#because i think wolfwood DID call vash by his name at first right?? i mean it was spiraling from vash the stampede to vash and then to

[ruporas]

pet names

[ID: Black and white comic of Vash and Wolfwood from Trigun Maximum. Vash overhears a conversation from a nearby table at the restaurant they're seated at, the unnamed character saying, "Honey, can you pass me that?" Their partner says, "Sure thing, angel." The unnamed character begins again, "Say, did you hear the news from earlier?" In response, "Haven't got the chance. Tell me about it?" Vash smiles fondly, listening in as the conversation continues, "You'd never guess, babe! The runner--" Abruptly, the conversation is cut in by a "Needle nogging", Vash's expression changing instantly and no longer smiling. The panel cuts to Wolfwood who smiles lop-sidedly, pointing at Vash's plate and says, "If you're not going to eat that. I'll take it." Vash grabs the plate and holds it away and says, "Mine" while Wolfwood clicks his tongue. He pauses for a moment before asking slowly, "Hey, is there any reason you don't use cute names with me?" Wolfwood lifts a cup of water up to his lips, looking confused. He says, "I do though." Vash cuts in, "Spikey and needle nogging aren't cute!"

Vash continues with a shy expression, "Since we're together now..." he trails off and Wolfwood picks up, taking a sip of water as he says thoughtfully, "Together, huh..." Vash pauses in his sentence with a look of confusion before reaffirming, "We are together, right?" Wolfwood nods, "Right." Vash says, "Right", before continuing, his shy expression returning, "Then you can use stuff like... honey or-" Wolfwood cuts in this time and says casually, "You're not a honey though." A panel cuts of Vash's expression changing again, shocked. He asks, "Huh? Then who is?" Wolfwood says immediately, "Milly." Vash exclaims, "Milly?!" Wolfwood continues, "She's sweet, just like honey." A bubble pops up of Milly smiling as Wolfwood speaks. Vash continues, "Okay, true... What about sweetpea?" Wolfwood responds, "Kids. Kids are sweetpea. And pumpkin too." Vash continues, "Okay... What about baby?" Wolfwood says without hesitation, "Meryl." Vash exclaims again, "Meryl?!" Wolfwood explains," Noisy, like a baby." Vash mutters, "Hey, that's a bit mean..."

Vash continues persistently, "Then what about babe?" Wolfwood shrugs with a grin, "You are not a babe." Vash looks at him, slightly frustrated before exclaiming with flushed cheeks, "Then what am I?!" Wolfwood points at his hair and smiles softly, "I told you. You're the one and only needle nogging." A panel closes in on Vash's widen eyes, cheeks still red, pausing before he ultimately resigns, planting his face into the palms of his hands and muttering, "I give up..." At the same time, Wolfwood sneaks and grabs the plate of food that Vash left unattended, saying in response, "You get up cuaght up about the dumbest things, y'know that?"

The comic then picks up again to a jump in time, after they've left the restaurant. Wolfwood muses to Vash, "You said all that about the names earlier, but I don't hear ya using them for me." Vash looks to him excitably and asks, "Did you want me to?" Wolfwood looks at him with an uncertain expression, "Not really, but I guess I am curious..." Vash beams, "Then let's try some, okay... dear?" He fingerguns Wolfwood with a grin, little hearts surrounding him. Wolfwood just looks at him neutrally and says, "Okay," while thinking to himself, "Cute..." Vash exclaims, "So unenthusiastic!"

The next comic picks up at a different time, but on the same theme of pet names. Vash hugs Wolfwood and says to him, "Thank you, my love." A panel close up of Vash steadily opening his eyes before he sees Wolfwood's reaction up close, his eyes glancing away, cheeks flushed, and the smoke out of his cig forming soft hearts as he mutters, "Sure..." In a smaller, cartoonish style, Vash has a comedically exaggerated expression of shock and widened eyes as he grips Wolfwood by the shoulders while Wolfwood still wears a shy expression. He then nudges his head to the side of Wolfwood's with a close eyed happy smile, hugging him close and says, "So, there WAS one you liked!" Wolfwood, still looking away, but now with an irritated and embarrassed expression, grumbles, "Shut up..."

The final image is a short sequence. Wolfwood is working on something, spacing out as he does, while Vash from off screen calls for him, starting with "Babeeee? Babe? Beautiful? Honey? My love?" All of which gets no reaction from Wolfwood. Vash pauses for a moment before piping up again, "wolfwood?" Wolfwood turns around, finally noticing that Vash was calling for him and asks, "What?" A box at the bottom of the page says, "Unresponsive to anything other than his names." END ID]

[mayfly-stampede]

How did Vash figured out Wolfwood?

(warnings: long post ahead, episodes 5-7 and 10 spoilers)

For Vash, Wolfwood seemed just one more of his many acquaintances.

When Roberto doesn’t trust him, Vash mentions that he doesn’t believe Wolfwood is a bad person cause he can see it in his eyes and Wolfwood being upset about it is actually confirming it.

Even Vash laughs when he sees him angry.

Still, Wolfwood warns him to not be that careless but Vash insists trusting him cause he hasn’t shot him yet.

At this point he doesn’t know yet that Wolfwood carry a machine gun. Maybe he said that as a metaphor.

After knowing Wolfwood is actually well armed, Vash is surprised…and asks him who really is. He doesn’t only have a machine gun, it has something like a laser in it. Where did he get that technology?

Still, Vash doesn’t mind he stayed with them. Roberto keeps skeptical but Vash doesn’t change his mind and presents himself to Wolfwood formally.

Later, when they arrive to Windmill Village they get attack by Rollo but Vash wants to stop him without hurt him.

So, Vash trusts Wolfwood the story about the promise and Rollo’s disease...and even after that, even after letting him knowing everything…Wolfwood kills Rollo.

Vash and Wolfwood argue. Wolfwood says he did it for mercy…but for Vash, he killed someone important to him…

Why Wolfwood doesn’t understand it? Maybe…he doesn’t have anyone he wants to protect?

Vash tries to ask him this because he felt it, Wolfwood isn’t a bad person so…

What happened?

When Vash tries to explain the meaning of his question, the answer appears by itself:

Wolfwood, who had been so sarcastic all this time without showing his intentions…had now lost his nerve in front of someone who attacks Vash.

Does Wolfwood know him?

But as the minutes pass by, Vash notices Wolfwood doesn’t only know Livio calling him by his name…

He worries about him…a lot.

And Wolfwood, a man who doesn’t care about anything…seems to have trouble and doesn’t know what to do.

It is clear now to Vash Wolfwood has someone to protect.

And it’s time to get to action: helping him, of course without asking his permission.

Vash stops Livio for a moment and can hear a few words from him…

I have to catch up…

When he wonders the meaning of this, Wolfwood appears and acts without killing anyone…

Then Vash was right? Wolfwood really kills just when he needs to? But Rollo was already calmed when he shot him, why did he kill him?

After Livio disappeared, Wolfwood says the orphanage is in danger and Vash notices he worries about it almost like he worried for Livio.

Just like the first time, Vash smiles warmly to Wolfwood seeing him worried and then upset about his own feelings.

It seems he doesn’t think of himself as a good person. He knows what he’s doing is wrong saying “I’m not like you” and then “I’m Nicholas The Punisher” as an explanation…

Doesn’t have his gun the same style/tech/design as Livio’s? As E. G. Bomber’s? Are they partners somehow?

And Bomber knew Knives. He even ran after him when he heard him playing the piano…

Maybe Nicholas was careless when he mentioned his nickname “Nicholas The Punisher” because his mind wasn’t clear yet. Is that how they call him?

Livio remembered Wolfwood a few moments before disappear. Maybe his memories with him were strong enough to make him react…is he who he wanted to catch up?

Also, if Livio’s duty was to kill Vash…maybe Wolfwood had to keep him alive, among other tasks. Is that why he fought Livio and shot Rollo? Then yes, he didn’t want to do it, he had to do it.

Livio seemed brainwashed but Wolfwood still has will. So, if Wolfwood is actually a good person then…is he threatened?

And now it’s not very hard to know with what.

After he shot Rollo, he didn’t use his gun again until Livio appeared. Always when Vash’s life is in danger.

That’s why he follows Vash, his mission includes to protect him…until he gets to Knives. Then he told the truth when Vash asked him directly: he follows him because he is the babysitter.

If that’s the case, he can’t leave him alone…Wolfwood must fulfill his task to be free.

And Vash can’t ignore someone in trouble…

even if that means sacrificing himself.

[fbj723]

certified delulu post about nocti

a.n. this'll be a compilation of thoughts from my initial reactions to sands of wrath to his voicelines to literally everything about him. THIS WILL HEAVILY BE A NOCTI X SKK!READER KIND OF THING because i'm all in for a lil self insert to feed my delulu visions. also as a heads up i did read the story using google translate so if i quote anything it's basically what google translate told me but i edited it to make some grammatical sense. and yes there will be spoilers

a lot of context will be left out so if you don't wanna be confused by names check out this lore doc that gives a summary of er-5 or pgr lore in general, this post just talks about er-5 lol

EXHIBIT A: TRIGUN AU

have you seen trigun (ESPECIALLY trimax) cause if you have this makes so much more sense

noctis is vash and nigel is knives

both are brothers and have almost opposite ideologies

i did think of wolfwood and livio as another option but nigel does fit a bit closer to resembling knives

VASHWOOD (where nocti is vash and skk is ww (or the other way round, honestly either still works)

nocti: but you must promise me that you won’t die before i come back! no…. you’re not allowed to die even after i come back! i will definitely find a way to save you!

skk: of course, partner…..

this had me in TEARS I WAS NOT READY

nocti fist bumping you just made me think of this scene with vash and meryl

HE ALSO CALLS YOU PARTNER AS HE FIST BUMPS YOU the way i had this realization so late into writing all this

sands of wrath setting literally looks like a place you’d find in no man’s land

nocti’s voiceline telling you to smile more, similar to ww telling vash to smile more (and i mean their genuine smile, not the fake one they use in front of people)

EXHIBIT B: NOCTI AND SKK ARE MARRIED

they are married and own a bar together hear me out—

you two enter a town in which neither of you are welcome because you’re both from babylonia, the mayor decides to put you two in a hotel room till the harvest festival is over

you two are in separate beds, but neither of you can sleep, so you two do what any pair of roommates would do—

—have a 6 hr "light conversation" :D

first actual convo with nocti, you both take turns to ask questions about why they’re here, what’s going on, etc

nocti asks why you trust him so easily, you respond with “it’s intuition” which is a response nocti seemed to like

you also state how you hope he returns to cerberus and fall asleep. nocti in a way states he also wishes to go back to cerberus and sleeps as well

at some point nocti leaves the hotel room to find demont, who is the reason you two ended up working together in the first place, but there was an attack by hetero creatures and nocti swiftly got rid of them

after talking to the mayor, max, about wanting to be just a resident in town, he takes you to a bar, in which that’s where you find nocti

ya know he could’ve talked about ANYTHING and his drunk ass decided to talk about HOW HE PROTECTED YOU??? COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NOT

you find nocti and he offers his hand out to you to dance with him, you reluctantly agreed and you two end up break dancing together

this was him proposing to you i’m just sayin—

the night passes and you two begin living your lives as residents of new oakley

when he first calls you partner, it was originally solely because temporarily they’re no longer considered members of babylonia, and so to fit in with the whole wild west type style, nocti refers to you as “partner” and you agree to do the same to him

first time it’s used outside your interaction with him was when nocti has small talk with vann

vann: you’ll only obey orders from that commandant, right? these are the rules of the sky garden

nocti: i don’t listen to anyone’s orders, but if it’s a request from my partner, that’s a different matter

NOCTI WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT LIKE WE’RE ROMANTICALLY PARTNERS?????

this isn’t the first time he does something like that he’s very consistent about it

truly a devoted man

also “MY partner” ????? he also pretty much refers to you as his partner throughout the whole story i got whiplashed when we were back to being called skk in his affection story

after you and nocti find demont there’s a small good cop bad cop scene (which i found hilarious), but at the end demont couldn’t reveal much vital information due to dying from poison

nocti realizes this poison is something only nigel can control, and stormed out into the center of town in a fit of rage trying to find nigel

calming him down and telling him to retreat to not make a big scene was practically impossible, that is till you shout “trust me— partner!!” and nocti finally calms down and retreats

HELLO??? CALLING HIS NAME HE DIDN'T BAT AN EYE BUT BEING CALLED PARTNER MADE HIM ACTUALLY LISTEN??

i'm absolutely speechless

you two cook up a plan to find out what’s really going on +bonus hand holding at the end

your part was to just do your job as a bartender while nocti handles the investigating, and eventually nigel shows up

nigel asks what’s the difference between a human and a construct, you respond in a way a bartender would explain it, but nigel wants an answer from you as a commandant rather than a bartender

he ends up poisoning you and leaves, nocti arrives a little while later after discovering what the plan is for this town in the next few days

i remembered that before we split up i told him not to be reckless, but in the end i was the one that was careless and ended up in this miserable condition. i no longer had the strength to stand, so i could only slide down to the edge of the bar. at the beginning, i said big words that would make nocti return to cerberus in an honored manner… i didn’t expect to be the one to make him sad for his companions

skk: i'm sorry…. nocti….

nocti: HEY! don’t say such depressing things to me so quickly

nocti then enters a panicked state of not knowing what to do cause skk is poisoned and there's no known cure for it

nocti gritted his teeth. he didn't even know how to give first aid. he regretted not learning more about first aid from vera before

GOT ME SOBBING, EMOTIONALLY DAMAGED, SHATTERED INTO PIECES

you tell nocti to go help the mayor cause if the mayor dies the town will fall

nocti is in pure disbelief that at a time like this you're more worried about someone else and he refused to leave you here

after some reassuring nocti goes ahead and takes care of what's going on in town and immediately after checks if you’re still ok

he hears a painful scream in his communication device and he SPRINTS back to where you are and finds both vera and 21 there attempting to take care of you

21 comments on how nocti is a lot more powerful ITS BECAUSE HIS LOVER IS DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM AND HE WANTS TO SAVE THEM BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW

there’s an encounter with the purifying force, wanting nocti dead since they believe he’s the cause of their aircraft crashing

you tell them that it isn’t his fault and after essentially a stare down between the purifying force and cerberus, the purifying force leaves you all alone since they trust you (thank the overlords for you working with them before and gaining a good work relationship)

you, cerberus, max, and vann think of a plan on what to do next now that you all know where nigel might be located

nocti will go and fight nigel alone since it’s the reason he even came here in the first place while the rest defend the town

you establish a m.i.n.d. connection with nocti, which in turn gives him the poison as well since you’re basically almost a walking corpse at this point

the fact that nocti, with NO hesitation, established a connection with you makes it LOUD AND CLEAR that he will stick with you no matter what even if it leads to his death

cue another hand holding scene, and nocti leaves

vera and 21 get very VERY concerned over your health, yet you’re still adamant about keeping the connection with nocti

21: they want to keep a deep m.i.n.d connection w nocti

vera: DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! if you're deeply connected, your consciousness will be completely bound to him…. if he dies, you also die

skk: he… needs….. me…..

this is LITERALLY a moment where one cares more about their partner THAN THEIR OWN WELL-BEING ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

transitioning over to nocti’s side, he finally confronts nigel

nigel mentions that in order to cure the commandant he needs to be killed, but just HEARING that name come out of his mouth made nocti more full of rage than he’s ever had

this part alone SCREAMED nocti being like "you do NOT have the right to say my partner's name after what you did to them, i am no longer doing this for myself, i'm doing this FOR THEM"

so anyways nocti gets his ass beat 💀💀, nigel lecturing him that he’s still confused and is only driven by anger

the cutscene if you wanna watch it

"commandant… you must be disappointed with me…. damn it… are you mad at me? haha.. me too…. leave everything to me from now on. let’s make that bastard taste our true wrath, partner..."

“i can’t die here yet…. my partner is still waiting for me to come back.”

similar to 21's comment earlier, nigel notices how nocti's steps aren't noisy and chaotic anymore, but steady, firm, and powerful now BECAUSE HIS PARTNER IS ROOTING FOR HIM TO WIN AND HE NEEDED THAT BOOST OF ENCOURAGEMENT... THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SO ADAMANT WITH KEEPING A M.I.N.D. CONNECTION WITH NOCTI

this whole fight scene had me SCREAMING

“my partner and i will use all our strength… to beat you to pieces”

if you still haven’t gotten it DO YOU SEE IT NOW??? HIS MAN IS FULLY DRIVEN TO HIS FULL POTENTIAL BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO.. NO... NEEDS TO COME BACK TO YOU

nocti wins and nigel essentially retreats but with a new found respect for his brother

but before he retreats he asks nocti the same question he asked you: what’s the difference between humans and constructs

he gives his own answer and guesses yours (since he was rather confident enough with knowing a lot on how you think) and it boils down to them having the same answer but different font

the place nocti and nigel were fighting in collapses, forcing nocti to leave and never see nigel again

you and nocti are back in the hotel room recovering, and a few locals come in to beg nocti to stay and not go back to babylonia

“but i made a promise with my partner, i want to return to cerberus in a dignified manner…”

after more silly banter everyone leaves you and nocti alone to rest, but neither of you can sleep

nocti brings up the question nigel asked him, and you gave him your actual answer, which is pretty close to what he guessed

nocti: haha… just as i thought, i know you better

skk: but maybe i know you better. for example, what you look like when you’re drunk

nocti: WHAT?! DID I DO ANYTHING WEIRD WHEN I WAS DRUNK???

skk: forget it, stop talking, i’m sleepy

nocti: HEY!! TELL ME NOW!!!!

he’s a literal blushing mess after you told him you saw him drunk

your honor this is literally a newly wed couple

gotta of course mention his affection story so read here for a summary of that as well

the way he ONLY uses the best quality and probably most expensive ingredients to make your food

nocti giving a damn about this whole pancake thing only because YOU care

LIKE HE'S PUTTING HIS PREFERENCES ASIDE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY

MORE HAND HOLDINGGG this time in the form of you helping him mold the pancake shape +bonus nocti blushing

both literally wanting to do the whole working at a bar thing together again in the future that is like PEAK ENDGAME for their marriage

+bonus boss being supportive and naming the new drink and dish that was made after you and nocti

the whole affection story just very clearly and vividly plays out nocti and skk working together flawlessly at the bar like their chemistry was SO GOOD !!!!

very sorry for any grammar errors i'm very hyperfixated on him rn and i needed to scream about it somewhere

anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk i will now think of nocti in a wedding dress /hj

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trigun Thoughts Vol. 2 Pt. 2

This is actually just miscellaneous reactions I had while reading that I don't want to clog the tag with. Hope it's at least a little funny.

Not for long I bet... (look at them. so squishy...)

Oof. I um. Hm. This means something, I just can't place it right now.

I adore how perceptive Milly is. I just adore her in general. Actually there's something to be said about Milly as the observer in this series. Meryl is knocked out for much of the ensuing fight against Monev but Milly witnesses all of it. She's also frequently the first to look out a window or to notice things in her environment. Hm. Really interesting.

Knives' face being shadowed is so so good. It's similar to my commentary in Stampede about how the camera doesn't really focus on young Nai in the early flashbacks so you don't see his face a lot at first.

Vash's awkward smile. Meryl immediately trying to backtrack. I am experiencing secondhand embarrassment. Girl. Please.

He looks like a jojo character. Actually, I'm super intrigued by Legato. He's really interesting. I wish to study him under a microscope. (Every time someone mentions "blue hair" my brain automatically finishes it with "and pronouns" sjfhbdfh)

He's so cute. He wants your money.

This entire scene is so sweet, what the heck???

And now, for a transcript of my live reaction to the page after this: "Yes! See through him! The mortifying ordeal of being known! Get perceived idio- WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS SPINE???"

I'm a little sad about Dominique. She was cool. Also I'm enjoying the way anyone wearing a coat or cloak, regardless of gender, is drawn as. Basically a rectangle. Hjhfvjdfh. This isn't a judgement I really do like it a lot.

Wolfwood :(

Huh. Knives' literal rebirth is making me. Uncomfortable. :)

(Season 2 of Stampede should definitely give him the long hair here though...)

Meryl cares him so much. GOOD.

Ooh! About the whole "it was the first time he called me by my name" part, it actually wasn't! Vash said her name during the Monev fight but because Meryl was unconscious, she didn't hear it! I think, given how avoidant Vash is, it says a lot that he went from not referring to most people by name to singling out Meryl and Milly and telling them to run because, like it or not, they as individuals (beyond being members of humanity he swore to protect) have become personally important to him.

Did. Did Legato just get squished???

Oh my god no no no leave my boy alone

UNCOMFORTABLE. STOP.

NOOOOOOO :'(((

I have a few thoughts regarding Wolfwood watching all of that happen... but I kind of want to wait for a bit before I comment on it.

The fifth moon thing was incredibly disturbing in the way it played out... Knives' genuine sorrow at seeing that Vash has more scars. Vash rightfully calling him out for hurting him more. Knives immediately switching to blaming Vash for July and implying that he fucking shoot himself if he wants someone to pay what the fuck. Vash showing clear signs of trauma (freezing, loss of memory, panic, anger). Knives grabbing his face and restraining him while forcing his arm to transform. Everyone else trying desperately to get away. Vash crying and having no clue what is happening to his own body. Holy fuck. This is downright horrific.

Uhhh. On to Trimax I guess. I'm sure things can only get better...

[pancake-breakfast]

Ugh, too sleepy. Almost done with manga. Can't fall behind now....

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 13, Chapters 7-9 below.

Chapter 7: Catch-As-Catch-Can

Yeah, don't overdo exercise training, kids. Not only is passing out DEFINITELY not good for you, but you can get seriously injured even if you have a spotter. Even if you only get a minor injury, it can put your training back weeks or months.

Awww, Livio looks so young here! Look at his short, floofy hair! I hope he grows it out a bit again. Maybe not quite like he had it before, but yeah.

Do people actually do finger push-ups, or is that just something for badasses in animation and comics?

Training montage!

Aw, man! He got to wear a Wolfwood outfit? I feel robbed.

Ok, Satosugu.

Ah, she's doing that thing again. I think.

Oh, what? Elendira's finishing move is a really big nail? Lame.

She's really putting lot into all this, though, isn't she? She looks a bit rough.

Oh, shoot. It's the nuke.

She senses something. I WONDER WHAT.

Yeah, it was Livio.

I like his simple mentality here. Very straightforward.

NO! No one's allowed to drink vials anymore! NO MORE VIALS!!!

Him? Wolfwood??

Chapter 8: Tipped Wings

CW: Gore

TBH I don't know how the hell Livio won this fight. Assuming he technically won at this point.

Heh. Yeah. "Him" was Wolfwood. But of course Livio knows him as Nicholas.

Aaaaand we're back to my favorite wet cat, Legato Bluesummers.

How does he know Elendira has been defeated? Did he have a little feeler in her? Was he skimming her brain kinda like when he had a little mind convo with Vash?

Dude. I thought you wanted to win this. You guys can't both die to each other in this fight. I will genuinely be annoyed if that happens.

Guernica? You mean the flail thing? That thing had a name???

Heh. I appreciate Legato calling Vash a force of nature here. After all, he is the Humanoid Typhoon.

Awww, look at baby Legato raiding the leftovers from July. Also, hasn't it been like 25 years since July? Just how old is Legato??

Ohhhhh, this is where Stampede got his character design. Like, yeah, they straightened his hair, but I recognize that short little jacket.

Welp, Knives has seen better days. Actually, this is a lovely turn on the way Rem is often paneled with Vash. Instead of a small Vash and a dominating, hopeful figure of Rem, we have a small Legato with a very, very broken Knives dominating the upper third of the panel.

Yes, because the thing Legato needs is another reason to have a psychotic break.

Geez, he's just... scooping up Knives' guts to try and... what, shove them back in? Carry them with them?

He's soooo sad, too.

Knives. What. The. Fuck. Just let the boy cry, idiot. He adores you. Also, talking while you're half corpsified is creepy. Cut it out.

Aww, Vash is still trying to save him. Gods, I wish Vash had found him instead.

Goodbye, weird machine gun doll flail thing. We barely knew thee.

Oh, dang. Legato got the jump on Vash.

Chapter 9: VS

I have no idea what's going on here. At least it led to weird, dramatic Legato pose?

Legato, no. This is not how it should be. This is not how anything should be.

Mmm, Wolfwood memories.

Vash is right. This isn't a fight anymore. But I think Legato knows that.

Oh, would you look at that. Thanks, literally the first panel on the next page.

Ok, but did Nightow have to draw his fingers this sexy here??

Legato's trying, but he's not getting through Vash's defenses.

Huh. Interesting that the Earth Fleet guy with his vastly broader knowledge of Plants would state Vash is a rarity. I like that all his sisters seem very fond of him, though.

Chronica is bitter about Domina. It might have been a bit of a mistake for Knives to off her.

Knives says this, but Chronica knows this, so... I wonder what she's actually planning here.

Wait, just who are they attaching a cable to??

Of course Milly and Meryl would have Vash's back.

Hahahaha, this really highlights the contrast between the two characters.

Love and peace, yo.

Gods, Legato just keeps coming at Vash. He's getting ripped apart by Vash's defenses, but he just keeps at it.

What? Vash? What are you doing?? You... you need that box, don't you???

Ohhh, they're doing shonen battle showdown pose. It's on now.

Aw, dammit. I guess it's on in the next (and final!) volume.

Archive

Trigun Vol. 1: Covers + 1-3, 4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 || Vol. 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Vol. 1: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Vol. 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Vol. 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Vol. 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 6: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 7: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 8: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5 + Bonus || Vol. 9: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 10: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-8 || Vol. 11: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 12: Covers + 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 || Vol. 13: Covers + 1-3, 4-6

Extra Credit: Trigun Vol. 1: Nebraska vs. Vash's Motivations, Vash's Loneliness, Vash's Depression (pt. 2 of post), Soupy Brains || Vol. 2: Coin Factoids || TriMax Vol. 1: Lina, Vash, and a Haircut || Meryl, Vash, and the Pursuit of Happiness || Vol. 5: Knives, Vash, and Hatred for Humanity || Vol. 6: Coping Series: Wolfwood, Meryl, Vash || Vol. 8: The Uncoordinated Counterattack || Vol. 9: Justice, Punishment, and Mercy, The Tolling of an Iron Bell || Vol. 10: Crucifixion Symbology (pt. 2 of post), Merging of Families, Being Childlike (And Why God Hates Chapel) || Vol. 11: New Hair, New Outlook

[takeshitakyuuto]

Trigun Book Club Update Trimax volume 2

Oh sweet Jesus just look at what I have to deal with here

These are THE SCANS. KMSSSSSS

Also, despite being intimately familiar with reading right to left, the fact that the next arrow is still the right one instead of the left one completely breaks my brain. Let’s see how this goes. Although I will say that this is a slight upgrade in that the last volume scanned two page spreads separately so I kinda had to imagine how they were supposed to look put together. I should’ve just bought the books

Ch 1. That’s also how I feel whenever I hear the saxophone my dad was a jazz saxophonist, I have a degree in classical oboe performance. How did this happen? idk

Jesus being crushed to death by the weight of other humans is a horrific way to die

Ch 2. Eat like a dog, Kaiba

Sorry I’m incapable of thinking about media outside of the contexts of other things I’ve read or seen, it’s in my nature. Remember that part in Hiraeth The End of the Journey where even though Hibino had a side cart for his motorcycle, he refused to let anyone ride in it because he was saving it for his soulmate? Yeah.

Totally obsessed with Raidei’s outfit

They say don’t bring a knife to a gun fight but they said nothing about a sword!

Ooooohhhhhhh it’s the last page of chapter two and I finally figured out that it’s supposed to be Raidei the Blade. I was like braid? Why braid what’s that supposed to mean?

Ch 3. Loving the title page art for this chapter

I will not make dirty jokes about Vash’s arm gun, I will not make dirty jokes about Vash’s arm gun, I w

Ngl, this fight reminded me of (oh god im doing it again) the coliseum chapter of Kino’s Journey. I’m leaving it at that but it seems like I’ve got a penchant for human-loving gunslinging protagonists

Ch 4. Chapter called Wolfwood? LETS GOOOOOO

Vash: I don’t kill people

Wolfwood: I do, get out of my way

The more interactions between Vash and Wolfwood I read, the more I understand why people ship them. Who doesn’t want someone to put your gun to their head and tell you to shoot them

Meryl and Millie! 🥹 It’s been so long!

They say lost technology a lot but this technology certainly doesn’t seem lost

Ch 5. Nico nii chan :3c (side note: totally forgot his first name was Nicholas for a second and thought it was a joke on him always smiling)

don’t click

I really do love how large of a role family plays in the story and the characters’ motivations and personalities. I still feel like we’re in the “early” part of the series, but to be already picking up on so many of these themes and motifs is really cool, and I’m definitely keen to see how they all come to a head in the series.

Love when there’s a kanji near the page fold and the scan makes it look like ▉

I’m still not sure what Y is... it seems like a group of bad guys? Maybe? Is it Kaiba’s group?

Ch 6. Gung Ho Guns just loves toying with Vash’s emotions huh

Ch 7. Sorry I’m laughing at Wolfwood’s sultry little pose in the chapter title art here

I’m on the verge of wringing the puppetmaster’s neck holy shit just speak Japanese for once please. All of you reading a translation- know you’re lucky

Final thoughts: This was definitely a lot more interesting than the last volume, and the pace seems to be picking up. I’m still kinda waiting for it to get out of “villain of the week” type plot, but at least we’re getting more depth out of it. Also, it seems like we’ve completely abandoned those twelve coin assassins at this point? There are some things I’m still unsure about, like Y, but I also know that I struggle to pick up on more indirect things in my second language, especially when it’s referencing something that we’re just supposed to figure out. So that’s my assumption on Y, but I still don’t have any ideas on why Wolfwood has such strong ties with it. Also, I feel like my thoughts were pretty short for this volume, but that’s also definitely because there was lots of action and fight scenes this time around, and my brain just kinda shuts off for those lolol

[weirdcat1213]

TRIMAX VOLUME ONE LETS GOOOOOO ....i didnt remember this was just 6 chapters...wow

ANYWAY LETS GO

chap 1:

-youre right IT MUST BE TOLD TIL THE END OF TIMES

-1st act of god you say...huh

-yeah who could believe that...thats insane....jaja

-ERIKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

-ik this was written in the 90s but i still dont like eriks saying that, like wth man lina is right

-hey lina :3 missed you

-....i like the new glasses...

-THAT SHOT REFLECTING VAHS YES THATS NICE LETS GO

-"lina cover your eyes :]" oh :c

-"oh is eriks again" :c

-YEAH GRANNY KILL THEM ALL >:D

-"stop. some legend that is" ow :c

-this is all just so sad cuz he rea;;y wanted to retire but he cant :c hes vash the stampede

-ww laughing at fake vash is the best xd

-YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH >:D

-also thats funny cuz yeah vash COULD shoot you in a matter of seconds but thats not what his name means and i really like that :3

chap 2:

-aw lina :c

-imagine going to the store and finding the silliest/most depressed wet cat in the universe ready for adoption

-GIVE ME THE PONY TAIL STAMPEDE GIVE IT TO ME PLS

-ok but how did you (from the perspective of a stranger) figure that knives was a name? knives comes from knife, so if a random person read "knives" wouldn't they think about the utensil first?????

-vash: how do you know so much about this evil entity that is my brother?

ww: hehe, please

-ily lina theyre talking bs

-YEAH >:D FREE BODY GUARD

-...im not ready for stampede eriks i will evaporate

-OH MY GOD THE HAIR

-BRO SHUT UP OFC SHE SAYS SHE DOESNT HAVE THAT POWER WHEN HE KICKED (i think) A FUCKING BULLET IM SO SAD

-....I WILL EVAPORATE IM TELLING YOU

chap 3:

-YEY MERYLS BDAY :D

-go get your vacation queen ily

-keele i will yeet you into the sun

-im never not going to be so fucking mad at HOW EASY THAT WAS BECAUSE THIS BASTARD MENTIONED MERYL LIKE IK YOU MISS YOUR DEAR FRIEND BUT OMG it just makes me sad

-wolfwood :3

-i like that :3 meryl just cant be an office person anymore when shes discover more of her world and people like vash. even if she almost died a lot of times, those were also the times when she was alive.

-YEAH MILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

chap 4:

-:c

-ok but that panel with mostly shade is scary

-i also want to lift my whole self with my arm :D (she said even though just walking places makes him tired)

-ok but if he trained like that for 150 years no wonder he's the only pro gunman ever

-i like his face on that panel, he's amazed and proud that one of his siblings survived for that long

-vash knows why is it always like that and he understands it but god he wishes so hard for it to just fucking stop and it breaks my little heart

-hes literally just an anime girl saying "hi-mi-tsu :3" (im so sorry i will never say that again but I'm right)

-he remembers people and names after so many fucking years

-also those children probably have never met him but vash gives so much ragdoll energy that they went with it (ok never mind maybe they did but you get the idea)

-cmon brad :c why are you so mean to him :c

-SHUT UP OMG SHUT UP

-all of this just backs up the SA interpretation and although it hurts my feelings....damn its just good writing. like not knowing what your own body can do and people taking advantage of that...makes me fucking sick (in a good and bad way i truly don't know how to explain it)

-BRAD LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE AHHHHHH >:c WHY IS EVERYONE SO MEAN TO HIM

-noooooooooooooooooooooo :c every time someone calls/vash calls himself a monster this user loses 5 years of their life :D

-wolfwood sir your projection will make me want to eat my own arm

-NIGHTOW IM JUST PROCESSING WHAT WW SAID YOU CANT THROW CUTE LITTLE FACES AT ME SIR PLS NOOOO

-"run away run away ">:b" i love him so much

chap 5:

-the chapters cant keep starting with flashbacks I'm gonna start WEEPING

-is geranium tea a thing? maybe vash would like geranium tea

-how dare you, my vash the stampede would never side with the cops, he's acab i know that in my heart

-THAT ONE PANEL MY BELOVED (the onle about looking without his eyes)

-hes so fucking done

-yey conflict time :3 boi oh boi

chap 6:

-oh the title placement on this one :3

-i dont think he will (or that he is) fine after all of this but sure

-such a loud chapter and vash is so quiet

-and again, there all judging, expecting to see what will vash do

-"what do you know about my pain" brb I'm gonna EAT SOME GLASS REAL QUICK

-...

-its like....its like why, why make me suffer like this. its not even heavy stuff its just that everything hurts. his impulse and desire to help everyone, his reason why, how others see him while he tries and sometimes win while other times fails. it all hurts in a weird way.

-...legato why are you inside a fridge (i kinda forgot lol)

WHAT A VOLUME i need to lay down

[deludedfantasy]

Trimax Vol 9 Ch 4-6

Honest to god, I don't think I'm going to survive next week considering what the last half of this volume did to me, especially the last chapter. I'm an emotional pile of goo right now. But here are some thoughts, and more reasons Nicholas D. Wolfwood makes me wanna cry.

Ch 4

The chapter with death in the title is number 4 again…stop with the symbolism Nightow, I can’t take it.

The fact that Livio doesn’t even need the vials to regenerate fucks me up for one very specific reason: what did they do to him to make him that way? I mean, what barbaric fucked up shit did they do to a little kid to put him into that body and turn him into a literally unkillable man? What they did to Wolfwood is horrific, but what they must have done to Livio is worse. 

There’s something about the way Nightow draws Wolfwood when he’s spitting blood and covered in it that makes it at once horrifying but so hard to look away from. It’s just so dynamic.

Wolfwood just keeps getting hit! He’s barely keeping up with Livio. He had the advantage of surprise earlier when he first shot Livio, but not anymore. Also, Livio is fighting to kill, unlike Wolfwood. He doesn’t have to be careful or pull his punches. 

But Wolfwood isn’t stopping, despite the frankly ridiculous amount of bullets he’s been hit with. This is the first time we’ve seen him be so determined to do something. He’s not giving up, not for anything, and there’s no doubt in his mind about what he’s doing.

I suddenly can’t help comparing this to the first time we saw Wolfwood in a fight, back when he was battling Ninelives. He was absolutely feral and unhinged during that fight and dealing with so much internal doubt about what he was doing. But now…when he has a clear mission, Wolfwood is just as cold and focused with purpose as Vash. 

I mean, it’s certainly still pretty reckless with the way he fired that rocket when they were so close together but there’s a lot more intentionality to it is what I’m getting at. 

Oh my god, the way he embraces Livio when he shoots him. This is his only way of showing love and mercy right now. He’s pinning him in place for the shot, but also begging for him to live through it. So much love in such an act of violence. 

Ch 5

YEAH GET FUCKED CHAPEL. WOLFWOOD IS A SMART FIGHTER!!! He doesn’t just rely on brute strength. He’s calculating and quick on his feet and he didn’t get any of that from you!!!!

Chapel gave that little boy a weapon that is bigger than him, a literal cross to bear. I also might be mushing different canons but it fucks me up that it’s specifically the gun that is called Punisher. So when Wolfwood is called Punisher or Nicholas the Punisher, he is literally being called a weapon and a tool, having his agency taken away from him. When he is Punisher, he is a weapon of the Eye of Michael, theirs to wield as they see fit. At times, he forgets he was ever a boy named Nicholas. 

Chapel truly made his own enemy by taking on Wolfwood as his disciple. One way or another, there would’ve come a day where Wolfwood’s better nature would win out over Chapel’s indoctrination. It’s just that with the way this world works, it happened this way.

Oh, those creepy dudes with the crosses on their backs who’ve been watching this whole thing are back and now they’re coming for Wolfwood. But not on Chapel’s orders?

Livio is somehow up again except the body language is so different. It’s much more open and bombastic, as opposed to the reserved, resigned way Livio carries himself. Big props to Nightow for how he portrays the differences between Livio and Razlo because it makes this whole section so chilling. 

I love how immediately Wolfwood sees that it’s not his brother. It might be the same body, but it doesn’t move the way he knows him too. Despite how long they’ve been apart, Wolfwood still knows him so well. 

Absolutely insane how he has a third arm hidden under that jacket so that he can use three massive Punishers. It’s cool but also scary as fuck. Peak character design right here. 

Ch 6

Ok, I don’t know a whole lot about DID, but the way the Eye’s doctors describe it seems pretty accurate from what I’ve read about it. Which like, big props to Nightow because when this was being written, I’m not sure there were a lot of positive or correct portrayals of it out there so the man did his research. 

Also, it really puts that earlier scene where Livio is crying about how he misses his parents into a new perspective. He was severely, severely abused by them and he still misses them. Is it because he doesn’t remember because Razlo always took over in those moments? Or is it more complicated than that? It also seems like Razlo killed his parents and Livio probably doesn’t remember that. 

But now it also makes sense why Razlo is the way he is. All he’s ever experienced is the abuse. He’s never been around for the good moments, the times when people showed Livio kindness, so it makes sense his philosophy would revolve around brutality and nihilism. If people are gonna hurt you anyway, why not hit back as hard as you can? Who does being good even matter if everyone you encounter is evil?

I’m gonna keep harping on this, but I love the way Nightow shows the separation between Livio and Razlo. When it’s Livio, the right side of his face is exposed, but the left is covered by a skull mask. It’s like a representation of his other half, the killer and the death omen. When Razlo is in charge, the mask is gone and the left eye is wild and wide open, while the right is obscured by his hair, like Livio is hiding behind it, refusing to acknowledge what’s happening. It’s the scared little kid hiding behind his dark shadow again. 

Wolfwood is having a very bad time right now and things aren’t looking good, at all. Livio was a good fighter, but Wolfwood could outsmart him. Razlo is literally so strong, so fast, and so powerful, that Wolfwood can’t keep up. He’s just being thrown around like a rag doll. 

“Even in a fight to the death, you still gave thought to your opponent.” Me, sobbing on the ground: WOLFWOOD STILL CARES. HE CARES SO MUCH. HE LEARNED FROM VASH AND HE DOESN’T WANNA KILL HIS BROTHER, EVEN THOUGH RAZLO IS ALSO A PART OF HIM. 

Somehow, someway, Wolfwood sees a path to redemption for Livio. He isn’t going to give up on him again. He failed him once as a child. Now, he’s older and he won’t let that happen again. That’s why he won’t kill him.

Cue incomprehensible sobbing noises. Wolfwood himself once believed he couldn’t hold the ideals of an immortal, that human life was just misery and killing, because that’s the way it had to be. And despite how much Vash scared him at times, Wolfwood couldn’t help seeing something beautiful in his ideals. Some small kernel of hope, to be more than a demon or a devil. 

Wolfwood gives himself this moment to be overcome by the beauty of Vash and everything he believes in, and everything he now believes in himself. It’s such a pure expression of love and devotion. Like, look at him, he’s on his knees. 

What Vash believes in isn’t easy, but that’s the point. Doing the good thing is hard. Sacrificing to do the good thing is hard. But also, Wolfwood realizes that sometimes, to do the good thing, to do the hard thing, without killing in the process, you have to put yourself on the line.

Wolfwood has always feared death. Above all, he wanted to live. Vash taught him that he has a choice about who he wants to be, yes. But the reckless way Vash has conducted himself has also taught him giving up his life is worth it for what he believes in.

It’s heart-wrenching, because this is the moment that Wolfwood truly and fully embraces Vash’s ideals and becomes the person he wants to be. But it’s also the moment he decides that he’s going to die for this. He’s going to die to save his home, and the last lines of this chapter, white against a white background really seal in his decision. 

Any other time he’d been on the verge of death, he’d probably heard that iron bell tolling. I imagine it was a funeral bell, telling him that his end is near. He knows he should hear it now, but he doesn’t. Because the threat of his impending death doesn’t matter anymore. It doesn’t scare him. He will die, and he’s okay with that. 

Okay, I’m gonna go curl up in a ball and cry now. I’m not gonna survive reading volume 10 next week. 

[pancake-breakfast]

Second week, second volume! Trigun Book Club!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for Trigun Vol. 2, Covers + Extras, below.

Trigun Volume 2 Covers

The cover for this volume is so pretty, what with the plant all coming out of Vash's gun there.... Pretty and strange and kinda disturbing.

I wonder what's in those jars floating around the hairy-legged plant man thing. Are they even jars? Blood bags? Hard to say.

Hey! Wolfwood's on the back cover! WOLFWOOD IS ON THE BACK COVER!!!

Also, Legato Bluesummers. Shit.

Aaaand there's a blow-up doll on the fake back cover. Because why not.

There are a LOT of familiar faces on the back of the Japanese Volume 3 cover. I don't like it. They mean bad things are coming.

Ok, Legato's getting eaten by a shark on the fake version of it, though, and I think that's hilarious.

BUT NOT AS HILARIOUS AS MERMAID WOLFWOOD'S SEASHELLS AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'M DYING!!!! Nightow's obsession with this man's tits confirmed.

Extra 1: Day In Day Out

Ooh, a glimpse into the daily life of Mr. The Stampede? Why do I suspect donuts are part of it?

I'm gonna be honest; I did NOT peg Vash as an early riser. Then again, it might be important if you're on the run all the time.

LOL, I remember him not being very good at meditation.

I'm imagining that egg is hard-boiled. Or hollow. Like, this is still a good trick. No need to waste breakfast on it if it fails, though.

Three HOURS?? Dang, no wonder the guy's got skills. I can't do much of anything before breakfast.

Oh, fine. I guess it was a raw egg.

LOL, "John P. Smith." The most boring alias he could come up with. I wonder what the P stands for. Pseudonym, perhaps?

Psh, Vash can be plenty sneaky. But only in fights. Or when fleeing insurance agents.

Serious Vash expression! I seriously love all his expressions.

Gambling at chess. Ok, man. Whatever floats your boat.

LOL, he lost all his money. I take it back; he needs a new hobby.

Yeah, he's definitely letting the kids get him. As we see with how fast he switches to being the person in power when the motorcycle comes through.

Funny how much trouble one can stay out of by simply foregoing revenge.

Vash would like oldies....

Ew, this bike guy's kinda creepy.

"Sonic Sodom." Yyyyyeeeeaaaahhh, that's not exactly a name that inspires trust.

I love the irony in this panel. They're talking about how dangerous Vash is while he's (apparently) being taken down by a small child.

Dude. Who fires a gun to get people to shut up like that?! Rude.

LOL, the bleeping.

Props to this lady. She's like, "I don't care who you are. If you're gonna come in here, shoot things up willy-nilly, make threats, and swear at us, then you take your ass elsewhere." Like, this happens after this guy does all these things. Mad props.

They bleeped out all that stuff, but he still calls her a bitch....

Hahahaha, that's a wonderful way to take care of the issue. Good job, Vash!

Extra 2: Pilot

(Fair warning: I'm in a Mood as I write this due to some real life stuff, so apologies if it's overly vague or anything.)

Post-Hiroshima environment?? Damn.

Heck, I'd take two years of food as a form of payment....

Ahhhhh, this jacket! It lacks the sexy leg slits, but I still love it. Also it still somehow manages to show off his waist. And throwing the Love and Peace fingers with his clearly mechanical hand!

I'm in love with this first line. "We fell from the sky like droplets of rain." Poetry. MAJOR props to @trigun-manga-overhaul for their choices in both flow and rhythm for the words.

The second sentence is a lovely contrast, what with the rain versus the sun. But also a lovely parallel, as both images are destructive.

Covering a few additional elements here: metal, wind, sand/earth.

He can't ever escape being surrounded by graves, can he? Babygirl here needs a break. I love how small he is relative to the field of death.

HEY. The right alcoholic drinks are GREAT with ice!

Oh, shoot. I recognize this story from '98.

LOL, look at him go. This was my favorite Vash entrance in all of '98. It's very memorable. I hope Johnny Yong Bosch had a blast doing the voiceover for it.

He's just dancing away from the bullets, as if it's all just luck.

LOL, three guns. It's Trigun!

Goshdarn stupid flip-up glasses....

I love how quick his reaction goes from this (Seriously, what is he, a teenager??)...

...to this.

Psh, as if Vash the Stampede needs a measly pistol to wreak havoc.

Ah, the return of lecherous Vash. NGL, was kinda hoping that moment was an anime-only. Though they really took it and ran with it, though, didn't they?

You don't get to say, "That's no way to treat a lady!" to others when you were just looking up her skirt.

LOL, I love her response here. Perfect.

Huh. Something tells me these guys are after a bit more than a rich guy's "pocket money." Is it the fact that one of them shoved a gun in the daughter's mouth? Could be. Could be....

Distracting table-crash provided by... Vash the Stampede. I told you he didn't need a gun to wreak havoc. Though of course the whole incident gave the guy's friends time to restrain him and get him away from the girl before he did anything rash.

Look at him. He's just a little guy....

Vash, not taking any chances. Distraction might not be enough. Use Advanced Projectile Gum Technique!

This sure is a colorful cast of characters....

I'm just saying, they don't really seem like the type of folks the sheriff should have on speed dial.

I love how pissed off Vash looks as they're talking about how he'll kill them all if he shows up. This is the face of a man who's had it with your lies and slander.

Dude, the rich guy was like, "Just so long as my daughter lives," and the sheriff was like, "They'll do the job so long as you pay upfront," but girl's gonna get taken down in the crossfire.

Or, she would if Mr. The Stampede wasn't there.

The girl is physically ok, but mentally, she'll be scarred forever. That's some Hellsing/AoT-levels of, "This character is definitely dead."

Aaaand three panels later, Vash realizes he forgot to continue pretending to be tied up and tries to remedy the situation.

Bossman here (I mean the gang leader, not the actual character named Bostalk) was already suspicious of Vash. Now he's extra-suspicious.

Somehow, Vash revealing his identity has not made the Bossman less suspicious.

Vash, the multi-talented. He can fight and preach at the same time.

Oh, so the field of graves at the beginning isn't Vash's fault somehow. That's... good.

I mean, dear old dad might care a lot for his daughter, but he clearly stated he didn't give a shit about the lives of anyone else in the building.

Vash is disappointed in Bossman's life choices.

BTW, Vash's hair in this whole chapter just makes me think of thistle flowers.

Yes. Refusing to do so just leads to more cruelty.

Vash just let the guy shoot the man, huh?

Oh, he's not happy about it.

Ah, yes. There's the greedy sheriff I remember!

This sheriff mentioned his hired help didn't think anything of taking human lives, but it seems they're not the only ones.

Oh, no. Sheriff triggered Angry Vash.

Not really sure what happened in this panel save that Vash was at the center of a bunch of destruction. Again.

Ah, gun arm. I thought it might be gun arm. I couldn't remember.

I love the sheriff's expression here. Like, he literally has his own gun to Vash's face, and he's effing terrified.

Vash, dodging bullets again.

WTF, he shot him right in the badge. Talk about insult and injury. My boy knows what he's doing.

LOVE AND PEACE!!!

Hahahaha, everyone else just looks sooooo confused. Hopefully, they'll get it someday.

[pancake-breakfast]

Well, it's a good thing I tried to get ahead earlier in the week because it took this long for me to get to the last part.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 4, Chapters 6-7 below.

Chapter 6: The Bystanders

Falling ships and giant worms. Looks like we're off to a great start here.

Ok, I really hope we get a worms-eye view of The Fall in Stampede. I'm not gonna hold my breath given that they've kinda already covered it and they just don't have a ton of episodes to work with, but I love love love the idea that we get this backstory from the perspective of the planet's native, sentient, and very inhuman inhabitants.

You know what, Zazie? I dunno what this face is supposed to be, either.

Ah, the Japanese inclination to apologize for everything.

Oh, gods. Nightow's gonna intersperse this backstory with the boys fighting, isn't he? *SIGH* I wouldn't normally complain, but Nightow's fights are, far more often than not, hard enough to follow to begin with.

For as twisted as his body is, Hoppered's hands look very normal. I don't know what I was expecting.

Ohhh, Hoppered's beef is about July. Shoot, I saw someone make a comment about one of the cops in Stampede during July, and now that makes sense. Like, at the very least, that cop's line was a callback to this scene.

Ah, the innate trouble with translating the two-syllable Japanese "待って" (ma'tay) to the monosyllabic English word "wait." Personally, I would have gone with "W-- Wait!" but I'm not the one doing translations here.

Vash is denying it because he can't imagine wanting to destroy a city, but Hoppered is right; he just doesn't know.

Is... is Hoppered crying?

Eyyyy, old-school Hoppered! Looks like he was a bit of an odd one even before he joined up with the Gung-Ho Guns.

Ah, there's that term "independent." But the way Zazie's presenting it is making me think about it in whole new ways. Stampede brought it up in a way that made me think of them as having a freedom other Plants don't, but this interpretation has me thinking of the innate alone-ness of both Vash and Knives, what that means to them, how they deal with it and how they make it a part of their being. Knives revels in it and lets it feed his sense of superiority (much to Legato's dismay, I'm sure). Meanwhile, Vash... I wouldn't say he resents it, but he finds it very lonely, and it doesn't make him feel superior so much as it makes him feel very Other.

And here's the first place we have it straight-up said that they're Plants.

Ah, so the Bystanders referred to in this chapter title are Vash and Knives. I thought it might end up being the worms. But hey, no reason the title can't work both ways.

And then ANGEL ARM?!?! Ohhhh, Zazie's story's being interwoven with Hoppered's. This is July. How was I supposed to know that without metagame knowledge??

Ok, this panel is great, 'cause it was only a few pages back that Zazie noted they have the innate ability to sense others' emotions. It just adds a level of intimidation on the whole thing.

Hahahaha, Midvalley. I guess I shouldn't laugh at his suffering, but he tried to kill Wolfwood, so eh.

There's something innately ridiculous with him being like, "Time to pull out the BIG GUNS!!!" and then immediately being like, "Aw, man! My instrument's busted or something...."

"He's almost too pathetic to kill at this point." Rude.

Black-suited moron? Wolfwood?

Yeah, it's Wolfwood.

Milly to the rescue! Again!

LOL, he's doing better than he looks.

But not as good as he thinks he's doing.

The Adventures of Big Girl and Short Woman by Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Uhhhh, who's the person with the light?

Hahahaha, Zazie looks sooooo unimpressed with Midvalley right now.

Zazie has a point, but I think he's preaching to the choir here.

Where tf did Midvalley get alcohol from all of a sudden? Also, is the alcohol called "Drifter"? If so, that's kinda cool. Something something meaningful names for alcohol in this series.

Oop, Zazie's worm sense is tingling!

Chapter 7: Hopeless Sinner

CW: Suicidal ideation

Oh, Vash. This look has me really worried for you.

"Sinner" is generally the word Knives uses for humans in this series. I wonder, though, if it might be being used to apply to Vash here.

Ohhh, babygirl looks soooo troubled. And then looking up and seeing the hole in the moon.... That's not gonna improve his mood.

Ah. He remembers. And... you know... in this shot, he looks amazingly like Knives.

Heh. Hoppered just... sort of peering over him. Like he's checking on his wellbeing. It's the opposite, but the casualness of it is deceptively calm.

I'm... honestly not quite sure what Hoppered did to silence Vash here. Slap him, I guess?

Ooooof. Vash just straight up embraces the killing urge inside him. He looks it straight in the face and says, "Yeah. This is a part of me." But in the same breath he rejects it, says it's not something he wants because he doesn't want to go down that path. He doesn't want it so bad he'd take his own life to keep it from taking over.

Gods, he's sooooo sad. Even Hoppered feels bad for him.

Hoppered still wants him dead, and still wants to die, as well. TBH, this feels more like he empathizes with Vash to some degree. Something something double suicide.

Uhhhhh, sudden light??

Yeah, I dunno what happened here, either. Vash got knocked somewhere?

*sigh* Wheeeerrrrre does Wolfwood think he's going???

Did... he just gut-punch Milly????

Yes. Yes, he did.

He deserves booing. But I love how he just... caves. I bet he didn't really want to leave and was only gonna do so to get Milly out of there. But Milly didn't want to go peacefully and so here we are.

I really feel like Midvalley should get a strap for his sax. It seems like that would be useful. And this series can't have too many straps, belts, etc.

If five seconds is all it takes, why isn't Vash dead yet? Hmmmmm???

Uhhhhh, what's with this crazy airship??

Ohhhhh, shit. I have enough spoilers to know who that is.

This chair, though. It looks like a musical instrument.

Author Bonus Chapter

I have no idea what Nightow is rambling about here with this Barbarian Bonehead All-Stars nonsense.

Ohhh, so this isn't Kuroneko. This is Nya-Kun. My bad, I got them confused.

"My emotions are overflowing into rambling!!!" Hahahahahaha, I know we all do this from time to time, but it just feels very Nightow.

Ohhhh, something got lost in translation here. I've watched enough Attack on Titan to know that apparently Nightow replaced a word here with the pronunciation for "heart," but there's no corelary on the page.

I had heard about Nightow's love of action figures.

"They gather at the ocean with pleasant feeling." This sounds like something that was translated too literally from Japan. The phrase doesn't quite work in English.

"The meaning of their name in Japanese is 'omocha buzoku.'" This tells me nothing about the meaning of their name in Japanese. I am very confused.

Ah, he addressed the difference in the planet name from the manga to the anime. Sort of.

Haaaahahahahaha, ok, Story Time. A couple weeks ago I was at Anime Expo with @sweetpotoooooooos, and she went to a panel by Studio Bones (one of the old-timers as studios go) on one of the days when I couldn't attend. She said that during the panel, Bones mentioned that when they first got word of just how popular Fullmetal Alchemist (the original) was in the U.S., they thought they were being lied to. The numbers seemed too high. (As someone who was into anime at that time, I can verify that four of their five titles preceding FMA were talked about in the community, but only Wolf's Rain actually aired on Adult Swim where it could reach a broad audience... and... well, let's just say Wolf's Rain is not as good as FMA. (It does have an excellent Yoko Kanno soundtrack, though.)) FMA was first broadcast on Adult Swim in 2004. Trigun was first broadcast on Adult Swim in '03. The idea that anything anime would be popular enough to warrant action figures in the West would have absolutely been mind-blowing to any mangaka, and much more so one as in love with figures as Nightow.

Mata nee, minna-san!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10 || Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6 || Volume 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Volume 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Volume 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5

[pancake-breakfast]

TriMax Volume 2! This one has Wolfwood on the cover, which can only mean good things, right? Riiiiiiiight?

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 2, Chapter 1 below.

TriMax Volume 2 Covers

"Death Blue" is a very dramatic name for a volume. Do they mean "Blue Death"? Is this a Legato reference? I think he'd like being called the Blue Death. Wait, no, he's self-conscious about his blue hair. Nevermind.

Also, this cover is hot.

Ok, so I translated the kana on the joke version of the cover to the side of Wolfy's head, and to my great amusement, it reads something like, "This joke again?!" or "Not this joke again!!"

I'm gonna be honest; I think one of the things I struggled with on a first read of this was the continual blow-up doll jokes. These days, I find it hilarious. (I've even spent some time contemplating if I could cosplay as WW with the blow-up doll instead of the cross solely because the doll would be MUCH easier to store in between cons.) But when a younger Pancake Ray was reading this, they were fresh out of a sheltered Christian college and had very little experience with this sort of stuff. I also hadn't quite realized my own asexuality at that point, so I really didn't have a place for my sexuality (especially since I was still under the impression I'd "grow into it" or "just needed to meet the right guy" at that point) or the sexuality of others. Which made continual blow-up doll jokes particularly jarring, especially since my irreverent humor had yet to fully bloom.

Legato (that is Legato, right?) looks positively haunted on the back cover there.

LOL, now it's a shojo ballet manga, huh? I'm here for it.

Chapter 1: Return of the Blue Wind of Death

Ohhhh, so I guess the volume title wasn't just a fancy and dramatic thing and there will actually be some sort of Blue Death person. I still think it will be Legato, even if he hates the name. I bet he's spent the last two years in intensive physical therapy....

I really like the aesthetic of the volume opening page art here. Freaking gorgeous chiaroscuro. (Now it sounds like I know art words! I don't; I just memorized that one because 1) I tend to adore the style, and 2) it came up in a Tabletop RP system I used to run.)

Eyyyy, it's the big-eared mohawk guy from Episode 1 of '98!

Man, they had this guy in some serious restraints.

Dramatic duo!

I wonder what those pipes on Vash's stomach are for. They're REALLY big in this title page art. I don't think they're always that big. Maybe they're part of the heating/cooling unit the doc was talking about??

Earlobes seems way more calm than he did in Ep 1 of '98. I guess hard time will do that to a man.

Ah, the giant boomerangs....

Oh, so he's not gone entirely agreeable. And they aren't entirely unaware of the risks.

I like the implication that he's kinda controlling his right arm with his left one.

Oh, no. I recognize these guys from the previous volumes. Sheriff, his posse, and Earlobes are out of their depth. A single Gung-Ho Gun gave Vash quite a bit of trouble. You really shouldn't mess with two at the same time.

Nightow, what is even happening on this page? There's some shooting and some steam venting and some guys got burned, and... someone broke a bunch of light posts, I think? Was it the boomerang? Did the boomerang break them? Also, you do realize that each consecutive hit would decrease the boomerang's momentum at least slightly, and thus it would be better (if perhaps less intimidating) to NOT hit a bunch of other objects in between you and your target?

Hahahaha, dark-haired boi just ducks and lets Super-Gimp take the bulk of the boomerang's hit.

He's been so small in all the panels where it's shown that it's very hard to tell this guy has a saxophone. So there you go, fellow readers. He has a saxophone. It's in the above image, too. But again, smol. (I colored it here so we can all see it better.)

Well, if the sheriff had any guys in that house, he DOESN'T ANYMORE.

"Make sure they're dead." Sound advice.

"Not even a shred of meat left" seems unlikely.

Oop, that arm coming up from the bottom of the panel is NOT Earlobes's arm. Pretty sure it's Super-Gimp's.

Eyyy, time for Sax Man to play us a tune! I'm sure it will be a nice one. After all, what spices up rubble and wreckage quite like a little jazz?

See? A pleasant little song....

Now all the TriStamp fans can take a guess at the REAL reason they've woven saxophone into the soundtrack.

Gods, this pose. Fill up that chest, man! Deeeeeeep breath!

Yeah, this operation ain't going so well for Team Sheriff, is it?

Me trying to decipher Nightow's combat panels:

I think someone is practicing drilling that is not in line with OSHA regulations here....

"Call off your attack!" Oop, too late.

I'm guessing Super-Gimp's actual name is Gauntlet. It's really hard to tell who's speaking.

Oh, shit. Is it Legato? He likes doing the long-distance communication thing....

Holy hell, this is brutal. Yeah, this has to be Legato. Mild spoilers, but Sax Man doesn't have this level of brutality in him. I could be wrong, but I don't think most of the Gung-Ho Guns do... especially not partnered with the ability straight-up force people to do things.

Geez, the blood dripping out of the truck.... WE'RE IN A TRUE SEINEN NOW, FOLKS!!!

Freaking called it. He does look like a mess, though. What kind of physical therapy program is he on???

I like his face here. He looks too amused with his own plans. It's very upsetting.

Eyyyy, it's the doc!

Brad really needs to get over his disgust for outsiders.

Awww, they all love Vash and worry about his wellbeing! He might try not to have friends, but he does, even if they're not as deep of friendships as he needs.

Uh, oh. Is Brad ok? Vash's intuition is usually spot-on.

Bugs....

BUGS. D:

This is bad. These people shouldn't have information on Vash's friends.

Dang, Hanged Man pose for Vash? Ominous....