So there's something I want to say, just so I can feel confident that it's been said. Come what may, I want this to be stated for future reference.
I really, really, really, really do hope K. Rool makes it in as DLC. He isn't my most-wanted character - that'd be Wonder Red - but he is a very close second. He's my most-wanted character that, I feel, has a realistic shot. The ballot has shifted favour in our way in a manner I didn't think was even possible, short of K. Rool himself returning to the DKC series. This is a big deal for us, and whatever comes of it, I just want to say I'm extremely proud of everybody that did their damnedest to make this a reality.
If K. Rool doesn't get in, I won't lie, I will be very disappointed. I didn't think I'd be this emotionally invested in the ballot: since July '14, I felt totally content with the roster. I was happy to just wait out the ballot and rest easy with whatever the result turned out to be. But, damn it all, I can't help myself - I just love the fat kroc too much to go down without a hell of a fight!
If Shovel Knight (to cite the most recent wrench in the mercurial machine that is the Super Smash Bros Fighter Ballot) makes it in as a DLC character, I will be disappointed. This isn't because I dislike Shovel Knight as a character (I would definitely play him if he was in the game), or even due to a sense of "my character is more deserving than your character". If Shovel Knight makes it in, I will respect that it is because of his own merit as a character. But I will be disappointed. I will be disappointed because, honestly, my interest in the character is utterly neutral. I have no strong opinion on him either way. I will be happy for his fans if he makes it in, I will go to the thread and congratulate them with all due sincerity, but I will be disappointed. Shovel Knight doesn't "represent" anything to me, he isn't "emblematic" of Sakurai's mentality or his consideration of the fans: I just, on a personal level, feel he isn't a character I'm particularly interested in.
Truth be told, there are many character I would like to see. There are also many characters I would be fairly tepid about if they were revealed, if the reveal came at the cost of K. Rool. I love Dixie Kong as a character, I think she'd be a swell character in Smash, and again, I'd play her if she was in the game. But she isn't the character I hope to see right now. This may come off as utter blasphemy, considering the threads that I run, but I'd even be disappointed if Tiki or Anna (somehow) made it in. I must confess, I'd even be a tad saddened if Wonder Red made it in. It would be a Pyrrhic victory: the sweet taste of my favourite character in Smash would be embittered by the recollection that K. Rool didn't make it this time.
I would even go so far as to say I'd rather see Ridley or Isaac than a few of these characters. Again, this isn't to do with some cosmic sense of justice or who "deserves" to be in Smash: it's just that it'd make me very happy to see fans of the aforementioned characters finally get their due in Smash. When you've been fighting for over a decade for your favourite character, well, that's worth something. I think anybody with that kind of tenacity, that extent of devotion, tempered with an honest respect for other characters and a mutual sense of camaraderie, is a hell of a noble fighter. That isn't to say I'd maintain these characters possess a more profound moral worth than other characters, or that it's amoral to support your favourite characters despite the character being "undeserving" for whatever reason, but it'd be so damn sweet to see their fans happy.
Come what may, we did a damn good job (if I may be so bold as to include myself in this wee shindig, since I'm a relatively recent addition to the Kutthroat Krew). Even if K. Rool doesn't make it into Smash this time, we've got a much bigger, maybe even more important, intent to get to: K. Rool back in DKC where he belongs. If we can achieve that, I'd say it's a job well done. If this ship goes down, then by all the salt in the briny deep and all the bananas in Donkey Kong's hoard, I'm going down with it!