tbh I lean towards assuming Locus sent Raksas after Rickert, but I’d also be pretty ok with it turning out to be Griffith after all. bc like, if it’s Griffith then that’s got some intrigue because it seems like a reaction driven by emotion rather than logic – Rickert isn’t a threat in any way. He’s a kid and he was planning to leave on his own. And it’s a plan that spectacularly failed, while all NGriff’s plans succeed because he has fate on his side. Therefore, if NGriff sent Raksas, then it was probably a stupid decision driven by an emotional need to, idk, erase that rejection from someone from his past.
I think it’s a lot more likely that Locus sent Raksas on his own initiative though. Partly bc it’s kind of a hard sell that NGriff would fuck something up that bad lol, but also because, like… sending an assassin after Rickert, even if I can argue some emotional complexity out of it, crosses the line into villainous for the sake of villainous that I don’t think NGriff is actually going to cross.
Tho again like, if he does cross that line it better be in a way that I can argue demonstrates interesting emotions. I’d rather it involve Guts than Rickert tho.
no this is a high quality question despite what probably made you think of it tonight lol
cowgirl, griff riding guts, is the favourite. at least at first. it’s like how i automatically assume their first time would go. griffith has more experience and would take the lead, but guts would still be the one to top for trauma reasons. relatedly griffith’s past experience w/ m/m sex would have been with him having v little control and p much just being used, so this would be a nice change for him too. they can see each other and make eye contact and feel emotionally intimate. good way to make their first time a positive and enjoyable experience for all, 10/10.
also related but extra intimate, sitting up facing each other and making out, wrapped around each other.
more advanced relationship-wise, griffith being taken from behind, hard and desperate, manhandled a bit. maybe bent over something, or just face down ass up. made to feel like guts can’t not fuck him in that moment and just desperately needs him. also neck kissing, no matter how rough it is. griffith would love dirty talk whispered in his ear too but that might be a little beyond guts. well actually guts could probably manage easy stuff like “need you” and “god you’re so good” and w/e, which would work just fine for griffith.
add mild bondage when they level up further, but i’m not going to get into that rn bc we’ve chattedabout itbefore
guts eventually bottoming i see as p missionary style, again at least at first, super slow, best described as “lovemaking,” griffith getting super perfectionist. and guts would bask in being under so much loving attention from griffith.
also sleepy morning sex while spooning. mb intercrural sometimes, either topping.
i think both would enjoy giving blowjobs and probably rimming too.
also griffith def fantasizes about guts fucking him on midland’s throne after he becomes king. like in guts’ lap, guts actually sitting on the throne. some manhandling and teasing, guts power tripping a little on having him there, making him wait to come, etc. i’m gonna say that’s a heat of the moment fantasy that griff feels weird about after he comes tho. yk it’s got an undertone of prioritizing guts over the kingdom.
i mean honestly idt any sex position is going to be ooc as long as it’s set up right (like guts being fine w/ getting fucked from behind the first time would not be believable to me, but yk, maybe after a while it could work), but there’s a few i immediately jumped to.
I genuinely think the authorially intended reading of Guts’ decision is that it’s complicated and there are multiple reasons Guts is choosing to take Casca to Elfhelm over revenge right now. It’s not a simple matter of Casca straightforwardly being more important to him or just choosing Casca over Griffith.
Hopefully this is the kind of answer you’re looking for, idk the subject is a little broad. I’ve kind of said this in some other posts too but I think it’d be handy to have a nice and orderly list to link to so I’m just throwing it all out in response to you.
So here are the various complicated reasons I think Guts has for going on his take Casca to Elfhelm quest:
1. He gives a fuck about Casca. He gave a fuck about her and saved her life even back when he hated her, because she was his comrade, and I’d certainly hope he cares about her now.
2. Elf cave is gone, and he’s not so shitty a person that he’s just going to abandon her in a field for ghosts to eat.
3. He is aware that revenging made him a worse person and he wants to be better. Guts at his best is someone who does not abandon his friends and family but rather stands by them in their hours of need, and he wants to be that person again.
Good Guts:
Bad Guts:
Good Guts:
Bad Guts:
Like, yk, abandoning people or staying with them is kind of Guts’ major thing throughout the story.
4. He is longing for a piece of his lost past, and Casca represents the Hawks.
Additionally suggested by how every time he pictures her from the past, after that last pic, it’s as a Hawk commander.
And statements like this:
And the general fact that he’s trying to “force” her sanity back despite forboding warnings and actually contemplating on page how awful it might be for Casca, suggesting that it’s less for Casca’s own sake and more Guts’ selfish need to regain some of his happy past.
5. Griffith looking human and sexy makes him forget his urge to kill, lessening the temptation of revenge and probably making Guts doubt his ability to follow through.
nuff said
6. Guts’ whole revenge campaign was less about revenge and more about making himself feel better and getting Griffith’s attention. Last time he saw Griffith the dude declared that he was completely free of his feelings for him and then “deserted” him in the snow lol. This has also lessened the temptation of revenge – now pursuing Griffith feels extra fruitless, because Griffith (claims he) doesn’t give a fuck.
7. He feels guilty for abandoning Griffith back in the Golden Age and refusing to abandon Casca (this time) is a way to make up for that mistake.
8. Like the Beast of Darkness says, Casca reminds him of “the wound Griffith left” because he wants to keep feeling the pain he caused him. Both because it helps simplify his conflicting and confusing feelings into rage, and because, harkening back to point 6, imho it’s a masochistic reminder that he meant enough to Griffith for him to be worth lashing out at.
I mean consider the context of some discussions of wounds in berserk. “I too want a wound… that I can say you gave me.”
Or Griffith tracing his shoulder where Guts’ sword failed to touch him, maybe:
Anyway regardless of how suggestively that statement can be taken in the greater context of Berserk and wounds, there’s definitely some truth to it because it’s what Miura gave as the reason he didn’t kill Casca:
9. He’s still planning to return his focus to Griffith eventually. He hasn’t so much given up his revenge quest as put it on hold. It’s probably easier to say “not now” to himself than to say “never.”
10. Narrative convenience keeps him on the straight and narrow. eg:
cue Guts literally passing right out ten seconds later. it’s pretty easy to decide to get on a boat instead of get revenge when you can barely stand and going for revenge would be literal suicide. and even then Guts needed Serpico to step in and tell him not to be a dumbass.
Soooo yeah I think that about covers the various reasons Guts has for putting aside his revenge quest to take Casca to Elfhelm, which add up to smthn a lot more complicated than choosing Casca over revenge. I contemplated adding another section that’s like… a giant list of Guts utterly failing to prioritize Casca or demonstrate that she’s “more precious than Griffith” lol, but I might just do that in a separate post next time I’m feeling salty.
broke: the cute panel where griffith shows guts the kama sutra is eclipse foreshadowing
woke: griffith studying up on cosmetics is eclipse foreshadowing
Sorry, just want to make sure I’m understanding you correctly, do you mean you think that instead of being afraid of Guts after he sexually assaulted her, Casca hates him?
Bc honestly I’d argue that it’s probably both, or at least I’d like to hope Miura doesn’t boil Casca’s feelings down to “fear” but allows for some rage and hatred too.
I think the timeline of Casca’s feelings that we’re pretty explicitly shown is that after the Eclipse she’s scared and mistrustful of him (Guts forcibly grabbing her several times afterwards and nearly kissing her after ripping her dress probably didn’t help that), but then Puck speculates that Casca “sensed” that Guts rescued her during the Conviction arc and therefore trusted him.
Then Guts got possessed and strangled her, dragged her around tied to a rope for a while, then sexually assaulted her, and those positive feelings understandably vanished to be replaced with fear, mistrust, and ia, what definitely looks like hatred in a lot of her expressions. And I really hope that’s followed through and not ignored or downplayed.
major thought: it’s a sign that griffith is emotionally compromised. not just the slap but also the way griffith did not have a single thing to say in response to rickert other than acknowledgement that the hawk emblem has changed, ie that he’s not the same person rickert was loyal to
his silence suggests that this is troubling to him. that rickert’s rejection is meaningful to him as a rejection of his identity, and therefore that acceptance from the last remaining member of the old band (who is sane and hasn’t declared war on him) would have been meaningful to him.
which suggests that this
said by Guts to Rickert shortly before this lol:
applies to griffith.
basically i think that scene is a strong indication that it’s not just his dream ngriff’s longing for.
oh also I hope there’s also potential for ngriff to have a bit of an identity crisis a la ascended ganeshka after rickert’s refusal to accept him as the same person and ngriff’s acknowledgement – especially w/ his “nothing has changed” statement being repeated.
like there’s room for irony in both directions there, ykwim? “nothing has changed” = lol ngriff still has feelings for guts, he was right but not in the way he thought. and “nothing has changed” = a denial which he’s forced to confront eventually
oh and one more thing along those lines – you could suggest he’s doing the same thing guts is doing right now
lol so i read some of the comments and knowing the guy is playing guts for the sake of a black swordsman pun and it’s not meant to be serious makes this kind of cute imo
Ah I think I’ve figured it out haha Thank you anyway, love the blog!(I’m
the anon asking about if I was starting in the right place.)
I just got home from work and saw this and wanted to reply real quick before bed, it’s probably unnecessary by now but just in case lol.
So yeah you probably know this, but definitely start from the Black Swordsman arc, there are sometimes fans who will recommend skipping it but they’re wrong. the chapter numbers are a little weird, the first 16 are unnumbered so some sites repeat them, some give them different designations (like 0A presumably).
And i’d say make sure you’re reading the official dark horse translation, because there are a lot of confusing scanlations floating around the internet that i don’t recommend. mangaseeonline has it if you’ve found a scanlation and want to switch over.
also yk what the brand does guts a favour by forcing him to fight ghosts every night
could you imagine post-eclipse guts without that violent outlet lol, who knows who he’d end up killing instead
also guts’ shadow in this panel is such a fantastic touch. like a little black swordsman/beast of darkness preview.
Can I just say all of chapter 2? I was tempted to go with the end of chapter one as a character establishing moment, yk Guts looking scarier than snake man as he gleefully tortures him, but honestly chapter 2 is where it’s at when it comes to Black Swordsman Guts.
4.
Guts finally, somberly realizing he shouldn’t’ve left, telling Judeau and Casca he’ll stay with Griffith, both of them telling him to leave because he did such a thorough job of proclaiming he’s got a nobler goal and separating himself, just hammering home how it was a mistake.
3.
This is a double feature because I couldn’t decide between these two scenes and they essentially say the same thing anyway:
and
Guts haunted by the fear and temptation of becoming a monster. I love the sewer nightmare, especially coming right before Promrose Hall. The way it conflates Zodd, Donovan, and Guts after he kills Adonis. Guts’ self-loathing here informing why he reacts so badly to the overheard speech too.
And then after Rosine and a fun child-killing spree, these ghosts voicing his inner thoughts. The self-loathing, muddied by the temptation of giving in and following in Griffith’s footsteps, ironically the same choice he made after Promrose Hall. Griffith’s dream made him a monster, and Guts’ dream is doing the same – and the Black Swordsman content is absolutely Guts pursuing his own dream, to fight stronger and stronger opponents.
2.
Guts channeling all his painful feelings into rage here. I can’t really say the whole rampage through Midland lol, there are moments I like less, but definitely the start of it, the reunion in the depths, killing the torturer, one man army-ing up the stairs and out the door. It’s just so good. Exactly how Guts avoids dealing with his feelings, really awesome to watch, nice sense of protectiveness, and excellently illustrative of how devastated he is to find Griffith after a year of torture.
1.
Guts finally, finally beginning to accept that he’s found a new home, the place where he belongs, here with the Hawks and Griffith, after Griffith risked his life to save him from a monster (in a particularly meaningful contrast to his childhood). Finally beginning to move on and heal a bit. This is the moment of greatest potential for Guts and p much the pinnacle of his life and it’s so effective at putting the reader and Guts at like, a height from which to fall.
Bonus 6:
This only gets a bonus spot bc I’ve mentioned it a few times before as one of my favourite Guts moments and I don’t want to be too predictable lol, but it’s so good. This whole scene. Guts ostensibly wanting to fight Femto but more than anything wanting his attention and only being spurred on to even stand up when Femto says that.
@freewilllife I’m c/ping this bc that post is really long to reblog imo lol
I half-wonder if this is an issue with Miura writing some of Berserk
while depressed lol, considering how utterly cynical the Conviction arc
is.
I think this is the case.Depending on the real life issues of the author…and yes I think it somehow is fitting…
Because
sometimes a relationship even an unequal one is better than being
alone, however it can turn out worse if the dependent state doesn´t
develop…
Somehow I think ( I know what a thought…most
Griffith/Guts fans do know that I suppose) that Griffith and Guts had a
dependency on each other that could have turned into a nice
relationship, but fate and their own insufficient communication skills
prevented it.
Guts wished to be the equal of Griffith…he
wished to acquire it…The way he chose was…It would have not been bad if
he had somehow come to another realisation than committing murder is his
“dream” ( That is just my priority maybe?).
Casca on the other
hand wished to maintain an unequal relationship at all cost…she wished
to be near Griffith, later Guts. It is depicted as if Casca only wished
to be Griffith´s sword since she wished to stay in his shadow…Whereas
Guts wished to obtain an own dream in order to be his equal…
Yeah there’s something to be said for Guts and Casca’s (and Charlotte’s) respective reactions to hearing Griffith’s dream speech. Even if it was a stupid speech and Guts’ decision was misguided, he’s still the only one who was like, well I’d better go out and achieve something so I can be his bff.
And it’s also very telling that Guts invited Casca along on his dream adventure – it shows that Guts is not thinking of her as an equal, he’s thinking of her as support for him, the way she was support for Griffith, rather than someone who could achieve her own dream and become an equal w/ him and Griffith.
(This probably says more about how Miura sees romantic (het) relationships as opposed to All-Important Bonds Between Men, but yk.)
Like imo the whole notion of dreams + equals is stupid as fuck, but it’s what Guts is basing his life around at that point and Casca just doesn’t figure in as a potential equal as far as he’s concerned.
Also of course I completely agree that Guts and Griffith’s relationship could’ve been exactly what they both needed, and could’ve been (and was for a time) a hugely positive influence on both of them, but fate and their own issues interfered and ruined it. Like I don’t think they were ever not equals – regardless of their stupid arbitrary standards, their feelings for each other made them equals, and I s2g the water fight is symbolic of that fact.
Like, not literally but symbolically, Griffith won the first fight, Guts won the second – the waterfight. So when Guts won a third – the second duel – it fucked up the balance and resulted in Griffith losing everything, and demonstrated that Guts was leaving based on a false premise.
(also lmao yeah the dream Guts landed on is kind of hilarious in how terrible it is. i love that you describe it as ‘committing murder’ bc it’s not exactly far off)
Like I don’t think they were ever not equals – regardless of their
stupid arbitrary standards, their feelings for each other made them
equals, and I s2g the water fight is symbolic of that fact.
Yeah…When you express it like this. I mean that would mean that equal, mutual relationships would just be possible between men…I don´t mean that you said that, but the narrative seems to point to such a belief. Or maybe men are supposed to have “a woman”, but the “real relationship” is just with their comrade(s)?
Since Casca is treated by both men as a woman, a mutual, equal relationship doesn´t seem to be possible….I don´t know what that is supposed to mean…As if the sex would determine a persons every character and dreams…
Yeah honestly that is the vibe I get from Berserk. I mean honestly that’s the vibe I get from a lot of media in general. I mean, that’s the vibe I get from society lmao. Relationships between men and women are for sex and for the dude’s self-esteem and sense of completion as a man, relationships between men are the meaningful ones with nuance and intrigue and significance, that reflect upon them as individuals. And relationships between women barely exist.
Obviously there are exceptions, but let’s be real here, this is just how relationships are portrayed in media most of the time due to misogyny, and Berserk is… well the main relationships are no exception. To Miura’s credit some of the side relationships between women are interesting + significant (eg Jill and Rosine, Nina and Luca, can’t really say Farnese and Casca yet but there’s potential there), and Farnese and Serpico have an interesting relationship by these standards. Though the fact that it’s non-romantic is probably related.
and then they didn’t get a 4th duel on the hill of swords and griffith just won the encounter by being untouchable and not giving a fuck, making guts feel basically like griffith or fate or whoever was just giving him a taste of his own medicine lol
lmao yeah true
I’ll never get over “this time I’m the one who was deserted” lol
this always trips me up when i realize i’m scrutinizing too hard, like lmao they’re stupid kids making stupid mistakes like kids do .. even guts dramatically and silently going off on a vision quest of his own fits this … like lmao i can imagine him composing a dramatic journal entry about it hoping griffith would see it later, and basically fantasizing about the drama that would follow oh my god
@griff-guts said:
can confirm im a teenager and i sound like hamlet annoyingly waxing poetic 99% of the time so who can blame them
lmao this is all so legit
honestly it’s easy to forget bc the story treats them like adults but they’re really not
I think they don’t understand Griffith at all and probably willfully ignore a huge amount of his story.
A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility.
I mean I’ve talked about my take on Griffith enough that I could collect it all into a book at this point lmao, but in essence no he is full of self loathing and guilt and exists by living in denial and trying to bury it.
He portrays an image of utter confidence and security, maintains it well enough that he buys his own con to an extent, but even that confident self-assured image isn’t god-complexy. His assessment of his own abilities is realistic. He knows he’s good, he has confidence in his abilities, but he also knows when he’s outclassed.
He doesn’t think by default he’s one of the people he believes are fated to change the world, he just hopes he is. He wants to see how far he can go, and not for the sake of being important, but in service to a greater goal which is fueled by disgust at the state of the world and his own sense of guilt.
He doesn’t have a falsely inflated perception of himself, if anything his self-image is much more negative than it should be.
You see any other mercenaries in Berserk who feel guilty for the enemy soldiers their underlings kill?
And like, eg, Griffith feels ashamed about assassinating people while Guts thinks he should be telling the rest of the Hawks all about it and has absolutely zero problem with burning a room full of nobles and royalty alive.
And as Casca lays out here
his confidence isn’t an ingrained personality trait, it’s something he manufactured and wears like armour, which is why sometimes it shatters and reveals the exact opposite – the guilt, the self-loathing, the insecurity – underneath.
Idk it seems like the same type of Berserk fan who calls Griffith a sociopath or a narcissist or a control freak or whatever. Like… no. That’s a wild misreading of his character, and honestly the story isn’t exactly subtle about his giant heap of issues that drive him so idk why so many people refuse to see it.
Like, re-read chapter 17 and this time look at the pictures of him self-harming too, bc that adds a little necessary context to statements like:
Like, this is so far from subtle that people just choose not to understand it lol.
(This isn’t directed at you anon, just yk, the fans you’re talking about.)
you're the only one 