if i we're to write a thornute fanfic at some point in the maybe or maybe not so distant future, would you rather read an au
a) that starts by ragnar fleeing canute (6yrs old) to iceland to save him from a coup d'etat that ended the royal family. him and thorfinn form a short of on-and-off bickering friendship. one day (around 13 yrs old) they sneek onto leif's ship, who is going to trade in the surrounding cities. some stuff happens that will lead to the two joining to askeladd's team. (thorfinn's pov)
b) where instead of askeladd sacrificing himself, he helps and canute to partake in the intrigues of the royal court to bring down sweyn, and any other potential successor to make canute king. meanwhile, thorfinn becomes the prince's most trusted bodyguard. (probably canute's pov)
Thesis statement of this goddamn thesis: Guts is sexually attracted to Griffith.
Now, this is long. This is the shortest part of a four-part series, and this isn’t a short post. Basically my intention is to show why I find it so incredibly easy to read Guts as attracted to Griffith, and explain how this reading adds layers of meaning that fit neatly within Berserk’s themes and enrich the story. I’m not going to speculate on Miura’s motives for adding a ton of gay subtext, like, it could be anything from trying to be as gay as possible without pissing off his publishers to it all being totally coincidental and meaningless with an alternate explanation for every point I have, or anywhere in between.
My point is only that Berserk readily lends itself to gay readings, with a focus on Guts’ sexual attraction to Griffith (as I feel like it tends to be neglected in favour of interpretations that Griffith has a one-sided crush.)
Part one covers the Black Swordsman stuff and the way Guts and Griffith’s relationship is revealed to the audience, part two covers the first several chapters of the Golden Age with a focus on visuals and how Guts sees Griffith, part three tackles Casca’s role in the story, and part four is more of an overview on why I think reading Berserk through a gay lens works so well.
So here we go.
Part One - Our Introduction to the Concept of Guts and Griffith
We’re introduced to Guts and Griffith’s relationship near the end of the Black Swordsman arc. Before the appearance of the Godhand we know that Guts is really fucking angry, we know he’s monster slaying because he’s out for revenge, we know he’s looking for a group called “the Godhand,” and thanks to Puck spelling some stuff out we know that he’s also sad and deeply afraid that he’s fighting a losing battle.
The comparison to Vargas hints that maybe he lost some loved ones, plus an eye and a limb to an apostle which is close enough to the truth to be decent foreshadowing.
But it’s not until the Godhand show up as the Count’s about to die that we learn what’s really going on with Guts. The information is given to us surprisingly straightforwardly, and the way the information is revealed to us is pretty telling.
The first six chapters have been teasing the mystery of what happened to Guts to piss him off so much, from the way we kick off in media res, to hints about his issues and trauma (eg the aforementioned Vargas comparison, the way he lets the possessed corpse of the kid stab him, etc), to Puck directly asking what the hell happened to him outloud for the benefit of the audience. We start to get our answer in chapter 7.
"De akkor már Nemecsek is sírt, nagyon szomorúan, nagyon keservesen, az ő közlegényszívének minden mélységes fájdalmával, és ebben a lázas sírásban egyre csak ezt motyogta:
- Kisbetűvel írták a nevemet... kisbetűvel írták az én szegény, tisztességes kis nevemet..."
"But by now Nemecsek, too, was in tears, crying bitterly with all the acute anguish of his "private" heart. And all through this paroxysm of tears he repeatedly mum-bled:
-They entered my name in small letters… my poor honest name… written in small letters…"
go read the Paul street boys. the english translation is up on the internet archive
(you have to log in and borrow the book but it's literally free)
A Supergirl film tiszteltére itt vannak a PUF karakter és kedvenc szuperhősei (és egyebek)
Nemecsek - Artemis
Igazából nem mélyed el a témaban túl mélyen
Csónakos megnézette vele a Young Justice első két évadát, és azóta nagyon nagy fanja, de amikor Wally meghalt ucsak pár részig folytatta
Artemis miatt elolvasott egy Outlaws képregényt, de nem nagyon értette mi történik
Nem olvasott egy Green Lantern képregényt se, de Kolnay és Barabás egyszer összevesztek azon hogy John Stewart vagy Hal Jordan a jobbik és belevonták a vitába szóval utána nézett; Hal Jordant Kolnay bánatára nem bírja, viszont felfedezte Kyle Raynert és őt nagyon szereti
Boka - Hunterss
Szintén nem érdekli annyira a téma, mivel az első és egyetlen film amit látott Zack Snyder Supermanje volt, ami nagyon nem az ő ízlése
Csele mansplainelte neki a Birds of Prey loret, és kölcsönadta neki az egyik képregényét hogy olvassa el
Csónakos - Flash, Robin, Spiderman
Az összes robint és flasht szereti, de a kedvencei Tim Drake és Wally West / Peter Parker annyira nem érdekli, viszonti Miles Moralest imádja
Imádja az összes absolute dc kepregényt
A legnagyobb birdflash es timkon shipper
Az első aki elkezdtett képregényeket olvasni miután újranézte a 2003-as Teen Titans showt, teljesen kiakadt amikor megtudta hogy Nighwing és Starfire nincsenek együtt
A kedvenc robinjai sorrendben: Tim, Duke, Stephanie, Damian, Dick, Jason
Gondolhatsz bármire, mindegy milyen underground, már olvasta
Az egyetlen ami rendesen gyűjti is a képregényeket, és nem csak azokat veszi meg amiket nagyon szeret
Imádta James Gunn Supermanjét, annyira hogy kétszer is megnézte moziban, először Kolnay-val es Barabással, Aztán Cselével, és rávette Nemecseket is hogy menjenek el megnézi Bokával
Egy éve várja a Supergirl filmet
Csele - Black Canary, Batman Beyond
Van egy 200 követős edit accountja tiktokon ahova legtöbbször Dinahról posztol (always captioned as smth like "black canary step on me😍🤤)
Hardcore Birds of Prey WARRIOR - először a filmet látta és mivel imádta elkezdett olvasni, azóta utálja már utálja
Halált kíván Green Arrowra mivel óriási dinahbabs shipper es csak úgy általában bénának tartja, viszont sajnos sok mindenben belefut amiket olvas, mivel nem csak Dianaht szereti, hanem Arsenal nak is óriás fanja
Tele van a szobája Terry poszterekkel, és egyszer írt egy x reader fanfictiont wattpadon (kemény 36 fejezete volt, de a történet feléig se jutott és végül félbehagyta)
Iszonyatosan kiakadt amikor megtudta hogy Patrick Harpin és Yuhki Demers akartak csinálni egy filmet ami végül nem lett, de csak egy évvel később jutott el hozzá a hír mert nem nagyon követi milyen animált projectek vannak
Szintén imádja az absolute dc képregényeket, főleg absolute Wonder Womant (ofc shippeli Zatannaval he's the founding father of #gaysforyuri)
A kedvenc robinja Damian
Barabás - Cyclops
Imádja az X-men sorozatot (és általában az animált dolgokat), viszont a filmeket nem nézte végig csak párat James Marsden miatt, és az Avangerst egyenesen meg nem érintené ha az élete múlna rajta
Viszonylag sok képregénye van, de csak colleced editionokat vesz, és Kolnay azzal basztatja hogy "ezek nem igazi képregények"
A kedvenc Spidermanje Peter Parker és Gwen párti és Tom Holland párti (+az első film óta egy tomdaya shipper, ami miatt Kolnay esszéket írt arról, miért rossz dolog az rpf, egészen addig amíg kiderült hogy tényleg együtt vannak)
Kolnay - Deadpool
Évente kb 20szor megnézi a filmet, néha csak hátttérzajnak indítja be mikorben tanul vagy takarít hogy Barabást ragebaitelje vele
Kiskorában avangers selfinsert fanficeket olvasott, amiket Kolnay megtalált és bullyingolta miatta
Nagyon szereti Thort is, a kedvenc filmje a Ragnarok, és többször is látta a Loki sorozatot
A kedvenc Spidermanje Miles Morales, és Mj párti és Andrew Garfield párti
Geréb - Nighwing
Nagyon nagy poser
Ha lát egy headcanon videót és látja hogy a kommentek tele vannak olyasmikkel hogy "the mischaracterization is CRAZY" meg "pick up comic im begging u" akkor becsatlakozik és odaír valami olyat hogy "bro only read wayne family adventures" (ő még azt se olvasta, nemhogy mást)
Áts Feri - Rogue
Kiskorában az X -men filemeken nőtt fel, és 7.-ben megnézte a '92-es sorozatot, azóta minden egyes képregényt elolvasott aminek a legkissebb köze is van hozzájuk
Egy diehard romy fan aki elbőgi magát ha csak belegondol a kapcsolatukba és angsty ficeket olvasgat szabadidejében, de tagadja és lenézi a shippereket
Pásztor#1 - Superboy Prime
bc they're both chuds
Azt hiszi Tom King Wonder Woman runja tök jó (nem mindtha olvasta volna, de meg van róla győződve hogy csak a WokE AGendA uszítja ellene az olvasókat)
Egy Zack Snyder dickrider aki örül hogy az early review-ek a Suoergirl filmről nem pozitívak
Pásztor#2 - Superboy Prime
Igazából nem olvasott el semmit csak a bátyját kopizza
sooooo i'm back//bocsi a ask-ok ignorálása miatt, sikeresen queerbaitelve lettem a bylerrel úgyhogy tél óta tart az apátia de szerencsére visszatértem a képregény olvasáshoz a supergirl miatt úgyhogy visszafogom olvasni őke és megírom mindet😛 (still mourning byler tho🥀)
IF duffers could make will awakening powers+ give us overdose of byler scenes in JUST ONE FUCKIN EPISODE IN VOL 1 (EP 4) THEN I WILL STAY DELULU AND CRAZY BELIEVING THEY COULD MAKE BYLER ENDGAME IN THE LAST FUCKIN EP (EPISODE 8 VOL 3 HERE I'LL GOOOO)
why i think there's still some chance of byler becoming endgame
i know how queerbait-like vol2 made byler, but i think there's still hope left, so let's talk about will's coming out scene.
it was uncomfortable, awkward, and definitely not something that would aspire the queer youth to come out.
we start off by will talking with joyce. he is scared, but in a way most people do the first time they actually about to admit their sexuality to someone. (it's especially hard for him, as the show is set during the aids epidemic, in a small town in indiana. him being terrified is more than understandable.)
but despite the fear, him coming out to her was already planned.
in the beginning of the volume, robin told him that before she got together with vickie --and this conversation was started by will, who again, asks her about how did she get together with her girlfriend - at this point, he's definitely not over mike, he's hopeful, even-- she tells him that first, she had to find someone she could come out to, someone who would support her
this step is a must before being in a relationship. will tooks her advice and he's already thinking about who he should tell it.
so the part of him coming out to her wasn't directly forced by vecna, it was in his mind before him.
as he is about to confess, the very person that a big part of this conversation was about to be, (-she cares about him soo deeply, even if he wouldn't have outright say it, joyce would've figured out that he's in love with him-) mike wheeler, interrupts the scene.
he would leave shortly after but will stops him, saying he should hear this too. i think that in that moment, he actually thought about confessing to him, but something stopped him. but what? - he was positive about his feelings being reciprocated until now, he was still thinking about getting together with him when he was speaking with robin in the beginning of the volume.
whatever vecna showed him, it made him think that mike doesn't love him back, and this was the moment that this truly hit him, actually made him realize it in a deeper level.
what he saw might be false, but it feels very real to him - we know that some things vecna shows are becoming reality, like for nancy, her family getting attacked. (i feel like it's also important to note that vecna showed every family member's suffering to her, and it all became true - except for mike's, which could be a nod to what he made will see; with the future regarding mike being portrayed falsely. or it is yet to be solved, which would mean we will have a mike centered finale.)
it is now canon that music isn't the only thing that can save you from vecna, but instead your connection to the real world is the person most important to you (lucas for max, mike for holly - i think holly the heroic helped her because she got it from her brother as a way of him appreciating/praising/showing affection to/etc… her)
if vecna showed a future where mike would leave will, it would takes away the most important person from him, making him more vulnerable than ever.
will, knowing that a connection is able to save him, is desperate to get over his 'friend'; he forces himself to just shut his feelings down, reducing the love of his life only to a silly hallway crush, and speaking in past tense to convince himself that mike is now only just a friend.
what i'm trying to say is that he still wants mike to be his 'most important person' and he doesn't think that he can change that, 'just' the way mike is important to him. if he isn't in love with him, he can't be reject by him.
(but this is exactly what vecna wants, for him to push mike away.)
so right after asking mike to stay, he quickly, without actually thinking it through invites everyone else into the room to make his feelings for mike less obvious to him. this leads to an intentionally uncomfortable and weird coming out scene.
and i'm saying it is intentional because this show knows how to write good coming out.
the robin and steve scene in season 3 was absolutely beautiful, and even though i was pretty young and wasn't actually in the fandom at the time, i'm sure it helped to a lot of people, just as her speech in volume one did to many more (- including myself).
she also stated that will is the third person to know she's a lesbian, and she's hoping to double that number by the end of the year. so the writers are aware that coming out isn't something that can just be done in one sit with more than a dozen of people watching you.
even their placements made it feel like will was cornered, with everyone else facing, and a lot of them looking down at him. that's because he is; him coming out is an indirect and direct consequence of vecna messing with his mind, threatening to out him and lying that him mike would leave him.
will tries to take back the control; he'd rather tell he's gay to random strangers he met seconds ago than having vecna out him to anybody.
(this goes perfectly with vecna as a s/a allegory, with will being the victim.)
and this way, he can tell it to mike too, without making his love for him too obvious.
will goes through with his plan of dismissing his feelings as something long gone and minor, and considers the matter closed.
so we got this awkward speech, (which is also probably the worst coming out scene in television history,) with the whole town and more in the room.
but the focus isn't on them, the people we see the reactions of are the ones actually close to him. by the amount of time the camera is focused on him, It is clear that the most important person out of the others is mike.
we can just look at his reactions, and oh boy, it's obvious he is putting the pieces together in real time. he definitely knows he's the person will liked.
you can see it in his face, as he really, actually looks at his friend and realizes it. the snowball became an avalanche, and it hits mike hard.
he's the last out of the main four to hug will. and no, it's not because he has any problems with him. he's hesitant because he's thinking about how much he misunderstood everything.
i think the following happened to him:
at the end of season 3, when el kisses him and her and the byers family moves to california, he realized that he's gay and is in love with will.
he doesn't exactly accept himself, but he is hopeful about his relationship with will. he doesn't want to break up with el over a letter, as he still cares about her deeply, and always will, but he cannot say he loves her because he knows it's a lie.
he's not comfortable with his sexuality yet, but he's in the right path towards self-acceptance.
he hangs out with 'outcasts', (eddie, for example, who said 'forced conformity is what's killing people' - he looks up to him so he's must be agreeing with this statement,) and he doesn't care about popularity or other's opinion.
then he gets that letter, in which el tells him will likes a girl, and all his hopes and dreams are shattered. if he though about talking with el, and pursuing a relationship with will before, now it's sure not the case. he's goes deeper into the closet than ever before.
when he meets will, he's incredibly jealous and tries to piss him off by seemingly only paying attention to his girlfriend, who he now isn't planning on breaking up with out of spite towards his crush, and fear from his own sexuality.
but then el gets taken away, and without her there, it becomes harder to pretend.
he's desperate to fix his relationship with will. he would might even try to take the relationship further, but the other is so insisted that el and him are meant to be, that if he had any hope left for the two of them, it is gone with will's words. he might even got convinced that staying with el is actually good for him.
he spends the next one and a half year getting over will. (he probably broke off things with el off screen, even if that's a horrible writing choice -it's not like this would be the first in this season- it seems likely. or if not, they definitely not as close as they used to be, and if they really want to make them endgame, i genuinely can't think of a worse way to do so.) he slowly convinced himself he doesn't have a chance, and he tries to leave it behind.
this is why will and him aren't so close anymore - he cares about him deeply, but to get over him, he needs space.
then will talks about pushing people away because of his sexuality, and he recognizes himself.
his brain almost shuts down as he tries to process everything in such a little time, and that's why he reacts to will's coming out later than we would expect his best friend to. because they aren't just best friends, what they feel is so much deeper.
in the final episode, we will see mike's renewed feelings save will from vecna.
and quickly, i want to talk about the duffers' interview, where they stated that will did get over mike.
i think they were thinking that byler is obvious, and they wanted it to be a bigger plottwist.
unfortunately, they overestimated volume 2 every way possible, and what was meant to be a clear byler moment got rushed and lost amongst the many-many other things that were going on.
whether byler will be canon or not, they took away what would make it so important: it would've been groundbreaking, because it would've been happening between two of the main characters.
mike and will got brushed to the side in this three episodes, and i won't have faith in the writers to significantly change this in the finale, no matter how bad i want it.
will's coming out scene was horrible; forcing the main character out of the closet infront of a bunch of people, many of them who he doesn't even know, is just fucked up, no matter how plot relevant it is. they were trying so hard to make tammy into this big metaphor of a gay kid's unrequited love, but it came out so bad for so many reasons.
and now, if they take back what they said, it would be a clear confirmation of byler, and not the plottwist they were hoping for.
no matter what happens, they messed this up so bad. they ruined the holidays, and let the homophobes bully byler shippers for wanting representation of something that the show supposed to be about.
a good captain always goes down with her ship.
if it's not canon, we'll still have fanfictions and it's just a matter of time before someone makes a byler rewrite a million times better than the canon.
but there is still a little hope left, that maybe, byler won't be one of the many queerbaits, and i'm holding into that.
