#before i start trimax i mean

[mydetheturk]

they've known each other for half a chapter and they're already standing back to back! nightow what fresh hell is this!!!

[having-a-hyperfixate]

The other thing that’s just. Utterly wild. Conrad has no idea that Plants are sentient. NO IDEA. That comment of his about how they lack souls? Yeah WHAT WAS EVEN THAT???? (Because I’m gonna make the probably safe assumption that like in the manga they actually ARE sentient beings, even if its different from the way humans and Independents are. Their minds work differently, they’re basically aliens, its fine.) Which can only mean that either Knives never saw fit to tell him, or that Knives also has no idea. And given all of this with the bodies, I. am inclined to think Knives doesn’t realize. Which is absolutely wild, considering we know he at the very least heard them scream during the Last Run. How... How did he NEVER try to communicate with them? I just. Dude.

Man, there are a lot of great (and very true) posts about how Knives doesn’t see his fellow plants as individuals, but this was the moment I really first had that gut-punch realization. I’m sure there are no rituals for laying a plant to rest, but it’s incredibly fucked up to take a corpse, writhing in pain, and string it up for your own motivation. Your own selfish purposes. The afterlife is something fairly present in the Trigun universe, and this soul surely isn’t at peace

[orcelito]

Thinking about how it won't take Too much longer to reach the events of the manga in itnl: 😃

Thinking about how wolfwood is introduced like 17 chapters in: 😞

[ruporas]

post-trimax vash meets stampede wolfwood

[ID: Black and white comic of Vash and Wolfwood of their Stampede versions. The comic starts with Wolfwood continuing off a conversation, saying “I didn’t mean t’say anythin’ bad to her. She just took it the wrong way. But anyway...” Wolfwood speaks with a hand gestured flippantly while Vash, who’s seated next to him, just listens. Vash thinks to himself, “Talks more about himself... Honest expressions... Immature, though he was pretty immature too.” He smiles and continues to think, “And yet...”

A panel of Vash’s eye directed now to the sky. He thinks, “Some things are bound to be the same with us...” He thinks of a memory, the version from Maximum of him and Wolfwood, back shown as they chatted underneath two moons, one moon with a hole through it. Vash continues, “Isn’t that right, W-“ His thoughts are interrupted by Wolfwood coming into a view, a close up his deadpan expression. Vash utters out “-olfwood..?” with a nervous expression. He starts to explain, “Um. Sorry if it seemed like I wasn’t listening, I was! So, let’s keep talking?”

Vash smiles and puts his hands together as he says, “okay?” Wolfwood glares at him with gritted teeth and Vash immediately remembers, “Right, he’s more short-tempered...” He continues to think, “Maybe Plan B works with him—“ before he’s grabbed by his coat collar aggressively and changes thoughts, “OK, never mind, brace for impact..!” But he’s surprised when he’s tugged instead, him and Wolfwood flops against the ground. Wolfwood puts an arm over Vash and says, “I don’t need to be entertained, blondie. If yer tired, we can go to sleep.”

Two close up panels of Wolfwood and Vash’s eyes looking at each other, Wolfwood taking off Vash’s glasses as he says, “Am I wrong?” Vash thinks to himself, “Actually... I was being genuine when I said I wanted to keep talking. I don’t feel tired at all. But, I think you know this body more than I do.”

Vash’s thoughts continue, “I can’t deny the me you’re fond of from being taken care of. And I could never deny your kindness. Even though...” Vash finally smiles and says, “You’re not wrong...” Wolfwood smiles back before tugging Vash closer and says, “Then, let’s sleep.” Vash asks, “Should we get a blanket?” Wolfwood asks, “Why?” before kissing Vash on the cheek, “I’ll keep you warm.” Vash puts his face into both his hands and flushes. Wolfwood smiles cheekily and asks, “What?” Vash responds, “I was caught off guard..” Wolfwood says, “You’ve said worse though.” Vash responds, “Did I...” The panel phases out and the dialogue returns to Vash’s thoughts. He thinks, “I want to stay a bit longer. Talk a bit longer.

You’re tired here too. The future is always going to be unfair to you. I want to protect you from it. I want to hold you close so you won’t go far.” The thoughts overlap the scene of Wolfwood now sleeping peacefully against Vash with an arm over him, Vash’s jacket draped against him as a blanket. Vash looks at him and a small thought bubble thinks, “He can fall asleep first...” His previous thoughts continue, “I know I can’t. I already had that chance.” A close up of Vash putting his hand over Wolfwood’s. He continues, “I wasn’t capable once, I can’t be sure I’d be capable a second time. And in a way...”

Vash’s thoughts continue with the back drop of the sky, Stampede’s sky of two moons without holes, “Some things are bound to be the same. But I know you’ll be loved again and again in a way I’d never know.” A split panel, one half contains the sleeping face of Wolfwood from Stampede, the other of Wolfwood from Trimax. In turn, the Vash lying down looking fondly at Wolfwood shifts to the post Trimax Vash while the other versions, Stampede and earlier Trimax, are faintly drawn next to him doing the same. Vash closes his eyes and finally drifts to sleep as the final text reads, “Goodnight, Wolfwood.”

[into-the-feniverse]

Finished reading Trigun/TriMax a couple days ago and have been feverishly trying to piece together a timeline, so here’s the result of that ✨

EDIT: as of 3/13/24 this has been UPDATED

For a more detailed timeline (with vol/ch marks): google sheet

Full res of the graphic (& other resources): bit.l/trigunresources

Notes & rest of the timeline under the cut!

Edits as of 3/13/24

The detailed spreadsheet is organized and color coded! If you'd like a more concise breakdown of events/see some of my reasoning behind certain time stamps feel free to skim through that

Changed where in the timeline the Maylene and Wolfwood events happened (originally where I had placed them would have made Maylene like 6 when she and Wolfwood reunited which is NOT correct)

moved where in the timeline Knives started collecting the GungHo Guns (at latest he started in 0090 (20 years before 0110) since it's noted that Monev has been training in a cellar for the past 20 years

Moved where Knives initially tracked down Conrad (felt like it needed to happen at least a decade before July)

Changed up some of the months (personally, I don't think the Ark launched in December, since that'd put Milly and Meryl's arrival to the colony in July, which wouldn't make sense. So I placed the ark launch in October which of course offset some of the other month stand ins)

Added an earth year for when Knives and Vash are born. The explanation is I think at minimum there was at least a 2 year period between them and Tesla (since Rem was around for that whole process). I do think it was more than that, but that’s the earliest possible year I think it could have happened. Personally I’m more in the camp of 5-10 years, but def not 50 like in tristamp

Old Notes:

If you see any typos or phrase inconsistencies: no you don’t 💕 (😭)

Blue text can be completely ignored, that’s just kinda my personal preference/wild guesstimating of when “exactly” those events happened

Blue lines can also be ignored, they’re also just rough guesstimates on where exactly in the timeline these could have happened

The distance of the lines from one another doesn’t really mean anything, I started trying to follow a system to notate when things happened really close together but it was//// not consistently done ngl

Fun fact: by the time Wolfwood leaves the orphanage Meryl is 18! And she was 14 at the time of July’s destruction

Additional fun fact: Brad is 17 when he and sensei meet up with Vash in the Factioned city (which I think is absolutely RIDICULOUS), and we know this because he was 4 the one/last time he had met Vash and it’s been 13 years since

It was noted by Karen, one of Meryl’s coworkers, that she and Milly had been on assignment with Vash for about 4 months. (Might be that they were out searching for him during that time as well, but I’m choosing to interpret it as they were actually with him for that amount of time)

I’m also working on a 98 timeline for comparison (but more like just sequence of events cause I don’t think I have the patience to sift through the lore quite as much… mainly making it just to clarify how the anime delineates from the manga)

I am//::: feeling v unhinged after this and feel like it could be improved/i need to do a more thorough read, but I’m calling it quits for now before I actually go insane (but hopefully some people will find it somewhat helpful!)

Also: if anybody has any notes to add or clarifications/corrections I would be more than happy to hear them 👂

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 5 - vash is. super good with kids

disclaimer: more triangulation purposes etc etc

so i mentioned before in my part 3 that the japanese language has an inbuilt hierarchy quirk to it. and i kind of noticed this nuance getting somewhat lost in the english translation, either because again i have skill issues with english, or that EN inherently doesnt come with the same quirk.

elaborating a bit more: this hierarchy of position/standing can be determined by age, profession, occupation, and experience. in terms of hard priority, age and profession tends to take precedence over everything else.

this means effectively, vash being over 150 should be top dog and given respect in JP/Asian context (respect your elders! or else!!), but because he 1) looks 24, 2) uses very immature speech with strangers, 3) uses boku, hes effectively keeping his head down and posing as a dumbass schmuck.

ヴァッシュの兄貴　行っちまうのか！？ Big bro Vash, you're leaving?! (兄貴 = aniki = big bro but informal and can be used for no blood relations)

so schmucky that he has no problems handling children. in fact, in the JP version during his departure on the sand steamer, the kids call him Big Bro Vash. twice! so he's earned their adoration in no time flat.

ヴァッシュの兄貴—ッ Big Bro Vash!!

leaving the translation like that ^ wouldnt flow well in english, so rip. also. cute scene.

and yet his meeting with Kaite is chaotically bad to say the least. i mean, he even gets drugged and knocked out. Kaite does not respect the guy who gave him food at all and plans to seemingly feed him 3 meals a day for the entire trip. so how? well.

once Brilliant Dynamites Neon comes in and turns things serious, Vash's starts doing a few interesting things.

skipping forward this and that. after getting almost blown off the sand steamer, vash holds onto kaite and they both cling on for dear life:

もうちょっと登れば通風口があるよ mou chotto noboreba tsuufucou ga aru yo If we can climb a little higher there's a ventilation duct そーか　そーか　今行こうすぐ行こう souka souka ima ikou sugu ikou Okay, okay, let's get going right now!

added romanji and color to highlight how vash is repeating phrases in his line. the そーか　そーか souka souka and 行こう 行こう ikou ikou repeats are there as if to 1) make himself sound immature, and 2) to reassure kaite that things are under control.

only touching on the bottom right panel. another possible reading of that line:

助けて頂いてありがとうございましただろう Situations like these are where you should say "thank you very much for saving my life" instead!

はいそーでした!!!

Now say it!!!

he's chiding kaite and doing the very asian adult thing of teaching the youngin manners in terms of tone. but in a stern funny way no offense taken way bc, as you might have noticed...

vash is deliberately putting himself on the same level as a kid. in tone in standing in speech. hes not being condescending. hes not lording his status as an adult over a child. (something something christ like but in the context of jp... hehe.)

this is ultimately what gets tough nut kaite to trust vash to get down to business to defeat The Neon. even without the words hes visually getting himself to be on the same (eye) level with kaite. i think its so good alsdjfdsa

kaite starts crying after thinking of his dad and regretting what he's done, gets caught in a regret reflection loop, but vash brings him back to reality. like this:

な に を 感 傷に ひ た って る か な こい つ は

another reading of this "What the hell are getting all sentimental for now ya brat?!" line might be "What. Good. Is. It. To. Lose. Your. Grip. On. Yourself. Now. You. Dummy?!"

with this he puts kaite's head back into reality and readjusts both their priority.

so again. vash just. is good with kids. his emotional intelligence is through the fucking roof as proven by all the other moments throughout tristamp and trimax*

idk its warms me bc. the asian confucius hierarchy is so... yuck. im technically of chinese descent so i know how fucked it is. so. vash is really cool with this slightly extra japanese asian hierarchy context.

i think this aspect of vash is something i dont see in english fanworks a lot, and not in the same tone. on the other hand, i do see this a lot in the jp fanworks. so idk exactly what factors or if im looking in the wrong places, but yeah. vash is good with kids. just like wolfwood.

again, studio orange understood the assignment and gave some of that dynamic here to Tonnis.

are they called studio orange bc im meant to squeeze stampede for all its worth or what. stampede is actually incredible to me im in awe.

bonus:

the jp version of the left text says roughly:

"I'm cursed!! I must be! By either the reaper or a god of misfortune and or more!!"

yeah he specifically says Shinigami and Binbougami. i dont think that would translate well in en bc this kinda throws the catholicsm theme into a bit of a tailspin LMAO. (also. the Ore here. note the context.)

[threegunbrainrot]

i dont have any trigun mutuals so i'm just gonna ramble my thoughts into the infinite void of tumblr. and im sure others have touched on this same topic but

it almost seems like vash is getting softer with every new installment of trigun? like incredibly consistently and incredibly specifically.

let me explain.

i'll start with tristamp and work backwards; the tristamp vash we all know and love there is incredibly adverse to violence.

more often than not he ACTIVELY refuses to fight and just WON'T draw his gun. this post loosely counted the amount of bullets that he shot throughout all of season 1, and almost ALL of them (like to an insane degree) were dished out against knives, who vash knew was strong enough to take the hit.

the few times vash does draw his gun against a human in tristamp, it's as a blunt force weapon (against the badlads gang and livio, for example) or to disarm others/save someone with ricochet (like shooting the punisher before wolfwood can kill livio).

he just doesn't shoot people. at ALL.

then if we look at 98 trigun, things change drastically.

here, vash isn't afraid to hurt people a little if it means more will be saved in the end. of course he never kills, but he actually shoots people here. not only that...

he holds a casual, sarcastic conversation while pointing his weapon at people.

he constantly shoots at limbs to immobilize people, fires warning shots extremely close to peoples' vitals, and performs several very insane trick shots throughout the show to wound those with armor.

tristamp vash wouldn't even draw, but 98 struts around firing warning shots into the sky and singing about bloodshed for intimidation! i'm not sure there's a single episode where he doesn't shoot someone at least once.

...so what about trimax, then?

(PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD)

he is so. shockingly. violent.

of course he never kills. of course he's still trying to save people, but there's this anger in him that i was completely taken off-guard by reading for the first time.

tristamp vash is so soft he's painful to watch. 98 vash makes a heartbreaking effort to be as silly and nonthreatening as possible, constantly making himself out to be the fool. but trimax?

he's... literally grief-stricken and out for revenge. explicit revenge. he's angry and he's hurt and he lays his intentions out so clearly. he's making THREATS.

seriously:

hunting legato. HUNTING him.

it's not even a matter of drawing his weapon anymore. he does it constantly, and fires just as much. never to kill, but he doesn't joke around the way 98 vash does. the most he'll offer is a sunny smile to reassure others and nothing more.

i'm not that far into the manga, either. i'm sure there's countless more (and probably better) panels to convey this side of trimax vash, but i suppose it also says something that i've found so many panels depicting this so early on.

but the progression of vash's personality is fascinating regardless.

from a tortured, angry loner desperately trying to cling to his morals for rem's sake

to an equally devastated man who devotes himself so completely to acting the role of the fool

and finally to the sad, chronically depressed shell of a person in tristamp who refuses to so much as draw his weapon.

[trigun-manga-overhaul]

TRIGUN ULTIMATE OVERHAUL JUNE 2024 UPDATE

OVERHAUL UPDATE 06/07/24 - Going slow, but changes are ahead.

Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another monthly update.

Keep an eye out this Monday, June 10th, for an upload announcement.

The push back of the Japanese volume release to next month has been helpful, as it gave the team time to breathe. The release schedule is picking up with the work, as not as much work has been done the last few months as planned. For now, TriMax Vol 7 will release the first Monday in July and our usual schedule will continue as before. If anything changes, we'll keep you all updated on that.

There's one main factor counting into the slow work and delay, but it's more personal, so if you don't want to know, then you can just skip ahead of the next bit.

~~

I, as in the project lead, am the primarily cleaner and redrawer for the project, meaning that the delays are entirely on me.

For the last year and a half I've had a job that I took as an emergency, right after I lost my translator position due to the financial crisis. Meaning, the emergency job was supposed to be temporary, just to keep food on the table until I found something I'm more qualified to do.

Things, of course, didn't turn out like that and I've worked the same retail job for one and half years now. A retail job is usually no issue for me, but this was a newly started business with an inexperience owner, so the stress levels have been very high. My boss is understanding and kind, but also very drained and fighting to stay afloat.

I've worked hard to help as much as I could, setting up inventory systems and and an online shop/catalogue, which took most of my energy for personal projects. Now that things are finally stable, I've handed in my resignation and will leave the business in August/September, and therefore hopefully also leave me with more energy and time.

~~

Anyway, with that info, it's time for a few double page spreads!

The number of double page spreads per chapter has gone up dramatically from Vol 6, and they are all highly detailed, a trend that seems to continue into Vol 8, as well. It's been requiring a lot of work to fix these up, sometimes only managing to do a single one a night.

~~

That's all for this month's update. If there are any topics or parts of our process that you want to hear more about, don't hesitate to send an ask or leave a comment on this post.

SEE YOU GUYS NEXT MONTH!

[anxiety-elemental-kay]

Vash's Dual Powers in Trigun Stampede

Or: Christ on a cracker episode eleven really was that fucked up holy shit

Here’s that essay about Stampede Vash’s powers I mentioned a while back. This is another where I yell about Trigun and gender and worry I’m spouting shit that was obvious to everyone, but you’re getting the essay anyway.

Content warnings include discussion of sexual assault, pregnancy, and forced pregnancy. I’ll be talking about episode eleven a lot so. Yeah.

The first time we see Vash manifest his powers is the same time Knives and Conrad do: when he creates a black hole in his arm. We see it absorb the corpses of the people Knives just killed, and we can see from Vash’s panicked expression he has no control over it. Knives then cuts his arm off because his brother just manifested an entire black hole like right there.

(It’s worth noting that the music track for this scene is called ‘Drain Gate’, and another track using Vash’s theme is called ‘Plant of Drain’. In the episode twelve stinger the Pieces of Earth fleet reference using something called a ‘drain gate’, which might be related to FTL travel. I have no conclusions for this point, just that this powers seem to have greater implications than just ‘black hole’ in Stampede.)

So far this is stuff the manga has more or less covered before. Vash’s power specifically was creating black holes. In TriMax we see July and its citizens consumed by a black hole. For Stampede though, Orange gave Vash a secondary power: fertility.

And I do mean fertility and not virility; the capacity to become pregnant versus the capacity to impregnate someone else. At the start of episode eleven, Knives penetrating Vash is pretty obviously phallic. His knives are the literal mechanism by which he seizes control of and violates Vash’s mind and body. On the other hand, when Vash sprouts roots which connect to the other plants in the tank, it doesn’t read as phallic to me.

They look like umbilical cords.

Each root connects to the plants’ stomachs, and aside from a brief red flash this doesn’t appear to cause them any pain or distress, contrary to Vash flailing away from his brother’s blades. We see energy move down the roots from Vash to the plants, and when they unfurl to reveal their pregnancies the roots remain connected at their navels. They look surprised and afraid. Those pregnancies are, almost literally, also his.

For all of Conrad’s technobabble about the plant core and souls and whatever, Vash’s powers seem to boil down to this: he can send things to the higher plane by creating a black hole, and he can take from the plane by manifesting with his, or others’, bodies.

I think this interpretation is reinforced by a series of three shots after Knives says “Happy birthday Vash". The pussy portal opens behind Vash (with a goopy sound effect), we cut to outside the tower to see the purple flowers blooming on the roots, and cut again to inside the tank where the plants unfurl to reveal they’ve become massively pregnant. Portal, flower, pregnancy. It’s all about biological reproduction.

And then Knives goes into the pussy portal and finds an inter dimensional ovum, which he then also penetrates with his blades, explicitly to impregnate all the other plants.

Like.

Studio Orange looked at the Fifth Moon chapter in the original Trigun manga and said “You are like little baby. Watch this.” and then made an episode which made me spend the rest of the day somewhere dark and quiet when I first watched it because holy shit.

(It shouldn’t go unsaid Vash and Knives are canonically trans in Stampede, it’s in the text even if it’s not what Orange was thinking of! Vash is surrounded by yonic imagery and Knives has no dong I don’t know what else to tell you.) (edit: okay so maybe not CANON canon but i'd still argue it's an easy interpretation to make)

There’s always been a dichotomy at the heart of Vash as a character: a desire for peace versus the necessity of violence. A living weapon trying to live and love among humans who constantly reject him. Avoiding hurting others while physically capable of great and terrible destruction.

When Vash regains control he transforms the growths he was forced to make into a MacGuffin that’s easy for the twins to fight over. He transforms what he was forced to create into a bomb, because there didn’t seem to be any other way for him to neutralize the mass. (I assume this because Vash seemed to have immediate and almost perfect control of his powers in episode twelve, and it would be strange for ‘make a bomb’ to be his first choice for dealing with the roots.) Vash has been forced to create something that poses a danger to himself and everyone around him.

Vash was a weapon, even in creating life, from the roots growing to choke all of JuLai, to the pregnant plants, to the nuke cube obliterating the largest human city on the planet.

Forced creation is no different from destruction. Reproduction is not beautiful or honorable when unwilling.

(This is my essay so I’ll allow myself another aside: episode eleven is a good demonstration of why I tend to prefer genre above more realistic stories. Here, like in the manga, we see a metaphorical rape scene stripped of anything that could be (intentionally) titillating, leaving only the victim’s fear and pain. I feel like only in this kind of metaphor can sex be stripped away from assault, and instead put the focus on the emotions of the scene.)

Vash having fertility as a power is (one of many) things that fascinate me about Trigun Stampede. I’m an afab nonbinary person, I’ve always been afraid of getting pregnant, and I’ve never wanted kids. Sexual assault is something I’m deeply afraid of, and I would genuinely rather die than give birth. It’s all tied up in my feelings about my gender and my body and how it’s perceived by others. Vash is pretty much experiencing my literal worst nightmare.

All this circles back to what might be my favorite topic when it comes to analyzing Trigun: how it depicts masculinity.

There’s a lot about masculinity in Trigun that I think is genuinely radical to some degree, and whether it’s something Orange intended to add or if it’s just easier to do a queer interpretation of this version of the story isn’t a question I’m interested in. I’m gonna rub my gay trans little hands all this anime and you can’t stop me!

Stampede doesn’t depict fertility and masculinity as opposites or even incompatible. Vash and his body isn’t made repulsive because he has this power, in fact when he regains control he gets a color change and a sick new hairstyle. Vash possessing this power isn’t depicted as that different from the black hole, it’s just a thing he can do, but here it’s being taken advantage of by his brother. The disgust and horror isn’t from the metaphor of a man becoming pregnant, it’s because he was violated by someone who claims to love him and want to protect him.

For contrast, imagine a similar scene, in which a masculine character is surrounded by feminine/pregnancy imagery, and consider how it would likely be framed in most other mainstream media. Those of you who don’t live under rocks might even think of some examples! Typically in media, men seen anywhere in proximity to femininity are mocked and humiliated.

Vash’s masculinity, his identity, his personhood, are ultimately disconnected from his capacity to reproduce, and by what means his body is or is not capable of making babies. He regained agency because Meryl called out to him, and she called out because he inspired her, and she was inspired because he was out making human connections with people, trying so hard to do the right thing even when he failed. His powers are a part of him, but not what ultimately make Vash truly powerful.

I’m curious to see if/how Studio Orange will continue with this theme going forward. So much of Vash’s character is about contradiction, and in this way they’re making some of those themes even more literal. More contrast-y.

To wrap this up, here’s one more thing I’m curious about: what will become of the Independents who will be born from this? The pregnant plants escaped with Conrad and his flying saucer lab. Assuming any children survive, and considering how much the twins grew in only a year, they could have a role in the future story. What will they be like? How will their origin shape the people they become? How much will Knives control (or fail to control) his children? What will they think of humanity, of Knives, of Vash, of themselves?

[miamochi-writes]

You’re Actually Kinda Cute

Synopsis: The reader is trying to shake off some cops who are after them. As the reader hides, they bump into a certain Humanoid Typhoon. Also I stumbled onto Trigun TikTok and found a certain *ahem* audio that gave me Vash brainrot (Comment if you know what I’m talking about). I definitely see Trimax Vash saying this, but I can also imagine Tristamp Vash doing this as well. A girl can dream! I live for this man’s smile 🤧 Enjoy!

“Stop right there! You can’t escape!” 

The cops were hot on your trail. You ran with all your might and knocked down some furniture to slow them down. This was another typical day of your life as a fugitive. Your crime? Talking back to a cop who was cheating in a game of cards. You saw how the cops were scamming people at the bar. They practically hid their cards in their sleeves to win the double dollars. The minute you pointed out how the cops were cheating, you became the most wanted in their eyes tonight. In your defense, you couldn’t stand cops to begin with. No matter what city you visited, the system was corrupt. The people struggling to survive were punished with the most minuscule crimes. Meanwhile, the cops do whatever they please if it means breaking the law. It wasn’t your fault you wanted to make things fair. But because of this mentality, that ended up with them putting your face on a couple of wanted posters in a few cities.

Now you were running away from the law again. Thankfully, the people at the bar gave you enough time to run as they held the cops off. You spotted a hotel and figured you could shake them off there. You ran up the stairs and through the empty halls. You threw some items behind you as you kept running faster. Despite your head start, you were running out of breath. If you didn’t act now, the cops would catch up to you soon. You kept going until you saw a hotel room slightly open. Without hesitation, you ran inside and closed the door. You held your breath and remained silent. Things were silent until you heard incoming heavy footsteps running past the door. The loud footsteps faded as they sounded farther away. Seconds turned into minutes. Not taking a risk, you stayed quiet until you heard yelling.

“Hey! I saw someone running down the stairs. It must be them! Don’t let ‘em escape!” one of the cops shouted. You slowly peered into the peephole to scope the area outside. Sure enough, the two cops that were after you ran past the door. Once their footsteps faded, you waited an extra few seconds until you were met with silence once more. You let out a sigh of relief. Another day of successfully evading the law once again. At least for a few seconds that is.

You heard the door knob turning from inside the hotel room. Your breath hitched as you failed to realize the consequences of your actions. Who’s hotel room did you enter in? Depending on who it was can determine how your night will end. Either going back home or getting caught by the cops. In a state of panic, you rushed inside what seemed to be the closet of the hotel room. You were going to close the door, but you were too late.

Standing before you was a tall blonde man with the most beautiful blue eyes you have ever seen. He was wearing gray sweatpants, and only sweatpants. The man was practically topless, which showed his scarred yet toned chest and abdominals. The only thing covering his chest would be the towel draped over his shoulders. Judging his attire (or lack thereof) and wet hair, he finished showering.

“Well hello there,” the man spoke.

‘Oh no he’s hot,’ you screamed internally at the mess you had gotten yourself into. 

“Uh I can explain, just please hear me out before you do anything else,” you begged. As you looked closer, you saw his prosthetic hand. Then you looked at his face once more and wondered why he looked so familiar. Finally, it dawned on you.

“You’re Vash the Stampede!” you thought out loud as your eyes widened. Vash was taken aback by your statement as he looked tense.

“So you know little ol’ me huh?” he chuckled lightly while flashing you a nervous smile.

“Of course I do! I’m just surprised you booked a hotel room with little to no trouble,” you answered. You knew how much he was worth, and he stood out like a sore thumb from the people with his looks and attire.

“I have my ways, but I could say the same to you. I don’t understand how you got in here my vicious little friend. It’s a mystery to me,” he said. 

“Hey, I’m not vicious!” you countered.

“I mean you barged into my room,” he reasoned. Okay, he had a point. You did walk into that one, literally.

“Okay, fair enough. But in my defense, you left your door open. I casually walked in,” you argued. 

“Really? I’m pretty sure I locked it,” he reasoned.

“No, it was pretty wide open. Or else, you would have seen some wear and tear of me getting in if it was closed,” you replied. He looked around his room and then at the door. Sure enough nothing looked broken. 

“Okay, well why did you come in then?” he questioned.

“I was trying to get away from the cops,” you answered. 

“Sounds like something a vicious person would do,” he added with a smile. You panicked at his response as you tried to explain yourself.

“Okay hear me out! I didn’t do anything wrong! In my defense, they were in the wrong for cheating people out of their money. Not my fault they were mad at me for pointing out how rigged things were,” you reasoned. You started explaining your situation to him from beginning to end. Plus, you mentioned to him how the people at the bar were trying to help you escape.

“See, the local townsfolk were on my side. I at least stopped them from getting their money stolen! If I was vicious, I would have turned you in to the cops by now. To be honest, I have no reason to,” you insisted.

“Wait, you aren’t going to turn me in? You’re not scared of me?” he asked as you shook your head.

“Can I ask why?” he added. You gave it some thought as you crossed your arms. You managed to talk to the blonde for this long without anything bad happening. It was a long shot, but it was better to try than not try at all.

“Because I know you’re not really an outlaw or vicious person like most people say. If you were, you would have either turned me in or hurt me by now. Am I wrong?” you asked that last part. You watched Vash’s facial expressions closely. Your answer must have taken him by surprise as he was still quiet. But his body was more relaxed compared to earlier. He then gestured for you to continue.

“I know you are on countless wanted posters, have a huge bounty on your head, and have many rumors about your crimes. But they’re just rumors, not testimonials. When I traveled to different cities, I bumped into people who mentioned good things about you. Some say you helped escort them, protect them, buy them a meal, reunite them with family, and so much more. I think that speaks volumes compared to what the law says about you,” you continued with a small smile. As you spoke, you noticed Vash’s gaze towards you softened. His blue eyes almost looked as if they were gleaming from the way the hotel lights hit him. You could see a smile make its way through his lips. Maybe he was thinking about the people he helped in the past and who exactly you bumped into.

“I see, so tell me something...uh-” Vash added.

“It’s Y/n,” you introduced yourself. After talking with Vash for this long, you felt comfortable enough to give him your name. Call it a gut feeling, but you bet that you gained his trust at this point.

“Y/n, last thing I wanted to ask you before I make my final decision. I’m sure you noticed I’m covered in scars. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have more than the average person. Tell me this, you’re still not afraid of me? Even after seeing these scars? Usually, most people run once they see this side of me,” he asked.

“Well, I guess I’m not most people. I won’t lie. It’s concerning to see that many. Yet, everyone gets scars. It’s a part of life. I talked to some folks who told me you fought many tough battles. When they say you’re willing to protect people, you must mean it. Those scars tell me that you care deeply for people. Much more than the law. So I admire that,” you acknowledge. While talking, you never broke eye contact with him. Everything you said was true and came from the heart. You never thought you would meet Vash in person, let alone in a hotel room where he’s topless. But anytime people spoke highly of him, the more you believed that he was a good person. You figured he was a kind, but misunderstood soul. The way he spoke, his demeanor, and body language said as much.

“So after everything you heard, do you still think I’m vicious enough to where the cops should take me?” you asked.

“Oh, I already knew you weren’t a vicious person to begin with. I could tell by the way you talked to me early on,” he said with a cheeky smile.

“WHAT?!” you asked as he chuckled.

“Sorry about that. It’s rare for me to bump into people like this. Since you were honest with me, I’ll tell you this. You’re actually kinda cute Y/n. Especially when you tried explaining yourself,” he complimented with a genuine smile as his eyes crinkled with joy.

It should be illegal for him to make that kind of face and compliment you so easily. Oh sure, people told you how kind and funny he was. Yet, no one warned you about his charms at all. Your cheeks were flushed, your heart quickened, and your head was spinning. Your looked away as your tried to cover your cheeks with your hands. If only the ground could swallow you whole so he didn’t have to see you like this.

“You made me go through all that. Then you come at me with a compliment with no warning. I think I’ll take my leave,” you said quite flustered. You couldn’t even bring yourself to make eye contact with him.

“Y/n wait! You sure you don’t want to stay here for a little longer? You know, just in case the cops are still looking for you? I really did like talking to you. I promise, no more funny business on my end,” Vash offered. You pondered at the thought. It was too tempting to pass up.

“Sure, just until the coast is clear. So enough about me. Tell me something I don’t know about the real Vash,” you replied. Sure enough, the blonde’s smile grew wider as he patted a seat on the bed.

“Where do I even begin!” he chimed in.

@daschstuff @sharkalina666 @keigoswifeyysblog @anoukli @blankpapersblog @bunnigrimm @usuallynana @ryuukami4

[greetingfromthedead]

Pitter-Patter (Dad!Vash x F!Reader)

Plot: Vash feels like one more kid is a great idea and that's when the chaos begins, turning your whole life upside down once again.

Series: [prequel - Wedding Bells], [Part 1 - Little Feet], [Part 2 - Pitter-Patter]

Pairing: Vash x F!Reader

Rating: Everyone

Tags: no use of "y/n", post-Trimax (no major spoilers), domestic fluff, happy ending, pregnancy, children, babies, family fluff, cooking, parenting, happy marriage

Word count: 2.1k

Author's Note: Shows up at @jellys-compendium's house in a white van and another dad!Vash fic. It has been in the making for soooo long and it didn't quite work out like I wanted it to (caused me massive writer's block too cause I kept pushing it), but I hope all the readers get at least some joy from this.

"What about one more?" Vash nuzzles his face against your neck.

"You think we aren't outnumbered enough already?" you say with amusement as your fingers tangle into his messy black hair. He chuckles softly, his warm breath tickling your skin. "You really want to be in a 2 to 1 situation?"

"Our girls are so good! They are so big already, and our littlest sprout will start running around soon too!" His hands wrap tightly around you as he holds you close. "Wouldn't it be the perfect time? To have another baby?"

"Well," you hesitate, "you are great with all of them. You are the world's best dad and the greatest husband anyone could ever wish for. If anyone could handle it, then it is together with you."

"Really?" His eyes glimmer as he pulls back to look at you. The man who used to be alone, running from his shadow of death, now has a family and a home to call his own. And it makes him happier than he ever imagined himself to be.

"We better get started then," you smirk, and wrap your arms around his neck to pull him even closer.

You let out a deep sigh as your little boy wouldn't settle into his crib, no matter what tricks you pulled. The exhaustion is getting to you, and you simply give up, taking the sprout into your own bed to finally get some rest. Vash opens his eyes, still half asleep, to look at you putting down the child next to him before climbing into bed too. Vash's hand reaches out to gently stroke the baby's forehead, feeling the softness of their skin under his calloused touch.

"I don't know why he is so fussy today. Maybe it's the heat; it's getting to me too." You speak softly as you make sure everything looks safe. The baby's eyes droop, finally succumbing to sleep.

"You can leave the night shift to me. It's okay; you need your rest." Vash whispers.

"I'm fine. You need rest too; you're a lot more human now, and that means you need to sleep. You can't roughhouse with the kids all day and then be up half the night on top of that. We share the responsibility. We're a team. And don't forget: I have done this three times now already, so it's alright." You reach out your arm over the baby and stroke Vash's cheek softly with your fingers. He closes his eyes and leans into your touch, a small smile playing on his lips. He doesn't even look as his hand reaches for your swollen belly, gently stroking your skin.

You don't exactly know when you fell asleep, but Vash is woken up by the little creak of your bedroom door. He raises his head and sees your younger daughter at the door. She pouts and rubs her eye with her fist, a stuffed animal hanging from her free hand.

"What's wrong, sweety?" Vash whispers.

"I had a bad dream." She looks so defeated and sad. "Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Oh sweetheart. Come here, but be careful; your brother and mommy are asleep." Vash scoots a bit more towards the center of the bed, where the baby sleeps with his arms and legs sprawled out in every direction. Vash reaches out his arm to invite the little girl into his embrace. She climbs into bed and snuggles up against Vash, who keeps his arm around her protectively so she won't roll off the mattress. She smiles and drifts off to sleep, feeling safe and loved. Vash smiles at the girl in his embrace. He knows too well what it means to be haunted by nightmares, and if there is anything he can do to make her feel better, he will. His heart is so full of love for his family, his gorgeous wife, and his wonderful children. Tears prickle at his eyes as he thinks about the life he leads now and how grateful he is for it. With such thoughts, he falls back asleep, knowing that he is truly blessed.

You open your eyes in the morning. After a moment to get oriented again, you look over towards your baby and husband. The little boy lays in bed like a starfish, the pacifier barely hanging from the corner of his mouth. Behind him, Vash lays on his back in a similar manner, his left hand under his head, the right one supporting your daughter, who has climbed onto his chest and is sprawled out. They both sleep with their mouths open, and you are surprised they aren't snoring.

You stifle a little chuckle as you settle in better and look at them with half closed eyes, enjoying the moment and your family.

"Mom?" a quiet voice asks by your door, and you see your older daughter, "I was wondering where everyone had disappeared to."

"Morning, sweetheart!" You smile and reach out your hand as an invitation. She quietly walks over and sits on the bed, taking your hand. You shift a bit more to make room for her, and you pull her closer to put her head on your shoulder.

"Mom!" she protests quietly in a more whiny manner, but makes no attempt to move away.

You should have guessed that peace only lasts so long. Soon enough, the baby boy kicks Vash in the ribs, who jolts awake with a start and disturbs the girl on top of him too. This opens the floodgates to chatter that stirs the baby in the middle of the bed. To your surprise, he doesn't immediately start making a huge ruckus, seemingly distracted by the presence of his sisters.

You sit up on the bed and lean into some pillows to be more comfortable and take in the sweet moment of your family all together in your bed. The little girl plops down, off her dad, and settles next to her brother to press her ear on your baby bump.

"I can hear!" she exclaims without elaborating further, her eyes lighting up. The little boy decides to copy her, and you suddenly have two kids sticking to you.

"Dad always talked to mom's belly while she was expecting both of you," the older girl says, as she is old enough to remember your last pregnancies.

"And he did the same with you too." You ruffle your daughter's hair, and she too gently lays her head on your belly.

"HELLOOOO!!!" the younger girl suddenly shouts at your bump.

"Gently, gently." Vash says softly as you turn your face away to hide your giggle, even though your body betrays you by shaking.

Vash scoots closer too, his left arm reaching to pull you closer, sandwiching your youngest children between the two of you. The children squirm and giggle, their excitement palpable in the warm afternoon air.

"Let's have one more, he said. It will be fine, he said." You sigh heavily with your arms on your hips. "As I said before… I am blaming you for this."

"I'm sorry," Vash says quietly while looking like a soaked puppy.

"Well, I guess I am not blameless. I let my guard down," you say, looking up at the ceiling. "I should have known better and considered the risk, but here we are."

"It's going to work out," he says, sounding hopeful. "We're all home again, safe and sound."

"Your boundless optimism is truly inspiring," you say sarcastically. "This is only the beginning, or have you already forgotten?"

"I have not…" he says, sounding defeated.

"Then let's enjoy this while they sleep. Cause if one of them is up, everyone is up. One baby and a toddler would have been manageable, but four children in diapers? That's a different story altogether. We better go." You look down again at the newborn triplets in their cribs before taking Vash's hand and leading him out of the room.

The chaos in your house has only just started. Whatever you believed was "out of hand" before only got dwarfed by what awaited you now. Balancing the babies and the older children and making sure nobody feels left behind is no easy task, but Vash is just as determined to be a good dad as he has always been. You still make a great team, but now it's just chasing around children instead of bandits and reloading milk bottles instead of weapons. And it's a chaotic, messy, beautiful adventure that you wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Vash often volunteers to be the designated storyteller, spinning tales of your daring escapades to both the more and less captivated members of his audience. He held all three of the triplets on his chest without complaint when they wouldn't settle for a nap in any other way. He always cradled the baby heap with a smile on his lips, and he looked like the happiest man in the world despite the countless sleepless nights.

Vash loves being a dad. He adores all his children. He likes running around with the girls, playing ball, or engaging in pretend games. He loves teaching them all he knows and watching them grow and learn. He loves the toddler, who constantly clings to his legs and blabbers the day away. He loves the noise and the chaos. He takes in every moment and cherishes it, even if it includes screaming, crying, and dirty diapers.

You can trust him fully and have full confidence in him. Often, he has already announced, "I've got it!" and run off to tend to the kids before you can even truly react to the noises of dissatisfaction. Neither of you could handle the chaos without the other, and Vash never misses an opportunity to tell you just how much he loves and appreciates you. He often brings you little gifts when he goes to the market or if he finds something you would like out and about. He brings little treats and nick-knacks to show you how much he cares. You have a whole collection of shiny rocks and little figurines and books he has brought for you on a high shelf, away from little grabby hands that want to put everything into their mouths. The shelf is a reminder of the love he expresses in small gestures.

The older kids like to flock to you as soon as you're in the kitchen for a taste of what you're cooking. You often have the girls helping you out while the little boy sits in his highchair, watching with wide eyes and a smile, ready to wreak havoc as soon as something gets within grabbing distance. He's the perfect blend of adorable and mischievous. He reminds you a lot of Vash, more and more each day. You really shouldn't be surprised by that, but each time that realization makes you smile.

Baking cookies has become a weekly tradition. The girls are always eager to help as you try out different recipes and experiment with new flavors. They shift the flour and mix the ingredients with purpose and grand focus while you take on any jobs requiring chopping or the use of an oven. Vash is looking over the littlest babies to make sure your small space doesn't get dangerously crowded. You've just put the tray in the oven to bake as you turn to the older boy, who dozed off on the highchair because the preparations ate into his nap time. You pick the child up and leave the girls in charge of watching the cookies as you go to put your son to bed.

From your bedroom, you start hearing babbling and a smirk appears at the sound. You have no issues with putting the kid in his crib, and you turn to peek in from the crack in your own room's door. Vash kneels by the bed, his elbows resting on the mattress. The left hand supports his cheek, and the right one dances across the tummies of the triplet boys who lay in a row in front of him. He makes little noises at the babies, and they blabber back in turn. They seem to be having an engaging conversation as the expressions on the children switch from furrowed brows to glee and back. The babies kick their legs excitedly in response to your husband's voice saying something incoherent but clearly amusing to them. None of the four chatterboxes notice your presence by the door, and you retreat with a wide smile on your face. You go back to your girls, but before you reach the kitchen, you start to hear soft singing coming from the bedroom. Something about skipping cats and hopping dogs.

Did you like this? Go check out my MASTERLIST and drop a follow for any and all future projects!

And if you feel like reading more of my dad!Vash, but want to get your heart steamrolled at the same time then I have the perfect thing for you: Stormy Night and Ghost of You.

[revenantghost]

Heyo, let’s talk about my girl Meryl and why she’s so critical to the plot of Trigun Stampede and Vash in particular! (Well, that’s true for any Trigun, but Tristamp theories are rotting my brain atm.) Some spoilers for Tristamp and vague talk/references to the other series ahoy!

Meryl gets way too many accusations thrown at her for doing nothing/not enough in Tristamp. To the point that I started a rewatch to see if I was misremembering, but absolutely not! Those first three episodes alone, she’s critical to how things develop! She’s a foil to Vash, just like Wolfwood is!! She’s essential to his humanity!!!

But it took until I was watching ‘98 for the first time this weekend for it to crash into me like a freight train exactly what Meryl means, just like it took Trimax for the full weight of Wolfwood to click into place for me. Because she’s set up a lot like her older anime counterpart (though no one gets the same amount of character interaction—Tristamp, I adore you, but please slow down and let these poor folks breathe). She doesn’t understand Vash at first, she even goes so far as to call him a coward in a really low blow for what she easily recognizes as his bravery (and sometimes stupidity) later. And while they both (well, pretty much all the Trigun protags, let’s be honest) share their bullheadedness, I see a lot of people say she’s just like Vash... And I disagree, sorta.

She’s just like Rem. Just look at that last episode.

The two women don’t have the same belief systems, they have wildly different paths, and they come into Vash’s life in incredibly different ways. Meryl may keep Vash in check sometimes, but she’s not a mother figure imo. But they still play a similar role.

After over a century of traveling alone, we see (especially in other versions of Trigun) that Vash is often used and abandoned. Even when he makes genuine friends, they let him drift in and out of their life—and to their credit, he’s good at that! He can’t handle any more pain, so he slips away before the hurt catches up. But not Meryl! She ain’t gonna let that happen!!! At first, yeah, she follows him because of her job, but it never takes her long to go from frustrated and fed up to growing fond of Vash. And I especially love the career shift in Tristamp allowing her a complete out, to walk away and abandon Vash when things get rough, and no one would blame her for it.

But she stays. Because she sees that he’s good and worthy of the love that he denies himself. She sees this vile, hopeless world that they live in through his eyes, and sees the beauty in it too. She’s the first person to have faith in Vash not just as a savior, but as a person—unlike anyone has since Rem.

When all hope is gone, when Vash has lost his way, when he stumbles and falls, Meryl—who starts off doubting him!—is the one there to pick him up and remind him that he’s loved, that his love for humanity isn’t for nothing. Throughout the entire series, she has faith in him. She chooses Vash even when he won’t choose himself. She’s tired and done living in this selfish world of awful people, and she becomes the anchor that ties Vash down to what’s good in humanity. She’s just as critical as Wolfwood in taking a distant, disheartened, and broken Vash and reconnecting him to a world that cast him aside. And we’ve already gotten so much of that in Tristamp. It’s most obvious in the ending, but it’s built up so beautifully imo. She’s not as flashy as our fighters YET, but she’s absolutely essential to Vash, and I will die on this hill. I can’t wait to see her come crashing back into the picture with Milly next season.

[lost-technology]

Along the lines of writing Vash's otherness that I was discussing... Well, polishing up my re-read of Trimax 2, complete with the ending-rant by Nightow including his baffled reaction at anyone wanting to actually make an anime out of his manga (I'd feel the same if anyone wanted to do anything with my indie novels), I just started thinking about baffles and my brain went back to idea of Vash's "otherness" that the manga conveys (and both animes, to a degree, too) and other characters' reactions to it and how I think people who do fanwork ought to remember it more, that I wish I was seeing more work from that angle (over established "everyone's just chill with it" stuff more popular in the fandom for shipping reasons). And... I thought... well, I have some inspiration for my own future work now. Something happened to me a few weeks ago that really struck me through with a sense of the Other: This is going to sound very silly. A few weeks ago, I saw a Cybertruck in the wild for the first time. Yes, it's basically an Internet passtime for everyone to make fun of the Muskrat's Uglitrucks and multiple photos and memes have been posted and I've seen them aplenty, but LET ME TELL YOU that they DO NOT prepare you for seeing the actual thing, in person. I saw one parked at the intersection of my street and the main street in my neighborhood, oncoming, signaling for a turn. I froze, white-knuckled on my car's steering wheel having an honest to God deer in the headlights reaction. I was wondering why there was a giant SHOEBOX making a blinking orange line. My brain could not parse it. I actually had to take a moment to figure out what I was looking at before I connected "Cybertruck?" The thing turned and it was, indeed, a Cybertruck, got a look at it from the side, which is what I'd seen the photos portray. Dead-on like that is just... a different look. I think there was a split-second of fear, but it was mostly a BAFFLE. I mean, in that moment, I realized why deer and rabbits freeze in car headlights. (I read that it is actually an issue with their vision not being designed to see such bright light in the dark and it literally shorts out their brains for a few moments, like a computer glitch). I... had a similar reaction to a damn automobile! It wasn't even anything that was going to harm me, it just "brain go wonk" when encountering something I'd never seen before and, according to my brain, didn't have any business being. (Those things are trucks, but aren't truck-shaped. They are a New Thing). I honestly think that might be what people unfamiliar with direct engineer-level interaction with Plants probably think of Vash when he feathers / petals out / glows, etc. of Weird Plant Things he does. Even if they can get over fear, there will always be a baffle that the human brain has trouble with - a sort of animal-reaction to the Other.

[shastafirecracker]

I have a minor grievance with Stampede to air out, brought on by listening to Adventures in Solitude by The New Pornographers which is of course the ultimate volume 14 of trimax song. In the last ep of Stampede, Vash and Knives both sprout one wing and fly completely normally. (It takes Vash a minute to get his balance but then he can fly fine.) And this seems to posit that like, they inherently only have one wing each, and that that’s normal and not a hindrance. Obviously the visual -wiggles hand- whatever is that if you put them side by side they make one whole entity with two wings.

However this is in reference to the final volume of the manga, in which they fly off into the sunset holding each other, each with one wing out for balance. But. But. Here’s my beef. Vash is the one who grabs Knives and takes off with him to save him from the Earth fleet/Chronica’s rage. Vash manifests a full ass set of angel wings. Except, in doing so, he’s burning through way too much of his power, and also he just got impaled in the gut by one of Knives blades, so he falters and starts to pass out. One of his wings falls apart. Knives then manifests a single wing to balance Vash’s remaining wing, and he does it with a look of terror and desperation- obviously he’s never done that before, and it’s easy to read into the moment that Knives is not used to trying to manifest something -useful- or -creative- with his blades. He just makes weapons. So his wing is strange, a weapon repurposed to a practical task, unwieldy. The thing is, Knives -can also generate feathers- like Vash but for all his bluster about how Vash never learned how to use his powers and Knives is so all-powerful with them, in the end, he has actually poured so much of his focus into becoming death incarnate - becoming Millions Knives - that he can’t even manifest the one thing it makes sense for feathers (his basic nature) to be: a wing.

And then the two of them fly away struggling with it, barely holding their forms and barely balancing each other, but finally crossing a bridge to work together to achieve something. Anything. Even if all they achieve is to escape (and do exactly what Vash always said: run away and wait for things to calm down, and then try to come back in peace).

So yeah my beef with Stampede is borrowing the visual of the one-winged angels and losing the meaning. I mean, I think Stampede creates some new and interesting meanings of its own - it’s leaning far more into the idea that the twins aren’t really whole on their own, that they need each other to be complete in a more ontological sense. But. As a filthy manga stan. I will always adore what Nightow did with these boys and their troubles, and how few words were needed to explore their feelings. So much of manga Knives is in his facial expressions. His anguish of loss and grief in the last volume is so damn palpable. Stampede’s only brushed over the surface possibilities of Knives as a character.

[jacenbren]

I know it's probably been pointed out before, but I am Having Thoughts about the twins' shift in personality after the Big Fall so forgive me but I NEED to rant (here be spoilers be warned)

At first glance it's easy to think that Knives is very cold and emotionless and closed off, but when you look closer, you realize that that's probably the furthest thing from the truth. When we see him as a kid—no matter which iteration of Trigun you're watching—Knives is the high-energy, outgoing twin, with big ambitions and an even bigger desire to go seek out knowledge. Especially in trimax, he's the one who's the most intrigued by humans and wants to get along with them (it should be noted that both of the twins have a very black-and-white way of thinking and a very strong sense of justice; I personally headcanon both of them as autistic). He's the one who follows Rem around the ship, constantly bombarding her with why why why, and when she doesn't give him answers—either because said answers to his questions require a level of maturity he doesn't yet have to understand, or because Rem is fucking tired from taking care of twin alien boys who age rapidly and could blow up the entire fleet with their godlike powers—Knives stubbornly starts to look for them himself.

Then the Tesla incident happens. For Knives, this is the mother of all fuckery, and he basically is subjected to the alien equivalent of watching Mufasa get K.O.'ed by a herd of wildebeests in The Lion King. This scares the living shit out of him, because every one of his prior beliefs have just been obliterated. Knives being naturally very inquisitive and hungry for knowledge... well, after Rem comes and gets them and calms them down, Knives starts digging. He doesn't want to believe that this is what humans are capable of, but as he combs through the ship's data archives, he keeps getting atrocity after atrocity thrown in his face. Knives bears witness to the horrors of mankind's history, and with his black-and-white thinking, he can't help just fucking losing it.

We're all pretty aware that Knives wears his heart on his sleeve. Sure he acts all cool and calculating, but when he's actually in the heat of the moment, he clearly reacts to everything in a very emotional manner. That adventurous, energetic little kid he once was is still in there, but he's been damaged so very badly, and twisted to where his strong emotions are expressed almost entirely as anger and his inquisitive nature has become recklessness; Knives just doesn't know when to stop, because he can't. All he's been focused on for the past century and a half is the survival of himself and his kind, and he's basically been in a kind of high-alert attack mode since the Big Fall.

Knives has built up a shell around himself. A sharp, spiky shell of weaponized emotions, that nothing but Vash can break through.

Speaking of Vash, he was a pretty shy, reserved kid. Especially in tristamp, he's the softspoken, mama's boy type. He's pretty clingy towards Rem especially, and he's more than happy to let Knives do all the decision-making and talking. He fits the younger sibling archetype very well, despite him and Knives being twins.

When the Tesla incident happens, Vash takes it a bit better. He's not curious to a fault like Knives is, so he takes Rem's word for it when she reassures him and says that she would never let anything happen to him or his brother. Instead of flipping his viewpoints on a dime out of fear, Vash instead becomes even more firm in his ideals: yes, humans are by no means perfect, but they've been nothing but kind to him and Knives so far. Vash comes to the conclusion that if he doesn't give the humans a reason to hurt him, everything will be okay, so Vash constructs a wall around himself like Knives did, only Vash's is purely defensive and deliberately disarming. Especially after the Big Fall, Vash is extremely aware of how untrusting humanity is of him, so he pours all his energy into making himself as likeable and non-threatening as he can.

Unlike Knives, we rarely see Vash react to dangerous situations with genuine emotion. It's very obvious that Vash's careless, happy-go-lucky attitude is a construct that he uses to hide his true feelings, and a meticulously-constructed one at that—in the '98 anime, Wolfwood is one of the few people who seem to be able to pick up on this and point it out. Sure, Vash might be a genuinely good-hearted and hopeful person, but he's just as scared as Knives is, only he hides behind a facade and tries to make himself as palatable to humans as he can (yet another reason why I headcanon the twins as autistic; homeboy has been masking for literal centuries and when he finally ends up having a meltdown because of it he levels cities lmao).

Vash has also built up a shell around himself. His, however, is deliberately made to seal himself away from the world, out of fear for himself, humanity, and the rest of his kind.

forgive me for the long post but I am rotating these two little shits in my Mind Microwave omg

[vashsscoreboardofpain]

WELCOME BACK SPORTS FANS ;D

Welcome back dear audience. I hope the 10 minute break was enough because we have more sports to see :D Last time the contestant broke the record of amount of points in a single round. Now that we are officially starting trimax, who knows what will he pull out

Ladies, gentlemen and people from beyond, welcome to trimax volume 1:

Chap 1:

Its been 2 years (in universe) and yet the contestant does not come fast to gather points. He positions himself and waits. In the meantime we have this complete stranger, Eriks.

-1 "bad event" point for getting a shit ton of guns in his face. poor va- I mean eriks

-1 "bad event" point for getting kicked by lina (deserved)

-1 "bad event" point for almost being blown up

-1 "action" point for putting himself in danger by going outside

-1 "bad event" point for almost getting shot in the face

-1 "action" point for bowing. As mentioned before, dear audience, we are going with the japanese rulebook. Bowing is, indeed, point worthy.

-1 "bad event" point for having to strip naked and act like a dog for everyone to see

-1 "bad event" point for STILL GETTING SHOT god damnit

-1 "bad event" point for getting slapped in the face by our dear mvp wolfwood. Now that he is here he will be wonderful support

-and this is when he strikes new points everyone. 1 "yikes statement" point his "stop. some legend that is." he feels too guilty to even hear about what he did

-1 "yikes statement" point for saying it out loud! he's actually afraid of destroying the planet by accident so he retired. its incredible that the contestant is hitting these really honest points with wolfwood

-1 "yikes statement" for openly admitting that his desire for a simple life is impossible because violence and blood always following

-1 "bad event" point for basically being forced by wolfwood, the gun and the circumstances to go back to the vash the stampede life. ouch

Chap 2:

-1 "bad event" point for ending up like a ragdoll afer july

-1 "action" point for deciding to leave the town so no one gets caught in the crossfire. this time he's not forced to go but he decided he needs to. isolation time once again

-1 "bad event" point for getting kicked by lina

-1 "bad event" point for getting shot at, even if he was able to *reads notes* kick it???

-1 "bad event" point for his hair getting darker. now, alot of you have expected this moment. although we do not know (yet) why his hair is turning black, we'll assume it cant be anything good. it was after july after all

Chap 3:

-1 "bad event" point for getting manipulated by the hitman. The moment he mentioned meryl the contestant had to take the risk, he just had to

-1 "bad event" point for getting shot at multiple times the moment he opens the door. the contestant is truly back on his feet- OH BUT IT WAS A TRAP (still considered tho). The contestant was smart enough to not be in the line of fire

-and there it goes another blast of bullets towards the contestant. 1 "bad event" point

-1 "bad event" point because his hotel room exploted. aw.

-1 "bad event" point for still getting shot at even though he feel from a high floor to a random car

Chap 4:

-flashback time everyone! the contestant gets ready and starts running. he gets 1 "bad event" point for getting his ass beaten by knives after the ships crash

-1 "bad event" point for sad dream. again. the contestant is collecting sad dreams like pokemons

-1 "bad event" point for being wrapped up by a kid right after meeting the doctor and brad

-1 "action" event for not defending himself from brad's insults

-1 "traumatic event" point for not only living with the guilt but the dread of not remembering yet knowing that it was him who did a hole in the moon

-1 "yikes statement" point for accepting verbally that he is the most dangerous person in the planet

-1 "bad event" point for getting released so aggressively

-1 "yikes statement" point for calling himself a monster

Chap 5:

-1 "action" point for making himself the target the solution to the conflict. it may work but its not the best sign of a healthy mind

-1 "bad event" point for getting shot by the crminals

-he keeps moving towards the cabin and he hits another 1 "bad event" for almost getting caught in the trap or rather he got caught but thanks to the new coat he isnt dead

Chap 6:

-1 "bad event" point because watching someone so ready to kill another person in front of him is basically psychological torture for him

-1 "action" point for interfering between an armed guy and another guy

-1 "bad event" point for getting punched by the armed guy

-1 "bad event" point for getting arrested

-1 "action" point for apologizing for almost collapsing out of exhaustion. the audience agrees that this is Fine tm. the contestant really knows no limits

-1 "bad event" point for getting buried by wolfwood. our mvp is ready to help the contestant again

AND THATS HOW THE VOLUME ENDS DEAR AUDIENCE. The contestant is back and ready to hit all the points possible! Now with a renewed sense of responsibility and with wolfwood by his side will he able to hit the 200 points?

On this round the contestant got 40 points holy shit, making the new total 129 points. He is so close to surpass stampede vash!

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