#the fact that wolfwood is still remembered and that you know they're talking about him even if they don't say his name

[snow-that-is-in-colour-red]

I just finished all the trigun manga in 2 days because of goddamn Bigolas Dickolas and I have So Many Thoughts I am going to die if I don't write them down somewhere.

[lotus-mirage]

Trigun Stampede episode 7 liveblog

Man I said this two-parter is really focused on Wolfwood, but this episode has his name as the title

Oh I see the destination is an additional threat to him. Huh. I wonder what the purpose of that is? Like just to mess with him, or to make the journey seem appropriately menaced, or what?

I didn't notice before, but it is incredibly funny that the letters front and center are B and L

I feel like half of Wolfwood's gun is like ammo storage lmao, he goes through that fast

Oh actual emoting from Livio! Not looking particularly cognizant, but it's something.

Oh there's Meryl and Roberto! Would not have figured that's how they managed to tag along, but if it works it works haha

The boing noises as the desert raiders are thrown around are fantastic

Vash is wielding his gun, backhand, like a blunt weapon. Possibly as a gauntlet idk. Still. Makes sense for him, but not something I've ever seen before lol

Mmmmhmm and now the "monsters" and "not human" assertions are being foiled.

Between Livio and Rollo, seems like they kinda get stuck on a single sentiment?

"It would have been better without you around" ...ah. I did not expect that and don't know how to respond to it.

Wow, uh. I mean we knew Vash was incredibly accurate at aiming before, but to redirect someone else's gun to land a clean shot (particularly one that has as much heft as Wolfwood's) is rather uncanny.

that method of getting another Worm actually made me gag ugh.

wait hold up what was happening with Livio's reflection. I don't think I recognize it?

Eef. Thought that was how it'd end, but didn't expect him to shoot and fall over the side. (I suppose it's possible that the 'if there isn't a body, they're probably not dead' rule applies here though)

"I just wanted to spread the good word. That's all." You know I think this does in fact hold true to the, uh. Real world weight? That this sort of phrase carries.

Okay this is the first we've heard of a topic that Wolfwood apparently has disagreements with the Eye of Michael over. ...Actually that was on an assumption that it's a decision on an action, not a religious thing. It's Wolfwood's initial verbal disagreement on religion, isn't it.

Switched to Eng dub for a second 'cause I wasn't sure who said the next couple lines, but yeah I think it's clearer that it's about Wolfwood's denial.

Wait speaking of that's also a Christian term too right. Like Judas denies Jesus or something? I know the term is used in relation to those two in particular but I don't actually know the specifics. It's like "one of you will deny me" or "one of you will betray me" and I don't remember which.

Not sure if that really matters in this case, though, since I don't think Bluesummers quite maps to Jesus lol. Anyways.

Okay yeah "Punisher" is definitely being used in relation to Wolfwood himself. Noted.

Lmao the "Hi!~" being in English really sold it

Ooh, worldbuilding. Spacefaring age, okay.

Wait if they're running around to all the controls, where are the people originally driving the ship?

Yay, character exploration and development from Meryl! (and Roberto to a lesser extent)

Oh wait the kid that fell in the first town is alive?? I guess I saw him moving a bit at the end there, but it was a long fall and I thought maybe it was his mom's movements while carrying him.

:0 Vash's arm fractured! Frankly I didn't know it could do that. That's not good.

Oh lmao it's the disproportionate response "Wolfwood..." that kept being memed on.

Oh NOW the title comes up!

Actually wait I saw something on this a while ago, too. They were talking about he asserts he's "the Punisher," then "Nicholas the Punisher," and then the framing basically hits him with a "no :)" That's so funny. Also kind of tragic. But still funny.

Oh hey this is the first time we've seen Vash in this sort of situation since he was a 'plant technician' in the first episode.

it can move in there!?

oh that looks really painful

it's humanoid already!?

maybe I leaned too far into the "oh it's kind of egg shaped" assumption lol

Oop, yep, I guess Livio's not dead. Or uh. Might be dead but isn't out of the picture?

Alright yeah Vash looks pretty out of it.

...was that him hitting the ground? oof.

End Notes:

Again not really much to say here! We got some character details, some worldbuilding details, lots of character development & solidification of relationships, and now some immediate threads to be followed up on (Vash's arm and the Plant reveal thing). Feeling much more invested than when I started the series and interested in seeing how this conversation goes!

I will say. The plant did not look uh. very intimidating. kind of reminds me of the... neopets fairies? I don't think that's right, but like some similar franchise kind of had similar vibes, shape-wise.

...is this the first time the Plant stuff got fully revealed in the show? I went in knowing and haven't been keeping track. I know it was established that Vash is a) non-human b) fell from a spaceship onto the planet and c) had 'relatives' in pods on said spaceship. Not to mention his twin also having pretty obvious markings. But I'm curious about the reasons for the pacing of these reveals, since we got so much of Wolfwood's backstory just last episode.

[pancake-breakfast]

Time for more TriMax! I'm told we'll be reunited with the girls again soon....

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: 1-2

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 1, Chapters 3-4 below. (More detailed thoughts will be their own posts.)

Chapter 3: Bravo, Girls!

Ah, there are the girls already!

He did warn them that it might be like July....

Awww, that cupcake is HUGE!

Meryl's face. I don't think she likes being reminded that she's been through so much at her age. Or maybe she just doesn't like people talking about her age. Or maybe... she doesn't like all the rumors around the story versus the actual facts.

Vash using people as tools? Dude. It's like they don't even know the guy. They don't.

Woooow, way to dictate what makes women happy.

I sincerely hope New Miami is better than current Miami.

Oh, man. They straight-up note the hair color change here.

Oh, no! Her reports! Not only are they all over the floor, but they're also being insulted! Terrible.

Hahahahaha, Meryl's making faces behind her boss's back. TBF he deserves it.

So... the insurance agency decided that, rather than send two young girls out to guard this "most dangerous criminal," they'd send a former military man. This theoretically seems wise of them, but Vash is Vash.

Also, what military?? Best I can tell, there aren't other nations on this planet. The closest thing to a military you've got is gangs and maybe a few organized militia.

Dramatic Vash is dramatic. This time, in silhouette!

I can hear the *ching* of this guy's spurs as he steps off the bus. The fact that he's not wearing spurs is irrelevant.

Vash doesn't even try to pull one over on the insurance agency and pretend he's a Mr. Smith or whatever.

LOL, shotgun-launching suitcase.

Assassination attempt: failed.

What's up with the bottle on the string? Was... that how Vash opened the door?

Vash sees right through this guy. What's his name? Bardeaux Keele. As in, "Hai, I'm an assassin and I'm gonna Keele you!"

Somehow, I don't think this was part of his job description from the insurance agency....

LOL, now you done it, Keele. You gone and pissed off Wolfwood, and he has considerably fewer qualms about taking you out than Vash does.

Oh, honey. You're only in volume 1 of TriMax. There's no way in hell your next shot's gonna "finish it."

LOL, Meryl's entrance onto the scene here is amazing. I wonder how long she was watching before she decided to speak up.

Ohhhhh, she's gonna get this guy on a different type of insurance fraud. TBF, it's kinda on Bernardelli for not realizing it was a bad idea to hire someone named Keele.

I love how absolutely unphased Meryl is despite having THREE guns aimed at her and her life most definitely threatened.

Oof, instead she's thinking about all the life-threatening situations she's been in, and of Vash's goofy smile. I have thoughts on all this.

Ah, he done threatened Meryl and now Milly's gonna make him pay for it.

Vacation!? This is a hell of a vacation.

That face is not very convincing, Wolfwood. Just whaaaat are you planning?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Tabasco.

Meryl looks so happy about being carried away by the storm that is Vash.

Despite poo-pooing her reports, Meryl is still their second pick for Vash Babysitting Duty.

Chapter 4: Hero Returns

CW: Rape mention

This title page, though. He looks like he's in prayer.

Even though we've had a face reveal for Knives, he's still cast in shadows here.

There it is. A summary of Knives as he COMPLETELY misreads the situation and tries to paint himself as the hero.

Heh, I love how in this moment, the best insult Vash can come up with is to tell Knives he's not human. Which, of course, hardly works as an insult for Knives.

Geez. Vash thinks, "Forgetting brings too much sorrow. Remembering leads to everlasting pain." And then he chooses to remember.

Awww, he's so cute in his groggy wake-up phase.

That's a lot of coffins....

I wish I could do one-handed handstand push-ups like that. But I don't want to train for three hours every morning before breakfast. That sounds like self-murder.

LOL, Vash has been working up too much of a sweat even for Wolfwood.

Vash, when he hears another of his sisters is alive somehow.

Wolfwood explaining what Plants are to Vash is hilarious.

That's right; rape isn't about sex. It's about power. So if you're trying to drive other people out or show dominance over them, it does often fall into the mix right alongside murder.

It's played off, but Vash is well within his rights to cry here, I think. He cares a lot for humanity. Seeing them rip each other apart like this is bound to hit a note for him.

I love how much Nightow says about both characters and their relationship in just these two panels.

Dude. Vash's happy face mug.

Nightow is very dedicated to not drawing mouths on characters who have moustaches.

Brad?? THE Brad???

Yep, it's THE Brad.

Which face? Um. How many masks does Vash wear?!

In spite of all the time that's past, Vash recognizes Brad.

He snuck away from you, WW!

Time to get some new fancy gear! Huzzah!

"Lost technology for lost technology." Hahahahaha, these guys know what's up.

He genuinely is sorry, guys. He just didn't want to cause trouble.

Oh, Vash.... He looks so... empty at Brad's comments.

This is just going to dissolve into me posting a bunch of Vash panels because I want to slap some sense into Brad and give Vash hugs. But his face is so... resigned and sad and kind of hard here after Brad points out how much of a threat he could be to humanity. Like... he gets it, Brad. I guarantee you, he gets it. And he doesn't hold it against Brad for speaking the truth.

Vash is pleading with Brad. I love the close-up on his clenched fist. This isn't what he wants. But it's the way things are. And he's gonna do his best because he has to. For their sake. Regardless of whether they want him to.

Oh, Vash, my babygirl....

Hahahahaha, Brad is just jealous. Don't worry, Brad. Vash isn't gonna go that route.

Dude, what's up with that surgery tool??

What the heck? Who's crashing into stand steamer?? Rude.

LOL, WW crawling around with his bowl of... ramen? curry? soup? Whatever it is, it wasn't designed to be carried while crawling.

I feel like WW's chaos sense went off and he immediately followed it, knowing Vash would be there.

Misspelling of the word "custody" here....

Wolfwood doesn't get it. But Vash is trying to be patient.

Wolfy noticed Vash's new get-up. He knows he's looking at Serious Vash now.

Current favorite serious Vash expression:

Hahahahaha, Vash is dying after being called a disaster-prone freak. WW is also dying, but of laughter. Because it's true.

Oh, no. Vash has an idea. He looks way too mischievous for it to be a safe one.

Dramatic gun twirl!

VAAAAASHU ZA STAMMMMPIIIIIIDOOOOOOOO!!!

Hahahahaha, that's right. Lean into your violent reputation as a way to quell the pending violence and lead to a non-violent outcome. This is how Vash wiggles out of trolley problems.

"These are the tactics of a the man whom our fate rests upon." "All I'm seeing is a total nutjob!" Beautiful.

[millionsnife]

as promised, post about knives and the intimacy of names.

first; calling back to this post where i talked about how he doesn't use the name 'nai' with anyone but a select few he has given permission. how he considers it basically a dead name to him, as he considers 'nai' to have died the day of the Fall and he took on his current name. also calling him 'nai' feels like a form of intimacy with a part of him he considers dead and it makes him uncomfortable to allow strangers to do so casually

if you pay attention to the way i write knives, you'll notice that (ignoring modern day au, bc there knives is just a nickname and he still considers himself nai) he never ever refers to himself as nai internally. he always internally refers to himself as knives even when responding to the name 'nai' from people he allows to use his previous name; this is a deliberate and consistent word choice, reflecting the fact that he genuinely considers this to be his name now.

okay that out of the way;

the intimacy of names frightens knives viscerally. he avoids using given names when and where he can; whenever possible he will default to the emotional distance of using a person's title (professional or otherwise) in order to create as much distance as possible between them. (ie. 'doublefang', 'doctor', etc)

last names are slightly closer but still put emotional distance between himself and other people, and if someone doesn't have a title for him to use this is what he will default to. wolfwood (@wolfcross) usually falls into this category despite having a title he can use simply bc they have a weird relationship going on but that's beside the point lmao.

given names however, are incredibly intimate to knives. they create an emotional connection. calling someone by their actual name implies you're close enough to know it, to have enough of a relationship to be allowed to use it.

it's a vulnerability. they're a level of value he doesn't normally afford others. he rarely uses them and when he does it means you matter, in some form. when knives uses your given name, he's saying (in his own stupidly stunted way) that you're important to him. it's why he never hesitates to call vash by name, and why he avoids saying rem's name to anyone but vash most of the time. it's why he only uses wolfwood's given name in very specific situations and contexts, rather than all the time.

(this is also why his refusal to remember livio's name and just make up random names for him is a particularly insulting bit of fun for him, he's putting livio on a level of 'you mean so little i can't even be bothered to remember you have a name'. until livio's suddenly interesting.)