#rip meryl and milly

[phantasy14]

[rrogueamendiares]

a couple of things from late july

[sharrrrknight]

Trigun art done over the last week-

-and after ep 10 :')

[rubeau-art]

@herebegiants gave me terminal brain-rot with their fic (which you can read here!!! [x])

Could not shake this image from my head.

[hartxstarr-art]

au where everything is the same but its not actually its completely different honestly woah

[insertsomthinawesome]

FEBUWHUMP DAY 19 - “You Deserve This”

Sequel/Midquel to Febuwhump day 20: Knife Wound >>

Summary: With Knives' and Vash's duel interrupted by the arrival of help, everybody is left scrambling in the aftermath to try and save each other and get out alive. As the dust settles, Wolfwood has to face the consequences of his actions. Actions his companions also have thoughts about.

** Everything was a screaming smoke filled, dirty, ash-choked mess the moment the glass shattered and Millie fell through the roof tailed by the rag tag squad she’s managed to duct tape together through who-knows-what means. Then again, Wolfwood had seen her at work, so he supposed it wasn’t too much of a surprise. That woman sure had her ways. He was just glad he wasn’t among those who had to be convinced.

She also didn’t like resorting to more heavy handed manipulation and again… he knew better.

The cacophony of noise hurt his ears but anything was better than listening to Nee- Vash scream and plead with his own brother.

Plead for his friends.

Plead for him.

Read on Ao3!!

**

-NO ROMANCE INCLUDED-

[lemongogo]

[strayreader]

same and tbh I kinda feel like new stampede!Meryl doesn’t rlly have a personality BUT MAYBE THATS JUST ME

I'm enjoying Trigun Stampede as its own thing, but I do very much miss how, in the original, Meryl at any given time has already 100% HAD it with Vash's shit for the day

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 5 Pt. 3

Here we go again. (Gah I'm so behind sorry guys) More thoughts on Vash's no good, very bad mental health, this time focused on trauma symptoms and his uncharacteristic lack of foresight and planning when it comes to confronting Knives.

[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum Volume 5. Vash is hunched over among the rubble. He is not drawn in extensive detail, being merely eyes, an open mouth, spiky hair and a mass of feather-like projections covering his whole body and culminating in a single large wing protruding from his back. End ID.]

Again, this is going to get a little heavy, and became quite long. You have been warned.

(Sorry, the image of fluffy Vash has very little to do with anything... other than the fact that he is actively having a breakdown in that scene I guess. I just really wanted to include that panel. Lol.)

To start with, at the very beginning of my read of the manga, I commented on how Vash clearly demonstrates some pretty textbook avoidant behaviours. Then I took note later on of Vash's concerning lack of self-regard, resulting in little thought being given to a future for himself after confronting Knives.

Well. It gets worse I'm afraid. 👍

Vash displays enough clear signs of trauma in the manga that I am convinced he actually meets criteria for a PTSD diagnosis (specifically surrounding July). I'm a student in this field, not a professional, but I'm going to loosely run over the trauma symptoms he displays. <-This is important for the point I am trying to make.

Category 1: Intrusive Memories

Flashbacks - Yeah, all throughout Volume 5 as the memories of what happened all come rushing back at once (with Hoppered and Meryl unfortunately caught up in his trauma-induced breakdown. rip you two I am so sorry)

Nightmares - A bit harder to say. There aren't nightmares about July it seems, on account of his having forgotten the event. He dreams about Rem frequently though, it can be assumed, only for her to be wrenched away from him shortly before waking. This was in Volume 1 of Trigun.

Severe Emotional and Physical Reactions to Reminders - Volume 2 of Trigun, shortly before Fifth Moon. Vash freezes in place when he spots the doctor, which clearly triggers some kind of faint recognition and sense of horror. He doesn't notice Knives approaching until he is right in front of him.

Category 2: Avoidance

Of Thinking/Talking About It - Vash notably doesn't actually question anything to do with July, which you would think he would, if he can't remember anything. He just knows that the city was destroyed and Knives was there - up until Fifth Moon, I don't think there was any doubt in his mind that it was Knives who was responsible. After this, he spends two years in hiding, out of fear of himself and a lack of desire to engage with reminders of his past.

Category 3: Negative Changes

Hopelessness - For a guy who wants people to have hope... he doesn't allot much to himself... :(

Memory Problems - The core issue before Vol. 5. Vash had no idea what happened in July. He even blocked out part of Fifth Moon.

Negative Self-Opinion - "I should never have been born." "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" :(

Difficulty Maintaining Close Relationships - Always leaving people without saying goodbye. Still rarely calls Meryl and Milly by their names. People have to chase after him if they want him around.

Detachment - His go-to when everything gets too much. See the Leonof fight for a good example.

Difficulty Experiencing Positive Emotions - "Ya always smiled all cheerfully, but it was so empty it hurts just lookin' at ya."

Category 4: Physical/Emotional Reactions

Always on Guard - He can't use his real name most of the time. He trains all the time; has to respond quickly to ever-present danger.

Self-Destructive Behaviour - ...it's Vash. :/

Irritability/Angry Outbursts/Aggression - Very much so. Anger is a driving motive and we see this flare up whenever Knives is so much as mentioned. He even gets uncharacteristically short with Meryl when she tries to stop him from confronting him, and Vash does not tend to be very rational or composed in situations where he is genuinely angry. <- I will be coming back to this point.

Overwhelming Guilt or Shame - ...again. It's Vash. :/

Other Complications that can Arise:

Depression (this should go without saying. he's fighting so hard to feel every scrap of fleeting joy he can)

Suicidal Thoughts and Actions (I went over this before. These have cropped up in almost every volume so far and I expect this to get much worse)

Eating Issues (This appears to be Stampede specific, but I thought I'd mention it anyways)

So, uh. I hope this is enough proof. He clearly does have severe trauma, and well, that's not really a surprise, considering what actually happened. Vash inadvertently killed an entire city's worth of people. Absorbed them, even. Deeply traumatic for someone who doesn't want to hurt anyone at all - but this is not the only part of July that was traumatic.

Let's go back to the aggression part of the response - the "fight" aspect that sometimes arises when put in stressful situations that reminds one of their trauma. See, Vash's anger is something we as readers see a lot in the story but that's because we primarily see major scenes where he is pushed to his limits. In all actuality, for those parts in between, he's a chill and friendly guy. Does he get irritated? Quite easily. Does he always have a bit of simmering resentment in him? Sure. But this is not the explosive kind of rage we see when he is confronted with Knives. Usually, Vash is more prone to introspective melancholy or bitterness than violent rage - for as much as we see it, the latter is actually rather uncommon.

So, too, is the way he "confronts" Knives. Vash is typically very in control of himself; he's confident with his skills, clever and adaptable, and generally speaking, very good at planning out his next moves. In a gunfight, for as much as he would prefer not to be wrapped up in it, he is in his element. Even when there is uncertainty, he still eventually takes decisive action. ...except where Knives is concerned.

[ID: Two screenshots from the Trigun manga. The first is from Volume 5 of Maximum. Vash aims his gun with a serious expression and says "I've finally caught up with you... Knives." Knives looks at him, taken aback. The second image is from Volume 2 of Trigun. Vash shouts as he raises his gun rapidly to aim at Knives, blurred with quick vertical lines to make the speed of the motion obvious. His expression is furious. Knives looks at him, part of his face shadowed, again, looking taken aback. End ID.]

...hello? Sir? Why are you just pointing your gun and like. Not doing anything? Like he keeps aiming his gun and then just... holding it there. Even Vash in Stampede fired on Knives' weapons. This guy, for all his rage, hasn't unleashed a single shot unless the situation forced him to. In fact, Vash's entire wording surrounding Knives and how he is going to stop him is also extremely vague. He says things like "settle the score" and "send him to hell", which, to me, initially implied killing him... but Vash has no issue using the word "kill", and he never actually says that about Knives. He says he's going to stop him, but fails to actually specify how. I cannot stress enough that this lack of foresight is actually deeply uncharacteristic of him.

But here's the thing.

[ID: Part of a panel from Trigun Volume 2. Vash's thoughts are set on a white background. They read "We... I... should never have been born." End ID.]

He switches his wording here. The subject of the sentence changes from "we" to "I". Even in his mind, he can't muster that kind of sentiment about his brother. He's angry with Knives, even hates him... but I strongly disbelieve he actually wants him dead. Knives is his brother, man. That still means something to him.

You might be wanting to pause me here and ask why I framed the confronting of Knives as an aggressive response due to trauma, as opposed to just vengeance/retribution for Rem and for July. Yeah, well, there's an interesting contrast to be made here. Look up at the two confrontation images again.

Before July, Vash is level-headed when confronting him; angry, but in control. After July, he is yelling and openly bitter and wrathful. There's even a difference in him looking for information on Knives and his associates. In July, he's just asking around. There's none of the darkness we see in the series proper. By contrast, his mood does a sharp turn after July whenever Knives is so much as mentioned. More than that, there's this, too.

[ID: Knives stands facing Vash so only the back of his head can be seen. His head is next to Vash's gun. Vash looks startled. A speech bubble shows two exclamation points. End ID.]

...Vash is... actually scared here. Knives is approaching him and he's frozen due to the feeling that something sickening happened, even though he's the one holding the gun. July was stressful and terrifying for Vash even before the angel arm went off, and dare I say, already traumatic.

Vash knew two things in that scene, and pretty much only two things:

His arm was transforming uncontrollably, something he had no clue prior to this it could even do.

Knives wanted him to "release" his power, which would "swallow" everything in the place they're in. Clearly Knives intended harm to others with whatever power lay dormant in Vash.

This is already a terrifying situation - body horror on top of the certainty that something horrible is about to happen if he loses control - and it shows. He is visibly panting and struggling with the exertion of trying to suppress it, and Knives is not helping in the slightest by asking him piercing questions like he is, taking advantage of Vash's vulnerability here to make him tip over the edge and somehow admit that it was all a lie and deep down he feels the same as Knives. Now, notably Vash doesn't deny occasionally feeling hatred for humanity - he just tells Knives to "stop it". But Knives, instead, doubles down with his questioning.

This is not the only time in this scene Vash has tried to get Knives to stop. Knives does not stop at Vash's distress. Vash tells him to stop, he doesn't. Vash points his gun at him (again, he doesn't fire), and Knives still does not stop. In a last ditch attempt to reason, Vash somehow psychically transmits the faces and feelings he has towards all the people who were kind to him - you can see some of the residents of July, Ship 3's Luida, Doc, Brad and Jessica, and probably others he's met on his travels. Knives loses it and shoves him on to the ground.

I think Vash was well within his right to take self-defensive action here - and indeed, I really think that's what happened when he fired the angel arm at Knives.

Look, I really like it when intentional mistakes are made and characters have to deal with the consequences, and I think there are scenes in which this can apply to Vash (namely, I can think of more than a few drawbacks to his passivity in early Trimax, and his conflict with Wolfwood holds a lot of complexity on both sides)... but I have to be real honest with you, I don't think this is one of those times. I disbelieve this was a fully conscious choice on Vash's part.

For one, we've established Vash does not actually want Knives dead. Second... I may just be reading into this too much, but again, there's something in the way the eyes are drawn.

[ID: A set of panels from Trigun Maximum Volume 5. Knives is drawn with an intense expression; he looks confident, but there is a "thump" sound. Knives looks down, brows furrowed and sweating, to see the barrel of Vash's angel arm pointed at his chest. In the last panel, a gap between Knives' fingers reveals one of Vash's eyes, blank and devoid of iris or pupil. End ID.]

I'd initially thought the blank eye thing had to do with the release of Vash's power from the angel arm, but that appears to not be the case. It doesn't coincide with the charging of the arm - the arm is active and charged past the point of no return here with Vash's iris and pupil still visible during Fifth Moon, and we see Vash's eyes blank well before the angel arm forms in Volume 5, when he is undergoing intense flashbacks to the destruction of July. Vash's eyes even go blank when his powers are not active at all - again, during the start of his flashbacks.

[ID: A set of screenshots from the Trigun manga. The first is from Trigun Volume 2. Vash's eye, with iris and pupil and a welling tear, can be seen between Knives' fingers, as Knives screams "Destroy them all! Vaaash!". The second is from Trigun Maximum Volume 5, where Vash is hunched over on the ground as his body sprouts feathers and lines appear on his face. He is in clear distress and his eyes are blank. The third is from Maximum Volume 4. Vash screams and throws his head back. A close up of his eye shows it is blank, welling with tears. End ID.]

I am about 80% confident, give or take, that the blank eye thing pertains to Vash's mental state - as in, how mentally present he is versus him being out of control and checked out of reality. He needs to be snapped out of it - thoughts of Meryl and how she needed help, Elendira's intervention... but there was nothing to snap Vash out of his panic and that flood of raw emotion during July. It was a spur of the moment automatic response - the angel arm is a gun, Vash is very confident with a gun to the point its basically instinct, he's being pinned and trapped and something he doesn't understand and can't control is happening to his own body, people might be about to get hurt - he wanted it to stop.

Unfortunately, the worst possible consequences were a direct result of his desperation. Vash's automatic attempt at self-defense took out an entire city and swallowed all the people within it.

I do think that if it was self-defense over an active choice, the outcome would be pretty much the same and doesn't weaken the scene. For one, this would mark pretty much the only time we see Vash act in close to pure self-defense. He has such a disregard for his own safety, it's incredibly heartbreaking to think that the one time he actually did try to defend himself, it resulted in such a horrible tragedy. It might explain why, after remembering bits and pieces from Fifth Moon onwards, he becomes even less compassionate with himself and even more prone to just... taking the pain. Second, the effect is the same as if Vash chose to fire the arm consciously, because due to Vash's terrible sense of self-worth, self-defense is not a reasonable excuse to him - even though it was a traumatic experience for him, even though he would likely understand someone else in his position, he is going to treat himself as though the blame lies solely on him, regardless of the automaticity of the action itself. Vash blames himself and whether or not the reader determines his actions to have been automatic or conscious, he is going to treat himself the same either way. He is going to forever carry that guilt with him no matter what the intent behind the arm's firing initially was.

With the context of July now, I don't think I can believe that his lack of willingness to kill is purely Rem's influence anymore. I think Vash truly, honestly, does not want to harm or kill anyone; his abhorring of (in his eyes) unnecessary violence is genuine. (This does not mean he never gets angry or hates people - we know he can and does!) But it's like there's a middle step between Vash's anger and Vash getting close to lethally pulling the trigger, and that middle step is "stop it".

Stop doing this. Stop hurting people.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

When faced with someone who wants to hurt others, who actively causes harm and won't listen to reason, Vash becomes dangerously hyper-focused. The closer that person is associated to Knives, the less control he has over his own anger, and the more he goes on the warpath. The problem is though, that Vash has made a promise to Rem, sure, but also he really doesn't want to hurt people, but then he also wants it to stop, and when your options are limited, sometimes the fastest and most effective way to make it stop is... to just kill the person. And I strongly believe this is why, in the heat of the moment, his usual calculated actions become less well thought out and almost vague, because... well... he's fighting with conflicting pieces of himself. His morality and his bleeding heart make him want to spare people, but that explosive aggression that is primarily a trauma symptom (!!!) is demanding he take immediate action to just make it stop.

That's really what it boils down to. All that aggression and emotion comes bubbling out of him, because he's just so tired... and because that's... well. Trauma.

(Yes, I will comment later on how Knives' anger is just as much a trauma response, but I'd like to have a little more info on him before I analyze too much on that front. Kind of fascinating how their go-to reaction is anger for the both of them, but put towards wildly different goals. These twins can fit so much mental illness in them.)

[tomboyyyaoi]

FUCKING

VAMERY NATION HOW ARE WE FUCKING DOING

STRYFEWOOD NATION I HOPE UR ALL ALIVE AND WELL TOO

wolfwood's "he's way out of your league" comment THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGG

speaking of: NO THE GIRLS ARE ACTUALLY FIGHTING THAT SCENE RULED

VASHS HAIR THE BLACK JACKET OUUUUUFUCKFUCKFUCK

nai willfully burning himself alive to try and get vashs fucking. Evil Rubiks Cube or whatever was so RAW we getting the rebirthing scene in s2??????

"when everything calms down ill settle by their side again" "im vash the stampede" BYE IM MICROWAVING MYSELF

ANGEL ARM ANGEL ARM WE GOT 2/3 GUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vash humming his little song... "it comes to me." and he does it for comfort.... ouh my god.

ZAZIE ACTUALLY FREAKING OUT A BIT LOL I LOVE THEM

well shit man ig that guy from ep1 (chuck lee?) is fucking dead rip bozo

vash and knives' relationship will be the fucking death of me im going to die

i fucking need s2 immediately i want it so bad its literally so fuckin happening we won we fucking won

oh my GOD the timeskip. meryl serving mini butch realness. MILLY. ERIKS. THE INSURANCE SOCIETY. LINA.

meryl regularly visiting july.... the picture she left there..... holy fucking shit im gnna kms...

HER PRACTICING CALLING MILLY NEWBIE.... OH MY GOD OH MY GODDDDDD IM WAILING

vash wincing when lina calls him eriks.... idk im thinkin he remembers more than hes letting on maybe oughh idk idk idkidkidk

also him playing the key on the piano.... like hes so close to remembering. he knows its familiar but he doesnt remember. s2 gnna kill me

oh my god also the "thank you meryl. i heard your voice too." at the beginning of the ep. vamery nation how are we fucking feeling im going to start gnawing shit

CHRONICA POST CREDITS...

GUYS I CANR STRESS ENOUGH.... CHRONICA POST CREDITS WE HEAR HER FUCKING VOICE THE GUY CALLS HER CHRONICA WERE GETTING CHRONICA..... IM GOING TO BLOW UP

oh my god oh my fucking god i literally need s2 in my hands rn theyve confirmed it theyve fucking confirmed s2 we are getting it its happening im gnna fucking die

WE MAY NOT HAVE A TIMEFRAME. IT MAY BE MONTHS IT MAY BE A COUPLE YEARS. BUT S2 IS HAPPENING. GODSPEED EVERYPONY. UNTIL THEN. I FUCKING LOVE YOU ALL.

[psycho-theweirdo-g]

I attempted to make Trigun characters on Code Vein... I spend more time on the character creation screen than the actual gameplay-

Vash's hair was a nightmare to make, I eventually gave up and gave him this and I attempted to make his prosthetic... he isn't perfect but overall he looks cute (also no sunglasses rip)

Milly with two different hairstyles

Code Vein doesn't have similar sunglasses for Wolfwood oof

For the Punisher I made it with several bags

Knives wearing shoes for once???! No silly it's just your imagination, we all know he is allergic to shoes and wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole

I prefer this haircut much more than the other one, might let him be (half)naked as well

The face 'about to commit genocide'- (how about no-)

Meryl has turned out the best of all of them, She looks so prefect 😭

I also made Roberto... but we don't talk about HIM..

[intertexts-moving]

anyway ummmmm. girard says in violence and the sacred that in order for a species or creature to be suitable for sacrifice it must maintain a sharp degree of difference from humanity while still appearing similar to humanity- in the case of human sacrifice, victims who are alienated from social bonds, exterior or marginal individuals. / sacrifice as a preventative measure against, specifically, vengeance.

well i would feel bad in applying the fucked up little theorists im reading 2 my silly manga hyperfix but like zizek was the one who said the measure of true love for a philosopher is that one recognizes traces of his concepts all around in ones daily experiences. sooooo. whos the real winner here. (girard, apparently.)

[despair-tea]

I think Millie Trigun should be ripped. this much is not controversial. like she's buff + soft, which is epic and sweet. I think most people believe this, kind of the popular opinion. but I think Meryl Trigun should also be ripped. this is a less popular reading of the character. but it would be good.

[lavendarniko]

Vash Wolfwood Meryl Milly x poc!reader (Curly wash day)

For the longest time on your adventures with the Trigun Squad you’ve always ensured to reach a city and book an Inn every Sunday. Today would have been no different except you are exhausted and fed up and do not want to put in the effort to care for your hair. Your body is sore and your muscles ache at the thought of the washing and the products and the styling. You just wanted the day to be over but you couldn’t end it- not yet. You take a room key and hand off the rest to Meryl, already on the verge of tears as you open the door and chuck your travel sack onto a bed. You start to silently cry as you sit on the bed and fish out your hair products.

Vash (the loveliest sunflower 🌻):

Vash went to check on you immediately and the moment Vash steps into the room he already knows. The man simply picks you up and hauls you off into the bathroom even if you protest.

This man is surprisingly -not really since he’s had over a century to learn all sorts of shit- adept at washing through your hair. He does it all with what I call “salon hands” just working it in so well that it’s essentially a scalp massage, that leaves you dozing off. Coming in and out of consciousness to find him finger combing through your curls, ever so lovingly scrunching product into your hair, his every touch so sweet and gentle

You finally start to pay more attention when he takes your hair shirt and gently scrunches your curls mostly dry. He combs the products through your hair. Only to again find yourself surprised as he combs your hair tip to top without you having to even explain it.

The gentle action brings you to tears as he continues to brush your hair. “Jeez, am I really doing that bad a job, (Y/N)?”, he sheepishly asks. You wipe away your tears, “No, I just haven’t- it’s been so long since anyone- No one’s done my hair for me since I was little…”

Now that Vash has prompted you into talking, neither of you can shut up. The two of you cycle through topics as he takes his time to do your hair just like you like it. You’ve never heard him this soft spoken doing any task as he twists and ties off sections of your hair giving it a fun braided off ponytail look to it.

“So how does the front part of your coat work?”, you ask as he finishes up a braid, “If I undo all the buttons will it just flop off?” “No, the collar would stay since it’s actually attached to the coat”, Vash replies as he ties off the braid, “and you’d have to unbutton the waist part too for it to just flop open.” You make a small hum as you thought about it, only to start laughing at the mental image.

Most weeks you and Vash use your wash days to be closer with each other, it just serves as a good way to check on each other and talk with each other. On the rougher weeks it’s such a simple way to help him feel like he’s doing some good. And for you, to help pull him from whatever self-loathing spiral he’s in.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood (El Woowoo 🐺):

He doesn’t come to check on you immediately, instead leaving you to stew and cry for a while. When he does finally come to the room you, he finds you shaking as you try to roughly comb through your hair. He takes the comb from your hands with a huff. “Don’t do that. Are you trying to rip your hair out?” He doesn’t pull an answer out of you as you continue to softly gasp and cry.

He acts so annoyed about helping you, huffing and puffing as he helps to comb through your tangled curly hair, but he does find it surprisingly meditative like counting rosary beads.The simple motion of holding a section of hair and combing it through tip to top and once more top to bottom for good measure Wolfwood finds relaxing. (Although if you mention anything about it he’ll simply deny it or not reply at all.)

I don’t think Wolfwood knows how to do much more than braids, plaids (not attached to the scalp braids), and plaid-like twists from his time at the orphanage. He’s not going to ask you what style you want. He’s gonna pick, like it or not.

“Well? You got anything to say?”, he’ll prompt once more. “Thank you, Wolfwood. I owe you at least a lollipop” “Damn right you do”, he says with a tone that’s so teasing and so him. You can’t see him but you hear his smile, “You’re done crying right?” “Yea…” you smile back.

There are times after where Wolfwood will ask if you need help- please tell him yes the man just wants to brush your hair again. He will make you sit between his knees, it secretly makes him feel like he’s at the orphanage doing one of the little one’s hair again.

It's mostly a silent activity. However, depending on how much hair you have he might whine about it. He hates sectioning your hair just to brush it out. Instead he brushes, twists, and ties off the section that he was holding. Don’t expect it to be even sections either. Also RIP to your small rubber bands he’s either breaking them or shooting them across the room. (“It’s not on purpose I swear”)

Meryl (tiniest badass 💗):

When Meryl finally makes it to the room to check on you, you’re a sobbing mess as you try to tackle the disaster that is your hair. She takes your hand and leads you to a chair, taking the comb from your hands. She gathers your products and hair supplies and places them on the table.

This might come as a shock, but Meryl doesn’t know the basics of hair care besides you have to brush it and wash it. So you do have to instruct Meryl through it all. But she learns quickly

You have to tell her how certain products work and in what order to put them in but she does it all with the cutest expression (one i think she would have accidentally gotten from Milly) where she pokes her tongue out between her lips as she tries her best to absorb the information.

When Meryl gets to brush your hair she goes top to bottom, but stops immediately when you wince in pain. She apologizes so quickly, “Jeez (Y/N) I see why you were crying. This does seem like a lot”

You and Meryl make merry as you chat about the various hairstyles you’ve had over your lifetime. “I used to have long hair before I joined the Bernardelli Insurance society” “Really?”, you exclaim. “Yeah, but it was a hassle. I’ve got no clue how Milly deals with it.” “You know…”, you trail off, “I can’t imagine you or Milly looking any different than you do now.” “No?” You start to shake your head then stop, “No, short hair really suits you Meryl” She laughs and it makes your heart race, her laugh is everything to you. The sound really brightens up your day. You begin to slouch as she takes her time to really try and brush your hair through in a way that won’t hurt you or rip your hair.

Meryl doesn’t do your hair often, but she does take the time to sit with you as you do your hair. Slowly, she learns how to do your hair until she’s one day comfortable enough to do it for you. You thank her every time and find it the perfect excuse to be close to her before you're ready to reveal just how in love with her you really are.

Milly (My beloved ❣️):

Milly goes to find you immediately. As soon as she’s given the key she leaves to check on you. She could see it on your face long before you all arrived into town. Milly has been trying her best, offering more hugs, and even offering a share of her pudding (my angel) so it breaks her heart when she sees you crying as you pull out all your hair products from your bag.

Milly forces (politely asks) you to get into the bath and let her handle it. She takes care of stripping your clothes and running the bath. She takes care to scrub you down of the desert sand, her every action done with care.

She doesn’t really know how to care for your hair type but she takes the time to read instructions on the bottles, washing your hair thoroughly and sweetly rinsing it outgoing ever so careful as to not let it sting your eyes. Any bottles without instructions she simply asks you how to use it or how much to use.

“(Y/n)”, she asks as she holds up the bottle, “How much do you need?” You look back at her bleary eyed as you respond, “I use just enough to fill my palm, sometimes a little less…” “Oh (Y?n), don’t fall asleep yet”, she scrubs your scalp with the shampoo, “I don’t know much of the conditioner I should be using.” You just smile at her, Milly is too sweet for you to resist hugging with your wet body. It makes her squeal as it soaks her clothes.

After Milly dries you and herself she carefully picks up and reads through the other bottles and jars of your hair products. She picks up a moisturizing jar and you watch her carefully read the label as you sit on a chair. She gets a large dollop and begins to foam it up between her hands. Then, to your surprise, she finger-combs it through your hair. “Wow (Y/n) this smells so sweet, and it looks just like pudding!” It draws a laugh out of you.

I would say Milly definitely knows how to brush your hair. Her long hair has a tendency to get knots and snags after a night’s sleep. So she sections it off and brushes your hair tip to root with a gentle touch. She would probably braid it off after she’s done with that particular section. If you always wear it in a particular way, she’ll have you walk her through it. If you put fun decorations in it she’ll ask to use them in your hair. Overall it becomes a fun way to include Milly into your self-care day. You find yourself including her more and more, allowing her to play and style with your hair more often than you do.

[multi-fandom-agereg]

🍼 Baby Vash hcs (request)

🍉 | redo of the one that didn't save in my drafts (rip). sorry anon!

🍼 | pls no taggies under main trigun tags:( tag "trigun agere/trigun stampede agere" instead!

🍩 : he regresses very very young. His little age is between 0-5! But almost always regresses between 0-1

🍩 : if this was in a more modern timeline setting: he'd 100% be an iPad kid. He always plays animal crossing, legend of zelda and cooking mama

🍩 : verbal status: nonverbal. He only ever "talks" when he has to babble about something. Otherwise he'll always have something in his mouth. Wether that being his paci, bottle or his snacks

🍩 : a very very sweet baby. Treats his caretakers and babysitters with respect and care as they do with him. He refuses being spoiled as he'd end up feeling bad about it. (He's getting better at accepting gifts though!)

🍩 : an outdoor kiddo. Loves to play hopscotch, hide and seek, chalking the sidewalks, and sometimes playing tag

🍩 : doesn't have permanent caregivers, but everyone in the group is involved with his regression one way or another

🍩 : Meryl: big sister caregiver. Wolfwood: occasional babysitter, mostly toddler regressor and regresses with Vash. Roberto: papa caregiver. Milly: big sis cg!

🍩 : loves hanging out with other Littles. He likes to have playdates with them! Often falls asleep next to them when they take naps^^

🍩 : despite being the youngest little (probably) he always leads his friends outta trouble. If his playmate happens to be a rascal and causes trouble (ahem, wolfwood); he always goes "nuh uh.." and leads them away from trying to get in trouble/hurt

🍩 : regression scale: doesn't regress often, nor can he regress easily. He only does so when he gets extremely frustrated or upset. His regression is only triggered when he's angry or upset. (Unless he's soothed into a regressed state, which is possible!)

🍩 : will crawl into his caretakers lap before falling asleep on them<3

[revenantghost]

Hey! So i must i adore you analysis on Wolfwood as you compared his story beats to maximum and how they got changed, something that I dont really see people commenting on

I must say however, do you think vash and wolfwood are bound to have the same kind of relationship they had in trimax? I adore stampede like crazy and was enjoying it so much until around ep 10/11 where it got cleared they were very much going a seemingly different route than what we thought. And to be honest the moment i saw they pumped Knives and Vash dynamic like crazy got me thinking tristamp will be completely about them and not also Vash and WW/others (which i think is as important as K and V for trigun to work out) or tristamp will be mostly Vash and Knives and WW and Livio.

You seek to have a super optimistic (lol) look for s2 and beyond so i wonder if you think (either by beats laid out by tristamp, maybe i am too blind or pessimistic to realize them) there may be something similar to vash and wolfwood’s relationship in trimax???

Oh man, thank you so much!!! I’m honestly so happy that people even read that rambling because it’s been driving me absolutely bonkers. (I’m just gonna link that post here in case anyone’s interested)

But tl;dr: I think that it’ll be similar! Honestly, I think the Vash and Wolfwood dynamics have to be similar, because that’s such an integral part of Trimax. I jokingly called it the Vash and Wolfwood show to a friend when I started reading it—and yeah, that sums up a lot. Though I REALLY see your worries about this. I think we got a much heavier dose of Vash and Knives to really make the stakes super personal, but I have a feeling Knives will fall into the more distant role he takes in Trimax because, as he says, Nai is dead. Long live Knives.

Tristamp season one is a prologue, confirmed by the team very purposefully calling the continuing work the final phase despite saying the sky is the limit on future content depending on fan support. It speed ran a lot of stuff, and I think that was knowingly done because the staff has stated multiple times that they needed everything to be as perfect as possible, but they didn’t know how it would do. I don't even know if they thought they could do a second season. Trigun has historically not been popular outside of the cult following ’98 had in the west—Trimax was just an afterthought that many fans hadn’t read before Tristamp grabbed us all by the throats.

To touch on the other relationships, I like that Tristamp is that it's already expanding on characters that I felt could have spent more time in the spotlight. Like, I'm very eager to see where they take the girls! Because Meryl’s falling into the same role but with a vastly different career in this, and she’s already way more present . Why are they following Vash? How present will the girls be? MILLY!!! With Meryl ripping down Vash’s wanted poster at the end of season one, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s her mission to clear Vash’s name, and hijinks ensue. She already has deeper ties to Wolfwood than any other version before, which makes both of them stronger for it. I’m nervous to see how this all plays out because change scares me and I love this story so much lmao, but I do think it’s good! I already went off about how I love how important Meryl already is in the story, she’s a foil to Vash and the faith in himself he never had, and I feel like that only strengthens and reflects against the foils Vash and Wolfwood have going on. And Milly! I’m so excited to see where they go with her.

But this does change everything with Wolfwood. I keep thinking that Tristamp has changed Wolfwood fundamentally and keep needing to go back and rewatch because he is Wolfwood. He’s younger and rougher around the edges, but he’s still that moron I know and love. (Sometimes I’ll be reading fic and I don’t even realize that the person’s only seen Tristamp because they just get him and the dynamic right—Orange is doing a good job even if it scares me deeply lol)

I do have complete faith that they need to and will let Vash and Wolfwood’s dynamic shine just as brightly as it does in Trimax. I think, actually, a lot of that comes from outside of the text, though I could probably do another rewatch to pick up on all the loose threads they’re laying down to grow Wolfwood’s character and his dynamic with Vash in particular.

First, a new bit of info I saw recently is that the director, Kenji Muto? Apparently hasn’t even seen ’98, or at least hadn’t seen it as of making season one. Of course there are other writers on staff, and the crew has admitted to being huge Trigun nerds, but if your only exposure to Trigun is Trimax??? Wolfwood is massively important to Vash. Doing that dirty would be greatest sin you could make against this franchise.

Second, Nightow is so involved in creating this. He was involved way before most manga authors are brought in on anime, and even said that pretty early on he basically gave it his blessing and said that they got Trigun. (Though he still approved everything from then on as well.) And Wolfwood and his story arc in Trimax is so powerful and so moving. Nightow obviously had some significant investment and emotion in it, in Wolfowod and Vash’s relationship and journey. Like, I cry at things sometimes, generally just ooze tears, but Nightow and this damn manga made me sob. I can’t imagine he would tell the crew they understood Trigun without Wolfwood’s character and his ties to Vash being a priority. I know typically Japanese creators won’t throw shade at adaptations like we see in Western realms, but I rarely see the level of enthusiasm Nightow has for this project.

Okay, because this is getting long, and I’m getting into Trimax spoilers next, putting this next bit under a cut, continue at your own risk.

It’s actually funny, because for the end of that Wolfwood post, before I started my rewatch for it, I originally had a pretty specific prediction about what would happen. Then the ‘sky’s the limit’ on future content came out, and idk what to expect. I thought that the next season was going to be the Vash and Wolfwood show ala Trimax, we were going to fall in love with Wolfwood, and we were gonna have him couched at the end of that season. Because the couch is so essential, it’s so critical, but my god do I want this man to survive the narrative, if only once, and have it mean just as much. (Can you tell I’m torn on this every second of every day of my entire life) And after writing up that whole post I’m even more confused because I have no idea where the fuck they’re taking him. But at the same time, we have major plot threads tying us to that scene so much earlier. The vials existing way earlier, Livio and Razlo being introduced, that line about grieving but still deserving to smile and eat that Wolfwood gives Vash in the episode he’s introduced??? We're making everything more coherent and tied together, and fuck, we're screwed.

For now, all I’ve got is that I think some shit is going to happen to Wolfwood during our two-year time skip, maybe something with Chapel, idk how they’re going to inevitably use Livio against us, but we saw a softer Wolfwood in Tristamp. He needs to harden to be who we know. Orange said they’re going to be more like their other selves here, and though Wolfwood already has some faith in Vash, but he does not have faith in humanity. That’s the growth we have yet to see, and that’s what is really at the core of their relationship and development. It’s still there.

Many people who read Trimax are absolutely gutted and wrecked by the couch. That defines a lot of readers’ experiences—Wolfwood’s character arc is an absolute masterclass in writing a satisfying and meaningful conclusion for a character. So for them to change this much about someone who is that important, they have to have a plan, and a damn good one for Nightow to sign off on it. I’ve seen folks talk about how apparently the team spent the most time working on Knives, Vash, and Wolfwood’s characters (this one I haven't seen a source for), but as you said, we can already see it in the brothers’ relationship. They have a plan for Wolfwood. It’s only a matter of time before we’re wrecked by it.

Yeah, they are gonna keep doing stuff that you or I won’t agree with, or that we think could be better. Every version of Trigun is pretty flawed in certain ways imo, even though it might be beautiful or a favorite piece of media. But all of the concerns of mine that Orange could answer in the first season, they did so with flying colors and blew me out of the water. So don’t get me wrong, I’m scared. I’m so fucking terrified. Both Vash and Wolfwood are my favorite characters in Trigun in such different, integral ways to me. I love them deeply. And Orange is changing so much.

But Orange adores Trimax as much as I do. Nightow is 500% on board. So I’m biting my nails about it, but I choose to have faith. We’ll get wrecked by this adaptation, and I’d bet money on it if I had any lol

OOF, THAT WAS LONG. I hope this was actually helpful/useful and not just incoherent feral rambling!