Trigun Bookclub: deludedfantasy: Trigun Maximum Volume 11: Chapter 1-3

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Original Tumblr Post: Trimax Vol 11 Ch 1-3

Trimax Vol 11 Ch 1-3

I’m a little behind this week because my brain hasn’t been cooperative. But here are some thoughts on the first half of volume 11.

It’s been really hard for me to start reading this volume. I’m still grieving from volume 10. Everything past this point from my first read is a blur and I don’t remember much of it. I was reading in a frenzy because I was very in denial about Wolfwood being dead and was hoping he’d come back somehow. This feels all new to me and while I know the broad strokes, I’m a little scared of what’s to come.
Really hope this is the last I have to see of Chapel. Why are we opening on this old scene?
Zazie saying “Chapel and the old man” confused me for a moment. Did—did no one tell Zazie that Wolfwood isn’t Chapel? Who did she think that random old guy was? Did Knives even know Wolfwood wasn’t really Chapel? Honestly, who knows at this point.
Damn, I didn’t realize Wolfwood shot Legato in the spine. At this point, you gotta wonder if the only thing keeping Legato alive is his insane devotion to Knives because I don’t know how else he’s pushed through all the shit that’s happened to him.
Elendira “jokingly” threatening to kill Legato is everything to me. It shouldn’t be so funny and yet there’s such a morbid humor to it.
Where in the world did Vash and Livio get a car from?
Other people have pointed this out, but the fact that after everything that happened, despite Vash’s own anger at Livio, he still trusts him. That means a lot. Vash hasn’t abandoned his beliefs and importantly, he’s not giving up on the person Wolfwood sacrificed everything for. This is the first time we see the blank ticket in action!
No one else has taken Vash up on the chance to change, to become something better. But Livio has, because of Wolfwood’s belief in him, so Vash is going to take him at his word, because then what in the world has he been fighting for all this time? At the same time though, someone else had to die for that to happen, and I think that’s going to create some cracks in Vash’s convictions, though how still remains to be seen.
Vash’s anger isn’t gone though. Not at all. “You are the one he believed in,” Vash says. So start acting like it is the subtext. You want to be trusted? Then don’t act surprised or like you don’t deserve it when I do, because Wolfwood gave up everything for you to have that chance. Vash has this problem where he places a lot of meaning and emphasis on other people’s sacrifice’s and this isn’t something he’s going to let go of.
Brad really cares about Wolfwood. I wonder when they got to know each other so well that Brad would be so mad at Livio for what happened. But I also think Brad is there to remind us that the way he’s trusting Livio is out of the ordinary because we’ve become so used to seeing everything from Vash’s point of view, it’s easy to forget why trusting Livio is such a big deal.
An ion cannon…this isn’t gonna end badly or anything.
Oh an ion cannon powered by Plants. That’s very bad.
The first time we see Dependent Plants have their own autonomy! They keep the military from firing the ion cannon at Knives. Which suggests they’ve been able to control their energy output this whole time. For some reason, they’ve been (apparently) helping humans willingly all these years. That’s certainly an interesting revelation.

Ch 2

I don’t know why but the wording of this page makes it sound like the vast majority of the human population has gathered in Octovern. I remember thinking that on my first read too and later wondering if I’d misinterpreted something. But this really does have the feel of, “This is humanity’s last stand, and they’re all huddled together in fear.”
Which really does beg the question: how big is the population of No Man’s Land? And how much of it has Knives destroyed over the past seven months?

Luida!!! She’s trying to give all these bigwigs the knowledge they need to successfully resist Knives, but she’s coming in at a disadvantage. She’s been hiding for years and now she’s telling them that dependent Plants have a will of their own, which is news to everyone. Now she’s telling them they shouldn’t attack when the situation is truly dire. It’s frustrating, but it makes so much sense why people are unwilling to listen to her.
And Meryl!!! Always happy to see Meryl again, being her little gremlin self and flipping people off behind their backs.
Oh…Meryl and Milly’s conversation really drives home how much things have changed and how much they have changed. Things were simpler, once upon a time, when they first met Vash and started following him. They were more peaceful and Meryl and Milly hadn’t seen as many horrible things. Now, the world is on the brink of destruction, they’ve witnessed the worst of humanity, and as Milly says, there’s no going back. They can reminisce all they want, but they’ll never be the same. The subtext being that even if they win, the world won’t be the same one they knew when they were younger.
It’s important that Milly delivers this message too. Because coming from someone else, it could sound hopeless. From her, it doesn’t feel quite so horrible. It’s sad, but to me, it feels like she’s saying it’s not the end. Those memories will still be there for them even if they can’t be those people anymore, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s good to remember, it’s good to feel all of that and be able to live with it.
Vash makes a wonderful entrance! Just as they’re contemplating how their lives have changed because of him, Vash drops in again and does things the way he always does. With precision and a little bit of silliness.
Their reunion makes me so happy!! Look at them, they’re so overwhelmed seeing him again! They mean so much to each other and they hadn’t even known he was alive for the longest time. And Vash’s surprised little, “Oh!” After all these months, he likely didn’t know if they’d survived the destruction and had probably shoved all of that to the back of his mind so he could function. But there they are!! They’re his friends and he’s just as excited to see them!
The Earth fleet’s arrival feels like it should be a moment of hope, but then we transition to Knives. He’s become more and more inhuman. He’s fused so deeply with the Plants that he’s started resembling them. The Ark is even starting to fall apart. It’s overtaken by much more biological matter as Knives’s powers spiral out of control a little and the Plants grow and grow. It makes you wonder: can the fleet actually stand up to him?

Ch 3

Luida: Hey, Vash what happened to your hair?
Vash: Haha, how about this final battle though?
Vash continues being incapable of letting anyone in on his problems and it drives me bananas! Let someone help you carry your burdens!!! It’ll make your life just a little bit easier!!!
The way Livio starts turning here. He was about to admit that he killed him or was responsible for his death. But Brad stops him! Brad, who was so angry at him before! Whether it’s to keep the girls from being so hurt or because he’s come to believe (just a little) that Vash is right about Livio, it’s not easy to say. But it still speaks volumes about Brad that he does this to lessen the blow for so many people.

Is it bad that what Brad said reminded me of someone saying, “Oh, your dog went to live a happy life on a farm upstate”?
But they know. Meryl and Milly still know what he really means. The hard truth is they don’t have the time to properly grieve him or break down about it. They have to stay focused on their current goals. So while they go along with it, the way Milly cries just hurts me. It’s a loss they can’t even speak about yet.
And now Knives has made an enemy of Zazie, who isn’t thrilled about their planet being destroyed. This was not what they signed up for!
I love that Meryl and Milly kept everything from Vash’s old coat as evidence for Bernadelli. The fact that they took it when they went back to HQ during those seven months is actually so sweet and sad too. It was the only thing they had to remember him by, even if it was just the random crap he carried in his pockets. I know this is just Nightow’s way of bringing the coins back into play, but in this instance, it actually shows a bit about the girls’ relationship to him.
“That’s scary.” I mean, yeah fighting Legato is scary, I do get it, but also…Vash, WHAT? You’ve been through some terrifying things and that’s your reaction to this? He really does forget who and what he is sometimes, because he forgets that he’s pretty dangerous too. Then again, he doesn’t want to be, so he never thinks of himself that way.
Brad has no idea how much it means to Livio that he’s showing him this kind of trust and respect. This is exactly what he needed to hear. That he is capable of change and people believe in him, people outside Vash and Wolfwood. Brad says he didn’t do what he did earlier for Livio but I don’t know. The way he’s acting now seems to say that maybe he did, just a little. He understands what Wolfwood gave up for him and that Wolfwood wouldn’t want Livio blamed for his death, so while Brad might give all kinds of other reasons, I think it all comes down to that.
A lot of other people have commented on this scene and I totally agree with everyone’s takes! Vash is so overwhelmed hearing this from Marlon right now. This is something Vash has struggled with the whole story: letting people in and asking for help. He never does this. He always tries to go it alone and keeps his cards close to his chest, even with his closest friends. Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly wormed their way into his heart through sheer stubbornness because Vash wouldn’t let them otherwise. And it’s hitting him now, just how much it means to ask for help, that he could have it and he’s always had it. He probably wishes Wolfwood had asked him for help and hearing now that he should do the same hurts. It’s a spin of regrets and should’ve-beens in his head right now and it’s not something he needs to focus on the coming battle.
The thing is, he really does need to hear this now! He can’t survive this battle on his own. He isn’t the only person fighting. Even if he is the most powerful Independent Plant, he can’t win by himself. This isn’t just a fight between him and his brother. This is a fight for humanity’s survival. His friends have a stake in it and they want to help him. They can! Vash has been martyring himself for so long, letting people in is a foreign concept, but it’s the only way to survive. If Vash had to learn anything from humanity, it’s that survival isn’t a one person game. Society lives and thrives on human interaction, on people helping each other, and if his greatest want is to be close to humans, to live with them and be like them, then he needs to let people in and accept help.

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