#always believing in vash and following him

[itachanta]

Meryl determined to save Vash

[ladybyakuya]

MOONLESS NIGHTS.

cws ✦ fem!reader, boyfriend!vash,pussy-drunk!nai, mention of ovulation, periods, consensual, m→f-oral-receiving, polyamory if you squint.

syn ✦ an impromptu movie night turns out to be more interesting than the movie.

✦ redirect to blog navigation.

“Oh my my Nai, are you okay?” Vash asks while he chuckles. You can feel his chest reverberate at your back but the sensation is too short-lived to be negligible. Nai does not respond to his brother, just hums as he buries his face deeper into your cunt. His nose is practically rubbing up and down at the apex of your pussy while his tongue is in between your folds.

Vash places a soft kiss against your temple. His hands are clamped over your knees keeping your folded legs far apart from each other providing Nai as much space as possible so that he can have a taste of you. Your ovulation period is going to end soon, maybe today or tomorrow or maybe now. Vash is going to make sure Nai remembers how you taste because you are going to taste different when your red week is over.

Nai has his eyes closed, hands underneath your thighs, fingers digging into your skin creating dips as he eats your pussy relentlessly. There is a yakuza movie playing on the television, a murder scene followed by a packed sequence of fighting but of course with jazz music playing in background. Needless to say, none of you are paying attention to the movie not even bothered enough to turn it off or turn the mute mode on. Vash said, “It’s a nice addition.”

You did not think a movie night with your boyfriend and his brother would end up with you being in between them. You can barely think swating his head away or moving or building up some sort of resistance. You do not want to move but have to keep the urge to buck your hips against Nai's face at bay because Vash would not like that. Vash just said, “Stay still baby. Stay still. Hmmm? ” to you, and when Vash says something in a firm even tone, you listen; you listen to him like the good pet you are to him, which is why he is sitting behind you with his chest against your back holding your legs for his dear brother, Nai. God! he's such a mess right now. You are no better. The velvet skin of the couch has turned into it's darker shade.

It actually started with mere a question.

“Nai, have ever gone down on someone?”

The crunch of popcorn seemed loud to your ears as Vash lets his arm encapsulate around your shoulders which was resting on the backbone of the couch a while ago.

“why are you asking?” You held your breath as another moment of silence lingers in the air.

“Just answer.” Vash states finally shifting his gaze on his brother who was still watching the movie, well at least tried to.

“No. Never. Didn't have the chance!”

What happened next was a delight to Vash’s eyes. You wet your bottom lip in a quick swipe of tongue.

Vash pulls you closer to his side saying, “Would you like to try?”

Nervousness crawled all over your skin and of course Vash noticed, you were his girlfriend after all. The room fell into silence once again, accompanied by a heavy tension that three of you were obviously aware of. Vash had always noticed the yearn in his brother's eyes from time to time for you. He is seeing it now so he did not hesitate one bit to explore more about it.

Vash brings his face near your ears whispering, “Why do you say love? Care to help my pathetic brother out?” It was not a question and you were aware of that.

Nai could hear him. The popcorn in between his index finger and thumb fell and rolled onto the floor. He could not believe his ears. Both of them were looking at you now and all you had to do was to nod.

And when you did, you did not had to do anything else. Just follow Vash’s lead that had Nai peeled off your jeans from your skin, followed by your underwear having your pussy at display as Vash held your legs open positioning you in Nai's direction.

Nai did not waste any time from putting his mouth in between your legs. In fact, you could feel how desperate and needy he became as he kept slobbering up your juices. You did not mind, neither there was any resistance of sort; just ownership and surrender. Nai could not get enough of you. Even though you came he kept going. Vash could feel how intense the orgasm was for you since the fingers that interlaced with Vash’s became too tight for a few seconds and then became so lithe that Vash almost felt lonely.

Nai straightens himself up to finally take a breather. With his wings and tentacles spreading out from his back, he looked so handsome, so divine, especially with that craving in his eyes for more. How come you never noticed it?

“Now,” Vash deadpanned, “kiss her.”

“But—” Nai hesitates so you hold his face in between your palms pulling him into a kiss. His breath hitches but he gives in. You kiss him quite long you think before you feel Vash’s cold hands slipping under your top, fondling your boobs over your bra. A moan escaped from you making Nai sink into your kiss deeper. You felt another pair of lips upon the croon of your shoulders, as Vash’s arms travelled down to your torso lifting you up a little to have you onto his lap.

Nai is now deprived of your soft candy flavoured lips. He looks at you with lustful yearn filled in his eyes. He just wants to be inside you.

“My turn,” Vash says as he positions you on his bare thighs. He can not wait to be inside you which is evident from how is cock protrudes from the slit in his crotch. He thinks that by the time the movie ends he will make sure that your hunger for this movie night is satisfied up to the brim. It was your idea to include Nai, after all.

networks | @interstellar-inn @the-all-stars-network @houseofsolisoccasum @pixelcafe-network @underratedcharactercorner

mutuals | @kentocalls @theoxenfree

[alexiethymia]

he makes her feel selfless and she makes him feel selfish

attempt at a meta or rather more incoherent gushing about these two

I love the contrast of the above scene, how Vash is joyous, all-smiling. While Meryl is wrecked, in tears. Most often, it seems that’s how they also remember each other.

Meryl likes to remember Vash happy and at peace. Vash remembers Meryl while she’s solemn and also a bit vulnerable. In a way, they inspire emotion in each other that’s hard for them to express. Vash has had a lot of sadness in his life, but while he will always wear a smile, I think he finds it harder to let himself be genuinely happy than to cry. Meanwhile, Meryl hates to cry. She hates to let down her guard and appear as if she can’t take care of herself, but with Vash, she really can’t help herself.

I ship WildeHopps (another goofy tall character hiding sadness with a smirk and a straight-laced, determined shorty. even their eyecolors are the same!) and I remember that there was a thing in the fandom about foxes that they can’t help but shout when they see their mate, and I don’t know how accurate the translations are, but even when they reunite again, Vash can’t help but shout out ‘Meryl!’ in happiness (seriously despite how surprised he was, he could’t help his smile. and he only called out meryl despite milly also being there, like rude, vash, if milly wasn’t such a sweetheart and loved you both to bits, but anyway, I digress…)

I really loved the fistbump (*cough indirect kiss cough*) scene so much because in asmuch as it was Vash comforting Meryl, it was also about him taking comfort in Meryl, which when we remember from his waterworks when Marlon called him out on it, he previously found really hard to do.

On Meryl’s side, we actually see that she has the same values as Vash. I love the Little Arcadia chapter/episode so much for this reason. Grandpa’s speech to Meryl about following your own path and your connection to your parents, resonated with her, but we as the readers also know that it’s something that would have also resonated with Vash. She wanted to resolve the conflict without anyone losing their life, and at first couldn’t understand why something like land would be more important than life. But push comes to shove, when she sees the resolve of someone to protect something, she puts her life on the line anyway. We even see traces of it in the anime with how she also shoots non-lethal shots, and that one time when she saved Vash, she shot the light to fall on the person instead of shooting the person. That sort of pacifism is present in her and Milly although they may not be as obvious about it as Vash, which is why despite himself, Vash finds himself growing closer to the girls and considering them as among his most important people despite the fact that he knew them only recently compared to the people from Home and Marlon. Even Milly’s principles regarding family bonds would also be something that would resonate with Vash, and it’s important that he was there in the shadows because I think that was the turning point in how he started to consider them his friends. So in a lot of ways, despite Meryl not wanting him to, I think Vash truly sees the vulnerability that she tries to hide. And I find it so believable and endearing that he would be drawn to her because of that similarity and connection between them.

they both inspire hope in each other

When I say that Vash inspires Meryl to be selfless, it’s in the way she will risk everything just so she can be there for Vash, to overcome fear and her own human limitations, just so she can hold him close. Vash (and through his connections with others like Luida) inspires in Meryl hope for a better world. At the same time, I always got the feeling that the type of love that Meryl felt was something she would be content to keep on giving to this person who always kept on giving to others, even when there was a chance that she would never get it back or have it returned. I imagine that she would have been fine with that as long as Vash felt that he was unconditionally loved.

When I say, Meryl makes Vash feel selfish, it is within the context that selfish for Vash is already a normal level or base desire of wanting to be happy in other people. I remember Legato’s observation of Vash, that he considered himself as having utterly no value in this world. Of course a person like that would be fine with dying!

But this person who considers himself worthless, eventually makes a promise like this.

Vash must know that there’s a high likelihood he’ll die. Someone as self-sacrificial as him wouldn’t want anyone, much less a person he cares deeply for, to be hurt by him. And yet he makes this ‘selfish’ request of Meryl anyways. And it matters so, so much that he does. Because it shows that he can consider himself as someone who can make another person happy. It’s a promise to her, as well as to himself, that he won’t let himself simply die. He wouldn’t anyway because of how much he values Rem, but with this promise, it feels like his wanting to live is finally something he wants to do for himself, and not just as a continuation of Rem’s memory. Like with the fistbump scene, this promise was as much for him as for Meryl. I know he still would have fought to live and to protect humans, but at the same time, in the wake of Wolfwood’s death, I also felt that he would have been at peace should he have died trying. So this promise was to tether himself (to her). It’s something to keep him fighting to live now that he knows there’s someone out there waiting for him, by his own actions at that. More than that or simply put, it’s just a simple thing of allowing himself to want something or someone.

And this is how Meryl inspires hope in him. All this time he’s loved humans, but it always felt like he was living beside them and not with them. He doesn’t know what it is with Meryl, maybe her sheer stubbornness, but somehow she ends up representing that hope, that possibility of finally living together with humans (with her). In contrast to Meryl’s hope, it’s a very simple and humane one. To have someone care for him, to have someone wait for him, to have someone to come home to, to have someone who loves him. And it’s funny that it seems that Meryl expects nothing in return for her overwhelming love for Vash, because Vash actually meets her halfway. He’s the one to initiate the kiss. He’s the one to make the promise and have her promise. Finally, he’s taking the chance of his happiness into his own hands and doing something about it. I just, I really can’t with them. No wonder I ended up being vashmeryl trash.

[mayfly-stampede]

why is Vash distant with Meryl and Roberto?

(warnings: long post ahead, ep 5-8 spoilers, Trigun maximum manga spoilers)

after saying they were friends

after he insisted in looking them inside the worm and risked his life to save them

After all that…

“They’re not my friends”

(Yes, that broke my heart too T_T)

what happened?

Well, we have to accept Vash has met and helped and saved A LOT of people in his life cause (SPOILER) he has lived many, MANY years.

In the manga, he meets a lot of people in his adventures and we don’t know if he sees them again (even though we know they’re worry about him and are waiting news from him). Rosa in TS is a reference to this. She met Vash time ago and talks with him like a good friend.

But Meryl and Roberto are just another two more he just met like many others before them. Have they done something important for Vash that makes them more special to him? …Not really.

Maybe in the car when Meryl is worried about Vash not eating in three days…and we know him, he could pretend to be asleep but actually is aware of everything. He could heard her…

nevertheless he says goodbye to them really easily. Specially cause he is going to confront his older brother and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, just like the friend he lost the day before.

And now he is distant with Nicholas too (SPOILER) cause after he defended him, he killed Rollo.

Clean, one shot…Impressive.

Who is Nicholas really? Why is he following Vash?

What if getting Nicholas away from the reporters and letting him believe Meryl and Roberto are not special to him is the best chance to keep them safe?

And when he reunites with them again, he is genuinely surprised and maybe worried like “I just got you out of my typhoon life and now you are here again??”

That reminds me all the moments in the manga when Vash recognizes he just can’t get rid of the insurance girls following him everywhere.

He is under their supervision to avoid disaster…but that gives them more like a passive role where they are just there keeping an eye over Vash.

at the beginning, the girls just follow him like Meryl stampede and Roberto are doing right now, and like Vash ‘23, Vash in the manga doesn’t interact too much with Meryl and Milly when they just met (he hides from them actually).

In 98’ anime, he asks them to stop following him when his situation was too dangerous for them.

And even though they’re good fight partners, Wolfwood is the only one who can fight side to side with him, so they have more adventures together most of the time without the girls.

Maybe that’s why we feel a cold relationship with Meryl and Roberto, cause Vash is always fighting and running…

And when Vash ‘23 sees them again he doesn’t have time to talk. He has to protect them and the other people in the sand-steamer, defeat the Bad Lads and then go back to help Nicholas, who actually does have a heart and has someone to protect, so he can’t be that bad…

And now that he knows they helped him in the sand-steamer all we can do is wait and see if their relationship evolves…

[pinkanonwrites]

It’s You I Like

Vash/Reader, songfic, 1500+ words I don’t normally write Isekai stuff for Vash but this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and I ended up liking it a lot so maybe I’ll do more little drabbles with this specific isekai!reader

"Well, at least we managed to stock up on everything before we left."

“...”

“You said the next town was, what? About forty iles? Doubt we’ll make that tonight, but it’s not too bad considering.”

“...”

“So I can set up the sleeping bags if you want to get a fire going, how ‘bout that Vash? …Vash?”

“...Hm? Oh. Oh! Y-Yeah, no problem… Here, here’s this.” Even though Vash responded to you, his gaze hadn’t yet left the direction the two of you had just come from as his bag thumped into the sand next to you. Or rather, not so much came from as fled from. You were just about to make yourselves comfortable at the local inn for the evening when someone managed to recognize your red-coated traveling companion, and it wasn’t long before the entire town was hot on your tail. Miraculously, somehow, the two of you managed to escape the hailstorm of bullets completely unscathed and with all your meager travel gear intact, but now you found yourself far past the outskirts of the town and left to your own devices in the barren wasteland.

Not like you had any room to complain though. Considering your sudden and unorthodox appearance in one of your favorite series, you'd much rather cling to the familiar presence of Vash the Stampede than risk your luck bumming around any other town on this desolate rock. How fortunate were you to not only find the spiky protagonist, but also to have him listen to and believe your wildly unbelievable tale of woe. Mentioning the SEEDS ships helped, you supposed. Now wherever Vash went you had no choice but to follow.

Again, though. Definitely not a complaint.

Vash was still quiet as the two of you cobbled together your camping site at the base of a large outcropping rock. There was a small smile on his face, framed by the fire's amber glow. But even without having read the manga and watched the anime you could tell it wasn't a real one. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You were probably looking forward to an actual bed tonight, huh?" He joked, gaze never leaving the small fire. "Welcome to the life of an outlaw! I assure you, it's always this glamorous."

"It's no big deal! Camping's not bad either, at least when you have the sleeping bags."

He didn't look convinced by your words, but he nodded anyway, an uncomfortable silence falling between the two of you. You kicked your boots off and pulled your knees to your chest on top of your sleeping bag, watching the fire crackle.

"...Is it hard?"

"Hm?" When you glanced over to Vash he was finally looking your way, elbow propped up on his knee and his cheek resting in his palm. Despite the casual pose there was a melancholy behind his eyes, a deep remorse. "Is what?"

"Running around like this. I doubt you're used to it."

"It's… Well I won't lie to you, it isn't easy." Vash barked out a laugh at your brutally honest response. You pushed forward, unabated. "But honestly? I'm probably safer with you than I am anywhere else on this planet. I don't know any people, any places… The only thing I really know is you." A prickling heat began to crawl up the back of your neck at your openness, and you rested the side of your head down on your knees as if it would deter the sudden fluster. "I'm really lucky you found me."

That seemed to catch Vash off-guard, as he began to awkwardly fiddle with his cybernetic hand as his gaze flitted around. "That's, uh, I mean… you've got a pretty skewed idea of luck, I think. Heh…"

There was an awkwardness that fell in the next extended silence too, but it wasn't quite the same. It was a little softer around the edges, more vulnerable. Off to your side you could hear the soft clinking of Vash disassembling and cleaning his gun, bits and pieces placed carefully across his sleeping bag to make sure nothing was lost in the shuffle. As you stretched your legs out in front of you in a v-shape, you hummed softly to yourself as you watched the embers stir and crumble into the sand. 

"What song is that?" You glanced at Vash, biting back a chuckle at his furrowed expression, tongue peeking from his teeth as he stared down the empty chambers of his revolver with a cleaning pick and a look of intense focus.

"It's a children's song from home. It's from an old TV show, I think." You hummed the first line a little louder, just enough so Vash could hear the melody over the fire's crackle. You doubted he even knew what a "TV show" was, but he didn't seem too fazed by it.

"Do you like to sing?"

"I like it. I'm average, I think, but I always have fun when I'm singing." Out of the corner of your eye you could see Vash looking at you again. "Oh, absolutely not. Not gonna happen."

"Hey, I didn't even say anything!"

"You didn't have to! I could tell by your face! I'm not gonna sing, it's embarrassing."

"No it's not! Besides, you said you like it. And it's a song from Earth, too! I wanna hear it." He probably didn't even realize it, but he was flashing you those big, sad puppy-dog eyes that he didn't yet know you couldn't resist. You let out a small, irritated whine, hand finding the back of your neck and resting on the flushed skin there as you drew your gaze back to the crackling fire.

"...Fine. Just this once. And don't… Don't say anything weird."

"You got it!" You could see him salute out of the corner of your eye, and couldn't help the quiet snort of laughter that came from you in response. Dork. The quiet click-clack of him beginning to reassemble his firearm returned, so now was as good a time as ever, you supposed.

"It's you, I like."

There was a sharp tink! of Vash fumbling part of the barrel and it clattering down into the remaining pile of gun parts, but you were far too self-conscious to glance over and gauge his expression.

"It's not the things you wear. It's not the way you do your hair, but it's you I like."

You could feel him staring, but you kept your eyes locked on the low, rolling flames.

"The way you are right now, the way down deep inside you. Not the things that hide you…"

Stretching your foot out just a bit, you tapped next to the pile of gun parts sorted neatly on his sleeping bag.

"...Not your toys, they're just beside you."

He chuckled, so quietly that he probably didn't expect you to hear it. But you did, and it made your face positively burn. 

"But it's you, I like. Every part of you. Your skin, your eyes, your feelings, whether old or new."

You couldn't ignore Vash's continuous shifting around any longer, flicking your gaze over to him. He'd turned himself completely to face you, cross-legged, chin perched in his palm, a look in his eyes so soft it made your heart feel like it was thundering right up against your ribcage. Your voice wavered for just a note, but you pushed forward.

"I hope that you remember, even when you're feeling blue."

Blue, so blue, his deep cyan eyes finding yours and not flitting away, watching you so gently, yet so intently. Despite your embarrassment, you couldn't find it in yourself to look away either.

"That it's you, I like. You yourself, it's you…"

He seemed to lean in at your every word, like a sailor to a siren. You hardly found your singing to be enough to hypnotize like mermaids in old fairy tales, and yet here he was.

"It's you, I like."

With your song ended, the silence that stretched between you was only interspersed by the soft crackle of the fire. A sharp humiliation suddenly rushed through you, face burning hot at your own vulnerability. Seeming to blink his way out of a trance, Vash began to speak.

"That was-"

"GOODNIGHT VASH!" You yelped, quickly rolling over and burying yourself in your sleeping bag facing away from him, the edge of the fabric pulled all the way up to your nose. He didn't push, letting you curl up and wallow in your own embarrassment, the clicking of his continued gun reassembly peppering the background silence.

And then he began to hum. Quietly, carefully, he felt out the unfamiliar melody.

"It's you, I like."

You could hear the smile in his voice.

"It's not the things you wear."

Warmth blossomed in the pit of your chest, curling up around your heart and settling fluffy and light. He was a good singer as well, his lack of familiarity with the song the only thing slowing him down. But he continued, metal bits and parts snapping together under careful hands as he sang your song.

"It's not the way you do your hair…"

Eyelids dipping heavily, you let them slide shut, Vash's voice filling the empty wasteland and pooling low and sweet in your tired mind.

As sleep began to fog at the corners of your mind, you were completely oblivious to Vash's fond gaze upon your bundled-up form as you began to drift into unconsciousness.

"...but it's you, I like."

[totallynotsilversora]

Can we appreciate and analyze how impeccable Vash’s skills as a marksman is bc I hadn't noticed anyone talk about it in length and this gif literally drives me insane:

Content warning: mentions guns / gun and shooting below the cut because otherwise this analysis would be moot.

This is coming from someone who used to only shoot air rifles for sport like how you'd see it in the Olympics with paper targets!

Ok so as I’ve said I've shot guns before (not at anyone ya sickos) and believe me when I say that Vash has such a good steady aim his arm doesn’t even bend when he moves it - he moves it from the shoulder/ his waist to keep that arm straight and relaxed as possible, which is crazy because that gun looks like a BRICK made of solid metal. There's no way that thing is light, there's definitely some weight to it, but the way he moves it is smoother than most people I've seen lift a credit card.

Now it’s not unusual in sport to have at least some tiny weight on the end of the barrel to keep it steady and act as a counterbalance but that’s like Olympics, not a fight. Vash may be superhuman but I don’t think carrying a cross like the Punisher would make fighting any easier, so it’s safe to say holding a decently heavy chunk of metal filled with lead isn’t easy either (I’m pretty sure the humans we’ve seen so far held their guns with two hands either due to weight or stability and they're not so smooth anyways).

So him tracking someone with a gun like that in only ONE HAND is kind of impressive even at that close range bc it doesn't matter how many times you hit your mark, your barrel would NOT be as steady as Vash in that gif unless you're this gif of Kobeni from CSM:

Even that scene in episode 3 when Vash is aiming at Knives (which I can’t find a good gif of) he doesn’t move the barrel at ALL until he has to lift it and follow Knives’ head. No shaking, no wobble, not even the SLIGHTEST figure 8 you’d normally get when you aim down a barrel - it’s a smooth turn of his wrists following Knives’ head up.

And that’s all from EXPERIENCE. Look at the two gifs below:

You can literally see how much he’s improved since he lost his arm - he’s expectantly super wobbly compared to the last gif in episode 2. He notably doesn’t “force” the gun to stay in one spot and aim where it needs to be - he raises it then let’s it “settle” on where he’s aiming to shoot before firing. A good shooter knows how to aim and take the shot before they lose the target w/o moving (called “following through”), but a great marksman knows that when it comes to shooting you should never fight against the body’s natural tendencies to move the way it wants to even when you’re aiming at something because you’re less likely to wobble or move when your body is relaxed and comfortable. Moving it away from that position will cause you to quiver and inevitably try to return to that same comfortable position against your will. That’s not just something you pick up on naturally - you have to LEARN that shit.

Which means Vash literally took the time to either completely unlearn every single one of his body’s natural ticks in order to shoot like a pro OR he learned how to work along with each one so his aim was always on point. Either way, it took him 150 years of practice to reach that level and it definitely paid off for him I think!

There’s a bunch of other ticks I noticed, too, like him keeping his trigger finger on the side of the gun if he’s not aiming to shoot anything in that moment but still has the gun in his hand so he doesn't accidentally misfire:

Or how he never keeps one eye closed bc the twitching WILL make you shake and lose focus so he always keeps both eyes open when aiming so he sees better:

But this post is long enough as is and I think we all get the idea that he’s that fricking good at using a gun.

TL;DR Studio Orange did a fantastic job convincing me that Vash is an INSANELY GOOD marksman and this is coming from someone who used to shoot air rifles for sport and had an incredible coach who would also agree with me and say this guy’s aim is surreal if he ever watched this show. Also his reload speed is absolutely demonic too like what the actual hell-

EDIT: added that scene from episode 3 just to show you guys what I meant (sorry it's low quality but you get it!!! Also the fact he's keeping his finger on the trigger bc he knows how unpredictable Knives is and could strike him down at any moment just shows how confident he is at keeping his hand steady bc if he were shaking he would DEFINITELY have misfired by now).

[eilwen]

And they say romance is dead.

Joking aside, Vol. 8 further solidifies my appreciation for Meryl.

Hopefully I can put my long-winded thoughts into concise words when it comes to writing women/female characters and why I loved Meryl in the manga even when she's absent for a chunk it from Vol. 7 onward.

Good 'women/female writing', to me, is not just having more lines, more screen presence or more visibility because you can easily write a character that ticks all of those boxes and still be a shell, still be poorly written, still be misused and still fall into numerous stereotypes. Though we are seeing more female characters onscreen/on paper these days, there are still traps of 'women written by men usually for men or what they think a woman wants' with some variations (and of course some women can also find difficulty in writing women). Then there are times when women characters who are so incredible or powerful, they come off as unbelievable, as if writing a woman character is sometimes treated similarly to handling glass. Some writers are afraid to write women well, believing that it’s 'safer' to have the character be amazing and flawless than forgotten or absent (which can be problematic in a different way).

I love manga-Meryl because I know Meryl's arc, faults, growth, struggles etc.... Nightow really puts her through the ringer. We don't see her much in the later volumes once things get heavy since she's not the series' protagonist, but we learn that she has a full journey post-Colnago. Eventually she, as a person who is not super-powered in the way other characters are, assists Vash in the best way she can.

Vash is a plant, the Humanoid Typhoon, all these other labels, but he calls himself a simple gunman. So, when Meryl is the one to make sure that he has a gun despite everything she had experienced... ah, I had a lot of feelings.

Vol. 8, Ch. 3. ... God damn.

One of the best things Nightow did in Trimax was to write Meryl with doubt and fear and break her away from Vash in Vol. 6, because having a woman follow and care for a man blindly is frankly boring and adds little depth to a friendship or a relationship.

(This praise also extends to how Nightow writes Luida - but those are thoughts for some other time.)

I am also considering Meryl as one representation for humanity in Trigun Maximum's narrative. She is the ordinary person who has been unwillingly forced to witness devastation, destruction, loss etc. and is expected to continue after that. That is a difficult thing to overcome... and then to grapple with the idea of assisting that same force... I imagine that this is a very difficult responsibility. There are war films (good and bad films, from a range of nations) that touch on this theme of responsibility.

I'd like to think that real courage is understanding and overcoming a fear instead of having none.

And then in Vol. 8, Meryl does a small act. She asks someone else to help - something that Marlon later tells Vash to do (let his friends help him, I mean). Without grandeur. Kind of anti-epic. However, this small act is extraordinarily powerful because without that gun, Vash is unable to proceed.

We sometimes view power in such a black and white way when power can be asking someone else for help, trusting someone else, and not have it be about you.

Vol. 8, Ch. 5. A Marlon panel is always a good panel.

I love how Nightow illustrates this. In these panels, Vash is hearing Marlon talk about a 'guest'. Marlon never mentions Meryl's name. We know it's Meryl because we know what the back of Meryl's head looks like (and her legs, haha) but Vash is not seeing what we are seeing.

And yet, Vash knows.

[badgerthebeast]

Vash was an array of problems, wasn't he?! Troubles were following hard after him. Also when these inshurance girls came  like a bolt from the blue, he didn't expect everything would end this way.

He was liying on the clean bed (which wasn't easy to find), Meryl by his side,

her smooth warm skin against his flacky and scarred. He was caressing her belly, while Meryl was reading his body like a map: craters, cavities, erosions and blemishes.

"Where did you get this scar?" - She asked suddenly pointing at the mark on his right arm.

"You know how it always happens" - Vash said vaguelly.

"Can you add more detailes?" She demanded yawning.

"Okeeeey" - Vash drawled unwillingly.

He didn't want her to know all the tortures he had been through, he didn't want her to suffer, and most of all he didn't want to be pitied. So, he basted up a ballad to his bravery where he fought many bad gangsters with big guns not killing anyone (of course) and saved a town with all its citizens. When Vash finished his story he found Meryl was sleeping easily hugging him fondly.

And he believed that her love, although it would not heal the scars on his body, could cure the heart wounds.

[tenabrye]

Cute and simple “love at first sight” headcanons for vash and knives please?

Thank you! I love your writing and i hope you are doing ok!

Vash

He is the type to see someone and go, "That one right there is for me". Once it's been decided, nothing can change his mind. He just can't see himself loving anyone but that person, no matter how hard he may try.

Now Vash knows what he is and how he can't age, but he doesn't let that stop him when he sees you for the first time. He feels as though time has stopped around him as he watches you, eyes wide and bright as his lips form a small O shape. When you met his eyes and smiled at him, he felt his heart flutter.

He then snapped out of his trancelike state and mimicked your smile, soon heading over and wasting no time with introductions. He had to know everything about the person that interested him so much. That caught his heart the second he laid eyes on them.

Vash has always heard people talk about their love at first sight stories, not really thinking much of them until now. Was this what it was? To be so captivated by someone like this? To want to know everything about a complete stranger? To want you and only you?

The conversation between the two of you flowed with ease, as though everything felt just right between you both. He liked this feeling you gave him, even though you were nothing more than a stranger.

Vash had never met someone like you before, having enjoyed the conversation that went on for what seemed like hours since it was now dark. He offered to walk you home, asking if you'd like to spend tomorrow with him. He grinned when you said yes.

Knives

His love at first sight is a little more possessive than his twin's, perhaps a lot more. At first, he won't realize the feeling he has when you're in his sights, and as unfamiliar as it is, he knows that it's nothing bad or dangerous to him. In fact, he slowly grows to like it.

This feeling is what causes him to want to know everything about you while not directly asking you. Instead, he'll act as a secret admirer, and he is heavy on the secret part. You may feel as though someone is watching or following you, however, you never see or hear anyone, so you think nothing of it.

Knives is methodical with his planning, having everything down to the last detail, He leaves small trinkets and things you may have had your eyes on at your doorstep or where you can easily find them, and he's always around when you find them. A strange fluttering sensation occurs in his chest every time he sees you smile happily at the items.

He was ready when the time came to meet in person. He did wonder what you would think of him, though. Was he who you imagined was behind the gift giving? The one that would leave those little letters on your doorstep. He knew everything about you at this point, yet you knew nothing about him.

Finally meeting face to face and having quite the conversation, he realized why you had piqued his interest so much. He believed it to be childish at the whole love at first sight thing, yet this moment proved otherwise. He enjoyed the time with you, slowly craving more of it.

He would ask if you would enjoy an evening with him tomorrow night, his eyes relishing in the way you smile and agree to his offer. Knives always thought that only fools experienced love at first sight and, if so, then maybe he, too, would be considered one of those fools. A lovestruck fool.

[collieii]

i really like how trimax constantly emphasizes that vash's kindness is a choice, a deliberate and powerful one. it contrasts him so well to knives, who's so disdainful towards humanity as a whole. but vash actually interacts with people and is involved in society. and, by extension, he's been hurt by it so many times. but despite this he chooses love everytime and defends humanity.

meanwhile, knives has never participated, always seems to watch people from a distance. still, he makes claims about the cruelty of humanity, and he uses the idea of human cruelty to justify his actions, despite the fact that he's likely never directly been victim to it the same way vash and the other plants have. not to understate the whole tesla situation, but he assumes that he has the authority to decide the fate of humanity, even though out of every plant he's probably not the one who's in the position to make that sort of decision. (and frankly, it's not a decision any single individual should be making)

so this moment is so poignant, though vash might not be directly talking about himself we know it applies to him, we know how much violence he's suffered. it's written on his skin (his shirtlessness in that scene is very pointed). and we know that knives hasn't really experienced that. and knives is ultimately very self absorbed, he assumes he knows what's best for the plants and what they want, so he uses them to achieve his goals without consulting them. unlike vash, who as we see in the finale, has made efforts to communicate with the plants (communication and connection is such a big thing with vash!) he's familiar with them, and they him, and that's one of the reasons they seem more willing to follow vash's path than knives.

the difference between vash and knives is that vash sees everyone as an individual with inherent value. knives is unwilling to do this and he turns groups into monoliths, refuses to see individuals or nuance.

one of the big ideas of trigun is that conflict occurs because people don't see those around them as individuals. so what really saves the day isn't guns or firepower, but understanding between people. vash helps facilitate this understanding between humans and plants because they're all familiar with him, he's put a lot of effort into getting to know everyone! and with everyone he meets he embodies the idea of love and peace, helps them believe that cooperation is possible.

[multiverse-imagines]

A/N: y'all, let me tell you that when they revealed Tristamp Vash had eating issues, I bawled. Like, baby no! please eat food! You deserve so much better!! So enjoy!

Eat, Dearest

The team sat around the campfire. Roberto, Wolfwood and Meryl were chatting as they ate their food. The night sky above them set the atmosphere, adorned with a billion stars. You on the other hand, couldn't take your eyes off of the Sad sap stampede sitting next to you.

To be fair, an entire town got demolished, and a lot of people died today. Knives ran off with another plant. Today was a major loss in this quiet war between the two Plant brothers.

Vash's food sat uneaten before him, he followed along with the conversation the other three were having. He was merely an observer at this time, though. His mind was obviously elsewhere.

You knew about Vash's self punishment when it came to food. Although you hadn't seen it in person, but you'd heard from Meryl about Juneora Rock, and Vash not eating for three days afterward.

Finished with your own food, you gently brushed your fingers against his, gaining his attention. He flinched as he was brought back into his body, giving you a loving look.

The two of you had been partners for a few weeks now. You had to reassure him constantly that the two of you would be okay, that you would always be by his side, and if he said run, you were faster than lightning. You trusted Vash, and you wanted him to believe it. You weren't going to treat him like all of the other people who had betrayed him in the past.

"Hey," you returned his loving look, "you better eat. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"I'm… not really hungry…" he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, a liar's chuckle coming from him.

"Vash… you need to eat." You chastised, but your voice gently said, "Please?"

"I'm fine, Mayfly. I don't need anything to eat." He leaned in for a kiss, and you grabbed the sandwich on his plate, and held one end in your mouth.

"No kisses until you eat." Your voice came muffled behind the bread. Vash pouted. You had the attention of the rest of the group now, but you and Vash ignored them. Vash's eyes were locked with yours, showing how serious you were about this. He sighed, and took a bite of the opposite end of the sandwich. Chewing, swallowing. Another bite, repeat. Soon, the only part left was the part you held in your teeth, which you ate. You smiled, caressing his cheek.

"Thank you, Dearest. You did such a good job." You leaned in, giving him a kiss. He gave a shy smile and blushed at the praise.

"Th-Thanks, Mayfly… I guess I was hungry after all."

"Your stomach was the one ratting you out. They could probably hear it in space." You smiled, cuddling up to him.

--

Later that night, the two of you lie cuddled up in your sleeping bag.

"Hey, Mayfly?" Vash whispered, "Thanks again for earlier."

"Anytime, Dearest. You need to eat just like the rest of us. There's nothing wrong with that. You deserve to eat."

"I-I know, it's just, I don't have to-"

"I don't care if you technically don't have to. Plant genetics be damned, you will eat, Vash Saverem. You will keep your stomach content at minimum with food as often as possible. You have to listen to your body." She chastised.

"Oh, shit, using my last name? I'm really in trouble now." Vash giggled quietly. He loved hearing his last name, honestly, even if you didn't use it often.

"Damn right, Dearest. I mean business." You nodded with determination, your face softening and giving him a gentle kiss, "and now it's time to rest. I'll be right here to chase those icky nightmares away, okay?" You pet his hair, and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Okay, Mayfly… I'm counting on you…" he snuggled into your chest, and you gently pet his hair until you could tell he was asleep. You soon fell asleep as well, knowing Vash would sleep soundly despite today's events.

[brucebocchi]

Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 3: #10-6

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here and part 2 here.

I didn't mean to drag this out quite so much, but I ended up writing a TON for the top 10, so for the sake of everyone's attention spans (and so I can buy some time to finish my top two) I broke it up into two more posts.

​ALSO! I've embedded a link to each show's OP in the title of each entry. I wanted to give more of a visual element to each show outside of the header images, plus there have been some incredible OPs this year. I've gone back and edited them into the prior posts as well.

10. Trigun Stampede

It’s funny, I had fond memories of watching Trigun on Adult Swim in my adolescence, to the point where I used to count it among my all-time favorite anime for a while, but I didn't realize until this year that I hadn't actually sat down and watched it from beginning to end. It’s honestly a very uneven watch, and it’s clearly split into two parts: The first, a dieselpunk western revolving around a mysterious goofball with a big-ass gun and a bounty on his head, and the second a slightly more somber revenge quest as he is forced to survive his way past a rogues gallery while vowing not to take any lives. Still, it was a hit among western anime fans for a reason, and it was formative to me even back when I thought anime was kinda cringe.

Trigun Stampede is far from a faithful reinterpretation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga nor of the original Madhouse production. Meryl Stryfe is no longer a jaded veteran insurance adjuster but a much younger muckraking journalist. She’s no longer tailed by the gentle giantess Milly Thompson, but rather following her senpai, the gruff, bleary-eyed Roberto De Niro (the names in Trigun have always rocked). Nicholas D. Wolfwood isn’t an affable priest with a dark past; he’s all dark past now. And Vash the Stampede, now rocking a fuckboy undercut, is less of a mercurial wisecracker with a soft side and more of a reluctant gunman freaking it in a sensitive style. 

Stampede wastes no time differentiating itself from any previous version of Trigun. Vash’s history is no longer a mystery waiting to be uncovered; it’s a driving factor of the plot as his brother Knives seeks revenge on humankind for their use and exploitation of “plants,” an alien race to which the two seem to be connected, as an energy source. This was always an element of the original anime that I felt went unexplored, so it was fascinating to see Stampede dive right in. It’s a great introduction to the story for people who haven’t seen the original, and full of unexpected turns for existing fans. It’s still built on the bones of Trigun as we know it, but it is very much its own thing. 

People made a lot of hay about Vash’s new appearance, but I think it works. The huge pleather trench coat, spiky flat-top, and tiny glasses remain an iconic 90s design, but I believe the 90s is where it belongs. This take on Vash is just as capable but much more self-effacing, tortured, and averse to violence. This is a younger Vash, and it’s clear that his history with Knives is a much fresher wound, rather than the dull, nagging ache in the original. This is a gentler (but no less talented) Vash, so I think the softboy look suits him this time around.

I also spent most of the season quietly insisting to myself that the original version of Meryl is much better (and cuter) than the Stampede variant, and I still stand by that, but the updated version definitely grew on me. I mean, just look at that hat. But it’s clear from the jump that Stampede’s first season is very early in this version of the Trigun story (you may notice that the bounty on Vash’s head is much, much less than the famous 60 billion double-dollars), and Meryl has some growing to do (and presumably a whole lot of professional frustration) before she becomes something like the one we knew and loved around the turn of the 21st Century.

I’m still yet to watch Beastars, but it’s immediately apparent why Studio Orange was entrusted with the Trigun IP. This show looks incredible. This is some of the best CG animation I’ve ever seen outside of a Pixar or Spider-Verse movie. Characters are amazingly expressive and oscillate between naturalistic, weighty movement and cartoony flailing. Action scenes are inventive and dynamic and stand up to even the wildest sakuga. And yet, it still looks like an anime. It still retains the classic 24fps look and even occasionally trades in the CGI for hand-drawn animation for effect. We are long past the botched Berserk revival: This is what CGI anime should look like.

It’s plainly obvious that Trigun has always carried influences from landmark western media like Mad Max and Dune (not to mention Fist of the North Star, but that one always wore its Mad Max influence on its sleeve), so it’s been an unexpected delight to see those influences take a new shape now that both franchises have seen major updates since the last iteration of Trigun went off the air. For all of the alien technology and technicolor glowing lights, Trigun takes place entirely in a desert setting, and it’s impossible to see these chase scenes and not immediately think of Fury Road, or halfway expect to see Villanueve’s take on the Fremen popping out of the dust clouds. 

Stampede is a very welcome entry to a franchise long believed to be well and truly over, and the more eyeballs on Trigun, the better. It’s evident by the end of this season that this take on the story is only just beginning, and it has already taken unexpected departures from the story as we already knew it. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, but that’s mostly because we have confirmation that Milly will be in the next season. It can’t get here quickly enough.

9. Insomniacs After School

I watched and read a frankly absurd amount of romance-centric anime and manga this year, especially of the slice-of-life variety, to the point where even by the early summer I thought I'd had my fill. I'm overjoyed to say that Insomniacs After School proved me dead wrong.

What a treat this was. It's a simple enough premise: A boy with insomnia is sent on an errand to his high school’s abandoned observatory, where he finds a classmate sleeping because she suffers from insomnia as well. They quickly find out that the observatory is a perfectly quiet environment for the both of them, and that they actually get restful sleep around one another. In order to get away with making use of the area, they resurrect the school’s astronomy club and find a genuine love for astrophotography and, you guessed it, one another.

You couldn’t have picked a more apt studio to adapt this work than Liden Films. Call of the Night made a splash last year for its saturated, vibey nightscapes, and Insomniacs’ gorgeous astral visuals carry that mantle. The nighttime backdrops of the quiet suburbs, wide-open beaches, and lush countryside are nothing short of stunning, and Isaki’s adolescent wonder at the world’s hidden beauties reminded me, and I do not say this lightly, of something Miyazaki would’ve animated.

On a couple of occasions this year, I’ve been able to step back from an anime, take a breath, and simply say “That was beautiful.” Insomniacs gave me one such occasion. Even putting the visuals aside, the story itself is lovely and would have made this the feel-good anime of the year, if not for the next entry on this ranking. I would have more to say, but Insomniacs After School speaks for itself. Give it a shot.

8. Skip and Loafer

There are so many standalone adjectives I could use to describe this one, and most of them are ones that would normally make me want to impulsively run the other way like “comfy,” “feel-good,” “wholesome,” what have you, but I think the most comprehensively I can boil it down to a single word is “lovely.” Everything about it just gives you the warm fuzzies, and almost makes me think that the “I want more stories with no conflict” dorks might actually be onto something.

It’s a simple one: Mitsumi, a dorky teenage go-getter with her entire life planned out, moves to Tokyo from her no-horse beach town to attend one of the country’s best prep schools, but much like everyone who played the first two hours of Persona 5, she quickly gets lost in Shibuya’s subway station on the first day of school. She runs into Sousuke Shima, a laid-back boy from the same school who’s also running late, because that’s, like, what he does, and manages to wrangle him into running to school with her.

Mitsumi quickly draws attention from her classmates, not only from delivering a speech as the incoming class representative (and subsequently barfing all over her teacher), but because she inadvertently made fast friends with the hottest, most popular first-year in the school. This attracts the attention of social climbers and jealous hangers-on, but Mitsumi hardly notices. She’s used to knowing everyone in her school back home, so she wastes no time reaching out and seeing what’s up with anyone who’ll give her the time of day.

A lot of Skip and Loafer revolves around the roles for which we think we’re destined in a controlled social environment like high school, and how easily the preconceptions you have of other people can be shattered if you just get to, like, talk to them for 20 seconds. Mitsumi’s friend group quickly fills itself out with people who wouldn’t give each other so much as a passing glance at first, but come together so naturally that you almost can’t believe they weren’t friends already.

Shima, for his part, also struggles with those preconceptions; for as laid-back as he seems on the surface, he’s a habitual people pleaser and is constantly playing a role. He’s so caught up in the performance that he doesn’t quite know what’s going on half the time or how he really feels about most things. Mitsumi is so naturally magnetic, though, that he does seem to genuinely enjoy his time with her, and vice versa. You can see where this is headed, if the gorgeously-animated dances they do together in the OP weren’t enough of a tell.

Everything about Skip and Loafer is just downright pleasant. Character models are simple and sketchy, the color palette is awash in pastels and neutral tones, and the soundtrack is peppy and whimsical. It’s a warm hug of a series, and at no point does it feel cloying or manipulative. High school slice-of-life is pretty bloated as a genre, and I watched a ton of those this year, but there’s just something so charming and magnetic about Skip and Loafer that instills in me a sort of false nostalgia for the ideal high school experience I never had.

Also: Nao-chan. Exceptional trans representation. We do not get enough of that in anime and she is a breath of fresh fucking air. I would die for her.

7. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

And now for something much less wholesome.

I really don’t seek out harem anime. Tenchi Muyo was formative to me as a tween, and a rewatch last year ended up being a major catalyst in getting me back into anime, but despite it being widely considered the second-ever harem anime, it hasn’t left much of a legacy in the ones that followed. Harem anime from the 00s onward has largely been formulaic wish-fulfillment slop that runs itself in circles as a perpetual money-making machine rather than developing any sort of plot (see: Hina, Love and Girlfriend, Rent-a-). I know I covered Girlfriend Girlfriend earlier, and while that’s nothing like Tenchi either, it does scratch an ever-present itch for stupid, madcap, relentless anime bullshit.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, [...] Really Love You, meanwhile, sees that itch and takes a fucking chainsaw to it. To say everything about it is over-the-top would be an understatement: The top is Hyakkano’s floor. This show gives you everything you could ever want in a harem comedy, but to the extreme: It is your dad making you smoke the whole carton. It is Hell’s donut machine, and you are Homer Simpson. Satire is often at its best when it pushes the boundaries of absurdity, and 100 Girlfriends revels in that push like a horny bulldozer. This is not genre subversion, it’s genre explosion.

The headcount isn’t the only wildly outsized element of this series; every single member of the titular harem, each a tick on the checklist of every -dere archetype you can imagine, pushes the slider of each of their character tropes so far to the right it’s breaking the track. The deredere is a ball of deranged horniness, the tsundere betrays her intentions so compulsively that she’s functionally incapable of lying, and the kuudere is so robotically devoted to pure efficiency that it’s salient to mention that her name is literally pronounced “Nano A.I.” If you can think of an anime girl archetype, she is in this (or will be in future seasons), and she is the apotheosis.

And yet, this show still bothers to make each one of them an actual character. Harem anime has such a low bar to clear on that front, yet most entries in the genre still bang their dicks against it. Hyakkano's titular girlfriends, at least the ones introduced in the first season, are actual characters with actual backgrounds, actual motivations, actual growth, and actual reasons to like the protagonist beside the premise. They’re all founded on stock anime tropes, to be sure, but the original manga’s author actually put in the work to give them, you know, personalities. And above almost all else, they actually like each other too! This isn’t exactly a full-on polycule (though two of the girls are prone to making out with each other on occasion), but for as deeply weird as this family unit is on paper, they actually come across as a group of people who love and care for each other rather than everyone cattily jockeying for the same position. 

And not for nothing, but Rentaro is easily one of the best harem protagonists I’ve ever seen, and again, this is coming from a Tenchi Muyo fan. I do enjoy Naoya’s over-the-top earnestness in Girlfriend Girlfriend, but Rentaro is the gigachad version. He is exceedingly patient, kind, and understanding of each of these girls’ unique quirks and qualities and quickly grows to learn to manage them in conflict and help them work through their insecurities, and he loves them back in kind and puts in the work to make equal time for each of them. He doesn’t want to “fix” these girls; he sees them for who they are and proactively does everything in his power to accommodate them. He's like if Tadano from Komi Can’t Communicate actually got the harem he deserved. Putting aside the fact that he’s, y’know, 100-timing his girlfriends, he comes across as just a really good partner.

I also want to be clear: For its rampant, fanservice-laden anime bullshit, this show is genuinely hilarious. It’s not some kind of “how did this shit even get made” trainwreck; it is a comedy first and foremost, and the comedy hits exactly as intended. The comic pacing is buckwild, the visual gags are so rampant that they’re almost difficult to keep up with, and the translators, at least in the version I watched, did an outstanding job of localizing the constant wordplay. It’s also so unapologetic in its horniness that you can’t help but admire it a bit; 100 Girlfriends knows exactly what it’s about, and it dares you to say something.

There’s a very good chance this won’t be for you. 100 Girlfriends is constantly pushing the boundaries of good taste, but never in an offensive way and never truly at its characters’ expense. Geoff Thew calls it the “most 'harem' harem anime,” but I'd argue that it’s the most "anime" anime: It is every trope you’ve ever seen in romcom anime cranked up to a thousand and smushed up against your nose. This shit hits like Panera lemonade. It is peak trash. If you have a tolerance for anime bullshit, this show may very well test that, but I still cannot recommend it enough.

6. Heavenly Delusion

Didn’t think I’d be getting into more than one post-apocalyptic anime this year, but I’d seen this one recommended so many times that I felt this list would be incomplete if I didn’t watch it. Don’t ask me about Pluto.

Heavenly Delusion (Hulu lists it under its Japanese title, Tengoku Daimakyo, for some reason) splits its runtime between two different stories: The first, a pair of young travelers making their way across a ruined Japan in search of nebulous goals neither is sure even exist; the second surrounding a group of adolescents in an unnervingly idyllic walled garden in some sort of school setting. The narrative flips between these two sporadically, rarely ever showing its hand in how they are even remotely connected.

On the post-apocalypse side, we follow Maru and his bodyguard-for-hire, Kiruko, as they trek across the country to deliver Maru to someplace called “Heaven,” while at the same time, Kiruko is in search of a pair of men from their youth. They are often beset by bandits, cults, and most crucially, horrifying monsters called “Man-Eaters,” which Maru has the unique ability to kill. On the school side, we see a group of gender-ambiguous kids in an enclosed space, constantly monitored and kept in a very controlled environment. Everything feels… wrong. Nobody seems entirely human. There is a lingering and seemingly taboo curiosity about what lies outside the walls. I hesitate to say any more.

There is phenomenal human drama in here, and sparks so many conversations about transhumanism and human nature, gender, trauma, community, all things I’m not smart enough to really dive into. But to even address these topics here is to give the game away, and Heavenly Delusion is a story better left unspoiled, even if, a full season in, I’m still not 100% sure what’s going on.

This show is gorgeous in ways I’m still struggling to articulate. The character designs, animation, lighting, and cinematography are so immaculate that I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a movie. Heavenly Delusion looks like a grungy Shinkai film: Character models are immaculately realized and fluidly animated, the light and shadow effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen in TV animation, and action sequences are visceral and unpredictable. Maybe all I needed to say is that it was made by much of the same Production IG staff in charge of Psycho-Pass.

I want to say as little about what happens as possible, because the mystery is the main draw of Heavenly Delusion, but I feel the need to warn that there is a very dark and sour turn near the end of the season in the form of some strongly implied sexual violence. It was thematically unnecessary, and once that side of things is resolved, everyone just kinda… moves past it. It doesn’t ruin the show, I still recommend it heartily, but be forewarned. I found it upsetting, but more in the “did this REALLY need to be in there?” sense. The mounting tension and slowly-unfolding existential horror in this series are otherwise expertly woven into the narrative, and this part landed with a wet thud.

This is a much longer story than most of the season would have you believe, and it ends with far more questions than answers. One side of the story leaves off with an open end, and the other with a massive cliffhanger, which left me a little cold but with interest piqued for the next season. For what it is right now, though, Heavenly Delusion is a nearly perfect, endlessly thought-provoking mystery and one of the most gorgeously ugly things I’ve seen this year.

[novemberfyshenuke]

Robotic Playtime

I may or may not have done something bad again....I'm not sure if this is ooc (This wasn't originally supposed to be Vash but I had to make it about him)

Summary: Turning off his pain sensors don't seem to affect his other sensations as you work on repairing his wiring. (Cy!Vash/reader) (This does have wire play; read with discretion) Shift in perspective from third to second for some spicier stuff.

Here again he sits on the cold metal frame. It tilted diagonally, almost hard to balance on when one was seated on the wider sides. The room was filled with walls of tools and machinery and gadgets. Elendira, being the occupant, was quite fond of tinkering with all things related to scientific reverie.

However, it was not the her who dragged Vash down from the airpad to the tech room. It was a this angry little creature who began dragging him along without letting him slip a word in. Stubborn to a point that rivaled Knives, they were someone Vash believes could actually stand against his prideful brother.

Many on this planet were odd. From all kinds of diverse backgrounds with troublesome pasts that chase them down.

And example was this individual that stood at the workbench a few meters away. They tinkered with all things there, mumbling jargon and other mumbo jumbo while they worked. Was this the first time they had done this?

Vash remained unaffected, or at least as he let on. That boyish smile never parted from his lips, or the child like curiosity that runs across his features as he observes them.

He doesn't remember when exactly they joined their merry bunch. His memory had never once failed him. It couldn't. Parts of him are still plenty biological, but for the most part...he's aware that he's a build of cogs and coded. So he asks;

"Uh, is this really necessary?"

The cyborg receives a silent glare from the mechanic. "Vash, what part of, 'Don't overwork your unit' did you not understand?"

There was something in them that made him want to continue pushing buttons. He'd never really found any interest to egg someone on like he did this mechanic of his. He leans forward, his smile twitching as he remembers to turn off the pain sensory nodes in his system. God, it hurt like a bitch.

"I was simply following mission orders. Evacuate civilians to the nearest relief site. They were endanger, and I have parts to spare. I wasn't even that damaged, I don't see why this is necessary."

With a low growl, the mechanic brings over the tools they were studying to the metal bed. The trolley squeaks, the wheels most likely uncared for by the owner. "If I don't do a general checkup or at least repair what need be, you'll just run off before the research department can make any proper repairs.

This way, you can atleast perform alright without leaving with deeper injuries." He tilts his head to the side, expression unchanging. Surely when he lets go of his next words, they would understand that he was simply a piece of scrap metal put together to fight for humanity's cause. "Damages." He corrected bluntly.

They lock eyes. As best as the they can that is. With the goggle in place of their sockets, Vash can only imagine what they were thinking under the layers. The silence breaks as they nod in agreement. "Right. Your damages. I'll fix them up temporarily."

They treated these robotic humanoids like their equal, something the association member, Meryl, and them share. Both of them are all too willing in acting as if they were human. All too willing. It made him question his humanity on occasion. Or at least the person who once handed control of this body to him.

He wanted to argue. It was so stuffy and terribly boring whenever he had to be put in maintenance. He craved excitement! Fun! But he just couldn't. For some reason, he always found himself following the whim of this particular person.

What was it? The air of mystery? The attitude problem? He can't begin to describe how his morbid interest wants him to inch closer to this particular being.

He lies back on the cool surface, staring up at the fluorescent light held up on the metal plates of the ceiling. The clinking of tools and the smooth touch of human skin on his arm were things he paid attention to, but didn't mind much of.

He glances at them from the corner of his eye. He had heard a number of rumors moving about in the busy SEEDS ship. It's a miracle they had time to gossip with how many refugees are still to be retrieved on Earth.

A part of an elite squad full of s-ranking units, this simple human had gone long and far compared to him. He wonders how much bloodshed stains their hands, how many times they had to pick up fallen comrades and desperately try and repair them.

What interested him right now though, wasn't their team or whatever other reason there needed to be. It was the clenched jaw that guided his eyes back up to the goggles perched on their face.

Gods, he was so curious to know what was under there. Hundreds if not thousands of images played in his mind.

They cuss, brow furrowing in frustration. Instinctively, he asks what's wrong. They shake their head, pressing fingers down on their temples.

"Your wiring might be fucked inside. I'm guessing it was fried when you went overboard during the switch. Usually, the Science Department has the tech to mend it without cracking you open. We should head over there."

That frustrated expression was one they made often. Especially around him. Did he cause such frustration? Could the grays in their hair be because of him as well?

His pupils dilate and shrink in a speed that was hard to catch. He closes his eyes, pausing his chatter for a while. Not that it mattered. He was quiet during the time he spent with them. Wolfwood would tease him about being shy, but it always was out of place coming from his aloof captain. Perhaps that's why he laughed along when the joke was mentioned.

The metal rubs up against the other, pulling open the compartment of wirings and other technology hidden away in his body. He nodded in their direction.

The weariness in their expression, puzzled him. He was simply doing what was best in the situation.

"You should probably power down for a while." They explained quietly. He could sense the insecurity in their tone. Was this truly the first time they had fixed up any units?

Vash shakes his head, all the more steady willed to stay online. "It would be better to have someone guide you, tiny. I can turn off my pain sensors for the time being so you can focus on the repairs."

His words don't seem to comfort them much. Their hands shook when they hovered above his open chassis; their teeth chattered louder than the built-in cooling systems in his body.

He slides his hand on top of their vacant one, winking playfully. He had enough trust in them to know they were more than capable to complete the task. Even if sweat started to build in their palms.

His grin was reflected back to him, the goggles glinting in the horrid lighting. Swirling with anxiousness but a determination mingles. Vash sharply inhales, hardening himself as well.

"...then I'll get started." You pull and move closer, almost scared to make a move. A few times, you would inform him of what part would be tampered with next. Through his guidance, the maintenance goes along much smoother than it started.

Vash jolts, his arm moving up to hold onto your wrist. A gritted apology passes along between the two of you. He had turn off the pain sensors in his frame, but for some odd reason his body continues to send signals to his central unit.

Good ones. He's aware of the difference, even if he's never really experienced those painful pleasures before.

"Easy." He hissed, flashing a lighthearted smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes, not that he was aware.

Had it always been so hard to focus when you had your hands on him? You slows their movements. That results to your palm hitting a particular module that causes a shiver to run down his systems.

He grunts, gripping onto the metal surface below him. "No fair, tiny. Are you teasing me?" He meets with your gaze slowly.

You don't even seem aware of what you were doing to him. Figures, he didn't even understand why he was feeling this way himself.

"Vash, is anything uncomfortable? Should I call Doctor Conrad?" You asked, dropping the wrench onto the trolley.

He gulps down his nerves, placing your hands back into the chassis. Vash smiles brightly, hunger dancing around in his eyes. He knows what it is. It was a curiosity to see where this would lead.

"It's alright. Keep going."

When the warmth of your fingertips glaze over his wirings, he almost let out a sound prematurely.

Your hands moved around, repairing a few disconnected lines and then going back up to the wires that hadn't been damaged. He guessed that you were ensuring that the placement was correct.

He grins, fighting the urge to squirm as his chest rises and falls. Sloppy engineer or otherwise, he loved the way your hands were delicate with their touch.

"Vash, I'm going to reach for an inner wire. That okay?"

He nods. If he said anything now, he'd be drooling like a dog. You pushed away a few loose wires, his back arching from the way they tugged gently at the inner wirings of his mechanical body.

"...shit." He murmurs when you squeezed his side for support. He moans softly, eyes wide while his lenses try and adjust to the hazy blur of his surroundings.

You rubbed your hand along the tubes, offering a few comforts as you continue to examine him. Vash jerks forward, grabbing hold of the small of your back.

"Vash! Hey! What's wrong?!" your words were distant. His head struggled to adapt to it. Funny, he had adapted to the harsh conditions of Earth many times before, yet he couldn't handle a simple mechanic running their hands through his wires?

Panting hard, he whimpers when you pull your hand away. The next moment those two warm hands were pressing against his cheeks, concern ever so present on your features.

"Tiny..." He leans in, pushing his lips onto yours. The other reciprocates without much fuss. He loved that about you. His spontaneous actions never surprised you by the slightest. Yet you never seem tired of his shenanigans.

"Tiny, I'm so...turned on right now." He whispers into your ear. And you give him a look. One crossed between confusion and intrigue.

He pants, grabbing hold of your hands to place back inside his chassis. "When you touch me here. It feels so good."

They follow the shape of his system, your eyes never straying from his. Just that look alone could make him melt. It wasn't far from happening. His cooling systems felt a little too hot for his liking.

"If I were human, I would have made a mess by now." He adds, moaning without much restraint. He wants them to know that it felt good. He wants them to feel good too. He puts out there like a young man who just lost his virginity.

...could this be considered as him losing his virginity?

"I see." your hands move away, retreating back to your side. Vash managed to noise out a complaint, pouting childishly when a hand was placed on his bicep.

A complicated expression fits on your lips. He knew this look. The researchers often eyed him just like that. Doctor Conrad being the most prominent in his thoughts.

To have piqued tiny's interest...that was definitely an accomplishment. The aloof responses from previous advancements he performed were more than a little disappointing for the cyborg. Perhaps this rather humiliating venture was worth it.

You scanned him, hand squeezing the fabric of his windbreaker in an attempt of a comforting gesture. 'Be patient' he could almost hear the voice in his head coo.

"Current theory, it's because of the advancement in construction technology. Hands on work with the wiring and frames haven't been done in forever." He could practically read your mind. You were worrying about mindless things. How units who defected survived on Earth, away from the technicians of the SEEDS project; What causes the tingly sensation that has him surfing above the clouds; why it took this long to be discovered.

He's sure you've come up with a few answers already. He's more curious on what you plan to do next.

His fingers drum onto the metal surface, watching as your hand cautiously drags over his wirings once more. "Vash. Please continue to be honest."

That artificial heart of his, whatever a human heart was a equivalent to, (he wouldn't know. Those scientists aren't exactly people he gets along with.) sends signals right up to his central control.

Whatever is to happen, he just hopes it won't end up with him overloading and breaking down.

Guys, is it obvious I reworked this from my PGR fic?

[novasintheroom]

063. Destitute

♡ Pairing - Vash x Reader

♡ Word count - 0.5k

♡ Warnings - none

♡ Description: You revisit the past. What could have been?

A follow-up chapter to this chapter of 150 Bullets.

Part of the 150 Bullets drabble series on AO3.

He stands alone before the house.

It’s quiet. The whole town is.

Just a ghost town, a shadow of what was.

Your home.

Once filled with new light and laughter, now a shell of its former self. Piles of sand have built up in front of the windows; sandstorms must have hit recently. He can’t see inside; it’s too dark. But he can imagine the hallway, the living space, the small kitchen you both danced around in many nights, listening to the radio.

Vash can’t stop looking at it. The door hangs off the hinges where the group of hired thugs busted through months ago. He still remembers your scream.  How quickly they charged in, how quickly old habits returned, how he dispatched the intruders in your home.

You survived, but the damage was done. More thugs came looking for you, for Vash’s bounties, making a mess of the town while they were at it. The townsfolk grew suspicious, didn’t quite believe your names or identities anymore. Children were told to stay away, and soon rocks were being thrown in through the windows with paper threats tied around them, people spitting in your direction. It wasn’t long before you and he were packing up like old times and leaving before the pitchforks and torches could come out. The tears in your eyes as you looked around the inside had been too heartbreaking for Vash to bear.

Now, the town stands alone, with no carers or inhabitants. Who can say what caused its downfall? So many things can go wrong in a town on No Man’s Land. But Vash is sure of one thing:

It’s his fault. All his fault.

He should have known better than to hope.

If he had just been born normal, if he could just be normal, instead of…of…

Your hand is placed in his. The spiraling stops. 

“Hey,” you murmur, leaning into his side. Vash’s arm comes up and around your shoulders. You both stare at this derelict building before you.

Here stands what was once your hopes and dreams. A place to stay – a real safe place. To build a home. A family, maybe. The hinge on the door squeals as a breeze brushes by. Vash wonders if the key is still sitting at the bottom of his pack.

“You want to go in?” You ask. He can’t tell what you’re thinking right now. He’s too far in his own head still. But he shakes his head, muttering a ‘not really.’ You nod in understanding – or perhaps agreement.

Standing before what was is always solemn. He’s familiar with the feeling. Happens every time he sees the wreckage of a SEED ship out in the deserts. But what was is gone, and it won’t come back. So, he tugs you closer and places a kiss to your temple. “Let’s…see if the inn is still holding up, yeah?”

You walk with him through the ghost town, toward the old inn. Not a penny to your name, holes in your clothes from hard weather and travel, taking advantage of the old misery of others.

Destitute, but whole.

[ransprang]

thank you to anon for your support <3

if anyone else wants personalized hcs this is our ko-fi

Vash x male! reader hcs

SFW

How you met: You knew of Vash from the bounty poster. You were secretly a plant and so had been very careful to not be caught by the man you knew was known for stealing plants. So the moment your paths crossed at a small town in the middle of nowhere, and when your eyes met from across the tavern you were very wary of him. You decided to keep an eye on him, and watched him interact with the townspeople. You were surprised by his kindness and couldn’t help but think there was more to the story.  So when  you saw him fight against the goons who assaulted him one day yelling about a bounty, you decided to give him a hand in the fight and struck up a conversation with him afterwards. You were intrigued, and Vash was friendly although very evasive about answering personal questions. You supposed you were the same way since you decided to hide your plant identity. You quickly learned that chaos and destruction seemed to follow that man everywhere he went, so you decided to follow him as along as well.

Your dates would constantly be interrupted by him running out like a golden retriever to help whichever person in town looked like they needed help. It is not helped by the fact that the townsfolk would actively seek him out because somehow he has befriended every child, elderly and people in between in the two days you have been staying there. He would definitely make it up to you afterwards though.

His biggest love language would be physical touch. Vash loves holding your hand, and gently caressing the top with his thumb. Loves bringing your hand up to his lips and planting a kiss on the back. 

In a domestic setting, Vash gives male wife energy. He’d learn to cook and bake your favourite dishes. You’re always welcome to join him in the kitchen.  

Favourite pet names for you as a lover would be sweetheart, precious, handsome & beloved.

If you ever went on a carnival date with Vash, he would easily beat all the sharpshooter games and minibooths including ring toss. You would go home with half the prizes in the carnival although they would likely never let you back in ;)

Vash burrows his face in your neck to hide his blush every time you compliment him, his heart rate increases so much that he thinks you’ll hear it

Vash would be very protective of you. He knows just being around him puts people in danger and he would have a hard time keeping his vow for not killing people if you ever got captured. He would easily put himself in harm’s way if you were ever in danger. 

When you would first see Vash interact with a Plant you would be a bit anxious. But when you saw the compassion and sympathy coming out of every pore of his body, it would put you back at ease. He would notice afterwards that you were a bit on edge and try to pull some silly stunts to make you laugh.

Vash is deep down a lonely person so even though at times he tries to distance himself believing he’s causing you harm, he really appreciates your company and love. You would become very precious to him and he would always be terrified of losing you like he lost everyone else. He would need a lot of comforting and reassurance in those times. When he finds out you’re a plant his worries would ease somewhat since he would know you could take care of yourself, although he would be worried Knives would target you now.

N/SFW

Vash likes to suck you off, he loves being told what to do. He will serve you as much as you like. Especially after a day gone wrong thanks to his brother, he will pleasure you to feel good.

Vash loves to be dominated, you thrust him while using one hand to hold his hands above his head and the other to stroke Vash’s hard cock. He also likes it if you command him during sex.

Vash loves to cook for you and lets you eat it off his body. It makes him feel so turned on that not only do you enjoy his cooking but also his body.

Vash likes to get tied up, he is into the special knots like shibari. He likes to be restrained on the bed pulling and tugging against the ropes. He enjoys being edged, when you give him a blowjob and dont stop even after he cums, he likes to whimper from overstimulation.

He uses his mechanic arm to give you high speed hand jobs, his fingers moving round the tip at a fast pace as he rubs your shaft. Almost like fleshlight.

He sits there with bent knees and tongue out, when you pump your cock and release your hot cum all over his face and mouth. His own dick would be throbbing to be rubbed.

Vash likes it when he slowly undresses you as giving him a chance to revere you. Waiting desperately to see your body, peeling off your clothes little by little. 

He likes to be bent over and fucked  in the shower. Hot steaming sex, after a long hard day of fighting.He lets you touch his scars and kiss them, as a reassurance.

After sex he would be extra gentle and cuddle with you. He would caress your chest and stare into your eyes, and also bring you water. 

Vash would play with your hair and kiss you deeply, a make out session after sex. Just because he can’t resist you, and it is comforting intimacy to him before bed.

your stampedes,

admins sar, san & sav

[gojoed]

DON’T WATCH ME DANCING. | vash x reader | 1k words.

The saloon was relatively quiet and peaceful for being a saloon. 

Very few patrons inhabited the area; a group of men in the corner laughing while smoking and throwing cards at their table's surface; a pair of people at the bar sharing drinks and idly chatting. A person passed out, sleeping on their table.

Music played softly over the speakers of the building, gentle tunes and melodic rhythms. It helped guide the only two people swaying slowly on the ‘dance floor’ of the saloon. A man donning a long red coat and over-sized glasses guided your body with his, your head resting comfortably against his chest.

The warmth emitting from Vash could have put you to sleep if you weren’t dancing.

A sigh full of content escaped your lips, allowing a soft chuckle to release from the depths of Vash’s core. The emotion that was carried in your sigh made him press the palm of his hand firmer on the small of your back more. His fingers digging into you softly, the tips of them warm, a pleasant feeling. 

The town in which you decide to stay the night in was welcoming, no guns pointed at your heads or chases around town. Instead only friendly smiles and a peaceful night.

It was a nice change of scenery, being able to walk on the sandy streets and not worry so much about potential harms coming your way. A break from all the chaos that seemed to follow the blond man everywhere he went. 

So you considered this night a blessing. 

You were pulled from your thoughts when Vash pulled you away from his body slightly, spinning you softly before reattaching himself to you. Gentle laughs filled the dance floor, a smile making itself at home on both your lips as Vash put his forehead against yours. 

Normally when he would do this, it would be in the privacy of your room, for that was when his markings would appear and make themself present. But there were rare times where Vash would allow himself to let go, to allow himself to sigh in your hold in the presence of few people.

You both swayed with foreheads leaning against each other, never missing or misplacing a step. With one of your hands on the side of his face, Vash practically purred and leaned further into your touch, eyebrows pinching together slightly. Vash let his own hand reach where yours was, grabbing onto your wrist and anchoring himself to you. As if, if he didn’t, you would slip away.

“Wouldn’t you like.. Something more than this?”

His voice could barely be heard, a small sound in an even bigger room. If you weren’t so close to him you wouldn’t be able to hear him at all.

“What do you mean by that, honey?”

Vash’s lips pulled into a small smile at the name you always called him, although it felt a bit bittersweet.

“I can’t.. Give you a home. The only things I can give you are hotel rooms to stay in and small moments of peace. Wouldn’t you want someone who could give you something better?”

His words should have surprised you, but they didn’t. Even if they shouldn’t. These past several, several, years you’ve spent alongside him, you’ve come to know this side of him.

The side that believed that everyone who ever met him deserved better than what they had received from him. Vash’s pessimistic mentality that always put himself down, never allowing himself to think that he deserved anything. Because why would he? In his mind it made sense. Everyone’s misery was tied to him, a hundred fifty years ago.

He even tried to push you away from him once, albeit softly, Vash couldn’t bear to hurt you. Distance though was never created between the two of you, you never allowed it. Because if that did happen, he would be alone. Even more alone after what happened with Nai in that old crashed plant ship years ago.

Pulling away from his face, you could see his eyes were looking down. They were so full of conflict, so full of doubts. You placed your other hand on the other side of his face, effectively trapping him. No running.

“Vash, look at me.”

When he didn’t you moved your thumbs to the edge of his lips, smushing them together. They puckered, giving him an adorable face that you couldn’t help but smile. 

“Look at me.”

The tone of your voice made a shiver run down his spine. Vash moved his eyes to yours, causing a small smile to return to his face when he saw that yours didn’t hold doubt, but adoration. Love. 

How did he deserve you?

“I could never ask for more, never Vash. The only thing I will ask of you is for you to trust me.”

He was about to rebut, claiming that he did trust you. He trusted you so much that it scared him. But a finger to his lips shushed him.

“Trust me when I say that you are my home, I mean it. I don’t need a roof over my head to make me feel safe. You give me so much more than you believe.”

Your words made his eyes begin to water. Vash’s other hand grabbed onto your other wrist and when he held onto it, he held on tightly. As if now he was the one who was going to slip away. He chuckled and sniffled softly, hoping no one in the saloon could hear. No need to draw attention to a crying man holding onto his lover on the middle of the dance floor. 

“You know.. You’re going to be the death of me.”

His tone now starting to lift, he brought one of your hands which had returned their fingers to their original place on either side of his face to his lips; placing a kiss that positively bled with all the love that he held for you.  It stained your skin and seeped into it. There’s no running from him once Vash let’s himself bleed onto you.