#to the surprise of literally no one it's all trigun

[deludedfantasy]

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Ordinary Days - Chapter 1 - deludedfantasy - Trigun (Anime & Manga 1995-2008) [Archive of Our Own]

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[curiosity-killed]

on the bright side, i got the work done i needed to get done post-teaching AND finished the scene i was noodling on in the plant fic i accidentally restarted and my single glass of wine post-dinner is having the intended soporific effect

on the downside. i so so so so so so badly don't want to have a meeting at 8 AM with a client who i am mostly neutral towards but about a project that is the bane of my existence atm

[huginsmemory]

Trigun and Christianity

In lieu of trigun Stampedes choice to make Wolfwood an undertaker instead of a priest (to, well, my disappointment), I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the Christian themes in Trigun, and then also look at why they might have decided to choose for Wolfwood to be a undertaker then a preist, and a potential reason to why Trigun has these Christian themes. Also, btw, this is chock full of manga spoilers so, beware!

To start it off... trigun is actually... pretty heavy on Christian themes. Fuck man, the main character is basically an angel, and in one of the first volumes they literally describe the plants as something divine (although they are later declared to be something humans made... But nevertheless the very clear imagery is there). Also what features very strongly is pacifism and the themes of unconditional love; Vash's refusal to kill coming from believing that going forward, anyone can change, even when he is literally being harmed or attempted to be killed by others. These themes of pacifism and unconditional love are very Christian, and Vash's actions very much centre him as a Jesus-like character. In fact, even the way that he (and knives) was born, a virgin birth, also could be seen as an allusion, as well as the way that he holds a physical form as a human while being more than human- Jesus being considered a 'son of man' while also being the son of God; ie, something in-between, something both divine and human. Knives as well is written in that angelic and divine light, although he is done so in a dark opposite of Vash, with an emphasis on his 'divinity' for imagery as he is obsessed with it. Interestingly, contrast to Knives, Vash, who goes around as a human, is multiple times called a Devil for his reputation, although he is the one that actually is virtuous... This in a way also alludes to him as a Jesus-like figure, as that Jesus was ultimately sought after by the authorities and in some places hated and even driven away by people.

12 disciples

As well, Nightow is pretty blatant that the gung ho guns, of which there are 12, is a allusion to the 12 disciples; hell, Wolfwood calls them straight up disciples when he is at Jeneora Rock. One might argue that then whether that posits Knives as a Jesus figure as that they follow Knives directions, or if one would consider Vash to be the Jesus figure, as the 12 literally seek out, and 'follow' Vash, and of which one of them literally betrays (although, technically, Wolfwoods betrayal goes both ways). However, I don't think that argument is really one that matters, as it's more of the aesthetic of Christianity that Nightow likes in this matter, not the philosophical implications.

As well, as mentioned above, Wolfwood is very Judas-coded; he gets close to Vash, only to inevitably betray him and deliver him up to his fate, while clearly being torn up about it. Vash is not surprised at all when Wolfwood tells him that he was one of the gung ho guns, and you get the sense that he knew about it all along, and knew exactly what he was walking into. Yet he still loves and forgives Wolfwood for all of it. Which... is exactly the same thing that occurs between Judas and Jesus, Jesus willingly going with Judas even though he knew what lay before him.

Wolfwood

As well, quite obviously adding to the heavy Christian themes of trigun, is that Wolfwood calls himself a priest. Although indeed it's part of his front, it's clear Wolfwood in the manga is religious, challenging and calling upon God in response to seeing the Knives born, and his response to the fifth moon incidence where he questions if it was the hand of God (which, actually, is caused by Vash's hand... again alluding to the 'divinity' of Vash and Knives). This clear religious affiliation continues through the series, such as when he is rescuing Vash from Knives, and even praying while he is on the ship with the people that helped vash.

Wolfwood also throughout the series is very clearly is morally wraught with guilt over his choices and sins... Something that's very Catholic/Christian. Hell, the fact that the punisher, the insignia of his murderous profession, is a literal heavy cross that Wolfwood carries with him, is poetic irony; he's literally carrying around the embodiment of his sins and his guilt from his profession and choices, which weighs both heavily on his physical body but also him emotionally. Wolfwood's guilt over his sins and choices comes to its climax when he's about to die when rescuing Vash from Knives, after betraying him; where he questions whether he can be forgiven for what he has done and whether he was wrong, and in response Vash saves him, declaring that he is not wrong; not wrong to go against orders, leaving his vocation of being a murderer behind, in trying to save Vash and moving forward. In declaring Wolfwood that he was not wrong, what Vash (heavily implied divine, Jesus-like character) is declaring is that Wolfwood can be forgiven for his sins, is already forgiven for his betrayal (unconditional love, anyone?), and that Wolfwood can change, that his past doesn't define him, because his future is also a blank ticket.

As well, this is followed up later by Wolfwoods confession to Vash that he hates killing:

The confession and the way he phrases it- seeing all humans as his brethren (although, in this sense he may be speaking tangentially about Livio) is something that also has Christian overtones. (Also, the way that they mention Vash sees the whole of humans as his relatives, also ties into that; except personally I'd argue that's more of a Indigenous view then a Christian, but theres plenty of things that overlap with other theologies and philosophies within the manga that aren't just characteristics of Christianity).

Redemption via acts

There's also a theme of redemption via acts, which both Wolfwood and Vash lean into heavily as a result of guilt from their 'sins', something that is very... Well, again, Christian, especially Catholic. Vash, from being unable to stop Knives and having obliterated July and just his and knives general existence, and Wolfwood from his profession, and so they both struggle with immense feelings of guilt. As a result both are very self-sacrificing; Vash very obviously so throughout the series, and Wolfwood in a quieter way, in choosing to continue to work to protect the orphanage, even though he desperately wants to escape the life he leads and hates killing people. They both don't believe they deserve to be loved because of the weight of their sins, and so they redeem themselves the only way they know how by self-sacrifice; this literally causing Wolfwoods death as he didn't reach our to Vash for help, and is evident in the way Legato looks at Vash at the end and realizes he sees a man that only sees himself as a tool and hates himself. This belief of Vash's that he doesn't deserve love/nice things is something that is also interesting, because he so aggressively pushes the 'blank ticket of the future', ie, unconditional love, while clearly being unable to apply it to himself.

Tldr: the point is, Trigun is very heavily Christian themed, both in aesthetic and philosophy, and the characterization of both Vash and Wolfwood reflect that. The show is rampant with such Christian philosophical themes as unconditional love, sin and guilt, confessions, forgiveness and redemption through self-sacrifice; for aesthetic ones, well, literal 'angels' as main characters, Wolfwood being a priest and carrying a cross, the 12 gung ho guns as 12 disciples.

Wolfwood as an Undertaker

Since Trigun is so heavily Christian themed, it makes it... well, a bit of a strange choice to pull the fact that Wolfwood is a preist out, since him as a preist further emphasizes the moral quandries within the story and the themes of sins/guilt/forgiveness and unconditional love. However, as one other post here on tumblr mentioned, stampede as an iteration of trigun is more directed towards a more modern and Japanese audience, some of which can be seen with the revamp of the character designs to make them more relatable, and I think they mentioned some specific character traits with Meryl. This re-vamping, especially one specifically for a Japanese audience might explain why Wolfwood becomes a undertaker instead of being a Christian priest. Nightow in the back panels in the manga is clearly is very enthralled with American culture- and his knowledge and love of the American genres shows pretty strongly in the themes and the setting for Trigun. In fact, the 1998 anime was better recieved in the west then in Japan, and a possible likelihood for it's higher popularity within the Americas is going to be directly because of the western audience being more familiar with the Western genre, as well as specifically, the Christian themes within the show (since western countries cultures are Christian based, even if one wasn't raised religious). As well, compared to the other typical gunslinging space western anime, Cowboy bebop, Trigun contains more Christian themes, which would make it less relatable, and less popular to the Japanese audience (of course there are many other differences in the shows, so I would be reluctant to chalk it up to just the religious themes in trigun- hell, Cowboy Bebop makes some great criticisms of capitalism that is not present in Trigun). Circling back to them revamping the show, if they are trying to make it more relatable to a Japanese audience, then removing more overly American influences, such as one of the characters literally being a Christian priest, would fit that bill quite well.

Trigun and Christianity... Why?

Also, I personally think that Nightow didn't exactly mean to make a story that is really heavily Christian themed. My sneaking suspicion from reading chapter 0, is the Nightow thought that writing a western with a main character gunslinger that is a pacifist would be a fun and interesting prospect, and then when he began to elaborate on it, he began to pull in more western (both cultural and genre wise) themes and aesthetics into the story, resulting in something that is very heavily Christian themed in the end.

EDIT: it's been raised to my attention by the lovely @trigum, that it says in the wikipedia on Nightow that he was raised buddhist and converted to Catholicism, although there is no source for that information. If so, this would, well, very obviously explain why Trigun is so heavy on Christian themes and negates the paragraph above. I'm not giving him enough credit then, my apologies Nightow!

EDIT 2:

Edit 3 (Feb 3): made a somewhat part 2, specifically looking at the phrase the 'bride of Christ'.

[anyasathenaeum]

Hello it’s me (I’m the problem it’s me!) again! I would like to pretty please request headcanons for trigun Vash Milly and Wolfwood helping reader with joint pain pls and thank you you lovely soul :D have a lovely day! ((And yes I do also have a massive crush on Milly she’s the beeeest!!))

A/N: HI FRIEND, YES OF COURSE I CAN WRITE THESE FOR YOU! You're also the very first person to request Milly (WHICH I LOVE YOU FOR), I NEED MORE MILLY REQUESTS I LOVE HER! Sorry these are short but there are more characters this time :P

Vash the Stampede

I feel like Vash actually experiences joint pain too, so this man absolutely understands where you're coming from

Like he definitely gets stiff and pained joints, I feel like his knees specifically for some reason? Or his shoulders, especially his left one due to the weight of his prosthetic.

Vash would be able to tell you're in pain, likely even before you register it yourself - he can read you like a book

"Awww, (Y/N), are you okay? Here, let me help you!"

He'd be there with any and everything that you know helps you with your joint pain

Heating pads? Check, he made you one himself! Pain meds? Check, he's got em in his pocket for you. Distraction? Check, he's already cuddling you.

Vash would just be there to help you in every possible way because he knows what it is to be you

He's there to comfort you and help however he can, and he does it with a soft and gentle smile on his face that never falters

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Okay, hear me out, Wolfwood at first? Doesn't give a damn what kind of pain you're feeling

He's lowkey kinda rude about it at first, just being like

"Damn, (Y/N), just suck it up already, you're fine."

However, when the pain doesn't just go away, and when Wolfwood realizes what you have is likely something chronic, he softens and becomes nicer to you

"Here," he'd grumble before handing you a warm pack, much to your surprise, "Found this. Should help you."

If you thank him, he'll blush a bit and brush you off, not wanting to come across soft to you

But let's be real - he's SO soft for you already, he's a sucker for anything related to you

He's the kind of person who'd do everything behind the scenes, you know? Like you'll end up with pain meds and everything, but you won't know who organized it all or got it all to you (it's Wolfwood, 110%, he just doesn't want you to know it)

Milly Thompson

MY GIRL MILLY

I love this girl so much my God

She'd be the SWEETEST

"Oh? Are you hurting, (Y/N)? Here, let me go get things that will make you feel better, okay?"

She's SO eager to help you, and she won't hesitate to literally carry you wherever you wanna go, regardless of which joint is hurting you

Like you're being bridal carried or fireman carried or piggy-back carried wherever you wanna go, whether you like it or not

You're being cared for by Milly Thompson, which means, you do not lift a finger!

Milly would absolutely REFUSE to hear anything about you doing stuff that might worsen your pain.

"Ah, ah, ah! None of that, (Y/N), you need to rest!"

She'd baby you SOOOO much and just wanna ensure you're in as little pain as possible (Yes please, I lowkey have a crush on Milly can you tell?)

[pentragonart]

chapter 38 of Trigun Maximum is truly amazing. One of my favourites.

We see Vash visiting a church. Such a serene panel with him standing in the aisle, making us think he could have found some of the calm he searches for. Then we get hit with this page

Not really surprising, no, but Vashs expressions just hits you.

Going forward we have this funny little moment with Wolfwood just trying to enjoy his noodles for once and you can see the gears turning in his head: „Do I HAVE to do something? Naaaah, Spikey´s good“

and then ofc he runs to his aid anyways.

We finally see what Vashs inhuman abilities can do aside from bursting out and destroying everything at once:

If used in tiny amounts it is actually such a cool and damn helpful thing, catching bullets faster than you can dodge. But ofc Vash hates this and he doesn’t have it under control, fearing that the angelarm is breaking out any moment now.

Which leads us to the most impactful thing of this chapter:

Meryl loosing it as she sees Vashs feathers appear:

Such a perfect display of PTSD and absolutely understandable as well. She was the closest to him as he went „beastmode“, she literally had to jump out under his wing and fire her gun while a swirling mass of energy was building up right above her head.

I want to believe that her reaction surprised herself as well because we have seen her in the beginning of this chapter, asking where Vash was and actively seeking him out. She didn’t take the time to actually sit down and comprehend what happened or attempted talk to him or Milly about this. She bottled this event up and now the horror releases.

And then ofc we have this sequence of people bashing Vash, really well shown with their looming shioulettes while he just sits there and takes the blame.

And fuck it all, they are throwing rocks at him like kindergarten-kids because they are scared and don’t know better but damn it hurts. And he just accepts it all and leaves the place he is not wanted at without an angry word or look at these people.

And we get this famous panel of Vash were he admits that he doesn’t know what face to make anymore.

It happened so often to him that he adopted smiling as a default reaction. He doesn’t even realized he is doing it anymore and that it isn’t the „proper“ reaction if people behave like that towards you.

The chapter ends with the heartbreaking scene of Vash reaching out to comfort the girls and Meryl shying away from him.

He is so sad, but at the same time he is not surprised. How often had he something like that happen already?

He puts on his default smile and rushed out of the city with Wolfwood.

What a beautiful, sad chapter. There is a lot to unpack.

[messier-jin]

Some Love

So... I’m back. And I’m so surprised my previous post received so much attention! Thank you! I’m here to deliver more of the thoughts that keep me up at night. Accept this reader with love handles/thunder thighs being loved by Trigun characters.

I hope you’ll enjoy!

Content warnings: Selft doubts, some groping, fluff, reader has love handles, reader has thunder thighs, implied nsfw on some parts.

Characters: Vash the Stampede, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Millions Knives, Meryl Stryfe, Milly Thompson. (Maybe I’ll do a sequel with other characters when I’ll feel confident enough to write about them...)

Song I listened to while writing: Some Love by DREAMCATCHER.

Vash the Stampede

First thing first,Vash loves you with his whole heart. And he adores every single part of you. He thinks you’re perfect, inside and out.

So obviously, he loves your love handles. It makes more you for him to love!

If you ever talk bad about your body, it would literally break his heart as if he was the one being talked bad about. And look, now, you’ve made the boy cry!

Vash can and will worship your body to prove you how much he loves it, without hesitation. He will pinch the fat of your cheeks, calling you adorable. He will kiss your love handles, calling you wonderful. If you let him, he will stay trapped between your thighs.

Also, this man will definitely carry you as if you weighted nothing. He will be the one asking you if you would let him offer you a piggyback ride, looking like a child during their birthday party.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

This man will not leave you in peace. Never. Ever.

Sit next to him and Wolfwood will immediatly place his hand on your thighs as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

If you let him, he will use your love handles as a stress ball. Wolfwood will come from behind you, wrap his arms around you and will gently grop at your love handles.

If Vash is the type to pinch the fat of your cheeks, Wolfwood is the type to straight up bite your cheeks just to bother you.

One day, you asked him if he liked how you looked, if you should lose your fat... And he looked at you like you just told him you had three legs. Be prepared to be showered with a list of all the things Wolfwood loves about your body.

Millions Knives

For Knives, a body is a body. He is not the type to think anything in particular about how you look. He likes you, and that is all that matters.

But the moment he heard you talk down about your body, Knives took that personally. This man, of all people, chooses to love you, of all people. It should tell you enough how your body is special. How dared you talk down about something he holds in high regards?

Knives is a logical man. So he asked you what made you think this way, he tried to understand... And from this day on, he tried to be a little more demonstrative towards you - at least, in private.

This man is like his brother (they are really different yet similar on the weirdest points). So he will kiss your body and even worship it.

Don’t underestimate this man’s capacity to show his love behind closed doors.

Meryl Stryfe

Meryl is such a loving person with you. And since she is more on the petite size, she admires your body.

She seeks for your touch and, in her opinion, you give the best hugs because you are so comfortable to hold. Everytime she feels down, she just needs one hug or cuddle session from you, and she feels much better.

If she ever hears you talk down to yourself, she will call you out. She is rather forward, she can sound a little harsh, but she means well. Meryl just loves you so much and wishes you would see yourself as she sees you.

Meryl always compliments you once a day, at the very least: “You’re so comfortable” while cuddling you in bed, “This outfit suits you” when you wear something tight, and more.

Meryl will drive with a hand on your thigh. You can’t change my mind.

Milly Thompson

Milly is a whole another level of loving you. This girl runs up to you, lifts you in her arms and spins you around happily each time she sees you.

She is a mix of both Meryl and Vash. She is always seeking for you like Meryl and she is always ready to shower you with love like Vash.

With Milly, you never even have the time to think badly about yourself. It is as if she has a sixth sense because as soon as you start to feel bad, Milly appears and wraps you into a bear hug.

I personally think that Milly has thunder thighs herself - and maybe small love handles. So seeing Milly feeling confident and loving her body actually makes you feel good about yourself too.

All in all, Milly will cover you with love any chance she gets: kisses, compliments, hugs, and more.

[lost-technology]

I woke up this morning from the weirdest this-fandom related dream ever. So, in my dream, Vash and Wolfwood were sitting by a campfire and griddle talking about weird meats. They had some weird meats with them, as in meats from different animals that they were planning on cooking and eating. Vash drew out a plastic wrapped package (vacuum pack, looked like my local store brand) that looked like a pork chop, but declared that it was, in fact, human meat. He'd gotten it from a little post-apocalyptic Noman's Land shop that specialised in such things. He said that, as a Plant, he wanted to try it to see if he was compatible for eating human. Dream!Vash? What the actual FUCK?!!! And so unwrapped it and put it on the griddle and creeped out Wolfwood, but Wolfwood understood. Something like that. And then I flashed back into my body. This entire scenario was one that I was writing as a fanfic on a public counter in some kind of cafeteria at an anime convention. Above it, appearing almost immediately, was a fancomic someone else did on the upright part of the counter that recounted the events of my fanfiction (a fancomic of my fanfiction) except that whoever did it made it more Vashwood than I had intended my story, ending it with Vash and Wolfwood kissing. At the same time, I was thinking "My fanfic doesn't deserve this, it's not that good. It's not like Sin Eaters by dragonofeternal, which has a similar theme done much better." Yes, I was literally thinking of a real fic I'd read in my dream! I commented aloud on the comic that "This is more Vashwood than I'd intended, but I'll take it." As in, it's not really my ship, no one that I see as canon, but I like people in fandom shipping whatever they like and I enjoy Vashwood when it's done well and makes sense, which it kinda did in this fancomic even though it was inspired by my fanfic, which hadn't gone in that direction. Cue some snotty twenty-something with blueish purple dyed long pigtails and a Goth look sitting around nearby looking at all of this informing me "Vashwood is canon." and I said "No it's not." And she argued that she'd read some very obscure comic where it was - and it turns out we had both, by then, shifted into Batman fandom and she was referencing some obscure storyline in which Batman and Robin had fucked like animals. I further argued that I was going by a very specific canon (ala, "Batman the Animated Series" - which was somehow Trigun now), but concededed that while I wasn't as much into the deep lore of the comics, that I wouldn't be surprised if Batman/Robn (Vash and Batman now? Huh?) was canon in some form. Brain.... what are you doing?

[insertsomthinawesome]

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense but how do you… art? Like from looking at your art, there’s just so many different fandoms and it’s all fantastic!! How do you not stick to one or feel like you *have* to stick to one? Sorry

Aw Friend! No need to apologize! :D You asked your question plenty politely! That's a really interesting question actually, and I'm fascinated to be asked it! Because I actually do know the kinda thing you're talking about! or at least I have experiences that feel like they line up with what you're asking. A lot of its... growing up? I guess? And not in the sense of like. becoming an adult. but the non-stop process of growing and learning more about life. When I was younger, an actual child, I just Did it. I drew whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I didn't question hoping to a new interest or drawing different fandoms. I just did it. But the older you get the more complicated a lot of things get right? 😔 That was true for me.

I actually spent several years terrified, of moving on. Of leaving old fandoms behind. There was one fandom I actually forced myself not to leave for like... 2 years? Because I was afraid of all the projects I wouldn't complete, all the stories I wouldn't tell, all the art i wouldn't make. But honestly that was a horrible decision? It burnt me out of the specific fandom SO BADLY. Its only been around this last year that I've been able to enjoy things around it again without an overhanging shadow of stress.

I was still scared to fandom hop after that incident tho. Despite having gotten burned by caving to my own fears. It wasn't until I got into Trigun that I actually started to get less scared. A friend I met in that fandom, someone who was older than me, told me that... things have a way of coming back around. If you know the song "Everything Stays" From Adventure time? She said it was like that song. You will inevitably get older. But these things won't be gone. And you can always come back to them :) That clicked in my brain... and it took a bit longer, a bit more time of accepting that fact for me to find peace... but honestly? I kinda have now. At least for this moment in time. I wouldn't be surprised if the fear comes back around again, fear is funny and insidious like that. But I have the tools to beat it now :) The other two things I would mention are these: For starters: this might be obvious? But I'm a hobbyist artist. I don't make money off of my art, I don't sell it, I don't need numbers or clout in order to pay my bills. I'm completely free to do my own thing! Ain't nothing wrong with making a living off of your artwork and if that's the path that you want to walk GO FOR IT. But that path does have its own challenges. Because I don't walk that path, I am free to make whatever I want, without worrying about how it might reflect on my finances. The other thing is...

PERFECTIONISM...

THIS, NASTY LITTLE VILE COCKROACH, WILL RUIN YOUR ART LIFE SO BADLY ITS INSANE. It will ruin your NORMAL life super fast too 😔 it is an insidious little shoulder devil telling you, that you will be happier if you just do it the "perfect" way. IT IS SO SO SO SO SO SO WRONG. That is the key to the door of endless procrastination and broken dreams. SFLJSLF to get less metaphorical about it though: If you're always waiting for the perfect moment to make art for a fandom, to leave a fandom, to join a fandom (in this case i just mean "Get into the thing that interests you" when I say "Fandom") or create literally anything, you will be waiting forever. I know because i have been :') And its made it very hard to draw both in my past, and right now this very day.

Truthfully i'm still working on that one??? I've had some epiphanies recently that have helped a lot with my perfectionism... but I haven't tried drawing since having them? (drowning in the new Honkai Star Rail Patch WHEEZE) So uh. Not sure If I'm over that hill yet xD But yeah, if that's one piece of advice i could give you to take seriously, its don't chase perfection, in ANYTHING. Especially art. It will never be enough for you. And if you're doing it for other people, it will never be enough for them. Art is wonderful and messy, and human. And that is okay.

Its taken me a lot of soul diving and thinking and a lot of help from outside influence and kind people for me to figure this stuff out too. So don't feel bad to ask for help kay? We all need help. A lot xD I'm still not like, the king this stuff either. There are a lot of smaller, more niche, fandoms, I want to draw for, but still haven't, because of my own anxiety and embarrassment. There are fandoms I haven't drawn for because I don't feel like i have the adequate amount of information to be, ""allowed"" too (which is totally a fake standard btw, there is no barrier to entry for when you're "allowed" to draw something). I'm working on these problems every day.

Oh actually one last note: People can influence how hard it is for you to draw for a bunch of fandoms too. If you know you'll get made fun of for drawing something, its hard to draw. If you know you'll get praised for drawing something, sometimes that makes it easier to draw. Both of those things can mess you up BAD. Constantly drawing for other people (when its not a deliberate gift) can make you feel really upset and angry, and dissonant with your artwork.

But it can be equally as hard to realize nobody will share your enthusiasm if you don't draw what they like. That's not a judgement against anybody's friendships, we all got our own interests, and nobody can be 100% Invested in everything their friends enjoy. But It can make it a bit more emotionally challenging sometimes. And it can be hard to like?? Emotionally deal with that? in a way it makes art that you know will perform well, either with your friend group or online, like... "Candy". Its tastes good, but it doesn't give you long term energy (ie there's nothing wrong with it, but its not sustainable as your only form of sustenance) Meanwhile making art that is purely self indulgent is like eating a full and healthy meal. It gives you that long term energy of personal satisfaction, and your enjoyment and happiness also doesn't inherently hinge on whether or not other people appreciate it like you do. Obviously there's no issue if what you genuinely want to draw would also do well online/with your friends!

ANYWAYS, yeah, I'm still maturing and learning and growing with a lot of my opinions and perspectives and emotions on this stuff? Its definitely easier said than done, and while from the outside it looks effortless... I understand why you'd be struggling anon. I hope you can figure it out for yourself too! Best of luck :D also i could go on and on and on about this topic for years because alsjdfaksjdflJSDJGSD ooohhhhhhh boy I have learned and witnessed and thought many a thunk.

[tomatoswup]

FlowerShop Stampede (Headcanons)

✿Welcome to Flowershop Stampede! ✿

Here, we offer the best quality in Floral. selections!

Weddings, Birthdays, Parties, Bouquets?

We cater to any event!

Come and Visit Today!

summary: trigun characters working in a flowershop,, what could go wrong?

characters: vash the stampede, nicolas d. wolfwood, meryl stryfe, milly thompson

warnings: none, meryl running wolfwood over, vash's horrible flower arranging skills, etc :P

category: headcannons

A/N: this was fun to imagine tbh hehehe,,, i'll be writing an extra bonus one shot stemming from these headcannons but first imma write the other things I have planned for right now! I was thinking about writing these up first and scheduling them ahead of time but what's the fun in that :,) i may not be the best writer but thank yall for reading my things,,, also i'm so tired from a recent trip so half-awake-half-asleep editing

Vash The Stampede

One of the first part-timers at Flowershop Stampede!

A bit of a run-down flowershop, but Vash is very encouraged to flip everything around with work ethic and effort! :)

Roberto literally just watches as the new-hire speaks to the roses in the morning,,,,he just lets him do his thing

and i'm gonna be honest with yall, Boss-man Roberto puts Vash as the main floral consultant

because who can resist that adorable face so kind?

"Do you really want just one batch? The chapel would be soo pretty if you added two more to fluff everything up :)" -insert doe eyes here-

yeah...give me 10.

also he's a bit of a people person sooooooo

literally has a natural green thumb, and the dude is majoring in botany

so theoretically he's the most practiced besides Roberto,,but he doesn't flaunt that around. he really just likes nature and this is encouraged by his adoptive mother Rem.

BUT he doesn't hesitate to kick anyone out if theres' a problem or disturbance or a threat

Will fight a customer with a stern smile on the wrong day.

One time, this rude ass man was yelling right into Milly's face because she dropped a bit of dirt on his shoes until Vash stepped in.

scary ass face bro what the hell,,, after a few tumbles and a broken pot, he kicked his ass out "peacefully".

cried a few tears after though.

"I hope he's alright... The cop gave me his number, what if I just check up on them.."

"Vash you had the right-"

"What if they died???! D:"

"They're not dead Vash.." sweatdrop

His brother Nai often looks down on his choice of profession and study. He thinks Vash should've studied more in International Relations or Humanities at most but botany? Seriously?

But since Vash's childhood was so...troubled. He just wanted to live in peace at this point, to breathe a little. He loves to help others but in his own way!

Doesn't hesitate to help people choose or decide on the right flowers,, he actually gives really good suggestions.

To everyone's surprise and utter disbelief, Vash is not good at making bouquets. At all.

Milly had asked Vash to make one for her when she went to quickly help Meryl unload plants from the truck and the girl came back to a very...bald.. bundle of roses.

"did i do it? :D"

everyone agreed that Vash doesn't really have a good eye at actually making the bouquets,, choosing the flowers yes! actually arranging them hell no.

bonus headcanon:

sometimes, Vash's prosthetic aches due to over-exertion. lifting heavy things around the shop, he forgets to take his breaks more often than he should, especially before the refitting appointment for his arm. so whenever it aches, Wolfwood takes his place and he goes in the back kitchen for a good 30 minute break.

when he gets home, he asks you to give him a shoulder massage and you gladly do.

you also nag at him for not taking his needed breaks to which he sweats a little and gives you a small smile.

he loves you for worrying about him though :,)

"babe plz take me back'

"vash i'm literally just gonna go get the IcyHot-"

"come back :,("

you cant help but give him a little peck on the lips before you go fixing his aches.

Nicolas D. Wolfwood

One of Flowershop Stampede's full-timers,, came in a bit after Vash started, roughly a good 6 months after.

No, he wasn't introduced to the job by anyone, he really just saw the Help Wanted poster in the trash and said "yup, this one right here."

also the man was broke aside for an odd job he doesn't like telling people for many reasons.

Now the man's here. Brown apron, gardening gloves, dirt on his cheeks and sunglasses laying on top of his head.

someone take a pic plz☝️

Alot of people including clients suspect he's a con-man but he just has the charm of a door-to-door salesman with the vibes of a con man.

bIGGG DIFFERENCE not really

a bit of a hard ass but has a good heart,, really good at convincing people to buy flowers.

Roberto doesn't like having him on consultations like Vash though since he goes off topic quite a bit stop rizzing up the fiance wolfwood her marriage is literally next week.

Has a specialty for making bouquets, specifically weddings and big events.

do you have a Quince going on? you want 5 big bouquets? Give Wolfwood a day he'll get them done by midnight tops.

Literally the two main bouquet arrangers in the shop are Wolfwood and Milly so they often call each other partner.

Old ladies absolutely love Wolfwood. He always tries to help them the best he can.

Carrying flower bundles, giving them suggestions on nice small bouquets nicely wrapped, they really love him and his little chest show boy button them up puT UR BADONKERS AWAY-WE ARE SELLING TULIPS

hates morning shifts with a passion, so he takes the night shifts often as Vash does who can't do mornings bc of class on certain days.

Overall, a tad bit aggressive yet charming worker! Takes pride in his work! in fighting too!

Meryl Stryfe

Flowershop Stampede's delivery driver! Also another full-timer besides Wolfwood.

If you spot her on the road with a big ass Ford F150 filled with crates and boxes filled with flowers and roses nooooo you didn't.

She mostly does the final parts of big orders, delivering and getting the sign-offs on orders!

Just delivered a big bunch of flowers for a bash?

"Sign right here for me and you're ready to go :)"

If you got a problem with her or one of the orders that were put in correctly or you don't wanna pay, she'll put Roberto on speaker for you 💖 or she'll curse you out AND THEN put him on speaker

best of both worlds.

Almost ran Wolfwood over as she was backing the truck up for bouquet pick-up.

He never let her live it down

"I don't know why you let her drive Roberto-"

"IT WAS JUST ONE TIME!"

no it wasn't

it was like the third but they don't have another driver.

also she's pretty good at getting flowers to their locations in record time to Roberto's dismay

the luck she has in not having gotten a ticket yet god damn. But she's still a pretty good driver! :D

Very good friends with Vash and Milly,, Whenever all three are on break, they go to the nearby coffee shop to get bread and coffee for everyone else working in the shop.

Milly accompanies her whenever theres' huge bouquets or arrangements to deliver so Meryl doesn't hurt herself.

And when she's not delivering anything, she helps the shop upfront by putting new plants out to display outside and inside the store!

Meryl appreciates everyone including the plants and works hard to show that she does!

Whip that car girl☝️ !!!!

Milly Thompson

Flowershop cashier and floral arranger! She actually works part-time due to her studies also.

She's a little oblivious but girl knows how to do her math real shit. Rings up the cash register in like a minute

"Next Customer! ^ - ^”

But she also does alot of the heavy duty shit around with Vash and Wolfwood.

Loading the truck, bringing in the crates filled with plants, strong millyyyy💪

Loves working there bc she's enamored with the stories customers and clients tell her and why they're buying flowers.

A proposal? Funeral? Someone just gave birth? Birthday?

People live very interesting lives and Milly finds it so fascinating to listen to them and how passionate they sound whenever they speak about their one and only(s).

Sometimes regulars who've known Milly well enough bring her pudding in exchange for a extra rose :) She's building up her little collection in the Kitchen fridge,

meryl is starting to get worried tbh

In Wolfwood's words, Milly is too considerate of a worker and he wants her to be more foots down but Milly politely declines his words of "wisdom"

Whenever Flowershop Stampede tables at any fairs or events, Milly likes to have fun gardening activities for the kids to come and enjoy!

Had her partner-crime Wolfwood convince Roberto to hold a Community and Kids Flower Bouquet Making class. Both Milly and Wolfwood leaded the event with pride.

And yes, all of Milly's family came and attended of course

Vash also did with Rem and a stubborn Nai who secretly enjoyed it

Wolfwood is now Uncle Wolf according to one of Milly's cousins.

milly: sooo uncle wolf what are the orders going out today?

wolfwood: milly i swear to god-

[millionsknives]

yes, the plans that i could not share with you (because the haters would sabotage me) were that i was taking on LACC in my vash getup :)

i have so few pictures of myself but i got so many compliments (especially on my arm) and plenty of other people took pictures of me. and normally i don't like attention but i will be honest with u. under these circumstances i loved it. my arm held up really well through 8 hours on the convention floor and i have never been prouder of anything i've made. it's articulated incredibly well, no part of it gave out or required repair, it's never uncomfortable or a nuisance to wear, and i have enough range of motion to do relatively complex things like tying my shoes.

originally i was not planning to try to meet anyone famous because 1) it's expensive and 2) the lines are long and 3) i feel weird and annoying approaching literally anyone for any reason BUT. the spot where i met up with my sister just happened to be right next to johnny yong bosch's table. right when he started signing things. so i said LOL ok i'll do it.

it was super chill, i asked him how it felt to get the call that they wanted him to come back 20 years later for a trigun reboot and he said it almost didn't happen -- that since they recast everyone else for stampede they considered recasting vash as well (and i said WOW i'm so glad they didn't) and he said he really enjoyed getting to come back and explore a darker take (i forget if what he said was a darker take on vash's character, or just a darker trigun in general) but it was briefly surprising 2 me that he considered stampede to be a darker version but i get it, especially when u consider that there is not a lot of comedy in those 12 episodes to balance out the grief.

ANYWAY he was impressed with my arm and i asked him if he would sign my coat :) so he signed the lining but he was also like u know what, i'm gonna give you a second autograph just because. so he signed a print for me as well (free of charge!!) and the print with the blue signature matches my famous paintings that i always film in front of (that's providence baybee)

other stuff from the con under the cut

cosplay notes:

i saw 3 other vash cosplayers (a 98 vash, a stampede vash, and a purple coat vash) and no shade but i definitely had the best arm build. peace and love to all of them though

i saw 1 1/2 wolfwoods. 1 was the aforementioned mullet wolfwood from yesterday's post (ww if you’re out there ww) and the 1/2 was the 98 vash cosplayer’s gf in some kind of goth-ish dress and she was carrying a punisher

mullet wolfwood if you're out there i regret not getting a picture with you so much. i am deeply ashamed and i have no excuse because i ran into you twice and both times i was too embarrassed to ask for a picture. i just want you to know that your punisher was swag and your earrings were yolo and we would look very good together

i expected to see a lot more trigun tbh. los angeles where u at. 4 vashies at a convention of 120,000+ people is nothing. one guy even walked up to me like wow i love ur vash, i haven't seen a lot of trigun at this con and i was like I KNOW i thought i'd see a lot more

theeeee costume of all time award goes to the cad bane cosplayer i saw on the balcony. spare hand in marriage dude (gn) you looked so good

second place for costume of all time goes to the other mother cosplayer who had button eyes and these crazy finger appendages and never once broke character even while waiting in lines

i took 100 points of psychic damage from this one guy who (and im not kidding) was at least 6’4’’ and wearing platform boots and was dressed as the mfing onceler. with the stupid top hat he was fr 7+ feet tall (i saw him duck to get through a doorway).

someone was there as the brawny paper towel guy?? just walking around in a beard and flannel carrying a pack of paper towel rolls?? go off king

i saw 5 nightwing cosplayers but only 2 were biblically accurate (had ass)

the nanami sweep at this convention was so real u all SHOWED UP. and everybody ate. i saw at least 12 nanamis and not one of them was a flop.

i have never seen so many spider-mans in my life

other things:

fig. 1: this extremely hot captain america on a very large poster was about 2 make me act unwise. hi gorjus................................. nice eyebrows

fig 2: i saw this sign a couple blocks away from the con and i did a triple take. 🔥🔥🔥TRIMAX MENTIONED🔥🔥🔥

fig. 3: i saw all 4 hobbits in panel and can confirm elijah wood’s laugh is ten times more infectious in real life. before they were even done sitting down, dominic monaghan switched around all of their name cards so that none of them were seated behind the right name. as u might imagine much of the panel's content was reminiscing about LOTR, but i heard some stories that i hadn't heard before. they also talked about video games, other projects they are working/have worked on, how their kids feel about their dads' LOTR roles, how much they love ian mckellen, and how they would love to see something happen for the 20th anniversary of ROTK this year. sean astin (the legend) took shots at the stranger things writers (basically said joyce could never be happy with hopper) AND EVERYONE CLAPPED LOL. billy and dom talked about the best food in NZ, their show billy and dom eat the world, and the unfortunate events that led to the friendship onion's hiatus. it was a ton of fun to just watch them be themselves with each other, you can tell that these guys are all so fond of each other and love each other so much.

and finally, fig. 4: i bought these beautiful prints from @/batinyourbelfry and the skeletal washi tape from @/skeletalacademia (both on IG)

[hjemne]

Thinking about my queer telenovela Trigun WIP again, and I'm still not sure about to what extent it's a good idea to write Wolfwood as recently having left the church after coming to terms with the fact he's gay, and so has little experience with the queer community. Currently in my plan, Wolfwood starts off not really knowing anything about what it means to be trans and he is still working to unpack the homophobic Christian teachings he's internalised. He ends his years-long relationship with Milly and then meets Vash & it's his confirmation that yes okay he is definitely gay. Wolfwood doesn't know Vash is trans for a while, and Meryl is stressing out during that time because she's worried about how this recently Christian man with a limited understanding of transness might react to the guy he's been crushing on not being cis (Vash, her friend, who's been through enough already and who she wants to look out for). Meryl doesn't really know Wolfwood, and the worry is partly coming out of her habit of catastrophising, and Milly knows Wolfwood very very well and has full faith that he wouldn't be a dick about Vash being trans. But idk if I should cut these scenes because they're Too Much. For plot reasons the girls can't properly communicate with either Wolfwood or vash btw. My point is to show that Meryl is also unlearning stereotypes and her immediate assumptions about people, but I'm not sure if that justifies bringing up the fear of transphobia in a fanfic

Wolfwood finds out when he and Vash are finally about to hook up, and it takes him a moment to work through the initial surprise and confusion before going 'you're literally a man and I'm so attracted to you I think my dick might explode but also I have zero concept of what a trans man is so you might have to gimme some pointers on how this all works.' So basically there's a moment where Wolfwood is processing Vash being trans, and Vash is a little wary of him & how he'll react, but that moment almost immediately passes and then it's a case of Wolfwood being uninformed but very enthusiastic to learn.

I think it's important for me to show a character deconverting and the fact that when you deconvert you have to unlearn and relearn so many different things, but also I'm not sure whether it's a good idea for a plot point to be 'is Wolfwood going to hatecrime Vash?'.

I'd love to get some more perspectives on this. The fic setting and tone is (at the moment) fairly realistic so I don't think this would be a super weird tonal shift. In the fic the world is unfair and harsh but can be beautiful when people love and care for one another. Theres big plot points about how social and economic inequalities impact people & how people react & survive when pushed to the margins of society etc.

More things I'd like to discuss under the cut <33

Id also appreciate advice on how to write about Vash & Knives' transition. In my current plan, they were adopted by Rem and were both fairly erratic as kids bc they had trauma around something relating to Tesla (can't decide what exactly without bringing the tone massively down). Rem fully backs them when they transition (although she & knives get into a fight over him giving himself knives as his legal name) and I want to emphasise how positive the process of transitioning was for them. V+K get closer through it and knives gets a supportive group of friends which is particularly important because he's the more unstable one. But then there's tension between knives and rem because rem isn't the no 1 fan of some of his new friends (legato + elendira) and knives gets increasingly volatile as he refuses to process his trauma and his worst habits are enabled.

I think I want to say that Knives then causes an accident which kills Rem and injures Vash, but idk whether he does this deliberately, fully accidentally, or because he's experiencing a mental health crisis. Any thoughts about how to handle this would be super useful 🙏 Otherwise I might say that there was a car crash / other random accident, and that this was the tipping point because Knives can't handle being the only one to walk away without a scratch. Either way, Knives then disappears and Vash is trying to track him down and help him when Vash & Wolfwood meet in the main plot timeline.

The main plot is around Wolfwood trying to find Livio despite him having been declared dead after he ran away from their orphanage a few days after Wolfwood was kicked out and was never seen again (&so WW blames himself for Livios disappearance). WW eventually finds LR, who has been living under the name Razlo and avoided being found BC they actually ran away because their birth parent was released from prison and they FREAKED at being forced to go live with them again. LR has been forced into incredibly shit and precarious work because they have no legal identity or protection which is being taken advantage of by chapel. WW and LR bond and WW convinces and helps them to get away from chapel & get themselves un-declared dead. LR has met both Vash and Knives at various points (helped Vash w his t shot in a diner bathroom. this is also how he and Meryl met) and eventually Vash bumps back into WW, and they find Knives with LR's help, and everyone's happy. Milly and Meryl have gotten together during all this, and all 6/7(?) of them move in together because I make the rules and want them to be happy. Knives (& razlo tbh) gets the support and stability he's needed and is doing much better. Wolfwood gets to live with his bff Milly but can be out and proud. He probably proposes to Vash within the year. Vash & Wolfwood both have their brothers back and a family again. LR get official legal status again and change their last name to Razlo to separate them fully from their birth family. Milly and Meryl are the sweetest couple known to mankind and Meryl is welcomed into Milly's big Christian family. Will knives and LR get together? Haven't decided. But I think they would get on super well. And probably hook up. Also it's very important that you know that Wolfwood used to be a youth pastor in a church while with miss Melanie (who raised him in a Christian orphanage). Melanie cries when she sees LR again, and gives Wolfwood away when he and Vash get married.

[hikennosabo]

trigun multiple bullets random thoughts

if you thought you saw the last of me in the tag... think again!!!

let's fucking goooooo... it's been a little while, so i feel like i'm rusty LMAO...

showdown with the dodongo brothers at honeycomb village (parts 1 & 2):

wow that's a mouthful of a chapter title. anyway.

seeing manga vash with fully blonde hair is... a little strange, now.

OH, SAME WITH SEEING WOLFWOOD... y'know... alive... i fucking MISSED HIMMMMMMM (<- i literally just saw him, i've been rewatching 98 again)

this is so fun i love it so much

oh there are SO many good expressions but if i post them all i'm sure i'll hit the image limit

vash's pout is so cute and funny but i NEED to draw attention to meryl in the corner... i love her sm

vash is twiddling his thumbs... he's so cute...

well these sure are names

even in the black-and-white manga... even though her hair was brown on the color page... we STILL get a blonde milly jumpscare?!?! really?!?!?

AAHHHH... HIS SMILE.... TOO BRIGHT......!!!!!!

they're so silly :( i missed this... waaaah...

oh my goodness, i am in LOVE with this page.

i love wolfwood scolding vash too, lol. it's a conversation they've had many times before, but it feels... idk, lighter than usual?

i love this page soooo much... their expressions are cute. i'm getting "he's an idiot, but he's MY idiot" vibes from wolfwood, lol :') they're in love your honor

and the cliffhanger reveal... i don't have that much to say about the plot tbh... hmmmm, i'm not separating these chapters in this post anyway.

they :)

it wouldn't be a nightow action scene if it was easy to follow, but i'm glad i examined this page in detail instead of letting my eyes just pass over it because

i LOVE this panel... the one in the middle of the spread is great too but i LOVE the angle of this... vash reaching over wolfwood to shoot, while wolfwood shields him... ugh... thank GOD for vashwood

oh my god...... he's so cute.......

GIRLLLLSSSS I LOVE YOUUUUU

OH YEAH, VASHWOOD, BABEY!!!!!!!!!! vash holding on to the punisher... :D

is vash shooting the rockets so they change trajectory... that's so fucking insane. i love it

THE SILLIES

man this was a fun one. i loved seeing vashwood being a battle couple again and just having a relatively low-stakes/light-hearted romp was a really nice thing to read after the horrors. which i am now a few weeks removed from, but they still haunt me...

trigun: the lost plant:

as someone who had (has!! i still love it!) an enduring dr stone obsession in 2021-2022, i am IMMUNE to boichi's art!!! this is significantly hornier than dcst though, not that i'm surprised in the slightest, dcst does have its own horny designs/moments unfortunately... this is the difference between shonen and seinen i suppose--hold on, that's not what this post is about!! *deletes entire other paragraph talking about dr stone*

60 years post-canon... vash's lifespan has been significantly shortened, but i do wonder how much he has left in him. he lived 150 years without any visible black appearing in his hair, so even if he has just a few strands of blonde left, they might last him a long time... well i don't think any of these stories are canon anyway so it doesn't matter LOL

as far as the plot goes...

the explanation for how plants produce matter is interesting but why did it manifest as a child and why is it a black hole and why this specific plant and how did vash even--oh, WHATEVER!! i suppose there is a reason boichi was the artist for dr stone and not the writer.

very cool to see vash drawn in boichi's style though! it's pretty similar to the early dr stone manga, even though dcst came 5+ years later... and the art style of dcst changed over time, although--wait, no, that's NOT what this post is about!!!

the denizens of the sand planet:

okay, this one is by... *googles* wait, this is the guy who did lucifer and the biscuit hammer?? and planet with??? HUHHH... i've only watched planet with, but i've heard VERY good things about biscuit hammer (manga)... anyway

this is a cute story. the found family is cute.

okay sorry this doesn't matter but it is bugging me (ha) a bit. these post-canon stories don't like... actually show us how the world changed after the battle. because it's something i've been wondering about... like, they show a guy cleaning a plant bulb, but would there even be any plants left in bulbs at this point?

and like, this...

wouldn't the exploitation end. like i suppose plants would still get "worn out" eventually, but i would expect more of a symbiotic relationship at this point. so what's with this imagery?

I'M OVERTHINKING IT!!!!! OKAY!!!! JUST ENJOY THE CUTE FOUND FAMILY STORY!!!!

les enfants:

i. am. in. LOVE!!!! WITH THIS ART STYLE!!!!!!

THEY ARE SO FUCKING SHAPED!!!!!!

legato?!?!?! :D :D :D :D :D

ohhh i love this redraw!!!!!! oghhhhhh!!!!!! oooooooogh!!!!!

i love this art!!!!! i love this art!!!!!!

EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP HE'S SLEEPING!!!!!! ohhh i love this. i like the wording too. "decided to slumber"... he's fucking eepy. he's cozy.

ALSOOOOO

RAZLO (i'm assuming)!!! HE'S SO FUCKING. SHAPED. his GRIN!!! IS SO FUNNY. i'm in tears... i love him...

WAAAHHHH COUCH JUMPSCARE... I DONT NEED THIS WHEN I'M EXPERIENCING SUCH JOY GUSHING OVER THE ART...

the art outside the storybook is also lovely, it's very detailed and delicate...

i would like to believe merylmilly got married and grew old together... yeah...

DUDE, I'M GONNA CRY...... vashwood image... this is a really lovely story. definitely my favorite of all of them.

milly/meryl satellite tv:

so they chase him around for 24 hours straight once a week... poor vash LOL

hey hey hey hey hey this is supposed to be a silly goofy fun time why are you showing me this. i'm so sad. i'm glad the family is being fed at least.

i always assumed that "eriks" was a name vash chose for himself but this is way funnier

there is so much going on here

LIVIO LMAO......

yeah that was very silly

raijin: rising:

incredibly jarring tone shift from the previous story lol... i really enjoy the rai-dei focus though. he's cool but he didn't get a backstory in the manga so i appreciate this a lot. i wouldn't mind more stories like this focusing exclusively on side characters tbh.

it gets pretty brutal... i don't know what to say about this story besides that. it's an interesting look at what could've made rai-dei the way he is.

cutting is fighting:

we're ending this not with a bang but with a whimper... swapping meryl in for the haircut scene is... blegh. whatever. and they exaggerate her crush on vash too much. like yeah she's kind of tsundere in canon (moreso in the anime imo) but she's not a teenager yknow? the satellite tv story did that too but that one was supposed to be goofy and exaggerated so it was whatever.

the most interesting thing here is the lack of dialogue. that's a fun creative choice. and i like the gag with vash's hair being too nasty to comb LOL... and the haircut options. that's all...

overall i'd give this a... 6.5/10? 'les enfants' was definitely my favorite by far and nightow's story was a lot of fun too. the others ranged from "meh at best" to "sure, it was good" lol. i liked seeing the different art styles... i don't have much else to say.

[moonsheen]

fic writer meme

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 112. And thank god that doesn't include the REAL old stuff.

2. what's your total ao3 wordcount? 552,904 ...that's...both more and less than I was expecting

3. what fandoms do you write for?

...a...lot. Most recently? MDZS/SVSSS, Trigun (er, sorry for the weird stuff), and 13 Sentinels (PLAY 13 SENTINELS). Long term oldies but goodies? Kingdom Hearts, Devil May Cry, Overwatch, Supergiant games, Evangelion

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Recovery (SVSS, Qijiu --woah, that one pulled ahead in the last few months) Husband x Husband (Hunter x Hunter -- I did this as a yuletide treat to make up for defaulting one year and it's the gift that keeps giving) Minor Delays (SVSS, Qijiu -- wait really?) The Way Back Home (SVSS, Qijiu -- ....Qijiu nation represent. This one doesn't surprise me though, Chira did an amazing comic for it) Hold the Baby (MDZS -- okay this one was just where I was dumping the old twitter threads of a VERY specific Xiyao fix-it AU but you know what, thanks everyone)

5. do you respond to comments?

I try to. If I don't succeed it's often because life kicked my ass.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably On Your Six (Reaper & Soldier 76, Overwatch)

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is hard mostly because all of my fic tends to be some kind of fix-it in some way to give someone an obscenely happy ending. If you had to have me narrow it down based on what my most blatant fix-it to some miserable canon character ending was? I'd go with either Happiness Exists (As Long As You Believe in the Possibility) (Qijiu again!), and the Recovery-verse as a whole, or maybe Abstraction White Rose (Revolutionary Girl Utena), because by god I needed Utena and Anthy to kiss and I MADE THEM DO THAT, A LOT.

8. do you get hate on fics?

Xiyao troll hit me once or twice and I got a few cranky dudebros who got mad at me for my Eva fic on a message board once, but nothing all that bad if I'm honest.

9. do you write smut?

...well, I've tried but the plot gets in the way.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you have written?

The first that come to mind are the MDZS/TGCF crossovers, but those are the same authors so I don't know that that counts. I DID write a very silly How The Grinch Stole Christmas/Nightmare Before Christmas short once upon an internet. It has since been lost to the great yawning of time and collapse of several social media platforms.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Someone once scraped the awful Naruto fic I wrote when I was like 15 and changed the names to make it a Samurai Champloo fic which, um. Why? But that was pretty damn funny in hindsight.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! In Russian, Chinese, and French. And I love every time it happens.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

My dayjob these days is cowriting with people. But on the fanfic side -- well, in short, yes. With the usual suspect (that would be Chira) and with my wife, who has once or twice dictated an entire story outline to me which I write in a day.

14. what's your all time favorite ship? Internet, I am old and you cannot expect me to pick one. Utena/Anthy maybe?

15. what is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I still need to do the last story for the A Troublesome Charge series which I SWEAR will happen it's just I had a literal baby.

16. what are your writing strengths?

Character voice. I love character voice and I am told I am good at it.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Smut.

18. thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

To be honest if I don't know it I don't try. But I like bilingual writing when it's done well (see also: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once) -- but when it comes to fangirl Japanese or Chinese, I tend to leave that to the experts.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

mumblesBeastWars and thank god that was on a platform that crashed and burned. The Beast Wars fic I wrote for Yuletide was way better.

20. favorite fic you have written?

On Your Six, despite how I feel about Overwatch nowadays, I feel was probably one of the punchiest stories I've ever written. I would have absolutely used this story to audition to write for Blizzard's tie-in novellas if Blizzard hadn't...well, read the news on what happened at Blizzard.

The other one I'd probably say is Ghost Roads in my Troublesome Charge series (MDZS). I just feel like I nailed all the multiple plotlines and characters involved in that one and I'm super proud of it. I'm not tagging anyone because I have anxiety about this kind of thing, but please feel free to do this meme yourself if it crosses your dash!

[slothpoth]

Trigun Social Media Au: Usernames Pt2

And we’re back, same things as last time but this time with the gunho guns + knives

(Also lmk if I did anything weird with the Livio/Razlo hcs, if so I’ll delete this post and redo it better/with better ideas :3)

Elendira ➬ studdedchanel

Okok listen to me I think elendira would totally have an aesthetics account

Like Yknow those twt accs that are just incredibly aesthetically pleasing with nice photos and layouts and just so nice? Yeah

Except she’s not a WEIRDO LIKE SO MANY ARE

Her pintrest and twt are linked and she vlogs her life on YouTube

Everyone wants to be her her aesthetic consistency is a-1

Livio/Razlo ➫ Livin.Violo

Now if I said it was LivinViolo at first but after he found wolfwood again through social media he put the dot in so they match wwyd?

Livio’s content is a mix of inspirational content gym content and then him getting into arguments online via game lobby/chat

I think Razlo would post the gym content showing off reps and the like, like almost short mostly silent gym blogs

One thing for sure is that they both use that darkened filter that makes everything look so much more dramatic for gym videos and then the gaming ones are edited like 2016 gaming montages

Midvalley ➬ MValleyJazz

This is his business account actually he plays at weddings and bar mitzvahs and funerals

He posts mostly on Instagram and his tiktok is very much an afterthought, like he’s following one person

He posts covers for popular songs on the sax, for example Yaosobi’s IDOL on the sax

I’m just sayin he makes bank

Zazie ➫ wcrmmxster

Ysee the o is a c because the c looks like a curled up worm

This is the most on the nose one because I wanted it to have a more edgy vibe like someone’s user being skullgrave or something

……maybe a tiktok cosplayer I haven’t decided yet

Legato ➬ puppetgore

Oh look another edgy mf god forbid we open some fuckin CURTAINS

Anyways this is for his non business accounts, he has alts to give people he sees everyday outside of the internet

I think he’d be one of those borderline obnoxious commentators who stream fps games in their free time and are unsurprisingly mid at them

Talkin shit and bottom fragging you get it

Knives ➫ Million.O.Knives

Who’s surprised. Not me.

I think he’s a gameplay streamer who had a vtuber for a while and hen someone pissed him off so bad he had to turn it off so the audience could fully understand his anger

“I’m shit?? IM SHIT??? YOURE LITERALLY— hold the fuck on….” *click off vtuber* *change screen* *click on camera* *he is literally 4 inches from the camera* “WE ALL WATCHED YOU FUMBLE A CLUTCH WHEN THE ENEMY WAS OFF FUCKING LINE I DONT WANNA HEAR IT. I NEED GOD TO SEND THE FLOOD.”

After that he goes back to the vtuber but if someone donos 100 he’ll turn on facecame for the rest of stream what a fuckin scammer wish I could do that

[feekins]

no purple highlighter again, but here are my thoughts and things and whatever translation weirdness I find as I re-read ch 4 of Trigun Maximum vol 7!

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

...prolly another case of Dark Horse watering down the swearing, but they translate the title of this chapter as "Good For Nothing and the Blues" while the Overhaul calls it "Bastards and the Blues" 🤨

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

another case of literal VS more nuanced translation, methinks?

...I just realized...Wolfwood gets awfully irritated whenever Vash looks so very sad like this, doesn't he?

NUANCE!!!!!

Dark Horse's translation always confused me here - I always thought the mayor was addressing the crowd that had gathered, telling everyone to leave for their own safety. with the Overhaul's inclusion of "and you", now I see he's actually addressing Vash (and/or Hancock and whatshisname).

this is just...such a bittersweet bit to me. here are these people in need of a little mental escape, and this little old lady welcomes them in regardless of who they are or what they've done. there's such kindness to that...

...and I mean...on one hand, yeah, Vash drinking away his troubles again...but on the other, at least he's got himself a couple of drinking buddies who don't care if he's this super-dangerous legendary gunman? and who know what it's like to live with such heavy guilt? granted, they haven't done/been involved with the kind of things Vash has...but that's not the point here. the point is that Vash isn't alone in struggling with guilt, OR in wanting a temporary reprieve from it. 🥺💕

Vash calling it like he sees/knows it. and!!! the way he high-tails it out of there when his planty-ness starts acting up again!!! 😭

again, nuance.

and...idk. this read-through, I have a new appreciation for this sequence. it's so cinematic, and knowing that Nightow directly drew from/referenced different movies at different points in the manga (like Wolfwood shooting his rocket launcher at Gray in ch 3 of Trigun Maximum vol 3), I wouldn't be surprised if that was his intention here. this guy at 'mission control', eating his off-brand Snickers...dropping it as he watches this nightmare scenario unfold...

...chaos all around him...but we focus only on him as he takes off his headphones and just. stares. in horror and disbelief.

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

again, the Overhaul is more specific in its translation, and I appreciate that =u=

YES IT WAS NICE!!! YOU DESERVED THAT NICENESS, BBY!!!!! 🥺

[mostpatheticlittleguy]

SURPRISE COMPETITOR REVEAL!

i'd like everyone to give a warm welcome to the *one*, the only...

SNALEY OMORI!

He comes all the way from Otherworld- It's like he just fell out of the sky, literally!

And now for a quick word from Snaley himself!

oh dear... well, it looks like Snaley's out for the count. guess we'll just have to pick a backup character!