#missing vash and roberto

[stillmevalz]

Trigun Stampede blew my mind with MerylWood. It never ever occured to me in the 8 years I've been in this fandom. They hit me with this

And this

And this

And this

And I just ASSFJFKSKDK

[secondlastk]

i think i like the pacing of trigun stampede waaay more than the original

[mieltelecheycrema]

no cuz tristamp is literally so stunning studio orange just god

[brutermonger]

*sniffle* Missing Roberto Hours 🥺😢🚬📷

I STILL can't find merch of this man! 😭

roberto with an eye patch!!

[fairy-writes]

REAL OR NOT REAL

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Fandom(s): Trigun Stampede

Pairing(s): Vash the Stampede x Reader

Word Count: 0.9k

Genre(s)/Tag(s): Gender Neutral!Reader, Reader is Short, Use of Various Nicknames (smalls)

Notes: I’m also taking this concept from The Hunger Games.

PART ONE HERE

__________________________________________________________________________

After three months, your memories of Vash still haven’t come back.

You ended up visiting the doctor who had discharged you, and he reassured you that they’d likely come back in time.

But you were impatient, and Vash was losing hope that you’d ever get your memories back. That much was obvious. He put on a show that he was fine, but you had the feeling he did that so as to not worry anyone.

He was succeeding in anything but that.

Nicholas noticed. 

Meryl noticed.

Roberto noticed. 

Hell, even you noticed!

So, Meryl came up with a game of sorts. She knew about your strange dreams and the odd flashes of déjà vu you’d get around certain things. Thus, the game “real or not real” was born. It was simple, if not a bit dumb, but it allowed you to voice your thoughts and feelings better than before, so you put up with it. You’d ask a question, like if you had been somewhere before, and then ask, “real or not real?”

More often than not, it was real to some degree. 

Vash came alive at the chance to talk about your previous memories. A small smile played at his lips when he spoke about your adventures. The shenanigans you’d get into. Some of it was before you met Meryl, Nicholas, and Roberto. But you found your heart thundering when he grew near. Your palms grew sweaty, even more so than in the desert sun. You liked it best when he would answer your questions. 

Was this what it was like falling in love with Vash?

“You’re killin’ me, smalls! Just get out!” Nicholas complained as you paused in getting out of the van. Meryl had stopped for a bathroom break in a small town, one you didn’t know the name of. 

“We’ve been here before, real or not real?” You ignored him in favor of asking as a wave of déjà vu washed over you. 

Soft sunsets. 

A declaration of love.

A gentle kiss. 

“Real, though you might want to get out of the van before Wolfwoof gets upset,” Vash said good-naturedly as he clambered out behind you. Now that you were slowly grasping at your fleeting memories, you were more comfortable sitting beside Vash. So, you’d all end up alternating who sat where just to give the middleman a break. Nicholas spills out with a few choice words in your direction, but you pay him no mind. Instead, your eyes are locked on a small tavern just on the edge of the town. 

“You took me there once before, real or not real?” You whisper to Vash, who chuckles and rubs at his undercut, 

“Real,” He says cryptically, not elaborating like he usually does. You frown and look up at him, but he avoids your gaze. 

What was up with him?

After a few minutes, Meryl exits the tavern, having relieved herself and ready to return to the desert road. 

“Actually… Meryl, would you be okay if we stopped here for the night?” You ask hesitantly, and when she stops, you elaborate, “I feel like I have missing memories here.”

At that, she readily agrees, much to the chagrin of Nicholas and Roberto. 

You were supposedly on a time crunch to make it to July, where a man named Millions Knives would be waiting. 

But you weren’t about to pass up on this opportunity, so you wander. Some faces are familiar, some aren’t, but something about this place makes you feel warm and fuzzy. You pass an alleyway where you swear there's the ghost of fingertips at your hips and a mouth on yours. 

But nothing comes of it, so you move on. 

Only to realize you’re being followed. 

At first, you think you’re seeing things—a flash of red fabric here, a smidgeon of blond hair there—but you aren’t stupid. You pick up on what’s happening rather quickly. Ducking down the very alleyway you had passed before, you ignore the phantom brushes of gentle caresses in favor of waiting. 

And when Vash passes by the alley, your hand darts out as quick as a whip and snags his jacket. He yelps as you pull him into the shadows with you. 

He’s close, blue eyes wide behind his glasses and lips parted in shock as he nearly falls into you. He barely manages to catch himself with his hands. 

“You’re following me. Real or not real?” You tease and see a pretty pink flush color his cheeks. He laughs awkwardly, 

“Alright, you caught me.” You grin,

“Well, you weren’t exactly being subtle about it. That coat of yours is hard to miss.” You say and release his coat. 

But he doesn’t move.

Your heart skips a beat as he looks down at you. He looks at you as if you hung the moons in the sky. You remember the feelings you had when you passed this alleyway and got into this town. 

Soft sunsets. 

A declaration of love.

A gentle kiss. 

“You told me you loved me here. Real or not real?” You whisper and see his eyes light up. 

“You remember?” He whispers back, just as softly, if not more so. All you hear is your heartbeat in your ears. Vash is impossibly close, leaning down slightly to meet your gaze as he searches your eyes for any hint of a lie. 

But you wouldn’t lie. 

Not to Vash.

“I’m starting to.” You say, stretching up on your tiptoes to kiss him. You gently hold his face as he starts in surprise. It takes all but a split second for him to respond, and he’s desperately kissing you back like when you first woke up. 

The only difference is this time, you don’t pull away. 

[mordenandmerry]

So I hope we all agree that Trigun is paced and feels like a dnd campaign so here’s what I think the players are like. Not the characters, but what type of people would play those characters

I think Vash’s player would be friends with the dm and accidentally was told all of the lore beforehand. They play dnd a lot though, so they got trusted with having a very lore heavy character. They also may or may not have made their backstory like 30 pages long and had to trim it down. He also has three backup characters that he’s super invested in that he will never play.

Wolfwood’s player was a teifling rogue in their last campaign, and wanted to play something “a little less angsty” so they tried to make a silly priest character. Unfortunately they can’t not write a tragic backstory for their character. The dm was a little upset when his character died so close to the end of the story, but they ended up turning Livio into a playable character and finishing of the campaign as him.

Meryl’s player is the mom friend who really didn’t want to play the mom character as well, but couldn’t handle the chaos otherwise. She’s dating Milly’s player in real life, and they miss a lot of meetings. She’s actually real good with roleplay scenes and a great person to play with (probably because she also takes notes).

Milly and Roberto have the same player, with Roberto being the first character. Roberto is, let’s be honest with ourselves, a lesbians dilfsona. If you’ve played with a lesbian you know they have wanted to play or have played a middle aged man like Roberto at least once. When Roberto died, she made yet another borderline joke character by making a girl himbo. She somehow always makes the characters that are everyone at the table’s favorites on accident. She can’t help the fact that they’re endearing.

[selineram3421]

Song Rec: New Lands-by Justice

Isekai'd

Part 10: Networking 2/2

Part 9

~

Vash (Tristamp) X Reader

Warning! ⚠

⚠ this shit ain't dead, weapons and guns(pew pew), cussing, still in da worm, Wolfwood eats a bug (ew), mention of murder, stomach acid, worm meat, reader is still sleep deprived. ⚠

You blink while climbing and then they're gone.

The three of you were taking glances at the four openings, wondering which one to search through.

Fuck, which one was it? You thought, trying to remember but with little to no sleep all you could think of was- I need a nap.

"Which one would our friend choose?", Vash asked quietly.

"The kiddo is quite the twinkle-toes.", Wolfwood said as he finished climbing over, walking up to the three of you.

"You're toes might be twinkling if you would put down that cross.", Roberto commented, just making it over.

"Sorry big man, can't work without it.", the man in the black suit replied. "You never know when you might need an Undertaker."

The two walked up and stood next to the others and you were still trying to remember.

Who found Zazie again? Meryl? Pretty sure it was Meryl. You thought but waited for Wolfwood to say who goes where.

"We can't waste time.", Meryl said.

"Right.", Wolfwood agreed. "Then let's split up. The far one is yours Needle-noggin."

"Who, me?", the blonde asked looking over at him.

"Little lady, you're next to him.", he continues.

"That's Meryl Stryfe to you."

"Old drunk'l, take number three.", he talks over her.

Roberto sighs.

"This last one is all mine.", he finishes pointing at the last one.

Huh? Wait-

"What about me?", you ask, pointing at yourself.

"Stay here. Who knows if one of us gets hurt.", he says. "Also, it would suck if you died."

Makes sense. You nod.

"Who made you King?", Meryl huffs.

"Hey, we can't waste time.", Wolfwood reminds her.

You wave as they all go and yawn.

After a good couple of minutes there's finally something you remember from your half asleep brain about this episode.

Oh shit, don't Meryl and Roberto go missing for a while?

.

..

...

Fuck-

.

Vash was worried as he walked through the tunnel of the worm.

The medic was gone when he stepped back out, and the only ones who showed up again were Roberto and the Undertaker.

The three assumed that they went to go check on the young reporter but after a while longer the trio decided to search for the other three that were missing.

Walking out of the tunnel like opening, the blonde saw the man in the black suit light up a cigarette.

"I've got nothing. There's no trace of 'em.", he said as he walked over to the man with black shades.

"Nothing here either.", the older reporter said as he came out of the second tunnel.

"I say we call it.", the undertaker said without removing the cigarette from his mouth. "If we don't figure a way out of here, we're dead too."

"Come on. Nobody's dead, ok?", Vash said as he walked over to the undertaker with Roberto following behind him. "As soon as we find them we'll go."

Wolfwood blew out some smoke to the side before looking back at the blonde. "Just jumping to risk your life for theirs, huh?", he said with a sarcastic smile.

Vash was taken aback by the comment.

"Got a God complex or a death wish?", Wolfwood let out a short laugh. "Guess time will tell.", he said before taking the cigarette out and grabbing a flying bug, biting the head off of it first.

The man in black ate the rest of the bug and spit out whatever was too hard to eat on the ground of the giant bug's stomach they were all standing in.

"You only get one life ya know.", he continued and wiped his mouth before grabbing another bug that flew close. "Self sacrifice might satisfy the ego but don't throw your life away.", he said before tossing the bug towards the blonde.

Vash caught the bug and looked at it squirming around in his hand.

"Survival is everything.", the undertaker finished.

The blonde started down at the bug-worm in his hand, letting it go when Roberto spoke up.

"Slow your roll Stampede.", the older man said as he walked to stand next to him. "They always take the first bite to get your guard down, then lace the rest with poison before passing it to you, the target.",he glanced at the blonde before looking back at Wolfwood. "Its a textbook assassination technique."

"Huh?", the black haired man looked over.

The tension got a little thicker due to the current situation. Vash quickly stood between the two and called the man in shades a good guy, but was met with the other reporter missing when he turned back to look at the man.

The two that were left kept exploring the inside of the worm. The blonde calling out the other's names, while Wolfwood was being pessimistic, saying that they might have already died.

Vash cringed at the thought. "It's a little too early to assume that."

As they were talking, a guest of wind pushed them out into the sky and they landed on the sand.

Things quickly turned more serious after the two were swallowed back up by the worm. The strange buzzing noise was coming from the kid that they were traveling with in the worm.

"You're the one controlling the worms.", Vash spoke up.

"That's weird. Regular humans shouldn't be able to hear that sound at all.", they grinned down from the small hill of flesh they stood on. "I guess you're onto me, huh?"

"Did you murder that couple?", the blonde took a step closer as he asked.

"It's funny. Whenever humans see a kid with adults, they assume they are a family."

"Tell me where my friends are.", Vash asks.

"You came back for those three?", Zazie laughed and took off their hat, the disguise they wore changing in an instant, revealing an entirely different look. "I don't get you at all."

The inside of the worm turned red, the walls moved as stomach acid was being produced, starting to drip down and touch the fleshy floor.

"You would sacrifice your life for a tiny chance to save their's?"

"Just give them back!", Vash stepped back to avoid the dripping acid.

"If you're so sure I have them, why don't you make me?", they spun and turned their back on the two, skipping away.

Wolfwood finally revealed what he had hidden under the cloth of the cross, it being a giant gun. The black haired man spun the gun around before he shot at the flesh in a circle motion, the wall giving away and a hole was made.

"Bye, see ya! Well maybe.", Zazie waved and then shrugged. "You probably won't make it out of here.", they laughed before their worm mask covered their face and they flew out through the opening, a small group of bug-worms flying next to them.

"Anyone who tries to eat me has hell to pay.", Wolfwood said, changing the position of his gun. "Make sure your dinner doesn't bite back!"

Then the gun shot out a green lazer beam, which cut the worm clean in half.

.

You stood just a few feet away from the group surrounding the bonfire.

They offered you worm meat but you quickly declined. It didn't feel right to eat any kind of meat from Noman's Land for some reason.

Right now there was something on your mind.

Where did most of the scientists go?

You sighed and crossed your arms over your chest.

If the humans were really from an advanced Earth, wouldn't they have a good amount of scientists within the population? Or was it that one ship that drew the short straw of the pile and had only a specific few scientists.. Hmm....

It bugged you to no end that the ship that crash landed on this hellscape of a planet, with only a couple of civilians.

Why is there little to no technicians, engineers, and alternative energy workers? If this is way into the future of humankind, then surely there would be a handful of these people on the ships. Why is there only a sorry excuse of them working with the plants? Why haven't they tried something else after most of the plants started going red..dying?

Another sigh escaped your lips, feeling more drained than usual.

Is there anything I can do?

Turning to look back, you saw Meryl trying to push Wolfwood and the worm meat away, then turned to see Vash walk over and eat the meat by the fire.

You saw the others make their way to the car and Roberto.

"Huh!? You think you're coming with us!?", Meryl said right behind the man in shades.

"You guys could use an Undertaker with the folks you'll have to deal with. How's half off sound?", Wolfwood grins.

"Gee, thanks but no!", the small reporter responded.

"Ask him why he thinks he can charge us.", Roberto piped up.

The three continue with their banter and Vash turns to look at you before he glances up.

Looking up yourself, you see the sky littered with an almost "northern light stream" of worms.

"Wow..", you mumble.

At some point, your crew of four...now five, stopped to sleep near a plant station.

You knew Zazie would show up again and decided to hide somewhere close to hear the conversation.

"Booho! You made it out fine and earned their trust, right?", Zazie took a couple steps forward to the man in shades. "Now you'll get to kill some friends!"

They leaned down.

"You couldn't care less about taking human lives, be honest.", Zazie smiled.

Wolfwood chuckled. "It's no biggie. I just have to keep my head down and do my job. Whatever that may be."

You were positive that Zazie knew your location, but you weren't dead yet, so you assumed they just wanted to see what would happen next with at least one person knowing.

Another sleepless night I guess.. You sighed as quietly as you could.

Maybe, there was something you could change.

You will most likely have to die trying though.

Thank you for waiting. A lot has been going on. 😭

~Seline, the person.

Next: Part 11

Taglist@

@summerdazed @lunar-archangel @+?

ML Vash | ChL Isekai'd

[cinsketches]

You ever wonder if, after Julai, Wolfwood kept trying to tease Meryl into snapping back at him like she used to, but she’d become so jaded/tired of everything that she just gives him an annoyed look and tells him “Not now, Nicholas.”

A part of him cries on the inside because he misses the little firecracker he came to know during those two months they spent traveling together, and since Roberto and Vash are gone she’s all he’s got left of a time where he actually felt happy for once.

:)

[meguwumibear]

A Night Out Dancing

Tomorrow your party will reach JuLai. Tonight Wolfwood wants to dance.

thank you @/firein-thesky for commissioning this piece for the @ficsforgaza collaboration

The sky above No Man’s Land is inky and starless. The air stale and still. Despite the hour, the world around you is oppressively warm and dry. Nights in the desert are usually bitterly cold. You’re not sure what’s gotten into the weather today.

Vash at least doesn’t seem plagued by strange temperature, but then Vash can sleep through anything, including Meryl’s jerky driving, so the comparison isn’t fair. Meryl’s fast asleep too, tucked neatly into the driver’s seat. You watch her toss and turn for a while, wondering what she dreams of. Someplace nice, hopefully. Somewhere lush and flourishing and green.

Even Roberto seems to have found sleep, albeit at the bottom of a bottle. He’s snoring gently in the passenger seat, mouth wide open, empty liquor bottle still clutched tightly in his hands.

Seems everyone’s immune to the hot desert night but you.

There’s a chance it isn’t the heat keeping you up. It’s possible you’re making excuses, blaming the external world around you for your insomnia so you don’t have to turn inward, so you don’t have to confront your building anxieties about what the future holds for your little traveling party. It’s going to crack and splinter apart, isn’t it? Like that land mass you once read about in a book that spoke of some far away planet called Earth. Pangaea. A supercontinent forced apart by shifting tectonic plates.

Tomorrow, you’ll reach JuLai, and everyone will drift away from you. You’ll spend the rest of your life trying to remember what it felt like to be whole.

Fuck it. If you’re not gonna get some shut eye, you may as well make yourself useful.

Wolfwood is perched on a sand dune, resting against his cross shaped gun, lit cigarette in hand, nearly burnt down to the filter. He takes one final drag of it as he sees you approach, then snubs the thing out in the sand.

“I’ll take over the watch,” you tell him, eyes drawn to the little ‘o’ shape his mouth makes as he lazily releases the final dregs of smoke.

“Not your turn yet, sweetheart,” he replies. “Go back to sleep.”

If only you could.

“Haven’t been able to. Too much shit on my mind. No sense in my staring at the back of my eyelids when I could be doing this instead.”

Wolfwood stares at you through tinted shades he hasn’t bothered to remove despite the darkness of the night. The glasses are a part of his costume, of his carefully crafted mask that even after months of travelling together he’s still hiding behind. He told you he’s an undertaker, but he dresses like a priest. On a runaway Sandsteamer, you learn he is an orphan. You’ve learned nothing since.

“You should take better care of yourself,” he says, as if caring for yourself is easy.

“You’re one to talk,” you reply, eyes giving him a quick once over. It’s been a few days since you’ve spent the night somewhere with a working bathroom. Without a mirror or razor, the stubble on his chin has grown more and more pronounced. The hairs suit him, you think. Your fingers itch to run along his jaw.

“You’re staring,” he observes, mouth crooking into a smug grin because the undertaker or priest or whatever the fuck he is knows how handsome he is.

“Am I?”

Wolfwood stands slowly, brushing beads of sand off him as he does so. You try to keep your eyes on his face, on the slope of his nose, the dimples on his cheeks, but they wander anyway, along his broad shoulders, down his tiny waist. You’ll miss him when this is over, you decide.

“Wanna dance?” he asks suddenly. The question throws you off kilter. How long has it been since you’ve done something so mundane? Will you even remember how? Is it appropriate to dance given what tomorrow may bring?

“What about-”

“Needle-noggin and the lot are out like a light. No one will notice if we steal a few minutes for ourselves.”

He closes the gap between the two of you and links his right hand with yours, fingers interlocking. His hands are large and calloused from lugging around that heavy gun of his. Briefly, you wonder just how strong the guy really is.

 “But there isn’t any music,” you protest weakly. Wolfwood is frustratingly good at sapping away your resolve.

“Don’t need any. We’ll make our own,” he insists, slipping an arm around the small of your back and pressing you close, closer, and closer still.

This close to him, you can see deep into his eyes. There’s fear in them. Sadness too. He’s trying and failing to mask the emotions with a smile, with this dance. It must be so exhausting, you think, always having to pretend.

“One dance,” you surrender, relaxing into his embrace. He smells sharply of tobacco and nicotine, though you note hints of something a bit earthier underneath. Sweat, probably. It’s been a while since any of you have showered. “Then bed. Unlike you and Vash, some of us need our beauty sleep.”

A lopsided grin swims across his handsome face.

 “Aw, think I’m beautiful, sweetheart? That’s nice.”

There’s a biting remark on the tip of your tongue that never fully forms. Yeah, actually, you do think he’s beautiful. You’ve thought so ever since Meryl slammed the news van into him all those months ago. The impact should have killed him—it would’ve killed you—but Wolfwood simply rose up from the sand as if rising from an interrupted slumber. Beautiful, even with rivulets of blood trickling down his face.

“Shut up,” you hiss, cheeks heating as you think a bit too intensely about his sturdy body which is now pressed flush against your own. Has Wolfwood always been this tall? This large? His giant frame engulfs you as the two of you sway together, in tandem with Wolfwood’s quiet humming.

You rest your head against his sternum, listening to the sound of his heart beating quick and urgent like the wings of a bird. His chest vibrates as he hums his tune. You can’t seem to place the song. Likely, he’s making it up as he goes, the tempo slow and somber like a dirge.

“Where’d you learn to dance?” you ask him, conscious of the way your two left feet have nearly tripped him up twice. Lucky for you both he’s not just a hulking lump of muscle. He’s got a great center of balance too.

You chalk your awkwardness up to the loose, shifting sands and not to the odd sensation forming in the pit of your stomach. More unfamiliar than unpleasant. You swallow a few times in an attempt to settle it.

Wolfwood shrugs, spinning the two of you round and round in circles. “It’s not all that different than fighting.”

There’s truth to that, you suppose, remembering the fight on the Sandsteamer. Wolfwood refused to talk about the stranger you all watched disappear into the open maw of the sand ocean, but it was obvious the man once meant something to him.

“You’re thinking too much,” he says. “Just follow my lead.”

So you do. You let him whirl you around the desert dunes for what feels like hours, grinning up at him through thick lashes when you manage to step on his toes. Again. He laughs, a little too loudly, and you have to remind him that if he’s not careful he’ll wake your sleeping companions.

“What are you going to do if everything goes well tomorrow?”

For the first time all night, it’s Wolfwood who stumbles. The misstep is small, slight, if you weren’t so entangled, you may have missed it, but you are entangled so you feel everything. You feel his feet stall as the question leaves your lips. You feel the rise and fall of his belly as he takes a deep steadying breath.   

His hand travels up the length of your spine, coming to rest at the nape of your neck. He thumbs across your vertebrae and you recognize the ministration for what it is: a silent plea for you to let the topic drop and just enjoy this moment the two of you managed to carve out for yourselves amidst all the chaos of the world.

You let your head drop once more, tucking it beneath his collarbone, right above his heart, still rabbiting in his chest. He isn’t humming anymore. There’s nothing to help the two of you keep time as you continue to sway together, now gliding across the sand like worms.

Around you, the clouds begin to clear and bright, twinkling stars start to peek out from behind them. A soft breeze kicks up around you, and the sand particles scatter with it. Wolfwood—Nicholas—keeps you pressed against him as the temperature mercifully begins to drop.

Your mind still wanders from time to time, curious what tomorrow may bring.

Who cares, you decide. It doesn’t matter.

Tonight, you’re content to dance.

[lost-technology]

Okay, so I don't read Tarot. I do have an online friend who claims that he learned to PLAY Tarot (as in not future / energy reading stuff, but that there is an actual card game, like how you'd play Blackjack with it). I used to even think of it as a scary thing, because, you know, was once an American evangelical Christian and all... (I'm sorry). But, as of late, I've sort of been weirdly absorbing what Tarot-cards seem to mean lately from... watching a lot of political-themed Tarot-readings on Youtube for fun. I can't say I believe in it as any kind of actually-accurate fortune-telling tool, especially when readers are all so hit-and-miss, hahahaa, but I'm pretty much watching them for the sass, anyway. I'm watching for the entertainment of people getting cards for certain politicians that open them up to make the most snarky jokes they can come up with about said politicians, so, for me, it's comedy with pretty pictures. Or maybe the world is just in such desperate times that some of us are inclined to become slightly more superstitious. Oh, well. That said, every fandom I've been in has had people make fanart Tarot-cards, use Tarot as a theme for fanart at some point to play on what characters represent. And, well, I just saw my second set of people doing this with Trigun. (See my recent reblogs). I saw someone a while back make three Trigun Stampede cards - "The Hanged Man" (Vash when Meryl and Roberto first meet him, hanging tied), "The Strength" (Meryl tending to her broken-down news van) and "Death" (Wolfwood being Wolfwood). And now I just saw @acid-headache 's Trigun Ladies Week Tarot Cards, and, wow... I think I'd look into learning Tarot if someone made a full Trigun deck. Also, I think it's cool and fitting to Meryl that two different people in two different contexts made her the Strength card twice! The one I saw where she's looking under the hood of the news van visually parallels the general illustration of the woman holding the jaws of a lion, but I find the Ladies Week one where she's taming Vash's rampaging Plant-feathers to be more meaningful. My favorite of acid-headache's collection is the Tower, though. I have thought that a Trigun Tarot would have to include the Big Fall as the "tower-type", but making it as Tesla's tube? Pure. Brilliance! She is absolutely the catalyst-character in Trigun Maximum - the discovery of her remains bringing it all down: Vash and Knives' innocence, leading to the bringing down of SEEDS and just... the entire plot.

[merylstryfestan]

i'm sure this has been discussed before, but this still brings up so many questions for me.

my memory of '98 isn't perfect, but i'm pretty sure that at least in the manga, no one really knew who Vash was before the destruction of July. the manga and '98 deviate on the timelines here, but in both he stuck around with Knives for a very long time before being on his own, and between them separating and July, Vash was probably getting himself involved with gangs and thugs trying to save lives and such, but nothing that made him well known. it wasn't until July and his bounty that he became infamous, so that makes sense to me.

so what's going on in Stampede then? because as far as we know, Vash and Knives haven't seen each other between Vash losing his arm and Juneora Rock. What happens in the ~150 years between for Vash to gain a reputation? i'm assuming it's the result of Knives stealing plants over the years, so has Vash just been chasing after his brother trying to prevent the thefts? and that's how he got associated with them in the first place?

then there's the fact that in the beginning, Meryl seems to almost not believe the Humanoid Typhoon is even a real person, in the sense that "surely all this stuff can't be one guy's fault". does that make the persona of the Humanoid Typhoon almost a conspiracy theory? or perhaps more similar to a cryptid?

and if this is all true, how are people not more surprised when they learn that the 25 year old looking dude is the guy that's supposedly been terrorizing the planet for at least 20 years? why would it take Roberto and Meryl finding the photo to realize the timeline isn't adding up here?

the only explanation to that i can think of is that since the windmill village is essentially run by the Eye of Michael, then it's the Eye that started calling Vash "the Stampede" and the "Humanoid Typhoon" and spreading his reputation. that's why Rollo would know about him. and if those rumors took a couple decades to become more widely known, it would explain why Roberto and Meryl weren't suspicious of Vash's age at first.

i don't think it's a perfect theory, so i'd definitely be interested to hear other people's ideas. could just be me totally missing something (very likely tbh). i still find the idea interesting though, that it could be the Eye specifically, and therefore Knives, that starts villainizing Vash amongst the human population. an early attempt to get Vash to turn his back against humanity perhaps?

@tristampparty

[nanomooselet]

Wraith V / Through A Glass Darkly

I admit to maybe being overly obsessed with this thing.

Because of (naturally) the colours (and the fact that at 100%, it looks like a flatlining heart monitor, as if we needed more indications this is a symbolic death). Vash in red/magenta and gold, Knives in blue/white and violet - until it's complete. Then Vash wakes up, suddenly all-violet, while Knives is left only with blue and teal.

Why would that be? Because Vash is at last consciously using his powers? Maybe. Likely.

But I, at least, would also like to believe Tesla has more to her story than forever remaining an objectified victim, though I know I'm probably deluding myself. (I'm interested to see just what, if anything, Orange plans for her. I've always felt there was more to her perspective.) I like to think she's present too, in her own strange way, and not simply as part of Knives.

What do you think her opinion would be of these events? Of her brothers?

What choice do you think she would have made?

I, personally, suspect Tesla would have had powers both to bring and to take, just like Vash. I doubt his personality being destroyed and his body brutally exploited to access those powers (never mind the purpose they're accessed to fulfil) is a plan she would want any part of, whatever her opinion of humanity. I think Knives had no idea what he invited upon himself making contact with the Core, something that exists outside of time. I think Tesla and Vash are both stranger and more existentially terrifying beings than even he imagines.

Knives baptised his brother in order to make him fit to receive divinity - and in Christianity, divinity comes as three parts in one. Not two equal opposites, as Knives conceptualises himself and his twin, but a singular whole expressed as three aspects. Parent...

Child...

Spirit.

His plan worked perfectly. He could not have made a bigger mistake.

Having been baptised, having received the spirit, the answer finally comes to Vash, and the truth.

Whose side are you on? Who are you?

See, it's made a point in Stampede, more than before, that the twins are almost physically identical. The resemblance is close enough for them to be mistaken for each other, something which Knives exploits. Even spending so much time so far apart, it seems inevitable that they influence each other. When one looks into the other's face, he sees his own reflection as in a mirror.

Though that almost never happens in the series. Knives and Vash almost never share the same eyeline.

They don't see eye-to-eye or face-to-face. Not until the very end.

The English dub, the finale, the question Vash asks as he finally begins to cry - "Who are you?" There's a reason he asks the question in those words.

Roberto said it in the first episode in the scene where we met Vash as an adult, hanging in the desert. "This clown's the big bad Typhoon? Vash the Stampede… who are you?" (The first time Vash gets called a fool or a clown, and not the last.)

Vash isn't quite sure... or rather, doesn't know who it is that he should be, if not what he is now. He's only ever been a counterpart, either allied or opposed, to his brother, and Knives has made it very clear what he thinks of any attempts to be anything else.

The question Roberto asks is the question the whole series builds towards answering because Vash isn't certain there is an answer, without his twin.

Until the moment he sees his brother, really sees him, and finally realises... that is not his reflection. He can't see himself in this mirror. There's something missing. And if that isn't his reflection, then who is he, looking? Who is Vash?

Whose side are you on? Who are you?

Human or Plant? Gun or Superman? Darkness or light? Yin or yang? Water or fire, heaven or earth? Are you a spirit, or a body? A machine or a living thing? Daydream or nightmare? Monster or angel?

Both? Neither?

The answer he ultimately gives is... not choosing an answer. It's looking beyond the question and the assumptions that it carries; being truly free. Knives has no right and no means to dictate who it is Vash becomes, and he never did. The question he asks is meaningless, and the dilemma he presents is false.

There's no choice.

'Cause I'm Vash the Stampede.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(1 Corinthians 13: 12-13)

The only true struggle is the struggle against oneself. And, at least in that moment, love wins.

[tomboyyyaoi]

my tristamp take is that none of the group are close enough to really be called friends

roberto and meryl were colleagues who obviously had work banter and cared about eachother but ultimately didnt really Know eachother since we know by the beginning of the story they were only recently partnered

vash is literally the subject of their investigation whos also just hitching a ride east from them, also for vash he treats everybody with equal kindness, theyr as much his friends as rosa is, hes a century.5 old wanderer who deliberately keeps his distance + explicitly says theres "no way" roberto and meryl are his friends and sure its hard to tell when vash is being genuine bc of all of his deliberate emotional repression we can still take this as an insight that he was ready and willing to emotionally disconnect himself from them at the drop of a hat

and wolfwood is a funny case bc the audience catches their clear similarities and immediate Understanding in eachother but fails to see that these are 2 emotionally repressed men who Just Met and are just.. making eyes and assumptions but not really saying much, ofc wolfwood knows more than he lets on from his job but Knowing About A Guy and then making eyes and having an uncomfortable arms length dynamic with him bc u worry that He Knows about u too can hardly be described as being friends or even close.

by this point theyr people who have drifted by eachother, people who have crossed paths and were kind to eachother, theyr acquaintances who if u asked one about the other theyd go "yeah, wow, wonder what theyr up to, that was a weird 3 months" like theyr 4 strangers who trauma bonded at best but i like it that way

but ofc they all made an impact on eachother, we know meryl wont be able to let her old objective go bc she keeps going back to the julai pit, we know shes too invested in vash's mysterious life to let that go, we know wolfwoods only there for the shady organisation hiring him as a spy/guide but vash made an impact on him by piercing past his exterior by sheer experience in life and just Knowing and it freaked him out but he liked being seen for the time being, we know meryl and wolfwood cared about eachother bc of their teasing dynamic and similar (clashing) personalities and the way, out of everything, wolfwood went back into julai to save meryl, we dont know what happened after that but id like to think they stuck by eachother for a bit.

Roberto Fucking Died.

vash is the only one i can say would be content with never seeing them again, i want to think he misses them and thinks about them a lot bc muh ships but i Know for him they were a blip on the radar of "people who were kind to me" like everyone else. maybe theyr a bit more than that, maybe the thought of them lingers when he cant sleep or when hes showering, why did meryls voice break thru to him so much? why didnt she run away? why does he resonate with wolfwood so much? why is someone so kind with an organisation like the eye? what do they think after finding out the truth? are they even still alive? i think he lingers on them but he has no desire to track them, if they meet again it would be a nice example of fate or good luck but hes not going out of his way, he cant do connections, he cant get attatched.

theyr all weird distant acquaintances who have complicated feelings about the other but i think theyd all like to meet again in some way or another and i find that really captivating

[ultraviolet-cello]

Good afternoon everyone, late analysis/detail watch for @tristampparty today! Had a busy day and I am ready to chill out by being so so normal about Trigun ^_^

Spoilers for Trigun Stampede and Trimax, CW for me discussing/theorizing abt Vash's injuries + discussion of harm coming to children specifically!

Roberto is my old man blorbo (he is not that old) and I essayed Hard about him today, good luck reading!

So when I originally watched this episode when I saw the tower I was like oh flying saucer haha!

and then it is a flying saucer. I hate that (/j)

the bugs under the rock when I lift it up:

On a more serious note I do like the transition from Wolfwood getting REALLY jumpy (to the point of like. Punching Vash for sneezing. babygirl there are better ways to cope with bringing the man you adore to what is probably his doo- actually there probably isn't, he's on his own) to them working extremely in sync to try and get away from the guards - even in the two months that they've been traveling together they've developed that back to back fighting style. It's very sweet, and I think that aspect of them is heavily emphasized in 98 actually, episode 9 when Wolfwood first appears. I really do miss that episode's story, I think it's my favourite standalone plot :]

Again take this with a grain of salt because my subtitles are Janky, but this line hits me real hard [Where Vash is telling Wolfwood not to shoot at the July guards]. They're at July, this is where Wolfwood needs to hand Vash over despite all his inner conflict; but he values the orphanage, it's so important to him. Would the morally righteous thing to do be trying to fight alongside Vash out of this? Possibly. But the risk is too great; It's not the time to be a saint.

Both of their expressions here - Wolfwood stepping back then forward to try and push Vash out the way, or block the bullet, and Vash just slowly lowering his arms with that real haunted look.

Studio Orange once again knocking it out of the PARK with their facial expressions

[Purging the Vashwood from my system for just a moment] He really does just. Grab him around the waist huh. He doesn't try to spin Vash around to assess the damage, or immediately drag him away, but most importantly he doesn't shoot back. Not after Vash asked him to.

Why's this bitch not clean his table!!! The hell!!! Unsanitary. Or... Or someone was just there. Not sure what's worse at that point. It's also that the shape of that cross is also to accommodate children

[Tucking these screenshots into my purse for safekeeping] [Also CWing this section for a little bit of injury discussion] Most of the injuries here aren't necessarily the scars that Trimax and 98 Vash have, which makes me wonder if he's going to get more post-July. In any case, a lot of these look like failed/only partial skin grafts or wounds that required skin grafts but did not get it [Just trust me on that, don't look it up if you can't stomach gore].

I wonder if Vash can't receive skin grafts due to the sheer amount of scarring/can't receive any donated grafts due to differences in biology, or if he's just... not been able to get them healed. Some of it appears to be patched up with metal, but the rest of it.... Mm.

Anyway!

I think it's very telling that the thing that Roberto starts really speaking up on is challenging Conrad on his treatment of orphans and disadvantaged people. Roberto's a reporter, so of course he's going to have seen how powerful people often use the marginalized as their playthings; and Roberto does have a pretttty good moral code when it comes to it. Time and time again he's chosen to help Meryl instead of preserve his own life.

And now he's actively taking Meryl's side, challenging Conrad, sticking up for people, which. One of the first hints of Roberto that we got that wasn't him being so gruff was his defense of Vash (who was getting the shit beaten out of him) in the very first episode.

I've talked at length abt how children are. Kind of the most precious thing to most people on Gunsmoke/NML - so many of the individual stories revolve around parents and children, brothers, siblings, Wolfwood and Hopeland, Legato sparing all the children in that village in 98, Elendira leaving a gaggle of children alive to bury Livio in Trimax. I particularly remember a scene in Trimax volume 14, chapter 3, when the feathers are falling and a young girl has lost her mother, but these big rough and tough men guide her back. I think that's kind of the essence of what Roberto represents to me.

The average person on that planet is rough, traumatized, probably knows how to shoot, they kill each other, they rob, they steal. And yet when it comes down to a little girl crying in the crowd, they will guide her back to her mother. Noman's Land is made up of families; they hurt each other and they commit atrocities, but at the end of the day, that was someone's child, and people try to respect it.

Roberto has a bit of a stronger ethical streak, but he's really kinda hostile to Conrad in this scene (GET HIS ASS ROBERTO WOOO!!!) and I think when he saw children involved that really signaled part of it to him.

It's also that Roberto has developed as a character, being more open and trusting of Meryl, but I also just. The family thing gets me every time (I think it's because I work with children and am a huge advocate for said children, but. yaknow)

[Pointing at him] I love this guy!!! I miss him!!! I really really thought I was gonna hate him but every rewatch i get sadder that he's gone!!!!!

Also he calls out Conrad on being non-empathetic towards, well experimenting on children which is yeah!!! shit!!! Roberto shuts him down like 3 times!! "What matters is how you feel with these children in front of you" GET! HIS! ASS!

Roberto has progressed so so much, with his ability to actually insert himself into situations according to his opinions and ethics, with his relationship to Meryl becoming softer, and then he's just,,, Gone, soon.

On a lighter note, tf you mean Elendira's powers are equivalent to a supply door Conrad she can kill a man!!! I spose a supply door can also kill a man but like. I wonder if she's gonna get. Bigger nails. More powers in the future.

Also a nice parallel of how Roberto kept dragging Meryl back and flinging her away from danger, but now he's grabbed her and is carrying her with him - it feels different. He really really does care about her and it's so evident in these last couple of episodes.

Also Meryl is just pick up-able what can I say.

Roberto being shocked at his ability to deflect Elendira's nails just feels kinda cruel. Man's been spending the entire anime facing horrors beyond his comprehension and he just figured out he can fight against this one, but in the end she's the one who gets him.

Also I talked about Roberto being really standoffish when he realizes children are being harmed? Uh, that's probably what gets him killed. If he'd have shot Elendira here, there is a decent chance he would have lived; if he hadn't hesitated the several times he did, he wouldn't be so rattled. That's... Painful.

"That was close" I hate everyone here [/j]

Not an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a super fan of what they did to Elendira. I'm of the opinion of her character divorced from her Trimax counterpart is really really interesting, but I have to treat her like an entirely different character, so we'll be moving on with that in mind.

So Elendira's been like this for what, twenty years at least? That doesn't seem to line up with how Plants age - Vash and Knives take like 5 years to look like they're fifteen, and. I hope we all know that humans typically take 18-20 years to reach adulthood lmao.

My three theories on why she hasn't aged is that

A) Whichever Plant cells (Probably Tesla's) that they used on her is inhibiting her growth, disallowing her from progressing past a certain point. Perhaps if she ages more something... Bad will happen to her body. Sub-idea, if it is Tesla's cells, they might not be letting her age past the point Tesla was when she died. Which is a little horrific actually.

B) Conrad and/or Knives are the ones not allowing her to grow, for some reason. I don't really have any ideas of what.

But it seems to me that she is somewhat inverse to Wolfwood; she's been living for at least twenty years, trapped in the mind and body of a child. She speaks with the cadence and articulation of an adult most of the time, but her body's pain tolerance and her subsequent reactions are that of an undeveloped mind/body.

That or she just doesn't wanna go through puberty because she's already trans and just doesn't wanna deal with that shit (valid) but, yaknow. I am a very big supporter of "Let Studio Orange cook, they've done pretty good so far!" but Elendira and Razlo are the two I am. Most scared of seeing how they turn out lmao, and even with Razlo I do have some hopes. But Elendira,,, man. I dunno.

Hooo boy. Okay. I'm ready to talk about Roberto again now. I've been talking about how he recently seems to have softened his demeanor specifically towards Meryl, bringing out a lot of that joking tone, but here is particularly on display.

He tells Meryl that it's okay to run away sometimes and that really really. Got to me. Like he wants her to live. He wants her to do whatever she thinks is right, and he wants her to live, and he is going to do what he can in his dying moments to make that better for her.

I miss him :(

I also wonder if he had anything outside of his job. Friends? Family? A partner? Or was he mostly obliterated along with most of July, kept only in memory by his, now Meryl's, derringer?

Also Vash does Not know that Roberto is dead and if he asks about him post-rejoining the gang in season 2 I'll start screaming.

Oh Knives is here! Yippee!!

So uh. The thing with him saying this is, like a Lot of things Knives does/says in Tristamp, is rooted in truth to some degree.

Like uh. Yeah. That is kind of the basis for a Major part of Vash's personality, the guilt complex of Knives shifting the burden and (honestly projecting a lot of his own guilt probably) onto Vash. But to attribute All of Vash's character to just that is disservice, and horrible for Vash to hear.

The thing about Vash is that he tries. He tries so so hard to make things right, even despite the harm that comes to him and the grief and pain of how he lives his life. Even if it were just his guilt, that is still 150 or so years of healing plants, helping children, going from town to town to do what good he can.

Love, in that case, is not inherent, but created. It's hard to just unconditionally love something just because it's in your life, but if you work at it, dedicate yourself, put in the effort, do so much good, then is that not love in itself? Does it really matter the basis if you love, regardless?

Where it becomes a problem with Vash, is when he refuses to kind of,,, accept that he worked for it instead of just having that love inherent to him, because he's so desperate to hold that guilt complex, that "I'm a bad person" close to him

I dunno, I'm autistic, so maybe I have a strange reading of this because I personally have had to work towards the things I hold dear to me, but it's,,, definitely a facet of Vash, to me.

I Do Not Like This Photograph. In Trimax, it seems they took Tesla and Immediately began experimenting on her - Some arguments over ethics with Rem, yeah, but overall the dissenters were overruled. But why have this picture? Tesla is clearly not a baby in this image. Did she have more contact and interactions with the scientists?

The cruelty in Tesla's story, at least in my view, is that she never got to be a character. Her agency was stripped from her by scientists, by death, and then by Knives. We don't know shit about her - did she die cursing all of humanity? Would she have agreed with Knives, that the pain inflicted on her was an example of the great atrocity of humanity? Or would she have decided people can grow and change, that she just got a bad lot, that people are messy and complicated but ultimately capable of love? Did she see Rem, and wonder if she knew humanity better than Tesla did?

We just don't know - will never know - and that's why Knives using her as an excuse for his actions is particularly egregious. Did her death traumatize him and irreparably damage his trust of humans, sending him down a spiral he was too unlucky to fight his way out of? Yes. Does that make it justifiable to try and commit a genocide under her name, assuming she would have wanted that even if there's a possibility she didn't? ....Definitely not.

millions-dykes referred to Conrad as looking "DILFy" in this scene and if I have to suffer that, so do you. sorry

There's a couple of bits of language in that ending scene that I find particularly uh. Interesting (derogatory) (deeply interesting and analysis-worthy), but I'll be saving those for next episode so I'll pop them in there :]

Today was a hell of an essay! Thanks for reading as always, I'm so >:3 about all the fun comments and ideas ppl have added on.

[keru0]

Tickletober 2024

Day 6: Provoke

Lee!Vash x Ler!Wolfwood

Before you read this, just know that this might be ooc, as it has been a MINUTE since I've written for these guys or watched Tristamp at all. That being said, I have missed these two very much

============================================

“Wolfwoooood!”

“What could you possibly want now, Spikey?” 

Currently in the van was a certain wanted criminal and his friend, Nicholas D. Wolfwood. The two of them, along with Meryl and Roberto, had been driving for the past eighteen hours, only just now, as the sun was sinking below the horizon, were they stopping in a nearly desolate town. 

The other two were currently outside, looking for a few fuel tanks to take with them on the rest of their journey starting tomorrow, the two boy’s in charge of staying behind – more specifically, Wolfwood being in charge of keeping the blond out of trouble.

As it was, Wolfwood was attempting to get his routine beauty rest – the full four hours of it. Keyword, attempt, as Vash wouldn’t leave the man alone for some godforsaken reason.

“I’m borrrred. Can’t we go out and explore the town a little? I won’t cause any trouble! Swear on plants!” Vash said, his hand moving in a cross shape across his chest before holding his palm up.

“As I’ve said the last three times, no.” He grumbled, closing his eyes and putting his hat over his face, crossing his arms and attempting to ignore his friend’s antics. “And as I have also said, I am trying to sleep. Now knock it off, would’ya?” The man sighed.

The Stampede narrowed his eyes, scooching closer to the brunette before poking him in the side, again and again. “Wolfwood. Wolfwood. Wolfwooood~” At least until the man sat up, fuming.

“I swear to god you little- com’ere!” Vash attempted to back away as fast as he could, not that there was much room to in the back of the cramped van. He managed enough though, that is until the door blocked his escape.

“W-wait Wolfwood I’m sorrehehehehey! W-wahahait!” The priest's hat lay forgotten on the car’s floor as his hands grasped out for the blond, wrapping around the slim waist as he managed to straddle him on the backseat and drill his thumbs into the divots of his hips.

Nicholas clicked his tongue, shaking his head as a playful smirk made its way onto his face. “No way, blondie! I think I need to tucker you out.”

“Nohoho you dohohohon’t! WolfwohoHOHOHOOD!” Vash’s laughter raised in pitch as the other’s hands wandered up to his sides, squeezing and kneading the muscle under them.

“What’sa matter, Needle Noggin? Can’t take a little tickling? The great wanted criminal taken down by a few fingers to his sides?” He teased with a chuckle, not needing to worry about Vash trying to overpower him as the blond was always sapped of his strength when he was tickled.

All Vash could do was shake his head and laugh as he grasped at the other’s wrists, his entire body squirming under him on the seat as he had his way with the blond, not letting up for a second until he was tired out, true to his word.

*   *   *

“Oh my god...unbelievable.” A certain reporter-in-training uttered as she and the older man came back from their trip, met with the two they left behind sleeping, one on top of the other.

“They’re kinda cute…” Roberto chuckled, quietly getting into the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“When they’re asleep? Yeah. Any other time? Nuisances.” Meryl laughed fondly, taking out her camera and snapping a shot of the two before they headed off to their next destination.

[rmorde]

Trigun Manga Reaction

Continuing with Volume 1 - Chapter 2

The double spread of Vash here and the grim history of the planet they're stuck in being contrasted by the title "LOONEY TUNES" is darkly funny ngl.

Then we cut to this?!

I know Vash is flexible and can get into wacky pretzel poses a lot from '98 and a bit less so from Tristamp, but this is something else. Combined with the sound effects, one would think this is a NSFW manga of a different genre.

Nightow loves to use sharp lines and triangle shapes, doesn't he? Not an expert opinion tho. Just something I'm noticing.

Did.. DID HIS HEAD JUST BOUNCE OFF CONCRETE?!!!! BABY GIRL!!!

Ahhh.. Dark humor. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Gremlin Baby Girl Vash using the age old tactic of hide-and-seek: people rarely look up!

I love their dynamic so much which I miss a lot in Tristamp. I mean Roberto-Meryl mentor dynamics was good and the series gave her a good origin, but still... I can't wait to see Milly again.

I think this is manga only, right? I don't remember something like this in '98. Meryl can be silly but it's a different kind of silly. Remembering how in denial she was in '98 about Vash being Vash is funny.

LMAO!!! His face! HIS FUCKING FACE!!!

Ok. So, in terms of art, '98 really gets the manga. TriStamp can be goofy but not to this extent... yet. I think Studio Orange is really doing their best to maximize 3D animation in replicating silly anime/manga expressions. They did it during the Jeonora Looney Toons Chase and a bit when Wolfwood was flyswatted by Meryl with a van. Maybe there'd be more next season (?)

Ok. Remember this from '98.

"WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO USE THE GRENADE?! HE CAN'T BE IDENTIFIED FOR THE REWARD IF HE'S PILE OF PULP, YOU DUMBASS!!!"

The trials these insurance ladies have to go through. OMFG. And this is just the start!

Oh... I can print this into a bookmark actually.

Oh. This is very different from '98. But between a bandit or a mob, Meryl and Milly have better luck making a bandit listen to what they have to say. Also, swapping a megaphone with dozens of doughnuts here won't improve matters either.

Meryl and Milly's anime counterparts had it easy at first. They had a trial run! Poor Manga Meryl and Milly didn't get that at all!

A black cat in these despairing times?

Ok... This was a bit later in '98... I think.

But I think TriStamp followed the manga's line of events more closely.

Wow... There'll probably more of these but the double spreads in this manga are always good.

Badass Ladies in longcoats!

What else is there to say about them? They're mad and they know how way over their heads this situation is, but they do their job anyway.

LOOK HOW THEY CRUMPLED THE CHAIRMAN LIKE A TISSUE PAPER!!!

Sigh... A terrible sight it is. This is the third iteration I've seen. It's the same old thing just in another coat of paint I've missed until now. This is tiring and frustrating as a reader/watcher.

While these people do show a bit of remorse because they acknowledge how nice Vash is and the story makes it clear that this was a last resort, it's practically a flimsy band-aid on a bleeding fatal wound.

Oh fuck. Was this number also mentioned in '98?! I can't remember.

But fifty?! Oh, Vash...

And he can't even cry to mourn his sisters...

And another incredible spread in here. Is this style just a Nightow thing? Two pages split into three sections of narrow-wide-narrow? I don't know the correct term. However, it seems to show up a lot. Trying to remember if other mangas I've read does the same...

Ooof. This was not easy on the eyes and it took a while for me to understand what happened. When I did tho... Oof... Vash Baby Girl.. Ow...

However... I know anime physics means character can bend their body like pretzels easy peasy, but what if Vash and Nai just have cartilage in place of bones? Or would that be just weird? All I can think about it '98 Wolfwood bending and twisting Vash 180 degrees during their first meeting.

Wait... What if Wolfwood's bones have been turned into just cartilage too during the experiments? No... These do not make sense!!!

And here it is again! Two pages split into three: narrow-wide-narrow.

AHAHAHA. MILLY NOOO LET MERYL BREATHE!