#GK meta

[pinkpabli]

We can talk on how Ogata is out of his mind and that he is rotten inside but let's not forget that everything started because he thought his mother wasn't loved by his father and by killing her he hoped to be wrong.

[dotthings]

So this is it. Last episode of Gotham Knights.

Thank you to James Stoteraux and Chad Fiveash for a fantastic finale. And to all the writers and cast and crew who made this beautiful DC series.

Season one gave us a taste of all the places this could go and what this show could be and it was SO GOOD I'm sorry there won't be more of it. There's only a few DC live action TV series that have worked for me over the years, Gotham Knights is among them.

"Batman chose well. Gotham needs its Robin." I LOVE this. Carrie's mom trusting her to look after herself, to stay alive, having seen her daughter in action as Robin, and asking her daughter to go save lives and trusting her to survive in return.

Commissioner Soto!! Knew!!! So...maybe she was the Gordon analogue in this continuity. All this time.

What finally made Harvey give himself over to the Two Face personality, what finally made him fully snap -- HE DID IT TO SAVE HIS DAUGHTER AND THOUSANDS OF LIVES IN GOTHAM. This is a really brilliant re-imagining.

With Turner's parents, I got that there was more to the story. Batman was defending himself from assassins. I didn't expect this version to have Batman actually have killed them, because the Batman doesn't kill idea is so seminal in most continuities including this one--this Batman also had the do not kill code.

He's a precise highly trained fighter, who has a strong code about not killing. So in that fight, something went wrong, he was in deadly peril, or, in defending himself, did something he didn't intend to be a kill, but wound up killing them.

Misha Collins and Olivia Rose-Keegan are hitting it out of the park in all their scenes. Duela with Harvey, Duela with Two Face, two very different dynamics and both riveting.

Misha getting to play Harvey as a regretful father who wants to save his daughter and thousands of lives and make amends and then Misha getting to play completely unhinged scarred, murderous Two Face and Misha floors it in both directions.

GIVE HIM AWARDS I'M NOT KIDDING HE DESERVES NOMINATIONS.

Sadly, because it's the CW network and a superhero show, the critical awards people won't even look at it. But I'm betting industry folks will take note anyway. Bravo, Misha.

I didn't expect Turner to actually be dead, and that tactical team had French accents so I expected Henri Ducard. Still enjoyed that reveal at the end. Guessing they're going with the comics background as inspiration (and would put their own twists on it--and not Nolanverse.) Henri Ducard trained Bruce Wayne. He's not a good guy, but he helped Bruce. I like how this show's plan was to have him train his son too.

And Turner, who wants to live up to his father's legacy, becomes a legacy and inspiration for his friends, to Duela, to keep fighting for Gotham, like Bruce did, like Turner wanted.

I can only guess what the S2 plans were. It's hinting Turner becoming a new kind of Batman eventually, not sure by S2.

The Knights are going to be pissed he didn't tell them he's alive.

The Two Face and Duela stories I'm sure would be riveting.

Steph/Harper and Duela/Turner getting more development and drama. Harper enrolling at Gotham Academy. Cullen would get a boyfriend.

Beyond that, it's a wild card. Two Face likely as a significant villain, but perhaps one who goes after other villains, who ultimately acts to preserve Gotham. Maybe some Owl remnants would be in play?

As it stands, I'm grateful. I got to have this, as a DC fan. I didn't go into this solely as a Misha fan. The bulk of my perspective of this show was as a DC fan, and it was good and I am going to keep saying it was good.

I love the team, I love its beautiful, candle-lit, aged, gothic, old stones and hidden dark corners and dirigibles and pre-war towers Gotham style. It gave, in my opinion, what is the best filmed take on Harvey Dent I've ever seen. The most nuanced and compassionate and unhinged and heartwrenching and frightening and gloriously fun to watch.

And it gave me this amazing and wonderful version of Carrie Kelley's Robin and I think I will miss her most of all.

[found--family]

her attention to detail is next level! i wish only the best for her next creative endeavour 👕💕👗

[chibivesicle]

End of GK thoughts

I feel like I’m going back to the mindset I first had when I was reading GK and writing meta and going more with my gut. 

So, what did I think of the end of GK?

It was disappointing to say the least. 

Okay, I said it - moving on to other things . . . or you can read more reasons why it was disappointing to me.

What got me to lose interest as a reader (besides all sorts of IRL stuff) was that the last story arc was sloppy.  It had a vibe of it being far to rushed with too many loose threads and plot points that never got resolved. First off - the endings for the characters.

1.) Sugimoto and Asirpa return to Hokkaido - this was the one ending that I absolutely did not want to have happen.  This is further emphasized that indeed, Umeko never needed Sugimoto’s help which makes his entire premise - just dumb.  She took care of herself buddy and you ran away from things, just like you ran away from your burnt down house.  The MC’s entire rationale for the entire story was - utterly pointless.  To think that @goldenkamuyhunting and I wrote lots of metas about how Sugimoto was making a huge assumption that he needed to do this and never spoke to her in the flashback. . . .

2.) Many character deaths fell short or felt meaningless (and not in the futility of life sort of way).  Ushiyama, Hijikata, Ogata, Sofia . . . they all just sort of pathetically happened with very OOC moments for everyone except for Hijikata but it was still - meh. 

3.) Shiraishi using the gold he got to live out Boutarou’s dream - which seems OOC for him as well seeing that he was good friends Kiro and understood what he was fighting for.  To instead side with a Japanese convict’s more selfish dream was just weird.  Dude, Shiraishi was the one who really took the time to mourn Kiro’s death and thought of him in his youth on the river in a canoe . . . he was your friend man and you had a better understanding of his rationale than Sugimoto ever did. 4.) Tanigaki returns to his home in Akita with Inkarmat and they have lots of kids.  What about his debt to Huci?  We never saw that resolved, instead he lives happily ever after with a family that is even more marginalized due to the Matagi-Ainu combo?

5.) What happened to the tiger curse?  Not only with Tanigaki but Koito and Tsukishima.  Instead, Koito goes on to get that leadership position he wanted with Tsukishima in the 7th until is will be dissolved due to the end of WWII. 6.) Anyone who had a strong political/social justice opinion died - specifically non-Japanese charas.  I’m looking at Kiro - the native who died fighting the system while Asirpa and Ariko take on the more integrated native way to survive.  I’m sure they had a great time dealing with discrimination, poverty and all that stuff.  Watch the Indie film Ainu Mosir to see what that looks like in present day Hokkaido. I’m also looking at Sofia who never got full potential as a character.  Or even Wilk - who I’d still nominate as the worst father of the year for many years.  He may have been misguided with his plans e.g. people don’t behave like he does but he was still working for something for the native peoples.  I continue to waffle back and forth if this is a case of a Japanese creator not wanting to capture them well and thus doesn’t try or that he’s using the excuse of not being of those groups so he can’t depict them. 7.) The ending was all about Japanese people fighting over the future of Hokkaido with no input from those who live there.  And that was what made this really disappointing for me.  Asirpa lost most of her agency, deferring to follow whatever Sugimoto did.  Ariko was absent having been heavily wounded previous in the plot.  Kirawus was just there with Kadokura in the background. 8.) No one cared about Vasily - honestly, really - he was useless to the overall plot.  Again, a foreigner who’s continued existence was just not doing much of anything.  It would have been better if he died when Ogata shot him at the Japanese-Russian border. Now that I got that off my chest, I can drop my second point in no particular order.

The last story arc was meandering, unfocused, and wasted potential.  What I mean by this is that before the final arc, the manga had much tighter pacing and control.  The plot moved forward in such a way that things tied in neatly and kept the readers guessing what would be important to remember and what might be foreshadowing.  It really lost me at a time when it was hard to put in the effort.  I’m not sure what Noda and his editor were thinking - or not thinking, but it showed.  I know we can get tired of things and it makes it hard to focus on them or give them the love they deserve.  If Noda were having creative burnout - something that could totally have been worse due to the pandemic - than he should have gone on hiatus and restructure things.  The elements of the story that I really enjoyed were lost in the last arc - the sociopolitical element and the nuanced approach to characters who became very disposable at the end. 

As story like this needed to breathe at the end and it never got a chance to come up for air.  It just got smothered in a murder/kill fest of violence souring things for me.  I had entertained the thought of writing about how bummed out I was at Ogata’s ending, but I’ve realized it isn’t even worth it.  Noda, if you wanted Ogata to die, you should have stuck to your original plan on the ice floe.  Thanks.

The Karafuto arc had me hooked to read each new chapter.  I loved it and how much it made me think about the historical and political context of things as a reader on something I knew very little of.  The last arc could not follow that up.  At. All. What this means is that if GK ended in a more cohesive manner - I’d rate it one of the best manga series that I’ve read.  However, it didn’t.  So, I’ll have to bump it down to a better than average manga that was good until the last arc.  Was this a terrible manga?  No, I still see it as better than most with themes and ideas that really started to make you think.  The problem is that it stopped doing that in the last arc and it shows.  Do I hate Noda?  Of course not.  He still put lots of effort into making the manga good for a long time.  I just expected him to do more and it didn’t work out that way.  Would I recommend this - sure, but I would do so with the caveat that the last arc falls in quality.

And I’m going to leave things here.

[vidjausers-fable]

Ogata Hyakunosuke redraw

I had to do a little practice redraw with my favorite cat man from Golden Kamuy <3

Hey there, I wanted to make a post to link everyone to my commission information and prices for SFW commissions. If you are interested in commissioning me, check out the link. <3  

SFW: https://vidsfwcommissions.carrd.co/

NSFW: PLEASE ASK! (NO MINORS)

Slot 1: Slot 2: Slot 3: Slot 4: Slot 5:

Will do: Simple furry artwork

Nsfw (Please ask and I will send link)

Characters

Backgrounds

Will not do: Certain fetishes (Please ask)

Pedophilia

Complex furry characters (Please ask)

Androids

[post-it-notes7]

cleaned up some Galacta Knight doodles and tucking them directly into your pocket

[veinsfullofstars]

"Still trying to intimidate me? Cute."

(ID: Kirby series fanart of Meta Knight and Galacta Knight based off of a couple dynamics template by @/ReddsMess on Twitter. Original template and source below the cut, as well as a HAL language variant. Top-left panel - high-angle shot of MK lit from above, standing firm and glaring up through his mask, his wings curled out and breaching the panel in places, subtitled "Well well..." Top-right panel - low-angle shot of GK lit from below, looming in the air and leering down through his mask, his wings curled out and his hands spread wide in challenge, both of which breach the panel in places, subtitled "Look who came to see me..." Bottom panel - MK & GK stand next to each other, the latter leaning towards the former and gently caressing the side of his mask with the back of one hand, grinning smugly and wrapping a wing around the knight, subtitled "My Knightmare." MK stands stiffly with his fists clenched at his sides, blushing vividly and glaring away from the warrior. A little flurry of white hearts emanate from GK, while one small one hovers above MK. END ID.)

Started 03/30/24, finished 04/02/24.

---

HAL language variant:

Original by ReddsMess (template link) NOTE: The artist has marked 16-18+ in their bio, so browse at your own risk!

[humming-fly]

Inktober Day 26 - Discarded

Once again I've started rereading @post-it-notes7's fic Heart and Soul and am as always having a Wonderful time with it unlike the protagonists

(will probably go back in and add the shading later but for now it's 2am so it's gettin posted!)

[neptunym]

ms paint doodles for @post-it-notes7 's fic series, heart and soul. i highly recommend it to anyone that either likes the kirby anime or meta knight bc it's a delight to read :]

[westwing19]

Redraw of some old GK doodles!

[tibli]

There's something to be said about Meta Knight having classically "demonic" features but embodying traits like honor and justice VS. Galacta Knight having classically "angelic" features but being an aggressive force of destruction and malice. something something Dark is Not Evil/Light is Not Good.

[pinkestmenace]

Schrödinger's Dark Meta Knight

Featuring my favourite undying silicon based lifeform/catbatman in all his quantum glory

[dotthings]

Some observations on Gotham Knights 1.11, "Daddy Issues"

With thanks to writers Natalie Abrams and Caroline Dries

Given the comics background, there was a chance Duela was the Joker's daughter, there was also a chance she was Harvey's, I thought her turning out to be Harvey's daughter would be a great plot twist and BOOM. Here we are. Well played hand on that reveal. (And I wanted to see Misha playing Harvey finding out he's a dad. A+)

Olivia Rose Keegan, Misha Collins, and Lindy Booth really brought it extra much this ep. Fantastic seeing them doing their thing, with Duela and Jane, Duela and Harvey, Duela and Jane and Harvey.

Steph continues to be heartbreaking.

Steph and Harper!!! Sharper ftw. Harper protecting Steph, telling off her mom, their dancing while undercover in the club, Steph touching Harper's earring and choosing the nickname "Bluebird" for her (lovely easter egg), their kiss in front of the belfry window.

the belfry window has become one of my favorite sets in all of dc tv, beautiful Gotham aesthetics, and the series has used that rose window as a canvas for great character driven scenes

the Turner and Cullen hug. Cullen has a very big heart and Turner's being a pain in the neck, we can understand why, trying to shut everybody out now and Cullen's not having it. He cares about Turner, he cares about all of them

Some interesting contrasts in how Harper and Duela care, woven with their similarities. Duela is far more look after only herself, Harper is--look after your closest person first, and yourself. Harper though very rapidly expands who falls under her protective wings. While Duela, who expanded it to Turner, then stops it after Turner, and her mom. "Who cares about the rest." They're your friends, Duela, they care about you

Carrie carried a lot on her shoulders for a long time and now it's collapsed around her since got busted for being Robin, for helping the fugitives. She's confined now. I'm curious to see how that resolves--how does Carrie get back in action, is her mom going to accept her work as Robin, will Carrie have to continue to sneak around

Much exploration of generational trauma. This ep it centered most on Steph and Duela's, but it's always there for them all. The show is steeped in it, with the shadow of Batman, and with the shadows parents leave on their kids, for good or for bad, legacies good and bad, lessons good and bad.

[purble-gaymer]

i get one galactadad ask and suddenly it’s all i can think about

[chibivesicle]

What do you think might be Ogata´s goal?...

This is an incredibly late reply to an ask from likely two years ago. Sorry original question person, I always wanted to answer this, but then didn't.

My rationale was pretty simple, I kept reading the manga and that I would have an 'Ah ha!' moment and then I'd have this awesome answer for you. I kept going and going and going and then life got busy/sucky/stressful/pandemic while at the same time I was finding it harder and harder to really enjoy GK. Now that the manga is done, I can confidently say it was at the end of the Karafuto arc.

At that point, when they returned to Hokkaido, the manga turned into what @goldenkamuyhunting refers to as 'easy mode'. And that is the best description I've heard for it. Lots of loose ends were left hanging, the parts and aspects I was really into about the manga were slowly dropped and it was hard to care about a series. I loved the global politics/rights of native peoples/industrialization cost/growing influence of Japan on the region aspect of the manga. And that part shined so well in the Karafuto arc. But now, having read it all, and reading the rather haphazardly written ending for Ogata . . . I'm just disappointed in a meh sort of way. I never 100% thought Ogata would survive to the end but reading this ending, I would have preferred he died on the ice floe in 188 - likely how Noda had originally wanted him to die. It makes so much sense to replace a sniper with another spy who loves firearms - Kikuta since he was paired with Ariko - the replacement for Kiro. I never figured out a decent narrative for Ogata's motive and the one we end up with is disappointing writing. All in all, Noda put too many inconsistencies and contradictions throughout the manga surrounding him. Right before he dies, he tries to shoot the bear in the head and the reminds himself their skulls are too thick. Ogata of other earlier chapters would have never made that mistake. He was consistently one of the most meticulous characters in the manga in times of stress or crisis. For me as a reader, his entire ending was OOC, but he was no Shen Qingqiu unlocking his OOC function. I do feel a bit like the passionate cucumber bro, I'd tie up a lot more loose threads.

For example:

I never learned when the cat alliance formed between Kiro and Ogata

I never learned if Kiro pulled Ogata out of the river

My personal opinion is that since Ogata did not die, Noda should have had him run off into the wilderness and then just do his own thing. It would have made for a better plot, it would have avoided all the contradictions around him. What really gets me is that the way he's drawn and the framing don't match was his final 'goal' was. We'll never know why he blushed on the ice floe - but I wasted a lot of brain cells on that one. And the fox farm scene. So many brain cells, burned much ATP for him to want to - lead the 7th? WTF?

Any reader could tell that Ogata suffered from mental illness - but to have Ogata feel that he was possessed by something and felt guilt and declares it was when Asirpa shot him in the eye and as associated with Yuusaku - well, that doesn't even make sense. Yuusaku appeared when he had the fever dream post chapter 164 so clearly the Yuusaku - Asirpa association could be triggered by something else. Again, @goldenkamuyhunting already did a great job of tying how him seeing Yuusaku might have a direct link to various examples of Japanese ghosts/spirits going after someone. Which is a fine concept but likely such thoughts originated from people likely suffering from mental illness in reality. Think of something like the Tale of Genji - people are getting attacking by spirits all the time that are causing symptoms that modern medicine would likely find to be a result of depression/anxiety/PTSD etc etc.

As this is my personal opinion, I wonder if having a spirit haunt him is just a an easy/relatable/cultural code for implying a character suffers from mental illness? We as non-Japanese readers wouldn't see it as such and to me it seems like a way to either minimize/deny/brush over the fact that Ogata needed a therapist.

Now, I'm just rambling - Ogata was a character who had great potential - but it was lost in easy mode.

[fallenegg]

GK at the beach