User:LadyLameness/Kimmalyn

{/{character |image=Kimmalyn.PNG |titles=Callsign: Quirk |world=Detritus |books=Skyward }}{/{update|book=Starsight}} {/{spoilers|book=Starsight}}

Kimmalyn (Callsign: Quirk) is a member of the DDF and pilot number six in Skyward Flight. She hails from Bountiful Cavern, is the daughter of current DDF AA gunners, and the great-granddaughter of the assistant quartermaster from the old Antioch gunship in the Defiant Fleet.

Kimmalyn initially chose the callsign Quick, however, she changed it to Quirk after it was misremembered by multiple members of her flight.

Although she initially quit the DDF flight program following the death of Hurl, Kimmalyn is reinstated as a full pilot following the Battle of Alta Second.

Appearance and Personality

Kimmalyn has tan brown skin and long, curly black hair. She spends time on her appearance and is in general, a very neat person. She has a slight accent, that is likely common to her home cavern, Bountiful Cavern, and has a tendency to use old fashioned turns of phrases, likely with the intent to confuse others.

“Kimmalyn had the soul of a smart aleck, but the upbringing of a polite society girl.”

—Description of Kimmalyn by Spensa

She is a very energetic and excitable person, who can sometimes come across as silly to others. She is not shy with physical affection even with people she does not know, and is a cheerful and friendly person. Kimmalyn enjoys life's small pleasures and is perky and upbeat.

She is genuinely kind and considers others well-being as much as her own. She will willingly decrease her comfort of living to help increase another's, so that they do not have to carry discomfort themselves. She is perceptive about her friends and will specifically check in with them if something seems wrong, and will do what she can to help. She does not shy away from bringing up sensitive topics, however, is sympathetic and empathetic when discussing issues.

Despite this, Kimmalyn does not always recognize when she enables bad behavior in others. She is quick to follow orders, even from those who do not necessarily have authority to give them. She frequently uses the phrase, 'bless your stars', however, the intention behind her comments can range from fondness to mockery. Kimmalyn uses subtle and confusing language when insulting others, so they do not catch on to her intention. This is a trait she has picked up from living in Bountiful Cavern where it is considered rude to be overtly insulting, but acceptable if veiled with politeness and obscurity.

Kimmalyn's confidence is shaken during her time at flight school. Despite her talents in long distance sniping, her poor performance in flying leads her to repeatedly criticize herself to her classmates, even when they are praising her improvements. The death of Hurl further erroded Kimmalyn's trust in her abilities, believing that her friend's death was from her own failure, causing her to leave the DDF. Hurl's death fueled Kimmalyn's feelings of inadequacy leading her to question her sniper skills and cause distress when put in another situation that required her to make a difficult shot.^{[citation needed]} Kimmalyn's confidence in both flying and sniping likely improved following the Battle of Alta Second as she rejoins the DDF and becomes a full pilot.

Religiosity

Kimmalyn is religious and often makes up sayings, attributing them to the Saint. She justifies a majority of her actions through these sayings and also uses them to obscure insults. Though offered suggestions by her fellow cadets, she does not consider using them. Kimmalyn vehemently disagreed with the suggestion she use the callsign: Saint, when it was suggested.

History

Kimmalyn is from Bountiful Cavern and the daughter of AA gunners. She was trained on the smaller AA guns by her father prior to flight school, though it is unclear when she began her training. Part of her father's training involve a mushroom that resembled a squirrel.

She did not plan to take the entrance exam for flight school but was approached by DDF recruiters who wanted to see a demonstration of her weaponry skills. Once seeing her abilities, they encouraged her to apply for the DDF and sit the entrance exam. After passing the exam, Kimmalyn was placed in Skyward Flight under the tutorledge of Cobb. She was roomed with the other female members of her flight, with the exception of Spensa, who was denied accommodation. Before it became known that Spensa would not be rooming with them, Kimmalyn offered to switch out sleeping arrangements with the other girl every second night so that Spensa would not have to always sleep on a cot instead of a bed.

On the first day of flight school, Kimmalyn ran into, and befriended Spensa, shortly after leaving the elevator from Igneous. The two girls were the first to arrive at the classroom, introducing themselves to their classmates when they arrived. When Jorgen arrived and ordered Skyward Flight to attention, Kimmalyn immediately jumped to action, however, in her excitement, she saluted Jorgen with both hands while also standing on her toes. Jorgen harshly criticized her, leading to Spensa jumping to Kimmalyn's defense. Kimmalyn, while initially hurt by Jorgen's comment, was pleased by Spensa's response.

Like many of the other members of Skyward Flight, Kimmalyn crashed her mockpit during their first lesson by accidentally misusing her control sphere. When the lesson was interrupted by a Krell attack, Kimmalyn, along with the rest of Skyward Flight, were ordered to take to the sky and line up close to the battle to deceive the Krell into thinking there were more pilots ready to join the conflict. When Krell attacked the group, she maneuvered herself away from her flightmates so that she could line up a clear shot with her destructors, firing upon and destroying the Krell that had targeted Jorgen. Once back at the DDF base, the other members of Skyward Flight praised her on her shooting, though she did not know how to react to the compliments.

The next day, when Kimmalyn noticed that Spensa did not seem to be leaving with the group during lunch, she attempted to stay behind to see what was wrong. She was stopped by Cobb who explained to her the situation. After Cobb mentioned to her that the other women had forgotten her lunch Kimmalyn, snuck food back with her from the mess hall to pass on to Spensa. When the class resumed, the cadets began testing out the weapons functions on their mockpits. After allowing the cadets to attempt to shoot targets with their destructors, Cobb ordered Kimmalyn to demonstrate how effectively the weapons could be used. When the class attempted dogfighting after her demonstration, Kimmalyn's mockpit was destroyed almost immediately.

During the light-lance ring game Kimmalyn crashed on the first round, on the fourth ring, being the second person to lose out after Bim. Following the lesson, Kimmalyn returned from getting a drink just in time to hear that Spensa was the daughter of Chaser. Although initially shocked, she approached Spensa the next day to talk to her. Kimmalyn was not put off by the revelation and admired Spensa's courage in standing up against the backlash she had received because of her father's actions.

A few days later, Skyward Flight was once again sent into battle against the Krell, this time fighting alongside full pilots. During the battle, Kimmalyn attempts to help Morningtide by sniping the Krell that were chasing her, however, was ultimately too late and by doing so left herself exposed to Krell attack with no wingmate nearby. Although Spensa initially wanted to go and help her, Jorgen ordered her to help Bim, going to help Kimmalyn himself. Kimmalyn survived the battle, however, lost two of her other flightmates: Bim and Morningtide.

The next morning, Kimmalyn arrived late to class having stopped in the bathroom on her way to the classroom. Having likely spent the time crying and considering if she wished to stay with the DDF, Kimmalyn eventually made her way to the classroom, taking her seat with the intention of eventually decided to proceed to the classroom where, to the surprise of her teacher, she continuing the program.

After exploding during a training exercise, Nedd prodded Kimmalyn, teasing her about the crash and provoking a polite but moderate response from the woman. Later, during her solo run, Kimmalyn successfully managed to IMP a Krell ship without crashing. Despite the praise she received by Spensa, Kimmalyn was focused on the negatives of her flying until Spensa managed to successfully distract her through a discussion about insults.

Later, Kimmalyn and Skyward Flight took to the sky in their Poco's for a debris tagging exercise. After doing her run with Arturo, Kimmalyn shot down several pieces of debris that had been ignored by Nedd and FM who were up next, earning her a warning from Cobb about showing off. When the shipyard began falling, Kimmalyn, Nedd, and Spensa accidentally split from the rest of the flight, with Spensa picking up a tail. Kimmalyn and Nedd helped destroy and scatter Spensa's tail before the three went to try and rejoin the others. When Nedd peeled away to chase his brothers into the shipyard, Kimmalyn left Spensa to chase him, not confident in her ability to navigate inside the shipyard.

The next week, Kimmalyn, along with FM and Hurl, devised a plan to sneak Spensa into their dormitory for the evening. Following the day's lesson, Kimmalyn and FM retired to their bunks before dinner, claiming to be unwell. Kimmalyn lead Spensa to their room, meeting up with FM near the door and smuggled Spensa inside where she found blankets piled as a makeshift bed and food waiting for her. As the girls waited for Hurl to return, Kimmalyn teased FM about her ramblings about the militaristic Defiant culture. The four friends chatted as the night progressed, coming up with, and naming, silly flight patterns.

After a later training session, Skyward Flight was called to action to help defend against a Krell attack. The flight took up position near one of Alta's AA guns away from the main fight to wait as backup. After the flight was given the green light to engage, Kimmalyn found herself being swarmed by Krell and called for aid. Despite the best efforts of her teammates, the Krell kept locking onto Kimmalyn even after being driven away, causing the cadet to panic and fly erratically to try and lose them. Spensa managed to draw the Krell away from Kimmalyn, leading them to chase her instead. Free from her tail, Kimmalyn maneuvered herself above the fray to get out of range. In an effort to save Hurl, Kimmalyn tried to shoot down her persuers, however, missed her target. Moments later, Hurl's wing was destroyed by destructor fire and her ship plummeted for the planet, leading to her death.

Following the battle, Kimmalyn went to Cobb, expressing her wishes to leave the cadet training program. After spending the night thinking over her decision, at Cobb's insistence, she reaffirmed her decision the next day in front of the rest of her flight. Although they tried to convince her to stay, Kimmalyn stayed firm in her choice.

Abilities

“Kind of like trying to hit the floor with a rock, sir. They aren’t even moving. ”

—Kimmalyn when asked to demonstrate during target pratice

Kimmalyn is highly knowledgeable about piloting and starfighters, having achieved the rank of pilot.{/{book ref|sky2}}

She is an expert shooter who specializes in long distance snipping of moving targets, a result of being trained on the DDF AA guns prior to flight school. Even as a cadet, she was far more skillful with destructors than a majority of DDF pilots due to her ability to target and destroy moving objects, with most other pilots only having used the guns long range against stationary units. She is aware of her skill with shooting, however, is either not used to praise from others or just unsure as to how to accept it.

Kimmalyn is not a strong flyer, however, has improved over time.{/{book ref|sky2}} She has trained to fly in both atmosphere and a vacuum.{/{book ref|sky2}} As with her flying skills, her dogfighting skills have likely improved with practice.

Relationships

Spensa

“'Remember? The first day we met? You told me to take a deep breath, reach up…'

'Pluck a star,' Kimmalyn whispered.

”

—Spensa encouraging Kimmalyn during the Battle of Alta Second

Kimmalyn and Spensa are close friends. Kimmalyn is not put out by the other women's strong personality, or her temper. She will follow Spensa's lead, including Spensa's bullying of Jorgen. Kimmalyn sees no issue with Spensa's actions against Jorgen in the light-lance game, praising her for her conduct.

Kimmalyn is aware of who Spensa's father and has heard the stories about him. Although she is, at first, shocked to find out Spensa's parentage, she does not treat Spensa differently after the revelation, nor does she shy away from the topic or Spensa's anger. She is impressed by Spensa's ability to stand up against the rumors and admires Spensa's courage. She sees Spensa's fears of being weak as natural and encourages her to share her feelings with her teammates and rely on them.

Spensa quickly becomes protective of Kimmalyn, jumping to the women's aid when she is harshly criticized. During flight school, Spensa is aware that Kimmalyn is nervous about her poor flying ability. Spensa feels anger on her friends behalf, irritated that Kimmalyn has to so often feel like a failure for her flying ability, when she could instead gain further confidence if she was permanently in a sniper role. It irritates S Spensa was not sold on the callsign, Quirk, and considered talking to Kimmalyn about it, though it is unclear if she ever did. She uses silly jokes and humor to help lift Kimmalyn's spirits about her flying ability.

Hurl

“I got her killed, Spin. You know that as well as I do... The one shot that mattered. That’s the one I missed. ”

—Kimmalyn explaining her departure from the DDF to Spensa

Kimmalyn and Hurl are friends and share a dorm room with FM during flight school. The three While rooming together, the three would come up with silly flight maneuvers they could name after each other. At some point, Hurl taught Kimmalyn wall-ball, though Kimmalyn seemed to prefer watching her friends play than participating.

Kimmalyn believes she is at fault for Hurl's death as she was unable to shoot down Hurl's pursuers right before her death. She is strongly affected by Hurl's death and following the battle requests to be dismissed from the DDF. Kimmalyn's confidence in her abilities is shaken following the incident and she becomes anxious and unsure when faced with another situation where her shooting could change the tide of battle.^{[citation needed]}

Nedd

“Nice explosion, Quirk. Seven out of ten. Try to spin your wreckage a little more next time you fall. ”

—Nedd teasing Kimmalyn during training

Nedd is aware of Kimmalyn's nervousness about her flying abilities during flight school, and would deliberately tease her so she could channel her stress at someone to let off steam. Nedd believes Kimmalyn is uptight, particularly during times of stress.

Quotes

We can do this. Just take a deep breath. Reach up. Pluck a star. That’s what the Saint says. - Chapter 6

That’s a damn near perfect line. Except for you, Quirk.” “Quick, sir,” Kimmalyn said—indeed, her ship had gone up maybe fifty feet above the rest of us. “And . . . I’m just gonna sit tight here, snug and happy I didn’t crash into anyone. As the Saint said, ‘Ain’t nothing wrong with being a little wrong once in a while.’ ” Ch 10

“Cobb told us you forgot to bring a lunch,” she whispered. Then she stood up and walked the other way, speaking loudly. “What a lovely view of the sky we have! As the Saint always said, ‘Good thing it’s light during the day, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see how pretty daytime is!’ ” Ch 13

“So,” she said, hovering beside my seat as I rested and drank from my canteen, “is that why you’re always so bellicose?” “Bellicose?” I asked, unfamiliar with the word. “So willing to seize the stars with one hand and shove them in your pocket,” Kimmalyn said. She leaned in, as if the next part were somehow naughty. “You know. Heated.” “Heated.” “Maybe even . . . once in a while . . . cross.” “Is my father why I’m such a mess of anger, bravado, and temper? Is the fact that they call him a coward the reason I walk around with my sword in hand, screaming that I’ll make a pile of everyone’s skulls, then stand on that to help me behead the people who were too tall for me to reach?” Kimmalyn smiled fondly. “Bless my stars?” I asked her. “Every single one of them, Spensa. Every single bouncing star.” “Well, bless you for standing up straight,” she said, then put up her fists. “Pride is a virtue in those who make it one.” Ch 16

"Instead, puffy eyes and all, Kimmalyn raised her chin.

Cobb nodded toward her seat, and she strode over—a model of Defiant poise—and sat down. In that moment, she seemed more like a warrior than I’d ever been.20 "

“Bless your stars,” Kimmalyn said. “But touch my pie, and I’ll rip your fingers off.” She blushed when she said it, and lifted her hand in front of her mouth.21

“Now dear,” Kimmalyn said, “far be it from me to offer criticism. But that was hardly an imaginative cuss. I’ve heard that word, oh, every day since leaving Bountiful Cavern! Where I come from, you need to be circumspect. ”

“What’s the point of that?”

“Well, you can’t have people realizing you’re disparaging them. That would be embarrassing!”

“So you insult people…without insulting them?”

“It’s our way. But don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense to you—personally, I think it’s inspiring that you’re comfortable being the way you are. It must have given you so many chances to learn life’s lessons!”

23

“Jorgen,” Kimmalyn said, “I just want to let you know how you’re regarded as a flightleader. As the Saint is Goodly and Just, I’m certain you’ll be rewarded with everything you deserve in life!”

23

“We asked for extra,” Kimmalyn said, “but they sent soup, because they think we’re sick. Still, ‘You can’t ask for more when you already have it,’ as the Saint said.”

27

“A Quirk maneuver would involve complimenting the enemy while you shoot them,” FM said, grinning. “ ‘Oh! You make lovely sparks when you die! You should feel very proud of yourself. Good job!’ ” 28

A flash of light from a charged destructor sliced the air above us, firing toward the ships tailing Hurl. And missed. 32

“How many times has one of you had to pull out of a fight to come and save me? I’m putting you all in danger.” 33

Trivia

• The phrase 'bless your stars', commonly used by Kimmalyn, is likely based on the southern US phrase, 'bless your stars'. Both phrases are used in a variety of circumstances to convey expressions that range from sincerity to mockery.

https://coppermind.net/wiki/File:BlessYourStars.PNG

Notes

{/{partial}} {/{Skyward}}