#im thinking about that. with wolfwood. like

[checkadii]

mfs do anything but finish their wips . like startign another, for example

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 6 - kaite's foreshadowing. plant synchronization's downside

remember in my part 3 and 5 i was talking about hierarchy? surprisingly, it continues past chapter 8 with kaite. and wolfwood. triangulating nyoom

(to be honest... ive been doing these read and analysis completely blind in a 1st JP read through. so its possible ill find new nuances, get things wrong as the context shifts and changes, so my stuff looks like its scattered all over the place. sorry about that.)

i think ill start explaining names and meanings. kaite's name in japanese is kaito. カイト. this can be a homonym with i think 怪盗 (kaitou) in this case, which means phantom thief. for trying to help Neon with stealing loot from the Stand Steamer.

left bubble next to neon: 道案内���的確だったかね！？ I trust your guide has been giving you clear instructions?

^the headaches with manga translations has always been to keep texts short and reasonable for flow and readability, so these simplifications can and sometimes must happen.

but, add dakutens, the " on 2 of those カイト katakanas and suddenly, kaito turns into. ガイド gaido. Guide.

so Kaite has been playing as a guide to lead vash to his death at the hands of Neon. this page is such a fucking whammy with the wordplay going on. if you just read this in japanese theres a moment of "oh shit, no way, Kaite, vash just told you to stop betraying people! what the hell!"

yet theres a level of trust going on already, so its not as bad as it seems

nightow really likes his worldplay. i really like this page.

kaite redeems himself by later charging into the boiler room and helps turn the valve to stop the sand steamer from running off cliff and killing everyone on board....

hm. a guide. and those sequences

we sure have a lot of guides here. one who appears in the manga later with a kansai dialect. and another in TriStamp, where he is younger than he appears.

when i spoke about hierarchy and the fact that vash is over 150, i was also kind of hinting that all of current humanity are akin to children in the system of JP hierarchy. that takes on extra meaning with a little change of context and language

wolfwood is filling in the shoes of kaito here in tristamp. and within trimax, kaito foreshadows him. incredible.

theres actually more going on with wolfwood and certain design/changes choices i wanna talk about with tristamp but ill save it for another day. maybe when i run into him in this read later

Plant Synchronization downside.

....so theres a bad downside to vash synchronizing with the plant that i didn't catch. which also answers what the fuck was going on in tristamp when that version of him hits the ground

nightow mentions this in an interview, link here posted and transcribed by xoxo-otome (thank you!) that he likes action flicks and has incorporated a lot of action into his work. and its true. there is so much action in the form of sound effects.

reading through the entire manga and paying attention to the sfx peppered around offers a lot more context to whats happening in half of the panels that seemingly doesnt make sense

like this one where the top panel has "DADADADADA" sfx. so they're stomping down the corridor with their guns crossed and facing each other. the "GO OH" in the bottom panel emphasizes the sudden burst into open air. unfortunately, anyone who values their life and sanity in this economy will not want to translate trigun's sfxs 100%.

i should have paid more attention when reading trigun in english. but i didn't so here i am. in the trigunbookclub tag now doing this.

why is it important? here. this. below. when vash does his plant thing with his sister:

see those heart panels? i tried searching real quick but nobody seems to have pointed this out. i havent seen this in EN fanfics. maybe i missed it. maybe im stupid:

thats Dokun, the sound effect of a heart thumping. as vash synchronizes, the heart panels with the same sound effect appear, but they gradually split apart further with ellipses "..." to signify his heart beat slowing down. and down. and down....

Dokun, do kun, do... kun....

then the wings comes out. and the panel below it:

sfx: PIIIIIIIIIII

breathes. a FLAT LINE.

aaaaaaAA?!

何かなんだかわかりません I'm not sure what's going on. とにかくプラントの動きは一切止まっています But the Plant's movement has completely stopped. 同時に男にも呼吸　心音ともに停止してます It's the same with that man. His breathing and heartbeat sounds like it's stopped with the plant too.

AAAAA?!!?! the も means vash is in the same state as the plant?

i.... um. um.,, ANYWAY-

AAAAAAAAAAAA?! HUH?! HUH??? HUH?!

is THIS why he has a metal grate over his heart? something happened and he an an operation on his heart???? by some engineer maybe? what? huh? am i reading this wrong? what? wait, hello? HEY!!!

what the fuck. okAY--?!

and then he just. pretends like nothing's happened. doesnt tell kaito anything. and he leaves the Sand Steamer.

and im going to have to sleep bc its 5 am now and pretend like i didnt just realize something this big right in front of my eyes during the first read.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

OH MY GODP YOU DID IT. OH NY GOD. QUICK QUICK WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT VASH KILLING LEGATO TO SAVE LIVIO??? OH HEY SINCE U NOW KNOW LEGATO’S BACKSTORY, REMEMBER THE SCENE EARLIER ON IN THE MANGA WHEN HE’S IN THE TAVERN AND HE KILLS A BUNCH OF SLAVE TRADERS AND LETS THEIR VICTIMS GO FREE. JUST LET THAT PROCESS FOR A SECOND. WHAT ABOUT KNIVES USING THE LAST OF HIS PLANT ENERGY TO MAKE AN APPLE TREE SPROUT FOR THE DAD AND SON TAKING CARE OF VASH AND PRESUMABLY DYING AFTER??? MAC CAN U HEAR ME??? I’M VERY NOT NORMAL ABOUT VOL 14 I WANNA SCREAM ABT IT

I CAN HEAR YOU. I CAN HEAR YOU SOOO LOUD OVER MY DESPAIR. HOLDING YOUR HANDS.

vash killing legato to save livio in trimax. vash killing legato to save milly and meryl in 98. same story different font. vash breaking his code of ethics, what he believes is his whole life's purpose, to save people he loves. becayse he finally makes that choice. he decides saving his loved ones is more important. smacking his spiky head this bad boy can fit so much love and peace and trauma in him.

OHHH FUCK. OH SHIT. LEGATO. as much as i joke abt hating him he is a genuinely good and interesting character. holy shit. i didnt make that connection. oh my god. he saves them and immediately thinks "that was so uncharacteristic of me" and then blames it on vash affecting him. holding his stupid puffy shoulders and staring autismally directly into his eyes. some part of you cared about those people. enough that you saved them. there is good in you.

KNIVES MAKING THE APPLE TREE. FUCK. GOD. SHIT. IM SO UPSET.

^ this panel means so much to me. knives, fallen from grace, begging humans to save his brother. asking for help. no wings, no plant mutation, no knives, just. a human body. he wants his brother to live. and he repays them with an apple tree. can you fucking hear me crying. i think the international space station can hear me crying. what the fuck man

[ruporas]

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

[raepliica]

priest guy sending mixed signals, what is he up to?🤨🕶🤏

~~~

[Image Description: A warm-toned comic featuring Trigun98 characters. It opens with Vash shouting "YOWCH!!" as a half-eaten donut flies through the air, a bruise on Vash's tongue. Meryl, editing papers, is annoyed as he complains: "Ow! Ow! I bi'e my 'ongue..." "What's the rush?" Meryl asks, "They're all yours." Vash, still hurt, tries to explain: "They're jus' sooo good!" Meryl argues back, "Well, savour it then!" Wolfwood has been watching the scene unfold as Meryl continues, "Satisfying your sweet tooth doesn't come cheap, unfortunately." Wolfwood clicks his lighter open and closed, again and again. Without a word, he leans closer, his thumb on Vash's lips. "Wolfwood...?" Vash trails off. Then, Wolfwood opens Vash's mouth and knicks his thumb on one of Vash's canines in one fell swoop. "Wah? Huh??" Vash says as Wolfwood pulls his bleeding thumb away. He licks the blood off the wound then snickers at Vash. Meryl looks disgusted, Vash has lit up in an embarrassed explosion, and Milly remarks, curious: "Those are surprisingly sharp, Mr. Vash!" Question marks float around Vash, and his donuts lay discarded on the table. Each panel is signed by raepliica. End ID]

[maomango-doodle]

Playing around with the color wheel WEEE

[ohitslen]

Angry Vash for me and myself specifically

also extra Vashwood:

[orcelito]

ok, i cant resist the urge to make a post about it after all, especially since it's related to a post i made prior

one of my favorite moments in trimax is By Far this part in chapter 35

[ID: Two pages from Trigun. The first starts with Wolfwood thinking, "Now that I think 'bout it, it may be one of the major differences between our species." That deep rooted dear I felt on the ship…" He thinks of Vash crying blood and, swearing, wonders, "Is he the one who can save humankind? That monster?" Wolfwood is briefly shown in resolution before someone calls, "Hey, Wolfwood!" and he looks up with surprise.

Vash sits with a smile at the edge of a rooftop, backed by the Fifth Moon and its prominent crater. Vash asks with a smile, "Just coming back now? You're a bit of a night owl, huh?" Wolfwood looks taken aback and wary. End ID]

Right Here. Vash is just sitting there, smiling like normal, but he's got the backdrop of the damage he caused on the moon set Perfectly behind him. it's a glaring reminder to Wolfwood of who exactly he's dealing with here, and that TERRIFIES him.

& the fact that Wolfwood still remembers that moment of crying blood as a moment of true fear. because for all the cheer Vash shows in the average moment, Wolfwood just recently saw him nearly lose control Again (at the Dragon's Nest). the second time he witnessed it, & the third time he would know about.

Vash is a walking atomic bomb with multiple charges. even with how cheerful & kind he is, he's shown Multiple Times that he does not have full control. he is decidedly something different, something Hazardous to humans, and Wolfwood knows this very very painfully.

for all that Wolfwood loves Vash, he is also terrified of him. and at this point in the story, that terror is potent enough to nearly eclipse his affection for Vash.

leading to some of the next most iconic pages:

[ID: The next page starts with Wolfwood standing behind the sitting Vash, his expression hard and the moon bright behind him. Vash seems sad and has one eye open. A close-up focuses on Wolfwood looking down.

Wolfwood thinks, "So easy to pull the trigger. So easy to remove half the problem." Another close-up with bright lighting obscures his face but for one eye. Then Vash turns around curiously and asks, "What's up?" Wolfwood sits behind him and says "Nothin'. Come on. Let's go." Vash seems surprised as Wolfwood scolds, "Don't get yerself tangled up in every little skirmish ya see. It'll be pointless if ya get yerself killed before ya meet him." End ID]

the manga frames it like Vash doesn't know Wolfwood was pointing the gun at him, but I think he did know. he's freakishly perceptive over and over again throughout the story. he HAS to be in order to survive like he has. he'd hear the movement of the gun & sense Wolfwood behind him...

he'd know. i really think he knew.

but he doesn't do anything about it. there is zero fear in his face. he turns to look at Wolfwood curiously, a bit confused, but not afraid. he never once thought that Wolfwood would shoot him. there's full faith and trust there in that moment.

Wolfwood pretends that nothing happened, & Vash lets him. they both move on, not talking about it, because they never talk about Anything of substance like this (not until much, Much later).

overall, it's just such a great example of their relationship's development. Wolfwood's fear & Vash's trust that he won't act on it... it's just. Man.

(EDIT: people have made some good points about how Vash's expression when Wolfwood points the gun at him shows that he probably did know and YEAH that's a good point! & probably why I was so certain he knew lol, I just hadn't realized it myself)

[dinemunyu]

He has sold his life away for a coin, or half of it, which makes him something a little (a lot) lower than Judas. His role is to give a brother so that he can take back his own.

anddddd we're back with vw angst featuring this line that has HAUNTED me since I read this fic last July.

i lost my draft because i accidentally posted it last night and in my panic, i deleted the post soo guess this is staying spoiler-free from my ramblings

[snailasleep]

why does vash carry cigarettes if he never smokes?

extra comic

if it makes anyone feel better heres what i named some of the layers for this comic

also panels i liked!

see you, vash! until next time!

[andr0nap]

gung-ho-woo's

+ a very rough size chart

just for estimates, i cannot be bothered to do the height calculations

[checkadii]

mman . idk. im so fucking sleepeu and iys only 330

[beaulesbian]

I can see it in his eyes.

Trigun Stampede || episode 1.04

(something something, when they can read Wolfwood like an open book, except he does care. He cares so much.)

+ bonus, episode 9: when Wolfwood tries to distance himself from the “friend” part as Zazie mentioned.

+ + bonus bonus, episode 10: when Wolfwood doesn’t see himself as a  human, talking about them as something else than him. And Vash still reaches between him and any conflict (like above in ep 4 between him and Roberto).

+ + + bonus bonus bonus, episode 12: Wolfwood caring about some (human) lives, episode 12:

Wolfwood to Vash in ep 4:

So you’d risk your life for theirs? Self-sacrifice on self-sacrifice… You’re a weird one. You only get one life. You have to fight for it, no matter who you hurt in the process.

Wolfwood to Vash in ep 10:

Do you think sacrificing yourself will make everyone happy?

[unmaskedfelon]

me after watching first few episodes of trigun (1998): hehe they cant catch this silly little dude, he is actually a pacifist and he loves donuts! so cute so cute, cant wait for this cool and edgy priest guy to appear, i wonder if he will be vash’s rival

me after i finished it: what does even mean to be a human. can we live in this world without violence? do we have a choice? everyone talking about “cruel world”, but what if people had created this cruelty by themselves? is it even possible to live in peace with each other? how can we get closer to God, if we cant even love each other? what are we trying to prove? my life will never be the same again. 

[ruporas]

thinking about wolfwood (ID in alt text)

[quippip]

guardian angel