#and bc vash knew he knew more than he was letting on

[tomboyyyaoi]

sorry 2 that one person i blocked for posting a string of like 6 vashwood posts in a row. i love VW but unfortunately u loved it in an annoying way that irrationally aggrivated me...

[neverchecking]

The Chain as AOT (And ASOT) People

As decided by me. And @lilac-and-daydreams and @angry-trashcan.

・❥・So, this all started because they were making fun of my taste in men and the pattern of it (Link, Vash, Knives, Armin, Hawks, Gordon Ramsey-)

・❥・Just let me set that straight.

・❥・ Ganon is Zeke.

・❥・Legend is Levi. Short, short tempered, good at everything. It just seemed to fit.

・❥・Time, is this might seem controversial, is Erwin. The man in charge, at first, and has bad eyebrows, knows things he won't tell the others. Plus, c'mon. They're practically the same person.

・❥・Hange is four. Both are wicked smart and a little unhinged. Maybe not like season 1/2 hange but DEFINATELY commander Hange.

・❥・And then we had two directions. Option A) Was Wild was Eren and Mikasa was Cal (Quiet, calculative, good at fighting bc lore accurate AOC Link is CRAZY) or Option B) was Wild was still Eren and Twilight was Mikasa (Protective, follows like a dog).

・❥・It will surprise no one that we threw out the idea that Wild was Eren. BUT Twilight was decided to be Mikasa. Again, super protective, dangerous, good on their own.

・❥・Anyway-

・❥・Wild is Connie.

・❥・Thats where we threw him. And I KNOW someone will be like? What about Sasha? He could be Sasha? IM GETTING THERE-

・❥・Bc Wild's personality is more than food, just like Sasha's and his personality is closer to Connie's than Sasha's. >:(

・❥・Plus Wild never knew his mom so I could make the "His mom is a titan" Joke.

・❥・Sage we thought at first would be Armin. He's Armin coded in the least. Manipulative, gaslighty, you know, the finer things in life.

・❥・But in the end Bailey was like "What if he was Eren?" And yk what? They were so right for that.

・❥・The lost in translation, blurred between good and bad, because, like Bailey said, Sage is the perfect Antihero/antivillain. Because he's self-driven. He's looking out for himself. He knows what he wants and how he wants it done.

・❥・And SPOILERS

・❥・ To be taken out by the only person who tried to help him? Divine.

・❥・END SPOILERS BTW

・❥・Now, you guys are probably like What about Armin? Who's Armin if it's not Sage?

・❥・It's Sky.

・❥・Sky, whom looks so sweet and innocent and will cry to get what he wants. Sky, who knows what words are need to make what things happen. Sky who's willing to step on those under him all the way to the top.

・❥・Sky is Armin.

・❥・We joked that Wars would be Jean for a while, but then we scrapped that idea and decided that Hyrule would be better funnier as Jean. The vibes man. The VIBES.

・❥・@fanfic-fairy-fountain said Cal could also be Armin. Which I also agree with.

・❥・As Lilac said it's the underlying manic pixie girl energy.

・❥・We knew Wars was gonna be a Yeagerist-- which Ironic we know bc he hates traitors, but also it just fit too well otherwise.

・❥・ BUT THEN-

・❥・Wars as Reiner, and then WIND as either Birth control or Annie. Because Wind follows Wars and when he...disappears, it'll destroy Wars.

・❥・Plus Wind as Bertllala and then getting along with Hyrule/Jean only to then get sniped? MMM.

・❥・Cal is Sasha. Both eat questionable things. 'nough said.

・❥・FIERCE. He's the OG titan. Iykyk you know?

・❥・Wild is a slap on titan Armin thank you. But just for this-

"Who's that babe you're with?"

"Wild? And their not a girl."

"Hey there Wildmina, you wanna take a bath later?"

"....Can I bring an industrial strength lightning rod?"

・❥・I love it sm <3

・❥・Anyway those were our thoughts. Tell us what you think or don't. I can't control what you do /lh

・❥・ I WAS DOING TAGS AND OMG

・❥・SAGE IS A SLAP ON TITAN LEVI

・❥・"Don't cry Natura...You're so ugly when you cry."

・❥・Natura would be petra in a slap on titan

・❥・I AM CRACKING MYSELF UP WITH THIS SHIT-

Sage: Kid, what the fuck was I to you? Batman?

Wild: YES.

Sage: Huauubh?!

Wild: NO.

・❥・

Sage: And wild child, just so you know-

Wild: Yeah?

Sage: I'm Batman.

Wild: OH MY GOD I HATE THAT MAN.

・❥・

Wild: Admiral Casual? Your nickname is Admiral Casual?

Sage: Look, Wild, I'm just going by reality.

Sage: That's why your nickname is baby dick.

・❥・

Sage: Listen, buttercup, Ima need you to tone it down several notches. You're at an eleven right now, I need you at about a four.

Sage: You have no idea the hangover I'm fighting right now.

・❥・

Time: Here's the truth.

Time: Most of you are going to die.

Time, pointing to each villager: Dead, dead, you are DEFINITELY Dead, you're cute so maybe you'll live, dead, dead. By the golden three I don't even wanna know whats gonna happen to you.

Time: Who knows how you'll pass? *Proceeds to describe several very graphic ways of dying*

Time: Literally all we do is die.

・❥・

Time: I used to have a job crushing cans.

Time: It was Soda-pressing.

・❥・

Hyrule: A black flare? We never went over this? Either everyone's dead or-

Hyrule: ...Or Voldemort's returned.

・❥・

Hyrule: This is why Wild always told you to mix it right or the hallucinations start kicking in!

・❥・

Titan: You again? Really?

Hyrule: Yes.

Hyrule: Come to me. My Waifu.

・❥・

Sage: Look, Wild, sometimes you gotta run. I've been running from people all my life.

Sage: The military police, debt collectors,

Sage: Some bitch I know named Hylia.

Wild: Do you even have a plan?!

Sage: Of course I have a plan! I always have a plan for everything.

Natura: OH MY GOD HE'S BLUFFING- HE'S BLUFFING, thats what he says when he doesn't have a plan!

Sage: HEY- HORSEFACE-

・❥・

Natura: Im sleeping with WILD.

Sage: WILDCHILD? That swagless BEAST?

・❥・

Wild: So this is what you do?

Wild: Drop tail and run away? Like a little BITCH?!

Sage: Wild, you're only saying that because I can't reach back there and pimp slap the shit out of you.

・❥・

Sage: I DO NOT care. What I do care about is that basement.

Sage: Through heaven and hell, fire or rain, we are getting to that basement.

Sage: And I am wearing your dead mother's panties ON MY HEAD.

Literally all of Episode 18 is SO THEM.

[ghost-rule0]

Mindfuck (Part 1/2)

Vash the Stampede x Reader

Another draft for the fanfic I wanted to try writing down. Again not edited bc I am still at work just writing down ideas. This time Imma split it in two parts tho, one focusing on exploring readers own defensiv strategies while also bonding with our beloved ex insurance worker and now reporter Meryl :3

The second part is again some fluff with Vash obviously and I might also trow in some Wolfwood and or Roberto interactions for the sake of writing them.

I still need to do more researche and draw more concepts for this fanfic to actually start so imma just bomb you with scenarious that I might or might not will later trow in the real book. Also yes I will probebly trow in isekai reader but thats just an idea for now

Enjoy!

The tension in the air was almost suffocating. The room was painfully silent aside from the faint sobbing of children and their mothers trying calm them down, voice trembling in fear.

Y/N knew this scenario more than she did like to. The bandits that held the bank hostage that she and Merly entered some hours ago were having an heated argument in back of the room while the other hostages nerves were tested at the fearful image that was infront them. The bandits had shot one of their own comrades that didn't want to share with them and now was laying dead in his own puddle of blood.

Human brains worked the same no matter which dimension they were in. It didn't matter if it was on Earth or here on Gunsmokes Criminals were always mentally scared beeings, so if stressed some tended to use the only form of problem solving they knew.

That just happened to be violance.

Back at home before she crashed the dessert here some weeks prior she was studying exactly that, using her observant nature and her deep interest in crime to become a profiler.

In a world where Guns and Violance was dominating the planet having the abilitys she possesed, analyzing heavior and seeing the patterns while also manipulating people to let her be, that was her ultimate weapon to stay alive. since the only other weapon she had was a metalic pipe and that barely worked against a fully armed bandits.

She stayed silent most of the event, looking around and calmly observing her surroundings. Originally there were three bandits. Two dominat ones and one subbmissiv guy. Right as they started this whole trouble she knew from experience some shit would eventually go down since most of the time criminals only could operate in groups with one dominat member that so happen to have submissiv sidekicks, so seeing the two man bicker over the leader role already set of the alarm bells in her mind.

Meryl meanwhile was also surprisingly calm, or at least she tried to be. The reporter wasn't used to beeing in the middle of conflict. Since she joined Roberto, Vash had always been the center of attetion which made it a bit easier for her to stay back and have less stress. But Vash wasn't here and she was stuck with the only other person on this god forsaken planet that was similar a danger magnet than the blond man himself.

But that didn't stop her from keeping herself cool. Seemingly more nervous than her partner beside her but still in a better mental state than the other hostages. For Vash for this matter, who was outside with Roberto and wolfwood. The trio hid in a alleyway near the bank, carefully watching the sheriff and the bankers wife talk about the situation. The blond man was basically a nervous wreck and blamed himself for the capture. Telling himself he should have gone with the two girls or at least get inside to save there asses. But he didn't let that get through, while his anxious side was bascially ripping his brain apart the gunslinger and rational side of him was already working on a plan.

Y/N didn't exactly know that but she predicted that he would do something like that. He cared for people too much to just let a hostage happen under his watch. But she knew as much as she wanted to, she couldn't put all the afford on getting them out on the boys. Which is why she already had an idea.

Prior to them walking off to the bank Roberto gave Meryl one of his darengers, which she thankfully had hidden so good in her coat that as the bandits demanded all weapons to be given to them they couldn't find one on her. And since she was the only one currently possesing a weapon it was her job to take out the leader while she herself took the side kick.

The screaming of the leader become loud and obnoxious enough that he had all the attetion of the room, so she could whisper to merly without anyone noticing.

"I think I got a plan" she whispered as her eyes were locked on the duo. "You think? What are we supposed to do its two armed gigants against us" she hissed silently in the (h/cs)nettes ears. Y/N hummed agreeing as answer as her eyes roamed the area. "You still have the gun Roberto gave you right" her voice dropping almost inaudible as the word gun rolled of her tongue, playing even more save no one would notice their conversation. Meryl softly nodded before Y/N spoke up again. "When I give you a signal you shoot the gun out of the bigger guys hand. Try not to aim for his fatal spots until really necessary. I take care of the second one..." she laughed air and soundless before looking at me. "He also has a gun how do you want to do that?! As soon as I hurt his boss we are swiss cheese!"

Carefully observing the smaller man as he started to nervously chew on his fingers she smirked. The gun in his hands he held firmly but his finger never was even near the trigger. He flinched every time his boss was pointing at one if the hostages when he spilled empty threats and ealier as he shoot the other bandit he couldnt even look at the corpse.

"That is gonna be childsplay trust me"

-

It didn´t take long until the argument had finally stopped and the bandits attetion was back at their hostages presence. No one dared to move. They didnt need to rope them up since all of the people were scared, scared too shitless to even try to resist. Most silently sobbed, some prayed, others sat in their corners and accepted their envidible doom and Meryl and Y/N meanwhile had gotten their hands on one of the belongings of the bankers inside. Working in a bank all day takes a lot of time and nerves since its takes full concentration out of someone to carefully count money and take care of the safes in the back. So it wasnt surprising one of them had empty bottles laying around. Collecting laying around juck was less noticable than for example asking the staff memembers for say cigerettes and lighters. It wasnt much but it was enough to cause the bandits to panic. The leader kicked one of the workers in the face as he held his gun to the poor mans head. “you useless fucks are even less worth than the little to no cash you have laying around in this bullshit bank! Not even the Sheriff wants to pay for your pathetic asses! Fucking useless shits!” he growled in rage as the banker cried and plead for his life. “Please..Please! I have a wife and children at home! Please do..don’t kill me” he maniged to croak out between sobs. The Bandit puts his finger on the trigger and grinned, in a widely spread and digusting smile. His eyes were could and his eyebrows twitched in amusment. He was getting a kick out of seeing the mans fear, begging him to not pull the trigger. Y/N knew that face and she cursed silently in her head. The man didn’t care for the money anymore. After killing his teammate he started to get a kick out of it.

He started to like killing people.

“fuck it” the girl growled digusted before jumping up, carefully having moved to the blind spot carefully over the past minutes, before trowing the bottle as hard as she could at the back of the leaders head, stunning him for a second as Meryl dashed forward and shot right trough the hand that was holding the gun. A loud and painful cut trough the silence as blood spat everywhere, leaving the mans head mangled and impaled as the reporter takled his screaming form to the ground and took his gun. Holding both the deringer and the mans own gun to his head, hissing in his hear to stay down or else he would have two more holes in his head to speak shit out from. The other robber meanwhile started to panic and point his gun at her friends head. “Get....get of....off him or else...else I will shoot!” he stuttered out. His eyes were wide and fearful but also paniced. Y/N meanwhile walked slowly between them. Having the gun of the panicking robber pressed against her forhead. As she calmly smiled. Her calm starring made him seemingly shake more, having the finger on the trigger non stop as he blabbeled more nonsense, trying to threath her. But it was barely understandble english since his stuttering made him almost mess up every word. If she didn´t knew better he almost looked like beeing moments away from having a panic attack. Shaking, heavy and unsteady breating, increased heartbeat and blurred vision by tears.

Yeah she knew all this systems all too well from her time back home.

Meryl seemed also to sweat, becoming more nervous for her friends safety as she carefully held the man down, recalling her words from ealier. “childsplay? you are insane!” She chuckled as she smiled at her “maybe you need to be a little insane to survive here. Ok listen I will stun the leader so you can get a good aim for his hand and dash to hold him down. And no matter what you hear, concentrate on holding the guy down and don’t turn around to me, ok?”

She swallowed hard as she mumbled “you are so fucked up” clenching her eyes shut as she forced herself to concentrate fully on holding the guy down, not looking if her friend would soon be silenced as a shoot would ring.

But it never came. The nervous mumbling of the bandit was interupted by a cutting, clear and cocky sounding. “you won´t shoot me, you don’t have the guts to do soo”

The gun fell from his almost forcefully shaking hands, right before the cocky grinning Y/N grabbed him and pulled him forwards. Punching him right in the face, covering her fist with lots of his blood, probebly breaking his nose, before his limp body hit the ground.

---

[sh1-n0bu]

hello my little skrunklies and welcome to episode 2 of nobu over analyzing shit instead of actually doing what she needs to do!

today’s victim will be roberto from tigun stampede.

please note that there will be spoilers ahead!

okay so first things first, millie the tall queen got replaced and people have had love or hate relationship with it as far as i’ve seen. personally i love the dude. i think he’s the cool whiskey uncle that’s chill about anything and everything.

now that’s out of the way, let’s start my mini ramble.

this guy right here is super mysterious like wtf. he knew what a lost tech was when he saw it and not only did it happen once, it happened twice! (from what i remember). vash hadn’t explained it, wolfwood probably doesn’t know what a lost tech is or he knew but just didn’t said it to not blow up his cover of being contracted to “eyes of micheal” and meryl most definitely didn’t knew it. yet this old booze loving, constantly coughing his lungs out old reporter took one look at it and just goes “that’s a lost tech” with the most monotonous and chill tone.

one more thing. during episode 2, when vash quietly and sneakily slipped away from the bar to leave jeneora rock, he noticed it and caught him before he left with a “not even gonna say goodbye?”. then he noticed that vash was scared of something or someone and was trying to run away from it and pushed the boundaries.

then there’s episode 3. he knew it was a bomb when he saw those weird things. he knew it was a lost tech by simply taking a look at it. roberto knew that touching it or trying to pry it off by sheer force wouldn’t work.

then there’s one thing that almost everyone looked over or just don’t talk about. episode 11.

when inside the tower and inside the experiment room of the doctor, him and meryl patiently listens to the doctor explain his tests and experiments. when finished meryl has a mini fuse due to her moral compass but old uncle ‘berto just takes out a cigarette like it’s an average sunday and starts smoking.

after the doctor is finished listing off his experiment subjects, the reporter adds one more person that wasn’t mentioned.

“and wolfwood”.

“hang on… our wolfwood?!”

(please note that i watched the dub ver bc it seemed much more goofier to me). clearly judging by this answer, meryl didn’t knew that nicholas d. plantsexual wolfwood was an experiment to the doctor or much more stronger, resilient, faster or have more stamina than the average human. vash possibly didn’t knew it as well since he was busy having a sibling moral war with his deranged but sexy twin.

yet, roberto de niro knew. he fucking knew that wolfwood wasn’t a normal, average human. he figured it out. he cracked the code. when? where? how? by seeing what? noticing what? who knows, i’m not sure. but he figured it out.

also his aim when he shot away the little girl’s two nails? hello? the accuracy? with a simple close range derringer none the less????

another thing i wish to add. perhaps i’m just way too over analyzing things but in the dub version, roberto says “my mind’s too clear…” when he’s dying in the elevator. did he find out something while working as a reporter but just didn’t tell anyone? didn’t report it to anyone or anything? is that why he’s always drinking to get his mind off of something?

don’t know. all i know is that this dude is cool and has secrets that he took to the grave. or maybe he’s just super smart by years of experience as a reporter. maybe i’m just overreacting and oner analyzing. with that, nobu out. her sleep deprived ass needs her lazy sleep.

[sissorcraft]

vashwood 3, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 for the ask game😳

3 - difficult to answer bc at their cores they are both dogs, separated only by what they chase. but wolfwood puts vash on too high a pedestal to ever see vash as the dog, so wolfwood by technicality

9 - he wanted it. he wanted it if only bc he knew it was judas, really, that was delivering it. theres no pride to be had in these intimate moments of knives through the back but cheeks still cupped in calloused palms. theres only the knowing of caesar locking eyes and thinking, of course it was you, brutus

11 - they did, but only twice. the first time could barely be called a kiss, more so a smashing together of lips, a mimicry of intimacy bc to kiss like they mean it would be admitting to things that can never step further than their ribs. the second time wasnt much more of one. after all, can it really be called a kiss when its just trembling lips pressed to a face gone stiff and cold, one last offering of warmth before its forever covered by dirt?

14 - it is wolfwood, gnashing of teeth and snarling of lips, as if putting up the front of evil for long enough will ever make it sink deeper than skin, will make it somehow real

16 - it is vash, unused to being chased like this, unused to being known like this, snapping quick and sudden but deep, as if a storm chaser will suddenly now be scared off by the danger

18 - it is vash, proving wolfwood wrong simply by letting wolfwood hold him, holding wolfwoods hands where they hold him and whispering "see? youre not hurting me. im ok. were ok"

19 - it is wolfwood, staying right next to vash even as he is chased out of towns, holding his hand as they run, sharing motel beds, showing with pure physicality "im not going anywhere. you cant outrun me, and you cant hurt me. in not going anywhere"

20 - wolfwood buys vash flowers, but he goes off vibes alone while vash actually knows flower language. it results in wolfwood buying him things like yellow carnations and then being totally confused when vash spends like an hour crying to meryl abt it

[blu-wingz]

whats up its stampede saturday and ive GOT SO MANY THOUGHTS

trigun/stampede/manga spoilers blah blah im normal

ok so what the fuck /pos

ok so fuck. i know i said i had thoughts but ah to put them into words FUCK

disclaimer: i’ve read the manga and seen 1998 trigun so i know whats up.

The Tesla scene. god. they made it much more gruesome and i loved it. KEEPING HER ALIVE ooooh that hurts. but i wish they had a whole episode to explain tesla, what the humans did to her and how this drastically changed the twins’ POV of humanity and their place in the world. bc god that scene was only like less than 2 mins long and i dont think they did her much justice. maybe they will dive into it more but i doubt it since they have to deal with A GIANT PLANT MONSTER

that thing is gorgeous btw. the animation style is so good, that doesnt need to be said but god the studio is using the medium so well. im sure some botany fanatic is gushing about the flora symbolism. and i’ve no clue how July will perish now. anyway, vash is gonna feel SO guilty after this. oh goodness.

VASH HANGING ONTO HIS LAST REMNANTS OF REM THAT HURT LIKE A BITCH FUCK. AND WHEN NAI TOLD HIM “i did this [The big fall] all for you” “so its my fault”. OH BOY I DO LIKE TO SEE VASH SUFFER BUT BITCH THAT FUCKING HURTS. man. seeing him as a husk, a void vash, and it hurt. and him asking if he knew meryl and roberto, fuck!! ouchie!! and also Knives reading the Bible and deciding “yeah humanity is fucked and heres the proof” is SO FUCKING FUNNY. lmao. the implications that he was inspired yet disgusted by the bible sm that he despises humanity and also started a religious cult. oh my god.

Wolfwood wasn’t in a hurry to leave. he didnt want to get involved but he wasn’t rushing to the exit to move on with his life. he was hanging around just in case. of what? idk. this tristamp WW is a bit more mysterious for me and i like it. He didnt make Meryl leave either. didnt bother to stop her. that says so much about him.

oh and poor meryl. for a sec i saw the vines unleash in the room and thought it was gonna be like that volume where she sees what Vash’s feels/sees bc she touches his feathers. i got so scared. bc damn it. every moment in the manga has its impact and trying to shuffle them around to fit this new story hurts me personally /sarcasm. again, i LOVE this new show. im thankful for this new cake but sometimes i see remnants of the manga and i miss the original story. anyway, i cant wait to see what will happen to July, WW and Meryl.

also wtf happy birthday twins i fucking guess. idk if it was hinted before but what a jumpscare. but not a terrible jumpscare as the fucking plants being impregnated by Vash or Knives of the fucking core or whatever the fuck. like yeah. i know the metaphors of motherhood and shit but fucking. i didnt need that imagery personally. and i dont wanna think about it anymore. yall can have it. whatever. it just makes me uncomfy, nothing serious lol

it seems like they keep touching, briefly, on plot points from the manga but not exploring them fully. and i get it. its hard to explain anything from og trimax in 22 minutes, much less 12 episodes. and also i cant blame them so much. maybe watching this live is skewing my view of the entirety of the show. i am definitely re watching this when its finished. i fucking love trigun. and so i won’t comment much on the event order or whatever. i should just let it go. Its a new show with remnants of the manga and its so cool.

.anyway last episode is the day before my birthday so yipee! bday gift for me lol

edit: VASH HAS LEG PROSTHETICS WOOW how did he lose em hmmm

[ofdreamsanddoodles]

aster episode 8 made me. so mad. it was a little aggravating. like im gonna keep watching but it made my hopes kinda dwindle a little bit.

i rlly hated the like. generic story beats if you know what i mean?? like.

vash gets saved by humans who magically know to check for signs of him being a plant despite also them not knowing ahead of time that he is an independant, and also they dont trust him at first until he can do something for them, then suddenly he is a real person!

and then suddenly conflict emerges when they hear a very small partial conversation and then make assumptions despite vash showing no evidence over the years they knew him to this point of him being evil! and then suddenly they find that one piece of paper where he apologizes for his guilt and promises to atone and suddenly they believe hes good again!

and also what they did to knives.... i will never forgive this. why are they kinda building him up to have been evil from the start like come on please dont i really like knives arc and his character in general. dont do this to my evil guy....

it fills me with fear of how stampede is gonna go...

i think with knives it could still go either way, bc they aren't positioning him as like, an evil kid (before the fall at least), i don't necessarily like that he's more "inhuman" it kind of makes it seem like it's more natural he'd distrust humanity or whatever, but it's not like knives doesn't have a reason to be distrustful of humans if luida & brad are just like. locking vash up solely because he's not human. idk if the show will actually bring that up, though, because it is very much people do things for the sake of plot instead of their actions moving the plot if that makes sense

the generic storybeats are getting like. really blatant. i remember seeing a few people complain about rosa in episode 2, for flipflopping so fast on vash & everyone. first she loves him, then she's after his bounty, then suddenly they're all enjoying a beer together. it'd not as bad, but it does kind of feel like they only go back to the bar at the end so they can get to a "day is saved, lets party" end scene. like, the plant is still dying. it's natural to celebrate getting it back, but nothing actually gets solved for them.

none of luida's and brads reactions make sense to me though like luida's like "i've heard of independent plants" except... all information on them is classified??? so how would she??? even know?? it just feels like the show thinks we need this information quickly but a lot of this would probably be solved if they'd just... given us another episode for backstory. like it's really hard to not see it all as contrived, especially when brad's yelling about how vash is OBVIOUSLY working against them after they'd spent 5 years together, only to immediately do a 180 and ask Luida to apologize to vash for him. like, they could have just had him be more hurt than angry (they'd known each other for five years, he vouched for vash, & yet he was still keeping such a big secret, that's definitely a reasonable time to have complicated emotions) but instead they just went the most basic route possible. it's not a story, everyone's just getting herded around into the plot rolls they need to fulfill. it's frustrating!

[ac-liveblogs]

The tl;dr on Trigun Stampede is that it’s a good show, but*

This is the show that I watched on a whim bc I thought Vash was cute and it consumed my brain for the next three months. I do not regret that decision. 

Heading into Trigun, I knew jackshit about it. I think the only character I could’ve recognised prior to this was 90s Vash (whose design I didn’t and still kind of don’t like!). I was too young for Adult Swim in the… very brief period of time that it was actually airing on Cartoon Network in Australia and I’m not sure if Trigun was even on it anyway, so I had absolutely no expectations walking in. 

Obviously, the most notable thing about this show to a newcomer is the animation. It’s been interesting watching RWBY vol 9 and Stampede back to back, let’s say that much. It’s stellar. I think this is one of the prettiest shows I’ve watched in a very long time, and the combat animation is fluid, energetic and full of so much personality. I was still deciding how I felt about the show right up until episode 3 - Millions Knives’ debut - and as soon as I saw the attack on Jeneora I was hitting up my WatchPal to recommend it. I think you can definitely see where Studio Orange cut corners - some locations can feel very empty - but for what they actually want you to focus on, the show looks great.

Episode 4’s reveal of Wolfwood’s Punisher (and what it can do) lives in my head rent-free to this day, and quite frankly episode 12 is one of my favourite fight scenes in pretty much anything. A lot of love and attention to detail goes into these fights, and the choreography is fresh and exciting. Vash shooting at Nai resembling a 3rd-person shooter was so much fun. WatchPal was very patient with me constantly asking to pause, rewind, watch that scene again, pick out this or that detail. Sorry dude. Worth it to see how terribad a fighter Nai actually is, though, shit’s hilarious. I think that even if you don’t care for the plot, this show is worth watching just for the fight scenes and set pieces. 

I think no one’s going to argue the plot is rushed, but what’s there is solid and interesting. This world is absolutely fascinating, and I had a lot of fun speculating on what was happening or what Nai’s goals were. The most fun I had was picking out the biblical themes (which I surprisingly know more of than I thought I did) and working out who was what was where and why, and I’ll be very curious to see where that all goes. I’m also an obnoxious Final Fantasy 7 purist, so I was obviously enjoying the heavy-handed pro-environmentalism themes and psychological horror elements. Nai was right until he was wrong. I’ll be… interested to see how this all resolves next season, because I’m not sure I’m meant to think Vash is right, exactly. 

Vash is an enjoyable MC, though he’s kind of a woobie, huh? I watched Badlands Rumble in the middle of all this and was shocked at the difference in characterisation (incidentally, not a good movie!) He was definitely a lot goofier in eps 1 and 2, but things took a real turn in episode 3 that he never quite cheered up from so I’m hoping to see him in his natural habitat once things chill out. “He’s both the hero and the heroine” is a phrase that’s stuck with me since I learnt the screenwriter apparently said it, and it’s certainly made the way he’s written incredibly interesting to dissect symbolically.

Picking apart symbolism in this show is one of my favourite things to do with it.

Surprisingly, I think William Conrad is one of the more interesting characters in the show. I’m so fascinated by the logic behind everything he’s done. I want more of this dude, I thought Meryl was gonna murk him and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t.

I like Wolfwood. I like narrative foils and homoerotic subtext. I think Wolfwood is potentially really interesting and didn’t get to shine in Stampede, but he’s got at least one whole season ahead of him and I am already predicting that Trimax is going to make me exceptionally mentally unwell about him. I can pick ‘em. I can sense it. I can smell blood in the water. I am also saying, right now and for posterity, that Wolfwood is going to die. He’s gonna die in Stampede, he’s gonna die in Maximum, he probably died in the 90s. Sorry. It’s gonna happen.

If this weren’t a 12 episode series and it would’ve been unsatisfying for it to happen here, I would’ve expected him to die redeeming himself after betraying Vash in July. Now we’re past his Judas phase, I’m wondering what the New Biblical Imagery he’s going to pick up to replace it will be bc as is, uh... dude by all means should probably just power walk really fast in the other direction and never be seen or heard from again.

Nai is a really fun and sympathetic villain right up until he's fun and an absolute monster, and I respect his deranged manner and willingness to wrangle that twincest subtext as close to actual text as he could possibly get it. I am SO curious how much of that was in the original because jesus christ. I felt bad for the guy and agree with him to a certain extent, but my feelings about Nai’s handling are going to have to wait until I see how Vash’s arc continues and what happens to Plants going forward. Vash doesn’t seem particularly motivated to change the status quo at this stage which is... interesting. We’ll see what happens.

I was very lukewarm on Meryl until eps 10-12. Now it’s the Zazie-Meryl Power Hour. As soon as I realised they were parallels my brain woke up. While I’m really ??? unsure about Wolfwood’s trajectory going forward, I am very excited for Meryl’s. It also helps she turned into a chain-smoking disaster senpai in the timeskip. She’s Mary Magdalene also. That’s really cool. I felt really smart when I figured out that really obvious connection, finally, in episode 11. (I know some bible but not that much bible.)

I… I don’t get points for figuring out which two biblical figures Vash is representative of. No one does. I do get points for noticing he yanked Wolfwood’s entire colour scheme when he started trying to kill Nai, though. That was cool. That fight was so fucking cool. 

Trigun Stampede is a really fun show.

*But. 

It is a show absolutely hamstrung by its episode count. When you’re dealing with either 12 or 24 episode seasons you’re inevitably going to run into problems when you’re not working with original material, and Stampede was having serious problems fitting in all the plot points that it needed to before the finale. This show’s pace is absolutely breakneck with absolutely no room to breathe, and in the end that means the main cast’s relationships suffer for it. I was very disappointed to find that I really liked Roberto in the episode that he died, and that was episode 10. 

Episodes 10-12 leaves the implication of shenanigans and much stronger relationships than we got. That’s a real shame because the show roughly broke into Vash-Wolfwood, Vash-Nai and Meryl-Roberto with very little crossover - I know Vash/Meryl is a classic, but she ended up having more chemistry with Wolfwood, and any semblance of party dynamic evaporated once we got to Home. And speaking of Home, that lack of space between episodes and the necessity to explain Vash and Nai’s backstory ended up with us teleporting in and out, and the rest of the trip to July getting crammed off-screen. Integral scenes are missing - I had to consult a more knowledgeable coworker about the missing pieces of Wolfwood’s backstory so I could get his rough timeline (and age) actually explained to me, and I did find myself wanting to explore this world a lot more than we had time to do. 

Like. Seriously. What the hell is up with Legato. Who are you. How are you doing that. Why are you here. Why is your hair blue.

The photo of the group in episode 12 in particular really makes me feel like there’s a lot we missed out on without a couple of breather episodes here and there. I think with the exception of Vash and Nai, whose relationship is quite interesting and intense, I enjoyed the concepts of the characters more than the actual execution. However, I’m also 100% sure that Nai and Vash was the Absolute Main Focus of this season, so, I can let this go if season 2 delivers. 

Sorry Vashwood, you’re very fun in theory and I like you a lot, but we’re kind of pulling at threads here. Trimax is apparently gonna be an Experience though. 

I try to take the circumstances of a work’s creation into account when I talk about it, and between a 12 or 24 episode series I understand why Studio Orange chose 12, but Stampede really needed 15 or 16 to shine with the narrative it wanted to tell. I also understand why Stampede chose to seed future plot points that went absolutely nowhere this season - Wolfwood’s beef with Livio, Legato and Elendira being prime examples (christ this guy is gonna be busy in season 2), and the trip Home specifically after the Sand Steamer feels a bit pointless at this stage - but I can’t help but wonder if that time would have been better spent elsewhere. 

Although, a lot of fans couldn’t even deal with Milly’s absence even though it took about 5 seconds for me, someone who confused Trigun with Cowboy Bebop until quite recently, to work out what Meryl’s rough character arc was and why Milly was absent (but pretty clearly coming back later in very predictable way), so maybe Studio Orange was being wise by assuring, uh, certain fans they hadn’t forgotten or maliciously chosen to delete these characters. 

I’ve heard Trigun wasn’t as popular in Japan as it was in the West, so maybe that 12 episode pick was playing it safe, but since S2 has been greenlit and Stampede seems to have been a pretty big success, hopefully Orange can spring for 24 episodes this time and make this show really shine.

Anyway, I’m gonna read the manga now.

[unlimitedhorsepower]

Tagged by: @thevoiceofthanatos​

Favorite color: warm bright yellow, mustard yellow & old gold, and just yellow in general. its a good colour. it makes me happy

Currently reading: idk, probably star trek fanfic my friend @rubbertplant​ was writing to give my opinion on it. i often read through my own stuff too lol, like whoah i wrote that??? ADHD has taken everything from me including my capability to read though, for real. ive been thinking of trying to listen to some audiobooks recently though, this cannot continue... its just that i also have no ears disease so idk how well that would go. determined to try though

Last song you listened to: havent been listening to music so much bc ive been playing videos instead but my last.fm has all my spotify listens so itll stay up to date on whatever i listened to last. currently seems to be “please play-bite” by pinocchioP. i often just let spotify play me whatever it recommends anyhow so theres variance. and i only started this account like a few months ago max so its not really a full picture of my music-listening

Last movie (in theaters): its not really a movie, but if it counts, the first ginga nagareboshi gin stageplay (recorded and released in finland in theaters with subs)

ginga was always huge in finland for some reason. idk. the anime is so violent though that i got really afraid of bears for some reason. theres so much blood... i never read the manga either i just knew of the anime and partook in my share of wolf roleplays (dogs were uncool! so i didnt do dog roleplays. iirc that really was my reason).

heres some funny wolves from my wolf rp days

2010. one of the first things i coloured digitally... i painstakingly cleaned the scanned pencil lineart with a mouse

2011. i had gotten my first drawing tablet as a birthday/xmas gift and practiced a ton around this time (more than just wolves lol)

Last series I watched: trigun stampede. even changed my phone bg into vash... but millions knives is probably my favourite. he just does everything wrong and makes his life worse. and everyone elses life too bc he sucks. but hes multifaceted so hes also my meow meow and whatever. i hope a ford explorer drives over him

if it counts though, ive seen some star trek TOS episodes and movies because my friends have been watching them. im not super into it but its always fun to hang. i also dont watch a lot of stuff. i dont even know what i do. guy who doesnt read or watch things but listens to jerma videos on youtube without actually looking at them while i “draw” and “write”

Craving: food honestly. i should cook something lmfao. i also want soda so bad but i dont have any. id make some tea but its disgustingly warm in my house so i only want cool drinks. could kill for a nice milkshake or a smoothie rn i think

Tea or coffee: tea... im the only finnish person who doesnt drink coffee for real. also got really into loose leaf tea bc i befriended a chinese lady who is really into tea and has a tea shop in the city near where i live

Currently working on: drawing this and trying to think how i want to do it. somehow want to incorporate flat colours and maybe shade his body naturally, and make the blood look realistic instead of flat colours... hmm not sure yet what i want to do

other than that im trying to proofread the chapter of my ryanyuri fanfic i already published because theres a lot of typos and strange sentences in there but its been a chore bc my body breaks down when it gets too warm smfh... not looking forward to when my apt goes over 30 degrees celsius it is unlivable. im also trying to complete a “lookbook” of my tnb sims. but i always start huge projects that take three million years to complete and im really slow lmfao

Tag people you’d like to get to know better: i could just ask these questions from everyone i talk on discord with. fuck my friends i know irl or otherwise, only asking people who r my friends through tumblr. no need to do this though. also this isnt probably meant to be answered so long-windedly... thats just me. i cant answer with one word i gotta write an essay. heres three tags though @basslinegrave​ @vita-divata​

(record scratch before 3rd tag) and @rubbertplant​ bc they were streaming a game in discord when i started typing this and i was like hey wanna do it and they were like yeah

i expect replies on my desk by 5pm TOMORROW!!!!get to work!!!! no i jest, do it or dont, i dont mind either way, just if you feel like doing this. if you see this and want to do it feel free to consider yourself tagged. godspeed

[gayhoguns]

"do you think we can become friends with them" COMING FROM KNIVES and "i think we'll have to put in a lot of effort" COMING FROM VASH how much they've changed. how rem has changed them. how tesla has changed them.

it's interesting to see how trauma shaped them. knives, the emotional one, starts being this naive kid that believed in humans, wanted nothing more than to befriend them, wanted to feel a part of something - then, when he learned what happened to tesla, anger took place, the desire for revenge, the desire to hurt them as much as they hurt him and his foolishness.

but, before... he was this kid.

and vash, the serious, rational one. the one who knew humans weren't going to open up and trust them so easily. who was in despair after seeing tesla, after realizing they were in a ship full of the people who did that to her (i won't get ahead of myself but. god).

then rem saving him. in more ways them one. rem making him want to BELIEVE. and a kid that was this afraid, who knew about the horrors of the world, who knew what humans could be - he needed to believe. and that's what rem gave him. faith. faith in love and peace

only he lets it go too far bc. well. he's vash the stampede. he doesn't know any other way to be