#me and milly shaking hands over meryl whump i guess

[needle-noggins]

HOO BOY I DIE. Okay I'm catching up on Book Club and I just finished Vol. 11. I'll post more later (probably) (I don't actually have that much to say lately, I'm out of Analysis Juice), but I want to talk a little bit about VM because I've seen the indirect kiss/fistbump so many times and this time it just? broke me??

I wasn't into Vashmeryl until after I finished Trimax for the first time, and even then, I didn't really see it until a good friend showed me the light. It's about the coming together and hoping for a better life, it's about showing your emotions, even if it's messy and weird. It's about healing.

"You really have become a crybaby. Do you think I'm going to lose? You don't think that, do you?" {losing implies failing or dying; Vash doesn't care about the latter, but Meryl clearly does. That complicates Vash's plan, huh?)

I feel like this is... if Vash fears that if Meryl is crying over this, could it be true? He's looking to her for strength. She can't be strong for him. So is he making a mistake? Meanwhile, he's recognizing that, even if there's a chance Meryl is right, he's going to try. He'll be back, (spoiler), he promises. And he's going to try to comfort her before he goes.

Even if you read them as platonic. I just. melt into a puddle of emotion over this.

A little kiss to the knuckles, fist bump. (Nightow, I love you, but man. It really shows through how you're scared of drawing/writing romance. Despite making characters who all love each other SO DEEPLY). The fist bump says, "I care. I love you so much," and maybe a little bit of, "I'm sorry."

Also, Milly is, once again, the smartest person in the room. Meryl can still get sad. Let Meryl get sad. Let her be hurt! She's a whole person, she doesn't have to be strong all the time to be a leader!

I love Milly and Meryl and Vash and Trigun goodnight. I'm going to go back to crying now.