Trigun Bookclub: pancake-breakfast: Trigun Maximum Volume 14: Chapter 7-8

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Original Tumblr Post: Chapter 7-8

Alright, let’s finish this up now before I have to read JJK’s next chapter and be sad about that, too. Trigun Maximum Sadness.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 14, Chapters 7-8 below.

Table of Contents

Chapter 7: Twin Wings

You know… Rem does indeed resemble Meryl here.
Yeah, explosions are noisy….
I feel like Orange took inspiration from this chapter’s name for their big showdown in the final episode of Stampede.
Also also! Note they’re both technically missing an arm at this point. And it’s the opposite arm.
I’m honestly surprised Knives took the time to give himself some sort of Plant pants. I didn’t think he cared that much. ~~This is a seinen. They’ve had plenty of vags. I’m sure they could have got away with some dick.~~
I love how this page focuses on Knives’ plant abilities, and on Vash’s bullets.

Ha! Barefoot Knives! This is where Orange got that, too!
Ohhhhh, Knives’ hair’s all dark now, too. He burned a lot of energy regenerating his body, didn’t he?
Cool sword, though. Of course he’d bring a knive to a gunfight.
“Everyone has abandoned me.” Honey, you kind of forced your Plant sibs to join up with you, and you discarded the loyalties of the humans who followed you as worthless (especially Legato). Things might have turned out different if you’d approached all of that differently.
You know what they say: pride comes before the fall.

Dammit, Knives! This doesn’t have to end in your death! You sound like freaking Legato! Seriously, man. You really should have spent some time getting to know and nurturing that boy. You guys could have learned so much from each other. And if you are gonna go all suicidal on this, for the love of God, don’t force your brother to land the killing blow! There’s a very important difference between going into a fight expecting to die and going into a fight hoping the other person will kill you.
Gratuitous Knives chest shot.
Knives lost to a one-armed Vash in a close-combat situation where Knives had a blade and Vash had a gun. That says a lot about the difference in their fighting abilities.
Ugh, Knives looks so sad now that Vash has a gun at his head. This isn’t how he wanted things, and he’s only now realizing maybe he could have done things differently.

But of course Vash doesn’t pull the trigger.
Chronica?!?!
Vash is using his last bullet to save them both… and everyone below them, likely.
Ugh, looks like the power cost is maybe too much for Vash.
And Chronica’s down.
Vash’s angel wings!!! He’s gotta save his brother!

Yeah, Vash just can’t anymore. He’s spent.
OMG THIS PANEL. Them flying (gliding?) using both their wings, so tangled up in each other it’s hard to tell them apart, trying to save each other.

Dang, Chronica’s determined.
Wait, what exploded behind her?
Livio?!? Gotta be him with that hat and cape. And Nightow suddenly drawing him in twink form again.

I doubt Chronica expected any of the humans of this place to try and save Knives.
I mean, if you’re gonna have someone go after a Plant, I don’t know that there’s any human left alive more qualified than Livio. And he’s bringing his full charm to the table, too.
Have I mentioned recently that I love Livio? I love Livio.
WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!?! WHAT IS HAPPENING??!?!?!

HE LITIERALLY TURNS TO LOOK OVER HIS SHOULDER TO TRY AND FIND WOLFWOOD WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?!?
Crybaby Livio…. <3 He knows he only has the chance to be here doing all this because of Wolfwood. He’ll never forget that. It’s etched in his soul.

Chapter 8: Never Ending Song

Last chapter last chapter last chapter last chapter last chapter…
Half a year?!?! Dude, Vash was supposed to come back to Meryl!
These Earth Fleet tank things remind me of the tachicoma from Ghost in the Shell.
Awww, Vashie…. His hair is sooooo dark….

Looks like the Earth Fleet is gonna help the people on No Man’s Land thrive after all. Wasn’t sure if this was just gonna turn into an evacuation run or what.
Dude, you can’t tell Vash not to get all weepy. He’s the type who cries (although I do think TriMax Vash is WAY less weepy than ’98 Vash). Let him cry, if he needs.
Hahahahahaha, can you imagine? The world’s #1 most dangerous terrorist, known for wanting to genocide your race, shows up on your doorstep dragging along his brother, who the news says is the #1 best chance you have at survival, and begs you to help him. At that point, I guess you’d just kinda go with it because literally what else can you do? Maybe the terrorist will change his mind halfway through or kill you later for not doing a good enough job or who even knows, but it’s not like you’re in any position to argue right then and there.
Oh, this man’s a doctor, even.
OH HE DOESN’T KNOW VASH IS A PLANT.
Wow. Just… wow. I’d heard that Knives got appled, but… I don’t know what I was expecting. Definitely not that he used what little of himself he had left to terraform part of No Man’s Land so he could nurture the people whose destruction he’d spent 150 years plotting, the same people his brother loved so much and couldn’t possibly help in this way because that same brother had to save all his power to defend all these people from Knives. Gods, what they could have done if this is where they had started, even crashing on a world as desolate as this. It’s such a small gesture, not nearly enough to sustain a population. But it’s so, so important. I’m tearing up over here.

Logic brain needs to shut the hell up with its talk about how the people probably don’t know enough about actual plants to keep the tree healthy and thriving. Let me have this moment, logic brain.
Geez, I just realized they were hiding Vash in a secret underground safe room.
I don’t know if Vash is physically capable of living a quiet life… but it’s good that someone told him he should, and that he’s done enough and then even more than that.

What the hell, Earth Forces? First off, it was you guys who sent a group down to Earth being like, “Vash is probably our last hope!” so why are you hunting him like this?? Second off, I get you being panicky about Knives, but it seems like you’re not considering the human element here at all. Third off, lying about your time frame and then whipping out your guns is not a good way to win allies. Fourth off, didn’t your oh-so-amazing intel let you know that the only people here aside from supposed Knives and Vash were an old doctor and his kid??
Yyyyeeeaaaahh, I see Vash’s commitment to a quiet life has lasted about as long as his morning meditation does.
What a freaking gremlin. Shooting his gun into the air and causing a scene. Playing to his strengths, I guess. Really, though, I know he’s doing it just the way he did before, with intention to save the most people even if it’s at possible cost to himself. He’s still Vash the Stampede. Nothing’s gonna change that, and I mean that in the best way.

Hahahahaha, he’s still crying about it.
LOL, he wants to get a fake beard. Is it ’cause it took him TWO FREAKING YEARS to grow his Eriks stubble???
Nightow, what the heck. You just HAD to get some more crazy bounty hunters in before the end, didn’t you?

LOL, “dickless earthlings.”
Aaaaand now they’re all too busy fighting each other to bother with Vash.
Uh. Is that Meryl’s boot? IS THAT MERYL’S SKIRT?!?!
YES IT’S MERYL!!! AND ALSO MILLY!!! Vash looks so relieved.

Meryl, on the other hand, looks like she’s going to slap him. He’d deserve it.
And he’s getting appropriately dressed down instead. This is reasonable punishment. Be ashamed, Vash. You should be.
I like how all the bounty hunters and such are just standing there in the background, watching. They’re like, “We come in guns blazing, and this tiny woman says a few words and has him groveling on his knees. Who even is she??”

They’re fighting back to back with him. THEY’RE FIGHTING BACK TO BACK WITH HIM JUST LIKE WOLFWOOD DID!!! They’re all gonna go home together!!!

LOL, Meryl replacing her derringers with microphones. Ain’t no one needing that many mics, lady. And Milly having a camera instead of her stun gun.
Fucking hell. They got me all excited that they were gonna fight at his back and now they’re just interviewing him while fifty billion people stand by and watch in shock. I’m honestly a little mad at the girls for this.
I love this little song of Vash’s, though.

“Stay tuned for wardrobe malfunctions, too!” LOLOLOL, girls, please let him keep his coat on. He’s self-conscious about his scars.
I mean, all things considered, this is a great way to stop him from being hunted. They know him better than most, and getting the word out about him in a way that alleviates anyone’s potential fear of him would help build a lot of bridges.
He looks less than thrilled to be interviewed, though.
Hahahahaha, I love this shout-out to so many of the characters who came through the story. We have Mr. Dynamite Neon and his goons, and Lina and the hamsters man that Vash told to protect the village, and the old couple with a geoplant and their son, and…
LIVIO GREW HIS HAIR BACK OUT AL;JSDF;AJD;LSFALJ;A

Ahhhhh, it looks like he’s working at the orphanage, too! He looks so good and so happy and just… I’m so happy for him. <3 <3 <3
LOL, shout out to the Nebraskas in all their terribleness.
They’re all watching him run away on live TV now. Even Chronica.
This color spread…. His hair might be black, but… but he looks so happy, even if he’s running away again. Like he’s in his element in the best way he ever could be.

Aaaand everyone’s just chasing right after him.
I love how happy Milly looks about all this, too.
Now I’m full of warm fluffies, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m just gonna bask in them for a bit.

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