#this is very specifically trigun stampede

[feverdreamsandlucidnightmares]

I’m having too many thoughts about about Trigun Stampede and it’s probably nothing, but here we go (beware some very heavy handed religious comparisons/symbolism)

This is somewhere between actual meta/character analysis and fanfic, but whatever:

Nai

You are a child and to the best of your knowledge you are one of the only two beings like you in existence. You are a child and you are told that your creation was miraculous, that you are perfect and the future itself. You are neither Human nor Alien, you are simply Other. You are better than either. Unflawed. You are a child and you see the species from which you were created, a species that was artificially created as a means to an end, live out their entire lives in captivity, in servitude. You are taught they are non-sapient, perhaps even non-sentient, and without free will. You exist to serve too, but you resent this. You resent that you are meant to be like the humans, to pretend that you are one of them. You find humanity contemptible and resent their endless wars and conquest and enslavements and pain (you have had a relatively painless childhood). And you read their scriptures and feel confident in your knowledge of humanity’s failures and inherent depravity. Their religious histories are teeming with injustice, with pain, and war and famine. You are a child, but you are intelligent. If this is what they believe in, what can you do? What Good can they really do? You begin to Doubt.

You discover another of your kind, a third, and she has been taken apart and studied by these humans. You are being raised to love them. You don’t. They love you like a dog loves a bone. You can only destroy them before they destroy you. You are intelligent and full of what can only be righteous fury, and you make them Fall. Your brother resents you, resents the deaths, is terrified and hurt and you have to Save Both of You.

Some of the humans survive. You twist them into their own downfall. You take their scriptures and turn words to weapons. It is an honor to serve you, you are an angel, a god, salvation and creation at your fingertips. Death, too. You are owed this for the depravity you and your kind have been subjected to. (You don’t realize, or maybe you no longer care, what you are subjecting them to.) If your brother will not join you on your mission he will die for it. For the greater good. (Who will survive your greater good?)

Wolfwood

You are a child and you aren’t raised to be nice, but you try to be kind. You protect your little brother. You are smart and strong and independent and you care too much. You are raised to believe in a very present god. No one tells you if he is a loving god or not. His angels and priests take you away and it is an honor to be chosen, to be god’s child of blessing. (It is a relief to be taken so no one else will be.)

You go through hell, you live in purgatory. Maybe it is still hell, your skin no longer feels like your own and your hands are bloodstained and fit only around the grip of a gun. You are not allowed to die. You find out your little brother isn’t either. He’s in hell too, but not with you. The god you serve is not a loving god, nor are his angels kind. You are god’s righteous man and you bear a cross and all of the weight of the blood spilled on it, by it.

You are a weapon and any morals you might have grown into are collateral damage. You would do anything for your family. You have done Everything for your family. They don’t mourn or look for you, the blessed chosen one.

You have free will. There is also a gun to your and everyone you’ve ever loved’s heads.

You aren’t sure if you’re a person anymore. (What greater good requires monsters like you? What god would create demons?)

You follow orders. You don’t believe in anything. You could fill oceans with the blood you have spilled. You are told if you follow this last order you will be free and your family will be safe. You aren’t even supposed to kill him, just lead him to his death. You’ve done so many horrible things, this pales in comparison. And you’re already in hell.

You find him. He’s the kindest person you’ve ever met and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He takes on as much hurt as he can, sometimes more. He saves your family without even knowing, and he saves them again when you sell him out. He doesn’t hold it against you.

The first thing you do as a free man is try to save someone. You have decided you care enough to try, just this once. The world still ends. And you still aren’t allowed to die. Better people have already died for you. For your sins.

Vash

You are a child and you love your family very much. You aren’t as special as your brother, as useful, but you love learning and exploring and people. You see the good in everyone. You are terrified when you discover another being like you and your brother, terrified by how she has been treated, by her being a secret, by what else the person you see as a parent might be hiding from you. But you trust her and love her and inevitably mourn her. You are taught to love and serve humans and it is your life’s work.

Your brother makes your world end and says you helped. Everyone you’ve ever cared about except him is dead. You are terrified and you spend the next century atoning for not knowing better. For loving, to continue loving. You are not loved in return.

You do your best to help everyone you can regardless of species. You are special too, it turns out, and bring hope and peace to your people and to the humans, at least for a little while. And you try not to be dangerous. You want to be harmless and you never quite pull it off. You don’t tell anyone the whole truth, but the secrets aren’t enough to keep you safe forever.

You make friends and you don’t have long together. You think you must be bad luck, and you forgive your friend for leading you to your biggest fear. You have to confront it anyways, it’s not his fault. He’s cares about you, but it’s not his job to protect you.

You confront your brother. He destroys everything again and he uses you to hurt people. Again. Your people, humans, what could survive his greater good? You fight back, you win. Kind of. Maybe. A Pyrrhic victory. You are alone and the world hates you for the destruction you tried to prevent. They always do. Why are you the devil when you just want to help?

[ohitslen]

Sketch dump :)

[iszapizza]

They’re cute jsjdhd

[ruporas]

pet names

[ID: Black and white comic of Vash and Wolfwood from Trigun Maximum. Vash overhears a conversation from a nearby table at the restaurant they're seated at, the unnamed character saying, "Honey, can you pass me that?" Their partner says, "Sure thing, angel." The unnamed character begins again, "Say, did you hear the news from earlier?" In response, "Haven't got the chance. Tell me about it?" Vash smiles fondly, listening in as the conversation continues, "You'd never guess, babe! The runner--" Abruptly, the conversation is cut in by a "Needle nogging", Vash's expression changing instantly and no longer smiling. The panel cuts to Wolfwood who smiles lop-sidedly, pointing at Vash's plate and says, "If you're not going to eat that. I'll take it." Vash grabs the plate and holds it away and says, "Mine" while Wolfwood clicks his tongue. He pauses for a moment before asking slowly, "Hey, is there any reason you don't use cute names with me?" Wolfwood lifts a cup of water up to his lips, looking confused. He says, "I do though." Vash cuts in, "Spikey and needle nogging aren't cute!"

Vash continues with a shy expression, "Since we're together now..." he trails off and Wolfwood picks up, taking a sip of water as he says thoughtfully, "Together, huh..." Vash pauses in his sentence with a look of confusion before reaffirming, "We are together, right?" Wolfwood nods, "Right." Vash says, "Right", before continuing, his shy expression returning, "Then you can use stuff like... honey or-" Wolfwood cuts in this time and says casually, "You're not a honey though." A panel cuts of Vash's expression changing again, shocked. He asks, "Huh? Then who is?" Wolfwood says immediately, "Milly." Vash exclaims, "Milly?!" Wolfwood continues, "She's sweet, just like honey." A bubble pops up of Milly smiling as Wolfwood speaks. Vash continues, "Okay, true... What about sweetpea?" Wolfwood responds, "Kids. Kids are sweetpea. And pumpkin too." Vash continues, "Okay... What about baby?" Wolfwood says without hesitation, "Meryl." Vash exclaims again, "Meryl?!" Wolfwood explains," Noisy, like a baby." Vash mutters, "Hey, that's a bit mean..."

Vash continues persistently, "Then what about babe?" Wolfwood shrugs with a grin, "You are not a babe." Vash looks at him, slightly frustrated before exclaiming with flushed cheeks, "Then what am I?!" Wolfwood points at his hair and smiles softly, "I told you. You're the one and only needle nogging." A panel closes in on Vash's widen eyes, cheeks still red, pausing before he ultimately resigns, planting his face into the palms of his hands and muttering, "I give up..." At the same time, Wolfwood sneaks and grabs the plate of food that Vash left unattended, saying in response, "You get up cuaght up about the dumbest things, y'know that?"

The comic then picks up again to a jump in time, after they've left the restaurant. Wolfwood muses to Vash, "You said all that about the names earlier, but I don't hear ya using them for me." Vash looks to him excitably and asks, "Did you want me to?" Wolfwood looks at him with an uncertain expression, "Not really, but I guess I am curious..." Vash beams, "Then let's try some, okay... dear?" He fingerguns Wolfwood with a grin, little hearts surrounding him. Wolfwood just looks at him neutrally and says, "Okay," while thinking to himself, "Cute..." Vash exclaims, "So unenthusiastic!"

The next comic picks up at a different time, but on the same theme of pet names. Vash hugs Wolfwood and says to him, "Thank you, my love." A panel close up of Vash steadily opening his eyes before he sees Wolfwood's reaction up close, his eyes glancing away, cheeks flushed, and the smoke out of his cig forming soft hearts as he mutters, "Sure..." In a smaller, cartoonish style, Vash has a comedically exaggerated expression of shock and widened eyes as he grips Wolfwood by the shoulders while Wolfwood still wears a shy expression. He then nudges his head to the side of Wolfwood's with a close eyed happy smile, hugging him close and says, "So, there WAS one you liked!" Wolfwood, still looking away, but now with an irritated and embarrassed expression, grumbles, "Shut up..."

The final image is a short sequence. Wolfwood is working on something, spacing out as he does, while Vash from off screen calls for him, starting with "Babeeee? Babe? Beautiful? Honey? My love?" All of which gets no reaction from Wolfwood. Vash pauses for a moment before piping up again, "wolfwood?" Wolfwood turns around, finally noticing that Vash was calling for him and asks, "What?" A box at the bottom of the page says, "Unresponsive to anything other than his names." END ID]

[varilien]

given that i've ran this blog for as many years now i think i should get much credit for this being what, only the third dick joke i've ever made here hdfkhkj

anyways. there's this point in the story where vash and wolfwood have to go their separate ways for a while, but neither of them are dealing with it particularly well

(image id below the cut since it's a longer one)

[image ID: a rough, doodley 5 panel digital comic of vash and meryl from trigun, but from my leaden skies au where they've both been lightly redesigned to fit into the setting of monster hunter. vash is a wyverian with long pointed ears, wearing a red coat with gold trim and buttons. meryl is a human wearing a beret as seen on other guild girls, but her all-white outfit is a practical two-piece blouse and shorts set. the whole comic is comprised of warm colors, orange and yellow and dark purple

panel 1: vash sitting in the foreground at a brown desk covered in candles and books, with a book opened in front of him that he flips through with a bored expression and his cheek resting against his hand. he appears to be in a library, lit by candles on dark grey chandeliers hung from the ceiling. meryl is in the background stretching up to reach a book high on a shelf, and beside her is a table which is also covered in candles and several tall stacks of books

panel 2: a closeup of vash's face as his eyes widen and his ears prick up. something in the book has apparently caught his attention

panel 3: a closeup of the page vash was looking at, an illustrated info sheet about the flying wyvern, khezu. a candle in the table brightly illuminates the colored page

panel 4: meryl has come around by vash's shoulders with a stack of books held in her arms. she quirks a brow as she looks over vash's shoulder at the book. vash has a neutral, hard to read look on his face, but his ears are still up and his eyes are still shiny and wide as he seems to consider the page for a while

panel 5: a yellow word bubble comes from vash, who huffs a long sigh and says, "maybe i should call him...". his head has tipped to the side as he rubs his neck and frowns, blushing a little with his ears drooping. meryl physically recoils from him and her face scrunches up in disgust, saying, "eww" and, "there's something wrong with you"

end ID.]

[leona-florianova]

While the dependant plants in Trigun Stampede look cool as combination of angelic alien orchids and some sea creatures in their little aquariums, im intensely bitter because of how literal they made it (oh they really are plants plants huh) and the lack of the absurdly massive light bulbs they resided in in the 98 anime and manga..Like, Not all of the light bulbs were humongous, hanging over towns, but the ones that were, were mindboggling...There is something intense about something so powerful (and kinda eldritch) being captured in something so massive yet fragile looking.  I loved the old bulb and plant designs so much because they werent just cool aesthetics... I loved them because their size and design didnt make sense. As a man made horrors beyond our comprehension shouldnt make sense. And their visuals evoke in me memories of how it felt standing at a foot of a 125 meters tall cooling tower of a nuclear power plant. Its monumental, useful and potentially very dangerous... so much so one has to feel humbled.

- Plants in trigun 98 (we didnt learn much about them because there wasnt enough of material to work with)

- Plants in the manga...whats important to note, is  that the plants often stood over the towns as in constant vigil (monumental yet sentient)... not just visible from all around by everyone, but they themselves kept on observing all the people living their lives underneath their bulbs... All the people prospering from their services.... or fighting and killing over them

- Plants in Stampede.. While they are still interesting designs, the little aquariums conveniently small enough to be more easily stolen dont do it for me, even though they still represent the power of captured nature. They are also...very very sheltered from humans. Hidden and overlooked, although important.. Which makes me sad. And doubtful that there will be many interaction scenes between them and the people... Hopefully in next season there will be big bulbs and interactions.. but who knows.. (Ok, like, it makes sense that a core of a power plant should be hidden and protected inside of a building,  but I wish to see some big bulbs!! I wish to see them spilled out of the wreckages of the big space ships)

And to illustrate what I meant about the comparison to actual nuclear power plants in their absurd monumental insanity (which is somewhat also sort of mundane??).. here are some photos of our nuclear power plants. Dukovany and Temelín

-Dukovany photo by Zdeněk Dvořák

- Temelín as the Big Night Watchman (video mapping by Milan Cais, photo by ČTK)

I love this sort of thing so much n need more of it.

[tradingjack]

roadside tongari snack break

[b0tsbby]

Midnight thought but now I’ve got my mind on how Tristamp has the overarching themes of identity, self-actualisation, adolescence but also a distorted sense of reality, past (Memory sweep finale) and present (Vash really telling himself Nai can still be saved, where Knives also wants to tell himself Vash needs help) , for the brothers especially.

So I look back to the last words the brothers shared, and hone on Vash’s “Who are you?” when he finally sees Nai for the person he’s become.

Yes I could talk about how the question is thematically directed to both of them throughout the entire season but there’s also an implication, I feel, there’s something, not quite right about, how Knives is presented.

Vash is an obvious “Who are you?” to the audience I think. Kinda all over the place. Masking to people half the time. Changing who he is to suit the people he’s with/ situation. Making promises he can’t really keep and then getting a lil too stuck on his own perceived failure. He only really becomes Vash the Stampede right before he blows up July.

But with Knives, he seems pretty sure of himself. Pretty sure of his goals and the work he’s got to do. Pretty linear in all his approaches. So his “Who are you?”, as a question from the audience, feels, off.

With the distorted reality idea, I wonder if, in a lot of his memory appearances as a kid we’re being introduced to someone that, never really existed. Maybe I’m reaching, but he’s entirely reconstructing Vash’s memories in the finale, and that’s, most of his appearances as a child.

He doesn’t seem very different as a kid in that he’s a lot more calculated, he’s colder, and Vash is the one that seems more interested in humanity’s acceptance. (While I personally don’t really mind that change tbh, I am aware it fundamentally alters the character). Considering he’s purposefully omitting the good and hopeful memories of Rem as their childhood, this presentation of him is so oddly convenient, helping him avoid the confrontation of a Nai, that was once well. Happy. Happy with humans. Happy with Rem.

We also see it in how he so easily takes the form of his kid self in Vash’s memories. Odd.

So I feel that “Who are you?” question has the potential to be one that kinda breaks the fourth wall. Compared to the other iterations, Knives does feel like a stranger. I like the idea that everything to do with him is a fake lie he’s orchestrated. And the creepy idea his control has extended to us as well.

It’s 2am. I may have better words tomorrow but this is essentially my long winded way of saying I can’t trust any Knives backstory given, knowing the extent of his possible control. And that sunshine crybaby Nai may still be a thing, it was just omitted by him. I could also be extending my arms across the continent with this reach…

[huginsmemory]

Since the arguments about Wolfwoods age is beginning to start up again. Info taken from this post by @tantei-armin . As well, here's another post with screen caps from the manga. Both Livio and Wolfwood are legally adults.

Also, if you don't like something? Block the tag, block the people, don't try to wage a puritanical war. Much love and peace ✌️

Edit (same day as posted): Some people are wondering in the tags where this is coming from, so I thought I'd clear it up for those who are confused.

This rumour comes from the manga panels which talk about how from the serum and surgeries Wolfwood's metabolism is faster, and so he doesn't look the age he should look. Since Wolfwood was never explicitly given a set number for his age, and if you're not paying attention to the context, some people have assumed this meant that he's actually still a minor at the time trigun is set, while in reality he's been confirmed to be in his early/mid twenties, and so would look like he's in his late twenties/early thirties (and it would make very little sense for Stampede to have changed the ages for the characters). It's alright to be a bit confused, since it's not ever explicitly stated; however, this rumour that he's a minor has then been used as slander for ship wars. I've only seen one recent post calling Vashwood an underage ship, but it looks like it was a bit of an issue in the old fandom, and I (and I think most people) would prefer the newer fandom to avoid that if possible. Again, just going to reiterate using the blocking function liberally for things you don't like!

Edit (Apr 15): as another person so kindly explained on a reblog it wasn't actually a problem in the old fandom; it's always been a small minority of people, often those who are against queer relationships in the first place, who've used it as a way to slander others.

[vlasdygoth]

You're giving me a headche, angel.

[funshinebf]

hello followers. it is now time for another installment of my favorite series: Willow's hyperfixations as cats. (previous episode being the resident evil cast as cats.) today i bring you: Trigun characters as cats. as always these are just my opinions. my qualifications include but are not limited to; having cats as a special interest, and having trigun as a hyperfixation. i love you. 🫶

Vash: cream colored oriental shorthair

Knives: also a cream colored oriental shorthair (as they are twins)

Milly: orange tuxedo domestic longhair

Meryl: tortoiseshell domestic shorthair

Wolfwood: black tuxedo domestic shorthair

Livio: grey tuxedo domestic longhair

thats all for now. may consider doing more characters if anyone wants it. thank you for reading. always remember. this world is made of love and peace. my final message. goodbye 🫡

[feverdreamsandlucidnightmares]

Ignore this it wasn’t showing up in tags so I redid it but I don’t want to delete the original lol

I’m having too many thoughts about about Trigun Stampede and it’s probably nothing, but here we go (beware some very heavy handed religious comparisons/symbolism)

This is somewhere between actual meta/character analysis and fanfic, but whatever:

Nai

You are a child and to the best of your knowledge you are one of the only two beings like you in existence. You are a child and you are told that your creation was miraculous, that you are perfect and the future itself. You are neither Human nor Alien, you are simply Other. You are better than either. Unflawed. You are a child and you see the species from which you were created, a species that was artificially created as a means to an end, live out their entire lives in captivity, in servitude. You are taught they are non-sapient, perhaps even non-sentient, and without free will. You exist to serve too, but you resent this. You resent that you are meant to be like the humans, to pretend that you are one of them. You find humanity contemptible and resent their endless wars and conquest and enslavements and pain (you have had a relatively painless childhood). And you read their scriptures and feel confident in your knowledge of humanity’s failures and inherent depravity. Their religious histories are teeming with injustice, with pain, and war and famine. You are a child, but you are intelligent. If this is what they believe in, what can you do? What Good can they really do? You begin to Doubt.

You discover another of your kind, a third, and she has been taken apart and studied by these humans. You are being raised to love them. You don’t. They love you like a dog loves a bone. You can only destroy them before they destroy you. You are intelligent and full of what can only be righteous fury, and you make them Fall. Your brother resents you, resents the deaths, is terrified and hurt and you have to Save Both of You.

Some of the humans survive. You twist them into their own downfall. You take their scriptures and turn words to weapons. It is an honor to serve you, you are an angel, a god, salvation and creation at your fingertips. Death, too. You are owed this for the depravity you and your kind have been subjected to. (You don’t realize, or maybe you no longer care, what you are subjecting them to.) If your brother will not join you on your mission he will die for it. For the greater good. (Who will survive your greater good?)

Wolfwood

You are a child and you aren’t not raised to be nice, but you try to be kind. You protect your little brother. You are smart and strong and independent and you care too much. You are raised to believe in a very present god. No one tells you if he is a loving god or not. His angels and priests take you away and it is an honor to be chosen, to be god’s child of blessing. (It is a relief to be taken so no one else will be.)

You go through hell, you live in purgatory. Maybe it is still hell, your skin no longer feels like your own and your hands are bloodstained and fit only around the grip of a gun. You are not allowed to die. You find out your little brother isn’t either. He’s in hell too, but not with you. The god you serve is not a loving god, nor are his angels kind. You are god’s righteous man and you bear a cross and all of the weight of the blood spilled on it, by it.

You are a weapon and any morals you might have grown into are collateral damage. You would do anything for your family. You have done Everything for your family. They don’t mourn or look for you, the blessed chosen one.

You have free will. There is also a gun to your and everyone you’ve ever loved’s heads.

You aren’t sure if you’re a person anymore. (What greater good requires monsters like you? What god would create demons?)

You follow orders. You don’t believe in anything. You could fill oceans with the blood you have spilled. You are told if you follow this last order you will be free and your family will be safe. You aren’t even supposed to kill him, just lead him to his death. You’ve done so many horrible things, this pales in comparison. And you’re already in hell.

You find him. He’s the kindest person you’ve ever met and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He takes on as much hurt as he can, sometimes more. He saves your family without even knowing, and he saves them again when you sell him out. He doesn’t hold it against you.

The first thing you do as a free man is try to save someone. You have decided you care enough to try, just this once. The world still ends. And you still aren’t allowed to die. Better people have already died for you. For your sins.

Vash

You are a child and you love your family very much. You aren’t as special as your brother, as useful, but you love learning and exploring and people. You see the good in everyone. You are terrified when you discover another being like you and your brother, terrified by how she has been treated, by her being a secret, by what else the person you see as a parent might be hiding from you. But you trust her and love her and inevitably mourn her. You are taught to love and serve humans and it is your life’s work.

Your brother makes your world end and says you helped. Everyone you’ve ever cared about except him is dead. You are terrified and you spend the next century atoning for not knowing better. For loving, to continue loving. You are not loved in return.

You do your best to help everyone you can regardless of species. You are special too, it turns out, and bring hope and peace to your people and to the humans, at least for a little while. And you try not to be dangerous. You want to be harmless and you never quite pull it off. You don’t tell anyone the whole truth, but the secrets aren’t enough to keep you safe forever.

You make friends and you don’t have long together. You think you must be bad luck, and you forgive your friend for leading you to your biggest fear. You have to confront it anyways, it’s not his fault. He cares about you, but it’s not his job to protect you.

You confront your brother. He destroys everything again and he uses you to hurt people. Again. Your people, humans, what could survive his greater good? You fight back, you win. Kind of. Maybe. A Pyrrhic victory. You are alone and the world hates you for the destruction you tried to prevent. They always do. Why are you the devil when you just want to help?

[ohitslen]

Living together.

The snail video if you are interested :)

[itachanta]

Vash vs Livio Favorite scenes compilation

[deludedfantasy]

Reasons why Nicholas D. Wolfwood and Dean Winchester are the same person: 

Canonically good with children

Has a younger sibling they would die to protect

Parentified by life circumstances

Incredibly precious about their vehicle of choice

In love with an ethereal angelic being who changed the way they view the world and themselves

Feel trapped within a box/cage created by an authoritarian father figure who they feel they have no choice but to obey

Had their bodily autonomy violated by a religious organization (Wolfwood) or literal angels and demons (Dean) in service of a larger plan and to turn them into something new and more powerful

Is regularly dehumanized and treated like a weapon (see: Dean’s “daddy’s blunt little instrument” comment and Wolfwood literally being called “the Punisher” like his gun)

Sam won’t let Dean eat his pie in peace in much the same way Vash won’t let Wolfwood eat his noodles in peace

[collieii]

in my heart i know that trimax vashwood could not be a good easy happy simple couple...like if they had time they would've eventually figured out their feelings for each other and committed but unfortunately they are caught in a struggle between two godlike powers and wolfwood dies so they can never work out their issues. but if they weren't going through the Problems they would've done something about it. eventually. as they are however they are too caught up in their respective baggages to have a good honest relationship which is why i can’t call them married unless it’s extremely post canon fix it au