Why I ship Kabula x Susie! (and why you might too)
Art by me! Super cool awesome lesbian background done by my girlfriend @princessrituals! I hope it grabbed your attention with how cute they are.
I'm writing a fic about how they get together and I realized i need to sell people on the idea of the ship first. I can't be the only one on the internet who ships it đ
So that's what this is for! A full explanation on why I'm a Kabusie shipper.
I need to talk about Kabula first since she really doesn't have much in terms of canon, so a lot of it gets into headcanon. However, I don't really like straying too far from canon, so all of my headcanons are inferred from what we do have.
Kabula
Most of this started when I was looking at Kabula's article on WiKirby and noticed that she has a mention of her personality!
It's kinda crazy how despite being a major character in the first Kirby game, we kinda get nothing of her. We get a single mention of her personality in a random Japanese magazine before the game was even released when it was stilled called Twinkle Popođ.
Kabula is revealed to be "aggressive" and has a desire to become a "big boss" someday. Another aspect of her character is her gender and identity as a woman. To explain what I think, I'll go over her 3 canon appearances.
In Dreamland, she's just a blimp with a Shotzo attached to her. The only reason we know she's a woman is because the manuals refers to her with she/her pronouns.
Side tangent but i really don't like when people say that's only because in real life, ships are refered to with she/her pronouns. Like Gim and Shotzo get to be sentient but Kabula can't?
The next time we see her in Super Star Ultra, she's not only massively upgraded from her first appearance, but she actually has a face! She has eyelashes that imply her femininity! And her nose cone is pink if that adds to anything. This is where it gets into headcanon since it isn't stated anywhere, but I think that Kabula really didn't like being seen as just a blimp. Barely anyone realized she was a woman. When she was being upgraded, she asks for a face so that she can be seen as more of a person than before. ESPECIALLY to be seen as a woman.
Then finally, she appears in Planet Robobot with a total upgrade. As mentioned before, she wanted to be a big boss someday and I think this upgrade fulfilled that dream! She's actually the only boss that needs the robobot armor to be defeated besides Star Dream. She also keeps her shark face in this game so that she can keep being seen as more than just a blimp.
Also I just love that Kabula is our trans icon!!! She's technically assigned Non-Binary since she's supposed to just be a blimp, but she identifies as female. I think it's really sweet she's trans in that way, even if it isn't traditional at all.
Finally, I wanna talk about Kabula's absence from the mainline games. I mean, all the other bosses in Dream Land get several canon appearances, but Kabula only gets 2 more. I see people online say that she's owned by Dedede. I don't think it's out of the question, but I don't see why Dedede wouldn't use Kabula more often if that were the case. I think it's interesting to have Kabula be Dedede's friend.
I think the reason she's absent from most mainline games is because she deliberately stays away from Kirby. I interpreted "aggressive" as also meaning she's mischievous, causing havoc and doing bad things for the fun of it. She knows Kirby would stop her if she tried anything. It also fits with her 3 canon appearances where Kabula was always ordered to fight Kirby (For holding sparkling stars, for defending the castle, and for ambushing Kirby respectively.)
But all of this aggression and evil acts is her way of dealing with loneliness and having no purpose, and she doesn't realize it. She thinks she wants to be a big and powerful because that's all she's ever really known. She doesn't have many friends in Dreamland either, both because she's seen as an emotionless blimp and because she's known for being mean and evil.
The closest thing she has to a friend is Dedede. I don't know how their relationship is. The following is what I think their relationship might be, but I'm not really strong on it so I'm open to discussing Kabula's and Dedede's relationship!
Kabula and Dedede could have been friends due to them both being evil during Kirby's Dream Land. We know that Dedede has various evil friends from Kirby's Adventure, including Whispy Woods and Kracko. I don't think it's too crazy to assume Kabula was apart of that evil friend group and just wasn't invited to Kirby's Adventure for some reason lmao. I like to think that Dedede around this time would basically go out partying and causing trouble with his friends.
Kabula probably never opened up to Dedede like a friend and I'm not sure if they would have many things in common besides being bad. After Revenge of the King, King Dedede reformed and put his days of being a bad guy behind him, so her and Dedede just grew apart leaving Kabula more alone than ever.
I also saw the idea of Kabula being like Dedede's daughter, which could also work! I'd love to hear more interpretations in this aspect of Kabula's identity.
Susie
Since this post is intended for Kirby fans, I won't go too into detail on Susie's story or personality since she is VERY popular and it'd be redundant to explain. I will explain a few headcanons I have about her since this ship is based on how I see both of them, but they are headcanons not too far off from canon. I don't really like making headcanons too far from official canon.
I don't think Susie really has any friends before or during the events of Robobot. She grew up in another dimension, so she didn't learn how to properly socialize with people. Then when she finally returns to her dimension and becomes the executive assistant of HWC. Since she's so high in the company, she never has the chance to develop a friend. Everyone sees her as their boss and she sees everyone as an employee. She feels the need to maintain her professional attitude at all times to set an example. This isn't to say she's entirely lonely. I think she has a few acquaintances. Mainly this random Haltworker in this one 3DS theme lmao.
Susie is also a huge silly dork too, but she usually doesn't show it. It can show through, like when she says "Buh-Bye" to Kirby, when she sings in front of Kirby and pretends that she didn't see him, that cute little hair flip she does when introducing herself. She literally says "Yippee!" when stealing Star Dream and thinks about how she totally looks like a cool corporate spy with her hand on her hip.
She'd obsess over her interests too! We know she likes fashion, shopping, and ice cream! I think you'd have to be pretty obsessed with ice cream if you decide to make a giant ice cream factory.
The point is, Susie really does have a lot of personality and energy, she just tries her best to suppress it since she's in her corporate mode 90% of the time. She also doesn't have an outlet for her hobbies and interests because she has no one to go to.
Why they are perfect for each other
On the surface level, Kabula wants to be upgraded and Susie wants to upgrade her. Kabula would love to be upgraded and mechanized because she wants to be a "big boss." Susie would also love to give her the upgrades since this is one of the only inhabitants who actively wants to be mechanized. Considering Kabula is already kind of a robot war machine, Susie could have found it fun to work on her.
But that's only what brings them together. Susie lets her professional attitude slip since Kabula isn't an employee (yet at least) and they both get excited talking about powerful upgrades. This is the first time Kabula has ever had a full conversation with someone. Susie even treats her like a person, not a machine. Susie validates Kabula's gender as well. She's definitely the most likely Kirby character to do so too since Susie just loves and respects robots! Of course, she would respect Kabula and her feelings!
Something to note is Kabula's feelings towards Susie and how she's a little envious of her. Susie is everything Kabula wants to be. Susie is strong, powerful, and a little mischievous. Susie is also the stunning image of femininity with pink hair, a petite curvy body, and is generally really cute. Ever since Kabula meets Susie, she feels a strong feeling to hang out with her more. In her head, she keeps thinking "SHE'S SO COOL!!! I WANT TO BE MORE LIKE HER!!!"
The two bond over being girly girls basically. I think it's mainly pushed by Kabula, who craves more attention and conversation after a lifetime of loneliness. But after the events of Robobot, Susie reciprocates that affection. Susie lost everything. She lost her company, her planet, and her father. Susie needs someone to support her now more than ever and It'd be really sweet if Kabula was that someone. Susie moves in with Kabula in her hangar.
Their relationship at this point is mutually beneficial. The biggest change is with Kabula who gets plenty of upgrades from Susie. Before, Kabula couldn't do much. She was a large blimp with a cannon. Even landing on the ground was awkward with her cannon in the way. She was built for combat, not living life. But now, Susie uses her expertise in robotics to give her all the upgrades she needs to live comfortably. A retractable cannon, retractable wheels, and extendable claw arm, and even a portable ice cream maker! But Kabula and Susie's favorite upgrade was replacing Kabula's painted face with a new hull which had a fully expressive face allowing her to feel more alive than ever before.
And of course, Susie loves this since she absolutely loves robotics. It reminds her of working on machines in the Access Ark and makes her feel more comfortable during a stressful period of her life. One of her favorite pastimes is making new parts for Kabula! A machine that lets Kabula make clothing, a gondola for her to transport people, a paint cannon to allow her to make art. Also they definitely gossip like girly girls during Kabula's upgrades that would be so fun.
I think it's really beautiful that they both improve each other's lives. Kabula gets to experience life much better with upgrades and Susie gets an outlet for her creative expression and technical skills.
Closing thoughts
Considering how little Kabula has canonically, there's surprisingly so much depth to this ship! Susie and Kabula compliment each other so well and support each other Even if you might not see them dating each other, I still think a friendship between them would be beautiful!
Overall, I think this ship is really cute. Both characters are lonely and socially awkward, but find each other and become girl friends, and then girlfriends. They help each other through their difficulties and bond over similar interests! Both of them become healthier people because of what the other does for them. I think after this, both of them become a little more reformed. Kabula isn't interested in being a bad guy anymore and Susie gains more appreciation for living life as a native.
As mentioned at the start, I'm currently writing a fanfic about Kabula and Susie. It's a retelling of the events in Kirby Planet Robobot but focusing on Kabula and Susie's relationship. A lot more happens in the fic than mentioned here.
If you're interested in the fanfiction, here's the link!
I might also post about Kabusie on this account more since I have a bunch of headcanons and I might even do some art.
If you're interested in either of those, follow this account! I hope I can share this obsession with at least a few more people.
