The Origins: Kirbithan and Co.

[kirbithan 1,764]

 

I thought of this media spot idea since folks were asking about how in the world I came up with “Kirbithan” and how it’s pronounced, so why not take 1,000+ words to give the VHL world an in-depth explanation? Plus I’ll also go over my player names as well! Not necessarily a write up anybody asked for, but I figured it’d be fun to have this all out there for future reference if needed.

 

So. . . why am I Kirbithan? Better known to most as Kirby. Well, the answer is right below. Oh, how tense it is. I hope you’re prepared! Without further ado. . .

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Yeah. That’s it. I wish the reasoning behind my username was more complex and thought-provoking, but it isn’t and again: that’s it. One day, sometime in 2020/2021ish, someone decided they wanted to be funny and edit Kirby Dach’s Wikipedia page to say his full name was Kirbithan Dach, implying that his parents actually named him something that ridiculous. It was promptly changed back soon after. Personally, I thought it was the peak of comedy for some reason, and since I didn’t really have a username that was used synonymously across the internet that wasn’t already taken by someone else, I jumped on the opportunity. Little did I know that would become my online identity. 

 

There’s also been some questions about Kirbithan’s pronunciation so I typically just say it’s if you just combined the names Kirby and Jonathan— Kirbi-than. It sounds so silly as I’m typing all this out but hey, it works. I also am a HUGE Kirby fan (the Nintendo character) and main Kirby in Super Smash Bros., so when I joined the VHL and others started to shorten my username to just Kirby, it was easy to start going by that since it felt natural, in a sense. 

 

Previously, I used a variety of usernames and none of them really stuck, but this one has and I’ve been using it ever since. So there you have it. The simple yet amusing origins of Kirbithan. Honestly, there could’ve been an alternate timeline where I was known in the VHL as something else other than Kirby had I not found that dumb meme so hilarious, which looking back, is kind of weird to think about since I can’t imagine going by anything else. Plus, when your username is consistent on multiple platforms, it’s easy for folks to find you and not get confused, especially in the VHL since we utilize both the forum and Discord.

 

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Onto my player names, starting with Lachlan Summers! Lachlan actually started out as an NHL 21 Be a Pro player, and I just chose a first name I was really fond of, being Lachlan, of course, and since I noticed the name was popular in Australia, I chose Australian as his nationality. As for the surname, I also wish the answer was more complicated, but I simply scrolled through all the play-by-play names that Chel offered and landed on Summers since I thought the entire name would sound great together. 

 

I guess this has evolved into a full player origin, because after I finished about two seasons of my Be a Pro, I converted my player into an original character (OC), and had already chosen Jordan Binnington as a render for him by then. His story differs a lot from his VHL counterpart, but since I don’t want to lull anyone to sleep, I won’t go too deep into the lore of it all. Then I joined the VHL and future Hall of Famer Lachlan Summers was born after tweaking his original story a bit to fit into the league’s narrative better. Now here we are, two and a half years later with his name being immortalized in the HOF. What a ride.

 

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My second and current player is Moscow Menace prospect and recently graduated Ottawa Lynx star, River Harrington. If you ask a few people (namely Sadie or Jacob), they’d tell you I actually came up with this player just a few months after joining the league and well, I committed to the bit. I believe the first time I mentioned this player was September 2022 and wrote a short .Com about him in January 2023, so I had very much planned ahead.

 

Like Lachlan, River also started off as an original character before being translated into the VHL, with Vince Dunn as a render. I had this vague idea of a really spoiled rich kid when first creating the character, so naturally I thought: what would the kid be named? River sounded elegant enough after browsing through a list, so that’s what stuck. Harrington was the same deal, just wanted a name that sounded relatively regal, and what better fit the bill than the last name of my favorite character in Stranger Things (which is a show that is taking forever to finish, holy) that had that same snobby rich kid personality in the beginning of the show before turning a new leaf. I thought it was fitting in that regard as well. 

 

River has blossomed into a solid player, and while not at the caliber I expected of him just yet, there’s plenty of room to grow as he slots into his role in Moscow, whatever that may be in the near future.

 

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I suppose that’ll do it (for now). As for what my next player name will be, I genuinely have no clue thus far. River’s got a long career ahead of him now that he’s got his rookie season with Moscow coming up in a few short weeks, and it’ll be a while before I even consider what direction I want to take my next player. I’ve definitely thrown around some prospective ideas but unlike how I was quick to settle on River, there hasn’t been any concrete decisions made yet and there probably won’t be for a while. 

 

To those who actually read all the way through, thank you for sticking around for what was essentially another Kirby Rambles-type media spot! I’ve been wanting to talk about the origins of my names here for a while now and decided now was a good time as ever. Catch you in the next one!

 

Spoiler

1,038 words to claim weeks of: (12/8) and (12/15)

 

[sadie 937]

10 minutes ago, kirbithan said:

I thought it was the peak of comedy for some reason

i mean you were right

[kirbithan 1,764]

week 2 claim: (12/15)

[Victor 11,009]

On 12/7/2024 at 10:32 PM, kirbithan said:

If you ask a few people (namely Sadie or Jacob), they’d tell you I actually came up with this player just a few months after joining the league and well, I committed to the bit. I believe the first time I mentioned this player was September 2022 and wrote a short .Com about him in January 2023, so I had very much planned ahead.

Love this. I usually have an idea on a name a few months before recreating, but Del Rocco actually I believe was an option for my previous comeback (which ended up being Podrick Cast), or maybe for the next player after Cast. So at least dating back to the S60s, maybe earlier!

[kirbithan 1,764]

44 minutes ago, Victor said:

Love this. I usually have an idea on a name a few months before recreating, but Del Rocco actually I believe was an option for my previous comeback (which ended up being Podrick Cast), or maybe for the next player after Cast. So at least dating back to the S60s, maybe earlier!

Honestly, it’s so intriguing to see when/how everyone comes up with player names annd ideas and I’d love to hear more explanations from folks. Del Rocco has clearly been a long time coming!! 

[Subject056 1,244]

I love a good origin story, this was very entertaining and enjoyable to read! Awesome article

[animal74 1,855]

Nice read! I love names in general so hearing the background of players' names is fascinating to me. You're inspiring me to maybe do my own write-up. Stay tuned...

 

Also a Harington... (albeit one less 'r')