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skymoonandstardust · 4 years

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Love and Light in Hell

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 , chapter 3, chapter 4 , chapter 5, Chapter 6

Chapter 7

An: Sorry it took a bit to get this out, but i hope you lovelies enjoy <3

Hugin cawed and Muninn ruffled his feathers uneasily.

"It sounds fair and easy enough. . ." thunder grumbled, punctuating the Allfather's uncertainty, "but can we trust a child of Loki? Can we be certain she will hold the bargain and not try to trick us as her father would?"

Frigg sighed and adjusted her wrap as she looked at the storm outside.

"I'm afraid we can't."

She turned to her husband, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But we have to give her the benefit of the doubt. We must remember that she is not Loki, though she is of his blood. The gain is worth the risk if it means our son will be returned to us again."

Odin grumbled, turning a bit away from her to stroke Muninn's dark plumage.

"You're right. I don't like it, but she's our only option to get our son back."

Another sigh passed his lips as he turned, scratching his snowy white beard

"I will have the messengers sent out in the morning. With all luck, we should have the testimonies we need by the end of the week.”

"I hope for all our sakes that is true."

Odin listened to her long skirts brushing the floor as she walked away.

Sleep just wasn't coming. You'd done everything you could think of, counting crows, thinking peaceful thoughts of a universe devoid of gods and humans except for yourself, and even singing the old gruesome lullaby your mom used to sing to you, in the few days she had you before your banishments by the gods.

Nothing made the voice stop.

"Thank you, your majesty. You are as good and magnanimous as your father."

The snide tone replayed on a loop in your mind and you swore if you had to hear it one more time you'd snap and go down to your bone dungeon to do some torturing.

That would certainly calm your nerves and blow off some steam. . .

You're not Loki, you know you're not anything like him. . .he was trying to get under your skin.

Yeah, and he succeeded.

The second voice whispered softly in the background of your thoughts. You sighed and sat up, throwing the covers off to slip out of bed.

Alright, enough of this.

A few minutes later you stepped out, now fully dressed, and padded down the hall.

Thankfully there were no guards stationed outside your door to question you. No matter how your advisors protested you insisted on this. After all, what use were guards when you were a weapon yourself?

The dark hallways ahead were empty, only the usual night shadows in attendance as you wandered through the corridors. After leaving your hall you occasionally ran into a sentry on the night duty, but they let you pass with a nod of respect, not stopping you to ask any questions.

Sooner than you thought you would, you reached the door.

Pushing it open you slipped In quietly and pulled it closed with as little noise as possible before turning to look around the infirmary.

While most of the beds were empty a couple were occupied. . . Just looking around you could see bandages that needed changing and beds sheets that need cleaning. Probably some doses you could prepare as well.

Rolling up your sleeves with a satisfied smile you got to work. This is just what I need right now-- and thank the Allfather I stocked everything myself. Knew it would pay off to know where things are in here.

You tied your hair up with a black ribbon and picked up a patient's chart. Now, let's get to it.

Time seems to have no meaning sometimes. And for you, this was one of the times where it felt like it did not.

It could very well have been seconds, minutes or hours as you saw to the needs of the patients and did things in general around the infirmary, prepping, cleaning and tidying..

You tied off the soft white gauze then cut it with famine before sheathing it again.

"There you go Eric, now--"

The creaking of the big wooden doors opening for the second time that night interrupted you. Your fingers flew back to famine's hilt as both you and Eric turned to look at the doorway.

The blinding brightness told you who it was immediately.

"Harrison."

"Yeah." He looked around with sheepish curiosity, his cheeks starting to tint pink from embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't know you were in here."

"Couldn't sleep." You shrugged

"Neither could I. I was just trying to find the kitchen to get a midnight snack when I heard something in here and thought I'd investigate. Seems pretty stupid now that I say it out loud."

Harrison chuckled and glanced down, missing the smile that tugged your lips up for a second.

Okay I admit it, he's pretty cute, and sweet. . . everything I'm not.

The last thought had the same effect as sea spray on a winter day. It froze you to your bones in seconds.

You are Loki's daughter and queen of hell. You may be polite to each other but you'll never be friends.

Still there wasn't any use not trying so you mustered up a slightly rigid smile and nodded at him. "Would you like to join me? You can help if you like, or we can just keep each other company."

Harrison glanced around for a moment and licked his lips, his hesitance easy to read on his face and see in his eyes as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

He's going to say no, I know he is.

"Yes."

His response obviously surprised both of you and you listened with wide eyes as he continued to ramble on.

"I-I mean, yeah I'd really like that. If I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of eternity we should learn to get used to each other.”

A half alive half dead smile appeared on your face.

"I know that's something people have trouble with, with me." You gestured vaguely at your face.

Harrison couldn't help smiling "I'm a blazing halo of light down here, and it was the same way on Asgard. I'm hardly any easier to look at."

You laughed and held out your hand to him.

"Well, I think I'm willing to make the effort if you are."

Harrison gazed at the withered blackened skin of your hand for a moment, then took it with a smile that rivaled the glow around him in brilliance. It nearly made you drop the handshake.

"I think I can do that."

He let go of your hand as his smile disappeared and he suddenly looked down and cleared his throat.

"I-I also wanted to say I'm sorry. For what the emissary said-- what my father did to you-- for what happened with your brothers.”

It felt like someone had speared your heart on a hook and used it for ice fishing bait, stabbing it and suddenly plundering it into below freezing water. You could almost start to feel its beats begin to falter and slow.

"Thank you. It's good to have one of the gods acknowledge their mistake. To hear one of them admit they did me and my family wrong. . .no one else ever gave me so much courtesy."

You wrapped your arms around yourself from the chill in the room and looked at Harrison. “It's not your fault, though. But, when you return to Asgard and take your rightful place on the throne you can do something about it. Reinstate me and my siblings to our proper place, that's what you can do for me.”

"Yeah." Harrison nodded. "Once I return and become king of Asgard."

He didn't sound convinced, and honestly neither were you.

@madmadmilk @hollandroos @hazmyheart @marvellous-holland @queenofmotherfuckingterrasen @aidiastyles @hey-its-grey @mysmileyspideyboi @pascalispedro @a-sea-of-fandoms @scarlettsoldier @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious @scarlettsoldier @fangirl-who-dreams @esoltis280 @theresnofandomforthis @cassiopeia-barrow @dragonangel-funandfire @iaiabear @coffeeismylife28 @katiegoddessofmischief

LLH taglist: @the-crazy-fanfictionist @spideygirl2003 @allegra-writes @rebekkah4766 @musicandbokkslovingweirdo @petersoftboyparker @fanficparker

#harrison osterfield #harrison osterfeild imagine #Harrison osterfield blurb #harrison osterfeild x reader #haz osterfield #haz osterfield blurb #haz osterfield imagine #haz osterfield x reader #haz osterfield x you #tom holland #tom holland imagine #you x tom holland #tom holland blurb

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nordic-ravens · 3 years

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to continue my ramblings about yesterday, my left hand’s fingers are almost fully tattooed now! it hurts like hell but damn, i feel so good now when i got some more ink on my skin. i need to finish my thumb and pinky, then i can move to get the backs of my hands tattooed with two ravens (Hugin & Munin / Odin’s ravens). also when we get our tattoo needle shipment, my bf will tattoo Yggdrasil on my arm uwu anyways, my finger tattoos are under the cut >>

#i'm so excited sorry #i love norse mythology and i'm not about to stop getting tattoos of it #personal

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arandomsewer · 5 years

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Reactin to Rise Of The TMNT

Chapter 18A, I think...

-well, nothing will ever be able to top Michaelangelo sitting in a T-rex dressed as batman but...

-oh joy oh joy more material to ramble about!!

-so, its April's birthday! ...and aparently its cursed. I wonder why. Is it 'cause she use to be a damissel in distress character? I really wonder where they are going with this concept

-PFF what a start! A random machine falls on... Oh wait, its not random!

-"Im a mutant, not a monster!" lovely. Guys, remember the days when a monster was represented as a big green guy with horns? What's left of that concept? Oh yeah, Monsters Inc. Not a bad legacy...

-uh. The magician and the evil worm. I didn't expect them to make such a good duo

-wait, is that a bust of the worm's face when he was human?

-I love how April is so chilled about her ruined birthday, and Leo just sits on the same position, same attitude

-"there's no way its gonna get worse"

NEVER SAY THAT IN A SHOW

-I just realiced if the bad guy was drawn in a diferent style he would be fan-crush material XD

-wait, people can be so... crushing, no need for another style

-though it would be fun to have the entire show in this style, and the bad guy like, a JOJO character!

-wait what? WHAT??

first. The worm shows up suddenly in theyr car. That was fun

Second. APRIL IS HIS FAN??

Third. Can't believe Leo still doesnt remember him. He's doing it on purpose!

-OH they are soo sweet!! They actually want to stay together and care for one another... Aaaw

-"roommate, slash friend, slash, its complicated"

April, you are the real MVP

-wait wait wait. The bad guy's tiny winged black talking minions are called Hugin and Mounin?

...

...shit

For those who don't get the reference, Odin, king of Asgard, from norse mitology had two ravens called Hunin and Munin who told him everything that goes on in the world...

And I just noticed.

Wich is funny 'cause I've been reading and writing about Loki and Thor and the avengers these past weeks. Uh.

Is this a signal? Should I ramble about that too?

-hahaha aaw they are all touched by his story but Donnie xD

-ok, the betraial (however you write that) is one thing... But the way Hippo betrais him to save him from the bad guy ITS HEART WRENCHING!!

-yup. Furryman Odin Mac BadGuy was gonna do that too

-thats my Donnie, smartest of the bunch

-Im loving the romance paralels. I wasn't going to comment on them but they are just part of the script

-aw April's happy, so everything's allright!

#rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #react #reaction #recap #episode recap #loki #odin #avengers

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huginsmemory · 1 year

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Saw that a tragic narratives + vashwood post hasn't been done yet ;)

Edit (mar.4): made an actual meta analysis on Wolfwood being a tragic character if peeps wanna check that out

Edit 2 (mar 24): version of this post with a description for the images, kindly done by @princess-of-purple-prose

#me: hehehe this doesn't emotionally devastate me #(it v much does)#trigun manga #trigun spoilers #trigun manga spoilers #wolfwood #nicholas d. wolfwood #vash the Stampede #vashwood #spoilers #manga spoilers #hugin rambles #trigun

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huginsmemory · 1 year

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Since the arguments about Wolfwoods age is beginning to start up again. Info taken from this post by @tantei-armin . As well, here's another post with screen caps from the manga. Both Livio and Wolfwood are legally adults.

Also, if you don't like something? Block the tag, block the people, don't try to wage a puritanical war. Much love and peace ✌️

Edit (same day as posted): Some people are wondering in the tags where this is coming from, so I thought I'd clear it up for those who are confused.

This rumour comes from the manga panels which talk about how from the serum and surgeries Wolfwood's metabolism is faster, and so he doesn't look the age he should look. Since Wolfwood was never explicitly given a set number for his age, and if you're not paying attention to the context, some people have assumed this meant that he's actually still a minor at the time trigun is set, while in reality he's been confirmed to be in his early/mid twenties, and so would look like he's in his late twenties/early thirties (and it would make very little sense for Stampede to have changed the ages for the characters). It's alright to be a bit confused, since it's not ever explicitly stated; however, this rumour that he's a minor has then been used as slander for ship wars. I've only seen one recent post calling Vashwood an underage ship, but it looks like it was a bit of an issue in the old fandom, and I (and I think most people) would prefer the newer fandom to avoid that if possible. Again, just going to reiterate using the blocking function liberally for things you don't like!

Edit (Apr 15): as another person so kindly explained on a reblog it wasn't actually a problem in the old fandom; it's always been a small minority of people, often those who are against queer relationships in the first place, who've used it as a way to slander others.

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huginsmemory · 1 year

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Wolfwood, the Symbolism of the Punisher and Tragic Narratives

ID: A shot of Wolfwood carrying the Punisher.

MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS

Considering that my post on Wolfwood being a tragic character is doing the rounds and people seem to adore it in the most horrified manner, I thought it might be fun to point out some of Wolfwood's 'dead-since-the-beginning' motifs, specifically through what the Punisher signifies.

Symbolism of the Punisher

There are five (from what I've pulled out) things the cross-machine gun of the Punisher symbolizes. First and foremost, I'm going to talk about how the Punisher, in it's shape of a cross, represents Christianity and Christian morals. This is something that is highly ironic, as while it shape symbolizes the morality and salvation of Christianity, of forgiveness and unconditional love--and such missives as 'thou shalt not kill'--it is also clearly a specialized weapon created specifically to kill people, violating the assumptions of Christian morality.

In a way, this irony or contradiction reflects Wolfwood's own irony; outwardly looking like and pretending to be a priest with Christian morals while at any closer inspection is clearly an assassin. However, the inverted is also true; although Wolfwood is an assassin and kills people, it is shown through his moral quandaries, that these Christian ethics are ones that Wolfwood subconsciously believes in, but has rejected to survive in the world. As a result, the Punisher symbolizes the irony and contradiction of Christian ethics that Wolfwood carries.

Interesting side note, Chapel directly says that their actions as assassins--executing people with their machine gun crosses--is mercy and leads them to save themselves and others to redemption, much in the same way humanity was redeemed through the cross in Christianity, which is the excuse that Wolfwood carries with him for killing others; but that's a digression from what I want to talk about.

ID: Chapel says, “If killing is a sin... it is also the path to redemption. Did you not understand that?” Wolfwood, through black panels of narration, thinks: “I understand. I understand, but... He is foolish. His words are no more than the nonsense of a child. Idiot. I understand that.”

The second thing I wanted to talk about, was that in a way, the Punisher in a cross shape is apt, as the cross previous to Christianity was a literal torturous execution device. To be sentenced to crucifixion meant hours of pain until one finally died from asphyxiation. The Punisher in that manner, stays true to the execution part of the original symbolism of the cross, as it is being used to kill and hurt others; as well as in a way, it applies to Wolfwood himself, which we will get to later.

The third thing I want to talk about the Punisher, is how contextually it symbolizes Wolfwood's profession, and his connection to the Eye of Micheal (EOM), which causes him guilt (the fourth thing). The cross is literally given to him by Chapel, the man who inducted him into EOM; Chapel giving Wolfwood the Punisher, a prestigious weapon used by those from the EOM, can be considered the physical signifier of Chapel giving Wolfwood the brutal lifestyle that he lives under and his connections to them. Hell, specifically because of his weapon, Wolfwood is mistaken for being Chapel, it is so tied to EOM and Chapel himself. As well, by both being the weapon that shows his correlation to the EOM and the weapon that he uses to kill people with, the Punisher (and it's weight) also represents his guilt from the lifestyle, becoming literally the 'cross he has to bear' as a result of trying to protect the orphanage.

ID: First 2 images show young Wolfwood being given the Punisher and being told it’s the Eye of Michael’s highest honor. Its skull-shaped handle is shown. 3rd has Legato saying, “That cross... I’ve been waiting for you. You’re ‘Chapel,’ correct?” He and Wolfwood look at each other.

A quick, bullet point recap, of what the Punisher signifies:

Christian morality: unconditional love, absolution and forgiveness, and 'thou shalt not kill' and Wolfwood's irony around this concept

a literal historic torturous execution device

signifies his profession and connection to the eye of Micheal

signifies his guilt over his profession

Narrative doom and Wolfwood

The fifth thing I want to talk about, is how the Punisher and it's symbolism is related to Wolfwood being a narratively doomed character. I choose this specifically as the Punisher literally becomes Wolfwood's grave marker (or one of them, at least). Thus, the fifth thing the Punisher symbolizes as Wolfwood's grave marker is his death-- and how he's been dead since the beginning.

ID: Wolfwood’s grave with the Punisher sitting as a grave-cross above the flat headstone is the foreground of the last page of volume 10, chapter 8. In the background Vash and Livio discuss where Vash will go next.

Hell--our first introduction to Wolfwood is him slumped under the Punisher in the desert, and assumed to be dead by the bus driver. The bus driver even comments that he's a really well-prepared dead guy, referring specifically to the cross of the Punisher, which in the first-ever panel we see Wolfwood, looks like a grave marker for him-- and ultimately ends up being his grave marker. Since the beginning, our introduction to Wolfwood is him as a dead character, and in a way, he remains so as he literally carries his grave marker throughout the story, only waiting until the right moment when he can truly die.

ID: 1. Wolfwood is starkly shaded as he sits unconscious in the desert with the Punisher behind him, almost like a grave marker.

2.. The bus driver comments, “Whew... That’s one well-prepared dead guy.”

As well, not only is the Punisher literally his grave marker and is a symbol of his death, but the other symbolism that it carries can be considered to cause Wolfwood's death; Wolfwood's connection to the EOM, his guilt, and Christian morals. For Wolfwood's connection to the EOM and Chapel, it is Chapel whose actions cause Wolfwood's death. In fact, as Chapel is the one who gave Wolfwood the Punisher, Chapel is the one to give Wolfwood his grave marker--and was the one to ensure that it became his gravemarker. Since the beginning of Chapel taking him under his tutelage, he was condemned to die.

Not only does it symbolize Wolfwood's death as a result of Chapel, but it also symbolizes Wolfwood's guilt over killing as a result of working for EOM, which also contributes to Wolfwood's death. Wolfwood's guilt come into play in his choice to defend the orphanage alone, as he believed that due to his guilt he wasn't worthy or important enough to ask Vash to help him; even if he knows Vash has proved over and over again that he would put aside everything to help anyone. Ultimately, he is proved wrong when Vash shows up anyways, but by this time, it is already too late. Adding to this is Wolfwood's staunch refusal to kill Livio as he declares his belief in Vash--and Vash's principles, ie, Christian principles-- which also causes Wolfwood to die, which Chapel himself notes. As a result, it is his guilt, his connection to Chapel, and to a smaller degree, his acceptance of Christian ethics, that kills him--all things the Punisher, his grave marker, signifies.

ID: Chapel berating Wolfwood for not shooting to kill Livio.

As well, tying into the historical interpretation of a cross as a torturous execution device, one can take the symbolism of the Punisher, specifically of Wolfwood's profession and deep self-loathing guilt as a result of his ethics he's had to forsake, and interpret the Punisher as metaphorically torturing Wolfwood. And, as it's symbolism is tied to the reasons for his death, one can also metaphorically claim that it is also what causes Wolfwoods own death, or execution; fully fulfilling its historic significance.

Summary

TLDR/To summarize: The Punisher, in its cross shape, ironically symbolizes Christian values which both the punisher itself and Wolfwood contradict, although may aptly symbolize it's historic use of a torturous execution device. Contextually, the Punisher also symbolizes Wolfwood's connection to Chapel and the Eye of Micheal, as well as his guilt over killing people.

The final thing the Punisher represents, is Wolfwood's death, as it literally becomes his grave marker. This is connected to how he is narratively doomed as that he has since the beginning been carrying his grave marker, and even in our first interaction it is foreshadowed to be his gravemarker. The other things the punishers signifies is directly correlated to his death as well, such as Chapel being to one to give Wolfwood his gravemarker, and being the one to cause Wolfwoods death.

All in all, Wolfwood as a character was never, since the very moment we met him, meant to survive the series; he's been literally carrying his grave marker the whole time. There was never any chance of him being able to escape his life the way he so desperately wanted to. He's been dead since the beginning.

ANYWAYS Uhm if u enjoyed reading my meta, here's a master post of some other trigun meta I've done :D

Edit (mar 26): At the suggestion of @princess-of-purple-prose and using/adapting the ID's they've added via a reblog on my post, I've added ID's to the photos to allow clarity of reading for those unable/have difficult accessing the photos.

#trigun #trigun manga #trigun maximum #trimax #wolfwood #nicholas d. wolfwood #trigun manga spoilers #trigun spoilers #tragic narratives #trigun meta #trigun analysis #hugin rambles #chapel trigun #livio the double fang #vash the stampede #uhm yeah not actually vashwood for once. but in spirit u know.#god Nightow is fucking insane #when i realized that the punisher was one of his gravemarkers and hed carried it around with him since the beginning #i was frothing at the mouth #just the amount of foreshadowing to wolfwoods death. and because you onow he just desperately doesn't want do this and he yearns #for a softer life outside all of it... and only to die. to since the beginning be doomed to die #another foreshadowing i didn't put in here is the foreshadowing when he tells vash to kill him if it would make vash finally kill #but thats a whole nother can of worms #anyways uhhhhhh hey yall did anyone ask for a larger serving of angst today!#btw if peeps wanna scream about shit w me the dms/ask box is always open #i think its enabled aksjskskk #god to have your character literally carry their gravestone with them the entire time is. fuck #me desperately trying not to be emotionally devastated by everything: *literally crying* yeah this is fine #the promise of tomorrow was a promise that never could be kept you know?#vashwood

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huginsmemory · 1 year

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First meetings: Wolfwood and Vash

ID: Wolfwood in his introduction chapter pinching a protesting Vash's chin with interest and exclaiming that people are stupid for not immediately recognizing Vash.

One thing I noticed while rereading the manga, is the nature of Wolfwood and Vash's first meeting; that is, Wolfwood isn't targeting Vash as his next mark, nor does he likely know that Vash is his next mark. As a result, I thought it would be interesting to look at how that shapes their relationship with each other in the beginning, especially in comparison to the differences in the anime adaptations. Just a fun lil tidbit to sink your teeth into.

Proof of Unknowing

For the case that Wolfwood wasn't yet targeting Vash, my first point is that it makes sense logistically; if Wolfwood was targeting Vash to kill him as Legato had originally told them to in the manga, it would be assumed that he would have tried to kill Vash. However, instead he doesn't try to at all, although one might chalk that up to Vash saving his life by spotting him while on the bus or some other plot gimmick for Wolfwood to not immediately try to kill Vash.

Secondly, and more obviously, Wolfwood hasn't met Legato yet. This is seen clearly when Legato asks Wolfwood if he's Chapel, who Wolfwood is (later shown to be) impersonating, which means that Legato has never met Wolfwood. As well, Wolfwood is only shown to know the location of his next job- when he mutters about the chapel on the top of the rock- and doesn't seem to know nothing else, making it highly likely he doesn't even know any other details. In fact, Vash actually warns Wolfwood to not get involved with Legato, giving Wolfwood his description, to which Wolfwood when recieving the info doesn't seem to know the man; and upon arriving, and meeting Legato, Wolfwood actually parrots the description from Vash's warning in wariness, recognizing him through Vash's warning.

ID: Collection of three manga pages.

First page: Legato comments, "'Chapel' seems to be missing... Well, no matter. Our target... Has yet to arrive." His words fade into Wolfwood exclaiming, "Huh?! A skull attached to his left arm?" Vash says, "Yep, yep! That's right. And a raised, needle-like torture device on his right shoulder." After a pause, Vash says, "You don't know him? Well, if you see him, let me know."

Second page: Vash tensely remembers a blood spatter and thinks, "Like a shadow, he came. And like a shadow, he killed and slipped away. If he... If he can move in and out of a crowd like that, people can be killed easily..." Wolfwood and Meryl look curious, and Wolfwood asks, "Well? If I see that guy, what should I do? You got a message for him?" Vash makes an exclamatory sound and shouts, "No! No! Never-mind!! Do not get involved. He's a very, very dangerous man. I swear!" Wolfwood laughs, "But I heard you were the most dangerous man in the world!" Vash sighs.

Third page: we see Legato and Wolfwood standing across from each other at their first interaction. Legato says, "That cross... I've been waiting for you. You're 'Chapel,' correct?" Wolfwood's expression is wary, and he says, "The skull... The torture device... I know you..."

Since Legato hasn't met him yet, this also means Legato's precious half-coins which he gives to each of the gung-ho guns hasn't been given yet to Wolfwood, which Legato has been previously shown to inform the gung-ho guns who their target is when he gives it to them (as with the first gung-ho gun). This again makes it unlikely that Wolfwood even knows his mark is Vash.

ID: A panel of Legato touching a broken coin in front of Monev the Gale, the first gung-ho gun and saying intensely, "Do whatever it takes. For twenty years of your master's benevolence, it's time to repay him."

Lending further support, when Legato mentions that they specifically may need to deal with--ie, kill--Vash, this is the moment when we are privy to Wolfwood thought processes, where he desperately rages against his life as a assassin and how he wants to escape this life that causes him to kill. This is especially understandable under the context of Wolfwood just being told that he is supposed to kill a man that he had just somewhat befriended, a man who had just saved his life and payed for his lunch, who clearly has a good heart.

ID: Two subsequent manga pages. Legato (off page) says "We're entering unknown territory here. You must be ready to handle any situation. Especially... Vash the Stampede. By no means may you fail!!" Wolfwood's frowning face is shown as Conrad comments that Vash is coming and that he understands why Knives chose that location. There's a close-up of Wolfwood's narrow-eyed expression before a cut to his shoes stomping up a mountain. He angrily exclaims, "Shit! What the hell was with all th' training?! Once again I'm staining my own hands with blood. God..." He thinks, "Once it's gone full-circle... where will it end?"

Basically, manga Wolfwood and Vash's beginning of their relationship starts with them forming a camaraderie before Wolfwood learns that he needs to kill/betray Vash. This makes it in a way more bittersweet, because their original interaction never had that tension of knowledge that Wolfwood is there since the beginning to betray Vash, and instead, they are simply existing together and form a what might tentatively be called a friendship--at least something where the both of them seem to have made a positive impact on the other-- outside of Wolfwoods mission. As a result, the question of how much of the camaraderie in the beginning of their relationship is Wolfwood having to get close to his mark is removed; you realize the camaraderie they share is honest and organic. In a way it's more tragic, because Vash even warns Wolfwood to remain away from Legato, but Wolfwood is already inevitably heading towards meeting the man, and learns to his horror that his next target is actually Vash. For Vash it also it's bitter because when Wolfwood finds Vash, Wolfwood mentions Knives for his reason of finding Vash; showing that even against Vash's warning, Wolfwood has clearly been entangled in some manner in the fight between Vash and Knives.

Anime adaptions

All this gets cut from Stampede, as Wolfwood is pretty explicitly following Vash to babysit him since the beginning. As Stampede has considerably condensed the story this makes sense since it would take time they don't have to add it in; but I think that cuts out an interesting extra dimension to Wolfwood and Vash's relationship, but so many things have been cut that I'm not surprised, and it's so changed that this being cut is not a big deal to me (compared to other things they cut which were more important).

From what I remember of the 98' anime, it's left a bit open to whether or not Wolfwood already knows from the beginning. However, as Wolfwood appears before Legato appears, it may mean that Wolfwood doesn't know during their first few meetings, like in the manga, but we aren't given a specific scene that shows Wolfwood being told to follow Vash, so we don't know where in the timeline he knows (we are only given the scene where he's told to kill Vash, later in the series). As well, Vash warning Wolfwood about Legato was removed in '98, which then lacks that bittersweetness of the realization that Wolfwood has become entangled in Vash and Knives fight. However, I haven't finished rewatching '98, so I don't have a more confident answer for whether or not Wolfwood knows, so take this part of the analysis with a grain of salt.

Conclusion

TLDR: In comparison to Wolfwood seeking out Vash to betray/observe him since the beginning, Wolfwood not knowing, (as shown by Legato not knowing who Wolfwood is when they meet) makes their whole first interaction in the manga organic, and adds a whole extra dimension of tragedy to their relationship, especially with the way Vash tries to warn Wolfwood away from Legato, which ultimately fails. As a result, the darker parts of both of their lives, which they don't acknowledge in their first meeting, end up intertwined, against their will. This actually serves as part of a huge thematic resolution of monstrousness and rejection but that's not the point here, that's another thing for another day.

Btw! If u wanna read more rambles from me, here's a masterpost of em :)

Edit (Apr. 2): Added photo ID, written by @princess-of-purple-prose

#trigun analysis #trigun manga #trimax #trigun maximum #hugin rambles #wolfwood #nicholas d. wolfwood #vash #vash the stampede #vashwood #i thought it was a really interesting tidbit about their relationship #cause damn the both of them being like oh they were neat and were a good person to realize that their paths cross again but in a way that #they both are entangled in darknesses not of their own making #and where one is doomed to betray the other #mmmmhm absolutely lovely #also im working on writing out basically wolfwoods acceptance of Vash's inhumanity which this is also directly tied to and its just. HNNNGH #so well put together nightow how do u do this #trigun #trigun meta #uh yeah i think thats it #looking at the narrative of trigun from wolfwoods view point is fascinating #also if u @ me being like why ur manga screen caps shit its because i read them at low brightness to not MURDER my eyes at 3 am #and im a lazy fool to change it to high contrast when taking screenshots

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huginsmemory · 4 months

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Law immediately going through all five stages of grief after making his alliance with luffy is so fucking funny to me. This poor brooding emo man being like ahaha I have made the alliance, my scheme is going to perfectly to plan--only to have luffy be luffy and that means chaos and being like YAY ALLIANCE = FRIEND!!! THIS MEANS YOU WILL FOREVERMORE BE DRAGGED AROUND BY MY WHIMS, THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, PLAN??? HERE HAVE SOME POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT ABOUT BEING A GOOD PERSON!!! :DDD and law who is completely used to getting his way and taken seriously and being considered dangerous is like:

#hugin rambles op #punk hazard #punk hazard arc #op spoilers #op memes #trafalgar law #trafalgar one piece #monkey d. luffy #luffy #one piece #straw hat luffy #trafalgar water d law #hugin rambles #i just couldn't stop laughing laws reaction was hilarious. the whole interaction was GOLDEN #robin being like. ok but he might betray us and luffy straight up asking law and being like ok he said he didn't! i trust him!#then usopp being like. you know luffy just takes this as you guys are friends now? and that being with us means you will literally end up #having to do his exact whims forever because he'll refyse to do anything else?#and law only being able to watch on in horror #man i shoukd really break out ms paint more often this was fun

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huginsmemory · 5 months

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And I wouldn't have one piece any other way. Fuck the govt.

Also extra meme, marineford related, below the cut.

#one piece #one piece memes #hugin rambles #i dont know how its been construed as a funny and long pirate shounen but. thats barely fucking scraping the surface. fuck #marineford #op memes

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huginsmemory · 4 months

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Can anyone guess which arc I'm on...

#one piece spoilers #one piece #one piece memes #op memes #koala one piece #koala op #im pretty sure this is exactly what fishertiger also felt when he saw her too #biting ripping beheading from meeting koala #hugin rambles #hugin rambles op

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huginsmemory · 1 year

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hi :) 🔥 maybe for vashwood or just trigun in general

Hello, and why thank you for the ask! This is a spicy one hahaha. Uhm, I definitely do have a few bones to pick with vashwood and trigun, and yup if you're like oh no is this about stampede (cough, low hanging fruit...) Then. Uhm. yeah it is. Sorry. I have a few thoughts about it, and why I really dislike (sorry stampede enjoyers) the choices for the characterization for Vash and Wolfwood, including the feminization of Vash. And also... how part of these characterizations are related to classical yaoi shipping dynamic tropes and how it may or may not be intentional (I'm gifting u a conspiracy haha). And then my own opinions on these changes and the reception of the new characterizations. These thoughts have been rolling around in my brain for a while but I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it since it's a bit spicy. But. Well. This is as good a sign as any.

I'll be going over the differences in Wolfwoods characterization, in Vash's characterization and his feminization in stampede, and then how this relates to yaoi shipping dynamics and Vashwood fandom reception (and my personal feelings around it...).

Also, this ended up being... Really long. Oops. I've highlighted the TLDR paragraphs in red for those who want to skim. If u want to just be like, wow spicy take with no context... Go to the last paragraph lol.

Preface and acknowledgement

I want to preface this with that I haven't actually watched Stampede, although I have quite heavily engaged with secondary material about it, ie gifs, meta posts, etc. So I suppose one can take my opinions with a grain of salt; to really form a full opinion on the series, I would have to watch stampede myself, of which I have zero time to do and maybe at one point I'll get around to. This is also why I've been reluctant to get into my thoughts... but from what I've seen of it, I've got a few bones to pick.

Yes, I may be a bit of a hater (ah... such a strong word...) but I do want to acknowledge that stampede has revived the trigun fandom, and hell, I wouldn't have read the manga without it. So credit where credits due, and it's very exciting to engage with the fandom for the first time and see it grow so much in such a short time. Also, yes, I am one of those people who watched the 98 version quite a while ago, so for me it's something that is nostalgic. Call me blinded by nostalgia all u want. If stampede is what first got you into trigun-- congrats! I'm not here to invalidate your experience; stampede is simply another iteration of trigun (even if I disagree with some of the characterizations), and I highly recommend you check out the manga as well. I'm very happy to have you here in the fandom!

Wolfwood's characterization

As some other people have noted here- stamp!ww is a bit different then ww in trimax or the 98, while the cut-copy-paste of the tragic orphange background stays the same (Nightow, you're so over the top. I love it).

Within 98 and trimax, ww is a bit rough around the edges, but is overall friendly, kind, charismatic and a bit goofy (a character trait these ww's share with Vash, which they both use it in a way to mask their darker parts of their lives). Sure, wolfwood in these iterations have zero issues calling people out on their bullshit and is willing to manipulate people around him into doing the greater good- but is shown to be gruffly genuinely caring about people when he can help (especially children), even if he still chooses to kill people when it comes down to it. This can be seen with 98!ww getting Vash to sign up for the tournament to help the single mum and her kid, and the way trimax!Wolfwood treats Milly during the midvalley fight because he's worried about her getting seriously injured, even going to the point of injuring her himself. Sure, he's not going to declare his care verbally to people, but he doesn't need to do that when he's actively doing things that clearly shows he cares for people, especially those he's created ties to, even if he chooses to be violent/forceful when he believes what he is doing is for the best.

This charismatic friendliness and kindness is generally stripped from Stamp!Wolfwood; sure, he cares deep down as is displayed by the orphange and his concern later in the series for Vash, but through his actions with others, there's a noticible lack of general feeling of kindness behind his overstepping of people boundaries compared to og!ww. As another user in here put it, Stamp!ww is a bit of a dick. He has harsh commentary to the group and one of the first things you do is see him rip off Meryl and Roberto with his undertaker job over literal dead bodies when he's introduced. Nor does he really get to be redeemed through showing his care for children, such as at the bus stop where he gives away most of his money or food to begging children, opting to go hungry himself; it instead being replaced by him giving a lolipop to Zazie... which doesn't count for shit. This post by chibivesicles does a really good job of summarizing it from the fourth episode.

ID: 3 images, each of different iterations of Wolfwood giving something away to a child. First is 98, with ww giving away two of his three food ration bars to two scruffy children, the second from the manga with ww giving away two of his three coins to two scruffy children while Vash watches on, and the third with ww offering a sucker to Zazie while Meryl and Vash watch on.

Overall, the gist I've gotten of Stampede's iteration is that they very much boxed Wolfwood into the typical anime tsundere black-haired brooding character, stripping out his previous goofy and friendly charisma as well as his general feeling of kindness to fit that character trope better.

Vash's Characterization

Vash within 98 and trimax is also pretty different from stamp!Vash; I find this difference to specifically come from stamp!Vash feeling more naive, less driven and well--a bit spineless. The differences come down to two things; Vash having a strong moral spine which he is willing to call people out on due to righteous anger and Vash being emotionally detached from the people around him. Sure, og Vash (going to just use this to refer to 98 and trigun manga together) is goofy, cheerful and shows his emotions on his sleeve, but he doesn't actually let people become close to him. It's delibrate, and most of it specifically revolves around obfuscating that he's a plant and his goal of trying to chase Knives down; thus, he adopts a lifestyle of travelling and rarely staying long in areas, and so you see that his relationship with people are pretty surface level, even through his friendliness.

Three specific incidents within the series and their differences illustrate the emotional distance, and the righteous fury of og!Vash's in comparison to stamp!Vash. This includes Vash's childhood and relationship to the people on the seeds ship after the fall, Brad questioning their trust in Vash as he isn't human, and Wolfwood killing someone to save Vash.

Firstly, for Vash's childhood after the fall, within stampede he's pretty quickly picked up by the seeds ship, which hosts him, and they immediately are able to identify that he is an independent plant. They know more about him than he knows really about himself, and they also are generally aware about the fall (although not the exact details until later). Vash is raised for a while under their tutelage, and ends up helping heal plants, overall forming bonds with them even if they treat him a bit rough in the beginning, and Luida becomes mom #2.

ID: Screenshot from tristamp, of the photo on Vash's bedroom table, of him with all the seeds ship people he was working with.

In 98, no information is really given, but presumably is something somewhat similar to trimax. In trimax, after the fall Vash literally wanders the wastes with Knives for about 70 years, until Knives cuts Vash's arm off in anger at Vash's insistence that people shouldn't be killed, even when he's literally at the mercy of a town that is going to kill him and sell his organs. It is assumed sometime not long after Vash gets picked up by the seeds ship people, as it is mentioned that theyve known him for 70 years. Vash during these 80 years is very alone, with only his brother as company who is angry and abusive, as is directly pointed out within the manga. The two of them are presumed to be eking out a living travelling around the harsh wastes, and as displayed by the human organ stealing town, it is clear that often human settlements are just another possibility of danger due to crime and violence as a result of limited resources.

ID: two manga pages. First is just a panel showing Vash's flashbacks to violent traumatic instances of his childhood, showing a montage of him yelling, holding a gun, and crouched over a man who is dead and bleeding out looking panicked and horrified.

The second page is Knives while they are traveling together in the desert, looking down at Vash and calling him over. Vash looks at Knives, and he narrates that "It was about 80 years after the fall. Time passed slowly, but we neither grew nor parted. I knew I couldn't leave him alone. That thought alone determined the distance between us." Vash and Knives are clearly distant from each other in the panel, Vash in the foreground and Knives indistinguishable other than a silhouette at the top of the sand dune in the hindground.

In comparison, although it's not easy for Vash either in stampede, his childhood is cushier and less lonely. This loneliness and harsh environment that trimax!Vash exists within adds a depth of experience to his ethics, informing his righteous anger over everything that is morally wrong and should have never been, that makes him speak out, providing him a stronger spine which stamp!Vash doesn't have. This intensely lonely part of his upbringing also gives him an emotional independence, or even detachment, from most people he interacts with, in comparison to stamp!Vash who is emotionally dependent (and seems less mature) due to his ties to the seeds ship people.

As in tristamp, the closest people to Vash in trimax are the people on the seeds ships (also Lina and her grandma, but they don't know who he is when they take him in). Although he's the most open with them (ie, they know about Knives and his plans), during the visit to the seeds ship you are still given the idea that while Vash knows everyone and cares greatly for them, Vash is still generally emotionally independent from them, and doesn't form intimate relationships with people (especially compared to stamp!Vash). Interestingly, the manga implies when they first visit that they don't know what he is exactly, just that he's functionally immortal, as that when Luida talks about him to Wolfwood, she doesn't mention that he's a plant. Overall, compared to the outside people, the people on the seeds ship know more, and are more aware of how to use the old technology (it's also something that is hinted that some of it is possibly taught to them by Vash over the years), but they are not more knowledgeable then Vash, with Vash likely about the same level or more knowledgeable then them about general 'lost tech' and plant related things. As well, the people on the seeds ship in trimax are entirely unaware of circumstances around the fall--and Vash never tells them either. The visit to the seeds ship trimax functions as a way to allow the reader to distinctly comprehend Vash's age, and how Vash is really quite a terribly lonely character, as he is doomed to watch those he cares about die (which also informs why he likely doesn't really let people get very close to him, along with practical matters). This is directly pointed out in Luida's conversation with Wolfwood and Wolfwoods own inner monologue, as well as being alluded to by Jessica's locket, and Brad's grumblings. From the explanations you get the sense that Vash is emotionally independent and in a way, detached from people's opinions of him as a result of his longevity, with his constant travelling only ensuring that.

This is very different to the relationship of stamp!Vash with the seeds ship, as Vash is shown to have emotionally dependant relationships with the people on the seeds ship, with them literally raising him as a child, and this 'parent-child' relationship is only emphasized by them knowing more than Vash does about independent plants. Instead of emphasizing how Vash is old and outside of time, the dynamic gives Vash as a character an overall young and naive slant to his character, even if they still do drop the 'he's 150 years old' line when the stamp gang visits the ship.

This emotional dependence/independence directly corroborates to the differences in Vash's response to Brad's comment on him not trusting him, as something non-human. Within stampede, as Vash is young, he flees, feeling rejected--indicating a strong emotional dependence on those on the seeds ships for acceptance of who he is. However, within Trimax, Vash acknowledges Brad's comment, and actually validates and agrees with Brad's concerns; he's aware enough that who and what he is something to be feared and suspicious of (especially as by this time, the fifth moon incident, and July has occurred) and is worried about this himself; however, he simply requests Brad to trust him in this. Trimax!Vash's is emotionally independent, from Brad's rejection, a person who is part of the community that he is closest to; he accepts what Brad says, but also stands firm on his request from the community and his continued association with them, focused on his goals of stopping Knives. It's a scene that originally shows Vash's emotional independence from what others think of him (although he is saddened by it), and displays his maturity and acceptance when others reject him for who he is.

ID: Five pages of the manga. First page, Brad (in his early 20's) scoffs at Vash being called human. Second, Brad accuses Vash as a plague bringer in light of the fifth moon incident being brought up, grabbing him by his collar. Vash closes his eyes, then looks up at Brad, gaze steely, replying, "yeah that is possible". Third page, Vash asks Brad "Won't... you trust me? Please. Brad?". Vash looks sorrowful but is serious. Fourth page, Brad responds by saying "Ones who live outside of time, huh... In thirteen years... even though my hands have grown this big... You... Haven't really changed at all". The words are over-laid on an image of Brad's small hands reaching up to Vash when he was a child, and a smaller panel has Brad looking disturbed. The fifth page has Brad angrily stomping out of the room calling out "Everyone in the older generation may trust you... But you're not convincing me!". Vash then responds by saying to the older man in the room, that "I see what you mean. From the standpoint of a normal human I must be a monster.".

This is entirely turned on its head within tristamp to a scene that displays emotional dependence on people and an inability to accept rejection, displaying a immature, self-conscious, and younger version of Vash. Obviously, he is still younger at this point, but this immaturity and emotional dependence is one that still persists within the narrative of stampede, and influences your view of Stamp!vash. One could argue that then learning the details of why the ships fell is something Vash feels more guilty about, and so takes Brad's criticism harder, and flees. However, no matter what, this is a immature reaction. Interestingly, this portrayal of Vash having an emotional dependence on humans accepting him, is quite contrary to trimax, as this trait is actually one that specifically emphasized to belong to Knives, while trimax!Vash is shown to be emotionally detached and generally uninterested in their acceptance by humans.

ID: Screencap from stampede, Vash against the door looking shocked and horrified as he hears Brad say "he's never been on the side of us humans!".

The third thing is the scene where Wolfwood kills a man for Vash. Within stampede, Rollo is killed; Vash is angry at Wolfwood for doing so, grabbing Wolfwoods collar, but with a few strong words of a reminder of the harshness of general existence from wolfwood, Vash shuts up and is shown to just be sad, if a bit withdrawn/sulky with Wolfwood. Within Trimax, this scene is technically a rolling together of multiple arcs, but specifically thematically wise is a revamp of when he faces off with Rai-dei the Blade. When Wolfwood kills Rai-dei, Vash literally slaps Wolfwood hard in anger, resulting in them get into a fight, with Wolfwood retaliating by slamming Vash down to the ground in anger, and culminating in him pressing his loaded handgun into Vash hands, pointing it at his own head, and telling him to shoot; Vash then derogatorily calls Wolfwood a coward and they break up the fight, both still very angry at each other. In this, Vash clearly has very strong morals and is unafraid to call Wolfwood out when he transgresses them, full of righteous fury. None of this anger is transposed into stamp!Vash, who just looks sad about all of it; sure, he has values, but they feel like he fumbles with them, unsure and unwilling to speak up for them in an assertive way, crumbling underneath any criticism.

ID: first image is three panels from tristamp, and second is five pages of the manga, both detailing Vash calling out Wolfwood on killing.

First of the three panels has Vash grasping ww collar, looking angry; Wolfwood says "mercy" in response to the unseen question asked by Vash. He then goes on to say "there's no way to return his humanity", and Vash is looking down, fists clenched. Wolfwood continues, saying that "at best, it's all talk" about Vash's beliefs. Vash looks hollow and distressed.

The second, the first page has ww shooting Rai-dei; Vash responds in horror. Second page has Vash slap Wolfwood, yelling "why? Why did you shoot him?! Wolfwood?", to glare up at him. Third page has ww slam Vash onto the ground, Vash looks shocked, arms around his head to protect it. Ww glares down at Vash, saying "are you really such an idiot? If I hadn't shot him, it would be you lying there." Fourth page has Wolfwood holding Vash's hand with his own handgun in it against his forehead. Wolfwood tells Vash to "SHOOT." Fifth panel has Wolfwood telling Vash that he is a chickenshit for not being able to kill him. Vash then responds by calling Wolfwood a coward.

Something that's also interesting about the righteous anger that drives og!vash, is that its specifically because of his righteous anger, that he comes very close to killing people (Monev the gale, and how he's originally in the trigun manga before trimax presumably tracking down Knives to kill him after July, to some degree the rapist in the train)--and violating his ethics. This anger--and Vash's very real possibility of him killing someone out of a feeling of righteous fury, or a feeling of just righteousness--adds further dimension to Vash as a character, because you see that he also struggles with his no kill rule, even if he staunchly stands by it. Which... without this feeling of righteous anger, it takes out Vash's dilemmas around killing others.

To summarize the above, stamp!Vash lacks the righteous anger that og!Vash has around his belief of forgiveness and second chances (of a blank ticket), and as a result fails to confront others assertively when presented with things that go against his beliefs. Stamp!Vash also lacks the emotional independence that he previously had as a result of a harsh and lonely upbringing and his travelling lifestyle and his inability to age; instead he forms an emotional dependence and connections with them. Generally, the two characters have a very different relationship with the people in the seeds ship, which makes trimax vash seem older and more mature, while Stamp!vash feels more young and naive.

Vash and Femininity

Vash as a character has always been portrayed in a somewhat feminine light; Nightow even specifically has said that he purposely designed the angel arm with feminine elements, as the act of creation is correlated to the feminine. In much the same way, plants are drawn feminine, likely to correlate to the same feminine=creation manner. Thus, his relations to the angel arm, and plants he is given a feminine slant to his character. As well, Vash is shown to be open (ie, crying in public multiple times) and shown to be (at least somewhat) emotionally competent with his emotions, as that empathy (and Rem's instructions) is the core of his belief of pacifism and no-kill policy. These emotional related traits are, well, very commonly perceived to be feminine traits. Vash is also quite pretty in a more delicate (feminine) way, especially with his teardrop mole; he's not 'ruggedly' handsome like Wolfwood, in a more traditionally 'masculine' way. As well, Vash as a character is shown to be a more passive character, as the majority of trimax and 98 has the plot occurring to Vash, rather then Vash actively seeking out and causing changes within the narrative. This passivity within the narrative also is commonly found correlated to female roles, who often aren't active agents of the narrative. This can especially be seen in comparison to active 'male' roles, such as is played out by Knives who is majorly making decisions that move the plot forward (although Knives himself has gender fuckery going on. Nightow likes gender fuckery. On a related note, I love u Elendira and I'm so sorry what they did to you in tristamp that's horrendous). This is also related to how repeatedly within trigun the issue of bodily autonomy and choice is brought up--within plants of course, but also Vash's bodily autonomy is clearly violated multiple times, such as within July, and the fifth moon incident by Knives (and this relates, and this immensely good post put it, also to Vash's insistence on not killing, which is the most ultimate form of violation of bodily autonomy). Bodily autonomy (and the lack of it) is also something deeply related to woman's issues (among others, such as general minority groups).

So overall, even within Trimax and 98, Vash is quite clearly traditionally feminine coded, as can be seen in relation to his angel arm, his emotional openness, his physical features of being 'pretty', his passivity within the narrative and his lack of bodily autonomy. However, even within these feminine traits, og!Vash still comes off as masculine; the breadth of his shoulders and triangle shaped body indicates that, as well as his righteous anger and willingness to speak up against ethical issues are typically seen as masculine traits. Within 98 and trimax he's essentially coded as a feminine-leaning man.

Stamp!Vash however, is a different can of worms. His character still carries the feminine traits as is detailed above, but as previously discussed, specifically lacks the righteous anger that gives og!Vash a backbone and a willingness to stand up for transgressions against his ethics. This further emphasis on passivity of Vash strips him of one of the defining 'masculine' traits of anger, further sliding him along the masculine-feminine spectrum to a more feminine character. As well, with the character revamp making Vash more lithe, rather then giving him broad shoulders, and his hair cut is more of a non-binary haircut vs something that could be argued to be more masculine, further effeminates him as a character. Not to mention the work he's been doing, which is being a plant engineer, specifically involves with caring for and nurturing plants--which directly correlates to a emotionally sensitive nurturing role, one which it is also correlated to a feminine role. This especially so when it's shown that this iteration of Vash is clearly emotionally sensitive too and dependant on the people from the seeds ship, another 'feminine' trait. As well, within stampedes Vash rarely fires his gun... In comparison to 98 and trimax, where you see him fire it quite frequently, to incapacitate people. Comfort with firing a gun, and just general use of a weapon is another traditionally masculine trait. Overall, Vash within Stampede is almost entirely devoid of any masculine traits and is comprised of almost all feminine traits--passive both in narrative and in character, feminine in his work, his build, his goddamn haircut, his bodily autonomy-- with basically the only thing not is that he's not canonically female.

Stamp!Vash feminization and Fandom Reception

This has quite obviously been picked up by the fandom, with many people with trans!Vash headcanons. As per my experience of generally keeping an eye on the ao3 feed, in fact, a large majority of Vashwood fanfiction is of afab trans Vash, with another majority of xeno/intersex Vash; in fact, it's a rarity to find a fic specifically detailing a non trans or intersex Vash within the newer AO3 works. Interestingly, this is quite different then the works previously found within Vashwood on AO3, pre-stamp; these works are primarily with a amab non-trans Vash. It'd be interesting to actually run the numbers, but I'm too lazy to do that. This difference I've observed within pre and post stamp I bet is a result of these changes to Vash's character, making him more feminine--and more likely to be pegged (pun intended) as a trans or intersex character, especially one that has a vagina (specifically, vaginal sex within explicit fics is a very common tag within the Vashwood ao3 feed).

Stamp!Vashwood and Yaoi Tropes

Something that has been personally mildly bugging me about the stampede vashwood is the common yaoi trope of when there are two gay characters, one needs to assume to traditionally feminine role (nurturing, emotional, passive), while the other keeps the traditionally masculine role (in charge, often unable/unwilling to express emotions ) within the relationship. As well, a popular trope within the traditionally masculine role is for the character to be tsundere, heavily leaning into the character being emotionally incompetent and just generally being a dick. This... almost too well fits the changes to both Vash and Wolfwoods characters. Stamp!Wolfwood is now squarely a tsundere and a bit of a dick, as well as dark and brooding, rather then a charming if gruff and rough around the edges character that is goofy and kind (but still dark and brooding). In the meantime, Vash is further feminized, his righteous anger replaced by passivity, fitting that role of a female character perhaps a little too well.

The rest of stampede has been heavily revamped to cater to a modern Japanese audience; this can be seen with the use of Japanese ranking systems within the Eye of Micheal that didn't exist, the stripping of a lot of Christian themes from the show, the swap to a sci-fi genre instead of western and the re-vamping of the character designs. In a similar way, revamping the characters into character types and tropes the Japanese audience is familiar with wouldn't be a stretch; and especially so tropes found within yaoi that very easily can invite shipping, if you as a director recognize the potential of Vashwood as a ship to get people invested into a show. Which, quite evidently, the director may aware of, as he's been liking copious amounts of fanart, including Vashwood. He also has a quote attributed to him about how Vash acts as both a female and male character. So, did the feminization of Vash and heavily emphasized tsundere attitude of Wolfwood come about as (at least a part of) a result of a yaoi bait ploy to get people invested into tristamp? Honestly, I don't know, but it fits the tropes so well that some parts of the stamp!vashwood rubs me the wrong way (even if I'm marinating myself within the fandom). It's especially fishy that one of the people involved with the production is liking vashwood stuff shows that people involved in making decisions for the show are aware (and even encouraging) the ship. The fandoms also been around for quite a while, so it would be easy enough to tap into the fandom to see what was popular--and what they could potentially exploit. Interestingly, the way they're setting up tristamp also leans into yaoi bait for Knives x Vash as well, heavily leaning into Knives being like 'everything I did was for you Vash' in an obvious way, which wasn't really the case with trimax... But that's another can of worms. More attention, the better I suppose.

If it's true, characters where changed for more shipping potential, does this matter really? In a grand scheme of things, no. I mean, yaoi bait is obviously utilized in many anime media, just look at Drrr! and the shizuo x izaya ship. The author is plenty aware of what they are doing and leaning hard into it, knowing its popularity, and exploiting that. So it goes. Obviously, its not necessarily a 'bad change' if they decided to change the characters partly for shipping; that's something people get to decide for themselves. Besides, this new iteration of trigun with a more feminine Vash allows for a heavier emphasis on bodily autonomy, especially in regards to femininity as that one post linked above goes into. However, that said, does it matter to me, who is chewing through drywall thinking about the complexities of Wolfwood and Vash and their relationship in trimax? Yeah, absolutely. A little more on that below.

Personal opinions on everything above

If you don't want to read me griping on personally about tristamp then you can just skip this section. It's just me being boring and predictable.

Personally, I miss the og versions of Wolfwood and Vash; I miss the righteous anger that Vash has, I miss their designs and big shoulders and Wolfwoods goofiness and kindness. As well, as much as I love the trans headcanons that are coming out of stampede, as a masc leaning NB individual I really enjoyed the masculine but also emotionally sensitive version of Vash. This especially so as a part of me feels uncomfortable that people look at a male character that is essentially fulfilling a feminine role and go, oh, he's an afab transman, specifically because of his close connotations with femininity. Like, fuck gender expectations and norms and all that, but for me I'm a bit uncomfortable with that assertion (btw this is not me being like u guys need to stop--we're all allowed our opinions, and y'all seem to be enjoying yourself, so go ham I guess). Also, just personally, I've never particularly identified with feminine characters, especially passive female characters, which stamp!Vash very much feels like.

Perhaps part of it is also that I relate a great amount to og!Vash's righteous anger over everything that is occurring, being a part of a cultural minority myself, and being so terribly angry over how I've seen my people be treated. I've also got an abusive sibling with anger issues that lashes out, so seeing Vash struggle with his relationship with Knives, being so terribly angry over everything Knives has put him through (technically, more about others then himself but I digress), along with his confusion and dilemma over still caring about and loving his sibling is also so very validating. So stripping that underlying righteous anger about everything to just make him sad™ makes him less relatable to me. Where is your anger over everything??? where is it?? Come on man, bare your teeth to the world.

Maybe also part of it is also related to just... acknowledging that male characters can be kind. This is probably related to why I dislike that ww has just become a tsundere and kind of a dick. Give him his friendly charisma and kindness back u cowards, I'll beat you with a stick. Dark brooding tsundere's are dime a dozen! Rough around the edges and dangerous but still kind and a bit silly and friendly men who are riddled with guilt? Shiningly beautiful.

Overall, all meta analysis and conspiracy theories (character flattening of wolfwood and vash to fit yaoi tropes) aside, I guess what I'm trying to say is that my 🔥 spicy 🔥 trigun/vashwood opinion is that I don't particularly like this very heavily feminized version of Vash which the fandom seems to be quite happily enjoying. This is both because his righteous anger is stripped out which I relate too and that I (masc NB) feel somewhat uncomfortable that he's often considered a afab transman due to specifically his feminine traits.

EDIT (MAR 27): a post script with further thoughts I suppose, especially after reading this post by @paiteyy , which describes the stripping of more canonical queerness within Stampede--and the way specifically that Meryl seems to be given some of Wolfwoods roles from trimax, in relation to likely making her stampedes 'canonical' ship... in comparison to how trimax Wolfwood and Vash spend a majority of the time together and form deep emotional connections. If they are rearranging tristamp to further cement Meryl into a heavier role of love interest, then it would make sense for her to take over some of Wolfwoods actions. This also falls in line with how they've gone out of their way to give Meryl a bigger backstory and create conditions for character growth... while simultaneously simplifying many of the other characters, especially Wolfwood. Interestingly, this actually falls in line with the tristamp creators being very invested and shuffling things around to fit shipping tropes to rope in a bigger audience; by moving Meryl to the front they can get a canonical het ship for the general audience (much like the 98 version did in a way--cause clearly every show the mc needs a clear love interest), while also ensuring to lean into sub-textual yaoi tropes to rope in others which would be interested in queer ships.

Also photo ID's were added :D

PLUS: here's the link to more of my meta posts if you liked this.

#trigun #trigun meta #trimax #tristamp #trigun manga #trigun maximum #trigun 98 #wolfwood #vash the stampede #nicholas d. wolfwood #opinion peice aha #hugin rambles #hugin speaks #vashwood #yeah its definitely leaning into vash's already present femininity but also. dont like #trigun vash #trigun comparison #theres a few posts about that have definitely helped me coalesce my thoughts #i see u the post about vash's anger #also to the one person that made a comment on the vashwood discord server im in about yaoi tropes. u were the one that really sparked #the coalescing of this thoughts into something more tangible #also yes im aware that tristamp is a prolouge in a way. will they fix the characterization #nah i dont think so #me: do i wanna write up something people might not like. ahhhhh SURE why not #to my two friends ive already talked the ear off about this who didn't know shit what i was talking about i dedicate this post to u #also yeah yeah im aware trimax is not all of the trigun manga but look. look. i dont eant to write out trimanga or some shit. trimax is #fast. easy. perfect for my lazy lil ass #me: am i gonna actually verify my observations like a good person who talks about meta?#my lazy ass: nah this is fine actually. secondary sources only baby!!!#god why is this. so long

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