In a noEclipse AU, how do you think Casca and Farnese met? cause I need Casca and Farnese to be together in every AU, like griffguts. btw, i really appreciate your blog <333 !!

Hmmm Farnese would still lead the holy iron chain knights, but they wouldn’t have a 2 year pilgramage trailing Guts. They do guard duty too come to think of it… maybe Mozgus goes around to all the kingdoms under the Holy See to be creepy and threatening and ominously suggest they start their own witchhunts etc to prove their devotion to the church or w/e, and they’re his personal guards. Maybe there’s some tension brewing between kingdoms wrt religion and there’s threats of holy wars breaking out. Or, ooh, Ganeshka would still be a thing, maybe this is the holy see’s attempt to unite kingdoms against the Kushans, since Ganeshka is amassing a huge terrifying army and starting to move west. W/e.

So Farnese ends up in Midland for a while. Casca would hate her at first for being a stuck up rich noblewoman who leads an army of guards and can’t even swing a sword, and since this is Griffith’s kingdom now Casca would be his right hand woman while Farnese is Mozgus’, so they might have to interact and feign politeness at like, the hospitality balls and during tense meetings.

(also lmao @ the idea of Griffith dealing with this shit, he’d absolutely hate having to humour someone like mozgus)

Farnese might be kind of in awe of Casca, as someone who clawed her way to power instead of just being appointed due to birth status, plus she’d be attracted to her, and both those things would manifest in hate lol bc Farnese is a mess. Casca would also be kind of jealous of how Farnese had everything handed to her, and would also feel attraction which would piss her off.

Also imagine Farnese spending hours ranting to Serpico about how horrible Casca is, and vice-versa w/ Casca complaining to Judeau, and both Serpico and Judeau being like, hmmmm.

I’d want to manufacture a scenario where Casca has to save Farnese. Political assassination shit? Slooooow burn where this rivalry continues until they go to war together, somehow ending up within interaction-distance of each other lol? Something lighter maybe – a hunting expedition meant to encourage comraderie gone wrong? Anyway smthn happens and Farnese transfers her devotion from God to Casca, and starts listening when she explains how fucked up the inquisition is, and they start bonding and realizing they have things in common despite wildly different upbringings, like parents who didn’t gaf and latching onto causes to feel fulfilled and being sole women surrounded by men, etc.

Idt Farnese’s worldview necessarily has to be shattered before she loses her faith, like in canon, bc I think her faith is just a coping mechanism for loneliness.

Also I rly like the idea of Casca being the one to save someone, instead of needing saving, and that being the start of a romance.

Ok that’s all I can think of for now, this is probably a longer response than you were expecting lol but I just love that love/hate shit so much.

I’m now bored at work and thinking about what Godhand Casca would be like in an AU where Griffith was carrying the behelit for her

I’m thinking she’d immediately take over Ubik’s job bc she’s good at reading people and she’s one of the few berserk characters willing to talk about what she sees lol, and if she aimed that at sussing out people’s weaknesses she could completely destroy whoever she was talking to. like i bet she’d be fantastic at convincing people to make sacrifices

also i’m thinking scary thick exoskeleton armour with like, spikes or something, but with her head and face bare and not very changed, other than more demon-y eyes. she’d project a sense of immense strength. maybe wings, bc most of the godhand have wings.

Also she’s very hot blooded as a human but with the knowledge that she’s completely invulnerable as a Godhand she might be a little colder and deliberate? I think a lot of her rage is rooted in overcompensating for her feelings of weakness, yk, so it makes sense to me that she might be less likely to lose it and lash out and more likely to express her rage in precision strikes, whether verbal or physical lol. Like eg the way she screamed at Adon while she was feverish and losing the fight vs the way she smugly took him out when she was at full strength.

also godhand casca/slan. that evil butch/evil femme aesthetic. js js.

who else has thoughts on what casca’s inner darkness would be like?

a-girl-named-chester:

bthump:

a-girl-named-chester:

bthump:

idk tho in say an au where like, guts never overheard the promrose hall speech and they made it to tombstone of flame i could see griffith reaching a point where he’d be able to accept his own feelings

“do you think that i’m cruel” is just so like, emotionally vulnerable. he was totally getting there, to like, yk, being more honest w/ himself

and then you have him crying after charlotte which is also an emotional admittance

so it’s not like i exaggerate his ability to deny shit to himself (well maybe i do but i love that so fuck it) but i may not give him enough credit for occasional moments of honestly

then again that’s short term. it’s one thing to say griffith could throw care to the wind in the heat of the moment and have emotionally intense sex, it’s another thing to think he could live with himself knowing he’d rather have guts + love than charlotte + dream

on the other hand there’s no reason he has to think of it that way since there’s no reason he can’t have both. like… in theory there’s a perfectly legit berserk au where griffith and guts hooked up and griffith still became king, successfully having his cake and eating it too

so idk maybe if he got with guts it wouldn’t be so much denying that he values guts more than his dream as just dismissing that as irrelevant bc he’ll just get both

So much good fic has tones of both. Analyzers have some of the best fic ideas, and good fic is based on examining the source. Idk man ydy bc whatever it is it’s hella good shit.

But like Guts gets such puppy eyes sometimes when he’s sad, like after the Primrose Hall speech. Imagine Griffith withdrawing emotionally (and physically) after sex and Guts just not being able to contain his sad confused expressions?? (Let’s be real he was basically just a rlly sad puppy throughout the entire Golden Age.)

Idk man let’s be real would Griffith be able to shut out those unintentionally honest and sad puppy eyes?

Yeah v true, a lot of my favourite fics are rly analytical lol. and ty!

omggg I can just see it. I think that would actually be more devastating than the promrose hall speech for Guts. Like Griffith’s speech was impersonal, Guts felt inadequate but decided he could change to fit Griffith’s definition of a friend and then everything would be fine. But a much more personal rejection after the most intimate he’s ever been with anyone would really fuck him up.

Though I guess it would depend on how obvious Griffith was about withdrawing. Like if it was a full on rejection as he tries to re-orient himself back around his dream I could see Guts basically cutting and running in a fit of self loathing (or self destructing a la Griffith but in some other more Guts-y way); if it was just becoming more distant that would also fuck Guts up but like, more slowly over time rather than immediately. Maybe the 2nd one is better bc there’s more room for puppy dog eyes that way lol.

I pray there be happy worlds where Griffith had a moment of self awareness and realized he was about to seriously hurt Guts. Imo he doesn’t have the courage to admit he loves Guts, but he’s even less capable of letting something hurt Guts.

like they wouldn’t work everything out in a single heartfelt night, but before things went to hell Griffith was showing some real emotional openness.

Oh yeah I don’t think like, it’s inevitable that a sexual encounter between them is going to end in tears. I think this is just one plausible possibility. Bc yeah especially w/ Tombstone of Flame, Griffith was getting a lot more open. And def, I could totally see Griffith immediately regretting a negative reaction when he sees how hurt Guts is.

Like my Official Statement™ on griffguts as a potential couple
(yk like basically what I think Berserk genuinely suggests, at least according to my interpretation lol)

is that they would’ve worked, and without Promrose Hall the trajectory of their relationship was headed straight for both finding exactly what they each want and need most in the other. I actually totally think that if he had to, Griffith would choose Guts over the dream and would eventually be able to live with that.

But there’s also so much gr8 potential for drama lol, it’s hard to resist.

Who were griffith parents?

No idea, and tbh I kind of like the fact that we never see them. It gives Griffith kind of a force of nature feel, where his actions and personality are based more in themes than in like, a more down to earth kind of characterization – all we really know is that he’s a street kid with a childish dream who never let that dream go.

I know I’ve had some fun conversations about who Griffith’s parents might’ve been and how they might’ve affected him for whatever amount of his childhood they were there for, and I think there are a lot of great headcanons and stuff. The one I generally default to is that he never knew his dad and his mother was a prostitute, because I feel like that kind of backstory could inform how he feels about sex as a transaction and bodies/lives being bought and sold, which is something his dream is kind of based on changing.

But ultimately I’m glad that canon never gives us an answer lol.

prettykitten123
replied to your post “chaoticgaygriffith:
having re-read some bits and pieces of the manga…”

The way I see it human Griffiths ambition to rule over a kingdom never truly came from him per say??? It derived from his destiny. It was his destiny, a fate he wasnt aware of, that was the driving force behind his every action, behind his every victory and the reason why it was possible for him to climb the rigid social ladder.

And I don’t think NeoGriffiths lack of humanity would be the cause behind Faconia’s fall(if it does fall)
As a human I dont
think Griffith wouldve been able to handle doing everything that
NeoGriffith did. Despite how strong Human Griffith was he was still
prone to stress, doubt and anxiety. As a human Griffith tried to be
everything that he managed to become as a godhand, perfect.

And him hiding behind his strength, charisma, and beauty did take its
toll on him as a human. Then add the stress of being the messiah to all
of humanity, old Griffith wouldnt be able to do it

tbh I never really saw fate as a reason in and of itself for any choices people make in Berserk. Everyone has their own reasons for doing whatever they do, those reasons just play perfectly into fate’s hands. At one point Flora equates fate and “encounters,” which I like because it’s basically like a perfect meld of fate and free will.

eg Guts was fated to be picked up off the side of the road by Gambino, which thoroughly shaped him as a person; Guts was fated to overhear Griffith’s Promrose Hall speech, and the reason he chose to leave was largely because of a bundle of issues Gambino left him with. So Guts and his choices make perfect sense with or without fate having a hand in his life, it just so happens that fate is there behind the scenes making sure he is shaped by the right people.

so for Griffith, God tells him that he basically shaped the entire world, and Griffith’s ancestry, in order to bring Griffith into the world with a perfect set of traits to become the next Godhand, but everything he thinks and feels and does still makes sense just as a person with his particular history. So I can’t really say he’s obsessed with his dream because it’s his destiny, he’s obsessed with his dream because he has a particularly obsessive personality and he happened to see it at the right time in his life or under the right circumstances to become fixated or w/e – because of destiny lol.

Idk it’s convoluted but you gave me an opening to explain my thoughts on fate in berserk and I took it lol.

anyway aside from that long fate tangent that’s barely related to what you said lol, ia that human Griffith wouldn’t be able to do what NeoGriffith does. For one thing he’d’ve been crushed by Ganeshka without his army of apostles. And even without that, even if he just became king of Midland the way he was planning, if Guts never left, ia that I could see a scenario where reality hits him square in the head, being king turns out to be not all its cracked up to be, he still finds his power too limited to do everything he wants to do, and he struggles a lot under the pressure.

hey just wanted to say, for me, it feels like Femto is obviously the epitome of evil but also Griffith’s bad side yk the ugly side we all have, but taken to the extreme? I feel like a lot of ppl who hate on Griffith, especially golden age Griffith for what happened at the eclipse don’t get it. Femto is not him, at least that’s the way I see it. idk if this make sense, what do you think? me thinks griffith would have taken Guts back bc he cant really stay mad but shit happened and now we all cry

chaoticgaygriffith:

bthump:

Yeah, I’d say whether Femto is a different person from Griffith comes down to semantics and what someone considers personhood, but to me undergoing a magical transformation that augments the “evil” in your heart (which, in Berserk, exists in the hearts of all people) and removes the “goodness” or w/e, as visually depicted by literally losing fragments of himself:

makes you different enough that I have no problem mentally separating human Griffith and Femto, and definitely don’t hate Griffith for Femto’s actions, same way I don’t hate Guts for trying to murder his friends when the armour takes over.

If you (general you) wanna hate Griffith for agreeing to sacrifice his friends, or challenging Guts when he left, or w/e, I’ll disagree but I think that’s fair game. But hating him for Femto’s actions after we’re taken step by step through his magical transformation into an entity made out of evil really doesn’t make sense to me.

Also, do you mean Griffith would’ve taken Guts back if he’d returned, say, a year after the duel, like in canon, but Griffith hadn’t gotten caught fucking Charlotte and therefore hadn’t spent that year in a dungeon?

I think Griffith probably would take him back, because he’s desperate and needy and irrational and in love, but I could see an argument where the duel is a big wake-up call to how emotionally compromised he is by his love for Guts, which could make him view Guts as a huge threat lol, and he might refuse to let him return to try to protect himself from his own destructive, dream-endangering feelings.

Though I think it’s also likely that Griffith isn’t that self aware even after the duel, and would still manage to deny his feelings. Like Guts would come back and Griffith would somehow logic himself into returning to their close relationship without admitting to himself that he just really needs Guts in his life. Like, “it’s not because I desperately want him back at my side, it’s because he knows I assassinated the queen and co and therefore I need him as my ally and not my enemy.” Or something along those lines. Though of course his feelings would be that much harder to deny now, and eventually something would have to give.

Or he could be aware of his feelings now, but too far gone to refuse Guts, a la “if I can’t have him, I don’t care!” Like, “ok Guts’ existence could clearly ruin me, but fuck it, he came back and I’ll be damned if I’m letting him leave me again ever.” Which would open its own associated emotional can of worms lol.

lol sorry I love thinking about Griffith’s stupid feelings and how he deals or doesn’t deal with them.

(And now I’m wondering what if Guts turned around and walked back two minutes after leaving Griffith in the snow. I feel like if that was the case Griffith would be incapable of anything but genuine emotional expression, either in the form of being overwhelmed with relief that Guts came back and immediately taking him back, or rage followed by a sobbing breakdown or smthn.

This is a great topic to muse on lol)

I wonder if, if Guts turned around and walked back, if Griffith would be too vulnerable for relief/rage? Like, Guts just almost left, and Griffith made a fool out of himself by completely letting his emotions get the best of him. I feel like anger, pride, and just plain exhaustion might stop him from acting up again, although … they also might not, damn, I don’t think we can know for sure.

Idk the way he falls to the snow and stares into space, unable to even pretend he’s okay for the Hawks who are just standing there awkwardly, personally has me thinking it’s a v rare moment where he’s not capable of self-control. I’d give it maybe a few minutes before he smiles, stands up, and pretends “it’s nothing,” but if Guts caught him before that point I think his reaction would be raw af.

though there’s def some wishful thinking here because it’s a reaction I’d love to see even if I don’t think I can completely picture it.

If Guts caught him after he put the mask on again I think his reaction could be very different. Maybe angry and prideful, maybe something like, “you won your freedom, so gtfo,” something indicating an “i don’t want your pity” kinda feeling, idk. but i’m just throwing headcanons at the wall lol, like I could see a lot of different reactions as ic depending on how it’s depicted.

yk I’ve been thinking about it and tbh I find Casca a surprisingly compelling character, and I think it’s because there’s like this tension to me between character traits she has that I absolutely love, and a narrative that utterly fails to utilize them and diminishes her at every turn

it engages my inherent obstinancy that makes me want to argue with a story lol, and I get this with a lot of characters who I like, but I feel are treated unfairly by the narrative, which makes me want to like them even more.

In Casca’s case it’s not that I feel like the narrative/author wants me to dislike her, but that he wants me to like her for the wrong reasons. I liked her when he wanted her to be disliked, and I disliked how he tried to make her likeable, basically lol. So I get invested in what I liked (leadership, petty cruelty, fighting skills, overinvestment in something, practicality, occasional stubborn stupidity, etc) often despite how it was narratively presented, and I de-emphasize the “likeable” bullshit (hey if casca had matured a few more years she’d grow more comfortable with herself and not be self conscious about being unfeminine; she’d realize quickly that guts is not a solution to her core problem if she had the chance; w/e she can beat ten men at once apparently so fuck miura if he’s only shown her at a disadvantage, it’s still true; etc)

And Casca has enough character depth imo to support different, better
interpretations than what the narrative was pushing and make it
worthwhile to explore other options, like, eg, Casca moving from
Griffith to Guts being an understandable and sympathetic character flaw
she could’ve overcome rather than a step in the right direction that the narrative wanted me to see it as.

Basically I don’t mind reading against the text if it’s more fun that way. It’s not something I’d base srs analysis or w/e off of, it’s more of a thing u base fanfiction on lol, and I’m aware when I’m doing it, but it definitely affects how much I can like a character.

a concept

AU where Guts never overheard Griffith’s speech to Charlotte, nothing went wrong, Griffith eventually married Charlotte and became king, managed the whole famine and plague situation competently and is beloved, started hooking up with Guts on the side, Casca became the highest-ranked general in Midland, Gaston’s got his shop, everyone’s living their best lives

And then Ganeshka and his unstoppable demon army shows up, and regular old human king Griffith doesn’t have apostles on his side

So Griffith tries to stop Ganeshka but it’s unquestionably hopeless ofc

Anyway this is ultimately a What If Griffith became king and fulfilled his dream all according to plan but 3 years later had to flee his kingdom (or get knocked out and hauled away over Guts’ shoulder depending on how reluctant he is) as it’s about to be taken over by a demon emperor kinda thing. Or maybe he chooses to flee because Guts is determined to stay and die with him if he stays. Because I like the idea of Griffith being forced to pick Guts’ life over dying for his dream.

Either way bam suddenly he’s back to where he was when he was 12 with a group of rag tag friends roaming the countryside trying to survive and he’s gotta deal with that.

mastermistressofdesire:

gyodragon:

I took a final look at it and whispered, not the berserk tag. Sorry, but I’m not brave enough.

Is this a reimagination of the falling off the cliff before the battle of doldrey scene or post torture arc?

Good question – but now that you mention it omg a reimagining of the whole cliff debacle with Griffith in place of Casca would be amazing. Casca would step up, take command, and own the battlefield. Griffith could have a debilitating fever and share some of his past while his temp is 103 and he’s out of it after like a fever nightmare about the inevitable battle of Doldrey. Guts would get possessively protective the way he does. Casca could show up in the nick of time to save Griffith from passing out and being killed by the enemy while Guts does his 100 man slayer thing (convincing Griffith to leave his side the same way he convinced Casca, ie, you have a dream and also you’re a burden rn so get lost, which I could see Griff either seeing through and brushing off or having a v bad delayed reaction to) – it would just be wall-to-wall Good Shit.

what do u think would’ve happened if griff had won the second duel? that scene is completely brutal btw

ikr, their internal monologues slay me every time

If Griff won without killing Guts or permanently maiming him I think the tragedy would be subtle and quiet but there.

Guts would give up his attempt to be Griffith’s equal. I think on one level he’d actually still be glad that Griffith fought to keep him, but he would stop thinking of himself as a potential friend and equal, and start thinking of himself as truly lesser. Consequently he would grow distant. He might feel restless and stuck since now he’s made the choice to leave the Band once and been unable to. At any rate, he and Griffith would absolutely lose their camraderie.

Guts would no longer be the person who treats Griffith irreverently, disobeys orders, has waterfights, etc. Griffith would be up on a pedestal now, totally unreachable, and that would be reflected in Guts’ attitude towards him. He’d still admire him (though he’d probably still feel some resentment too), but he’d treat him like a leader and figurehead, not a person anymore.

Good ending: Griffith eventually breaks, does stuff like… idk starts pushing Guts’ boundaries, gives him more commands that keep him close (promotion to bodyguard?), tries to force conversation etc, eventually Guts feels backed into a corner and they have a confrontation and finally manage to talk and grow.
OR Griffith does something stupid and irrational for him again and Guts finally manages to have an uninterrupted conversation with him about it.

Bad ending: Griffith lets the distance grow, resigns himself to it, throws himself into political machinations, loses touch with the Band in general now that he’s among nobility, maintains only a working relationship with his former Hawk commanders, gets everything he thought he wanted and ends up miserable without knowing why.

If Griffith just killed Guts then I think, if I had to settle on one outcome, he’d suppress his emotions harder than he’s ever suppressed anything before, continue on like normal, grow distant from the Band who would probably be pretty disturbed by this reaction, marry Charlotte, and one day have a complete breakdown.

I’m kind of into the idea of Griffith achieving his dream at a cost he can’t bear ngl.

but if i was to do black swordsman casca, i would take out “that scene”(the one where she got bit on the tat) and just replace it with casca choking the living hell out of guts to the point where his eyes rolls to the back of head(damn i’m cruel) but she breaks out of it and sees the consequences of her actions. Guts runs away and casca has to detain him but it’s a bit difficult cus of his size. he tries biting kicking the works sometimes she has to knock him out sigh

Plus Blackswordsman! Casca can develop with the female cast (farnese and
schierke) since she really didn’t have any female friends (hell she
talked to princess Charlotte once during the golden age arc) and i would
like to see her interact with females tbh. Farnese seeing casca as a
guide of sorts and scheirke as a mother figure.

i kinda have several hc about infantile!Guts but i’ll keep it simple: he
can say a few words but they are pretty simple but he mostly just nods
or shakes his head. he’s very shy around people but if you are kind to
him, he’ll be near you. he likes to stare at things alot and can get
distracted pretty easily(god forbid you go to a field full of
butterflies or he sees a dog) but old guts is still in there somewhere
but it’s really rare

God, yes, esp to the second part (tho anything that gets rid of the attempted rape is good in my book, and ngl it is really easy to see Casca lashing out violently while in a dark place. Which is one of the reasons I love her. More fucked up female characters for all). And god anything with Casca interacting with more women is Good Shit. She might be less inclined than Guts was to let Schierke take the reins during the troll fiasco, but I think she’d respect and appreciate her abilities, and when the Berserker armour started taking over she’d probably have a similar relationship to her as Guts did (though let’s say without the unnecessary crush)

Farnese on the other hand would totally still have a hero-worshippy crush on her.

(also ok pardon my gayness but now i’m thinking of that scene where farnese was possessed and getting intimate with guts’ sword, but with casca instead, and whoa. And also that whole thing with Slan. Oh man so many opportunities for fucked up f/f scenes.)

And yeah, solid, kinda depressing (but that’s the point) Guts headcanons, especially since now I’m just imagining good old fashioned fantasy mental torture as the source. Also consider: Griffith saving him from falling rocks, and repressing some subtle disturbed feelings at what he’s reduced him to.