#also in stampede he's not like

[ruporas]

trigunned the hades or hadesed the trigun (id in alt)

[demaparbat-hp]

She will (and he'll let her)

[nexadarling]

Some of yall need the reminder again so here. He's tall and got that Waist, but he is SOLID

Quick trigun thing everyone forgets: vash is a brick wall. He's six feet of broad shoulders and muscle and he wears black and a giant coat to hide it. Apparently it works because everyone's out here calling him skinny when he's built like a tree

[raepliica]

one of these nights

[themisterhip]

I get brat vibes from 1998 Vash  (≧∇≦)/

[tsunosagun]

smoke and mirrors

[stefisdoingthings]

silence

also this is from Wolfwood's POV (in case it isn't clear) i have 0 normal thoughts (every song ever is VW)

[untitledgoosegay]

re last reblog I do see fanfic culture pushing/replicating a certain model of "what trauma looks like," "how trauma works"

this is a problem across all areas of society obviously, but transformative works are, well, transformative. they're about crafting and modifying narratives where the fan-creator sees a flaw or a lack -- often for the better! don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of "I take a hammer and I fix the canon," it's the main thing that gets my creative gears spinning -- but what happens when that "flaw" is simply a narrative not conforming to popular expectations?

some people just don't get PTSD from events that sound obviously traumatic. they're not masking, and they're not coping; they just straight-up didn't get the permanently-locked stress-response that defines PTSD. they walk away from a horrible experience going "well, that sucked, but it's over now." some people do get PTSD from events most people wouldn't find traumatic. we don't really know why some people get PTSD and others don't. but fandom has an idea of events that must be traumatizing, of a "correct" way to portray trauma. you see the problems with this lack of understanding in e.g. fans pressuring the devs of Baldur's Gate 3 to add dialogue where the player character badgers Halsin about his own feelings on his abuse -- because he must be traumatized, and his trauma must fit a certain mold and presentation of sexual trauma, under the mistaken impression that anything outside that narrow window is somehow "wrong" and disrespectful or even harmful to survivors.

take, for another example, the very common trope of a traumatized character who hates touch or sex "learning" to like touch or sex as a part of their healing process. certainly that can be healing for some people; other people will never like, or want, touch or sex, because of trauma or because they just don't. the assumption that someone who doesn't want sex or doesn't like to be touched must be traumatized, must be suffering from this perceived lack, is seriously harmful -- to asexual people, to people with sensory issues around touch, and to people for whom healing from trauma means freedom to refuse sex or touch.

and there's a secondary trope, one that's slightly more thoughtful but ultimately repeats the problem -- that once someone has learned that their boundaries will be respected, they'll feel it's safe to soften those boundaries. once they feel safe refusing touch or sex, they'll feel comfortable allowing it on their own terms. but many people don't, and many people won't! many people will simply never want to be touched, and never want sex, and they are not suffering or broken or lacking because of it. the idea that proving you'll respect someone's boundaries entitles you to test those boundaries -- the paradox is obvious, and yet this is something i've seen hurt (re-traumatize) people i care for.

people are imperfect victims. people don't heal in the ways you expect. many people have positive memories of their abuse, of their abusers. many people hurt others in the course of their trauma, in ways that can't easily be unpacked in a 5k oneshot. very few narratives of trauma and recovery actually fit the ones put forward by popular children's media and romance novels -- which are the ones I most see replicated in fandom spaces, because they provide the clearest narrative and easiest catharsis, and so they're easy and soothing to reach for.

that's not necessarily a bad thing! i am not immune to goopy romance tropes. i am not immune to teary catharsis. not every fic has to grapple with ugly realities. but there's a problem when these narratives become predominant, when people think they're accurate and realistic depictions of trauma, when the truth of trauma is unpleasant and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit any single narrative, let alone one of comforting catharsis

[myuminji]

the bride walked down the aisle to where the groom stood, and there they exchanged their vows in front of the altar...

[revenantghost]

Y’know, we know that Vash needs to eat and drink, but I have to wonder if he needs less than the average human, considering it looks like these three were tied up here together and with the same rope. Someone could have just thrown him up there in the middle later, but it’s interesting

Also, we see how easily Vash escapes Meryl’s rope later... Is he letting himself hang there? ):

[altades]

can we talk about can we just talk about them can we can we i'm please

ww seeing the worst most terrifyng parts of vash and still staying by his side i ahhhhh

[ruporas]

need to exist in your warmth (id in alt)

[ohitslen]

Something other about his eyes

Bonus! Based on this quick thing I did this afternoon and the idea took a bit more shape and turned into that thing from above uEK

[soranker]

he’s so SILLAY 🥴

[waterwizardcat]

I'll never forget stampede screenwriter (i thought it was the director at first i have very bad memory) saying something like vash is both the male lead and the female lead (like in a traditional way), he's the hero of the story but he's also there to be desired and gazed at, this director dude is just crazy and i appreciate that

[bobosbillionsknives]

Plot of trigun (1998)