Tag: replies

This is the quality shit we come here for! ��❤️ Neo-Griff offering his body to the beast of darkness as an apology or self destructive thing is also very human Griffith of him and would definitely be a sign his heart isn’t as frozen as he’d like it to be.

ty! and ooh yeah i love the idea of there being a self-destructive/self-harming aspect deep down to ngriff mb angling more for fucking than fighting in a confrontation w/ beast of darkness guts. also maybe an element of avoiding having to kill guts too. and also wanting the d. honestly ngriff letting guts fuck him is the most in character thing he could do l b r.

also lmao @ you and @madchen both coming to the same conclusion. i’ll cosign beast of darkness fucking femto/ngriff from behind.

xiyyh
replied to your post “madchen
replied to your post “hey… thought in griffiths thoughts on…”

griffith likes how guts’ stubble feels against his skin when guts is kissing on his inner thighs

nice

also @sobadpink lol different strokes i guess. i’m v much not into guts at the best of times, the beard makes it 5000x worse

where r guts favorite places to kiss griffith and vice verse…

guts kissing griffith: neck esp the nape of the neck + where neck meets shoulder, jaw, temple/hairline like as a casual thing when they’re chilling, i want to say back of his hand bc i like the image of guts jokingly kissing his hand like/as he’s royalty but sometimes turning it into an intimate thing like bringing his knuckles up to his lips all sweetly

griffith kissing guts: legs + inner thighs b4/after a bj, bridge of his nose (yeah where the scar is), palm of his hand, aaaaand i’m gonna say the scar where he stabbed him which is a dual possessive/subconsciously apologetic thing. not like kissing it better, but like wanting it to be associated with positive things to guts while also reminding himself of guts joining him.

(and ofc i want to hear your thoughts too)

also

madchen replied to your post  “an awful question: griffguts favorite/preferred positions?”

i’ve been busy w life but obviously hard agree
with all of this. griffith throne fucking fantasy is backwards in guts
lap as if he’s facing the entire court

this is exactly how i was envisioning it lol, nice

@mugiwarayaa-luffy replied to your post “broke: the cute panel where griffith shows guts the kama sutra is…”

How is kama sutra and eclipse be related?

lol the one explanation i’ve seen was that the sex position on the kama sutra page was the same as “the one” during the eclipse

which was both incorrect and also nonsensical bc miura drew a different position for every panel of the rape scene anyway

it’s just ppl reaching to make griffith seem sinister during the golden age in the absolute dumbest ways possible honestly

seisans
replied to your post “@freewilllife I’m c/ping this bc that post is really long to reblog…”

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

xiyyh
replied to your post “sometimes i feel like people forget that guts griffith and casca were…”

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

@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)

madchen
replied to your post “every time i re-read a bit of the conviction arc i want to say…”

this isn’t a complete thought here but i wonder/hope that there’s some narrative irony happening or going to happen if anything? idk like of course the ceremony and events leading up to griffiths reincarnation as a perfect image of his dream and ideal self would try to hammer home cynicism of not needing others enough. guts kind of well with the campiness of the arc too ig. i hope this makes a little sense i haven’t read conviction in a long time.

Yeah no I get what you mean, ngl I was kind of thinking something similar while re-reading those chapters, like, everything Egg says about relationships sounds like it could come straight from a Griffith who has been burned lol. And it is the lead-up to the creation of Griffith’s perfect world, which Egg is advocating for here. So in that way it does maybe make sense to be extra cynical, reflecting back on Golden Age stuff through a whatever the opposite of rose coloured lens is.

like, maybe that’s Femto’s perception of that relationship lol.

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I mean honestly this is exactly how I think Griffith thought of himself after the second duel/even tombstone of flame, word for word. And again, that’s something that could’ve changed so easily if Guts had just told him how he actually felt.

So I can’t accept it as an objective statement, but a subjective statement filtered thru bitterness + self-loathing? Kinda works.

Also yeah the extremely campy tone of this arc does kind of lend itself to more meta (in the self-referential sense, not the fandom essays sense) stuff like this imo.

My misgiving is that this seems like more thought than Miura put into it lol. But idk I should probably re-read the whole arc before I say something like that, like maybe there are indications that we’re not meant to take some of the Conviction arc themes as objective truth, and I just don’t remember/never noticed them.

sobadpink

replied to your post

“There is really something to be said about the significance of…”

How do you interpret the scene where Griffith reaches for Guts’ throat?
I’ve read a lot of different takes and enjoy them all quite a bit. Personally I feel that Griffith almost wants to strangle Guts after finally seeing him after almost a year of constantly obsessing over Guts leaving him while he is physically tortured, like he blames Guts for his psychological torture (and is in more pain from that, and not the physical). Guts feels it and doesn’t care and possibly believes he deserves..
Deserves Griffith’s
hatred. The one other comrade (omg I forgot his name???) sees this
exchange and is actually taken aback by them both.
Despite his rage and ill feelings towards Guts, however, Griffith can’t
even make himself act out in strangling (also because he’s weak af but I
mean emotionally) because deep down he is, surprised to admit to
himself, elated to see Guts again and to be held by him.  This is just
my current favorite take but I won’t argue its accuracy!

oh i pretty much agree. i think griffith definitely wanted to kill him there. not “wanted” as in so direct that if he, say, had a gun he would’ve shot him, but more “wanted” the way casca wanted to murder guts when he came back so spent a while swinging a sword with intent to kill but then kind of freaked out when she actually stabbed him.

if he had the physical ability to kill him there i don’t think he would’ve been able to go through with it, but yk, he would’ve probably strangled him for a few seconds before letting go

though i don’t think guts really noticed imo, because if he did i feel like… idk his interactions with griffith up til the eclipse would be different. guts would be more hesitant maybe, if griffith tried to physically lash out bc he blames him for his torture/emotional vulnerability that led to a year of torture, and guts realized that. He’s good at burying his feelings of guilt, but idk if he’s that good.

But ia that if he did notice then his reaction wouldn’t be like, outrage or anything, it would def be guilt.

i have a post i wrote a little while ago in answer to a similar question here, and i go way more into what i think griffith’s emotional state is etc there if you’re interested

griff-guts
replied to your post “There is really something to be said about the significance of…”

ngriffs true emotional breakdown moment will happen when guts touches him again. miuras just a coward who won’t write it

i could still see it happening

especially after all the emphasis on neogriffith’s untouchability (and rickert being able to slap him), or at the very least i could see a significant touch between them, even if it doesn’t cause a breakdown

but i mean ~i still believe~ berserk’s going to get real gay again when guts and ngriff yk, finally end up in a scene together

xiyyh
replied to your post “hey. have you ever read/watched devilman? I’ve watched devilman…”

iv’e talked about this idea before too! and tbh it’s kinda what i’m hoping for, or something similar at least

honestly after lines like ‘the crystalization of your last tear shed,’ followed up with ‘my blood should have been frozen,’ if ngriff doesn’t cry about guts at some point i’m going to feel ripped off

and if it’s a breakdown at the very end, so much the better

prettykitten123
replied to your post “murdersounds:
every time i remember wyald i feel ill. that whole ……”

I honestly HATED Wyald. I felt like the whole thing was unnecessary and was only there for shock value. We could already gather that there’s no hope after Judeau examined Griffith’s wounds. If the story continues as normal without the presence of Wyald(in the movie and someone said he wasn’t in the anime either) then that just shows that he wasn’t important and thus not needed

idk i get what you mean bc you def get (most of) the same information without him, but imo you don’t get the same tone. like the plot works fine without the wyald sequence, but both adaptions feel v rushed to me. i like how his presence draws things out and makes the sense of hopeless despair hit slower and worse.

plus there is some great thematic stuff there in the comparisons to the zodd fight, guts‘ stupid dream of killing monsters, stripping away griffith’s armour as a (heavy handed but imo effective) symbol, the kid’s toy metaphor (god i love that), etc. it’s mainly stuff you can pick up on w/out this sequence but i feel like it’s really effective to have these few chapters as a giant hammer hitting some of these points home.

obviously i hate him as a character too lol and like i said i absolutely hate the assaults, both w/ casca and with wyald’s encounter w/ the village, and like wyald’s general awful demeanour lbr, but that’s true of 90% of the sexual assault in berserk lol. like i hate the eclipse rape too, but the first half of the eclipse was still gr8. i hate the fucking stupid possessed horse during that night w/ farnese but i like guts smugly calling ghostly possession a miracle. etc. sadly berserk is full of scenes w/ aspects i love and aspects i hate lol.

griff-guts
replied to your post “What do you believe is the probability that Miura releases official…”

guts and griffith: kissing passionately, flowers bordering the frame of the shot, griffiths hand is up guts shirt
berserk fans: ok see this is CLEARLY a reference to the way ancient roman soldiers were told to use physical intimacy to strengthen the Brotherly Bond among comrades. this is actually some pretty smart stuff miura is doing he’s using the historical allusion to suggest that like rome griffiths kingdom will fall after he’s killed by his former ally guts (an allusion to caesar). genius

holy shit lmao

xiyyh
replied to your post “xiyyh
replied to your post “miura is really good at drawing facial…”

UGH i hate how entirely plausible this all is because it makes everything that’s already terrible even more tragic 😦 … and running with it being a possibility, it’d give guts a really bad association with his very thoroughly thwarted near-attempt at being purposefully affectionate towards griffith, possssibly even an acceptance of his own gayness. i know this is all just wild speculation but, jesus. ughhhhhhhhh it hurts.

oh man i kinda want to explore that now

like i always say the eclipse puts everyone’s potential character development on hold/cuts it down in its tracks, imagine if it also slammed the door shut on guts’ potential realization that he’s not straight

i mean it’s all there – the parallels to casca realizing she was in love with griffith when she stopped seeing him as a god, the realization that he fucked up because griffith was in love with him, guts taking this away from griffith’s sacrifice:

image
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Like ending up burying a burgeoning realization about himself and his feelings fits right in here

(idt i ever posted it but i remember thinking once that guts’ post-eclipse character development would work so well if there was an element of him coming to terms with his sexuality. i think i was thinking about a hypothetical “what would change about the story of Berserk if all the subtext was intentional and going somewhere” angle lol. i bet that half baked thought is in my drafts somewhere.)

xiyyh
replied to your post “I just wanna say, there are 2 possible reasons Guts wants to keep…”

i was just about to say basically the same thing @chaoticgaygriffith did here lol … he needs that constant reminder of why he SHOULD hate griffith because he’s still so emotionally invested in him and it’s too easy for him to slide into pining and sadness over him. and guts has never seen the griffith /he/ knew do anything awful, so i imagine he has a really hard time accepting that femto=griffith, but lbr so do i, griffith was not cruel and miura is an asshole

yeah i mean considering neogriffith’s effect on him:

image
image

I feel like it’s pretty heavily suggested that part of why Guts is able to drop the revenge quest to take Casca to Elfhelm is because NeoGriffith showing up all hot and non demonic threw a bucket of cold water onto his rage boner and replaced it with a regular boner.

Like I will never, ever, ever get over how fucking sad Guts is about NeoGriffith ditching him lmfao, idk how anyone can look at that panel and think Guts feels nothing but hate for him now.

And yeah like Guts also separates human Griffith from Femto in his mind, like when he tells Rickert “that’s not the Griffith you know anymore” while remembering Femto. Which is another reason NGriff’s human appearance fucks him up, because it makes it harder for Guts to separate NGriff from human Griff.

@xiyyh said:
all of this! i agree.
guts saying/doing ANYTHING at this moment could’ve pushed him over the
edge imo. also just, ugh, griffith conversely loving and hating him
because of his dependence on guts for stability. not only stability tho
he’s fucking in love with him lol. so yeah griffith coming to terms with
his absolute need for guts (whether he likes it or not, & he does
not) during the same moment of guts realizing how bad he fucked up,
re-igniting griffith’s value in his own mind, hhhhhhh
and these parallels! my god. somehow berserk is constantly mirroring itself, it’s endlessly fascinating and infuriating

ALSO WRT your tags; lol i agree and i
don’t understand how anyone could read it any other way if i’m being
completely fucking honest

ty! it’s so good isn’t it, like the fact that griffith’s moment of pure despair was guts touching him is beyond amazing and so fun to think about. i just want to second what you said here.

xiyyh
replied to your post “miura is really good at drawing facial expressions and there’s this…”

i’ve always thought it looked like guts wanted to kiss him here too lmao … and like … ha i know it’s completely impossible but look at griffs face tho. he’s like “NOW?? now guts? really?” then the behelit opens cause griffs just “OH /NOW/ YOU’RE GAY?”

hmm lol it’s likely total crap but it’s quite an interesting thing to ponder. cause imo miura is/was preettttyyy clear in his portrayal of expressional intent�� i don’t want to allow myself to believe this but to me it rly looks like that lmao
this is hot on the heels of guts fully
accepting his role in griffith’s (insert everything here) … i can only
imagine what would’ve happened if guts had an opportunity to say
something to him. he is probably at a loss for words, and all that
emotional buildup is trying to escape through his eyes lol .. god, griff
has no idea why guts is so emotional right here now that i think of it
🤔🤔🤔 guts showing emotions for him during this breakdown is a very
plausible thing to push him over the edge 😮

i like it lol i think i’ll keep it

good content

ok for real the way i see griffith’s moment of despair being guts’ touch is that it’s griffith’s final moment of understanding that he is never gonna get unfucked by his feelings. he desperately, desperately needs guts and there’s no possibility of living without him anymore. if guts left, griffith would mentally waste away like in his nightmare, if guts stayed griffith would exist entirely for his presence.

so like the way griffith shifted from wanting to strangle guts to holding his hand in the torture chamber when guts started crying for him, when guts touches him with that emotion on his face griffith is like, fuck i can’t hate him, i can’t separate myself, and the behelit opens.

i mean more powerfully than i’ve written lol, but that’s like, the gist imo.

so basically i completely agree.

ALSO wrt the possibility of Guts wanting to kiss him, I’m just gonna say:

image

idk Guts what did you do last time someone attempted suicide in front of you?

parallels everywhere.

cascaslament
replied to your post “Agree on Black Swordsman Guts, he’s my favorite too. Also speaking of…”

guts leaving casca doesn’t show that he isn’t loyal- it shows that he could not think and wanted to keep her out of pain and wanted to take matters into his own hands. he only had sex with that apostle so he could lure her out and kill her. i’m not even sure if it really counts as sex. you have to remember that guts’s intension wasn’t to leave casca to rot, but to keep her safe, even if it was the wrong thing to do. i’m not sure that you understand the importance of casca to guts…

just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I don’t understand. I’ve tackled this subject like, a lot, so I’m not going to fully repeat myself here, but suffice to say I’ve read Berserk multiple times and, whatever Miura’s intent is, absolutely nothing has convinced me, or even strongly suggested to me that Casca is all that important to Guts beyond being a symbol of his humanity he’s clinging to.

And I can think of so many examples of Guts treating her like garbage, up to and including sexual assault (twice! treated as a joke during the Golden Age, and treated seriously as drama later on), that it baffles me that other people find their relationship like, positive lol, let alone endearing or something that reflects well on Guts.

anyway here’s the scene where Guts ditches her:

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Rickert: dude, I think you should stay with your girlfriend in this magic safe cave instead of hunting monsters for no reason.

Guts: mmmmm no, I’d rather hunt monsters.

He had at least a month at Godo’s to decide on his course of action, and he’s perfectly calm and controlled here. If her safety was his first concern, he’d stay with her instead of leaving her for two children and an old man to (fail entirely to) protect. To say he left her because he couldn’t think and he wanted her to be safe is an extremely forgiving interpretation which isn’t backed up by the text of the story.

He’s not even considering her a person in her own right at this point, with his casual “nah” when Rickert suggests like, saying goodbye lmao. She’s basically just a representation of the Hawks to him here. Like imo the kindest interpretation to Guts is that he’s deliberately avoiding her because she reminds him too much of everything he lost/threw away, and that’s still pretty fucked up.

On the off chance you’re interested in a more in-depth look at how I think Guts actually feels (and yeah I know that’s not particularly likely lol, but I like linking stuff) here are some other posts I’ve written on the topic:

https://bthump.tumblr.com/post/175552652716/ok-yk-what-if-half-of-the-gtsca-sex-scene-is

https://bthump.tumblr.com/post/177852466736/i-ship-guts-and-griffith-and-ive-always-thought

seisans
replied to your post “seisans
replied to your post “Reading chapter 355 and seeing how the…”

yeah and for me, since we already had the flawless original, this just felt like a soulless copy. idk. i’m notoriously salty about miura’s art “progression” and i guess i’ll continue to be. i don’t know if i trust him enough to believe it was an intentional tonal shift but even if it was the tone is far from all that’s bothering me about it so yeah. but here’s to hoping ig

legit af, but man i just want to cling to any hope that the final confrontation between guts and griffith isn’t gonna look like this lol

seisans
replied to your post “Reading chapter 355 and seeing how the art style in those last panels…”

no offense to the anon but i’m gonna disagree and say that it didn’t look like his old art style at all. like yeah it was detailed and it was dark sort of by default just by being a drawing of a tortured body. but for me personally, and art is subjective of course, it lacked like … all heart. it was technically impressive and that’s all, which cannot even compare to what miura was able to do. so i’d say maybe don’t get your hopes up
anyway the art style shift was at least
partly due to miura switching to digital … other possible culprits are:
assistants, editors telling him to moe it up for wider readership, or
even an injury/health issue of sorts (though i haven’t heard anything
like that)

hm yeah ikwym, i feel like that spread of griff hit a v dark tone, but not a particularly emotional one. griffith’s tortured body was emphasized, but unlike the original scene it was less about the tragedy of seeing a beloved character in that state and more… simple ominousness.

but i feel like it was maybe fitting for the context of casca flashing back to something she found horrific as a lead-in to a potential breakdown.

but yeah ty for the addition. one thing i really hope is that it isn’t just a case of miura absorbing that moeish style and vomiting it back out onto the page. i’d much rather blame assistants or digitalization or a deliberate shift to fit the cutesy elfhelm and idyllic falconia tones.

madchen
replied to your post “what do u think are guts and griffs favorite physical and not physical…”

“rugged handsomeness” is a good word that griffith would definitely use when describing guts… i think he also really likes guts legs and hands. he thinks his perpetual frown is endearing and also thinks he’s very clever and smart in his own way.
guts obviously loves griffiths hair a
lot and he also loves his lips and hands. and broad greek athletic youth
shoulders and small waist + frame. he’s actually bonkers for griffiths
mix of soft/feminine features and masculine features. griffiths voice is
a soft tenor and guts thinks it’s like, masculine and sweet in an
elegant prince sort of way

i was gonna day guys loves griffiths
devotion tho i realize now that’s just “determination” flavored
differently-which makes it fitting from a certain perspective. like,
devotion to his dream sure but also the potential for devoted adoration
and sweetness + attention turned guts way. i like to think guts heart
would burst when he realizes how sweet on him griffith is

this is all extremely good i just wanna second everything

especially the detail of griffith being fond of guts’ default frowny face, and extra emphatic yes to guts liking griffith’s masc and fem traits in combination

and yeah to that last bit, I think they both love like, each others’ intensity and determination/devotion because they want it aimed at least partly at them. or like, they both know, whether consciously or not, from the start that that intensity is aimed at them and they crave it.

(honestly makes me want to frame the current state of their relationship as both deliberately witholding it from the other lmao. ngriff: fuck you i only care about my dream now. guts: well fuck you too i only care about uhhhh casca)

@madchen said:
first one is when all
the pta mom are asking him if he can really organize the fundraiser bake
sale in less than 24 hours after debbie tragically had a recreational
hiking accident 

lmao i see it

prettykitten123
replied to your post “prettykitten123
replied to your post “I had a little thought just…”

If I do write the fic I would also throw Charlotte. I feel like she would be a part of the group’s extended circle through Farnese. They prob grew up together in this au since they’re both from old money and she prob begged Farnese to let her tag along so she could see Griffith. Oh my god I wonder how she is like drunk. Since she’s so innocent I can imagine that she would be the complete opposite while intoxicated.

ngl drunk charlotte sounds like she would be fun to write lol.

prettykitten123
replied to your post “I had a little thought just now of what would happen if Guts and…”

The gang has to bail them out. Good thing Farnese is loaded. Actually, she’s the one who arranged for the trip. Lets say that in this au she’s famous for coming from the world’s oldest ‘old money’ and somebody recognizes her(her face ends up being in the tabloids the next day)

Oh and Serpico ends up coming back when its time to leave. Where he went? He won’t tell

lol the idea of famous heiress farnese and her extremely dubious friends is delightful

seisans
replied to your post “Okay but how come guts reacts this way when seeing griff tortured face…”

this take is completely legit but tbh i also think we cannot forget the fact that guts was practically obsessed with griffith’s beauty … not that his reaction to seeing griffith’s ruined face is all about his looks, but rather like, i think that works into what you said about guts seeing griffith as a regular human for the first time, since his beauty is one of the major things that makes people see him as otherworldly and godlike lol
but i just love the fact that it’s his face. it’s his beautiful, ruined face that does it for guts

lmao ngl after answering that question i immediately regretted not finishing my post with “actually scratch all that, guts nearly has a breakdown entirely because griffith’s hair is short now”

but for real yeah that actually is a legit aspect probably, because his looks are a big part of what makes him seem godlike and untouchable, and guts really did pay particular attention to yk his “dazzling” “beautiful” looks

a-girl-named-chester
replied to your post “Okay but how come guts reacts this way when seeing griff tortured face…”

Unsolicited opinion here lol, but I think another reason Griffith might be pretty again in his domestic nightmare sequence has to do with his internal self-image. Like, I have long hair now, but always envision myself with my old short hair.
He might have been envisioning himself the way he used to look, even if he was still disabled in the dream. (Also this is stupid, but until now idk if it really registered in my mind that he was disabled in the dream whoops)

Oh yeah this is totally a legit reading of the scene too, and it makes sense and is what I typically assume to be the case. Like it does seem like a stretch to assume Griffith wouldn’t even have any scars (tho the way the scene’s illustrated his face does have kind of a… like an ambiguous look to it the way it’s shadowed and shaded throughout?

image
image

like I’ve always vaguely wondered if we’re supposed to read some scarring into the way Miura shades his face in this scene. But idk. I also think it’s thematically appropriate for Griffith to picture himself without scars here regardless of whether that would actually be the case in reality, yk, his beauty being a thing, the sort of heteronormative picturesque nightmare here, etc. So really I could go either way.)

I know the movies went full missing skin + exposed face muscles, but I complain about the patches of missing skin thing being stupid too much to just accept that lol. (Also if that’s the case why the hell wouldn’t you bandage his face too? what were you thinking, ova people?)

But idk whatever the case is it doesn’t really change my feeling that Guts’ reaction to seeing his face is a little too intense to be taken fully at face value.