So yeah. I've been here a few weeks now, so I figure I might as well write one of these up to serve as a more detailed introduction to me and what I do.

Hi, I'm Kirby!

I've been 'round the block on the Internet for quite some time now, getting my start with Runescape and the GameFAQs forums all the way back in 2005 before really getting going by joining the Mario Fan Games Galaxy in 2006. That's where I finally started going by the moniker Zero Kirby, and where I got the title of "local psychic" when one of the mods decided to have a little fun and edit a bunch of posts into sesquipedalian nonsense. It's also where I got my start in programming in Game Maker, and while I've never really finished a project that I can really say I'm proud of, and I've since moved on from the site itself, it's where I met some of my closest internet friends and I genuinely don't think I'd be the person I am today without it.

It's also technically where I became aware of the furry fandom because there were some members who were furries. I actually had a Sonic OC that I used to represent myself... for all of a couple months, because he was just a lame recolour I used as an "author" character for a sprite comic, because I was young, and that's what everybody who made a sprite comic did at the time. Fortunately I grew out of that. But I wouldn't really consider that my first fursona, and my next reference was just a cartoony caricature of myself. No, my path to truly becoming a furry myself was cemented sometime in 2014, when I came up with Celectrique. I was bored, working a graveyard shift in a gas station, and had some spare receipt paper from no sales that would just get thrown out. I came up with two different characters on the spot, trying to challenge myself to experiment with my artstyle - the first was Celeste, an electricity-based superhero, and the second was Sky, a detective who was an anthropomorphic dog. My first original furry character. Of course, I didn't call them a furry character, I called them an "anthro," because, y'know, that's so different.

I still didn't have a fursona though. Though my self-reference did evolve over the years, he remained very human. So it was until 2022, when zehlua asked me what my favourite animal was. I answered with "cheetah," and just like that, they'd drawn me as one. And much like how I liked the title of "local psychic" and ran with it, I really liked the idea of making my cartoon character a cheetah version of me. Because after all, why not? He's a cartoon character. I can make him whatever I want. I wouldn't really self-label as a furry until late 2024, mainly out of some misguided idea that I would be seen as a weirdo by some of my closest friends. Eventually, I realized that was silly, and that anybody who would really be bothered by me referring to myself as a furry wasn't worth being friends with, and what do you know, none of my friends were bothered by it. Funny how that works.

So what sort of things do I like?

Playing cards is the big thing. I have a collection of at least a couple hundred decks, and I love themes based off of them. Why did I pick a Seven of Diamonds to represent myself? Well, when I was in high school, I wrote a comic that was all about the wacky hijinks that exaggerated versions of me and my friends got into. At one point, I tried making it more "serious" by introducing a magical deck of cards, where each card gave its holder a different magical power. I wanted super-speed, and the card for that happened to be the Seven of Diamonds. While that experiment failed catastrophically, the card stuck. I figure it's at least more unique than picking the Ace of Spades or the King of Hearts, or other "famous" cards. Though I suppose sevens can be infamous in and of themselves as a component of "the Wheel." Relatedly, I'm a huge gamer. Video games, board games, I'll play 'em all. I've gotten real big into deckbuilding games, with my favourites right now being DC Deck-Builder thanks to its ease of play, and Millennium Blades due to its incredible scope and theme.

If we want to talk favourite video games, at the top of the list is Metroid Prime. It's only contested by its sequel. Metroid Prime was my first Metroid game, back when I only knew Samus from Super Smash Bros., and only as "neat robot lady, I guess." (Yeah, I actually read the trophy descriptions. They were fun!) And it's really the first game where I started seeing games as more than just "get to the end" experiences. The exploration, the lore, the environments, the experience - it provoked an awareness of the medium I hadn't felt before. Aside from Prime, my other favourite games include Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Batman: Arkham City, and most recently, Outer Wilds, which was an incredible experience I'm sad I can't experience for the first time again.

And what am I working on?

I mentioned Celectrique up above - a superhero comic starring Celeste, who uses her electricity-based superpowers to protect her city of St. Hector from evil. She works alongside Inspector Skyler Miller, a talented detective who sees her talents as an asset. I've still gotta flesh out a lot of the details - and I'd also much rather share them in comic form! But I've been cookin' the idea for some time now, and I'm really hoping to get it off the ground.

My second big focus right now is a video game - Earthsoul Dragons. In it, you play as dragons fighting robots in a roguelike deckbuilding experience based off of, and you're probably gonna laugh, Paper Mario: Colour Splash. Y'see, even though I think it's a bad game, I feel like there was potential in there for something that could've been amazing. In fact, I was originally working on a fangame called Paper Mario: Showtime!! which I've since pivoted into becoming Earthsoul Dragons. Because I really don't want to get all those "NINTENDO IS GONNA SHUT YOU DOWN" messages, no matter how nonsensical they may be. Also, I was putting enough effort into it that realistically I should've been putting into an original project anyway.

Those are the two big things that I keep bouncing between and therefore am never making any real progress on. I have a terrible work ethic.

So, what can you expect to see from me?

Probably lots of artwork of Celectrique and Earthsoul Dragons, depending on what I'm working on. Also, goofy drawings I make of my fursona. I'm sure I'll eventually open up to doing art trades, because I've done them before in the past and they were fun, they're just not open now because I want to build my skillset a bit more.

You'll note in my profile info I mention sticking to SFW content. Look, I'm not one of those mega-prudes who is violently anti-NSFW and who picks fights with people who draw things they find weird/gross. I'm just not interested in drawing NSFW stuff personally, and I don't really have anything against those who do. (Well, unless you're a creep. But then it's because you're a creep.) Which is why I'll still favourite SFW pieces from and even watch artists who occasionally draw NSFW stuff. Cool art is cool art and I like cool art. I'm an adult, I know how to use the blocklist and the overall site toggle. Now at that point it's about whether people properly tag their stuff which can definitely be frustrating but whatever

Point being, I'm not about to tell anyone what they can and can't draw. I have better things to do than be angry that somebody I'll never meet in a town I'll never visit occasionally draws something I don't like.

Wow, that was a lot of text. Thanks for making it all the way to the end. Anyway, hopefully you'll enjoy my stuff. And I hope to see lots of cool stuff here myself!