#tristampparty

[tristampparty]

Trigun Stampede Promotional Artwork

Sixteen days to go!

[deludedfantasy]

This particular screenshot absolutely took me (and other viewers) out on the first watch.

Where was he hiding those broad shoulders and all that muscle before? How did he make all of us believe he was just another silly twinky anime man?

Listen to me: it's all about the jacket.

The creators of Tristamp have talked extensively in the past about how they changed the design of Vash's jacket and had him wear it unzipped to reflect the fact that this is a more "open" Vash. But for all his openness, he's still hiding.

See, the jacket dwarfs him. It's this big billowing piece of fabric that manages to hang on his massive frame and make him look much smaller than he is. And that's on purpose. Vash wants to look smaller. He wants to be perceived as less threatening.

Because even with his nice eyes and soft voice, if he walked into a town looking like this, with all his strength on full display, people could still perceive him as a threat, even slightly. Vash plays up how harmless he is all the time, as we saw in episode 1. It's kinda his thing. So it would make sense for it to extend to his physical presentation as well.

There's something we have to remember about Vash. He doesn't want to be dangerous. It's a part of himself he doesn't like looking at or acknowledging. Hiding behind his coat, hiding the physical markers of how "dangerous" he could be, is all part of that.

@tristampparty

[revenantghost]

People have pointed out that Wolfwood was probably only acting with Zazie in the first scene here, which is fair. But regardless, I love how genuinely happy Wolfwood seems that Vash listened and absorbed what he said. Big brother Nico isn't that far out of reach even this early on.

[splatoon3]

tristamp first anniversary 🎉 day 1 (noman's land) @tristampparty

[nihil-ghost]

@tristampparty Anniversary Day 11: Plants

[glaivenoct]

I'm sure it's been pointed out before but can we point out again how Vash was so busy making heart eyes at Wolfwood and Wolfwood was so busy short circuiting and having an awakening about it that neither of them noticed Roberto vanishing into thin air next to them.

I don't care if Wolfwood knew this would happen bc he knew The Plan - Vash caught his gay ass off guard. He distracted him (they distracted each other) and y'know what, can we blame him??? When met with THAT FACE, I, too, would forget what day it is, how to process thoughts, and everything I'm supposed to be doing

Sorry Roberto ;u;

[to-eat-laugh-love-in-peace]

Shout out to how Brad being initially hostile and wary towards Vash upon learning that he could speak and understand human speech in Tristamp, with him raising his wrench in a defensive position, something that Luida rightfully admonishes him for,

only to come to put in the effort and the time to acknowledge when he’s treated him unfairly, even cruelly at times,

to reflect on the choices he’s made and the actions he’s taken and how it led to things going down the way they did,

to apologize for what he’s said and done, and to continue to support and be there for Vash however way he can

such as through providing him with the best prosthetic he could give him after he came back to Ship 3 with Luida missing an arm and continuing to repair it every time he comes back home with it damaged,

heading out to the outskirts of Hopeland where the sandsteamer was after Vash damaged his prosthetic arm from lifting the ion cannon and passed out from exhaustion from working together with the ship’s Plant to slow the ship down and keep it from crashing into Hopeland,

defending him when Wolfwood doubted Vash for his goal to save everyone, telling him he’s strong enough to find a way to make his dream happen when he himself would have doubted his words too long ago,

and helping him achieve his dream by assisting Luida with her terraforming project using flora in place of Plants nicely contrasts how the people on Ship 5 who were experimenting on Tesla in Trimax reacted with joy and excitement upon learning that she could speak and understand human speech and what this could mean for the development between mankind and the Plants

only for them to pointedly ignore what she actually says, refuse to see her as an actual living being who they’re committing a number of ethics violations on, and regard her with a very detached, very clinical assessment of her physical, emotional, and psychological state, all the way up until her body fell apart. @tristampparty

[animeisforanimation]

Twin wings.

Both Trigun Stampede season 1 and the entirety of Trigun manga finish with a confrontation between Vash and Knives.

And in both versions there is this shot of two bodies held up in the sky by a single pair of unmatched wings.

It’s clear that in its final episode Stampede borrows imagery from Double wings, one but last chapter of Maximum. However the scenes are polar opposites in just about everything. Like Vash and Knives, they are twins that has grown apart.

So, what are the differences?

First of all, Vash’s wing.

In Maximum Vash, who has been struggling with plant powers manifesting out of his control and often in pretty disfiguring ways, spreads out a “perfect” (very arm-eye-embryo-less traditionally looking and placed) pair of angel wings for the first time.

In Stampede a cloud of matter that keeps him afloat doesn’t even form into anything coherent, it’s more of an idea of a wing. Moreover, Vash seems to have no previous experience with any of the body horror his manga counterpart faces.

Then, there’s direction.

Maximum Vash is doing what every Vash does best - stampedes away. Or he tries to - and fails, falls towards the ground only to be caught mid air. Because it is the end of his journey and it’s time for everyone he fought for to fight for him. He loses one of his wings because he needs a reminder that he doesn’t have to do everything alone. He goes down and is lifted up by those who love him.

In Stampede he soars up in the sky, yes, partially to run away, but also he has no real choice of destination, he is mid-fight and in the end of it he falls, crashes and burns bringing in the very destruction he was so desperately trying to prevent. He is pressured to rise to the Sun only to be left falling all alone.

And finally there’s Knives and Vash’s relationship.

In Maximum the sight of an angel is a sign of the end, reconciliation. The two are finally on the same page at least in the sense that they do love each other. And in that union they save each other and flight as one.

In Stampede brothers are as far as they can be. They see each other’s beliefs fully and they hate it. And they fight. And they both loose. In a way, they both die. They are, just as these scenes, the same and polar opposites at the same time.

So, one final thought.

Trigun Stampede is only a half of the story and it’s yet to reach climax. So I can’t but wonder if all the deconstruction is actually building up for a parallel of its own. Maybe just maybe in the “final phase” we’re going to see Vash and Knives fly side by side again - and this time they will be one again.

[ihavehatsinmypants]

Day 4 - January 10th:

Episode Four : Hungry! - Nicholas D. Wolfwood

@tristampparty

[tristampparty]

Trigun Stampede Concept Artwork

Eighteen days to go!

[deludedfantasy]

Once Upon a Time in Hopeland is my hands down my FAVORITE episode of Tristamp. And my favorite sequence is the really trippy psychedelic experimentation scene.

The wacky colors, the eerie music, the absolutely haunting sound of child Wolfwood panting in pain come together so so so well. We're at once getting the horror of his situation and the unreality of it without dipping too far into gore.

The abrupt transition from 2D to 3D hits so hard. It draws a really stark line between the softness of his childhood world and the brutality of this his current one where he's both physically and metaphorically been forced to grow up too quickly.

Also note how this shots of Wolfwood's face are mirrored before and after the experiments. I love me a good parallel.

Actually, we do get a bit of gore and it's all the more haunting and disturbing for the fact that we only get a small glimpse. The way Wolfwood's body is outlined in blood sprays is just...horrifying. Imagining what must have happened as his body broke and shifted too quickly is almost worse than actually seeing it.

@tristampparty

[dead-chela]

Happy Tristamp anniversary!

Here’s my entry for Day 1 of @tristampparty! I’m gonna try (try) to upload everyday according to the prompts!

[revenantghost]

It always hurts so much that Nai holds out his hand.

He doesn't have to. Hell, he lands and starts having an evil laughing monologue about how he's happy that Rem died with the ship.

But if that was true, he wouldn't have reached out. He wouldn't have offered.

He's just a hurt, terrified child.

[wisedo]

TristampParty Day 11 - Plants

[nihil-ghost]

@tristampparty Anniversary Day 2: Meryl Stryfe

[glaivenoct]

I know all he says is "I'm home", but whenever I watch this scene it always translates in my head as "Hi mom, I'm home 🥺 sorry I haven't called or visited in a while 👉👈"