#meanwhile tristamp is like

[vitasexualiiis]

when you ship something and it has like NO porn 🤮🤢🤮🤮🤮

#bsd fandom fucking needs to step up #whats wrong w you ppl #this fandom is so unhorny #and so…..safe lmao #sorry but this show is a sadomasochistic literature fans wet dream #and you guys are like #oh what if all the characters were normal actually #and not having fucked up murder sex #what if it was all boring a/tsuaku coffee shop au #potential wasted!!!1 #aughhhh!!! #meanwhile tristamp is like #here have egg incest #theres eggs and incest #thank you plantcest finally some decent fucking food

[revenantghost]

Y'know, in Tristamp, Vash gets his spiky hair from his plant powers, so I'm just saying it would be absolutely hilarious if all of his hair stood up on end like a cat's while he's in Eriks mode

#Trigun #Tristamp #Trigun Stampede #Can you imagine Lina and Sheryl just watching and being like uhhhhhhhhh #Bonus points if Vash's amnesia is real and he has no idea what's going on #There's much screaming #He's lights up like a glowstick #Absolute disaster child #Meanwhile Meryl and/or Wolfwood could be there sighing like 'Well this might as well happen'

[realseascourge]

Some expression practice doodles with some Knives.

#myart #my art #digitalart #digital art #artists on tumblr #artists of tumblr #trigun #trigun stampede #Tristamp #Millions Knives #Knives Millions #Nai #Trigun Fanart #Fanart #Doodles #Practice #I really love how '23 Knives looks like he'd trip me over to steal my lunch money before he like flays me alive. #Meanwhile '98 Knives looks like the polite fella who snaps and stabs me a million times because I breathed funny for a moment.

[threegunbrainrot]

I look at the 98 anime with a fond fascination. It’s based off of only the original couple issues of Trigun plus like I want to say the first 4? Of trimax. And bc of how many things get developed and revealed much more down the line in the manga, it’s so interesting to think about this offshoot of the original source material where things didn’t quite ramp up to the same scale but still got to the heart of things anyways, where everyone’s backstories played out just a little to the left and led to a similar but different tale. Trimax is definitely my favorite, bc just everything about it is so well done to me, but 98 holds its own unique spot in my favor

i definitely agree anon ur So right

it's practically a branching timelines situation, where everything is so, SO close to being the same, but thanks to the butterfly effect everything got skewed ever so slightly and now the whole world is just that much more different

call it parallel universes, alternate dimensions, alternate timelines... i really love it all. there's so many specific parts of both trimax and 98 that shine brighter and dimmer than one another. unique pieces of the narrative that were either expounded or brushed aside.

like in 98, meryl didn't want to believe that vash was the legend she was looking for. it was a ridiculous notion that such a friendly, goofy guy could be the bloodthirsty killer she hunted for

but in the manga, she and milly took to it instantly. in fact, they jumped into it with AGGRESSION- actively getting involved in the fighting and PUSHING to calm the situation down. this panel in particular i think sums it up very well lol:

they meet him with confidence and they're not afraid to fire upon others for the sake of collective peace. vash is caught off by how readily he's approached and even defended, in a way. when the automatic reaction to learning his identity is usually either hostility or fear, it makes sense.

and i dont have a convenient shot of any particular moment in 98 that portrayed their early relationship well, but it's easy to see the differences anyway.

instead of steady confidence, meryl met vash with confusion and outright denial for awhile. she and milly both got involved in fewer fights overall i think? but i might be wrong. i won't speak much on this since i don't remember 98 very well, but i get the sense they sought out vash's fights much less in that rendition (at least early on. they went CRAZY toward the end- meryl especially).

and there's countless little differences like this.

so yeah, even if trimax is the source content, 98 is this funky little spinoff that treats vash just a little bit more nicely lmao. the whole thing is a little more watered down, i think; intentionally to make it more palatable. i still love it regardless, of course. it just oozes charm <3

#trigun #trigun 98 spoilers #trimax spoilers #trigun spoilers #my post #i love all renditions for wildly different reasons #i think trimax would jump to my top fav a lot faster if it was only a little easier to follow #sometimes theres so much motion and chaos that it's impossible to tell what's going on #and not all speech bubbles actually link to who's talking #but in terms of plot and content and such trimax definitely takes the cake. it RADIATES source content vibes like a hunk of radioactive #sludge. meanwhile 98 is more chill and goofy... at least until it suddenly whips around and punches you in the gutt #i'll never forget that donut scene for as long as i live. when vash just breaks down crying in public to be so surrounded by life and #normalcy after everythign that happened to him and wolfwood. god. GOD. it was so expertly done i swear it rewired my brain #and tristamp is just so beautiful. it's so crisp and full of life and color and motion. studio orange is incredible #theres so many wide panning shots of the world and so many parts that just make me SCREAM cinematography #oh and the plot's good too LOL #but in all seriousness i adore tristamp plot too. it's taken the OG content and remixed the whole thing in all the best ways #i think the intent is to make it all feel new and fresh to old fans who already more or less consumed the same story twice #but yeah #boy i never have a goddamn clue where my tag rambles are gonna end up #thanks for the ask anon! #i had fun writing this

[beesinspades]

I love trigun so much.....i love vash so much.....it just feels so special. it's literally become my muse I've never drawn this much in my entire life I'm just so enamored with it and vash and aaahhh. a few weeks ago a friend told me that it's like vash was made in a lab specifically for me and I mean. yeah. I love him I love him so so much he's literally my dream fictional character it's like I won the fictional character jackpot. he's so so special to me nightow I owe you my life

#and my sanity this year #bee talks #SORRY I JUST!!! FEEL FEELINGS!!!!! #god I don't want this hyperfixation to pass #I can't bear to think of the day I'll see art of him and feel nothing #I hope he's special #I hope he's the one #I hope he's my lugia of humanoid characters #(lugia was my first ever fave fictional character I love them since I was 6 and unlike all my other hyperfixations this one stayed) #(like it's just been in the background my whole life I still collect things about lugia and look forward to lugia things) #(meanwhile doctor who was my biggest hyperfixation it lasted 4-5 years and it was literally my whole life. #but now you couldn't get me to feel a fraction of the excitement I used to feel over it. even with david tennant coming back. I'm excited! #but it's not the same. so yeah I hope trigun and vash are a new lugia. I think they could be. I want them to be.) #anywayyy sorry I'm weird #also re: vash made in a lab for me it's so funny because it's really 100% exclusively about his character #apart from the wings and scars thing it's got nothing to do with his appearance #and it's funny because originally I saw trimax vash after getting into tristamp and I was like 'ugh I don't really like how he looks here' #FOOL!!!!! #now he's my favorite and I draw him the most smh #but yeah peak example of a character's appearance growing on me because he's beautifully written and ticks all my boxes #confession though: I still don't like '98 anime and pre-trimax manga vash's look 😔 I'm a tristamp and trimax only #'98 vash looks great when he's sad though :)

[orcelito]

Honestly I have realized that 99% of my shipping of vashwood comes from trimax. Yea I vibed with it while watching tristamp but trimax is what took my utter heart and soul

It's to the point where I just don't rly enjoy tristamp vashwood that much anymore hfkshfjd like. OK? Those sure are some dudes. Not My dudes tho, sorry.

#speculation nation #i'll still reblog the fanart if it's good. but yea it just ain't what im about anymore. #i feel like the worst vashwood perceptions r found within tristamp only fans anyways #(this post tangentially related to the post i just reblogged) #tristamp only fans see these two and are like 'this is the Angry Buff Dude and the Tiny Pixy Man' #which pretty much erases like everything they stand for? while also supporting racist caricatures. #not all tristamp only fans do this btw but i have definitely seen it much more around there. #meanwhile trimax vashwood is just like. this is an old married couple. theyre so hopelessly Goofy. #the angst is off the CHARTS. the love even more so. #they very genuinely love each other in trimax In Canon and that's what really gets me. #plus theyre pretty similar in height and build. Adult Men!!!! i like this ship for Adult Men!!!!! #idk this also relates to that post i made yesterday about fandom perception of vash being an innocent uwu virgin #despite being 150 or so years old. & they'll also make wolfwood some sex god or whatever #when comparatively hes been an adult for a MUCH shorter time than vash. my dude's still a pretty young adult ok #and you wanna tell me he's got more sex experience than the 150 year old dude????? ok... #lol im just complaining at this point. i have very specific views of my ideal version of this pairing #and a lot of fandom portrayals are starting to bother me bc of it. #so im just writing my own vashwood my own way. rn focusing on vash being a rounded person #yes having some childish aspects. but also some mature aspects. he's a goofy adult. it can exist simultaneously. #looking forward to when wolfwood finally comes in. i hope to do him justice.

[aboveweirdest]

PLS the way in trimax Wolfwood literally uses his serum in like 2 situations, both of which are incredibly dire. Meanwhile tristamp Wolfwood just knocks that shit back for funsies. Like...

got shot? serum

punched a little too hard? serum.

chain smoking 3 packs a day? serum!

Vash hurt his feelings? you guessed it. serum

#trigun #trigun stampede #wolfwood #nicholas d. wolfwood #trimax #trigun maximum #tristamp #where are queue and i'm so sorry

[versaphile]

Considering tristamp Vash’s feelings about his plantness compared to trimax Vash. I don’t think trimax Vash had any real engagement with his powers prior to Knives forcing them out of him in July. And then once that happened, trimax Vash is just incredibly upset by any manifestation of his powers until the whole escape from the Ark where he finally gains control over them and uses them defensively with intent. Which makes sense. Aside from the initial traumas of Tesla and The Big Fall, it seems like Vash just kinda hung out for however many decades. First with Knives, then with humans, and like, he actually allowed himself to become part of the fabric of communities (Ship 3, July). Aside from being functionally immortal and able to commune somewhat with dependent plants, he was basically just a human. His interaction with plants is limited, and what we do see is generally centered on helping humans.

But Tristamp Vash is such a different kettle of fish. First there’s the stronger contrast between him and Knives, with Knives being far more plant-like than Vash and that being a source of conflict between them. And then right after TBF he learns he does have plant abilities. He can help/heal dependent plants, which is enormously powerful and earns him a place in the human community. And then the more dramatic discovery of his drain arm, which of course he promptly loses. So like, that’s a LOT to process for him. He had this part of himself he had no idea about and it was super dangerous but it’s already gone, so— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And he clearly spends the next 140-odd years going around helping his sisters as his main thing. Like, he also enjoys being with humans very much. He cares for both groups. But he isn’t just hanging out like any human. He has a real purpose in taking care of all the plants all over NML. And there’s no way 140+ years of regular interactions with plants and this power doesn’t change his perspective compared to Trimax Vash.

And not only that, but Tristamp Vash apparently had no idea about this Core thing which could be considered either connected to his other powers or as a third power. So that’s thrown at him, but even though it’s tangled up in uhhhh the whole JuLai fiasco, once all that is unlocked, he bounces right back up, embracing his full strength, the wing, uses his powers to make plant bullets (and making a prosthetic angel arm), the whole deal that Trimax Vash took until the very end of the manga to achieve. And I think a big part of his ability to do that is the 140+ years of embracing his plantness, not ignoring it or denying it. Tristamp Vash is just so much more connected to that part of himself, despite his complicated feelings due to Tesla and Knives, and the general threat humans represent to his autonomy and freedom.

Tristamp Vash does hide his true nature from people (wisely so given his off-the-charts value as a plant that can heal plants), but the bounty is a new thing at the start of Stampede, he hasn’t been forced out of human society like Trimax Vash. Being the planet’s itinerant plant engineer has probably made him everyone’s favorite cryptid. Clearly there’s still chaos in his life, as far back as Rollo he has his Stampede/Typhoon reputation. But it’s a gentler one than post-July Trimax Vash starts his story with. The destruction of Juneora Rock is what starts to darken Tristamp Vash’s rep, cemented by JuLai.

And JuLai is very different from July in so many ways. July was an almost completely involuntary action on Trimax Vash’s part, Knives made everything happen and the only part that didn’t go to his plan was Vash pointing the angel arm at him, and while Vash puts the blame on himself he’s not a reliable narrator for it. JuLai, meanwhile, while it still had a lot of Knives violating the heck out of Vash, Vash was able to fight back and come very close to salvaging the entire situation up until the very end. And Knives put himself in the way of the destruction this time, while Vash begged him to stop and save himself.

Vash will of course 100% blame himself for JuLai because that’s what he does, it’s how he copes. And his failure to safely get rid of that energy cube probably feels like more of a direct responsibility, direct guilt, than Trimax Vash maybe kinda pulling the trigger on the angel arm that Knives had really already fired. More relevant is the fact that while Vash’s powers were what caused the explosion, they’re several steps removed from it. It wasn’t Vash’s body that turned into a gun against his will and swallowed JuLai, with all the body horror that provides. Vash reclaimed his self and agency from Knives, put the energy into the cube to stabilize it, tried to get it out, tried to save JuLai and Knives, and it was a direct struggle between the twins that kept Vash from getting all the energy safely into space. Vash is obviously devastated as Ericks, there’s no way he wouldn’t be devastated at having even a fraction of the responsibility for so much destruction and death. But I don’t see why he would feel the way Trimax Vash feels about being a plant and his powers. It’s just a totally different dynamic.

For Trimax Vash, his identity as a plant represents trauma and loss of agency. For Tristamp Vash, his feelings are complicated but overall his identity as a plant enables him. It gives him purpose, belonging, strength. Trimax Vash is more emotionally aligned with humans because he feels more like a human. Tristamp Vash loves humans but I think he does accept himself as a plant to a significant degree. Tristamp Vash’s greater conflict is being stuck between humanity and plants in terms of the survival of both species. He wants to save both but the best he can do is keep everyone alive until he can’t anymore. That’s devastating to him in a totally different way. I think Tristamp overall is far more focused on survival for entire groups instead of the survival of individuals via pacifism vs killing. Tristamp Vash has a bigger worldview than Trimax Vash, who ignores the bigger picture to overly focus on individuals as a source of hope. Trimax Vash wants to save everyone but Tristamp Vash wants to save EVERYONE. Trimax Vash’s pacifism is driven by his Tesla trauma and subsequent suicide attempt/Rem’s efforts to help him. Tristamp Vash’s savior complex is driven by his Big Fall trauma.

#trigun #trigun meta #trigun stampede #trigun maximum #vash the stampede

[leona-florianova]

What I miss in Stampede and I miss it more and more with each episode... are all those people who are just surviving on Gunsmoke, while trying to make the best of it..those people who usually appear only for a moment, but make the place feel much more lively..Living their own stories...They are also a reminder for who its worth surviving and fighting for... All those random, yet charming individuals like: shopkeepers, round grandmas, sheriffs and their deputies, majors, hooligans,  little kids n their parents or guardians, bus drivers, shoemakers, plant technicians, bartenders, fellow travellers, doctors and nurses, postal workers, rude gawkers, soldiers, drunkards, clerks, sandsteamer workers, and gangsters who could change their ways. A WHOLE WORLD OF INTERESTING PEOPLE.

TLDR: I just adore interesting background characters and there are almost none in TRISTAMP

**under the cut is my compillation of some of the background characters from both the manga, few of the 98 episodes.. and like.. most of the background characters from first 7 episodes of stampede..

meanwhile trigun stampede is like

most of the background characters, even the more important ones, who drive the story forward, are either amalgams of many different people from the manga and 98 anime or they are quite bland and too characterless..reduced to parts of the background or collateral... and the world feels much emptier for it. (my love goes to those 3 insect hunters, those guys were great and what i want more of..they were also 2D animated) ...

And not to mention there are only about 8 models of basic citizens with two different skin tones of white, extreme same face syndrome, and most of them are thin except one slightly rounder fella..

there are also only about 2 models of goons for different factions, just with different clothes (the sandsteamer workers are all also the same guy...)

and they all are kinda quiet and vacant... except the masked ones, cause nobody had to animate their lips moving and faces emoting...and except those two ladies who got shredded by knives..

While even more barren world can be charming too, this...

This..this saddens me..

#trigun #trigun stampede #tristamp #text post #the way the soldiers from the sandsteamer just disappeared at some point #and how the bad lad gang dudes served basically no purpose #rant #also rip kaite his act of bravery got switched to wolfwood #i would love to not care about this show at all #but i have trigun brainrot #and i was hungry for more of it for roughly 10 years #tripede #trigun 98 #background characters

[tri-pofdeath]

It's honestly bonkers to me how much tristamp changes Thematically about the story, like every driving factor for the characters/overall story is so completely different in a way that I'm like...unsure if I've ever seen an adaptation Do. I know ppl like to say like, oh it's actually a pretty faithful adaptation bc it references xyz little manga thing, and. Nah man. The same Things can happen and characters can have more or less the same Deal and Traits but if their motivations are different it's still going to be a completely different story.

Like, okay, take the GHGs- in trimax, they're a ragtag group working with Knives (mostly, rip midvalley lol) by choice all with their own reasons, and they're all outcasts of some kind as well. This meshes with the overall theme of this world being a harsh one that is unforgiving to outcasts, and how violence is the easiest way to take that power back (also backed up by Vash's pacifism leaving him riddled with scars). Meanwhile in tristamp the GHGs are all human experiments made by Knives and forced to go after Vash. In this story, he is someone who takes what was done to him and does it to others, and uses this to get what he wants- he does it to the humans he employs and he does it to the dependent plants at the end of the season. Meanwhile, trimax Knives makes alliances (however uneven and uneasy) with both humans (GHGs) and plants (he doesnt force the plants to fuse with him, he asks for their help) . These are!! COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS

Vash is cold as a child (and this is what keeps him from ending up like Knives) and is as powerful if not more powerful than Knives in trimax, whereas in Tristamp he's an underdog immediately who doesn't live up to the expectations of his species and is drawn to humanity through that. Livios story in the manga is about being failed so repeatedly that a Murder Cult is his best option, whereas in tristamp it's about trying to protect and preserve the family he's found for himself. Elendira goes from being a trusted and powerful ally of Knives who is again, like all of the GHGs, a notable outcast (her transness is commented on many times much to her dismay) to ....a manifestation of Knives obsession with his trauma as a recreation of Tesla. They all have the same names and same concepts going into them but are fundentally so deeply different because of what their stories are About

And I'm not trying to say "tristamp is BAD because it's DIFFERENT". I'm sure u can infer i have a Preference here but what I'm trying to say is, these are apples and oranges that are both called oranges, and if you bite into both of them expecting them both to be oranges you will be disappointed (haha orange joke, haha apple jo-) I've seen a lot of people try to read/interpet Trimax through the lens of Tristamp and come out confused or just....wrong??? About a lot of things, or decide the issues they're facing w it are because Nightow is, idk, a bad author or something (stop this please i beg). If you really want to analyze these stories you truly cannot do it from within the framework of the other

#lmao hi new followers hows it going #how tf did i get 2 of you While Writing This #anyway i am tired of ppl trashing nightow and then turning around to sing studio oranges praises Stop That I'm so tired #bitching

[anachronistic-falsehood]

your feminine coded vash rambles got me thinking about the themes of infantalization vs adultification where you have Vash, a character who is over 100 years old, who is constantly talked down to for his morality. People act like he's immature because he is seemingly cheerful and kind and they equate that with innocence, knives seems to think Vash will come to his side once he "grows up" enough to let go of his attachment to humans. Vash's kindness and nurturing nature, traits of his equated with femininity, are looked down on as immature. Meanwhile Wolfwood, a character literally forced to grow into an adult body as a child, seems to be considered more mature. He is forced to make tough decisions, put into the position of caretaker. It's easy to equate his contract to protect the orphanage to a child getting a job too young to help support his family.

YES. oh my god. The infantalization. it's insane. He's over a hundred years old (i think he's actually closer to 200 in tristamp?? wild) and he's treated as this naive little kid just because he's a kind person. He's gentle and caring and he loves the world and its people so so much. And yes! Maybe he is a little too optimistic. But he's not naive. He knows what people are like, and chooses to care for them anyway. He makes the choice to love and to care and be kind. He's not going to grow out of these ideals; they're part of who he is!

And Wolfwood. ough. Yeah. He's got a much more pessimistic view of the world, and those views are treated as the realistic ones. But guess what!!! He was forced to grow up way too fast! He might even still be under 20 in Tristamp. He has nowhere near the level of experience that Vash has, but he's still viewed as the more "mature" one, just because he plays a very different role and believes in different things. And like. In the manga, the reason he joined the Eye of Michael was to help the orphanage. He left and became what he is now partially so he could work and support them! it's just. such an interesting part of his character. god. i love trigun.

#trigun #trigun stampede #whiskeys word soup #dude this shit drives me insane like nothing else lemme tell u

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Another thing I just noticed on my 500000th tristamp rewatch is that Knives is piloting the escape craft/pod. The scene goes by so fast that the details are hard to notice, but they’re there. Which I guess isn’t a big deal at face value, but if you consider that someone had to teach Knives how to handle the craft, then it becomes a lot more interesting to dig into. And someone definitely did teach Knives, and they taught him very well. When Rem brings them to the craft, Knives goes ahead of Rem and Vash and jumps onto right seat and he does it with a little-grab and jump that speaks to ease, he knows where to go and where to sit. Meanwhile Vash is being coaxed onto the craft by Rem and he crawls in with a lot less grace while Knives is already sitting down. Knives has his sea legs, he knows how to get on and off of the craft, he’s comfortable with it and in it from what we see already, Vash is not. Knives has clearly spent time with this craft or something like it, because he knows it, and Vash obviously doesn’t.

When Rem shoots them out of the hatch Knives grabs at some lever? it looks like a joystick or a like manual transmission stick for a car so it’s definitely some kind of control, when he touches it several displays spring up and he’s constantly looking offscreen to them throughout the rest of scene. But before that, he physically yanks Vash back and against his seat when Vash reaches for Rem, and it’s only then that Vash and Knives’ harness/seatbelts engage, and it’s only then that Knives goes ahead and grabs that lever. So Knives knows the systems of the ship, knows when and how the safety protocols will engage and knows how to work navigational controls. (Also, while they are flying backwards out of the escape hatch not once does Knives look up to Rem, while Vash is still reaching for her the entire time, but Knives keeps his attention down on the controls)

When they are out of the ship, in the wide shots we get of the escape craft, we the see it actively dodging debris and the other freefalling ships around it, which, it could be that the craft has built in AI piloting capabilities or built in defensive maneuvers, but that’s rather unlikely for a simple escape pod, so it’s Knives who’s maneuvering the craft via those controls we saw earlier. And he does it extremely skillfully. Not once does the craft come into contact with any of the debris or even come close to any danger except for the explosions, but those are given a wide berth too. We talk about Vash dodging Matrix style, but that’s what Knives is doing here, albeit in another context. And that can be his plant reflexes/abilities at work too. On the planet surface we see the escape craft has landed relatively intact, and both Knives and Vash are physically (not mentally though, R.I.P to Vash in those scenes) unharmed, so Knives landed the thing without much incident.

All this is to say, who taught him? Well, Rem, of course. Rem was the on-duty navigator on SEEDS 5. She was responsible for keeping the ship on course and/or even piloting it at times, and it’s likely she taught Knives a lot about her work. Naturally she would have offered to teach both twins at first, but it was  Knives who would have shown more aptitude for piloting, he excels in things that require precision and focus, (playing the piano, planning genocide over a century and a half, he’s very quick to work the screens when searching for Tesla’s files) and all throughout out the above scene, he was extremely focused, in direct contrast to Vash, who was scared and distraught. While piloting skills were something that Knives could have learned from databases or the ship’s AI, it’s just simply more likely that Rem would have taught him, she was on-duty while raising the twins and probably had them around while she actively worked, and she taught them about her job or they picked things up themselves(see Vash knowing how to work the engine controls on the Sand Steamer easily and knowing the nav codes for reference) and piloting is something that does require a hands on-approach and a suitable teacher. And Rem would have had the time and access to teach Knives.   And perhaps that was another reason why Rem was so willing to stay behind on the ship, she knew Knives could fly the craft and fly it well enough that he and Vash would arrive safely on the planet below. There was no hesitation when she took them to the craft, she put them in there with the confidence that they were going to make it, and more then anything that was due to Knives knowing how to fly the craft. Tl;dr, Knives was piloting the escape pod from SEEDS 5 ship, and Rem was the one who taught him how to do it, and the reason he was so good at it.

#trigun stampede #trigun stampede meta #tristamp #vash the stampede #millions knives #rem saverem #rem trigun #rem tristamp #vash tristamp #knives tristamp #tristamp knives #tristamp vash #tristamp rem #trigun #trigun analysis

[sutekiniichan]

The meaning of ‘Trigun’ in Trigun Stampede

So. I saw someone pointed out that they found it interesting that Wolfwood uses the Punisher exclusively in tristamp, unlike other canons where he would use other guns if it was convenient. And it got me thinking… And maybe it's wishful thinking on my part since I’m a HUGE Meryl fan, and I recognize a lot of the marketing for the show right now doesn't really reflect this, but…

People have been joking for awhile that the Trigun title doesn’t really make sense in tristamp due to the changes. Vash only has the one gun that Knives gave him, and doesn't seem like he has a gun in his prosthetic like in previous versions of Trigun. But what if the Trigun title this time is referring to the Mashwood trio? Vash has his gun, Wolfwood the punisher, and now Meryl has her derringer.

Despite any perceived 'nerfing' of Meryl, she's actually been elevated as a character of importance in tristamp due to the amount of setup they've given her. They gave her an origin story! They gave her a solid resolve to stay and fight! She knows way more about Vash and Knives and the plants far earlier than she ever has, and Zazie has taken a continued pointed interest in her. Meanwhile, the writing has also even gone out of its way to give Meryl and Wolfwood proper interactions.

So what if The ‘tri-guns’ of Trigun Stampede are Vash, and the two humans who have been singled out as important to him in every canon- Wolfwood, and Meryl?

#vash the stampede #meryl stryfe #nicholas d wolfwood #Trigun Stampede #mashwood #Trigun #Tristamp #trigun speculation #I just want them to do right by my girl I love Meryl so much #even tho she got sidelined a lot she also got SO MUCH SET UP #and I am PRAYING it pays off

[pancake-breakfast]

Trigun Stampede Episode 11 Spoilers

CW: Discussion of rape and abuse

Knives taking control of Vash in July is just so much more visceral in Stampede than it was in '98. (I did read some of Maximum back in the day, but it was still coming out at the time and I remember almost none of it for some reason, so I can't really compare.)

In '98, Knives just kind of forces Vash's arm cannon to go off. Meanwhile, TriStamp goes full-on rape imagery that proceeds to extend not just to Vash, but to all their sisters around them, too. TriStamp Knives doesn't stop at physically violating Vash, either, but proceeds to eviscerate Vash's mind, systematically stripping away everything precious to Vash and replacing it with immense feelings of guilt and self-doubt. It's absolutely an abuse technique, but while most abusers would do it over an extended period of time, Knives forces it all on Vash in a matter of minutes.

And, of course, like so much abuse and rape and the like, it's done fully in the name of love. Knives justifies every action he takes because he tells himself he's doing it out of love for Vash, when really he's doing it out of his own fear of humans and likely of his own isolation. Nai has constructed a world in his head where the only person who can understand him is his twin, Vash. The fact that Vash has never understood certain tendencies of Nai doesn't factor into the calculation. For Nai, there is only Vash. And because of that, he thinks that for Vash, there should only be Nai. Any other option is inconceivable.

While it remains to be seen, it seems like this particular version of events might mess with Vash far more than the version in '98. In '98, he at least retained some of his memories, but in TriStamp? Knives is trying to take away literally everything. He's even ok washing away all previous memories Vash has of himself so long as the version of Vash on the far side of all of this lines up with what he thinks Vash should be. Or can be molded into such.

#trigun stampede spoilers #trigun stampede #vash the stampede #millions knives #anime analysis #pancake thoughts

[needle-noggins]

Volume 7 destroyed me. Part 1 of whatever this analysis is. Lots of talk about childhood trauma. Vash is such a complex character so if there are inconsistencies in my logic here, help me.

So in Volume 7, we get some pretty heavy flashbacks to Vash and Knives' shared trauma of discovering Tesla, and it's juxtaposed with Vash meeting up with Knives in the ark, contrasting then and now. Highlighting how they've changed and developed in response to their shared trauma - which is to say, in opposite ways. And not necessarily just due to their personalities. In fact, I would say that Knives is more sensitive, sweet, and trusting pre-Tesla. Vash is a bit more aloof, although still a good kid.

Also, here's the lily.

White flowers are a common Japanese symbol for death/grief and are primarily used in funerals. Lilies can symbolize purity and innocence (don't quote me on this one though). Rem must have put that flower there and kept it alive. She does say that she opposed the experimentation and regrets Tesla's suffering and death, but this drives the point home in a way that also highlights Rem's character and her love for flowers (which, tbh, seems more of a Tristamp thing I think? Regardless, I hope the next season of Stampede has more Tesla flashbacks with the white lily. That would be a nice nod to the manga).

Back to Tesla trauma. God, it makes me sick. The cold, detached way in which she's described as the "subject" hits home for me because I have to write like that for a living working in healthcare. It's commonplace and required, but man, it's terrifying reading it and understanding that there's 0 compassion in there. Medical ethics (or lack thereof) are my kryptonite. It gets me every time.

To make things worse, it's gory in it's own sterile way. Tesla's body is contained in nice little tanks, but if you look into those tanks... oof. She's riddled with tumors, organs are near-indistinguishable, and her small little child legs make it all the more horrifying. That's a child. With a detached, tiny baby angel arm in another tank. It may be important to note that this is reminiscent of Vash's angel arm (it's the right arm) but also it's the arm that's detached (well, both of Tesla's are, but this one was likely removed first and by Dr. Conrad and the team). Foreshadowing, in a weird way? And Tesla's entire brain is in another tank, with her eye. At what point did this happen? Was she still conscious for that? I want to scream.

Vash is not handling this well. He's the first to cry out about the differences between plants and humans. Also, the composition of that last panel here is incredible - the emotion is palpable. And the eyes?? Eyes of all the humans, watching them as they sleep in the ship, waiting to pounch, or Tesla's eyes, watching from the tank, casting judgement down? Either way, it's evocative. Poor baby Vash. He is so so angry and so scared.

Knives, meanwhile, shatters so badly that he blocks it out and/or represses it without showing a single emotion - as a defense mechanism. This certainly seems more like a Vash-style response, right?

Do remember that these boys are twins. Despite all their differences that have baked in as adults now, they were much more similar as kids. The specific circumstances in their experience immediately post-Tesla then shape them for the rest of their lives and cause the rift between them that we see today (in the same volume, no less). It's nothing but pure tragedy.

Which then brings us to the next scene - Vash, even at such a young age, is already showing tendencies of self-harm and suicidal ideation. He's refusing to eat, wasting away. He'd rather die than live long enough to become another experiment, to be subjected to that torture. There is no safe place for him in this world of humans, and Knives is refusing to acknowledge it (he's literally asleep during this; we love an avoidant king - jk but i'm handshaking w/ Knives; relatable). Rem, bless her, tries to treat Vash to some freshly-cut fruit (also a symbol of familial love in Japan - acts of service and all) but ya know, she forgets the cardinal rule when handling someone who is suicidal - don't let them have access to sharp objects. No knives for you, Vash.

BIG MOM MOMENT. Rem grabs the sharp edge of the blade and lets it cut her to prevent Vash from harming himself. She may not have birthed these boys, but damn if she isn't their mother in every other way. (also, quick point - generational trauma - Rem's grief over Alex's death becomes Vash's grief over Rem's death? I don't have good formed thoughts on this yet).

UGH. The flip side of Rem's blank ticket philosophy - the future is blank, so why throw the present away? There's always, always hope. Isn't that just the overarching message of Trigun?

This is obviously a formative moment for Vash. He never forgets this lesson.

Caveat to this, Vash is still a very self-destructive character as an adult, verging on suicidal without being outrightly so. He has let this moment shape his character, but he still others himself in that he believes this philosophy doesn't apply to him, an Independent. Vash has said before that there's no hope for him, he wishes he had never been born, and he's only really alive to destroy Knives and finish what they started. That's uh, Not Good... what will make Vash want to finally live? (*shhhhh, spoilers!*) Anyway, Vash applies this lesson to Wolfwood in Wolfwood's weakest moment. Vash sees himself in Wolfwood in the "Shoot" moment, no doubt, he sees his fear and anger, even if it's a bit of a different flavor. Wolfwood is simultaneously suicidal in that moment and has this twisted logic of, If Vash can kill me he can kill anyone; this will help him and i'm willing to die for that cause.

Someone tell me their thoughts on this parallel. I kinda just want to scream incoherently about it. That's all I got.

Anyway.

It takes some extra learning in this moment before Vash can figure his shit out. He takes the situation from bad to worse - he's still angry at humans for his pain, still terrified. He's so angry that he stabs Rem - his mother figure, the only person other than Knives that he's ever known and trusted - and instantly regrets it, terrified that he'll lose her (before his worst fears are later realized, and he does and it's his fault, again).

It's like, you know, the feeling when you hurt your sibling because you're so fucking mad at them, but the moment they're actually hurt, you're instantly filled with fear and regret? (THIS WILL COME INTO PLAY LATER TOO I PROMISE.)

I can imagine it's 10 times worse with a parent.

And Knives is asleep! For all of this! I think the one big takeaway with the twins is that Vash has always been the more outwardly emotional one, and Knives has always been more sensitive but withdrawn. Vash expresses his anger outwardly, getting it out quickly, even if it's very destructive in the moment. But this moment teaches him to do otherwise - he sees the result of his anger, and he's terrified out of doing anything to cause harm ever again. Vash tries to kill Rem! Vash, who now wouldn't hurt a soul, even if he wants to! He's terrified of the consequences, and with the added idolization of Rem's memory... yeah. So as an adult, Vash turns away from "flight" and into "fawn" as his main trauma response. He just wants to make things right and he's willing to break a hundred times for it so no one else has to get hurt. (he's also very much a "flight" still, but ya know)

Knives sits back, represses, plots until his emotions have twisted beyond recognition and his resulting actions are a hundred times more irrational and fucked up. Very much "fight". And it's even more terrifying, actually.

When Knives wakes up, he's calm. He's collected. He says he doesn't remember what happened. He's plotting to doom the whole SEEDS project. He's going to kill them all, and he's not showing a single emotion until he's gleefully realized his plan is working. That's horrifying.

I think this is where I'll stop for now. I'm not a therapist or psychiatrist or expert in trauma in any way and this post is quickly running away from me and into a psychoanalysis of the twins, which I just don't feel equipped to do here, never mind have the right words for. But at least this can get a conversation started.

#trigunbookclub #trimax #trimax spoilers #GOD i juST SJKDHGKSJHFKKHS

[latenightfoxhunt]

I feel like trigun maximum just hit that perfect sweet spot of bad DID representation done right. like yes the classic small system, blackout split, with one of them being the stereotypical crazy murderer but there's more to trimax before and after their introduction thats so important. they took all of the DID villain movie tropes, put them in a dying word + a murder cult, and shouted the same thing they've been shouting at everyone for the past 80 chapters: THEY'RE STILL HUMAN, THEY DESERVE A FUTURE!! the same volume they introduce him in is the same volume they get thrown on their redemption arc, because it wasn't DID that was his problem it was their abuser and the thing he made them do. trimax just hits you over the head with all the themes with one character and they're well written and well loved in the rest of the series. they get a cowboy hat and they both purse the cowboy way! the main take away wasn't that razlo needs to be put in a cage, it was hey this protector is trying his best, he has his own emotions, be kind to him. it was really refreshing to see in media and I didn't expect it to come from this.

im afraid that trigun stampede is going to miss the mark. not in a sense that I think they're going to change the ending, but how the story is building up is different. we haven't been shown several instances of the average joe having to kill for personal gain to survive on no man's land, so it makes livio and razlo feel like an individual crazed threat looming over the horizon. it also leans into the horror of episode 6 and 7 and ends up having a demonizing way of depicting disassociation. when wolfwood is in the cell pleading for him and livios just standing there with his eye mysteriously glowing, it gives me the ick. not that there can't be a narrative where both livios and wolfwoods feelings are being recognized in a meaningful way, its more that there's too much time given to ruminate in wolfwoods pov, that the audience is going to see them as threatening longer duration. manga readers know whats coming but a majority of viewers do not. [I did absolutely enjoyed wolfwood pulling him out of disassociation with smell the smell of smoke and calmly saying wake up old friend, it melted my heart. I also thought it was funny when livio shot himself but thats just me and a whole other tangent lmao]

do I think this is going to be better when the series is finished and everyone has all of the pieces? yes, absolutely. its just that the years inbetween their redemption undos what made trimaxs good

TLDR: trimax makes you feel like a fucking idiot for even doubting for a chapter that they were going to stray from their core theme of "everyone deserves a future" just because these guys are a DID system with blood on their hands. meanwhile tristamp finds its faults in the time it takes to get livio and razlo to their redemption arcs because it paints them to be a looming threat more than 2 dudes in a lot of pain.

other systems in the trigun fandom please tell me your thoughts + we should be friends

#but thats just an opinion a systems opinion thanks for watching #we love our wonderful little cowboy tristamp if i catch you doing em dirty we're gonna have even more issues #trigun #livio the double fang #razlo the tri punisher of death #love your protectors everybody #im number 1 let studio orange cook shouter they just worry me #did system #im tagging this just cause if people have it blocked i dont want em to see it