-Magolor one, as it provided a nice juxtaposition in tone. The previous one was a lot more light hearted as a couple friends discussed life views. This one, however, is a lot more dark and moody, as two people who barely tolerate each other (at least on Meta's part; Susie is more lax) try to analyze each other like people playing chess. The time frame, as you could have guessed, is a little bit after Star Allies.