I figured I needed to make this its own post, so it's not tied to being part of a response to asks.
(And it feels sort of appropriate, with the newest and upcoming chapters.)
In regards to the future of Guts and Casca's relationship:
I ultimately do want them to end up together, of course.
But I need them to get to a place where Casca can actually face Guts, so they can finally have a real and proper discussion.
I want them to talk about everything (since they literally haven't had a fair chance or time to repair their relationship): the events leading up to the Eclipse, what transpired after, what Guts did in his two years away from Casca, his journey to find her during Conviction, and of course the one they embarked on to Elfhelm.
But most importantly, I want Casca to confront Guts on why he abandoned her in Godot's cave and why he assaulted her on the Winter's Journey. And I need him to apologize verbally for every transgression, to acknowledge how badly he messed up and how so very wrong he was, even though he has already tried his best to atone for everything through his numerous actions since then. She deserves to hear him actually say it.
He owes it to her.
Then it will be left up to her to decide, whether or not she wants to reconcile with and forgive him. And if she does, it is solely up to her to determine where they finally stand after all that, especially because she has been robbed of her agency and making her own choices post-Eclipse.
Just because she may choose to forgive him does not mean she still wants to try and be with him. And if that is what she wants, he needs to respect that and let her go.
(As painful and heartwrenching as that would be.)
Because while I do want them to get their happy ending with each other (bittersweet as it probably could be), I also want what Casca wants, especially since it would be something she was able to consciously choose for herself.
I just hope that if she does make that choice, they remain friends and see through the end of it all together.
But if she does still want him, I really would love to see them start to finally be able to heal together, and try and maybe even eventually reach close to the point where they were in Wounds, even though things will never be able to be the same. However, they can try and build something new with what they do have.
