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lizkreates · 8 months

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TriStamp Livio Theories! (Spoilers)

SPOILERS AHEAD. I MEAN IT. TURN BACK NOW.

....

Alright, you've been warned.

This framing of the mask is VERY intentional. Visually this tells me this isn't Livio. It could be Razlo. Livio does not have a good reason to go after Vash, other than being told to by Legato. It feels off that he doesn't even say a thing to Wolfwood, his close childhood friend.

The beep from his mask (an audible cue) and his swirling eye, let us know something is UP. Maybe it is Razlo in control here.

Again with the framing. There is some evidence that this is Livio, just under mind control. If this is Razlo, he's eerily quiet here, because we know from Trigun Maximum, that he's boisterous and vulgar.

I admit it REALLY annoys me that they decided to go the silent route because in TriMax, when Livio does talk he makes it clear he is dedicated to the Eye of Michael. It's very possible Legato requested Ralzo to not speak, as a gag order just to fuck with Wolfwood.

The eye again. Just as Livio turned himself into the Eye of Michael to follow Wolfwood.

Here's some evidence that Livio is breaking through. We see the other side of his face as he speaks for the first time and says, "I have to catch up." In skill, sure. But consider this! He wants to catch up because home to him is where Wolfwood is.

When Wolfwood smacks Livio with the Punisher, he damages his mask, framing the non-mask side again. Just a thought, what if they needed to put a leash on Razlo? Like an inhibitor because he lacked restraint.

Why would Livio fight Wolfwood? Presuming they haven't seen each other since Conrad's prison. He's caught up to Wolfwood, here. Livio is a very capable fighter himself, he wouldn't be in the EOM if he couldn't measure up as well. Unless he means, if you've read TriMax, having the honor of being bestowed a Punisher like Wolfwood.

He looks so out of it like he's dissociating. But also the mask is damaged, and the mind control/inhibitor is slipping.

Of course, it's Vash who says this!!! He gives Wolfwood hope he can break through to Livio. AAHHHH, I could go off a tangent, but that's another post. It's clear even to Vash, this isn't someone in control of their actions.

Wolfwood gets through. The light in the mask fades.

And as the morning light breaks over the horizon, the light returns to Livio's eyes. ;_;

BUT THEN THIS HAPPENS.

FUCK YOU CHAPEL. AND YOUR INDOCTRINATION. This is not to dismiss the choice Livio/Razlo made to go to the Eye of Michael. With all the interlaced flashbacks, TriStamp frames Livio as a corrupted innocent AND conflicted. It's also interesting that Livio seems to lack bodily autonomy here, which mirrors Vash's lack of autonomy with Knives. Livio is being used.

Aaaand there's Razlo.

Livio breaks. There's a raging internal conflict going on that we can't see. Either Razlo is fighting like hell for control again or he's having a painful physical reaction to the brainwashing breaking and memories flooding back. He can't take it anymore, and well, you know what happens next, I'm not going to show it.

My conclusion is, that you can interpret Trigun Stampede's Livio in many ways. We don't have the entire story yet, Livio barely said anything, but there is evidence to support several theories!

This is Livio under mind control and Razlo is dormant

This is Razlo under gag orders but Livio is fighting to come to the surface

This is a softer-spoken Livio, a sheep led by a monstrous shepherd, where he clearly cares for Wolfwood but is brainwashed with his memories repressed

Or some combination of the above!

I haven't been in the TriStamp tag much, but Livio feels overlooked because he comes off as a plot device to move Wolfwood's story forward. He's important to the ENTIRE story of Trigun for reasons I won't spoil here. We got 2 entire episodes focusing on Wolfwood and Livio, two brothers at odds.

Trigun Stampede is such a deep cut of Trigun Maximum. The incredibly fast pacing hurt it, it's like blink and you missed some critical info. Anyway, Livio deserves more love and consideration. ORANGE IS COOKING so we'll have to wait and see~

#trigun #trigun stampede #tristamp #livio #livio the double fang #razlo #spoilers #trigun spoilers #my trigun meta #i should put a disclaimer I know very little about DID #I'm sure someone who's more knowledgeable can draw a better conclusion #but also TriMax seems to have bent the rules with DID so maybe TriStamp is doing the same

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deludedfantasy · 7 months

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Trimax Vol 14 Ch 6-8

Well, here it is. My last post for book club. I can’t believe we’re actually here! I’m a little emotional. This has been such a fun ride and the highlight of my day for the past few months. It’s weird that it’s basically over.

I still have a few things I’d like to talk about so this isn’t quite the end for me, but for now, onto the post! I hope it makes sense as I wrote this either on a train or while sick.

Ch 6

Once again, I ask, does Vash have some sort of telepathic/mind reading ability? Because Meryl doesn’t say that part about being scared out loud, but he responds to her anyway. Is it just in really emotionally charged moments that he can hear it or does it have something to do with how he’s connected to the Plants and they way all their memories are being projected?

At least Vash knows how terrified Meryl once was of Plants and himself (but I still wish they’d actually talked about it rather than Vash running away, but whatever, they don’t have time for that right now).

I wish Meryl didn’t think that about herself either. She’s allowed to feel things! Including fear. It shouldn’t be about never being that scared again, but about feeling that fear and not being overcome by it.

Ohhh, Vash did succeed in connecting with the Plants and what happened is their protective shells cracked and their memories started raining down on humanity.

Here are Vash’s beliefs again coming out in full force. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen and he’s not going to try and control the outcome. People and Plants should have the autonomy to make their own decisions. All he can do is make sure they see and try to understand each other, and he says it beautifully.

I remember this part really well and I still find it one of the most beautiful and moving parts of the manga. The feathers of memory falling on humanity, them experiencing all the good and bad of what Plants experience and suddenly being overcome by it all.

I love that the Plants call him Red Brother. He’s the familiar guy in a red coat who’s always there to help them.

And humanity is getting a full look at him too! Finally, they get to know him as more than an outlaw and the destroyer of July. They get to see him for who he truly is.

At this moment the Plants say, “What would Vash do?” Will he give up or will he keep going? The conclusion they come to makes me wanna cry. “Let there be love and peace in this world.”

That’s all Vash has ever wanted, all he’s fought for, and now the whole world is finally getting the chance to see it. The depths of his belief and everything he’s done to achieve it.

Something that has bothered me for most of the story is how much Vash is about understanding, but how little he lets other people understand him. It’s how he ends up being the boogeyman and the bad guy all the time. He doesn’t let people in. Although this is done through supernatural means, finally, the world is coming to understand him a little. He’s getting some of that same grace he offers to others. Though again, I wish he’d been able to do it with his words and of his own will at some point.

Even Knives is getting hit by the Plant memories. He’s trying to hold on to his connection with the Plants, but it looks like they’re falling further and further out of reach.

Also, this page looks a bit like Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam but with very different connotations.

Did Knives lose control of the Ark and cause it to crash? I’m not sure how we got from point A to point B. I feel like I missed something.

This entire sequence makes me so emotional. After seeing all of the Plant’s experiences, the people of the ground immediately rush to help them. They aren’t scared! They understand how much the Plants have been through and are determined to do better.

The Plant scientists, not even knowing what the feather will do to him, uses it to communicate with them. The Plants are crying and in pain, in danger of dying without support, and it would be so easy to be scared and overwhelmed, instead they do everything they can to save them. Not because they need Plants to survive but because they care about them and they can’t survive without each other.

And the scientist reaches out to touch the Plant without fear. It’s a very tender, intimate, and comforting touch. He strokes her hair. That’s not how you treat an alien entity, that’s how to treat a child, someone you care about deeply. I’m feel like I’m chewing on glass!!!

The Plant is still crying, but now she’s smiling too. They’re truly working together and understanding each other for the first time.

God, Vash. Never, not once in his whole life, has he ever promised to survive or come back. Something has changed though. He still wants to live and he wants to do it with his friends because he promises he’ll return to Meryl and Milly.

Then like a badass, he just jumps right off the ship. What a guy.

Ch 7

At the end, Vash turns back to the beginning, where this whole mess started for him: the day of the Big Fall. What were Rem’s final words to him and his brother? What final words of wisdom has been trying to recall/reconstruct over the years as he fought and chased Knives?

Knives can’t admit he was wrong even when he’s very obviously lost. He had to reconstruct his entire body and use up most of his power to do it. He doesn’t have the Plants anymore and he just watched humans fight to help Plants. Everything he’s known to be true has been proven wrong to him but he still won’t back down because he’s scared of the truth. He can’t face it and he’d rather fight Vash to the death. Much like his brother, Knives is too stubborn to give up on his ideals so easily.

It’s more than that though, as Knives himself admits. Also just like Vash, he doesn’t see a future for himself anymore and he wants Vash to be the one to kill him.

Amidst all the carnage on this page, the simple image of the twins as boys really stands out, along with the text on it. They can’t go back to the way things were. They can’t regain their lost innocence. They’ve come too far together to turn back now. The fight for humanity’s future might be over now that Knives has lost control of the Plants but the last fight, the more personal one between the two of them, still has to be fought.

For the second time in this volume, Vash points his gun at someone with the intent to kill. But the moment he does, he finally remembers what Rem told him. “Don’t leave Knives on his own.” It’s why he stayed with him for 80 years after the Big Fall even though a rift had already developed between them. It’s why no matter how many times he faced him over the next 70 years, no matter how much he said he would kill Knives and get his revenge for what he did to Rem, he never did, why he hesitated every time he pointed a gun at his brother’s head.

I truly believe Vash still loves Knives. That love is complicated after everything they’ve been through and the terrible things Knives has done to him and to the world. But it’s there. It’s one of the many things that has stayed his hand every time he’s confronted Knives and why he kept begging him to find a different path when most other people would’ve given up. He loves his brother. In the beginning, Knives was all he had. In some ways, Knives is the only person in the world who can truly understand everything Vash has experienced. It’s no wonder, then, that when Chronica points her guns at Knives, Vash uses his powers to save him.

I’m 90% sure that Vash also used his body to shield Knives and took the brunt of the blast wave. (Edit: Whoops, I read that wrong. Vash doesn't take the blast, he takes Knives's blades in order to shoot a gate bullet at Chronica's attack. But my point still stands.) He’s never been so protective of Knives. The look on Knives’s face when he sees Vash to do this is so unlike him. It’s shocked and surprised and suddenly very vulnerable. I think it’s Knives realizing Vash actually cares about him. There’s also something about being on the receiving end of the mercy Knives has mocked for years that probably breaks something in him because he didn’t think he deserved it or that Vash would ever offer it. Maybe this is the moment he realizes how wrong he was about everything.

There’s something really poetic about Knives then using the last of his own powers to also manifest wings and fly away to save his brother. Knives has claimed from the start that everything he was doing was to save Vash from himself, but really, he was doing anything but that. This time, though, he does save him.

Livio, being so polite and welcoming even when he’s threatening someone. He’s amazing, I love him.

Wolfwood’s ghost has been haunting the story physically and metaphorically for four volumes now. This scene in particular makes me wonder if the ghost of Wolfwood thing wasn’t a literary device but an actual ghost watching over Vash and Livio to make sure they made it through the final battle. Now that it’s over though, now that Livio has survived his first conflict as a new man with his new ideals, Wolfwood’s watch is over. He disappears and goes to his final peace.

His final words give Livio hope for the future, that he has one at all, where he can keep learning and doing better and being the person he wants to be. There’s more to come, indeed. The thing that makes me really sad though is Wolfwood never got to do the same. In the end, he proved himself to be more than a killer, but he didn’t get the chance to keep learning and improving. He didn’t truly get to live a life as a man who was more than a killer. He was forgiven, but didn’t survive to see the fruits of his own labors or the bright future they might lead him to. There will never be more to come for Wolfwood and that breaks my heart.

Ch 8

So here it is. The last chapter. It’s bittersweet to be here at the end after all these months because I don’t want the story to be over. I don’t want to let Vash go. But here we are.

It’s never stopped pissing me off that the Earth Federation put out another bounty for Vash. It’s not made clear for what exactly, but after this read, I have a feeling it has something to do with how he let Knives get away. He’s been branded an accomplice. The Earth Federation is trying to find a scapegoat for why their rescue efforts failed so fantastically and Vash was conveniently on hand. It’s so unfair, especially because he was the one who saved them.

Personally, I believe many, many people saw what he really did in Octovern or experienced who he was through the Plants memories. Most people would probably be more like the doctor and be willing to hide or help him. I don’t know, I just don’t like the thought of Vash constantly being forced to live on the run and never have peace now that the big threat that’s been hanging over him his whole life is gone.

Knives desperately begging humans to save his brother is such an about face for his character. Right at the end, something happened to him. Something broke in him after seeing all the Plants’ memories and Vash ultimately being unable to kill him. I wouldn’t say he believes in humanity, but he understands now. Especially he understands how important humanity is to Vash and how important Vash is to humanity. Vash is the bridge between the two and it’s only through his conviction in their ability to communicate that allowed any of this to happen. He’s part of humanity’s future. He has to be if they want to survive and Knives saw that.

Oh…did Knives use his powers to heal Vash? I mean, from what we know about Vash, the wound could have closed on its own because that’s just how his body works, but there’s something to Knives being the one to do it that makes my heart twist. Just like Vash, Knives couldn’t kill his brother, despite the many times he said the opposite. He couldn’t let him die. He used up most of his power healing him and when he started to run out, he asked humans for help. I’ve already said it, but I can’t help stressing how unlike Knives this is, at least, the one we’ve come to know. It feels like a different Knives, the younger one we briefly met. Who could he have been if he hadn’t seen Tesla in that tank and gotten so twisted up on the inside?

The fact that Knives’s final act is one of creation rather than destruction says a lot. He makes an apple tree that will provide sustenance and be helpful for the family that’s helping Vash. Sure, it’s to help keep his brother alive, but it’s also a small gift to the humans who took him in. It’s an astoundingly kind action for someone who has been hellbent on the destruction of humanity for 150 years.

Vash’s face after being told he should go live a quiet, peaceful life somewhere and that he’s done more than enough is peak Vash fake smile. It says, “I will never do enough to deserve a peaceful life.” I want to shake him like a rag doll, he’s so stupid. Yes!! Yes, you have done more than enough. He himself once said that there’s nothing wrong with a normal life. I frankly believe that’s what he wants deep down. But he doesn’t think he deserves it and he has a mission and an ideal he’s devoted to that supersedes his own wants. Sometimes, I wish Vash could learn to be a little selfish, just a bit. After everything he’s been through, he’s more than entitled to a little peace and quiet.

The silly tone is very reminiscent of early Trigun and it’s so nostalgic. It’s a return to that old world, a sort of reset and coming full circle. This is Vash’s life after all. It’s equal parts tragic and silly and ridiculous and it all comes in cycles.

The push and pull between being Vash the Stampede and just living a normal life fascinates me. Vash dons the red coat again to help the people who saved him. He says it’s just this once, but we know it’s a lie. Every time someone needs help, he’ll put that coat on again. But, and this may be my own biases talking, I’ll say it again: I think Vash does want that peaceful life, deep down. He wouldn’t keep bringing it up if he didn’t. A life where he isn’t the famed outlaw, Vash the Stampede and can just exist. But he also doesn’t know a life without his mission, so he keeps falling back into it.

Yay, insurance girls! Or more accurately, reporter girls!

Vash, you do not deserve the reporter girls. They spent six months looking for him! He promised them he would return, one way or another. But he never kept that promise. The girls could’ve assumed he was dead like everyone else, but they didn’t. To then find him alive and well and up to his old tricks…I think he deserves a little more than a light scolding from Meryl. At any point during those six months, he could’ve tried to send them a message or something to let them know he was alive. Vash, king of avoiding all important human relationships. Ah, well, some things never change.

Vash has suddenly discovered something more terrifying than insurance girls, reporter girls, with cameras and microphones and what I personally believe is a mission to clear his name. They are stubborn and will follow him everywhere. It’s his worst nightmare (I say this affectionately).

Oh my god, Meryl and Milly gave him a little theme song. That’s so cute.

“Stay tuned for wardrobe malfunctions too.” Meryl and Milly are giving the fans what they want: Vash the Stampede fan service.

These last few pages are beautiful. We get to see some old faces we haven’t seen in a while as they find out that Vash is still alive and doing his thing. The panels we’ve been getting throughout this chapter, of an empty horizon, are repeated over and over again as Vash starts to run. And then there’s Vash laughing. Because this is his life and he gets to live it, however he wants for as long as he wants it. To me, it feels like he’s realizing that he has a future. It’s compounded by the focus on him running into the bright, empty desert, a mob at his heels. But it doesn’t feel like he’s running away from them so much as he’s running towards that empty horizon. It might be optimistic of me, but I think that’s what Vash would want.

The last page took me out. We’ve come full circle. This is how Trigun started, with that same song of humanity still singing. At times, that song was cruel and devastating, but also full of love and hope against all odds. Things aren’t perfect. They never will be. This ending is, after all, bittersweet. Vash has lost so much and still hasn’t truly found peace. In some ways, he sees a future for himself, but even then, it’s just a continuation of the life he’s always lived rather than something new. He has a bounty on his head, but he has his friends by his side. He’s helped people and had a deep impact on them along the way. But still, humanity continues, the world keeps turning, and in the end, that’s all we can hope for. To be there to experience life in all its glory, both good and bad. It truly is a never ending song.

Thanks for following along! It’s been a blast sharing my thoughts here weekly and reading everyone’s amazing takes. A big thank you goes out to @revenantghost for organizing this whole thing. Trigun kinda took over my life in the past four months and book club has been a great place to channel all that obsession. Fun fact: the Google doc where I prewrite all my posts is 100 pages long. Honestly, this is the most fun I’ve ever had in a fandom. I don’t really know how to close this all out and I’m full of a lot of emotions about this coming to an end so uhhhh thanks again for reading all my thoughts and see you around Tumblr. Love and peace!

#trigunbookclub #trigun

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 8 months

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Trimax Thoughts Vol. 8 Pt. 1

More stream of consciousness. Here goes! I want to catch up so badly so I can suffer through... whatever happens in Volume 10 with you guys. I'm scared. :)

[All images are from Trigun Maximum Volume 8.]

Love that Knives can't do anything without being absurdly extra about it. It's not enough to go and invade human towns, he's got to have his giant-ass spaceship hover over everybody. He needs to loom. He needs to loom so badly.

Ah, once again, Knives denying Vash autonomy over his body. Also talking about "using" Legato too, which just goes to show how Legato is basically just a tool for him (though I don't think Legato particularly minds).

"I have seen them throw our spent corpses away like garbage." <- "our", yet another instance of Knives not really drawing a distinguishing line between himself and Vash/his sisters. Treating them all as one.

[ID: A close up of Vash's face, grimacing and sweating, saying "Believe me, Knives, I have seen the dead Plants. All of them had the black hair. They weren't the bodies of Plants who had lived their natural lifespan. They were the bodies of Plants who had been abused and pushed past their limits. End ID.]

This panel, with his own black hair emphasized, plus the way Vash is finally able to verbalize some blame on Knives and includes himself in the Plants that humans are forced to rely on, is interesting and encouraging development. Vash too, has been pushed past his limits, time and time again. But this reframes it less as self-punishment or "deserve" and more like responsibility he feels obligated to take on, because literally no one else can. The saddest part of this is that nothing will change for the better at this rate, because all of Vash's energy is (quite literally) being sapped just playing damage control against his own brother's actions. I often wondered why we didn't see Vash interacting with the other Plants a little more or focusing his help on them - and while I think there's interactions we're probably not seeing behind the scenes, Knives' actions kind of force Vash to prioritize the humans in all this, because he cares about both humanity and his sisters... which really sucks for the sisters, who are still being drained and hurt. It's frustrating, overwhelming, and feels like you're stretched far too thin when you're caught in the middle like this. And it's not that he's necessarily okay with this - he isn't. I think this kind of proves he knows and understands how cruelly he's treated. But unfortunately, this kind of thing can happen to people who care too much... Vash's dehumanization (for lack of a better word) in all this is misery inducing. (Also as a bonus, check out the panel where Knives is talking about the sisters being oppressed and murdered - his hand is doing that thing again where he covers her face, even though it's a gentle gesture!).

"There will be screams and shouts and then there will be silence." <- I'm sorry this is horrific but all I can think about is the llamas with hats skit - "That is what forgiveness sounds like. Screaming and then silence." Hhjskdhbvjdfhbv

Wolfwood is trying not to kill them (!!!!!!!!!)

Ughhh Livio's guns are literally strapped to his arms. His function is to be a living weapon, indeed. Combined with the guns also looking like crosses it's just... ugh.

See, here I will concede that Knives makes a good point. Vash says "that's the way it is" and Knives says "who says this is the way it has to be?" 100%, out of context, I'm with Knives. "Things take time", sure, but immediate action should always be taken to minimize the damage in the here and now. People are still hurt in the time it takes for large-scale change to occur; you can't just wait for things to change. Unfortunately, adding the context back in, minimizing hurt has never actually been Knives' goal. He's still thinking on a near-absolute level here. And worse, every added year they waste fighting each other, they could've been working to find better solutions for their sisters - the situation probably would've improved a lot faster if they had been a united front. But Knives refuses to listen, because "helping" was never his primary goal to start with. It reminds me a lot of people who want to punch bad guys instead of support their victims. People who want to be right, instead of do right. Do you see what I mean?

"Keeping yourself from feeling the pain and never finding the true source of it." <- because Knives would rather invent an enemy than confront his own fear... it's not an easy thing to do, but you have to try if you ever want to heal... the only actions we can ever truly control are our own...

Fuck Chapel man.

So, Knives' plan is not just to rescue the sisters but also to absorb them??? All of them??? Does... does he know if he can handle that? Are the sisters like. Chill with this or...? The imagery of it all is so incredibly beautiful though... I would screenshot several pages of this but it would take up too much space.

[ID: Two panels, one with the absorbed bodies of Plants in an indistinct mass, and the next showing Knives standing at the top of a large grate, filled with the merged bodies of Plants. End ID.]

Bro...? I am confusion. How. How does this help them. It's like he's storing them so they can't be used... I mean I suppose that's better but. ???

Badass Elendira moment!!!

Oh man I love the way this builds. It all feels so futile. No one seems happy or satisfied. Starting with the random people and the outsider view. The concern and then the dawning horror as they realize what's happening. The ethereal pages of Knives absorbing the Plants, only to show they're essentially being placed in a cage. He's not smiling and his face is grim. The focus on the death of a random character. Vash and Legato are locked in a stalemate. Back to outsider view as Zazie witnesses the devastation. Focus on Wolfwood, bitter and guilty. Back to the outsider pov and the panels that grow more and more hectic and cruel in their depictions. The break with the quiet panels of the desert. ...seven months later. It's so incredibly cinematic and visceral. I must say, I was not expecting such a large time skip.

AHHH GIRLS!!!

Luida my beloved. Her and Meryl are so similar in their desire to help, their insider knowledge on Vash, and their struggle between kindness and pragmatism, and it's really cool to see.

I wonder... can Plants only communicate through dreams or memories? ...Knives falling asleep again randomly too... he is eepy from all the world domination and the exhaustion of isolating himself for 150 years. :(

I'm so sorry but I really do think it's funny that Knives' plan is just "I'm going to store my siblings (yes, all of them, even my twin) in some containers and put a grate over it. Surely this will solve everything."

The Plants are brain-blasting him???

Badass Elendira moment number 2!!!

WOLFWOOD'S BACK YEAHHHHH

Vash is controlling the angel arm?!

No sorry, this whole sequence is insane! Wolfwood acting on his own free will! The two of them tag-teaming Legato just by reading each other after 7 months without contact! Wolfwood braving death! Vash braving the use of the angel arm! They trust each other enough to face what they have been so afraid of! Holy shit!

[ID: Blood covers the floor, the rest of the background is pale white. Wolfwood is slumped over the Punisher, as Vash shields him. Vash has sprouted numerous wings and feathers in a dramatic spread as he says "No, you are not lost, Wolfwood!" End ID.]

AHHHHH?????? AUGH. He heard his prayer? Literally heard it? Are you fucking for real right now? And look at the way he's not just shielding him - you can see in this and the next few pages that he's also supporting him... gently lowers him to the ground... Wolfwood reaching up as if to touch him... Vash not even knowing who Chapel and Livio are but being angry enough to threaten them with the angel arm, of all things. AUGH.

I love the severity of this situation, the build, the declaration from Vash that he is now fighting for Wolfwood, Knives rapidly losing control of the situation, you know, all that good stuff... and then there's just. This.

[ID: The first panel is of the interior of the ship, covered with multiple instances of the sound effect ガ for clanging, interspersed with "ooph!" "ow!" "oof". The next panel is of tiny Vash and Wolfwood falling through open sky, having fallen out of the ship. End ID.]

...pinball machine. Lol.

Knives was unable to follow through on killing Vash. I mean. We all knew but still. Then he helplessly reaches out with his other hand... the one without the power he absorbed... :(

[ID: A photo of young, smiling Vash and Knives on a black background. Underneath, it just says "...it's over..." End ID.]

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Omg finally Wolfwood backstory.

Fuck Chapel!

OMG they're both in blankies... sorry but tiny blanket Wolfwood is my new favourite thing ever. Look at him.

Ahhhh Meryl went to Marlon! Augh and now Vash knows she's still in his corner - because last time he mistakenly thought she was afraid of him when she pulled away... but it wasn't true at all! :')

Man I so hate that it was more of the Plants who were killed in the attack... I know Brad hated it too since he apologized but I just... ugh they're so caught in the middle of this whole conflict, and we don't even know if they wanted any of this.

Ah, and Wolfwood's leaving... :/

[ID: A blank white panel with the words "Needle-noggin...". Next panel, Vash looks over, paying attention. Next panel, Wolfwood stares ahead distantly. The final panel is half of Luida's face, a flashback where she is telling Wolfwood "Yet he keeps moving... through his own never ending hell." There are several ellipses from Wolfwood. End ID.]

^Ok, I saw this earlier and Wolfwood leaving kind of confirmed what I thought might've been the case here. He already knows the Ark is headed toward the orphanage; that was what he was trying to persuade Livio to help him with; to protect their home together. I really do think Wolfwood was on the verge of asking Vash to help him here, before he apparently changes his mind and switches to asking Vash to stop Knives instead (which is... what he's already been doing. It's rather unnecessary for him to ask Vash to do this imo). The gap is this memory of what Luida told him. Whether it's that Wolfwood feels they should both be moving forward through their own personal troubles alone, or whether he feels Vash already is dealing with too much to burden him with anything else (my money's on the latter personally, given we see him with a similar sentiment in Volume 7), I do think whatever he was going to ask initially was not what he ended up saying aloud. Maybe I'm delusional. Idk.

!!! Wolfwood spinoff! :D

WAIT is this a prequel or something? This girl assumed he was a priest and Wolfwood just starts sweating nervously "um... yeah... that's me" hdjfhbvsdjfhbv

AW he knew her as a baby... ah, he's always ended up kind of responsible for others, huh?

Ok but this is kind of funny. "Can't believe she didn't remember me..." My dude this girl was like two years old.

Why does Orekano have a cross on his outfit???

Oh fuck this dude he's creepy.

The bird carving... :')

#trigun #trimax #trigunbookclub #storyrambles

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lovexpeacexdonuts · 1 year

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Not sure how many folks will see this, but I wanted to share a PSA for episode 11 of Trigun Stampede.

This week’s episode has a lot of extremely intense themes and visuals.

It’s done very well, but it was pretty triggering and I sort of wish I had waited to watch it back to back with next week’s episode. I wanted to share some info in case anyone else struggles with watching certain themes like I do, whether it’s live action or animation.

Spoilers, thoughts, and descriptions of potential triggering content under the break.

- This was heavily hinted at from the preview, but Vash is essentially tortured (mentally and physically) for this entire episode.

- While in Vash’s (semi-warped) memories, we see child-age Rollo get vividly shot in the head on screen

- Meryl spends the episode watching Vash going through everything and the secondhand helplessness as a viewer is distressing as hell

- The memory scene with Tesla, while brief, is incredibly disturbing. The twins discover dismembered pieces of Tesla’s body floating in separate containers, after which a status of “ALIVE” is shown for her on the data screen. Felt genuinely nauseous at this part

- Knives manipulates Vash into thinking the Big Fall was his fault entirely, that the humans being killed was just a result of Knives acting out of love (protection) for Vash

- As the episode progresses, Knives is essentially destroying Vash’s memories and erasing all the connections he has made mentally and emotionally with humans. This ends with Rem being decapitated by Knives in Vash’s last remaining memory - thankfully she stylistically bleeds geraniums instead of blood, but it’s still pretty damn grim

- The reveal of Vash’s vines/wings having some degree of involvement in the plants becoming/looking pregnant was super uncomfortable. Not quite sure how to word this, but it sort of gave off forced group rape vibes??

- Overall, potential triggering content: gore, torture, body horror, bodily autonomy being totally destroyed and ignored, gaslighting by a loved one, etc

I love this iteration of Trigun, and I’ve watched every other episode of this season multiple times, but I’m not sure if I can watch this one again. Phenomenally done, but I feel sick to my stomach seeing Vash go through all of this, maybe because he’s been so loved by myself and others for over 20 years.

Ramble over, love and peace to you all x

#trigun stampede #trigun stampede episode 11 #just a psa #content warning

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blankticket · 22 days

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8, 14, 15 (lol)

8) Do you genuinely want Vash to be happy? What do you think would make him most happy in life?

i wanna say no so bad but i think i've been letting him find happiness in spirale anyway so what the fuck do i know. i know he thinks he's at his happiest when he's siphoning away his lifespan to heal Plants, but i want him to find happiness in things that aren't that. i want him to find happiness in other people, in moments and places he wouldn't be able to have back on NML, and i want him to keep trying to find the good ol love n'peace within himself, too

the climax of the finale (which isolan stampvash has experienced thanks to giant challenge) has felt like ample evidence to me that vash is truly at his happiest when he's fully recognized his own identity and autonomy, independent of anyone else.

i think that even if his brother showed up in spirale i wouldn't see the inevitable conflict as a threat to that happiness. as vash has proven in the finale of the show, there's nothing naï or anyone can do to truly change who he is.

…it's just that he also happens to then murder his brother and obliterate an entire metropolis immediately after the fact, so he's got some efforts to put into realizing all that again. but hey that's what i'm here for

14) How would you describe Vash to someone about to meet him, in person, for the first time?

well first i'd ask "why the hell are you doing this, in what world is this a good idea please get out of there asap". but once we're past that i'd say that vash is deceptively earnest (and deceptive besides), that his heart's in the right place even if his ego's well broken the atmosphere, and that letting him befriend you is up to you but please know that he literally does bring destruction everywhere he goes—guy's got a giant bounty on his head and a giant revolver on his hip, pay no attention that it shoots .22s because his .22s are different different

15) Would you like Vash as a person if you met him in real life?

FUCK no!! lmfao what a horrible concept. every day i'm grateful that he's not real

#thaaaank youuuuuuuuu #answered asks.#out of character.#punisheye

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amoirsetpacis · 5 months

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need to go crazy about vash characterization for a minute sorry

There's this Twitter post going around that's like "vash tries so hard to be friend shaped that he even often fools the reader into forgetting about how dangerous he is" and its like MAN!!! MAN!!!!! THATS NOT THE WHOLE PICTURE!!!

The thing is is that he IS that way!!! He IS silly and friend shaped!! But it's fucking nuanced!! It's like. Waves hands vaguely. A fucking oroboros type situation. Genuinely silly and gentle guy who very much is dangerous but sees himself as such a monster so much that he tries to mask any and all negative emotion to overcompensate and make himself TOO friend shaped. Hang on I'm gonna make sense I swear

Like. We see what he's really like. We SEE what he wants to be like!!! But only briefly! We see it for a few panels when he's disguised as Ericks and we also see it for brief moments in front of Wolfwood, who is the only person he's ever trusted as deeply as he does. We see him be a goof, be silly! we see his genuine emotions the most when it's just him and wolfwood ( but even then, half the time he's trying to put up a front !!!! im going to strangle him ) and like. in front of everyone else it's a mix of his over-correction and what he wishes were possible. but also like. how the fuck do i word this. he ACTS the way he would GENUINELY BE sometimes, but does it in a fake way??? does this make sense at all. i feel insane.

Hang on here's some of a rant I've done on him before

Because he IS dangerous! Even if he so badly doesn't want to be! He's been forced into being this dangerous entity, into being "Diablo" and every other name that's been flung at him. The entire series points again and again to his loss of bodily autonomy and how he eventually gets it back, at least to some degree-- and what he's called goes along with that!! But as can be seen in the fight with Monev, he Chooses forgiveness. He Chooses kindness, every time, even if it's difficult. His choices are part of him taking back his autonomy. And he fucking hates himself for having to choose!!! The guilt he feels for it not being the automatic default for him ( nevermind the fact that it is nobody's default-- the forgiveness he extends to everyone else rarely if ever being given to himself ) is enormous!!

But the fact of the matter is, yeah! Regardless of whether or not he chose to be labeled as dangerous, he still very much has the skills to back those claims up! They don't come from nowhere! He literally gouges Monev's eye with the barrel of his gun. We SEE just how angry he's capable of being both during the fight with Livio as well as his encounters with Legato.

( 'they' here refers to both maximum vash and stampede vash )

like. vash is a good person. he's so genuinely good. but the things he does in the name of it and how he treats people while trying to be good and 'shield them' from himself even if they dont need it is undeniably shitty

its just that the longer he's allowed this sort of peace in spirale, the more he's kind of. allowed himself to be less guarded/manipulative. a huge part of this is because of the fact that everything back home is Done. writing him slowly working through these sort of trauma responses to things is fucking wild. how do i word this i have no idea. head in my hands.

did this make any sense at all. i feel like i lost the plot at some point. actually i definitely lost the plot because this was originally about how capable he is of violence. point is he's capable of extreme violence just like knives but chooses to not do so. he fakes being friend shaped to appear harmless but he's NOT harmless but he's still friend shaped. vash hte stampete

#[ ooc. ]#aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA #sorry if this is incomprehensible i got so heated about this first thing in the morning and then capitalism happened #this is basically entirely about maximum vash btw #go talk to drifter abt stampede vash theyre genius. okay bye #thinking about vash too hard makes me feel like those hamster rave tiktoks where theyre running really fast

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screechthemighty · 1 year

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Okay, part two of my Second Read of Trigun notes! We'll see if I get to the TriMax notes tonight, lol, but they are coming next. Those notes will be a lot more incoherent since that was a first readthrough and I had Many Thoughts.

Trigun Notes: Volume 2

Trigun #2.1: Blood and Thunder

Weirdly enough, NML has normal-looking pigeons in the manga

BLUESUMMERS YOU BITCH

Bluesummers aware that Vash’s pacifism is related to Rem’s sacrifice, throws that in his face and says it holds him back–not inaccurate, but RUDE. [Note: does he know this from Knives whining about her? Interesting thought that Knives has complained about his mom to his codependent right hand man]

So Vash is just hanging out and Bluesummers shows up, makes a ton of threats, leaves a severed head and waltzes off…what an intro.

Monev in that basement for 20+ years, corresponds roughly to the Stampede timeline of 20 from his return home to his confrontation with Vash @ the Windmill

Trigun #2.2: Diablo

“You could say that we’re caretakers of these seeds” - another element to Vash being so protective of humanity

“If [Alex] were alive today, I’m sure he’d do the same.” Rem haunted by Alex’s death like Vash will be haunted by hers

Interesting that we never clearly see Knives’ face in the flashbacks and he’s not even visible until he gloats about killing Rem

“Humans are ridiculous. They waste their lives on foolish feelings.” Hi, pot, meet kettle

Vash goes from angry and brooding to smiling (still sad, but smiling) the second Milly enters, but she again catches a glimpse of what’s underneath. Straight up decides she doesn’t want to touch that, though (can’t blame her!) [Note: still obsessed with how observant she is!!!]

Trigun #2.3: Fragile

Content Warnings: Just barely covered anime nudity

“Be still and listen when people are speaking to you” Knives: condescending in every timeline

“No. I’m the one who’s dangerous…hurry up…come and get me!” My dude is in pain and still has the guts to think that…love him

“If I shoot him now, then she’ll die” which stage of grief is this

So he was 100% about to shoot Monev before he remembered Rem…this bad boy can fit so much rage in him

Trigun #2.4: Scars

“Why does so much trouble follow this man? What kind of fate is he carrying?” His identical twin brother sucks, next question

Tiddy grill some kind of protective measure, maybe?

Meryl asks why Vash doesn’t just put away his guns and hide; Vash cites his inability to save Rem and the fact that he hasn’t settled the score with Knives as the reason why he can’t. [Future note: oooooggggh trimax made this worse too]

“I have only two choices: to die or let others die?! Rem didn’t sacrifice herself for that!” he is SO not just talking about himself here.

“From now on, I’m hunting you!” Run, bitch!!!!

Trigun #2.5: Slaughter Cafe

Content Warnings: Mention of rape and sex slavery, onscreen gore

Okay, I don’t condone murder but these dudes were SO asking for it

Irony of the guy formerly denied all autonomy turning that back on those who hurt him? [Note: I feel like there’s a lot to unpack here actually]

Legato blaming Vash for him losing his patience…buddy you can say you have trauma and a grudge, that’s justifiable! [Note: Honestly, this moment strikes me as interesting in light of him condemning those who “let” him be violated as the same as those who hurt him…or does he figure that it doesn’t matter if he kills them now because they’ll die later, so him intervening in the moment is just a lapse of judgment? Again lot to unpack here]

Trigun #2.6: Gathering of the Devils

“[Legato’s] eyes were bottomless. I couldn’t read any truth in there.” -Vash

WOLFWOOD!!!

“That’s one well-prepared dead guy” Nightow sir…Don’t

“I’m a priest” Everyone: X to doubt

“Let me guess, your life’s full of nothing but trouble” Yeah, WW, you could say that

Wolfwood: It’s not exactly like that Me: Oh, I know

I also get SUPER nervous about the Eye having confessionals like. What in the blackmail material [Note: They never do end up doing anything with this outside of it being a signifier of Christianity–a smokescreen on Wolfwood’s part, maybe? To seem like a regular priest? Though with the EoM being a more widespread cult in Stampede timeline, I feel like you could still do something with that]

Vash indicating that the orphans shouldn’t steal because WW has no money himself–wouldn’t have snitched if he had?

“I see you hurtin’ and grinnin’ just to bear it.” HHHHHH…calling him out within seconds! Seeing the true nature of another! Flipping that cross timelines!!!

Trigun #2.7: Eye of Invisibility

Honestly obsessed with the design of manga!Jeneora Rock

Can’t tell if that’s supposed to be blood or cremation smoke…both options bad

Update, it’s probably blood

How did I only just now notice he never fixed his arm…he’s LITERALLY about to beat her one-handed

Trigun #2.8: Fifth Moon

Content Warnings: Suicide by fall, gore, anime nudity (Knives has no visible dick), suicidal thoughts

Screams internally

LBR Vash wasn’t just using the pain in his finger

So WW is already dissatisfied with the work he’s doing and having second thoughts, but also convinced he can’t get out–”If I run, I’ll be devoured” [Future note: You give up so easily, Wolfwood]

Meryl smacking the shit out of Vash when he tries to get her to run…gutsy play LMAO

Crazy-eyed, long-haired Knives is 100% on my s2 wishlist NGL

Took a second read to see but uhh yeah “shattered” is a good way to describe that spine

Insert that tumblr post about this somehow still meaning Legato is his favorite here

WW watching all this like “what the actual hell did I walk into” is the only comedy I get

“You’ve hurt so many more than you’ve killed, and compare that to all the destruction you’ve caused…so shouldn’t you point that thing somewhere else?” SHUT up you weird gaslighting man!!!

I MISSED ON A FIRST READ THAT HE SHOT HIS OWN LEGS TO CHANGE THE ANGLE, AY YO??

“Maybe we–I–should have never been born” OOF

“Is this from the Hand of God? Answer me, Vash the Stampede!” Buddy he doesn’t have an answer to that

Trigun: Day In, Day Out

“Mr. John P. Smith (Alias)” Vash…

“He made it through another day with no casualties! Well done!” Lmaoo

Also the fact that he plays with the neighborhood kids…Baby

Trigun: Pilot

Vash encouraging her to keep looking–”I don’t think you’re stupid enough to ignore those on whom your life was built?”--bit of projecting? Especially WRT his feelings on Rem as the foundation of this world?

“How’s it feel, Sheriff? Being at the mercy of a stray mutt?” (Vash) Absolute BANGER

“Vash the STampede. A man whose name means ‘reckless.’” Sure does, damn

#screech reads trigun

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