#soaringhigher

[impermanent-art]

‘Soaring Higher’

Recent work by Emily Ding in South Park DTLA, with support from Street Art Mankind.

[bthump]

i've been thinking about this a lot lately, and since you ship these characters, this is a good place to make this question. (also, feel free to link me to it if you already answered something like this!)

when griffith said that guts was the only one who made him forget his dream, do you think he could potentially put it aside to be at guts' side, or am i just thinking too much?

i actually tried to see that with my gay switch turned off, but it automatically turns on when i see stuff like this. i mean, is there even a way to see it in a non-romantic way? his dream was the most important thing and then… guts.

i really hope that griffith somehow says these exact same words at guts' face in the future before he dies/if he dies, just for the sake of the tragic gay ending.

Thanks for the ask!

Yeah I think it's like, hard canon that he values Guts over his dream. We see it when he risks his life (and consequently the dream) to save Guts' life multiple times, when he throws the dream away after Guts leaves (and that's exactly how it's framed in the scene with the King in the torture chamber), and when Griffith directly thinks about how "Now as he shines so glaring within me... the junk grows dull."

I think he definitely had the potential to put it aside to be with Guts, though I don't think he necessarily would unless circumstances forced him to choose. In an AU where Guts never left there's no real reason he couldn't have his cake and eat it too lol. But yeah given the choice between Guts and his dream, he'd choose Guts as he did over and over again during the Golden Age. Even when he finally chose his dream for good during the Eclipse, it was specifically because Guts is more important than the dream. If anything the Eclipse was as much to escape Guts' hold over him as it was to pursue the dream.

Though I do think that in an AU where Griff becomes king the mundane way and Guts stays with him and they like, have a secret relationship for a few years, Griffith would inevitably chill out enough about the dream that it would stop mattering so much and he would no longer be motivated by guilt and the need to make thousands of deaths meaningful by creating a utopian society. I see it as a subconscious organic process, like slowly but surely Griffith just grows more emotionally healthy due to being more emotionally open and having positive relationships with people, especially Guts, who he can rely on to mitigate his self-loathing, yk? So in that sense I think that Griffith could put aside the dream for Guts eventually, just by not irrationally prioritizing it above everything else.

And yeah it's homoerotic as hell lol, I can't see a non-romantic explanation either. I sometimes pay lipservice to the idea that it could be platonic affection, but let's be real, not only is it love, it's practically love at first sight. It's not just Guts becoming his first True Friend whose opinion he respects and who can be an external source of validation that helps make him less emotionally reliant on his dream, because Griffith risked it all like a week after meeting him lol. Guts was the first and only person Griffith ever asked to join the Hawks, and Casca even has a little angry internal monologue about how Griffith has never spoken to anyone else the way he speaks to Guts when he says he wants him.

Also especially after seeing some more of Miura's translated interview excerpts I figure there's like, no way the homoeroticism was accidental.

And oof that would be a painful, but satisfying final exchange between them, nice.

(Some of what I said here kinda relates to a specific reading of Griffith and the dream I have, which I explain at great length here lol. Basically the idea that he's driven to achieve it because of guilt and a lack of intrinsic self-worth, and that Guts replaces the dream as his source of validation. So yeah if you want an explanation for that, voila.)

[bthump]

ever since i got into berserk, there's this certain thing that keeps bothering my mind.

casca seemed very aware of what was actually happening between griffith and guts since the very beginning. she was even showing signals of jealously while she was having a conversation with guts, mentioning that griffith never acted that way with anyone else. also, there's that moment where she starts to say something about his relationship with guts and doesn't finish, (which is filled with romantic implications.) maybe she "misunderstood" griffith's feelings because of charlotte, sure, but it's still weird.

i mean, when guts returned after that year, rickert literally said that griffith was depressed because of him. it was obvious at this point and there was no room for any doubts about his feelings for guts. casca was also blaming him for what happened to griffith and despite all that, she still decided to throw herself in guts' arms? i'm not a casca hater or anything, i just can't understand her actions at all. everything looks very wrong to me.

i'd like to know your thoughts about this! (again, hehe.) ♡

Thanks for the ask!

There's a lot I hate about the Guts/Casca sex scene lol, but I don't think Casca fucking Guts while knowing Griffith loves him is an issue. For one thing, Griffith might be dead, which she says before they bone. She's tired of making decisions based on a dude she hasn't seen in a year and who might be dead by now. For another thing, even if she does make the connection that Griffith's love = he wants an actual romantic relationship with Guts, there's no indication that she believes Guts isn't straight and reciprocates those feelings, or that Griffith's love for Guts could even go anywhere if Guts' did reciprocate. He had a dream and a princess to marry, and now they have no idea what his situation will be if they find him alive.

Griffith and Guts ending up together romantically probably isn't a realistic possibility in Casca's mind, even if she is jealous of Griffith's nebulous feelings for Guts.

And finally, even if it was a distinct likelihood that they're both physically attracted to each other and willing to act on it, why should Casca have to step aside when Guts is also willing to hook up with her here and now? Guts has a free choice too, and he's the one who kissed her first, so he's choosing her over the potential of Griffith.

Like, I know I prefer griffguts lol, but I don't blame Casca for wanting something for herself here. She just spent a year maintaining the Hawks for Griffith's sake and losing her mind over it, I'm kind of happy for her that she decides to do something for herself, even if I think it's misguided, I don't enjoy it, and a lot of the writing around it is messy. Like, taking Casca's desire for Guts and suicide attempt at face value rather than criticizing it to hell and back as I'm wont to do lol, I think Casca fucking Guts rather than going 'I can't because Griffith is into him' was the better option for her.

Also, at the end of the day, the most accurate answer is just that the homoeroticism is still subtext and therefore you can't assume that Casca makes the connection between Griffith's love and Griffith's sexual desire, and judge her actions based on that, imo. Textually she's jealous of Griffith's feelings, but those are ambiguous, and it could be the intensity, rather than the nature of those feelings, that she's jealous of. Like yeah I think the homoerotic element is incredibly obvious, but if it's meant to factor in wrt how other characters behave and how we perceive their choices, then it needs to be textual.

[bthump]

i just got into berserk and i was 100% ready to see griffith the same way most people do in the fandom. but damn, was i wrong? i mean, the whole bottling up emotions to not feel guilty and then, when guts left, everything just exploded. that was way too relatable in a personal level to me.

that actually made it feel like a big punch in the face, since i was hoping for him to be a "villain" from the start… i was praying for him to be evil from the start.

i knew already how the fandom treated him, so it honestly made me feel cursed. not for loving him, but having to deal with people doing pathetic takes all the time about this character. i didn't really wanted to like griffith, but it happened and at the same time this makes me feel cursed, it also makes me feel smart for being able to understand his side of the story.

it's my first time being a "problematic" character enjoyer, so you can tell how much of an overwhelming struggle that is, hehe.

also, i absolutely love your blog! you're one of the true lights in this chaotic fandom. ♡

Thank you very much! It's always a little rough when you're in a fandom with a strong majority opinion you disagree with, and Berserk is worse than most with its aggressiveness. But yeah lol, take pride in having more reading comprehension than most Berserk fans on like, reddit. Glad you found the Griffith-loving part of the fandom!

[madamemerola]

✨LIVE FULLY. 💎Make today count. 💛Enjoy your life intentionally. ✅Aim for greater heights and SOAR. 💜You are worth it. XoXo from #madamemerola #positiveaffirmation #thebangcreator #soaringhigher #igniter #goodmorningvibes #confidencebooster #totaltransformationcoach https://www.instagram.com/p/Cat5bKLOzY0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[madamemerola]

✨SOARING HIGHER IN CHRIST! ✅It’s all about Him and what He does despite my shortcomings and unfaithfulness. I am forever grateful to you, Lord Jesus. 📣Declare boldly today that you will soar higher and not become weary as the year winds down to make way for another year. 🛐Your strength will not be weak in the remaining days of December in Jesus name, Amen. 💛Happy Sunday and be blessed in all you do. XoXo from #madamemerola #thebangcreator #soaringhigher #trustinthelordwithallyourheart #faithfulgod #dailydeclarations #christianaffirmations #wordofgodspeaks #igniter #ibelievegod #empoweredlife #spiritualpath #christianliving (at Soaring Higher) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXGGO_-DiNr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[madamemerola]

✨SKY HIGH. Higher levels awaits in November and beyond. ⬆️Who is joining me? 📌P.S I had a superb time today on Live A Phenomenal Life Show with Madame Merola featuring Dr Monisola Adanijo. It was a great way to kick off the new month. Replay is available on my YouTube channel and Facebook page @madamemerola. XoXo from #madamemerola #thebangcreator #higherheights #soaringhigher #publicspeakingcoach #personalmastery #totaltransformation #selfconfidencejourney #nextlevelmoves #billionaireinthemaking #empoweredlifestyle (at Sky High) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVveTP5DSjb/?utm_medium=tumblr

[madamemerola]

✨I believe I can fly. I believe I can soar. What you believe determines your altitude in life. If you think like a chicken, you will act like a chicken and stay grounded like one. I thank God that I was raised to think and act like an Eagle from a very young age. That helped me to develop a high level of possibility thinking. Armed with the word of God and His Godfidence now, I feel even more audacious and powerful. Watch me spread my wings and soar higher to my #endlesspossibilities. No matter what comes my way, I will keep SOARING. Where are all my fellow eagles 🦅? The view at the top is phenomenal and I want you to live it with me. SOAR HIGHER, DREAM BIGGER, LIVE BETTER! XoXo from #madamemerola #thebangcreator #soaringhigher #faithtogomega #eagleswings #faithingodalways #ibelieveicansoar #ibelieveicanfly #keepgrowing #youhavewhatittakes #eaglementality #thepowerofthemind #merolainspires #lifecoachingwithmerola #positivityandhopequeen Dress 👗 by @maryibeabuchi (at Soaring Higher) https://www.instagram.com/p/COkhCCzH5mh/?igshid=oid9hnn89m3