#i love having a bug board i love looking at beautiful bugs. OHHHHH I HAVE TO KILL THE BUGS TO GET THE BUG BOARD??!!???? AAUUGGHHHHH

[girlcockholmes]

being an entomologist is insane like oh so youre saying i have more empathy for bugs than nearly anyone else but also i will likely kill more bugs than anyone else. 🫥😖

[pancake-breakfast]

Time to finish of Volume 5. Let's see if we can't get some more crazies on the playing board.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 5, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Death Deal

Everyone's screaming.... Blood is everywhere.... Picking up right where we left off, I see....

Holy fuck, was running over his face with the bike necessary, Legato??? Geez, man.

Creechur Vash is displeased.

CREECHUR VASH IS DISPLEASED!!!

...I'm sorry, but Legato feeling legitimately ill and being moved to tears of sadness that Midvalley would turn a gun on him and "betray Master Knives" is freaking hilarious and I absolutely LOL'ed. Gods, this man is such a mess.

I do feel bad for Midvalley, though. I feel like, in another life, on another world, maybe he could have just played beautiful music.

Dude is just staring and Wolfwood and crying. I'm telling ya, he's SUPER jealous. He wishes Knives trusted him as much as Knives is trusting Wolfwood right now, which is funny 'cause it's Wolfwood.

This look, though.... Find you a man who stares down your enemies the way Wolfwood stares down Legato. Even though he might not actually be able to see very well right now.

Got rid of them...? As in... Vash and Meryl? Vash and... Wolf... wood?? What did Zazie do?

Butterflies?

Ohhhhhhhhhh

Wait, I never *did* figure out why they were trying to get rid of Zazie. Glad Zazie's having fun with bodies, though.

It was because they didn't want Zazie to report back to Legato, huh?

Is... Gauntlet resisting Legato??

YES HE IS!!! GOOD FOR HIM!!!

Meanwhile, Creechur Vash is just waiting for all of this to die down, I guess?

Ohhhhh. Yeah, keeping Crechur Vash contained is gonna be a task for anyone.

Gotta have a good ol' Mexican Standoff.

Ahhh, I know there's so much going on here and it's all bad, but he really is kinda cute like this.

MERYL TO THE RESCUE!!!

Gods, she's screaming, she's crying, she's severely outgunned and/or outmatched by every player on the field.... She may be small, but her power is adequate.

AND SHE AIMS RIGHT FOR LEGATO!!! GET 'IM, GIRL!!!

It's enough for Gauntlet to pull the trigger on his gun....

...aaaand all hell breaks loose.

I like how even though Zazie's new form is more feminine, it's still like, "What is gender? I don't care. My gender is worms."

Legato appears to still be alive. Human skulls are more durable than we give them credit for.

Ohhhh, Stampede referenced this little speech of Legato's.

WTH happened to his face? Like, I know he just got shot, but I'm having trouble figuring out how he went from this...

...to this....

...in the space of a panel.

Ah, that's gotta be Midvalley's corpse. Meryl's right to scream. There's no coming back from seeing that.

I like the little stringy lines implying Legato's power.

Of course that bastard would be like, "Oh, you created a friend? Gotta make sure you pay for that by your friend's hand." He's a very sick fuck.

Creechur Vash is still displeased.

The only one here who hasn't quite seen this yet is Meryl, and she's already freaking out. Even Legato looks terrified. Glad his face is back to normal, though.

Ohhhhh, shit. The Nail is here.

Chapter 6: Let Us Walk The Path To Redemption

Ohhh, Vashie, babygirl....

Legato's little monster-puppet handler can feel pain??

Oop, something going on here is bringing Vash back out of creechur mode.

She has a point. People with a strong enough death wish can cause quite a mess seeking their own destruction.

Nevermind, Vash has turned into a lightning bug with too many wings.

Ohhhh, baby Vash....

I do love the use of white space here, though. This happens a lot when we fall into Vash's memories, and it really emphasizes his loneliness.

That's too many bullets. The image of bullets falling like tears....

Aaaand Legato is ruining the moment with his madness. Gods, this wet cat is gonna punish himself even harder now because of all this, and other people might actually have to watch that.

I like how they have yet to actually show her face.

Goshdarn, someone wrap Vash in a weighted blanket and feed him something nice and give him all the hugs.

YOU CAN DO IT, VASH!!!

Eyyyyy, body horror....

I love that he's focusing on the kindness of those in the past to pull himself through. He has no idea what the future holds... for himself, for mankind, for the companions who, after this, might not want anything to do with him ever again. But he's doing what he can to focus on people's kindness....

And... he's protecting Gauntlet, isn't he? Of course he is. Gauntlet, who's so tired from everything that's happened tonight, he probably wants to die. He was expecting to die. He lost his only friend by his own hand because of Legato. And now the man he came here to kill is protecting him.

OUT OF BULLETS, YA BASTARD!!! (The sound effect here is "ga-chi, ga-chi, ga-chi" over and over again. Def not a gun firing sound.)

Awww, man! Creepy weird guy carrying around Legato has a knife arm.... Whyyyyyy.

Look at his stupid face, though. He's enjoying this.

Ok, that's too many teeth. Please return some to wherever you got them from.

Did... Airship Lady shoot him through the head?

Yeah, she did.

Hahahahaha, the first time we see her fully revealed, and she's just being a baby after falling in the sand.

LOL, Meryl....

You know what? Legato deserves to be talked down to like this. He really, really does.

"Secret Number 13!" But that doesn't add up. Literally. In chapter 5 of the last volume, Wolfwood said they only had three left: Zazie, Midvalley, and Hoppered. They'd only been through six in the previous chapters, and adding Wolfwood to that mix only makes 10. Unless he's counting Legato and Knives, but in the last volume didn't think they wouldn't actually come out to fight??? Or was trying to mislead Vash on their numbers, since he said that one out loud but this one's in his head??? Very confused. Fix your math, Nightow.

Ah, that's... that's a lot of nails....

"You've really been losing it lately." You know it's bad when even the other bad guys are like, "Yyyyyeeeeaaaahhh, sorry about our buddy over here. He's... he's a little crazy. We're just gonna take him home so he doesn't do anything else stupid today. We'll resume tormenting you later."

Mannnn, if Bluesummers could hear Knives say this right now, he'd start crying all over again for a completely different reason...

I'm honestly not sure what happened in this explosion here.

Even Legato's little pet monster-thing is looking not so good. One's spine really should stay inside their body.

Looks like Vash is getting ahold of himself ok over there.

Meryl is soooo brave here. She's terrified to the point of tears, but she grits her teeth and readies herself.

Vash looks spent.

Nothing gets Vash's attention quite like someone in dire need.

Dude. Gauntlet. Why you gotta be like that to Vash!? You know and you're still like, "Eh, I even know it's wrong of me to do so, but I'm smiling about it."

And yet Vash STILL holds his hand so Gauntlet doesn't have to die alone.

Wolfwood and Meryl running to Vash's side now that it's safe. Meryl immediately inquiring after Vash's health. <3 <3 <3

BRB, finding a way to give hugs to a fictional character.

Hahahahaha, Milly. She's sooooo enthusiastic. I love her.

Is that... Zazie in the crutches??

LOL, yeah. But how did Zazie get ahold of a black wig? What a weirdo.

Heh. In spite of everything, here's Vash dragging Wolfwood to a makeshift funeral for the makeshift graves for two people who adamantly tried to kill them.

...No comment. I'm just gonna put this here. Yeah.

LOL, Vash is calling Wolfwood on his bullshit again.

This panel is a good panel. I'm going to put it here, too.

"You break it, you fix it." The path to redemption, indeed. Onward with the manual labor!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10 || Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6 || Volume 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Volume 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Volume 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Volume 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 3 DT

[mylittleshipgoestoot]

That’s What Makes You Beautiful

by mylittleshipgoestoot (Explicit)

Pre-Debate nerves turn an innocent trip to the bathroom into their first time together without Astrid.

Astrid narrows her eyes at her supposed boyfriend, who’s got full-blown heart eyes for his opponent, whose none other than her nemesis, Payton Hobart.  Sure, she’d agreed to their little triangle arrangement, but only for fear of losing River altogether.

There’s something about those dimples, and that little smirk River gives him as he clutches the microphone, and brings it up to his lips.  She can’t quite put her finger on it, but it bugs her.

Little does she know that the smirk isn’t what it seems at all.  River is trying to compose himself as Payton purposely imitates an intimate moment they’d had less than an hour ago.

Explicit Content under the cut - AO3 Link

Payton strides into the backstage bathroom like he owns the place.  He’s nervous on the inside, and there's no sign of his opponent yet.  Even though it sounds ridiculous, seeing River would calm his nerves somewhat.  He critiques his appearance in the mirror. Usually, he’d be confident about it, but today he’s going to be standing next to a Ralph Lauren model on stage.  He pulls a face and starts tapping his foot nervously, knowing that he has to be about god damned perfect to win this debate: not a foot wrong, no buckling under the pressure of it all.

“Payton?”  River would know that nervous foot tap anywhere.

Payton eyes the end stall with the closed door, in the mirror, curiously.

“Pre-debate nerves?”  Payton offers, pointlessly walking toward the stall.  Theirs a weird sort of breath pattern going on in there, and the idiotic part of Payton’s brain wonders if maybe River’s sobbing quietly, obviously overcome by his political opponent.

“Ahhh, ah more like a pre-debate wank,” River replies, raising the volume of his ministrations, allowing Payton to hear him.

Payton’s shell-shocked and his body is very interested, he’s also grappling with how much he wants to see precisely what River’s doing, but at the same time, now is not the time nor place for this.  Imagine the scandal?

“Payton?”  River stops his actions momentarily, and Payton watches as the vacant sign appears and the door swings open.

Well, fuck.  Think about the best porn you’ve ever seen, well, this shits all over that.  River is fucking magnificent. Shirt hanging open, trousers bunched around his ankles, long wicked fingers wrapped around his beautiful cock, and a gorgeous, yet mischievous grin on his face.

“Wanna help a fellow candidate out?”

Payton doesn’t answer, his feet just start walking toward him as if in a trance, and he doesn’t come back to himself until he hears the lock turn again.  He’s sitting down, staring right at River’s perfect dick. He adjusts himself and coughs nervously.

“Er, should we be doing this?”  His voice is embarrassingly high-pitched, and he kicks himself for being so uncool when River appears so confident.

River squats down so he can look him in the eye, and says gently, ”Payton, if you’re not comfortable with-“

“What?  No, I’m comfortable with blow jobs, I just thought we didn’t do ‘this’ without Astrid?”  He’s babbling, offering blow jobs, why does he have zero game, it’s so unfair.

River chuckles lightly.  “Blow job, hey? I just invited you in so I could look at you because it’ll make me come faster.”

Payton doesn't have a response to that, and he should if he wants to be the president one day, but he's not fucking perfect, okay!

River leans in and kisses him, soft and leisurely, like they're not going head to head on stage in under fifteen minutes.  Payton feels drunk on it, sucking on River’s tongue as he runs his hands down over those perfect pecs. Time could genuinely run away on them in here, and it's only when they hear the P.A system announce the debate that they realise they need to get on with it.

River straightens back up and looks down as he runs his thumb across Payton’s swollen red lips.  He moans when Payton sucks on it playfully. He gently pushes his other fingers into Payton’s mouth, covering them with saliva, then wraps them around his dick.

The thing is, Payton’s never actually given anyone a blow job, and River hasn't pressured him at all, but with River pleasuring himself right in front of his face, he can't think of a better time to give it a crack.

Start small, he thinks, hand coming up to caress River’s balls.  He thinks he's doing okay, considering River’s full-body shudder, but he looks up to make sure River’s on board with it anyway.

Should anyone ever have the full attention of River Barkley, as Payton does right now, thank your lucky fucking stars.  River’s eyes are blown wide open, filled with love, and his jaw is utterly slack.

”Gently tug, ” River directs, voice rough and breathy.

Payton doesn't need telling twice; he’s always been very accommodating like that.  He stops playing and gives a gentle tug, one finger accidentally brushing past River’s entrance.

”Shit,” River chokes out, jerking himself more frantically.

Pleased with the response, Payton is spurred on to be more adventurous.  He waits until River is on a downstroke to lick the head of his cock, tongue dancing over it, tasting the salty essence of him.

River moans low in his throat, watching as Payton repeats the action.  ”God, Payton, you look-” River will never be done staring into those big Disney eyes.

Payton beams at the praise.  In all his very short life, no-one had ever made him believe he was worthy, and then he met River.  He would do anything for this man.

Feeling more confident, he places a hand over River’s, following the motion for a few strokes, before taking River into his grasp.  

This is power; he thinks to himself.  Making River bite his lip like that, being the reason for those breathy gasps, this shits all over school president.

Unhurriedly, Payton starts to explore again.  He takes the head of River’s cock into his mouth and swirls his tongue over it slowly.  River groans above him, and a hand comes to rest gently at the base of his skull.

Payton opens his mouth, allowing River to control the pace of his cock, as it slides over his lips and tongue and toward the back of his throat.  It feels so intimate. River is staring down at him adoringly, and nothing else in the world even exists. He closes his eyes, mind going blank and loses himself in the feeling.

Hours could have passed but in reality, its only seconds before River tells him he’s close.

It pulls Payton out of his blissful haze.  As the noise from the auditorium filters back in, something snaps in him, and it gives him purpose.  He wants to blow River’s mind, wants to rid him of his thoughts and troubles for a moment too.  

He slides his mouth as far down the length of River’s cock as he can go without choking, his lips making it to his fingers around the base, then sucks as hard as he can as his lips slide back up again.

River’s knees buckle, and he’s forced to support himself with a hand against the wall.  ”God, ” he says, feeling his self-control slipping as Payton continues blowing him with those beautiful pouty lips.  It feels incredible, freeing, and like he never wants it to end.  

Payton moans as he sucks him down again, the sound of it sends shivers up his spine.  Another moan and River is losing it, his hand tightening in Payton’s hair, as the other lands with an emphatic slap against the wall, “Ohhhhh,” he groans, stiffening and spilling into Payton’s waiting mouth.  River gasps for breath, and takes in Peyton sucking and swallowing down his load, ”Payton, Jesus, ” River manages through an aftershock. He’s stunned, completely blind-sided by how good this could be with the right person.  It hadn't felt anywhere near this good with any of his previous partners.

Peyton let's go of him, reaching for the paper to dab delicately at the corners of his mouth, and clears his throat nervously.  River re-dresses, and curses when he checks his watch.

”Three minutes, ” he says, unlocking the stall door and motioning that Payton goes first.

They wash up together.  Payton sets about straightening up his ensemble, as a set of arms wrap around him from behind, and River grins that wide, warm smile at him in the mirror.

”You look great in pinstripes, and you’re going to be amazing out there.”

Payton looks at the bathroom floor, still not used to so much praise.

”God, ” River says, tilting Payton’s chin back up from the ground, ”You don't know how beautiful you are, do you?”

”Only you think that.”

Payton turns in his arms, and River kisses him gently.  They take a step back from each other, and Payton holds out his hand for River to shake.  River tries not to laugh but shakes the hand regardless.

”May the best man win!”  Payton is all business now, he gives River a comical wave and turns to leave.

”You still going to tell everyone we had sex if I win?” River calls after him.

”Affirmative.” Peyton retorts, and the door shuts behind him, leaving River starting at his grinning reflection in the mirror.  He knows it's the truth too. The man he’s in love with is occasionally hysterical, driven, truthful, and a born leader that will stop at nothing to see his dreams come true.

The end.  Thanks for reading.  AO3

[sportymama]

-Porque yo sé muy bien los planes que tengo para ustedes —afirma el Señor—, planes de bienestar y no de calamidad, a fin de darles un futuro y una esperanza.  – Jeremías 29:11

Here I am with a million days gone by and adventures and experiences had and finally getting around to writing some down. I’m a terrible blogger! A terrible “Keep up on the blog” blogger.

I guess in the grand scheme it makes no difference as long as the story is told. I feel like a lifetime has gone by and I have failed to sit down and put pen to paper ..ahem, fingers to keypad, words onto the screen.

I am going to start with today. Or yesterday. Or this past week…..

  We moved. The earth moved and I had a slight meltdown.

At the beginning of this year, we decided to take a leap! Greg and I both being “no regrets” types of people, moved from the comforts of our home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to a third world country that has really felt like home since the first time we set foot here ten years ago. We sold/gave away most of our things, stored what we needed to keep in the States, packed up footlockers and suitcases, backpacks and our dog and boarded a plane for a one-way trip to Costa Rica. The decision was made for this looong ago. Years ago God had planted this in our hearts. Our first trip down here was so life-changing that we knew eventually we would be here full-time. It was that trip that tipped our lives of consumerism, materialism, wants over needs, unhappiness in careers, our marriage, the place we lived, our quality of life, of corporate ladders and shopping madness, the never-ending, un-fillable hole of discontent to where we are now.

Contentamiento! 

After being here, friends knew and family knew and friends of family knew…that at some point God was going to bring us back. That trip had such an acute and profound effect on us and set the wheels in motion for HUGE life changes! Since that first trip, we have been here 7 times and have fallen head over heels for Central America. We have been to Panama, Nicaragua, and traveled for mission work in Honduras. We know God’s hand was on our first trip here and that He gave us the love and desire for our trips to Honduras, and eventually to take the leap and move here to Costa Rica full-time.

  Moving Day! Leaving Spokane with our lives in footlockers and suitcases.

What an adjustment! It’s different being on vacay and MOVING and yesterday proved to be one of those days. Last winter we were here for two months, but we knew we would be going back to the States. I think yesterday I had that “A-ha moment” when I knew we weren’t going back.

Coming off of our first Thanksgiving without family and friends and being in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving was tough on me. We DID have an amazing dinner at a local hotel on the beach that was incredible ( I mean here I am whining about having turkey on the beach) but for me, Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday. It’s one I almost always host (with my MIL taking Christmas) in our home with family and friends. The days leading up, I cook and sing and listen to music. It’s a no-pressure holiday for me because I enjoy the prep. I love hosting, the decorating, the setting of a beautiful table. We love food and wine and talking about how thankful we are for the year we have had, sharing stories, and achievements, as well as being grateful for the hardships and struggles that have refined us a bit over the year. IT’S A DAY OF GENUINE THANKFULNESS and GRATEFULNESS! To me its a way of life, everyday, but I love that a day is set aside for giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year <tradition> and expressing and learning to live with an attitude of gratitude and appreciation in all parts of your life, big and small, on a regular basis. The kids come home, my family and friends are present and it’s just a FULL nest. Full-ness.

  Here Monkey Monkey

The sand. OHHHHH MUH GOODNESS let me tell you about the sand that I clean daily. Surfing/Salty Couple + Golden Retriever + Ocean + Sand Rolling = Mountains of Sand! Mountains! (Again, here I am whining about sand. Living on a beach) 

The bugs. Oye! We haven’t lived in a climate that breeds a lot of bugs. I’m talking spiders, ants of various varieties, millipedes, centipedes, Palmetto roaches, geckos and huge beetles, butterflies and flying “things” that are for the most part harmless, just ya know…. SCARY! I hear that “we will get used to them” but the jury is out on that. Can’t image that day, but Lord, I’m ready! I’m not a tremendous lover of bugs and have had some pretty interesting and some downright funny experiences with bugs since we’ve moved.

  Meet “Sandy” our Sea-Pig

Adding those up with the VERY ground moving earthquake we had 2 weeks ago while my husband was gone, I was feeling a little down yesterday. I know, I know, it’s natural after a move and I fully understand that. I am just keeping it real. Keeping it authentic! There are ups and downs to any move or with any giant life-altering decision. I talked to my mother-in-law yesterday and said to her “even in paradise we have bad days” No one is immune, no matter where you are and what you’re doing. I am generally a pretty easy-going, optimistic, upbeat person…but rest assured, I DEFINITELY have my moments. She understood; they just built and moved into a new house!

So after an afternoon of feeling “not so sure about this” we walked down for sunset. This is something we do every day, as does most of the village. There is something about sitting under a sky that God has painted in the most extraordinary colors. As we walked the beach I was reminded of WHO brought us here. “Look around you Paula and see my goodness” I needed an attitude adjustment and a quick reminder to LOOK. LISTEN. WAIT. HEAR. FEEL.

Look around at His beauty and creation.

Listen to His voice above all others.

Wait for His guidance.

Hear what He has to say to us.

Feel His love and His grace.

I know full-well this is where we are meant to be, I just needed to reset. I mean honestly, I feel like we are living our dream and by no other way than by the grace of God.

WE ARE LIVING OUR DREAM!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This move was not on a whim, this was Him. This was the desires of our hearts. It was bigger than us! This is the place that He put on our hearts long ago. A change in lifestyle. A call to mission. Sand and sun and surf. Amazing people. A slowed life. A life of adventure, and bugs and iguanas and monkeys and earthquakes and broken TVs. Of parrots that wake us up at 5 am on schedule, every day and a symphony of frogs that serenade us to sleep every night. Of sandy dogs, of knowing and living the meaning of Pura Vida. Of things NOT moving at an American pace but the ground and earth moving A LOT! Of sunsets that set your soul on fire. Of monkeys on the roof and crabs in the house. Of butterflies, so incredibly beautiful they water your eyes. Of mountains, and rainforests and waterfalls. Of people so loving and generous and passionate and genuine that you are immediate family. I have said it a million times, this place is magical!

We are where we are supposed to be.

Is it perfect, no! Is it an adjustment? Yes! Did we think we’d be coming to live in Costa Rica as Americans with our American ways, no! Are we missing family and friends? Only like crazy!! BUT we are grateful to be gaining new family here. Every single day that we wake up here I am SO thankful. I am sold-out, overwhelmingly, falling down thankful to be living in “our” paradise. I am grateful and at ease knowing I can trust God with ALL OF THIS. Even the bad days.

  Thanksgiving Morning- A little different tradition. Eating pie that a sweet friend made for us in the sunshine

Now I ask a favor….pray for us, because as much as we KNOW that we are meant to be here, we are still looking for the purpose. This isn’t on accident. This isn’t a vacation. The WHY is what we are praying about. Why are we here? I KNOW someone prayed for me yesterday when I was having a bad day and I thank you! Join us in praying for God to show us the path He has for us right now. Show us if there is a need in our community, a way we can help others, a way we can invest in and pour into others here. We are ready. We aren’t here on coincidence.

Just as I finish writing this, I looked out to see the cutest baby coming up our road. No, it wasn’t a baby iguana or baby coati (Pizote) but this little cutie!

  Hola BABY!!

Low tide kissed by the sun!

Finding Contentamiento -Porque yo sé muy bien los planes que tengo para ustedes —afirma el Señor—, planes de bienestar y no de calamidad, a fin de darles un futuro y una esperanza.