#screech reads trimax

[screechthemighty]

No because like. Both Vash and Wolfwood are approaching this from angles where they each have a point (as someone who doesn't believe in the death penalty I agree with Vash, but as someone with a basic understanding of just war theory I also agree with WW in some ways), but that point is exaggerated and deformed by their respective traumas. And like, it's easy to point to Vash's grief as the catalyst for his hyper-pacifism, that he never got over losing Rem and can't stand the thought of "killing" her by killing the people she died to protect but like

Wolfwood. Needs to be right. When he insists that Vash can't protect people without getting his hands dirty. He needs to be right because if he's wrong, that means everything he did was for nothing. Every life he took, for nothing, because he didn't have to do it to protect what he cares about. And if that's true, then he really is a monster. It's the same mentality that makes him insist "I'm the Punisher, I'm Nicholas the Punisher" in another timeline.

And! And!! On that note!!! Vash sees that. "You give it up so easily." You lay down and accept your monsterhood so easily. You accept what they made you so easily. You drag yourself down so easily, Wolfwood. You bury that part of you that's nurturing and good, you just roll over and take it. Your true heart screams even as you try to be something monstrous, you're just in denial, and you need Vash to accept that you're right because if you're wrong then that part of you may as well die for good. I'm. Totally normal everything is fine this is fine we're all good

ETA: IS HE PUNISHING OTHERS. OR HIMSELF..........

[skiaskai]

The way “Final Phase” has been right there the whole time

[stillmevalz]

I've lost my way. Vashwood's been yaoified too much for me. I need to detox and read Trimax so I can see the way again. True Vashwood. Devotion. Trust. Love. Friendship. Hope. Affecting each other in ways they never expected. Opposite ideals rubbing off each other as they work as foils of one another but also not cause they compliment each other and make the other stronger for it.

SCREECH

[acidmatze]

Ugh everyone is having such cool and deep and complex thoughts about TriMax while im just lying on the floor, vibrating out of existence cuz while i Also have a fuckton of thoughts they are way less.. information-heavy and useful for fandom discussions They are all exclusively Super Personal and therefore boring and cannot be shared with fandom cuz that would be talking About Me instead. Which is boring. Reading meta is much more interesting. To me. And everyone. My thoughts are more useful for my therapist than anyone else really, how sad that i cant put any of them into actual words that humans can understand. The closests i could do is set myself on fire and screech "THIS IS A METAPHOR! THIS IS A METAPHOR!" God the deepest depths people could dive into my soul Oh god i cant let them i must be UNKNOWABLE while also oversharing while not revealing anything AHHH *sets myself on fire*

Anyway, kid me wouldve seen Vash and been like "We can, will and MUST befriend him wether he wants it or not. Woe, friendship be upon ye!" Cuz kid me befriended Everyone no matter how badly they did NOT wanted to be befriended ever.

[screechthemighty]

Razlo only having one visible eye in the flashback memory Livio has of him...that same eye was shining and blue in Stampede when Wolfwood saw him in the cell... I'VE CONNECTED TWO DOTS...

[screechthemighty]

I'm gonna need like. 7 - 10 business days to process ch. 6 of TriMax

[screechthemighty]

Update, I'm still awake, so here's TriMax vol. 1 notes! Again please note these are off the cuff first read reactions and while I tried to get as many major CWs as possible, I may have missed some. In general, assume TriMax is going to have upsetting content at least once per chapter.

TriMax Notes: Volume One

TriMax #1.1: Hero Reborn

Content warnings: mention of a minor being sexually harassed (possibly groped, can’t remember?)

Wolfwood: I’m a minister Barkeep: Oh, good, we need someone for the funerals

…oh, no, Lina RULES

Girl is twelve and deadass cooler than I’ll ever be

“It’s Eriks again” WHAT DO YOU MEAN AGAIN???

To summarize: Lina fought back when harrassed, they took it personal, Vash/Eriks humiliated himself to try and protect her and they shot him anyway and took Lina. Cool!

“This guy’s got the devil’s own luck” that feels like a callback [Note: It was, Trigun 1.7]

So in this timeline he for sure remembers and retired to protect everyone…oof

“Well, that’s who it is. Someone’s gotta show their fangs or someone else is gonna cry.” (WW) Ah yes, the ideological conflict

So they LITERALLY just demolished that place so fast LMAO, Eff around, find out

Backtrack note: Vash responding to the gun with “how cruel” …oof

Vash: drops the gun, catches it, drops the faker in 6 non-lethal shots without hurting Lina Me: HAHA YES!!!

TriMax #1.2: Lina

Wolfwood’s been back like five seconds and they’re already engaging in Sibling Behavior fighting over food

“When the time is right, you’ll know [why I know so much]...for now, let’s just say there’s a debt to settle” UH HUH…

“Your eyes have seen a lot, haven’t they?” (Lina to Vash) Puts in pocket

Gang member: starts monologuing Vash: Absolutely Not *starts approaching with malicious intent*

NOOOO THEY WERE FAMILY…

“In my weakest moment, it was you that protected me.” HELP???

TriMax #1.3: Girls, Bravo!

Okay so Keele is a dick and Vash + WW are going to eat him alive if he actually gets to them

Okay yeah Bernadelli decided to keep rates low by murdering the problem, cool.

“The guy’s an insurance agent! Be careful!” / “Don’t be stupid, he’s obviously a hitman” LMAO

MERYL!! QUEEN!!

MILLY!!!

And then they just go back on vacation after saving his ass AGAIN, I love them

Wolfwood with the hot sauce on OPEN WOUNDS…BRO

Trimax #1.4: Hero Returns

Knives still not having a visible face in flashbacks

“Don’t ever compare us to those faceless vermin” when Knives remains faceless so often himself…hmm

Okay there, one-handed vertical pushup showoff!! Damn!!

BRAD?????

And then they find Vash getting beat up by kids LMAO

Also “Knives knows things about my body that I don’t” is a BIG oof

NOT WW CRAWLING THROUGH THE CROWD FOR FRONT ROW CRIME SEATS

TriMax #1.5: Dancing Revolver

The geranium scene! Interesting how Knives isn’t here this time

Vash using the grenade flash to vanish…his songwriting needs work but his sense of drama is impeccable

So the coat IS bulletproof, explains a LOT

“That’s a real shame. Negotiations have officially broken down!” Oh, Vash

SHOOTING THE LUGGAGE RACKS TO GET THEM!! MY MAN!!!

TriMax #1.6: Sin

Content Warnings: aftermath of a rape/murder seen (lower legs poking out of a sheet, blood, crime-drama level of graphic, basically), references to rape, generally just an upsetting read

“He’s fine” Well. Emotionally, Vash is about to be Very Not Fine.

Vash thinking of both Rem AND Knives and just freezes…oof

“He just couldn’t kill a man in cold blood. His daughter’s murder goes unpunished. Call him weak, but it saved both of us.” OHHHH THERE’S A LOT THERE…

“Vash the Stampede’s idea of ‘kin’ stretches way beyond the norm” AAAAAAAAAAA [Note: obviously this transcription does not capture how shitty my handwriting to when writing that scream]

[screechthemighty]

Good morning I am still

thinking about the remix of the conversation between the "run away" conversation between Knives and Vash in Maximum versus Stampede...one a last ditch effort to hold out his hand to his brother and avert all-out war; one a recognition of how far apart they've become, a moment of finally choosing a side, of staking his claim to who he is and wants to be (for better or worse)

also thinking about the fact that in one timeline Knives tries to brainwash his brother to "protect" him and "have him back", and how in another Knives tries to forcibly absorb his brother to "protect" him and allow Vash to "live on in him"

also also thinking about the fact that in both timelines, Vash is ultimately stronger than he is (always has been always will be you dense idiot)

[screechthemighty]

This just in! "Colorless Expression" nearly made me cry, thank you for your time

[screechthemighty]

also classic and common millions knives L that he's trying so hard to ruin vash's faith in humanity as if in the two years since the fifth moon incident vash hasn't experienced

Meryl and Milly (no explanation required)

Lina, a preteen brave and kind enough to help a total stranger

Grandma Sheryl, who took in a total stranger without question or reservation (they! are! his!! family!!!)

The people on the Seeds ship continuing to treat him kindly even after a long absence

The son risking his life to save his mom (and his father, who gave them space at the hotel without question)

The father who couldn't bring himself to kill in cold blood, even though he had every reason to

Wolfwood's slowly surfacing true inner kindness (especially hilarious since Knives is LITERALLY the one who sent him to follow Vash around!!! Dumbass you sent your narrative foil and replacement RIGHT INTO YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE YOURSELF I'M HOWLING)

Like yes there's a lot of bad people but it's just wild how this dude is incapable of noticing the brilliant flashes of good in the world that have kept Vash going for over a century like...worstie yes your brother is severely mentally ill and has a lot of grief/guilt to work through surrounding Rem's death and how it affects his view of humanity but. There are other things keeping him going. You're just not paying attention.

[screechthemighty]

Also the track of Vash + WW's relationship in TriMax is so much funnier than either anime like

Imagine the dude you shared one bus ride with and who called you out for being depressed just rolls up into town, gives you a gun, upends your whole life by telling you he knows something about your homicidal twin and needs your help, then gets into a physical altercation with you over sausage.

[screechthemighty]

Yeah, screw it, I'm gonna talk about this in its own post.

Here's the thing, I know this line from Stampede 1x12

Even if they hunt me, I'll just run away. I'll run, run, run, and keep running as far as I have to. And when things calm down, I'll quietly settle by their side again.

is a take on a conversation Vash and Knives have in Trigun Maximum. And I do have thoughts on how the switch of framing from "I" to "we" recontextualizes the whole thing, but while reading TriMax, a completely different line from vol. 2 ch. 4 made me think of the finale:

Maybe he would have fired…but…I would have just dodged! No matter how many times I’d have to! It’s better than killing him and taking away his chance to stop.

I have no way of knowing if the finale conversation was meant to be a remix of both the original conversation and the post Rai-Dei death, but they do have a lot of thematic parallels that say a lot about Vash as a person. The setup is the same--person A arguing to Vash that he's in danger from others and action is/was required--and Vash's ultimate argument is the same: I can take that risk, I want to take that risk, I think that the risk is worth it.

In TriMax, the reasons why he thinks that are articulated: because the alternative of robbing someone of their free will is worse. In TriStamp, it's more about Vash's autonomy versus someone else's (and also meant to be a remix of another conversation), so that point isn't made here. But it's made in his overall refusal to fight humanity, even if it's made a subtle way.

In conclusion, AHHHHHH

[screechthemighty]

Okay so. I do have thoughts on the TriMax ending, actually. Keep in mind I'm very tired rn and might have a head cold and I only read the ending once at like 3 a.m. on a work night BUT hear me out.

I think the ending works fine conceptually. I don't mind the fact that Vash is kinda sorta back in the same position that he once was--big bounty, on the run from people who want to capture him for it, Meryl and Milly on his tail--because while the broad strokes are the same, a lot of specific details aren't, and I think that's where it works for me.

Yes, Vash is back to being an outlaw, but if you think about it, he's also a lot freer than he was back at the start of Trigun? He can't use his powers anymore, which is really kind of a big load off his back when you think about how much trouble they caused him. He has his girls back, which is a big plus. Knives is gone which is...more of a mixed bag, so put a pin in that, but seeing how Knives was the root of a lot of Vash's problems, there's some benefit there.

But I think for me the biggest change comes when his interview (if you want to call it that lmao) gets broadcast and you see how many people are happy he's okay. All the people he saved along the way. All the friends he made. Vash has always had people willing to stick up to him, but I think in a post TriMax world, where he's not only been able to show those people his true face but his presence was instrumental to saving lives (and people know it!! He was the connection between humanity and plants and people saw that), he's going to have a much easier time navigating the world. Like, yeah, there will always be people who don't give a shit about that and just want the money, the Earth Federation is still pissed at him, but there's still improvement there. Not to mention the Earth Federation being there is going to (hopefully!) ease a lot of weight off the backs of everyday people, which will in turn mean things like "less crime" and "less financial incentive for regular people to turn Vash in" (see: the town from the first few chapters of Trigun Classic).

So on the whole, while the tone shift back to lighthearted is a bit jarring, I actually like the ending.......except for the fact that I feel like there's an arc missing between the end of the main plot and the actual ending. This is why I said to put a pin in Knives, for the record.

There's a big chunk of Vash's potential emotional development from those six months that we just don't get to see, and I feel like that's the biggest part of the reason why the ending is so jarring. We don't get to see him process the fact that he's still alive despite his losses, we don't get to see him truly process those losses, he's just kind of...back at it? Which, to be fair, he does compartmentalize way too much in the Actual Canon, so that kind of makes sense? But it is odd to not see that process, even if only in one chapter, to wrap things up. Like obviously I have no idea what happened behind the scenes, but it almost feels like this was all the story Nightow was allowed to write so he had to just wrap everything up in one go and move on.

So, yeah, basically this would've been a perfectly good, even great ending had we gotten like two more chapters to see what went down with Vash mentally during those six months. But that'd also be a tough sell, so I can see why we didn't. But I like the ending. If nothing else it affirmed to me that "March to the Sea" by twenty one pilots was the correct choice for my Vash playlist.

[screechthemighty]

Actually, three thoughts.

Was not expecting Vash and Milly to have such a unique bond

Might...have to add another fic to the Time Travel AU roster. For...certain POVs to get their time in the spotlight.

Honestly I wasn't expecting Milly to have such a unique bond with everyone like I know Millywood isn't really manga-canon but uhm... *points to their interactions during the Puppetmaster arc* *points to him worrying specifically about her* *points to her having the strongest reaction of the girls to WW's passing* what's all this then

[screechthemighty]

So I mentioned to someone in chat that I've been taking notes as I read Trigun and I may share some/all of them...please know that they're highly academic observations such as

"Spikey..." / "Crush him" I'm gonna hurl

"It's okay. I'm a friend of Nicholas" UNWELL

HE'S BUILT DIFFERENT, BITCH!!

VASHIFICATION COMPLETE???

"We only have each other, brother" EXCEPT THAT'S NOT! TRUE!! KNIVES!!!

And many, many, many other deep observations.

[screechthemighty]

"#7: Wolfwood" okay yep........yep