#no you know what I think I just can't imagine Vash in anything other than this fucked up chase he's always in.

[pepplemint]

Trigun has made me insane but also so so sad. *F1nn5ter explaining girlmonth-voice* So. You know.

[wonderwomanfantasy]

Hi, it's your favorite anon, Vash getting jealous of other flowers and remarking his partner as soon as possible sounds nice (is his pollen as hard to get rid of as glitter? imagine it stuck in their hair). Now tell me about Knives.

wow I'm so glad you asked about knives completely unprompted hehe but first, you did ask about Vash and the flower thing so let me expand:

Imagine Vash taking you to a sanctuary, watching as you run through the field in amazement, you've never seen plants and flowers like this, and for a while, Vash is just so happy that he got to be there as you saw this all for the first time. the look on your face is priceless and he's just happy you're happy.

then he gets this weird feeling in his chest when he sees you touching and smelling the flowers, getting your face close to the petals, and smelling them. It reminds him of when you go down on him. He knows its crazy to get jealous that you're smelling a flower but then he sees you have pollen on your fingers and he has half a mind to fuck you right there out in the open, pressing your body down into the flower bed and reminding everyone here (he means the flowers) who you belong to. and to be clear when Vash says that you belong to him, he also means that he belongs to you, which is why you don't see him running around flirting with all the flora now do you?

he would never do that tho...pin you down and fuck you in public I mean. he's still a little insecure when it comes to sex, he's hesitant to ask for it let alone ask for it in such an open place like this, but when the two of you get home he will pin you to the bed and ask if you like his flower just as much as the others.

as for the pollen... it's a nightmare, it's fine and sticky and ends up all over you, it's hell trying to scrape that shit off, made even worse by the fact that Vash looks so genuinely hurt when you try to clean it off. that he won't say anything but he'll just look at you with those big sad puppy dog eyes and now you feel guilty for trying to get clean in the first place.

Some men leave Love bites, Vash doesn't tell you when some of his pollen is stuck In your hair. He feels so dirty when he sees it too. because no one else even realizes what it is, but he does and he knows how it got there. it makes his heart beat faster.



Now Knives:

while Knives can do the same things with his flower as Vash, he absolutely refuses to bottom, you will be taking his cock and that's final. his vines are also different, they're spiked like rose thorns and bite into your skin when they wrap around you.

if you're lucky and Knives is head over heels in love with you or something (he is and you can't change my mind) the thorns might dull themselves a little bit, just enough that they dimple your skin where they press into you but they won't actually cut,

He also uses the vines attached to him to be a lot meaner than Vash. Vash holds you close to his body, Knives uses his vines to manhandle you into the position he wants and then whips you with them if you aren't being good for him.

even if he is in love with you, or whatever, he's still sadistic in the bedroom and is so ready to remind you that you are a pathetic human and he is the superior being here, you should be the one worshiping him and bowing to his every whim. he's also much, much stronger than you and is more than willing to remind you of that fact.

he's so keen to remind you that he isn't human, he doesn't get tired the way that you do, he could fuck you until you pass out from exhaustion and then go for a six-mile run. it's never quick when Knives decides he wants to fuck you, hell he probably took the whole day off just to fit you into his busy schedule.

Just like Vash, he leaves you covered in pollen, unlike Vash, he will verbally protest if you try to take any of it off. you work in a facility with dozens of plants, and human-plant hybrids, what if one of them gets the wrong idea and thinks that you're for the taking? absolutely not. Knives is as aloof as he is possessive. he may not get to see you often and he is cold even at the best of times but that doesn't mean that you don't belong to him.

---

thank you again, Anon.



[peachyloveswriting]

Can I get knives and vash {separate} hc with fem reader whose personality is like nausicaa from valley of the wind? I think it would be interesting because maybe she's kinda an outcast from everyone else cuz she's willing to embrace all forms of life, even those that might scare other humans like imagine her calming the most dangerous animal! I think that would be nice, have a nice day/night or noon/evening

This makes for a perfect introduction as for why Knives would have taken interest in the reader in the first place so I like this idea. This is very short because I couldn't think of anything else.

Beast Tamer --- Millions Knives & Vash the Stampede

SUMMARY: Headcanons of the twins reaction to a reader who's like Nautica from Valley of the wind.

⸝⸝⸝⸝⸝

Knives

Knives had arrived in the town for the plant, but he began hearing rumors of an outcast, they lived just outside of town. As per reputation, they called you the Beast Tamer. He was intrigued by this title and sought you out. When he found you he expected some huge human with taxidermied animal heads tacked up to the walls. Instead he found you, a small, quiet, sweet, human. He tried to put your appearance past you and inquired about this rumor. He requested that you show him the most dangerous animal you've ever tamed.

You led him out to the middle of the sands, far from any city, alone. Just the two of you. Knives was getting impatient but then he saw the sand below fly though the air. It revealed a massive worm. It pummeled straight for you and for a moment he dared to jump in its path to protect you. Why? He doesn't know.

You let out a short sharp whistle and the worm came to a screeching halt just feet from where you stand. Knives watched in awe as you stepped up to the idle creature and brave smile on your face as you reached out to pet its snout.

He was simply amazed by such a huge feat and offered for you to come with him and teach him how to tame such powerful beasts. Without anyone keeping you from leaving you took him up on his offer and left with him to the city of Ju'lai.

While Knives is notorious for being impatient at times he never seems to have trouble watching you sit still and calm even the most dangerous of creatures. He believes it's a gift given to you from the higher dimension. In some instances he believes you to be a plant.

He finds that your calming capabilities don't just work on animals but people as well, you have an amazing eye for what calms people down and more often than not you disengage situations where Knives tries to kill someone. Though he finds it annoying he's also fascinated that you have an ability so strong.

With this knowledge he makes you work with Con'rad and calming the people he tests and drugs constantly. Though it's inhuman you don't fight it as you find it nice to relieve someone of their mental stresses. This also applies to knives but he's noticed that you heavily take after his brother. While you strongly advocate for the circle of life and death you also don't advocate killing someone. Not unless it's for a good reason.

He finds you so intriguing that he can't help but keep you around for the sake of his own curiosity. You're truly a wonder to him.

Vash

First hearing of this outcast he didn't give it a second thought, until he began to hear rumors of your strange feats and abilities. It bothered him to hear people call you a monster, some even believing that you might not be human. Vash honestly wondered if you might have been plant before you met him and even still wondered so after he met you.

Curious. He decided to sate his own need for answers by showing up to your house and waltzing right in. From the get go he asked you so many questions, even exposing his identity as a plant to you to try and get answers. He found that you were very easy to talk too and even had many pets of your own.

He found your presence in general calming, you weren't even scared knowing that he was Vash the Stampede. You shrugged it off like he was nothing and offered your home as refuge for him and any of his friends. Of course he swore to come back and visit just so you wouldn't be lonely. Vash kept his promise and came back to you once a month.

Every time that he'd come back you'd have a new animal roaming around outside your door some even growling at him to keep him outside. These were the times he really got to see you at work calming these vicious animals. He thought it was amazing what you could do and didn't single you out for it.

Later on he even found that it wasn't just the animals you had this effect on, it was him too. He told you about the dangers he comes across on the daily and asked if you wanted to travel with him. to keep him company and keep any animal he might cross paths with at bay. You were very fond of him by this point so you happily agreed and left with him.

He loves watching play with the animals you find, almost as if they were house pets. Even more so does he love it when you quell his worries with just a single touch.

[nanomooselet]

Elendira the Crimsonnail (II)

It's within your right to care not at all about any defence I mount of Elendira in Stampede. This is profoundly not my wheelhouse and I'm no fan of the creepy little girl archetype myself - but I think she's not going to stay as she is forever, and I think she serves a thematic purpose. Whether that justifies the new backstory for her is, of course, up to you.

Right. I'll need to start with the fact that in Stampede, Knives hates women. Oh, certainly Knives attacks and kills a lot of people - after all, his stated goal is the genocide of the human race - and many of his victims are men, since they typically make up the majority of fighting forces. But with them he's eliminating a threat. He's efficient about it. They're dead or at least incapacitated before they know anything. Think the Plant technicians, the MPs in July, the patrol officer outside Jeneora Rock.

It's when he targets women that he's hateful. Rosa's people didn't have to die like that. Knives drew it out for fun and let Rosa live with witnessing it. Similarly, he hated Luida so much he went for the throat bare-handed. He didn't get to Meryl, but Knives was so determined to harm her that it took Vash a few tries to redirect his attention while she fled. Let's also not forget that his abuse of Vash is centred around trying to destroy all influence Rem, a woman, had on his brother. Knives is openly contemptuous of human women in a way he simply isn't with men - Meryl is a "disgusting parasite", Luida a "witch".

You'd think championing Tesla and the dependent Plants (whom he refers to as female) would check him some - but it doesn't! Because they're defined by helplessness. They can't argue or tell him he's wrong, nor can they leave him or hurt him or take Vash from him. I'm sure he cares about them but, well, he cares about Vash too, and we know how that works out.

And thus of Knives's closest followers, only Elendira is afforded a place among their ranks. No others allowed. I have a feeling it'll be a little more gender-balanced once Legato steps in (he's got an entirely different flavour of hang-up), but that's for the future.

So why is Elendira the exception?

For a start, she's more directly attached to Dr. Conrad than Knives himself. Conrad seems to treat her as his companion or child, though she doesn't seem terribly fond of him or inclined to respect him. She is loyal to Knives, enough to recoil from Vash for being a "traitor".

In addition, she's Knives's partial clone. Knives is extremely self-absorbed, and she does look like he did as a boy. On a creepier note, she looks like Vash, too.

She's also not human. From what I can tell, rather she's a sort of an Independent/dependent Plant, a hybrid of their characteristics. Her body has proportions similar to the dependent Plants when they're unfurled, except on smaller scale and without the "petals" - large head, big eyes, long hands/feet, slender body - and, like them, she lacks sexual characteristics (so, she's arguably not a woman either - but put a pin in that). She can survive outside her case and doesn't need to eat or drink. However, her Gate seems too weak to afford her the toughness and regenerative abilities of the twins. Which probably explains why she reacted the way she did to a relatively minor cut.

I think her genetic makeup might be why she hasn't grown beyond "childhood". She isn't a child, she's a fully-developed adult. It's just that she's got the proportions of a fully-developed adult Plant, which look childish to a human. And might explain why she flat-out murders Roberto for being unable to look past that and see the threat she represents.

Anyway, I imagine, for Elendira, the problem is that the whole fact of her existence brings with it... expectations. The most obvious:

Elendira is almost certainly an attempt by Dr. Conrad to further his "atonement" by recreating Tesla to give her another chance at life. He probably treats her like one, anyway, even if not consciously. (Whether or not she has any part of Tesla integrated into her is an interesting question but not relevant - it's an emotional thing.)

Yet Tesla remains a silent victim. It's her tragedy. That's all she ever got to be and all that she will ever be. Elendira simply isn't Tesla - might even have come to resent Tesla, because this poor little girl no one ever got to know has overshadowed her entire life. She's a sibling El can never surpass. Forever perfect because she never got to be enough of a person to disappoint anyone. It's no wonder Elendira hates being pitied if it means being reminded that Tesla, born an Independent, is a standard she falls short of - but all the ways Tesla was superior didn't save her from the fate she suffered. She isn't Tesla. She can't be Tesla. She refuses to be.

And then there's this asshole.

(Vash is of course the perfect precious boy, but I'm talking from Elendira's perspective.)

We don't outright hear how Knives talks about Vash to his followers, but Elendira gives us a hint. She calls him a traitor and won't allow him to even touch her. We know Knives is obsessed with his twin to the exclusion of anything or anyone else (ask Legato) - and I suspect he sought replacement in his followers… but you know how it is when you're around someone who's really hung up over an ex? (Again whether it's romantic or not really doesn't matter, he's Very Normal etc.) Knives hates every single choice his brother's ever made but it's painfully obvious that he'll never love anyone else. For Elendira, that's another sibling setting a standard she'll never reach in a game she didn't sign up to play. She isn't Vash. She can't be Vash. She refuses to merely be a replacement for Vash, who hurt Lord Knives so deeply.

So fuck all that, right?

Given the scanty details we've been given, I can easily imagine her deciding she won't play anymore. She won't be Tesla. She won't be Vash. Instead, she'll carve out her own identity. Tesla didn't get to grow up, so Elendira's an adult and nobody's victim. Vash is a sentimental idiot, so she's the woman who kills without pity.

I can also easily imagine her going to Dr. Conrad and leaning on him to make improvements after the Punisher defeated her. She already wears lipstick and colours her nails, along with wearing a pink dress - experimenting with her presentation - and uses very adult, aggressively femme body language and articulation.

In short, I get the feeling Elendira dislikes her look as much as the fans do. And she's going to try and remedy it at the earliest opportunity.

@ultraviolet-cello

Part I

And one more important detail.

[tenabrye]

I find it so amusing that in the manga, Vash cant drive. I think its adorable that hes this kick ass outlaw, but cant drive lol

Could I get headcanons or a fic maybe for the reader teaching Stampede Vash how to drive (hopefully better than Meryl) and they develop feelings for each other while doing it?

Thank you so much!

Imagine being someone with such a high bounty on your head who is also a badass without trying, yet you can't drive to save your life. XD

"I step on this one?"

"No, that's the brake," you sighed, telling him for the tenth time, "you need to step on the gas pedal." You had gone over what was what with Vash for what seemed like hours. You watched as his hands gripped the steering wheel and his foot pressed on the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to lurch forward with an agonizing screech. The noise caused the blond to release his foot and turn to you, taking note of your wide eyes. He then followed your gaze and stared at the gearshift. It was still in park. "You really won't get anywhere with it being in park."

The man chuckled and scratched his cheek in a sheepish manner with his finger. "I, uh, whoops." He heard you sigh once more before he shifted the vehicle out of park and to drive. "Sorry," he said.

"It's fine," you assured him, "it's a common mistake."

"Really?" He asked.

"No," you said, causing him to frown, "but that's why I'm here. Hopefully with my teaching, you'll learn how to drive. Maybe even better than Meryl."

Vash huffed through his nose and smiled. "That's a lot of hope you have for me."

"Not hope, because I know you will. Now," you paused and gestured to the gas pedal, "you can drive without hearing that awful noise, but don't--" Before you could finish your sentence, Vash had stepped on the gas pedal, causing the car to quickly roll forward. You gripped the dash and held onto the small handle on the roof of the car, squeezing it tightly as you clenched your teeth. "Stop, stop, stop!" You hollered out, and the blond was quick to stomp on the brake, causing you to lurch forward.

"What did I do wrong?" He asked, lips curving into a frown as he saw the slight fear on your face.

"You can't just step on the gas like that," you told him, "you have to ease into it gently." Your grip on the handle loosened and you sighed, leaning your head back against the head rest. "The easiest way to put it is to imagine gently pressing your foot down in the sand."

He blinked before carrying out your instructions, the toe of his boot slowly pressing down on the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to gently move forward again. His hands had a firm grip on the steering wheel, and he kept his eyes on the dirt road in front of him. You did the same, often glancing at Vash to see how he was doing.

"Thank you for doing this," he said.

"You had to learn sooner or later. Besides," you paused to smile at him, "you're a fast learner. It's not too difficult to explain things to you."

Vash hummed, his lips having curled into a soft smile as he kept his eyes on the road. "It helps to have a teacher with a lot of patience." Truth be told, he was ecstatic when you said you would teach him how to drive. This allowed the two of you to be alone in the car, and for him to relish in your presence. He just didn't know you felt the same, and it's partly the reason as to why you were teaching him how to drive. The other part being that it was something he definitely needed to know in case the situation called for it.

"It helps even more when the student is so calm." Silence followed you both as you stared out ahead, watching as the blond kept the vehicle straight during the drive. It wasn't until the car rolled to a slow stop, having reached a small intersection, that your lips parted to speak. Before you could say anything about him turning, Vash carefully maneuvered the car in the left direction, causing you to smile in satisfaction. "See? You're practically a natural now. Since no one is around, you can go faster if you'd like to."

The approval to do so caused him to press the gas pedal down a bit more, the car now moving at a faster rate down the road. "I'm glad it was you to teach me. I get to both learn how to drive and be around someone I like."

You blinked, head snapping in his direction as you stared at him. "Like?" You asked, brow now raised. "You like everyone, though."

The car slowed until it came to a stop, and Vash put it in park before he turned to look at you. "The feelings I have for you aren't the same with the others. I like you, a lot."

Your lips curled into a broader smile. "Well, that certainly explains how enthusiastic you were about learning how to drive. You could've asked for anyone, yet you chose me for that reason." A small chuckle slipped out and your eyes softened as you stared at the blond. "I like you, too, Vash. Always have." A light crimson hue dusted his cheeks the second you leaned over and planted a light kiss to his cheek. "How about you drive us back and we can catch up on how long we've liked one another?"

With a slow nod, the blond put the vehicle into drive and gently stepped on the gas pedal. "Maybe we can continue the driving lesson later?" You hummed in agreement, and Vash couldn't help but grin. Today truly was the best.

[whirlwindimagines]

What pokemon teams would you give to the Trigun Stampede characters? (Vash, Knives, Wolfwood, Meryl and Roberto)

This seems like something you would like to write about!

And you would be right, dont need to ask me twice to combine Pokemon with literally anything lol

I'll each give them a team of Six, and try to explain it from there! These are for aesthetic purposes, and no way a good team make up lol and of course this got long.

What Pokemon would Vash, Knives, Wolfwood, Meryl and Roberot have?

Vash: Xerneas, Sylveon, Absol, Breloom, Gogoat, and Lycanroc (Midday form)

Okay if you know me this team is biased as hell lol Lots of parallels to Knives because ya know their like two sides of the same coin.

His first pokemon was Eevee, and it evolved into a Sylveon because he has lots of love to give :)

Xerneas are supposed to represent everlasting life! :)))) I'd imagine Vash is responsible for said pokemon but keeps it hidden.

Absol is known as the disaster pokemon! When one appears a disaster follows after, he probs kept running into the poor thing and adopted it

I like to think Breloom and Gogoat are a pair, and Vash probably has a soft spot for grass pokemon. Breloom is a fighter, and Gogoat is a good way to travel.

Vash deserves a dog, the Midday form is very loyal to its trainer and is a lasting companion!

Knives: Yveltal, Umbreon, Aegislash, Zoroark, Kingambit, and Lycanrock (Midnight form)

The flip side of Xerneas is Yveltal, which absorbs the life of everything around :)) Surely in the hands of Knives nothing can go wrong!

Nai probably received an Eevee as well, his just evolved into an Umbreon

Aegislash and Kingambit are self-explanatory they fit his aesthetic. One is literally a floating sword, and Kingambits are leaders and command other pokemon.

A dog for Knives as well! the Midnight form of Lycanroc is more bloodthirsty than its day counterpart.

Zoroark just seems like an all around good Pokémon for him, it can do his bidding lol

Wolfwood: Silvally, Krookodile, Zebstrika, Darkrai, Banette, Mightyena

:))) Type: Null a pokemon that was experimented on, and has great power! But forced to wear its mask to suppress it :)))) They evolve into Silvally when a solid and unbreakable bond form, just seems like a good pokemon for him! This was probably his first pokemon!

Banette and Darkrai were accidental for sure, Banette's are pokemon with a vengeance and will kill those who wronged them. Darkrai the nightmare pokemon! Seems like it fits the aesthetic of the Punisher.

Straight up I think a Sandile bit him and he couldn't get rid of it lol Krookodile is goofy as hell, he just vibes.

Zebstrika is ill-tempered, but it likes Wolfwood a lot its the equivalent of his motorcycle lol

Deserves a dog as well! And while Mightyena isn't really a wolf, it's close enough.

Meryl: Mareep, Unown, Furret, Pachirisu, Rotom, Bewear

She reminds me of a Mareep I can't explain it lol Probs her first pokemon and can't bring herself to evolve it.

Meryls Bewear will beat the shit out of people, the strongest pokemon on her team it vibes check people lol

Rotom is her camera! Very helpful! She probably picked up Unown from college and felt bad leaving it behind so it just follows her around.

Furret is her comfort pokemon, very soft and huggable, she'd also look so cute with a Pachirisu hanging out on her shoulders.

Roberto: Spinda, Klefki, Polteageist, Toucannon, Fletchling, Persian

He likes to drink found the Spinda outside of a bar and straight up stole it.

Doesnt know how he got Klefki just appeared and he can not get rid of it! Was going to use Polteageist as a flask, turned out to be a pokemon! Who knew? Also can not get rid of it

Fletchling and Persian are actually pokemon he's actually wanted and caught. Fletchling lights his cigarette too lazy to evolve it, Persian is a bitch and is good a threatening people.

Him and Toucannon, have the same vibes. But his Toucannon actually likes to fight and will cut a bitch.

[blankticket]

Munday 10-13!

10) What do you love about Vash?

i love that he gets somehow even worse about self-preservation.

we go from ep 2 "no thanks, i'm not a fan of pain!" vash undergoing a wacky zany funny looney-tunes chase sequence where he's doing everything to avoid getting shot by a town's worth of grease guns….

to ep 10's early segment of telling wolfwood not to start a fight while he just fucking stands there to take a sniper round fired at him out of vengeance. you can even hear vash quietly grunt in pain as his blood splatters onto wolfwood. and there isn't even a "no, please believe in me / i really can still get the plant back" line of protest or anything, the guy just takes his leave with his head hung low lol. it's awesome

i think he can have negative character development as a treat. it makes the whole thing of the finale's climactic 'i'm vash the stampede' line hit harder anyhow

11) What do you hate about Vash?

plenty still. it all folds back into his ego being the main source of what i hate about him i think. this assumption of his that he is the lowest of the low in every and any world driving his various behaviors of like …

'oh, i should keep this to myself so i don't burden anyone', 'i really don't want to talk about myself so i'm going to do everything i can to divert the talk to focus on the other person, or go quiet or flee if that fails', etc. but self-neglect, self-sabotage, self-harm, ultimately all these things do not only hurt oneself alone

it's a faulty, warped kind of selfish "pacifism" where any pain (even if worth suffering) is stolen, smothered, and suppressed. isn't it more exhausting this way than to simply act on what you know you deserve? how is it any fair to not let anyone help you simply because you believe that no one can or should help you? who is vash to be deciding that? it's arrogance and vanity and ego, even if ostensibly it looks like humility. vash makes it easy to understand where his in-world critics are coming from lol

12) What about Vash amuses you?

i think him being really, really bad at lying is really fucking funny. making him reap what he sows is definitely one of my favorite things to rp out w him

13) What about Vash makes you sad?

see question 10's answer up above lol. while i love that he gets worse on that, it is also sad too. i can't imagine how wolfwood must have felt in that moment, at once violently seeing (and feeling, through his fucking blood splattering on him) just how bad vash has quietly grown to be with his lack of self-preservation/idea of what kind of treatment he deserves from people.

wolfwood going on to ask vash "did you think sacrificing yourself would make everyone happy?" right after, and then the scene cutting right to the bloodied experimentation table of the eye… wow. this show's crazy good. real sad also

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

i had to reread n edit this before posting like i was going over an essay jesus christ ((tristamp spoilers))

tldr; i was honestly disappointed but i still don't think it was completely awful + i hope if they do a 2nd season it's better *wants to see milly*.... fuck the director though

EDIT!!! 2nd season was confirmed so you can ignore the points where i question if it will happen lol

EDIT 2 actually idt i'll watch the 2nd season... for reasons that just hit me so.... + fuck night*w as well

most of this was written before the finale eek

the major problems were that the pacing was soooooo weird n some of the changes (both story wise and design wise) they made were questionable esp towards the latter half

my positive points:

i do still think individual eps at the first half were really good

i loved the animation + how they used colors

the backgrounds are cool

the artstyle shift in wolfwood's flashback was cool

i've always been "ok" abt vashwood honestly (sorry) but i will acknowledge they were very yaoiful here. i saw a person who didn't ship vashwood say the ep in tristamp where they literally just met made them ship it which was really funny bc how did that change your mind so fast

i'm ngl the milly + eriks name drops made me *JAWDROP* but that's something that only matters to ppl who watched/read the ogs first

my negative points (uh oh):

white washed wolfwood (+ his skintone is soo inconsistent in merch)

they gave vash no room to breathe n he doesn't get big sillay moments after ep 3

^ this is true for every character except i guess roberto? more on roberto later

^^^ goes with the previous too points but it felt like they were way too focused on the drama n sadness without enough (long lasting) happy or hopeful moments to contrast or balance it out overall - to the point were the characterization of our main cast suffered for it bc there wasn't enough there with them to make that properly work. and THEN the silly moments ended up suffering too bc they start feeling out of place. the drama beats kept happening one after the other at breakneck speed without breaks, messing up the pacing as well (i can kinda blame this at least partially on the fact they only had 12 eps when the og was 26 eps but i've watched plenty of 12 ep series with great pacing so i don't really know what happened here?)

i disagreed with this at first, but the lore with vash being front-loaded really did hurt the story a bit in the long run. obviously they did still spread the full details out over the course of the show but it was :\

specific to "the running man"- it's my fav ep tbh but it was strange how all the townsfolk were partying w the nebraskas with no indication they'd arrest them after they did so much damage n vash didn't even get to fix the damaged plant?? so why were they so joyous when the initial problem wasn't solved?

roberto.... was such a weird character... he managed to be both a dick n a guy w no personality, he was there to give exposition + attempt to be funny? n then die. also the marketing staff fucking hates him he's never in any merch wtf ((edited after the finale: well now we know he wasn't meant to replace milly (i had a whole paragraph complaining abt that lol) + now i feel like they added him just to kill someone other than wolfwood off))

i can't speak much on elendria bc i had so much trouble reading trimax forever ago that i never retained anything abt her other than she's trans, but everything involving her in tristamp felt strange/ like it didn't work. i have essentially same feeling about livio here. they threw legato to the side??

what the fuck was the thing with the plants towards the end. it just hit me what the hell

minor nitpicks:

i miss the old anime's ost :( tristamp's ost isn't bad by any means n there are tracks that i really like it's just idk man. especially with the the op song, i couldn't get myself to not skip the op SORRY. could you imagine how hype it would've been if a new rendition of H.T. or NO-BEAT started playing

i'm fine with stamp vash's design (blasphemous i know) but man would'n've one of his og coat designs worked well in 3d? i feel like it would've ((added after the finale: the new coat did look nice in black + they brought back his old hair in the last ep tho so. MAYBE... IN SEASON 2.... CLASSIC COAT....? *delusional*))

NO LOVE & PEACE?!?!?!?!

one of my nitpick points was that they technically didn't give vash the black hair bc i really wanna see it animated one day but assuming they are teasing a season 2 maybe they will eventually. but then how...?

[danafeelingsick]

Hello, how are you?

It's me yet again!

I think I found heaven here! I had a lot of ideas for emeto sickfics with TriStamp Vash and everything here just keeps adding fuel to the fire!

The road tripe one that anon sent was just 🤌I actually had something similar in mind!

But I was thinking about the food situation. We saw that he needs food even though he is a plant because he is not perfect like Knives. HOWEVER, what I noticed (and it might be just my imagination), he doesnt have the best expression when he was eating in that episode after beating the giant worm. He hadnt eaten since the Jeneora Rock incident and he decided to eat after what Wolfwood said.

But he didnt have an expression of someone who was liking what he was eating but rather eating because he KNOWS he NEEDS to.

So I was thinking, what if Vash really doesnt like food? Like, he feels weird after eating but he just bears with it because he needs to eat. But sometimes his stomach just has too much of human food and makes him sick?

I keep imagining him throwing up later, after eating, lets say in that specific episode, trying to hide it from the others. I dont know, I just can imagine him eating but feeling weird as he chews because food just doesnt sit right with him!

Another thing, I aslo keep thinking about him getting sick when in the road trip with Meryl, Wolfwood and Roberto, like it builds up slowly until he asks Meryl to pull over with that soft voice of someone who doesnt want to give others a hard time 🥺

I swear I have things in storage for a few sickfics with Vash 👀

hi again (˶◜ᵕ◝˶) i'm glad you're finding inspiration! it is already such a small niche, but from the little i've seen, people are coming up some good stuff. i'm wanting to add more, but i'm also slowing getting a writers block.

i think we've all had carsick vash in mind... 😳

about the food headcanons: that could totally be the case. he needs to eat, but at such an odd rate not even him knows how his body works. which foods exactly set his stomach off, what he can and can't handle, it's always a gamble. some textures and tastes would set him off too. because of that he might nauseous more often than not, and cautious he might throw up out of nowhere.

imagine him having to reassure someone that he's fine, he's not sick, that just happens sometimes, just give him a minute, and coming back after puking, acting like nothing happened (although he is always a bit shaken by it)

i had a small idea for a fic of him and knives trying to eat regularly, so they can pretend to be humans in case they need to (since rem does tell the kni that anime it could've been the dub i was watching though!) i don't know if the timeline would allow that for the older two though (i wouldn't write anything with them as kids)

oh yeah. that episode gave another idea, a very overindulgent one of everyone getting food poisoning from the worm meat. it does affect wolfwood and Roberto more lightly though, with wolfwood getting seemingly better after puking his guts a couple of times and Roberto just gets a bit a belly ache and that's it. Meryl and Vash are completely messed up, with Vash getting the worst of it. i even had an oc in there somewhere, to compensate for the lack of milly

i need to say though, tristamp vash is much easier to draw than write, while tri.max/'98 vash feels more easy to write, he's so beautifully drawn in the manga, i can't compete.

[dapper-shipping-forever]

YOU. tell me the most scary gillvash moment, where they were terrified they were going to lose each other. why’s THAT the moment that sticks out to you? what makes it more dire than any other moment? is it THE climax or is it jst another moment of drama??

ALRIGHT HERE WE GO BBY ! There's two that come to mind right away, each with the other feeling the HORROR of thinking that like the person they adore might not have made it lol

First, it is after a climax, it's spoilers for episode 12 of season 1 of T.rigun S.tampede and I'm going to try to be kinda vague to not spoil the show. Anyway it's like, Vash has just had his boss battle versus Knives, and in the destruction that fight left his friends aren't sure if he survived. When Gill saw Vash seemingly about to basically sacrifice himself she SCREAMED; the most fucking throat tearing guttural sob of just his name and Wolfwood had to hold her back from trying SOMEHOW and SOMEWAY to help him. Then after that fight she REFUSES to believe he hadn't survived, she is immediately searching for him. She is frantic, and she insists she knows he's alive, she can just feel it that's he's alive, while her breathing is erratic and her eyes are wide; when their friends start to believe he can't be found, she continues to search for hours upon hours. Then she finally, finally, finds him, injured and unconscious, but alive. She kneels at his head and holds him and just sobs from relief. It's like, she's seen him get hurt many times, but it's the first time to the pit of her stomach she worried he might not survive. Her belief in Vash the Stampede is unshakable, but she'd never been scared for him like that. She's just glad he's good.

Later in the Canon, I imagine another scene. The reveal that Gill is a plant involves fighting Knives. The team like finds him somewhere, and basically Gill tries fighting him and he just like grabs her in his knife appendages and lifts her into the air. He remarks how soft Vash is and how he seems to have not an insignificant amount of weakness is centered on this girl, "just look at your face right now. Are you that invested in someone this insignificant, Vash?" And he knows she's a plant and he would like her involved in his plan, but if she is insisting on interfering and disrupting his ability to get at and have Vash in his plans, then she's simply nothing more than an inconvenience to get rid of. He slices her body to ribbons. His blades constrict and slash everywhere surrounding her where they are holding her. Vash watches her fall to a bloody pile on the ground. She's not moving, and there's blood pooling everywhere fast all around her. He's scared. He can't stop staring at her form laying on the dark floor. He screams, and he screams at Knives, they argue and begin fighting. He's just got a roaring in his mind and he's caught between glancing at her and not wanting to look because she hasn't moved but he can't believe she hadn't survived. Then basically, she faintly hears Vash fighting, and she unconsciously uses her plant abilities. She weakly says for Knives to stop. The fighting stops as they turn to her, Knives surprised and Vash frozen. She starts to stand, telling Knives to stop again, and to not hurt him. Her body begins to glow with plant markings. Her wounds seal. She's a plant. It's obvious to everyone, as obvious as the sand inhabiting the desert. Then she like fights Knives, he leaves. But then Vash is relieved, but he's confused. Then he sees the absolute confusion, no deeper, the pure panic in her eyes as her whole identity is shattered and memories are returning and she can't see them fully because she's seeing memories breaking into her present, and babbling names and places that aren't near them and she can't recognize or understand what's real and where she is currently. He WANTS to help her but FUCK what can he DO right then? She's obviously panicking in confusion, but he can't think of anything to help her. Then, Lyric appears. He grabs Gill, and Vash raises his gun, but Lyric says only he can save Gill from her memories as she SCREAMS. Her fear just gores his chest it feels like, and he's afraid. He's afraid he can't help her, and he won't just let Lyric take her but what if there isn't a way they can save her themselves. Lyric holds her in his arms princess style while Vash feels just helpless. Then he takes her. And he's afraid he failed her and won't be able to reconcile that mistake. It's the initial fear of thinking his own brother murdered his best friend and then the fear that he's going to let her slip from his grasp as Lyric told them he's going to wash away her memories and make her not the Gillisn they've known again.

[greetingfromthedead]

C54: Experimented

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Series Rating: 18+ / Explicit

Chapter: 54/84

Words: 1.8k

No particular warnings for this chapter.

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You ended up spending a large portion of the day with Luida. She just swept you up in a way; she made you so comfortable; she was soft spoken and kind, making it so easy to get lost in the conversation. She talked about young Vash to you, and it made you chuckle. He has always had this kindness and curiosity about him. Before you knew it, Luida had done a full physical on you and ran more tests. You intrigued her with your nature. Vash was sent off with your blessing to keep Brad company and to make sure he doesn't lose his mind. Luida observed your rapid healing when removing needles and refused to go any further, even when you offered that she could nick you with a scalpel. Despite all that, you did give yourself a few little bruises with your fingers for her to observe.

"It's all so fascinating. I wonder how it ties in to our sensor and that ordeal." She wondered out loud as she made notes on the tablet. "How is your head doing?"

"Hurting a little, but nothing too bad. The buzzing inside the scull is nearly drowned out by the buzzing outside," you joke as a multitude of machines are working all around you.

"I wonder what exactly causes those headaches. With you having very rapid healing and all that. It is perfectly reasonable to have a headache after all you've been through. I'd like to take a look at that brain of yours if you don't mind."

"I'm not going to offer to take it out... I don't think Vash would be happy," you laugh.

"No!" Luida tries to sound disapproving of your joke, but laughs nonetheless: "We have technology for that."

"I trust you to the point that you can stick me anywhere." You smile because it's the truth. She has your complete trust; you know she means you no harm, and all she does is for your benefit.

"In that case, I have a few ideas." She points at more of her equipment and gets into elaborate detail on how they work and what they do.

You spend a few more hours in the laboratory; if anything, it is fun for you, even if Luida doesn't really make any new breakthroughs. Vash does stop by a few times, but gets shooed away by Luida when he gets in the way, like when he tried to take your hand while you were lying on a table on your way into a tube.

"Also... did you notice the medications I gave you making any difference? I know it might be hard to say; don't worry about it if you don't know." Luida asks as she offers you her hand to get off a table.

"I'm really not sure; I slept through them, but I guess that was their point," you ponder.

"Vash said you have immunity to poisons." Luida starts marking down more things on her tablet, and at the moment she looks exactly like a scientist you would imagine in your mind if you were asked to picture one.

"I can't say with absolute certainty; I have tried a few and they didn't do anything, but I guess if one is potent enough or my body weakened, who could say..."

"Most medicine is poison; in controlled dosages, it does more good than harm. I actually gave you Plant medicine; we haven't had to use it on anyone but Vash since the very early days because he took care of the Plants, but the equipment given from Earth included Plant medicine, mostly meant to calm them in case of distress. I gave you a small dosage of it. I'm unsure if they have any effect on you at all, or maybe the dose was too low due to your healing factor... Either way, I thought you would want to know."

Once again, time passes by unnoticed in the laboratory. All you've found out so far is that your blood turns into ashes when out of your body, and all other parts seem to disappear in a mysterious way or perhaps change into pure carbon. But that doesn't dampen your spirit. You are happy to spend time with a human, one from the Space Age, someone who remembers the time before. Luida talks about her experiences on Earth, and it makes you glad.

Vash walks into the lab more carefully this time, determined not to get sent away by Luida. The first thing he notices is your laugh; it melts his heart and brings a smile to his face. He is glad you get along with Luida, and he is happy that one of his oldest friends has a new person to talk to. He hears the elderly woman laugh, and as his eyes look for where the noises are coming from, his eyebrows move together into a confused frown.

"Vash!" you exclaim cheerfully, and he turns his head to the side.

"Would either of you explain what's going on?" He asks kindly, but the confusion and concern are clear in his expression.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm only strapped in because otherwise I would fall off the table." You explain your situation.

"I understand that, but it doesn't explain why you are upside down." Vash clarifies as he comes closer.

"Oh, you're right." you chuckle, "Well, I've had the same little headache for a while, and we wanted to try and find out where it comes from. I shouldn't have a headache due to the healing factor, but here it is. So we would like to compare it to a more classical headache, but it's quite hard to cause something like that in me. We hoped that excess blood in the brain might do the trick, but so far it has honestly made the other headache go away, and it makes me laugh."

Vash contorts his body more to try and see eye to eye with you without having you backwards.

"The other option is to try and give me a strong enough concussion that it won't be healed before I get into the machine." You smile at him.

"I would rather have you strapped to a table..." Vash sounds thoughtful. "Have the two of you eaten anything all day? I know your answer, Iris, but Luida, you should take care of your health too."

"You're right. We should take a break." Luida steps closer to the table where you lay, still giggling as you look at Vash. "I also have a different idea for a test; I haven't been able to conduct it before, and it might give us more insight into how your Plant connection works... and it might give us more clarity about the signals we've picked up from Iris with the sensor... All in all, very valuable data if the two of you would be willing to provide it. How is Brad? He would probably like to be part of this one."

"What test do you have in mind?" Vash smiles as you reach out to him and squeeze his cheeks in such a way that his next words come out a bit muffled: "I convinced Brad to go to sleep after he had some dinner. He made progress, but it's a waiting game now."

"Alright, maybe another day then. But I would like to do a brain scan while your Plantness is activated, marks and all. It's a unique opportunity for this, as I think neither of you currently has the capability to activate them on your own."

"We have no control over it. Every time it happens because of some crisis, I think it's subconscious. We could try if Iris is up for it, but I don't know how to do any of this on command."

"You could try mushing your forehead against mine!" You chuckle again. "Sync your brain waves! Think Planty thoughts! Or I could sing you a lullaby! That's what I did that one time... but I think only you glowed... or maybe I glowed somewhere else... I was too busy admiring you! But I don't think I glowed."

"Luida..." Vash straightens up a bit but squats down to be at eye level with you. "Is she drunk?"

"Funny you mentioned this!" Luida sounds happy. "I haven't given her anything, but her brain does seem to think she is drunk. Started to light up the same parts of the brain as drunkenness about 10 minutes after she started being upside down."

"Wait..." he says, looking over to Luida. "How long has she been hanging like this?!"

"About an hour," you grin, hands grabbing at his coat.

"That's enough. Get down!" There's concern in his voice: "You might think that you're indestructible, but you should still take care of yourself!"

"Don't be so dramatic! You should try this! It's fun!" you insist with a slight laugh.

"Luida... help me out. Please!" Vash pleads, and the older woman gives a slight chuckle before moving the bed to a horizontal position and unstrapping you.

"I feel the blood sloshing!" Your eyes are wide, but you spring up from the bed, Vash ready to catch you. "So... food?

"Yes, we should go get food, love." His arm wraps around your waist.

"She is fascinating." Luida calmly chimes in as she puts away the tablet. "From what I've found out, her bone density is higher, probably to protect her from accidentally hurting herself with her enhanced strength; otherwise, she might just snap something. Her metabolism is fast; she converts food into energy very quickly; everything is fast about her: her reaction speed, the way her brain functions, and her body itself. Also, her senses are heightened—eyesight, smell, hearing, and taste too! I'm unsure if it's an innate ability of hers and the Plant DNA enhanced what she already had or if it's completely thanks to the Plant powers. Sadly, I am not knowledgeable enough about genetic makeup and stuff like that. We could wake a specialist."

"Let's not, at least for now." You smile back at her. "It doesn't matter as significantly to me; it's not so much how my body functions; I'm more after the knowledge of what happened to make me this way. But you are so smart! You said you're a flora researcher, yet you operated all that medical machinery and understood what's happening!"

"I was trained in the basics; I think it's comparable to you getting combat training; I got medical. And then there was our specialty. Also, getting put in charge of Home comes with its own challenges, one of which is that I need to know a little bit of everything. I learned a lot from the medics before they went to sleep again."

"I can't believe how things played out after the crash... How ironic. I was meant to be the one to help everyone settle in and to help them survive, but in reality, I was nowhere to be found... I wandered off into this sandy Hell." Your voice has a note of sadness.

"Nobody can blame you for that." Vash's arm tightens around you, pulling you a bit closer, but he knows it's not enough to erase the guilt you must feel.

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[procrastinatorproject]

Massive Picard Season 2 Spoilers Ahead

So the latest episode of The Ready Room, the Star Trek recap show hosted by Wil Wheaton, had a preview of Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard. It's interviews with all of the main actors and they explain in some detail where they're characters are at at the beginning of season 2.

It puts a lot of shots from the trailers in perspective and I have a lot of thoughts that I want to share, but because this is a very, very explicit spoilery preview, I'm putting both the video and my initial reaction under the cut.

Anyone in the US (or with a decent VPN): You can find the full Ready Room episode on the Paramount+ youtube page, but I'm not going to link it here, because, youk know, tumblr 😋

[The relevant section from the Ready Room. I will upload a transcript once I'm done transcribing the other trailers, but it might be a few more days.]

Hoooooo boy :D That is a lot of information right there.

Right off the bat: Raffi and Picard are back in Starfleet. This isn't a big surprise, we've known this since some of the earliest trailers for season 2. But it's still nice to see. Picard is apparently president of the Academy, which I think is a good role for him. He's always had a teacher-vibe about him, and I think he'll strive in the assignment.

And Raffi being a teacher is going to be very cool to see. I imagine she cares deeply about her students but can get a bit distracted on tangents 🤣

Elnor is now a cadet, which is actually pretty exciting. I'm wondering how that'll play with his issues about not fitting in. He's the first full Romulan cadet, after it came out the Zhat Vash were responsible for the Attack on Mars and had infiltrated Starfleet on really deep levels. I wonder if people are willing to differentiate enough to acknowledge that this plot by the Zhat Vash cost more Romulans than Federation citizens their lives, so the average Romulans really shouldn't be held responsible, or if Elnor is going to face more discrimination and alienation. I really hope he finds his place, the kid deserves a break!

Now, the parts I'm not super sure how to feel about are Seven as captain of La Sirena 😅 I love that she's back with the rangers and that Rios gave her his ship so she can fight pirates. But... it feels so much like Rios's ship! And she deactivated all the holos but Emmet 🙈

Like... I get it, filming Santiago Cabrera in multiples must be exhausting, and I do love me some Emmet action! He's amazing! (And I didn't expect we'd see any of the holos at all in season 2, so getting a glimpse of Emmet right at the start is GLORIOUS!) But it feels weird for Rios not to be on La Sirena somehow. They are just so joined together in my head...

And I know he'll be back as soon as we get to the Q shenanigans, but still. Not sure how I feel about this 😅

Also Seven and Raffi seem to be starting the season in a bit of a rough place... I liked they're dynamic in No Man's Land, how they're both clashing because they're very similar in a lot of ways, they're both strong and stubborn. I wonder how going on this wild adventure together will work out for them. It might be really interesting.

Soji and Agnes on a diplomatic tour sounds like fun, though! It makes sense for them (and Picard, though they might not have advertised his synth-ness?) to be building goodwill for the synths, after everything that has happened. I can't wait to see their dynamic and how they work together to convince the people of their cause.

(I also like that this explains what the Soji shots from the trailer are about. Though it's fascinating to see in the interview that Isa Briones seems to have cut her hair. That makes some things from the trailers even more intriguing XD)

And Rios is captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer. I'm... honestly torn 🙈 On the one hand: he deserves this as a form of... redemption is the wrong word, he didn't do anything wrong. But it seems like an indication that he has forgiven himself and is starting to move on (though I do hope they're not going with "getting an explanation has instantly healed him from ten years of PTSD", because boy is that not how that works 🙈 But I won't worry about that before I see it.)

And Agnes and Rios on the bridge are ADORABLE! Also: Seven and Picard are coming on board the Stargazer. This also explains where all those Starfleet scenes from the trailers are happening - which does not bode well for the ship, actually.

So. In Conclusion.

good grief, I don't know how I feel about this 😅🙈

So many cool things! Agnes and Soji being diplomats! Cadet Elnor! Picard and Raffi teaching at the academy! Emmet!!!

And so many difficult things... Sirena is no longer Rios's ship. The interviews, which I imagine were filmed recently, are staged on Sirena - and she's still painted grey. Which crushes any hope I might have had that she will actually return to her old state post-time travel, and that breaks my heart a little, I'm not going to lie. When I saw the shots of Seven having a fight on the ship and she still had her red paint, I really hoped that was indicative of a return to normal after season 2, but I think I should go back to very carefully not having any expectations...

Ah well. Nothing to do but wait and see, I suppose.

At least a lot of my trailer speculations are now confirmed and I can talk about them in a lot more concrete terms 😋

What are y'all's reactions to all of these revalations?

[storydays]

"Gods have mercy!" Scholar Vash cried. "Angus...Grenn..." Ezra placed his head in his hand. "Oh no.." Nia covered her mouth with her hands, before kneeling down next to Agnus' body, brown eyes glistening with tears. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. A faint golden glow surrounds her, and a warm breeze rustles the overgrown grass..but then faded away. 

"I can't help them, they're gone. Beyond the Light's reach." she said sadly. "I can't believe this. We saw them alive just last night." Ezra muttered. "With the adventurer, Mal! Y-You don't think..." Kade looked at his brother nervously. "Mal didn't do this. I can't know for certain but..I don't think this was his doing. There's nothing in it for him; neither Angus nor Grenn had anything worth stealing." Ezra said, firmly. 

"Yeah, I agree. I don't think this was him." agreed the younger. "But then...where is he? And who did this?" looking around as if the brunette was hanging around. Scholar Vash paced around, shaking his head.  "This is an affront to the Light! A blasphemy! Whoever is responsible has desecrated a place of worship. A holy place!" He ranted. 

"Ezra, what should we do?" asked Kade, looking at his brother hopefully. "I'm going to examine the area. There are bound to be clues around here." The thick, unkempt grass is difficult to see through, but after a moment, Ezra's sharp eyes could see a pattern emerging. His hand hovered over the faint trail of trampled grass, until he saw multiple pairs of footprints. 

"Looks like the victims were ambushed here. Probably by a group lurking behind this column, there's at least six sets of  ambushers' footprints. " He mumbled out loud, forgetting about his audience. "Six?" Nia squeaked. "And one of them is massive." The elf concluded. 

"Six enemies, one of them massive...not a fan of those odds. Do you think this has something to do with the relic?" Kade asked, running a hand through his hair. "Speak clearly now, boy. What relic?" Vash turned towards the teen, who shrugged. "I don't know! It's just something Mal said back in town! That he had a tip there was a powerful relic, and he was going to find it."

"Then it's true; I had to hope it was a myth, but by the Gods above and below, it must be true. I believe there is an ancient artifact hidden deep within this temple. Forgotten to time, relegated to legend. An Onyx Shard." The old man said mysteriously. "Seriously? The Onyx Shards are real?" Kade gaped. "You've heard of them? Kade, what's he talking about?" 

"They're the last relics that the Shadow Court left behind after the Great War. Cursed artifacts of terrible power. Very very very bad stuff." Kade explained. "I came upon the locations of the Shards in an ancient text last year. Seeing these bodies here, I may not be the only one who knows their location. Please! If whoever did this is after the Shard, we need to protect it. We can't let it fall into the wrong hands!" 

Ezra shared a look with Kade, noting his reluctance before clapping his brother's shoulder, then looking at Vash. "We'll accompany you inside to get this Shard. But if we bump into whoever did this, we're all running like hell. Understood?" "Let's just hope we find it before they do."Vash said gravely. Ezra drew his sword, and led the way to the main archway into the temple grounds. 

"This place isn't the best shape, is it?" Kade coughed. "Once it was majestic, regal. Packed day and night. Have we truly fallen so far from the Light?" Vash lectured. Ezra sighed at the sad vines; seeing nature so sad hurt his heart. The group stopped in front of the tunnels, one going left and one going right. "Stop...something feels off. Be careful where you step." Ezra warned. "Ezra? What should we do now?" Nia asked. 

"We should look for traps." He crouched to examine the floor tiles on the left side, noting one was raised an inch above the others and gave in slightly when he touched it. "That's a pressure plate if I ever saw one. I think this way's booby trapped." He glanced to the right looking at groove in the floor tile like centuries of feet have worn out the stone. 

"The right path looks well-traveled. Let's see where it leads." He decided. The group followed the path which began to slope down, spiraling in on itself. "Gods, how deep does this thing go?" Kade asked aloud. "Only the top level of the temple was open to the public. The lower levels, the catacombs, were for the priests and priestess." Vash explained. "To study and pray?" Nia wondered. "And to hide away from the dark." said the old scholar. 

Finally they reached the path deep below the complex. A stone door stands before them, but it was clearly forced open.  Ezra held the door open and gaped at the treasure piled up in the grand chamber. "I can't believe this has been here all along! If we explored this place ourselves, we could've become ri--" Kade cleared his throat, catching Scholar Vash glaring at him. "Ri....diculously pious adherents of the Light." Ezra snickered at his brother's misfortune. 

Vash approached a pedestal with scattered with golden chains and goblets. He gently picked up a large green crystal the size of a watermelon from the pile. "That is definitely not onyx." whistled Ezra. "No, it's not the Shard," chuckled Vash, "but it's still quite fascinating. I must bring it back to Whitetower with me for further study." Everyone was distracted looking at the treasure. Even Nia was admiring  a jewel encrusted old tome. 

"I can't believe it...how was here, all this time? And no one ever robbed it?" Kade furrowed his brow. "Maybe, no one knew it was here. Kade, we live a day away and we  had no idea." Ezra mumbled. "Yeah, well, it's pretty, but I don't like it one bit. If the people who murdered Angus and Grenn weren't after this treasure...Then what are they after?" "The Onyx Shard." Nia said solomonly. 

"We'd better keep moving." Ezra said, standing up. At the end of the room sits a heavy wooden fortified by twisting metal runes. Scholar Vash examines it closely before brightening. "Ah, yes! The ancient elves often used elaborate mechanisms to lock their secrets away. I've always wanted to solve one. They test your deep knowledge of elven linguistics!" He continued on to himself. 

Ezra rolled his eyes, Nia and Kade giggling at his dry remark. "That sounds....delightful." Scholar Vash ignored him and focused on the puzzle in front of him. "Seems quite simple...If I just press this...and turn this." 

Nothing happened. 

"Ah, well. I may need a moment." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Kade cleared his throat quietly. "Psst, Ezra. While he's busy with that, what do you say we keep scoping out  this treasure room? I think there's some hidden rooms down the back! We could go check them out...see what else this place has to offer." "Oooh! I would be interested in that! I recall seeing some fascinating statues.." Nia and Kade looked at Ezra expectantly. 

"Let's do it. That sounds way better than just sitting around here. Let's take a quick look around and see what we can find." While Vash continues tinkering with the door, the three younger ones headed deeper into the vault.  "So Nia, any idea why this treasure is all here?" asked Ezra. "These are offerings. Believers used to bring them as tribute to their Gods." Nia explained. "So like..bribes? People paying off the Gods to grant them fortune and favor?"

"No, not like that. The offerings are given voluntarily, with no expectations of reward. They're a reflection of gratitude, of thankfulness." Nia smiled. "Huh, that seems wasteful." Ezra mused. "Wasteful?" Nia asked, eyes wide. "I'm just saying...think of how many people this gold could feed. Think of how many sick, and wounded, and vulnerable, it could provide. " Ezra bit his lip in irritation. Nia paused, deep in thought. 

"I do see your point. There is much practical good that could come from this wealth, but there are other concerns here other than the materials. Faith and devotion, for example. It's not enough to live; It's a question of what you live for." Her smile fell when Ezra scoffed slightly. "Tell that to everyone who's starving." Kade looked around, curiously. "Rationally, I know I should be way more scared given we're in an ancient temple and we just found two people brutally murdered..." he broke into a giant grin. "But I still can't really believe this is happening! We're on an adventure! A real adventure! Imagine what an amazing story this'll make!" He danced excitedly. 

"You really love telling stories, don't you Kade?" giggled Nia. Kade's smile dropped slightly, and Ezra's gaze soften. "Well, yeah. Stories are really important to me. They're how I see the world." He hesitated, a somewhat sentimental expression on his face. "I-I was a really sick kid. Bedridden until I was 6, on the brink of death. Stories were all I had, I read every book in town, and when I ran out of books to read, I started to write them." 

"Kade was a precocious kid." Ezra spoke softly. "I always thought that was how I'd  live life. Ezra was the adventurer, the dreamer. I was content to just read about things like that. But maybe I misjudged myself. Maybe I can be someone who goes out there, who has wild adventures, who sees the world." He peeked through his lashes shyly at Ezra who smiled with joy at his brother. "Maybe I be a hero." Ezra's grin grew wider. "Damn right, brother."

"Look! Over there! A passage!" Nia led the way into a vast hall with mostly crumbled ancient statues. "This is a Hall of Gods! It must be hundreds of years old." The group spread out, gazing at the statues. Ezra walked towards the statue of a winged monstrous warrior clutching a spiked club. Nia followed the elf warily. "I don't know this one...It isn't one of the Gods I recognize." Ezra blinked. "You don't know all of the Gods?" "If you go back far enough you'll find different pantheons and interpretations....But I've never heard of one like this." 

Ezra studied the statue's brooding expression, its marble eyes simmering with hate. "I don't like it. It's too realistic." mumbled the elf. "Me neither." Nia shuddered. "Hey!" The two turned towards Kade's shout. "Wanna see something hilarious?" The teen held up an old ceramic vase with a creepy face painted on, and tries to copy its expression, but drops it and winces as it shatters. "Oops." He chuckled nervously. The shards shake and rattle and a spectral shape bursts out, lashing through the air with tendrils of smoking flame. 

Ezra quickly ran over to his brother's side, hand on his sword hilt. The spirit hissed, clearly pissed. "What in the hell is that?" Ezra cried. The creature's body pulsed and swelled, hungry eyes boring into the white haired elf, before hissing angrily. "Wait! I know what this is!" Kade called from behind Ezra. "It's a vorglin! I read about that in the Tome of Beasts that traveling merchant had! It's a spectre that feeds off psychic energy, specifically fear! " he explained. 

"So," Ezra hummed, "What if we feel other strong emotions? Could that drive it away?" "Actually....yes! That just might work! Think about something other than fear! Think of a time when you felt something really intense!" Kade stated. The vorglin hissed, clearly annoyed. Ezra turned his gaze back onto the red spirit, one of his saddest, painful memories coming to mind. The day he and Kade had laid their mother to rest; their father passed a few months earlier and it seemed their mother couldn't bear to be without her love. 

'It was raining, cold and wet. Kade and I were standing side by side, in the field as they buried her, right next to her  love. She and Father were the town's best seamstress and farmer, and they would sorely be missed. I was so heartbroken that day, I shut everyone out, Grenn, Annika and I even shut Kade out for a few weeks. I remember saying goodbye.' Ezra blinked when the vorglin pulses, gorging on your emotions. It lets out a satisfied wheeze, before disappearing into a puff of smoke, dropping something on the floor with a heavy thud. 

Ezra cautiously approached what was on the floor and nudged it with the tip of his boot. "T-This is solid gold!" He exclaimed in surprise. "Then we're lucky! When a vorglin is fed emotions it doesn't enjoy, it transforms them into an elemental discharge! It's usually iron or brass...but gold? Jackpot!" Kade cheered. "Are you saying that orb is the creature's waste?" Nia exclaimed, disgust clear in her face. 

"Heh, it literally craps gold." Ezra snickered, before breaking out into a loud laugh, Kade and Nia laughing along with him. Kade picked up the orb and tucked it into his bag. "Are you all right with is keeping this, Priestess? It's not an offering, and it might be worth quiet a bit." Kade's green eyes shine with glee, and hope. Nia bit her lip before replying hesitantly. "I...suppose." She said finally. 

"Now then, let's head back before Scholar Vash realizes we're gone." Ezra said, leading the younger two to Vash, just as he traced a final rune, and the door swung open with a whoosh! The scholar laughed in triumph. "There you go! A piece of cake, as they say! Nothing to it!" He looked back at Ezra who was hiding a grin. "Thank you for waiting patiently, I do hope it wasn't a bother."  Gold eyes look over at Kade and Nia before looking back at Vash. "Not. At. All." He chuckled. 

Vash gestured ahead, and with a firm grip on his sword, Ezra led the way. "Wait." He murmured lowly. "Does anyone else hear voices?" Knowing his brother's hearing was sensitive, Kade quieted down, and gestured for Nia and Vash to do the same. Ezra motioned for the others to be quite, until Nia spoke up. 

"What is that?" she asked in a harsh whisper.

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