Metadad

Metakirby is the family ship between Kirby and Meta Knight from the Kirby fandom.

Canon
It's unknown at what exact point Kirby and Meta Knight met, however their first known interaction was during the events of Kirby's Adventure where Meta Knight acted as both a helper and obstacle to Kirby in the latter's quest to reassemble the Star Rod, by aiding him with invincibility candies but also sending in his minions to fight him at some points before acting as the penultimate boss before Dedede while giving him a sword before the battle; presumably as means of strengthening Kirby against Nightmare. Later on they would majorly interact in the Meta Knight's Revenge sub-game of Kirby Super Star, where Meta Knight tries to overthrow King Dedede and take over Dreamland so he can install a more competent and honest government using the Battleship Halberd for that purpose. Kirby appears to destroy the battleship and thwart Meta Knight who goes through great lengths to try and stop Kirby, however despite all that Meta Knight remains polite to the end, giving Kirby a Sword so they can have a honorable duel before he is beaten and driven back. This game marked the first time where Meta Knight was a straight-up enemy of Kirby.

In Meta Knight's next major appearance, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, he attempts to protect the Mirror World from Dark Mind but winds up beaten and imprisoned by Dark Meta Knight; with Kirby rescuing him when he defeats Dark Meta Knight. Subsequently, Kirby goes to fight Dark Mind, the true mastermind behind Dark Meta Knight, with Meta Knight himself lending his sword to Kirby before parting ways after the Mirror World is saved. Next in Kirby's Epic Yarn Meta Knight is brainwashed by the sorcerer Yin-Yarn before Kirby defeats and frees him, apologizing for attacking him when freed and later aiding Kirby in the final battle. In Kirby's Return to Dreamland Meta Knight act as one of the four playable characters alongside Kirby, King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee acting for the first time as a full-time ally of Kirby. In Kirby: Planet Robobot Meta Knight is captured by the Haltmann Works Company when he tries fighting them and is turned into a cyborg before Kirby frees him, when Star Dream goes rogue Meta Knight aids Kirby by using the Halberd to help him shoot down the machine and when Star Dream is destroyed and explodes Meta Knight is heavily implied to have saved Kirby from plummeting to his doom from the atmosphere. Kirby Star Allies has Meta Knight corrupted by the Jamba Heart before Kirby and his friends free him and (optionally) recruit him to take down the Jambastion cult and Void Termina. Kirby Fighters 2 had Meta Knight return to his less noble and more villainous roots as he becomes desperate to defeat Kirby and prove his strength, teaming up with King Dedede as battle partners to do so; ultimately both fail even after empowering and corrupting themselves with the Masks of Dark Bonds. Kirby and the Forgotten Land has Meta Knight taking a backseat as his battle is optional due to taking the role of the protector of Waddle Dee Town.

The two's relationship so far is unknown, as while Meta Knight resembles Kirby's species it's not known if they are blood-related, whether they just happen to be from the space species or if Meta Knight's species simply resembles Kirby's. As for personal relationship, Kirby treats Meta Knight as a close friend, Meta Knight himself most often treats Kirby as a friend, too but occasionally is portrayed as an enemy; likewise there are some implications that Meta Knight might take a mentor-like role with Kirby due to assisting him in his adventures and his tendency to give the pink puffball a sword before almost every battle to have a fair duel. This relationship is a lot friendlier in the anime adaptation, where Meta Knight acts as an outright mentor to Kirby as both are Star Warriors having a big brother/father-like relationship with Kirby though he acts harsh and gives Kirby dangerous challenges to help him grow in strength.

Fanon
Metakirby was initially more popularly shipped in a romantic sense due to Kirby's vague age, with Kirby often portrayed as a girl; especially when both were portrayed as gijinkas (humanized versions). In recent years this portrayal has died down in favor of a father/son-like relationship especially given that many have seen that Kirby is stated to be a child while Meta Knight's portrayal leans more towards that of an adult.

Works usually portray Meta Knight as a step-father to Kirby who takes the young child in as his apprentice. This potrayal primarily takes after the anime's version of Meta Knight where he is a full-time friend and ally of Kirby as opposed to his more ambiguous canonical portrayal. Sometimes he instead will be portrayed as Kirby's birth father as a form of plot twist to deepen their relationship. Other characters might be portrayed romantically with Meta Knight to act as Kirby's parent as well, such as King Dedede or Galacta Knight.

Fanworks tend to ignore or downplay the antagonism Meta Knight has shown to Kirby over the years, though some do keep said cases intact but rework them into Meta Knight growing to see Kirby as his family instead of being friendly to him outright from the start. It's also common to combine both the anime and game portrayals of Meta Knight to write the family pairing, often using elements such as the backstory of the anime version to forge a deeper bond in stories or fanart.

The familial version of the ship has 146+ written works in AO3 and is fairly popular in the fandom and the site in general.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * Promotional artwork posted on the official Twitter account shows that Meta Knight (alongside King Dedede) delivers presents to Kirby on Christmas with Dedede as "Santa Claus".