#wolfwood is watching in the distant

[themisterhip]

The best antidepressant✨

[revenantghost]

Heyo, let’s talk about my girl Meryl and why she’s so critical to the plot of Trigun Stampede and Vash in particular! (Well, that’s true for any Trigun, but Tristamp theories are rotting my brain atm.) Some spoilers for Tristamp and vague talk/references to the other series ahoy!

Meryl gets way too many accusations thrown at her for doing nothing/not enough in Tristamp. To the point that I started a rewatch to see if I was misremembering, but absolutely not! Those first three episodes alone, she’s critical to how things develop! She’s a foil to Vash, just like Wolfwood is!! She’s essential to his humanity!!!

But it took until I was watching ‘98 for the first time this weekend for it to crash into me like a freight train exactly what Meryl means, just like it took Trimax for the full weight of Wolfwood to click into place for me. Because she’s set up a lot like her older anime counterpart (though no one gets the same amount of character interaction—Tristamp, I adore you, but please slow down and let these poor folks breathe). She doesn’t understand Vash at first, she even goes so far as to call him a coward in a really low blow for what she easily recognizes as his bravery (and sometimes stupidity) later. And while they both (well, pretty much all the Trigun protags, let’s be honest) share their bullheadedness, I see a lot of people say she’s just like Vash... And I disagree, sorta.

She’s just like Rem. Just look at that last episode.

The two women don’t have the same belief systems, they have wildly different paths, and they come into Vash’s life in incredibly different ways. Meryl may keep Vash in check sometimes, but she’s not a mother figure imo. But they still play a similar role.

After over a century of traveling alone, we see (especially in other versions of Trigun) that Vash is often used and abandoned. Even when he makes genuine friends, they let him drift in and out of their life—and to their credit, he’s good at that! He can’t handle any more pain, so he slips away before the hurt catches up. But not Meryl! She ain’t gonna let that happen!!! At first, yeah, she follows him because of her job, but it never takes her long to go from frustrated and fed up to growing fond of Vash. And I especially love the career shift in Tristamp allowing her a complete out, to walk away and abandon Vash when things get rough, and no one would blame her for it.

But she stays. Because she sees that he’s good and worthy of the love that he denies himself. She sees this vile, hopeless world that they live in through his eyes, and sees the beauty in it too. She’s the first person to have faith in Vash not just as a savior, but as a person—unlike anyone has since Rem.

When all hope is gone, when Vash has lost his way, when he stumbles and falls, Meryl—who starts off doubting him!—is the one there to pick him up and remind him that he’s loved, that his love for humanity isn’t for nothing. Throughout the entire series, she has faith in him. She chooses Vash even when he won’t choose himself. She’s tired and done living in this selfish world of awful people, and she becomes the anchor that ties Vash down to what’s good in humanity. She’s just as critical as Wolfwood in taking a distant, disheartened, and broken Vash and reconnecting him to a world that cast him aside. And we’ve already gotten so much of that in Tristamp. It’s most obvious in the ending, but it’s built up so beautifully imo. She’s not as flashy as our fighters YET, but she’s absolutely essential to Vash, and I will die on this hill. I can’t wait to see her come crashing back into the picture with Milly next season.

[skelebellie]

entangled moments

gn!reader drabble interactions with the trigun stampede squad (vash, wolfwood, meryl, and roberto)

(hinted polyamorous relationship w/ vash, wolfwood, and meryl)

——————————————————————————————————

traveling through no mans land means hot days and cold nights. its not uncommon for you to shed a couple layers in order to refrain from overheating. however, you tend to miss the watchful eyes of your companions. on chilly nights you snuggle up to meryl, her back against your head as you snuggle into her for warmth. as the night progresses and morning comes your often found intertwined with each other, your head resting on her chest.

wolfwood once jokingly asked if you’d sleep with him one night, to which you nonchalantly said “oh sure i didn’t know you you also got cold at night”. he wasn’t expecting it to get that far. needless to say, he wasn’t too happy that you turned him into the small spoon.

after that meryl is only willing to share her “personal” heater with vash.

jk, some nights you end up pinned between meryl, vash, and wolfwood, body splayed across all three. roberto is left to shiver in the cold.

for some reason you salute roberto when you see him and no one knows why but it gives him a little ego boost so he lets it slide.

you and wolfwood are absolute menaces when left to your own devices. one time the rest of the crew came back from scouting and all they saw was you holding a target in the air and the punisher ready to fire. you could hear the screams of terror from a mile away as everyone was thrown into a panic.

you take a lot of time making sure vash’s arm is up to your standard. if you notice a slight uncontrolled twitch or a lag in his shooting your on him before he can even blink. asking him if hurts or if hes noticed anything unusual.

you often use vash’s prosthetic hand to cool yourself after a long day in the sun, the cold metal never getting hot in the blazing sun. sometimes you’ll be sitting and just guide his hand to the back of your neck, letting out a pleased sigh. he cant help but marvel at how large his hand is across your neck.

meryl is often found having one point of contact with you. you like it since physical touch is your love language, but meryl mainly does it to prevent you from getting lost. it takes one cool bug for you to be 10 miles away from the party.

in the back of the car your sprawled out across vash and wolfwood, your head resting across wolfs legs and your legs stretched across vash’s. the two realized how good of an idea it was so now you take turns laying down across each other when you have to drive to distant towns. vash will rub invisible images on your calf and you’ll play with wolfwood’s hands as a form of entertainment. admiring his calluses and scars. you pretend like you dont see the blush on the tips of his ears.

you love playing with vash’s hair. if your lucky enough to spend the night in a hotel, he will sit on the floor as you sit on the edge of the bed, massaging his scalp. you try to style his hair but it always ends up in the same mop like shape.

wolfwood bonking you on the head because someone asks you a question you should lie about but no one told you that so there you go… telling them everything.

vash and wolfwood are on wandering duty. sometimes you’ll just start going a different direction since something intrested you and they just kind of pick you up from under your armpits and just bring you back.

“okay lets go” you say and you start walking. roberto just kind of grabs your shoulders and turns you to where you should have been going. “yes i 100% knew that we needed to go this way.”

wolfwood goes to give you a high five while your hands are full so you kind of just slap your head against his hand. he almost pissed himself laughing.

[glaivenoct]

sweeter dreams (in your arms)

Pairing: Vashwood Rating: T Words: 6,823 Tags: Nightmares, Angst & Hurt/Comfort, Nicholas D. Wolfwood is Bad at Feelings (and Needs a Hug)

Summary: The nightmares and recollections of a past that never feels distant enough don’t plague him every night. It’s like a game of roulette at times. Never a specific pattern or telling when luck will run out. There’s those swaths of luck where Wolfwood can go days or weeks at a time without any sleep disturbances, but lately he’s had a consistently unlucky draw. He doesn’t bother pondering how or why. He simply endures until they stop.

He wonders how many times Vash overheard it, though. The gasping fits as he would wake up in a cold sweat on the verge of screaming.

Wolfwood is haunted by the cold terror of his past. Lucky for him, Vash is good at grounding him in the much warmer present.

--

The fire of the campsite is, thankfully, warm enough to stave off the cold of the desert tonight. Wolfwood sits in front of it atop one of the spare blankets, soaking in said warmth as he watches the steady dance of the campfire. He stretches one leg out, bending the other at the knee to serve as an armrest while he absently taps at the butt of a lit cigarette. 

For as much as Nicholas can complain about the heat of No Man’s Land, he hates the cold even more. 

He hates shrinking and shivering underneath blankets, and hugging himself in an effort to maintain some of his own body heat. He hates having to stop his own teeth from chattering or when the hair on his neck and arms stands up. Something about these acts always make him feel vulnerable or small, or send his mind back to the times he felt vulnerable and small amidst the cold.

There were more than a few nights where he felt that way at the orphanage despite being looked after and cared for. He can recall far too many nights, when in the clutches of the Eye of Michael, where he felt this way. Whether he lay in a pitiful, broken slump in the corner of a dark cell or confined to the cold hard table of a lab, trembling in dread of how the next experiment might break and morph his body.

The quick flashes of those memories send a chill through him now; A harmless child one moment, bundling up in his blanket as snug as possible while curiously staring up at the stars through the window above his bed. A makeshift adult frozen in his own agony the next moment, hooked up to who knows what through tubes and wires, trapped in a pool of his own blood, eyes wide in shock and barely registering the ceiling above him.

Wolfwood takes a big drag of his cigarette to combat those flashes, inhaling deeply to ensure he can feel the scratchy burn from his throat to his lungs. He lets the smoke sit there for a few beats, the steady dance of the campfire reflecting over the lenses of his glasses. His exhale comes out slowly, the resentment of those colder memories puffing out with the smoke, wafting off to dissipate into the smoke of the fire. 

Wolfwood sighs and taps the butt of his cigarette again, shaking off the extra ash.

(Read the rest on ao3) (Reblogs would be really, really appreciated <3)

[dozenssporks]

Sands of Time

*the video opens with Vash sitting on the ground, one boot off*

Vash: check it

*vash turns the boot upside-down and a steady stream of sand pours out.*

*The video cuts to Vash sitting on a rock in a different location, both boots on*

Vash, solemnly: hello dear viewers, today I want to share with you that I found Jesus. In fact, if the camera would turn a little to the right you too can spot him

*the shot obligingly pans right and zooms out to capture the image of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro*

Vash: He's been here the whole time, apparently, or at least since the 1920s, and I honestly find it kind of strange so many people are having a hard time tracking his location. I asked a priest but-

Wolfwood, off camera: yeah, I dunno either.

Vash: so says our resident expert

Wolfwood: how am I 'resident' if I have no fixed abode, noodle-brain

Vash: I thought the punisher had it's own zip code

Meryl, from behind the camera: why am I even here if you two are just going to clown around. Why can't Father No-Fixed-Abode fulfill his regular cameraman duties

Vash: Because he won't stop zooming in on my nose when I'm talking and it's making me self-conscious

*Vash shyly covers his nose while Wolfwood cackles*

*the video cuts back to Vash pouring sand out of his boot. There's quite a sizeable pile now and Vash is watching the unflagging stream of sand with a hypnotized look*

*the video cuts back to Vash on his rock in front of Jesus. He's holding a phone that has a little angel charm attached*

Vash: another question from one of our beloved viewers . . . 'runwhiteboirun247'. They ask: as an infamous hitchhiker have you at any time, knowing before or after the fact, ridden in a car with a serial killer?

*vash looks up at the camera absolutely aghast*

Vash: I'd-I'd never thought about it-until now! Jeez! That's scary! Super-scary, runwhiteboirun! Never to my knowledge have I-oh. Wait. Hold the camera right there, please, I need to consult with my priest

*Vash gets up and walks off-screen where a murmured conversation takes place between him and Wolfwood. A few indistinct words such as, 'I don't think it counts' and 'genocide is different from homicide', while the camera wanders idly over the distant building's at Christ's feet*

*Vash sticks his head back into frame*

Vash: we're going with a soft 'no' on that question. Unless my cameraperson today is hiding anything?

Meryl: I've only wanted to throttle one person and I haven't given into the temptation yet.

*soft 'eep' noise from Vash*

*for the final time the camera cuts back to Vash emptying his boot, the pile of sand is high enough that he's having to raise the boot higher. There is about ten seconds of the hissing off falling sand before the video ends*

[chibivesicle]

If you could fix Trigun Stampede or write an alternate version of it that stays truer and more faithful to the 98 anime and the manga, not just visually but emotionally, philosophical and symbolically, how would you? Given how your in depth analyses and in general reading it to filth, I would love to know how you would fix it or rewrite it!

Hello and thanks for the question!

Sorry for the slow response, I've been busy and distracted by other shiny objects (Kekkai Sensen) to get back to this. I still haven't had time to really answer another ask but I hope to get to it in a week or so. As far as Trigun Stampede, I felt it had issues in the following areas: 1.) Technical skill surpassed all other aspects of the production. They put all their eggs in making it look very good. Which it does. I found out from the Sakuracon panel, that they spent two years working on animating the faces. Kudos for that level of work but if you write a poor story it doesn't matter how emotional they look. 2.) Paradoxical pacing. Twelve episodes were not enough to capture the original Trigun manga nor '98 anime. The '98 anime added establishing content to extend the limited manga chapters which helped to give the viewers Meryl as their entry point. It also had great pacing. Intro, build up, tension and resolution either in each episode or in two part episodes.

3.) Total emphasis of style over substance. This was the the worst part of it. They assumed making things look pretty would suffice and did not write individual episodes well or the full twelve. And since they were only working with twelve the story did not have time to just be and let us enter the world because of the paradoxical pacing. 4.) Generic character designs for the contemporary eye. In their attempt to make the characters look more 'normal' they lost the unique style of Yasuhiro Nightow's original designs. His characters are exceptionally stylized in a distinct way and they completely redid them. We also know that other studios can adapt his characters much more like in the original work both with the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen. Madhouse and Bones anime-stylized the characters a bit for anime but not by that much compared to what Orange did. Milly is still large and clumsy in the anime, while Vash is super contorted at times. Wolfwood is still angular and Meryl still has that soft short stature. In KS, Klaus is still a giant gentleman, Leo is still dodging chaos, Chain is cool and distant, K. K. still has her confident stride, and Steven's posture is still terrible. I can watch the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen and know that these characters were designed by Nightow. Looking at Stampede, I cannot tell by looking at them.

5.) Weak characters. Another point the Sakuracon panel noted was that the creative team spent five years developing Stampede. I can't help but feel like they wasted their energy. They came up with all this lore and information for their own version of No Mans Land - and then never tied it together. Studio Orange got lost in the weeds and never really figured out what they wanted to make or say. They also relied on characters info dumping and blatantly telling us what they are doing. That is not how Trigun or Kekkai Sensen work as stories. It is up to you to figure out what the characters are doing, why they are doing it and how to interpret their actions.

The characters were unclear in their motivations, there was no intro, mystery or payoff. After twelve episodes in, we still don't know what Rem told Vash that he has his technical pacifist philosophy. We know she told them that she loved them and she was happy to know them and that they should take care of each other. But why was Rem with Project Seeds? Why did she believe all life was sacred? Why was your ticket to the future blank?

Vash was far to passive but never said why and was not a gunslinger. Which was pretty much key to his skill and why he was infamous. Even before the July incident he was an excellent gunslinger and Western drifter. Wolfwood was meh, his natural people skills from the manga were completely gone. He was not only a trained killer but he was a natural people person and tried to be compassionate when possible. Meryl was two years older than in the manga/'98 anime and far less experienced. Yes, she was smart and by the book but so weak. Roberto was useless. He did not serve the plot. How would I have done Stampede? 1.) Trigun Maximum emphasis. Incorporate more of the manga into the anime, but cutting out some of the wandering chapters which did not serve the plot other than for some hard to follow action scenes. They lifted some elements from Maximum, but parts I was never a fan of e.g. the late introduction of the fact that Wolfwood was likely in his early 20s but will be debated until the end since his own backstories and timelines in the manga are inconsistent. My point is that Wolfwood's timeline is a hot mess.

Instead, they could have streamlined some of the fuzzy hand waving science and odd timelines for characters like Wolfwood and Livio. What they did was lean in hard to the rapidly aging aspect of things so as far as I can tell, Wolfwood is like 13 in Stampede?

They added in Elendira the Crimsonnail but made her a child who manifests nails from the air. Um, sure. If she is a she at all or genderless or nonbinary. The point is, she is not an adult trans woman with excellent fashion taste.

Added in the missing civilians from the original work. As others have commented, Stampede is a very empty world. There are no normal people. The entire point was that there were lots of normal people living their lives on the planet. They are completely absent. There are barely any civilians to protect since they aren't there. The design of the cities and towns for this were also weak. Yes, they needed plants, but most of the cities grew around the ships and dwarfed them. December was a full city with a downtown, high rise buildings and public transit. Stampede is just a weird tribute to Dune or something like that.

There was the potential to take the original anime, add in the key points of Maximum and it would have been an awesome anime.

2.) Had a clear story line for all twelve episodes and then for each individual episode. The storytelling for Stampede was an utter disaster. The terrible pacing, the inability to show characters through their actions, their lack of rational thoughts from time to time. The bad science; e.g. a town with only windmills but no solar panels. No knowledge of plants and photosynthesis? What the hell were these people eating? Apparently, they came up with worm related lore in their brainstorming sessions, but if you DON'T put that in the actual anime, we won't know that.

Too many things were like "Oh wow, look perfect timing! Always!" Dude, no. Part of the original was how timing wasn't perfect and characters slogged around for months trying to reconnect.

I think Vash being a little more upfront about his rationale to try to avoid violence would help and if he did it with his gun like in the originals. It makes his skill even better and more appreciated and highlights how he does not shoot to kill. Even though this series started with the backstory with him and Knives, Rem's moral code was not outlined. Thus, we don't know why Vash does what he does due to Rem and her influence on him.

Wolfwood was terrible, lacking all of his charm, personable attitude and willingness to sacrifice and be critical. He just comes off as a dick. Honestly, all they needed to do was make him more friendly and call out Vash for faking it like in the original. Meryl would have been better like her original with more experience and Milly as her junior. Nightow writes excellent female characters who aren't uwu/waifu types. They are women who are competent, have strengths and flaws and hopes and dreams. They are not there for you to dream about them fawning over you and acting on your every beck and call. Instead, they likely could kill you. Or at least really hurt you. They are not sexualized, nor fan service. They are just women and the men are just men. I'm not saying they aren't attractive - Meryl is still cute, Milly is dapper, Chain is curvy, K. K. is fashionable. But that isn't the defining aspect of their characters.

3.) Kept the character designs closer to the originals. In a saturated media landscape where so many anime look the same and generic, the style of the original would have stood out. Keep that lanky angular style of the original. Have those dramatic poses which showed so much about each character. I mean, they could have updated them and ditched the '90s eyes through chunky hair bit. Also, by changing Wolfwood from being a priest/preacher much of his internal moral conflict is lost. Along with the jokes which were classics by this point. With so many people not knowing the original, the jokes would have been unknown and fresh to newer viewers.

4.) Made the series 24 episodes with 12 per season. This really would have helped the series out big time. Instead of the oft critiqued terrible pacing, do what so many other series do now; split up what used to be a single season into two parts. It would have allowed for more downtime, lingering shots, characterization through interactions with the normal people. Vash playing with children. Eating donuts. Pancakes. Wolfwood giving up his food. Meryl writing reports and trying to be emotionally distant. Milly helping Wolfwood in a fight. Many of the micro-moments of characters were lost, but these help us to understand them and how they will react through very basic set up. Madhouse did not have a blockbuster budget for Trigun but it didn't matter when they set the tone up right.

They had too many blink and you will miss it moments. The this is not a problem with manga since you look at each panel individually. The original anime allowed for much better establishing shots as well as lingering on things to make it clear what that thing was. Kuroneko-sama is obvious in all the episodes, in the OP and ED and nyas (she has an entire track of 'nya' on the second donuts OST). Well, I would have made sure she does that in Stampede. I don't want it to be some sort of cryptid moment in the corner of the screen. Especially, since Kuroneko-sama still appears in the KS extras even bonding with Steven. Oh, yeah, and all the time in the KS anime; on the street in Hellsalem's Lot. Crossing the street in HL. With a monster jar stuck on her head that crashes into Leo. In the ED of B3 & Beyond.

Sure, Studio Orange put Sonic in there but the level of Kuroneko-sama in KS is much higher than KS in Stampede.

A longer series would have also allowed for more of the humor to come through. Trigun has ample slapstick/zany/situational humor that was lost in Stampede. Stampede took itself too seriously. Due to that, they never could turn off the serious mode. But even tough situations elicit humor. In the manga, Wolfwood explains how he doesn't die to Vash more or less but lays down to sleep. Vash then has a full on panic and Wolfwood is beyond pissed - since he's just trying to sleep. Even when Wolfwood is about to die, he cracks a joke with Vash in the manga.

Nightow clearly has a dark and sarcastic sense of humor at times. That could have come through in it and it was lost - to be serious. It is natural for people to crack jokes in absolutely terrible situations and Nightow loves to do this. If the Kekkai Sensen anime took out all of the sarcastic/dry/quips of the cast it would be so terrible. That is what happened to Stampede. They went full on serious sci-fi but forgot about the plot, characters and motivations.

5.) Included the strong religious undertone. Correctly. Much of the Christian and Buddhist themes were lost in Stampede. Why does Vash cling to an impossible ideal/moral code? The role of suffering and turning that other cheek. The creepy accurate angel designs for the plants. How Vash and Knives were of a virgin birth of angelic beings with one falling from grace. The oodles of Catholic guilt that trapped Wolfwood and Vash. But trapped Wolfwood more. Why do people have different lines they can and cannot cross? What is right? What is justice?

All we got in Stampede were crosses mixed with a zia (perhaps) and concept art of the Eye of Michael where all the women are hotties. This goes 100% against the modesty of the original and the lack of fan service. Nightow does not draw his characters to be hot nor does he want to put in relationships - especially with Trigun. Kekkai Sensen has only one known relationship, K. K. and her husband. Which is great, but we aren't there to examine their relationship. Instead, K. K.'s family motivate her to do her job and protect them.

I should really wrap this up as it has gotten far too long. However, what happened with Stampede is Studio Orange likely got so into making their mark on the series and giving it a new angle that they lost track of how to make it work. What story makes sense? How do you depict your characters? What type of pacing do you use for a twelve episode show which may or may not get more episodes?

If it really were in development for five years, I can't help but think Covid-19 really messed up some of their work and why things ended up disjointed. Or they had too many people involved or too much input and tried to include it all. Whatever actually happened, they needed a tighter linear story and consistent vision. Which they lacked.

[crossroadsdimension]

Managed to find time to watch episode 3 of Trigun Stampede tonight and MMMM. MAN. Was not expecting them to go that hard that fast with the plot.

(long spoiler-specific thoughts for Episode 3 under the cut for those who haven’t seen it yet. Very rambly, I’m just writing out my thoughts after finishing the episode.)

So, not only introducing some members of the Gung-Ho Guns (well, down one now, thanks Knives), but also introducing Knives and how dangerous he is three episodes in?? The original manga and the 90s anime did NOT need to go that hard, but the modern one decided it did.

Not only have we established that Vash brings chaos and disaster wherever he goes as he tries to keep everyone alive, but we’ve also established the theme of the show. Whose side are you really on, Vash?

I mean, they asked that question of him three times in this episode alone, and at least once in episode 2.

This is a question Vash was asked in the manga, but maybe not in this specific wording. He can’t keep doing what he’s been doing.

Vash wants everyone to be alive and get along, right? “Peace and love” is still present in his bones, even if he hasn’t said that theme aloud yet. However, that means he bounces between helping outlaws as much as he helps the innocent townsfolk who are just trying to live their lives and not get killed by the gunmen who want to take their Plant and get rich off it.

Vash would probably say he’s on the side of humanity in his current fight against Knives, but we can see that Knives is working with humans here, EG Miner and the “doctor” with the giant mecha and the strange, somewhat familiar looking child with him. (I have to wonder if that one’s a puppet for the puppet master, or if the kid’s another Independent Plant, but I’m not seeing any of the circuitry-lines on the kid that Knives and Vash have on them, so I’m not sure. (EDIT: Just found out the kid’s actually supposed to be the Crimson Nail, which really threw me off. Now I’m wondering what else is going on with her.))

But the Gung-ho Guns have sided themselves with Knives for their own reasons, and I would not be surprised if the “doctor” is aware that Knives is planning on killing him when his part of Knives’ plan is complete. I wouldn’t put it past the crazy Independent. They have chosen their fate.

Vash drifts from town to town, rootless and side-less, playing with the line in the sand like it’s a jump rope. Knives wants him on his side, and is more than happy to prove his strength over Vash’s in order to get him to give up, break, and join his big brother on Knives’ side of his self-proclaimed war of extermination.

Vash has yet to truly plant (ha) himself on humanity’s side. He’s lonely, keeps himself distant...the man needs to create bonds and plant himself somewhere, especially despite Knives’ actions. Knives is working with humans to reach his goal for Plants, and is using humans as tools in order to achieve that. If he causes trouble for Vash in order to prove that humans can’t be trusted, that they’re parasites, then all the better.

Vash...Vash is alone. He doesn’t want to use anyone, and as a result, he’s probably pushed plenty of people away from him.

This show is going to pit him against problem after problem after problem, and with Meryl, Roberto, and (probably as of next episode) Nicholas D. Wolfwood at his side, he’s going to find himself with people who don’t want to leave him, who won’t let the typhoon of the plot push them away, and he’s going to have to come to terms with what Knives wants, and what he wants.

Vash will pick a side. He has to.

But then the question becomes...how many people are going to drop right in front of him before he breaks and decides?

As for Knives himself -- man. He looms over the manga and both anime, for different reasons.

In the manga and the 90s anime, he loomed because he was an unknown force. Because he was what kept Legato in check, and let him have free rein to torture Vash as he pleased. And then, in the manga, he loomed because we knew what his plan was, he was constantly on the horizon in that ark, calling his sisters to him, and it was only a matter of time before things came to a head against his brother.

Now?

Now Knives looms because we have seen him. We know what he’s capable of. He defends himself with his own plant powers and laughs in the face of Vash, who shoots at him with human made weapons and shoots at him wildly. Vash, who has pinpoint accuracy and good eyes, can’t land a hit on his brother because he’s terrified of Knives.

And he’s terrified of who he is, too.

My dad made a comment on it when I said that Vash has access to power the same way Knives does, but he hasn’t “unlocked his gate,” as Knives put it.

Dad: “Maybe he’s afraid of it.”

This is another part of what keeps Vash drifting in the winds. He’s refusing to acknowledge who he himself is. He’s still that scared little kid, scared of his brother, wanting to be human, more than willing to reject his past. He’s trying to cut himself away from his roots just as much as he’s trying to cut himself off emotionally from everyone around him, to keep himself distant but physically present.

Just as he has to pick a side -- against Knives and all he stands for -- Vash is going to have to pick a side with himself. And when he’s broken down and pulls himself back together...if he wants to keep himself and every human alive, he’s going to have to come to terms with who he is, just as much as which side he is on.

Otherwise, Knives will win long before this series started.

[prettyboywolfwood]

enjoy the moment (it won’t last forever) | vashwood | E | read the full fic here, excerpt below with more under the cut

Despite their initial hang-ups at the whole…situation, Nicholas considers this to be good progress. Stellar, even, if he says so himself. Maybe he’s tooting his own horn a little, but anyone who got Vash the Stampede relaxed enough to be spread and glistening between his thighs would too. Good start, but he isn’t done yet.

Nicholas sits back on his knees, resting hands on his thighs with a low whistle-whine in appreciation as he looks the younger Vash up and down.

There’s an airiness to his eyes that doesn’t match up to the Vash he knows. It hurts to look at, to know what’s looming on the horizon for this guy. Nicholas isn’t here to change that path, any deviations from his experiences will have to come by their own hands. No, Nicholas is here to change one thing, and one thing only; a little push and shove where he knows it’s needed.

He stares for longer than he should, eyes tracing familiar yet distant scars. There’s more lost tech on Vash’s body, and where his scars etch beyond raised rough skin there are deeper valleys of scarred skin that appear alien to him. The flush of pink from cheeks to chest gives him that angelic look that Nicholas eats up every time he bears witness to it. Never mind Vash’s clear excitement and what it took to get him like this.

“Do you have to look at me like that?” He says, pathetic enough to make Nicholas reach to pinch at the plush meat of his inner thigh. “Ouch!”

“D’aw, that didn’t hurt for real, did it, sugar?” Nicholas teases as he watches Vash carefully, picking up on the quiver of his lower lip and hitch in his breath. He knows what buttons to push, what can get Vash going. There are bound to be plenty of differences between the Vash he knows and the one laid out before him, but Nicholas is willing to bet that his experiences with his Vash will give way to the perfect blueprint tonight. Laying it on a little thick should be just fine.

Vash shakes his head, tentatively looking him in the eyes. Nicholas searches for hesitation, nerves, any hint that Vash may want to back out. Where he finds none, he smooths over the spot of soft skin where he pinched with the rough pad of his thumb as a sweet apology, with intent to make it sweeter.

“Remember what I told ya. You say the word, and this stops,” Nicholas says, shifting to lay on his belly, Vash’s swollen cock and shiny wetness decorating his upper inner thighs mere inches away from his face. He subconsciously licks his lips, ready to devour and take Vash apart.

He half expects the younger Vash to still, to question and pause their night. What he knows for certain is that things between this Vash and his version of Nicholas are less than experienced together. It’s bizarre to think about another him out there, but he’s old enough to recognize when younger him could’ve used a little push.

Especially about Vash.

However, Nicholas is pleasantly surprised when Vash nods and tightens the grip holding his legs open as Nicholas had instructed him to do earlier.

“I remember. Red. I’ll say that if I need to, but please, Wolfwood—“ Vash’s eyes are glazed with anticipation, a look Nicholas knows well.

And, well. That’s all the encouragement he needs to dip down and finally lap at Vash’s cock with his tongue, lingering to circle around him at a lazy pace.

“—ah, o-oh okay, that’s—“ Vash reels with a shiver, biting into his lip in a vain attempt to quell the noises leaving him, which he would call rather embarrassing.

Good thing Nicholas isn’t concerned with trivial things like shame right now.

[punisheye]

The light in Wolfwood's hands shows him a few things through the perspective of a little boy:

Nighttime, crying alone on a rooftop with only the moons as his witness. The sound of small footsteps approaching him, a grunt of, Oh, here you are.

The other boy is a little older than him, with messy, dark hair and brown eyes that regard him with an odd sense of casualness (Wolfwood knows this face. It's like looking in a tiny mirror). Then he hears him run off, slip, cry out in alarm, and the boy whose eyes he sees through runs to help him to find him dangling there by his legs, entirely unbothered, before he swings himself back onto the roof.

He holds his hand out and smiles, The name's Nicholas D. Wolfwood.

Another little memory of the two of them in the tomas pen, scattering feed for the chicks.

You're finally smiling, crybaby Livio.

Smoking worm legs on the rooftop, exhaling and coughing on pink smoke, laughing when Miss Melanie comes to chase them away, running hand-in-hand.

Memories of that little dark-haired boy hugging him when he was sad, curling up together for a nap in the middle of the day, shirking chores to go play. Nico showed this little boy lighter tricks.

And then one day, Nico was gone.

Livio wanted to follow him.

This is your little brother, no?

A man that looks too big to be little Livio's brother (but looks alarmingly like himself; how many people's memories will he have to see his own face?) is hunched on floor, on his elbows and knees, clothes torn from bullets and stained with blood. There should be a flood of alarm, grief, confusion, but he feels hollow. Like he's not in his own body, like something else is there in his head.

I hear he volunteered himself to follow after you.

This blue-haired freak Wolfwood recognizes— the differences are there, but he'd know Bluesummers anywhere.

What beautiful brotherly love.

The man on the floor in front of him goes through rapid stages of shock, alarm, distress, shouting until he's forced into the floor, thrown to the ceiling, back down to the floor, the surfaces cracking, breaking, and all the Wolfwood of now can do is watch this through a young child's distant eyes.

Things are starting to feel staticky, hazy, like something else is trying to take hold as he watches. As the scientist approaches, as the doors shut.

And then Wolfwood is thrust back into his own body, back into the present, and he's holding that light data in his hand and gawking at it. His stomach turns, his teeth grind, and he digs out his phone, scrolling through the names until he finds the one he's looking for, the Livio lacking a star beside his name that keeps him at the top of his contacts.

Into the speaker he practically barks, "I'm outside the mall. Get yer ass over here. I have somethin' for ya. Now."

@doublefanged

[ghostampede]

"But just because I won't be here tomorrow doesn't mean I'm not here now. Can you acknowledge that I lived? That we lived?" - Aristos, the musical

Close your eyes for a second, sit with me and picture a scene for just a moment. A dark forest where two men sit, illuminated by the fire between them and the distant holy light by the three moons. In the four months that they’ve known each other, they’ve never sat so off centred as they do now. Deafened by the silence and blinded by the sight of each other’s wounds. Two men that shouldn’t be alive right now, but they are, and need to deal with that fact.

Wolfwood is seated on a log, one hand holding a flask by his lips, the other clutching his trusted bow in case of stagglers. He wasn’t a magical man, which became quite the issue in the world they lived in. He was fast with a blade and and so he survived. Barely each night, especially with the chaos he dealt with these days, but he did and he would continue to do so. He had to, especially if the sorcerer across from him wouldn’t make an effort as well.

Vash- the magic stampede, the human typhoon, the arcane renegade, the sorcerer in question- tapped his tinted fingers across his leg, covered in loose plain flabrics and a shredded red cloak. His eyes danced across the forest to avoid whatever he would seen when they fell back onto the archer. With the snap of two fingers, the markings across his body glowed brighter than the stars in the sky as he made leaves dance around them as an attempt at levity. They spiralled around the pair, causing red cloak to fly up. He shudders from the burst of wind before chucking to himself.

The blonde spares a glance at the archer, hoping to find a sigh of a smile at the very least. Instead, he is met with an intense glare, straight at the large shoddily bandaged gash seeping into his dark tunic. Wolfwood’s brows furrow deeper as he takes another swig, deep in thought and deeply unimpressed.

Vash hates it. The tense silence and angry looks. They both do. However, longer they avoid the smell of iron flooding their lungs for some semblance of peace, the worse it was get. Vash maneuvers his fingers into a delicate dance as he casts a spell of cloaking over them to hopefully make his next move safer. He breathes in the crisp air of the forest before speaking up.

“It looks a lot worse than it is, I promise,” he says gently, a lie to some degree but a start to the conversation nonetheless.

“You can’t keep saying that when I’m the one who has to bandage you up each night, Needles,” Wolfwood responds, downing the rest of flask and chucking it towards their stuff, piled away in the corner away from all fire and smoke but still in eyeshot if they needed to run. Wolfwood made sure of it, just like he did every night after seeing a half dead Vash bleed out again and again jn his arms. The visions kill him almost as much as seeing the other man dance around as if nothing was wrong when he comes to. If the archer didn’t know any better, he’d assume that needle-noggin over here had a deathwish.

Vash sheepishly smiles, all innocent and plastic and full of lies. He speaks up again, voice light as if he can’t feel how serious Wolfwood’s voice is in his own bones.“Well, we made it, didn’t we? We always have. There’s no point fussing over a light stab-“

He’s cut off before he can finish the thought.

“You’re not always gonna get lucky, Vash. What then? How do you expect me to silently smile and wave back at you after I watch you die each night in my arms? When I can never tell when you may not get up again?” Wolfwood hates how his voice trembles at the thought. He has killed millions of men and monsters, committed sins that made devils cry, pierced through magic with nothing more than an arrow and pure grit, yet the mere thought of losing the arcane angel in front of him was a greater weight than all if his guilt combined.

Vash is silent for a moment. His face unreadable as he looks down at his feet, before pushing himself up and taking seat next to the other man. They’re tucked together, eyes refocused to the fire in front on them as their knees press against each other. Vash still doesn’t even begin to open his mouth as he delicately glides his fingers across the leather fabric over Wolfwood’s knee, tracing invisible patterns as he ponders the best response. It’s a comforting action, warm even as small sparks bloom from Vash’s fingertips. Wolfwood still can’t bring himself to look at Vash, not yet, but he feels himself be pulled towards the force of the other man, like a moth to a flame.

After what feels like a cruel eternity, Vash pauses his movement, and opens his mounth to spesk.

“I can’t promise you that I’ll be more careful, Wolfwood, because we both know I can’t. Not when people are at risk and need to be saved,” Vash begins gently, feeling Nicholas tense underneath his touch, “But, I’m here right now, Nick. We both are. We lived, we might not tomorrow, but we did today. I can’t ask for anything else I would want more than to just live and exist with you, to enjoy it while I can because it could end any moment. Don’t you agree?”

Wolfwood finally turns towards the sorcerer. Vash’s eyes peer directly into his, wide and glowing and filled with more sincerity than the archer believes he deserves. He knows the other is trying, and this is the best he’s gonna get. He puts down the bow and brings his hands to rest on both sides of his face. Vash nestles into the touch like he needs it to survive. In his own eyes, it might as well be true.

Nicholas sighs, placing his forehead gently against Vash’s, before whispering so quietly nothing else in the universe could dare hear it

“You’re gonna be the death of me Tongari.”

Vash snorts, laughing loud and free before looping his own arms around the other man’s neck. Nicholas would never admit it out loud, be thinks he would get drunk on the sound if he could.

Vash doesn’t say anything as he pulls Wolfwood into a soft kiss. It’s chaste and short but It says everything he needs to communicate in one short moment. ‘Thank you. You’re the light of my life. I’m sorry I won’t stop dying. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere right now. I’m with you right now. I love you.’

They pull apart far too soon, Wolfwood nearly stumbling forward to follow the kiss. Vash giggles again and Wolfwood thinks it was worth it. They sit in peaceful silence for a moment longer, trying to soak up the moment before it ends and they are thrust back into reality.

And then it does, and they pull apart to head towards their things for bed. They slip into their sleeping bags, only Vash actually planning to sleep as Nicholas holds his loaded bow in hand away from him, always thinking about the future and never finding peace with the present. But as he thinks back to their conversation just now, he places down the bow once more and instead crawling into the sheets next to the blonde angel. Vash wraps his arms around Wolfwood and for once he can ignore the feeling of death haunting their every move go focus on the fact that they are alive. For once, that alone is enough.

[into-the-feniverse]

🏜️Fen in Trigun Stampede UPDATED🏜️

Template: bit.ly/trigunresources

Disclaimer: backgrounds aren’t mine, most of it came from the show or pexels

More character info & voice claim under the cut!

——————

The basics:

• Her full name is Marlowe Fenley Holloway, but she prefers to go by “Fen”

• She’s 3 years younger than Meryl, but 14 cm taller

• female, cisgender, she/her, AroAce (demiromantic)

• Personality wise, she’s generally pretty quiet/reticent. She’s very non confrontational and fairly hesitant. However she’s good at giving off an air of friendliness and cheerfulness when need be, and is “always happy to help” (even at her own expense). Once she warms up to people she becomes much more chatty and exuberant. She’s very compassionate and sincere.

• Post trip/after the time skip she’s much more comfortable with herself and more confident, in both her appearance and actions.

• Hobbies & Interests: She enjoys drawing and painting in her free time. She also enjoys traveling and just being outside. After her time on ship 3, she also gains an avid interest in botany

The lore Backstory:

• She hails from a small town north of May City called “Juneport Junction”. She lived there her entire life with her family (parents, grandma, and 3 adopted older siblings), up until she left for November. Growing up, she really enjoyed observing (and chasing) the various small critters of Gunsmoke (mainly the sand worms)

• While Juneport isn’t necessarily a “religious town”, there’s definitely a moderate christian demographic. She does come from a fairly religious (Presbyterian) family, however she herself is agnostic

• While she's not necessarily distant with her family (at least not in a relationship way, physically yes she is, it's just part of the job), she's not the closest with them either. She keeps in touch with them fairly often (before heading off for November her parents gave her a wrist watch made with lost tech that acts as a telecom. they call bi weekly) and tries to stop by home when she can, but she tries to keep her visits as short as possible.

• She was brought on to the Bernardelli company as a photography intern, having heard about it from a friend of a friend and applying on a whim, and was (begrudgingly) placed under the tutelage of senior journalist Roberto De Niro. And so ended up getting dragged into Meryl’s mad chase to track down and interview the Humanoid Typhoon.

Random notes:

• The nicknames she accrued over the course of the trip include but are not limited to: curls, shutterbug, short stack, sunshine (Wolfwood), kid, trainee, green bean* (Roberto), and junebug** (Vash).

* That one caused some confusion amongst the travel crew, Roberto never actually explained why he called her that. They think it's a mix of green horn and bean sprout, and possibly also because of her jacket

** tossed out there by Wolfwood initially (around the time he found out she had an interest in bugs and came from a town called Juneport) but fondly adopted by Vash

• In her messenger bag she has her canteen, wallet, camera, a first aid kit, a small pocket knife, and a notebook and multiple pens. She doesn’t leave anywhere without her bag, and doesn’t mind carrying things for other people as well. After the time skip, she still brings a pack with her when traveling (which still stores her canteen, a sketch pad, and a first aid kit, but it’s smaller and she doesn’t take it everywhere ) but she upgrades to a larger (utility) knife which she keeps on her at all times. And her new camera (which is more compact than the one she uses during her internship).

• Her telecom watch also gets a slight upgrade post JuLai, courtesy of ship 3, so that it has a small medium impact force field (good for blocking bullets!).

[bloodandgunsmoke]

A Close Shave

@nothinglikegod A handful of fingers swept from his forehead to his the back of his skull. They shuffled through his golden roots and abandoned the dust that had hidden between them to warm water. They would do this action many times, to the left... to the right; over ears and well-concealed scars. They combed him smooth with great care. This would be more than a wash. It would be ritualistic in its vigilance. "Oh, you know." Wolfwood tilted his face to watch his own hand traverse a forest of dandelion strands. He wasn't going to answer - not really, not yet. Probably not ever. There were practical reasons for retrieving Vash but they hardly compared to the real one. He had missed him; mourned him, searched for him in vain and lashed out at anyone who had tried to quell his efforts. And why? Because he loved this man. He knew that now... it had taken losing him to understand, but. The scent of shampoo announced the next step. Wolfwood cleared his throat. It had been wise to start here, at hair-washing. It felt intimate enough to massage suds over Vash's mind. A fine warmup before he'd have to secure that strongly angled face to run a razor down it. "No Man's Land has been shittier than usual. Turns out you were doing some good out there. So, now it's time to come back."

Vash couldn't help but sigh at the careful and gentle way Wolfwood threaded his fingers through his hair, handling him as though he was something precious, something worthy of tenderness. When was the last time someone other than Lina or Sheryl had touched him softly? He strained his memory but everything still felt so distant and ephemeral, images fading as soon as they were summoned to mind like grains of sand slipping through his fingers. Would this moment fade too? Would time weather away the sense of safety and comfort he felt here and now with Wolfwood? His hair would need washing again, whatever was cut would grow back and all physical evidence of Wolfwood's gentleness would fade. The feeling of his hands, so real and present now, would be another ghost to haunt him in the years to come.

The thought brought a crease to his forehead and he opened his eyes again, determined to commit it all to memory, to brand himself with it as clearly as the scars that littered his skin. Vash would have shaken his head to clear it but he didn't want to dissuade his friend from touching him. It occurred to him that maybe this was something he might have wanted to share with his friend for...how long? Two years gone now in the blink of an eye and it would be a lie to say he hadn't thought of Wolfwood in all that time. Hadn't considered the man who had seen through him to his core within mere minutes of meeting him, and hadn't wielded what he learned as a weapon. And that brought so much back to him, Wolfwood shaking his hand, leaning in close to confide in him, Wolfwood's arm slung casually across Vash's shoulder's like he wasn't the most... well *second* most dangerous person on this planet.

He searched the face of the man hovering above him, so awash in those memories and his dedication to making this a new one, that he almost lost track of what was being said. He replayed those words again and then felt them sink into his chest like a bullet. Warm blue eyes widened and then looked askance as he took it in, feeling some color rising to his cheeks. Of course he couldn't stay here forever. If Wolfwood had been able to find him here, it was only a matter of time before Legato and Knives followed and if that happened... Perish the thought. But the assertion that his presence in the world had been a good one? He was well aware that Wolfwood had penchant for stretching the truth, and thought it hadn't really troubled Vash overmuch, this didn't feel like one of those times. There was some sincerity in his voice. It had been there this whole time. Even if this wasn't the whole truth, it was part of it.

"Ha- I guess when you put it like that, it would be pretty selfish of me to stay."

[dapper-shipping-forever]

✍️ + vash + relief (comedic or serious, depending on the vibe…)

This is like, a half figured out something I kinda want to happen for them.

Lyric is a T.rigun oc and is a big player within my T.rigun s/i's backstory

---

Lyric stumbled to his feet. "Not done yet." He mumbled, body swaying as it straightened and he stood tall, blazing, intense rage burning fire within his eyes right now as he faced Vash. "I am not done yet." His voice was stronger. He was a beast, loosing his collection.

He extended his hand towards Gillian, and from the ceiling a dark luminescent tendril snapped out and struck directly to her, latching onto her at the back of her neck. She makes a strained sound as it attaches itself.

Vash can only take a panicked step towards her with his hand outstretched. Fear, guttural and physically painful, was plain within his eyes. "Gillian !" Her name tumbled from his lips.

She stumbled forward a step, back arching. Quickly, tendrils spread across her body from the main part. When the large tendril retreated seconds after it latched on to her, the small tendrils stayed, until they dissolved from her. Her body was like a puppet on slack strings, feet steady but torso flopped and swaying. Her friends watched her, all breathless. Slowly she rose, sluggish and unsteady. As soon as she was completely standing, it was obvious that there was something different within her eyes. They were vacant and steely, like a robot yet to have its anger directed at anyone and turned on.

Now, Lyric spread his arm out, in the direction of all her friends. There was triumph simmering behind his anger. "Now, subdo them ! Destroy those who stand in our way ! Crush Vash the Stampede right now !"

Her hands reach for the guns strapped onto her thighs. Reaching for the hilts.

Vash's arms slacken from where they held out his gun. "No, no come on, please wait."

Her fingers curl around the hilts.

Roberto, Merryl, and Nick seem unsure.

In a rush, she draws, aiming her guns at Roberto and Merryl. Pulling her triggers, long chains strike out and wrap around both of them, dropping them to the floor with echoed thuds.

Next, she points at Wolfwood, and though he's reluctant to hurt his friend he instinctively readies his gun to aim at her, but her reflexes are much quicker. She gets the first shot, and chains him as well. He falls, grumbling to himself something unheard by her distant ears.

Vash is next. And crush him she shall.

She readjusts her grips on the hilts, springing forward to rush directly to Vash. Her gun is aimed to clock him in the side of the face with all her strength. Vash simply stands in place. There isn't as much as the briefest flicker to entertain the thought of pointing his gun at Gillian. He can't. He won't. Fighting her in any way, shape, or form is impossible for Vash. Which means he's completely defenseless to her.

She closes the short distance, rears back her gun, and brings her arm in towards his face quickly.

And only a gust of air hits his face.

He looks to the side, and sees the gun she'd aimed at him inches from his face, but just held there, as close as possible without touching him, basically. Nothing seems to be stopping her as far as anyone there can tell, merely she has stopped in her place, almost completely frozen.

Vash locks eyes with her. Her eyes have not left his face once since freezing there. She looks almost confused, frustrated, maybe she's not sure why she's stopped either. But beneath that, it looks like she's fighting something else.

"What are you doing?" Lyric spits out. "CRUSH VASH THE STAMPEDE !"

Her gun flinches, like she's just starting to rear her hit back, but it stops again after that briefest flinch.

The entire time, Vash and Gillian continue to stare deep into each other's eyes, something breathless shared between them.

"I gave you a command ! You are mine, Gillian ! Do what I say !" Lyric growls.

A breath releases, and the next breath, she spins on her heels, and aims her gun at Lyric, eyes narrowed in simmering fierceness. The chain she shoots latches onto Lyric and binds his body. He drops to the ground, grunting.

She lowers the gun. "You can't make me hurt the people I love, Lyric."

As she approaches Lyric, the air around her unreadable, Vash notices her grip on the hilts of her guns tighten to where he knows it must hurt her, and he pointedly remembers that while she mostly shoots chains, she does have bullets loaded in those guns as well. "Gillian, wait." Vash pleads with her.

She stops right in front of the helpless Lyric, her small frame towering above him. Their eyes lock. "I can't forgive you for what you've done to me." She says. "But I can't hate you either. Because for the longest time, you did give me a friend when I had none." She holsters her guns, then chains on them clanking on her legs. "We can have you locked away somewhere for now."

She turns around and faces Vash, a smile on her tired face. "Hi." She says.

Vash feels his shoulders drop dramatically as relief floods his entire body, seeing she's good.

After a wordless agreement, they both quickly cross the couple steps it takes to be face to face, and the embrace the engulf each other in is the reminder they need that they're both unhurt.

"I'm glad you're here." Vash says, his breath ruffling her hair.

"Me too." Gillian says, her voice muffled in Vash's chest.

They stay like that for several seconds, just simply breathing in the other's scent and presence. Vash has his hands firmly gripping her shoulder and wait, shoulders curled towards her, as if he can surround her entirely and keep her there. She has her arms looped around his torso, holding him in a way to mold the contours of their bodies as pressed to each other as possible.

Roberto makes a noise in his throat from where he's laying face first on the ground. "This is cute and all. Mind releasing us? Lover birds." He grumbles the third sentence.

They step back, but only enough to look slightly flustered. Their arms stay around each other. "Sorry !" Gillian says, smiling sheepishly at her restrained team.

Vash's and Gillian's hands tighten on each other. Simply relieved to see hug each other as they are. Safe and happy.

[abelshot]

What's this? Wolfwood sneaking up behind the Stampede, getting riiiight up close to blow a whistle of air to the back of the shell in his ear. If the other were to strike or punch him, he'd be ready to duck! "Heh, what's gotten into you, blondie? You got that thousand yard stare."

usually, the stampede can keep himself in the present when his companion is around. usually he manages to keep his distant doubts at bay for long enough that the priest either doesn't notice or isn't given enough of a reason to get involved. they work that way, vash supposes. wolfwood doesn't pry or get too involved and vash doesn't push his fears on the other. still, the brush of warm air that grazes vash's ear has him ducking and spinning out of the way on instinct.

eyes wide, glasses skewed by the sudden movement, vash all but ends up sat on the ground in his scrambled attempt to get away from his would-be bounty claimer-- wolfwood? panic gives way to surprise and surprise soon gives way to confusion. thousand yard stare? he was just appreciating the scenery, watching the sun set with the usual bittersweet memories filling his head as they play on repeat over and over again...

okay, maybe he did have a thousand yard stare - fair play wolfwood.

hand lifts to brush fingertips 'gainst the shell of his ear where wolfwood has blown a whistle against his skin. it still prickles with the sensation. cerulean gaze softens at the realisation as the stampede gives in and settles back into the sand, adjusting his glasses again before he focuses fully on the priest. trust him to know when vash needed interrupting most, huh? "little old me? i was just--just enjoying the sunset, is--is there something weird about that? i can enjoy this view from down here, if you prefer that? wolfwood?"

the lopsided, tentative smile that works its way onto vash's lips doesn't quite reach his eyes.

[lost-technology]

Dumbest-Ass Crossover Idea That Someone's Gotta Do So It Might As Well Be Me, Someday, Maybe: So, given the recent resurgence of popularity of old franchises due to new material, and the nature of this particular fandom (Trigun) on Ao3 that I've noticed with lots of AU fics - haven't read them all, just seen the summaries (I've seen modern, coffee-shop, flower-shop, tattoo-parlor, Wolfwood moves to the Appliachians and Vash is a mysterious creature, one I started reading that was an AU sci-fi that was vaguely Jurrassic Park-ish featuring Wolfwood the game warden, some fusion with Game of Thrones that I started to read even though I've never read or watched GoT but went WTF at and something, something, unlucky twin-births and dragons...and anyway...) Why haven't I seen a Hunger Games fusion yet? Seriously, I'm pretty sure Hunger Games has gotten up into everything by now. I used to see crossovers of it everywhere in multiple fandoms. In fact, I have a giant multi-story series I was doing for a while on both fanfiction dot net and Ao3 where I fusioned it with Super Smash Bros. - which kind of makes sense because SSB is a fighting game, but I really did relish taking the innocent goofiness of Nintendo and making it high stakes where characters actually died gruesomely and had high drama because I am just sick and twisted that way! Anyway, my brain's chewing on Did You Get Trigun in my Hunger Games? Did you get Hunger Games in my Trigun?

Okay, so the biggest hurdle to this kind of thing is - I'd want a young Vash as the main character / arena-victor in the story. How's he gonna get out of it without killing? How's he gonna get out of it without killing and his whole thing of trying to save everyone? Probably will go like canon-Trigun, wherein he tries and fails... I don't want this to take place on Gunsmoke / Noman's Land because I kind of want the setup and lore of the Districts, so it would be an alternate universe in which SEEDS never left Earth and everything takes place in Panem. Because I don't want this to be "just insert character names here," I definitely would want Plants to exist. The Plants were created and different manufacture-types exist in different Districts, as well as backups and relays to support the various District industries and infrastructure. Vash and Knives were born to an energy-Plant operating in District 10, the Livestock / Meat District. Their names make perfect sense in this district, Vash being named for "cow" and Knives being for tools important to the District, respectively. (Yes, the entirety of this fusion idea comes from their dang NAMES)! Rem discovered and adopted them. She's the last survivor of a band of Covey that was separated from one of the main bands when the Districts were unified, her family having been round up in District 10 (distant relations in 12). She still sings her grandmother's old songs. Her full name is Remembrance Red Saverem, going by the tradition of having a color in the name. I'm not sure what ballad her first name would cite, but I could always bullshit a new Panem-specific one. Rem gets hung after being caught on subversive activities while Vash is in the games. Knives has to deliver the bad news when he gets home on the train. Knives goes full in on some of the rebellion-plans that Mom was involved in, but gets a little more mass-murder happy about it. Tesla is a Plant-child born in District 3. That is all I know. Feel free to brainstorm (Especially since this thing will probably never happen, I'm just spitballing ideas).

[dozenssporks]

*the video opens with a distant shot of Vash laying in the shade of a sand dune making a ‘snow’ angel*

Wolfwood, speaking from behind the camera: there he is, ladies and gents, the most feared outlaw in the tri-state area

Vash: only that infamous? my ratings have dropped.

Wolfwood slowly zooms in until it’s a close up of Vash’s face as he stares at the sky: you’ve been laying there for, like, an hour. Don’tcha have anything to do, you lazy bum?

Vash: I am contemplating. The life. The Universe. The everything. That cloud looks like a jelly doughnut. Now shush.

the shot slowly zooms out again and wolfwood whispers: I am bored out of my mind so I am going to do something drastic. Ready? Okay. *raising his voice* Hey, needle-noggin! What’s your opinion of America’s public transport system?

Vash, sitting bolt upright in a shower of sand: it’s The Worst! It’s patchy, incomplete, inconsistent! There are hundreds and hundreds of desolate miles where the only option is a car because nobody bothered to put a train there. Do you know what that means when you can’t drive? It means you walk! My boots have racked up more miles than a soccer mom’s SUV--

Wolfwood, whispering again: and off he goes . . .

^Vash gets up and begins to march around, waving his arms dramatically to emphasize his points or express his frustration. The camera calmly follows him back and forth. There are several cuts so Vash’s ranting jumps from point to point and country to country, a timer in the corner of the screen records how long he’s been talking, more than twenty minutes. The smooth dune becomes a a churning sea of footprints*

Vash, pointing sharply: --and that’s why England’s railway--!

Wolfwood, suppressing giggles: what about, dunno, Italy?

Vash: Italy, well, I got pick-pocketed on public transport there actually

Wolfwood: for real? someone picked the humanoid typhoon’s pocket?

Vash: yeah--oh! That reminds me, hang on!

*Vash dives forward, sliding to a stop at his destination on his knees. He pulls open his bag and rifles through the contents. Odds and ends spill out and a couple odd shirt-sleeves are trailing in the sand before he pulls out a wallet*

Vash: so um *pulls an id card out of the wallet and glances at it* Drusilla Zuccaro if you are watching this I’m sorry I took your wallet and forgot to give it back and forgot I still had it until just now. It was going to be a great bit where you thought you’d got my wallet but I’d got yours and I’d give it back and we’d laugh and you’d turn over a new leaf and never pick-pocket again. I, uh, kinda had to hoof it due to various misunderstandings and it slipped my mind. I’d offer to send it back to you but it’s been, uuhhh, five months? You’ve probably got a new id and stuff by now . . .

Wolfwood, voice shaking with suppressed laughter: there wasn’t any cash?

Vash, looking sideways: . . . it was only maybe fourteen euros and a guy on the run has gotta eat, you know

Wolfwood: vash the stampede committing petty theft? you disgust me

Vash, on his knees, hands pressed together: Scusami tanto, ti chiedo scusa dal profondo del cuore. Sono mortificato, chiedo scusa.

Wolfwood: yeah, yeah, so what are you gonna do about it?

Vash, sadly and a little sulky: Ti rimborserei ma non ho soldi

Wolfwood: Imma take a wild guess and say you’re saying you’re broke

Vash, muttering and drawing circles in the sand:  sì

Wolfwood: you’re a total deadbeat you know that, spiky?

Vash, throwing himself down into the sand, tears streaming down his face: leave me and my deadbeat feelings to die

Wolfwood: want some absolution?

Vash: keep your stupid little confession box away from me! Didn’t you hear me? I have no money! I’m already in debt!

*Vash continues to weep noisily as the camera pans over the dunes and setting sun*

Wolfwood: that was fun. next time I’m gonna ask him about, um, types of socks maybe. This is where I’d ask you to like and subscribe but y’all know we don’t work like that. Otherwise we’d be scamming you for donations and ol’ needle-noggin here would have money for bus fare. Buh-bye.

*video ends*