#bthump

[sichlitt]

Human Griffith is the MOST caring character in the story.

 I’ve come to realise that the assertion that human Griffith is somehow uniquely sociopathic and uncaring compared to other characters in the BotH is absolutely insane.

First of all, I want to lay out the moral equivalence between the Hawks and Griffith in fighting on the battlefield. A lot of people bring up the fact that Griffith was willing to kill people and use people as tools in pursuit of his own selfish goal, without realising that the Hawks did the EXACT SAME THING. 

They were willing to kill innocent soldiers on the battlefield in pursuit of their own selfish rise to power (to become lords and nobles). That is NO DIFFERENT to Griffith.

A lot of people say that the distinction between the Hawks dying in the Eclipse and dying on the battlefield is that the Hawks CONSENTED to fight in battle but did NOT consent to be sacrificed, but this is silly. 

The entire point of the Eclipse is that it highlights the hypocrisy of the Hawks and the coercive nature of medieval warfare. 

While the Hawks did CHOOSE to fight in battle, the enemy soldiers they killed most certainly did not. The foot soldiers of the armies of Midland and Tudor were FORCED to fight in battle through coercive feudal contracts. They were EXPECTED to fight for their feudal lords with punishment if they didn’t.

The Hawks knew of this, but DIDN’T CARE. They have NEVER cared about any kind of contractual agreement or mutual understanding between different sides of the battlefield. The enemy did not consent and they still thought it was fine to murder them, innocent people, for their own superfluous greed in wanting power and glory. 

To not care about and never mention this fact about the Hawks and then whine about the unfair nature of the Eclipse is ABSURDLY hypocritical. 

You might make the argument about MATERIAL NECESSITY. This has some merit, as Judeau stated that some of the Hawks were originally street urchins with nowhere else to go, but this is in the minority. He states that most of the Hawks are blacksmith’s sons, second sons of rich aristocrats or people who were merely entranced by Griffith’s charisma and wanted glory on the battlefield.

This is not material necessity. It’s superfluous greed. If you can defend an aristocrat’s son for killing innocent people on the battlefield then you can defend a suicidal emaciated man in a hallucinogenic state doing the same thing out of GREATER necessity in the Eclipse, but sacrificing more evil people who deserve it. 

What’s more, if you make this argument then you MUST also defend Griffith, who was also a dirt poor street urchin in the slums of Wyndham, who joined as a CHILD.

There’s also the argument about betrayal and loyalty and trust, because the Hawks were his “friends” and they put their faith in him, and that is why he is morally reprehensible. 

This argument makes me sick, akin to the morons who try to argue that mobsters are somehow morally upstanding people because they follow the arbitrary code of “la cosa nostra” that they use to pretend they have the slightest modicum of humanity, a code of etticut which provides these evil groups with the mechanism for more success in killing.

Griffith understands this ridiculous creed for what it is, and the God Hand play into this. They explain to him that in turn, his soldiers piled up many more corpses on his behalf, for their own selfish dreams. They are making a moral EQUIVALENCE between Griffith sacrificing his men and his men killing people on the battlefield. There’s NO difference.

Why are they making this equivalence? Because Griffith cares about ALL people, and gives them equal moral worth. Unlike the Hawks, who are only loyal to people so long as they serve some mutual self-interest to each other in strengthening their efficiency to murder and pillage, Griffith actually cares about the people he affects, even strangers. 

Guts admits it himself while having a breakdown during his sex with Casca, that he never felt a shred of remorse towards anyone he killed, only Gambino. The Hawks CHOOSE to dehumanise the enemy in their minds as justification for their killing. They CHOOSE to make it impersonal. Griffith REFUSES to do this. 

He feels OVERWHELMING guilt towards the tens of thousands of people that died because of him. He goes so far as to whore himself out to Gannon, sacrificing his pride, dignity and mental wellbeing, to ensure that no more of his soldiers have to unnecessarily die in battle. He solemnly laments the “wasted deaths” of the enemy dead while looking over them after a battle, acknowledging that they were forced to be there by their lords and that he had killed them.

Not only that, but Griffith actually wants to END the coercive nature of feudal warfare by creating a meritocratic society.

Griffith is FAR more caring and human than ANY of the Hawks, and the God Hand play on this empathetic guilt in convincing him to  sacrifice his men, to ensure that none of them died for nothing and so their souls could rest in peace. 

Finally, he DOES act on the consent of the Hawks cos Slan lied to him that she could read their minds and knew that they’d “forgive” him for being sacrificed in Heaven. 

[griffithgutsblog]

May I ask, does Griffith ever cared about things/people beside his dream for kingdom and Guts?

1) Princess Charlotte is one of the keys to step on the throne, so he cares for his dream

2) Casca and Band of Hawks are tools to fulfill for his dream

3) Guts is embodying Griffith's ever seeking might and power he needs to co conquer Territorium.

4) Zodd is his deeply entrusted bodyguard.

Who is Rickert to Griffith? Griffith might deeply feel sorry for Rickert, because Rickert comes to him and ask him for something. So Griffith tries to make heal the pain he caused to Rickert: offers him a new job, endures humiliation Rickert makes and let him go. From Griffith point, this case is closed, no need to do anything further and waste resources on the irrelevant. So, I don't think Griffith will send anyone to track path to Rickert.

how would you rate the berserk arcs, from most to least favorite? i'm really interested in your opinion! personally my favorites are BS, GA and LC, but I am fond of Millennium and Conviction as well! Millennium could be up there imo, but i wanted to see more of griffith. neo-griff is very ''untouchable'' and ''unfeeling'' (on purpose), but i still wanted to see him strategizing more and generally having more screen time, in a way

Golden Age > Black Swordsman > Griffith's half of the Millenium Falcon arc > Lost Children > Rest of Conviction arc > Guts' half of the Millenium Falcon arc > Fantasia

I completely agree about Griffith's side of MF being interesting and wishing there was more of him and less of Guts throughout lol.

Thanks for asking, sounds like we have similar taste lol.

[fate221]

Bthump

[bellwethers]

Bthump.

[sabigawa]

GriffGuts Weekend Day 2 Prompt: Warmth

This is a companion piece to @bthump's entry, here, so you should go read that first to get the context! She wrote a lovely fic and I wanted to illustrate a moment from it <3 it's AMAZING seeing so many griffguts fics and pics today :')

@griffgutsweekend | @ofdemonsandangels

[isehne]

Thinking about the ‘if you touch me now, I’ll never..!’ and the fact Guts hasn’t touched him (or maybe been allowed close enough to do so) since the eclipse. Plus Guts’ issues with touch and whole ‘don’t you ever touch me!’ thing yet always touching griff and letting him touch him too. Touch seems to have been a big thing individually and between them

So I’m imagining a moment in the future where Guts touches Neogriff and Griffith Reacts, if not outwardly then internally. If the bthump moment came from seeing him fight, what might being touched by him do...

[ofdemonsandangels]

A Masterlist of My Favorite GriffGuts fics Part 2

Well hello again! We're coming up on two years since my last GriffGuts fic rec masterlist and so many amazing fics have come out since then! I'm really happy that the original list got so much love, I really can't wait to share more of my favorites with you all, both new or looked over from before <3

One-Shots

White Hawk Down by bishounenjump

Summary:

Sometimes Guts forgets that Griffith is just a man. A man with a body.

My comments:

A missing scene from canon that we all wish could have happened

Snowmelt by bthump

Summary:

Once again, Griffith acts impulsively when it comes to Guts. AU where Griffith doesn't find out that Guts left the Hawks until after he's gone.

My comments:

The way I was waiting for two whole years for another bthump fic after Refraction lmao. This fic is one of those fics that you pull up to cope with after you remember what happened in canon.

What would happen if the duel in the snow never happened but Griffith still chased after Guts to bring him back? Find out in 10.2k words of peak writing. In bthump we trust (￣^￣)ゞ

Late Night Reverie by bishounenjump

Summary:

"He won’t hesitate to admit that he loves being king. No blustering nobleman can take that from him.

And yet, on nights like this, when he can drink in the broad expanse of his commander — his dark brow and gentle gaze and absurdly strong physique — he knows that some dreams do occasionally obscure others."

My comments:

A very heartwarming glimpse into a future that Guts and Griffith could've had. I feel all warm inside whenever I reread this fic

we're not in love, we share no stories by Alyss_Baskerville

Summary:

Though the gash on Guts’ shoulder heals, his eyes now skip right past Griffith.

My comments:

Whereas the previous fic rec was a sweet look into a future that never was, this fic is a painful one. Holy hell did I feel like someone had carved my heart out of my chest when I had finished the final line. It reminds me a lot of the film, Atonement, so if you've seen the film, you can take a lot more away from this fic.

In the Absence of Light by Ghidorahs_Child

Summary:

Schierke aches for him, for the happiness he was denied, for the love he has lost.

My comments:

Guts and Schierke share their own Corridor of Dreams moments and it's just as bittersweet as you think it is

A Dreamless Sleep by Queenbananya

Summary:

“I’ve killed children for you,” Guts said, lying next to Griffith on a patch of grass. He peered up at the stars and remembered the kid’s face, the hand that reached out to him helplessly as the last trace of life faded from his eyes.

Or, Guts seeks comfort from Griffith, months after he's killed Adonis.

My comments:

Griffith comforting Guts as he deals with the trauma of killing Adonis is something we all desperately wanted at some point

That Dawn in the Snow by Nefastum

Summary:

He wondered now if Griffith even remembered there were others around him, or if he had completely shut them out. Casca and Judeau were staring in uncertainty, and not far back up the road it was easy to see Rickert, Corkus, and Pippin in earshot of most of their conversation. Griffith didn’t falter, though. It was like all he could see was Guts, and perhaps they’d have to find an excuse for his vulnerability later for the others. Guts could sympathize, though. The feeling was mutual.

My comments:

You can never go wrong with a duel in the snow au, and this fic is no different. The characterization of Griffith here is really great too and probably one of my favorite takes of him for this scene in particular

This Fleeting Dream by Queenbananya

Summary:

"To me... they are not friends. A friend is someone that is my equal."

Perhaps it was the way his thoughts had strayed in that direction, or simply how attuned he was to the movements of his soldiers. His eyes could always find him. Guts stood there, listening. And in his eyes, there was heartbreak.

Or, Griffith catches Guts listening in his famous fountain conversation with Charlotte and follows after him. Essentially, an exploration of his character and feelings for Guts.

My comments:

A very interesting take on a "Griffith clearing everything up with Guts after he finds out he overheard his dream speech at the fountain" au. Equal parts fluff and equal parts angst

Forever Facade by TheriOlis

Summary:

Slan has come to see what manner of flower grows atop the bones buried beneath Griffith's garden.

My comments:

The GriffGuts in this fic is mild but as the resident Slan thirster, I need you all to read this because it's really fucking good. NeoGriff being egged on by Slan for nearly 2k words? Yes, YEs, YES

Recoil and Grace by aloveleyburn

Summary:

Their fingers wind together in the darkness. Outside there is that ever-present chirping of birds and insects – the music of those dark hours, calming as cool water. Outside some car alarm goes off in the empty streets, and on the bedside table, clock reads 2:47am.

My comments:

There are so many words that I could use to describe this fic, but I think I'll just settle on 'quintessential'. I can't remember the last time I was so enthralled by a fic, so glued to my screen and absorbing every single word in front of me. The way that Ariel blends the two storylines into one in such a flawless manner reminds me of a weaver stitching together two scenes in a tapestry. Each thread is connected in a way that matters.

If there's one fic you walk away with from this list, I hope that this is the fic.

Property by starry_dynamo

Summary:

“I’ve wanted you since the moment we met, and if the reason you never returned my advances was that you felt tainted by that scum from your past, I will carve him from your memory. You are not his. You belong to me, and I want your body to never forget.”

Griffith learns why Guts has a problem with intimacy. Guts learns he has another purpose.

My comments:

BDSM to cope with trauma. That's it. It's nice and sweet and hot at the same time.

Geleotto fu il Libro by Ghidorahs_child

Summary:

"I have nightmares of you leaving me."

My comments:

GriffGuts gets ready for bed together! Featuring book talk, insecurities, and lots of domestic fluff

Steel Groove by Maplekites

Summary:

The Hawks enjoy celebrating anything they can.

My comments:

GriffGuts, my dancing queens

Completed Multi-Chapter Fics

When Night Comes Down by alovelyburn

Summary:

"If you stand far enough outside the tapestry, you can see the many threads and paths unwalked. The points of change can be so tiny they go unnoticed at the time... though the ripples travel for centuries and more, into eternity. Yet, in the end, all paths lead to one path. There may be deviations, yes, yet still we dance that same dance, with the steps assigned to us by fate. It is inevitable. One must die to resurrect. One must fall to rise."

My comments:

This fic is my Roman Empire. If Apostle!Guts is your thing, this fic is the perfect fic for you.

Ongoing Multi-Chapter Fics

our castle was always made of sand by meereens

Summary:

His life was easy to understand. Mother liked to tell him stories, wrapped up in their canopy bed with warmth crackling in her words. He was born from a real-life fairytale, everyone knew it, from a dashing knight’s love for a simple princess.

Queen Charlotte and King Griffith's young son uncovers something he was not meant to know.

My comments:

This is THEE GriffGuts kid fic (and the only one to my knowledge too haha). It's the perfect "Griffith gets guy and the throne" au and really explores what GriffGuts would look like from a child's perspective, specifically Griffith's son's perspective. I know that kid fics can be annoying with the way some people write kids but trust me, William Leopold Guts Charles Wyndham is the cutest little guy ever and I would lay down my life for him.

Fic Series

Sehnsucht by SeaDragons (SimpleNefelibata)

My comments:

GriffGuts: Hurt no Comfort the Series

[13eyond13]

💫🌔10 Griffguts Fic Recs🌔💫

So I'm not even close to done looking through this ship tag yet, but here are a handful of fic recs that I've come across so far:

Snowmelt by bthump (rated T, one-shot, 10k words) - first fic I read for this pairing, and it's so lovely and in-character and understated and heartwarming

The Painted Stage by alovelyburn (not rated, one-shot, 13k words) - so interesting and surprising in certain ways that you might need to read it twice

oil, sweat, and cinder by applecrumbledore (rated E, 2/2 chapters, 9k words) - this one might be my favourite so far, it just feels so quintessentially Berserk in flavour and tone to me. I like that the stranger and darker sides of the characters and the canon universe are not shied away from being referred to here (which actually seems quite rare to find done interestingly in Berserk fics)

the things we say to others by applecrumbledore (rated T, one-shot, 3k words) - I just love how this writer writes Griffith especially! A pair of fascinating conversations to eavesdrop on here...

Enraptured by suggestivescribe (rated E, one-shot, 5k words) Smut in a tent! What more could you want?

Chain of Dissent by beansterpie (rated M, 5/? chapters, 43k words) - The beginnings of a sweet and comforting slowburn that explores what else maybe might've been had they actually just talked it out and taken their time realizing how they feel about each other before doing anything too rash. Big fan of the "Griffith teaching Guts how to read" moments especially!

Sucker Punch by Enisy (rated M, one-shot, 8k words) - AU where Guts is a boxer and Griffith is his trainer. I thought it was so beautifully and uniquely written, and I especially appreciated it since AU fics seem to be pretty rare in this fandom, too

a clean slate by cainight (rated T, one-shot, 1.9k words) - creepiest cuddling ever

From His Lips by rayfalke (rated T, 3/3 chapters, 3k words) - cute lil kisses of various sorts

A Thousand Golden Fragments by spacetrashdelux (not rated, 2/? chapters, 1.6k words) - soft and sweet, and still believable to boot!

[berserke]

Y’all R talking about @bthump and co right? That’s kinda fucked up of them . That @sichlitt dude comes off as a creep too

For real though, the main issue I have with ship wars between one mlm ship and one het ship is not even that the character who gets slandered is automatically the woman (duh), over some obscure concept that her writing is suboptimal while the mlm dynamic has more depth or whatever

No really, it’s more the fact that ship wars exist simply because society once decided that somehow there needs to be a hierarchy between romantic dynamics and platonic (ie friendship) ones, with romantic ones necessarily having more importance and significance for the characters involved (same for people irl).

Therefore it is my belief that over 90% of ship wars wouldn’t exist, if most fans didn’t feel the need to systematically give more emotional weight to romantic dynamics over platonic ones, and that even when the writers themselves gave countless examples within the narrative that both mattered independently for the characters involved.

TL;DR love exists in all shapes and forms and doesn’t need hierarchy or comparison to be validated

No one asked for it, but I said what I said.

[campfireofdreams]

It's so funny how the first time guts and griffith/femto meet each other again in the black swordsman arc griffith acts all high and mighty and says to guts that he basically doesn't care about him at all

but then as soon as he's reincarnated and obtains a human body again the first thing he does is going straight to guts to see if he still has feelings for him

my dude, i thought he was nothing but "a squirming sacrifical offering"? And once again he's so confident that he doesn't feel anything at all

And this is guts' reaction to griffith's cold words:

it's basically the same expression. He then yells at him and tries to attack him with his sword but fails both times. He can't reach him.

But while in the black swordsman arc guts' first reaction at seeing griffith/femto is mostly just anger

when he sees neogriffith for the first time his reaction is totally different

for a moment he forgets his urge to kill. And that can't be.

But of course he's not the only one feelings things he shouldn't. Because griffith too at the end of their reunion on the hill of swords had to admit that he's not indifferent to guts. He's not free from those feelings at all.

guts isn't beneath his notice. he's not just a sacrifical offering. he never was.

This panel says it all. The life of the person you loved the most and hated the most. So that you could fragile your human heart. *focus on femto*

He desperately wanted to get rid of those feelings, bury his fragile human heart and isn't that ironic how it still didn't work? Because his heart isn't completely buried. He sees guts fighting with zodd and his heart bthumps. My blood should have been frozen. At the end he stops their fight. He doesn't let zodd kill him. Just like he stops himself in the eclipse and lets guts and casca leave with skull knight. The life you couldn't take by your own hand.

And of course in chapter 364 his lingering feelings are even more evident (with the influence of the moonlight boy) as he literally cries in front of guts and talks about feeling a sense of longing.

In conclusion:

No, it really isn't.

[sichlitt]

So we all know this panel, right? Super iconic. When Griffith gets word of the assassination of Julius and Adonis, he makes this big evil grin that leads many to assume that Griffith is glad that Adonis is dead, enough to feel giddy at the revelation. Surely this is irrefutable evidence of Griffith's cold-hearted sociopathy and unforgivable evil, right?

Wrong.

For one, there is ZERO evidence that Griffith was smiling at the dead boy in particular. It's much more likely that he was simply ignoring the boy and focusing on Julius' death alone, doing so through COMPARTMENTALISATION and EMOTIONAL REPRESSION. 

We have lots of contextual evidence that this is what Griffith does when confronted with dead children. When the child soldier in Griffith's army is killed, he is emotionally distraught, but in the lake scene with Casca he assures her that he doesn't actually care. He justifies sleeping with Gennon as a purely logical move absent of emotion. We know that this apathetic persona is a lie because when Casca brings up this boy, Griffith immediately starts shaking and resorting to self harm to quell his deep-seated emotional anguish. His persona then breaks entirely and he goes on an unhinged rant about how he must atone for the sake of the dead and that he won't allow his men to needlessly die for him. 

There's no absence of care, it's just well-hidden. 

He then successfully represses this vulnerability by insisting to Casca that he is okay. We know from his previous behaviour and Casca's response that it's a lie. He isn't fine, but his expression does a good job of HIDING that pain.

This added context recontextualises the smile at the Primrose Hall by calling into question the reliability of his outward expression in revealing his inner thoughts and feelings, while showing how fucked up his coping mechanisms are with regards to dead children. 

Some people may claim that as the two scenes are years apart, he likely grew to genuinely become more apathetic over time as he became numb to so many of his soldiers' deaths, but this can't be true because the God Hand in the ECLIPSE show him visions of the dead child soldier from over half a decade ago to play on his empathetic guilt. This draws an emotional through-line throughout the entire arc proving that he has always cared about people that die for his dream. It's not at all unreasonable to apply it to the smile. The dream speech and the lake scene are 2 chapters apart for a reason. 

What's more, if you want to apply sociopathy to Griffith through the smile, you must do the same to Guts.

These next panels might shock you, so brace yourselves.

Yep, that's right. Guts also smiles at the death of a child he indirectly killed. Shocking, I know. This scene is conveniently forgotten by Guts stans whenever they try and fail to condemn Griffith. 

This isn't all, though. He even LAUGHS about her death when Puck asks him about it.

Now of course we know from context that Guts doesn't actually believe the words he's saying here and is merely using this philosophy as a coping mechanism to emotionally distance himself from the people who die around him, just as Griffith does in the dream speech.

Guts and Griffith do the EXACT SAME THING, so if you want to condemn one, you must also equally condemn the other.

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

(neo)griffith declaring himself "free" in the same scene that his heart goes "bthump" at the sight of guts is so funny. me when i lie. griffith i know what you are

[beansterpie]

yeah I pretty much agree rip. I mean, I am disappointed because apparently I keep holding out some hope that interesting stuff might happen, but I'm also resigned to the fact that even if the events happening in the continuation are following Miura's plans to a T, it's inevitably going to be influenced by Mori and co's interpretations of the characters + won't have the emotional nuance that Miura was so good at.

I guess the thing that keeps bothering me about the continuation is knowing that the mainstream fandom is largely going to take it as gospel and evidence for Griffith being ~evil~ -- which I know I should just ignore lol but I can't help being annoyed by it.

But ultimately Casca being in some weird fugue state with implanted memories or whatever isn't surprising, though I agree it does give the impression that some time has passed. Unless it's a situation in which the implanted memories just makes her think she's always lived like this, but in reality has only been a few days at most? It's hard to tell-- the pages where she's fighting guards and wrecking shit has black panel borders which usually means it's a flashback, but who knows whether that's a flashback from weeks/months ago or from yesterday, only suppressed with magic.

And honestly her wearing a Crimson Dress™ does feel kind of promising, considering that red wasn't a color associated with her previously even if the dress is fucking ugly ugh. And the animal motif also feels deliberate in a way that makes me hope she's going to do something significant at some point 🤔

idk if you've heard yet, but the newest chapter was leaked!

(ok apparently posting links in asks have gotten weirder ugh)

Ty for letting me know! What are your thoughts on it, if you feel like posting about it?

Here's the link for anyone else who hasn't seen it yet

And my thoughts and a couple more asks under the cut, ty for the asks!

Anonymous asked:

What are your thoughts on the latest chapter? It was centred around Casca. Also idk if you already knew but there’s another chapter coming out a month from now. Which is kinda insane for berserk lol

Yeah I'm glad we're gonna get another string of chapters instead of just occasional chapters in isolation.

And my thoughts are: whatever lol.

Like, it's basically what I expected. The magic-induced stupor Casca's in is both boring and shitty for people who wanted Casca to exist as a character, but for me it's also reassuring in that it prevents most things I don't want to happen from happening lol, and it keeps Casca's trauma and big emotions on ice for a while longer because I'm still hoping for the behelit to be hers. If Casca's a full character then I risk disappointment with how her trauma is handled and what she chooses to do. If she's a drugged up damsel in distress who occasionally wakes up enough to punch a guard then I don't have to care, basically. Cool, go through the motions, I'm not invested in this part of the story so idgaf. Sucks to be Casca, same as it ever was.

She's finally got an animal association, and yk, I don't mind it. I can roll with raven for her. (plsplspls say it's laying the foundation for her apostle form pls)

I would like to imagine there's some meaning to be gleaned from Danann putting Casca in a dress to go see Guts and Casca wearing a kind of similar dress here in Falconia (feathers, head-piece) but probably the only throughline is Casca not getting to choose her own clothes/highlighting that she prefers to wear pants.

The moment she wakes up was mildly interesting, I'm glad the memories were of Farnese and co even if she did start fretting about Guts lol. There's a subtle zig-zag pattern in the last drop of water before she wakes up and starts fighting guards:

Which may be absolutey nothing, but made me think of the Beast of Darkness and gives me hope for Casca's inner darkness.

Anonymous asked:

I’m sorry bthump but after ch372 it seems like the story is indeed heading in the direction of Gutsca being endgame and Griffith being this manipulative machiavellian emotionless type villain, that last panel of him looks so exaggeratedly evil

Idk, I mean we already knew Casca still has ~feelings~ for Guts, it's not surprising to me that she'd dream about being carried away from him and think about him. It's not great, but it didn't majorly disappoint me or fill me with dread. If anything it makes Guts' sword obsession even funnier lol. Talk about emotional one-sidedness.

And rather than feeling terribly romantic, that moment when she fights the guards and thinks that she has to get back to Guts or he'll... makes me think she's anticipating Guts walking into a trap to rescue her, which, yk, is probably what's going to happen lol, unless this sword crisis resolves in a way that gives Guts an upper hand/a better plan B. But again, it's not surprising, the only thing I'm really curious about is what's going to happen when Guts gets here.

Though it does make me a little concerned that enough time has passed during this chapter that we're skipping over Guts' side of the story for a while and he might actually show up soon? We left his story on a cliffhanger so I feel like that would be stupid, and when I read the chapter I parsed it as like, Casca's first day as a damsel, but upon re-reading it's more likely one day in the life after days/weeks/months, so who knows?

And Griffith's cartoonish evil smile is dumb but I don't care honestly, I already got over it last chapter which also ended with an evil grin lmao. I know Miura would draw him with an ambiguously neutral expression so I just substitute my own in. I don't think it's a sign that he's going to be a 2 dimensional cackling villian, though frankly if he is I'd still chalk that up to non-Miura writing lacking all nuance and subtlety. What I imagine is in the future for Griffith though is more evil smiles, some Guts taunting, and then like, a crumbling of the facade in a moment of truth. It's just that the facade is no longer mildly neutral it's smug sinister evil because the new crew can't draw him.

Though man I read your ask while I was still at work before I could read the actual chapter and I was like 😟. But also I appreciate it lol bc you gave me the chance to brace myself for the worst, so I ended up pretty neutral on this chapter rather than disappointed.

I see a lot of people very annoyed with this chapter (and the continuation as a whole), and like, I get it because it objectively largely sucks lmao, but idk, I guess I have very low expectations for the continuation of Berserk comparatively. I'm no longer here for a good emotional story, I'm here to find out how it ends. I'm reading the cliffnotes version as far as I'm concerned, just scanning it for clues that point towards my desired ending.

[marley-manson]

Ray talks to Fraser one last time before going undercover.

Posting for @ds30below's Ray Vecchio day.

[sheepwhosleeps]

Why is it always Guts fanboys (or fans in general) who undermine Casca's expierences? They're always saying she owes Guts sex, or how she cheated on Guts during the Eclipse (which makes no goddamn sense) and how she's just a burden for Guts to carry around and screw every once in a while. And why are they always saying how she has to choose Guts between Griffith and Guts. WHAT IS THERE TO CHOOSE? Both men sa'd her? Guts treats her like dog shit and is far too obsessed with his supposed 'enemy' to think two seconds about her. And Guts literally had to have someone mention Casca in a romantic way for him to even consider it. Griffith never saw her as a romantic partner or even someone he's willing to get with romantically and only did anything sexual with her to 1) piss off Guts and 2) which is more of a headcanon some deep rooted trauma related to sex and power. (Gennon's the best example of this, if you want more of an explanation for this I'd suggest checking out Bthump's blog as they explain my thoughts about Griffith and sex perfectly) Casca pls run away again. Let Guts suffer because he is a piece of shit.

Also while we're on the topic I will be writing a long ahh rant about how Guts is actually a shit human being and is glazed to hell and back by his fans (Don't get me wrong though, I LOVE Guts just as much as I love Griffith and Casca)

[jiangwanyeehaw]

You do realize how messed up Griffith is right? And you thirsting over him makes you just as bad as him or at least excusing his vile actions. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Imma just say this once:

1) if you think I am a bad person simply because I like a fictional character then I have no need to talk to you because our world views don't align anyway.

2) you do not know me and you have no idea what I think about Griffith's actions (spoiler: I do not condone any of em, big surprise there)

3) if you want to know my views on the entire (tiring) Griffith debate I suggest you read bthump's meta posts here on tumblr because I am only here to have fun.

And 4) I am not ashamed because I haven't done anything wrong and because I don't hate myself.

Bye bye anon <3