#appreciating vash for the disaster he is

[radiosummons]

God. He's just ... so fucking stupid.

[mrsketchydude]

OKAY HEAR ME OUT I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING This might be kind of obvious but, as always, I like to share my thoughts so that maybe others can share theirs too. It's really interesting how Vash is called "The Humanoid Typhoon", right? Like a straightforward name, a human-looking person who causes destruction wherever he goes, we get that. BUT hear me out, why don't they just call him the Human Typhoon..?

The majority of the people on No Man's Land don't know he's a plant so obviously that can't be the excuse. And I doubt Nightow was like "Well it would be confusing to call him the Human Typhoon when he's not really human" like cmon be real here for a second, he could've easily done that, there is WAY more confusing stuff in Trigun then calling a non-human character a human. I'm bringing in examples from Stampede because it's what I can recall quickly so sorry I cant bring up specific examples from the manga and the 98 anime, maybe later. Well, I mean, when you think about it, most people don't really see this 'Vash the Stampede' guy as a human. We LITERALLY have a whole scene with Meryl poking fun at people for making him out to be this wacky character and not as an actual human. Like she said in the eng dub:

"Real people aren't such caricatures. He's a man, not a monster."

The people of No Man's Land don't view 'Vash the Stampede' as a human. He's basically like an urban legend to them. A rumor you hear about amongst folk sitting on their front porches in the evening. A scary story older siblings tell younger siblings that if they don't behave the Humanoid Typhoon will come and get them. Even Rollo had heard of Vash being talked about this way. He said, after Vash was surprised the kid had heard of him,(again in the eng dub):

"Well, yeah, you're super famous. You're the real-life Humanoid Typhoon, everybody knows you!" "I heard something else, too! You're a walking disaster, a demon who wreaks havoc wherever he goes."

Even in the manga and 98 anime after the JuLai incident, they talk about him like he's this weird cryptid going around causing mayhem and destruction. He's destroyed two whole cities and put a hole in the moon. It would be hard for any human to believe something was capable of this unless they met him in person and saw what he is capable of.

Idk it was just something that literally struck me while I was eating dinner and I typed this up real quick after finishing my meal so sorry if this seems a little messy.

As always, I appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to the writing in Trigun. While this may seem like a small and insignificant thing, I really love how even the smallest of things seem to carry information throughout the story. Just makes it all the more special to me :,)

[hypermoyashi]

I finished Chapters 3 and 4 of my Trimax re-read! And, boy, these chapters are so fun and then we're also starting to getting to some of the classic Trimax/Trigun heartbreak, too.

Starting off with! Meryl's chapter! She grew out her hair a little, it looks so nice! And we get her canonical age--she's 23 in Trimax, and 21 pre-time skip. I don't blame everyone for commenting on how accomplished she is at such a young age. It also makes me wonder how old Milly is, too! I always headcanoned Milly as older, but we shall see if canon has any more details on that lol.

I do also really like the themes they explored with Meryl's character here, how she gets just a touch of silly sticky her tongue out at her asshole coworker, saying her time with Vash wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, thinking it'd probably be true she'd be happier living a peaceful life but deciding to get involved and help Vash anyway, because she has good memories with him... They note she only traveled with him for four months, and it's been two years, but man. He's still important to her! And she is important to him in return, given he only opened the door for the hitman when Meryl's name came up! Vash&Meryl is one of my favorite dynamics, they're so soft ;~; Meryl was also just. So cool. Confronting the hitman. And Milly to the rescue! Loved that it was Milly who showed up to support Meryl and get her out of a sticky situation when I thought it'd be one of the men. Very fun surprise!

More under the cut! (Mind the warnings!)

Also the amount of silly Wolfwood gets is very much appreciated too! Between popping out of nowhere to ask why the hitman was messing with Vash, dragging Vash to the hospital, pouring Tabasco sauce onto the hitman's wounds, and then eating noodles while watching a major disaster in action--he's so ridiculous sometimes, I love him jrekngjkneg

And then we get our first appearances of Brad and Sensei (or Doc, I think?)! Brad is his normal self, very hesitant on Vash because of reasons, but can't wait for him to come around like he normally does. I think having a group of people Vash regularly visits does help put his immortality into perspective--a lot of immortal figures in stories isolate themselves, but of course Vash loves people and can't bring himself to do that entirely. So you end up with this group of people who've grown up with a stray cat immortal just wandering in and hanging out occasionally, and it's. Both really cool and must be weird, for that one guy you knew as a kid to just be exactly the same now that you're an adult.

And then. We got another scene between Vash and Knives, this one right after the Fall. So same deal as last time, I'm going to break down some of the stuff that went on between them; if you have a different reading of them that does not involve Knives being abusive, that is fine! Please just be respectful of my personal reading!

Warnings for explicit discussions of abusive relationships and the dynamics involved, including both emotional and physical abuse.

Deflecting Blame/Playing Clueless/Downplaying the Harm He's Done: Knives tries to help Vash up after the crash, only for Vash to smack his hand away and start yelling at him. Knives asks what Vash's problem is, as if he can't guess why Vash is upset with him. He also implies Vash shouldn't be angry with him since they're brothers and it's just the two of them now. The fact he immediately starts gloating about how magnificent all the deaths from the crash were doesn't make me confident he was really genuine with not understanding why Vash was mad. To me, it reads more as he knows why Vash is upset, he just doesn't fundamentally see Vash's anger as valid since he thinks Vash should just agree with him. Hence, why he downplays, makes light of, or outright ignores Vash's feelings.

Physical Abuse as Punishment/Power Plays: When Vash compares Knives to humanity, saying his actions are inhuman, Knives agrees and responds by kicking him to the ground, then continuing to kick him while he's on the ground. These aren't light, either--Vash is shown with a bloody nose and bruises on his face in one of the panels on the next page. Knives is using a physical beating to discourage behavior he doesn't like and, to me, it does kind of read as Knives using the beating to shut down Vash being upset with him as well. Since, ultimately, Vash's anger and hurt fades from the scene when Knives gets angry with him in return and beats him. He's also shown as the one in power in this scene, with Vash not even able to fully stand from the sand while Knives is seemly fine.

Isolating Vash from everyone who is not Knives: Very successfully, in this instance. Not only does he talk about killing everyone until it's just the two of them left on the planet, he's also killed Rem, their main adult caretaker and support, along with pretty much anyone else Vash might be able to go to for help, given they'll all be busy trying not to die, if they're not dead already. So Vash is well and truly stuck with Knives at this point in time.

Tacking on a disclaimer that I'm not an expert, and physical abuse kind of falls outside my wheelhouse, as well. Either way, though, definitely interesting to compile this stuff as it crops up within the chapter. I am noticing more now that I'm going through a second read through.

I will report back with more as I continue to read through the chapters!

[beesinspades]

the third chapter of the creechur canon divergence fic is up! 💜

sheryl makes an appearance, lina appreciation hours, the wolfwood and lina team up you didn't know you needed, and some much needed wing grooming in this one!

Tags and summary for the whole fic below~

Total Word Count: 17.6k

Pairing: Nicholas D. Wolfwood/Vash the Stampede Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Biblically accurate Vash, but make him even more beastly, (for better or worse the author drew him so you can get an idea), Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Harm, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Vash the Stampede Has an Eating Disorder, Purring Vash the Stampede, No TriMax Spoilers

Chapters: 3/10

Summary:

Months after the July disaster, Wolfwood is asked by a small town to kill the monster that lives in the vestiges of an old ship. Although he refuses, a little girl's plea not to hurt her friend sends him on a new course—not knowing the beast he'll find in the wreckage might be more than he bargained for.

[ofdreamsanddoodles]

whats trigun about you post it alot

good question!!

trigun is a manga that came out in the 90s, & got an anime released while the manga was still ongoing, & so like, 70% of it is filler or just like, anime only (certain backstories were changed a fair amount) but i think it still manages to keep more or less the same tone & themes, though the manga is a bit darker & anime vash is way too pervy. it's about a gunman named vash the stampede with an incredibly large bounty, despite his pacifism, the two insurance agents tasked with following him around to prevent disaster (because everywhere he goes ends up falling apart) and a "priest" with a gun in the shape of a cross who begins following vash for his own reasons. it's set on a desert planet that humans have been inhabiting for 130-150 years (depends on if ur reading the manga/anime) & because of the harsh conditions of the land, everyone is super stressed & desperate all the time, but vash, the main character, is still hopeful that there's a way for everyone to get along. i think it does a very good job of showing how hard it can be to be, the like, bigger person, especially considering vash is completely COVERED in scars. it's completely impossible for another person to be as passive as vash, because it would kill them & i appreciate that's something they don't shy away from. it has a very fun western sci fi feel

the main plot throughout the different versions is vash going to confront his brother, who believes they're superior to humanity & wants vash to see things his way, too, to the point he's forced bounty hunters to track him down & etc in an attempt to get vash to renounce his pacifism or use his powers. the brother's name is millions knives.

trigun stampede is the new reboot, which currently has 8 episodes out. most of this stuff isn't true for that (instead of insurance, meryl works as a reporter under a man named roberto, wolfwood is much more aggressive & immature, etc), but he's still on a journey to confront his brother. the animation is very pretty.

[orangetintedglasses]

Wolfwood, the hero we may not need, but the hero that our favourite pan disaster deserves

He's pretty inclined to agree~. Even if they have their differences, Vash appreciates Wolfwood being around.

[priellan]

having watched both ‘98 trigun and stampede in about a week, i have thoughts

i like the lighter tone at the start of/scattered throughout ‘98 trigun

i think the tone of stampede is somewhat more consistent and i laud it for that, but i do miss the levity

i still want someone else who’s seen the saved by wolves op to tell me if i’m crazy for thinking there are some similarities with the stampede op someone out there pls go into deep analysis mode with me here

in line with the tone, i do miss goofier vash. i miss vash getting to smile and have a good time on occasion. poor boy needs a fucking hug.

i think the original series sets up better why vash is such a walking disaster and why he has a bounty on his head - maybe a bit too well, they spend too many episodes goofing off on one-offs about how he’s a well-meaning vortex of destruction, but it is set up, whereas we just have to take the series’ word for it in stampede that he deserves to have a bounty on his head

speaking of which, wait a tic, if vash is heading for julai in stampede and it hasn’t been destroyed yet, why does he have a bounty on his head? the original bounty we’re told about in ‘98 trigun is for july, right?

wait another tic, why’s it spelled julai? july city, augusta, may city, that’s the naming convention, right? why change it? is this part of making things less silly? hi i’m scratching my head

speaking of less silly, MILLY MY BELOVED WHERE ART THOU

roberto’s just a bland character so far. he’s okay. nothing against him, i just... why him instead of milly? what reason was there?

i enjoy vash’s new design but at the same time i doubt he’d ever shave like the 90s design of him would? he’s been blorbofied. i love both versions, they both have different appeal.

i appreciate stampede getting into what the fuck’s up with wolfwood much sooner and in more depth

it remains to be seen whether the pacing of stampede is better than ‘98 trigun, but i will say it’s certainly moving much faster and i appreciate on some level it delving into character backstory deeper and sooner than ‘98.

on the other hand, i appreciate ‘98 taking its time to let us enjoy the characters and have some fun, to let the characters breathe and let me feel emotionally invested by the time the big battles rolled around. eps 23 and 24 were much more devastating than stampede eps 5 and 7 had time to be.

thank god they dropped the 90s perviness i hate that shit

WOLFWOOD IS HOW OLD IN STAMPEDE?

poor kid jesus

no wonder he smokes like he doesn’t know how to smoke

[deadlydevotion]

".... I'm making this worse." He pulls his face away from her hands but only so he can tuck it down against his knees and make a muffled frustrated noise. He doesn't know what to say to her to make any of this make sense except to tell her the truth about the situation, which more then likely no one will appreciate. That would absolutely be one way to make everyone dislike him even more then they already do.

He's doubtless already said too much.

"I don't know how much I should tell you or how much it will matter if I do," he says to his knees. "Neither Vash will be happy that I've spoken with you this much. Every time I make an attempt to improve the situation I make things worse. I got them killed and now they'll all be angry when they come back."

He just wants someone to talk to, someone with a half decent grasp of how to be a person and maybe someone who actually knows how a relationship should function but now he's gone and made things complicated. He muffles a frustrated growl against his arm and resists the urge to dig his nails into familiar scars on his biceps.

"Things between us have been getting better." He says almost fiercely, trying to figure out how to get her to understand without just telling her everything. She doesn't know he's from a different but adjacent world as Vash is and there's plenty of nonhumans here. That should be safe enough. "Knives isn't... he's not human. He's always been better then humans, thus me. Neither of us have liked humans in the past. Things were done to me in my very early life that.... I can't forget or shake off. He saved me and he was above me in more then one way. That gap has been shrinking rapidly but it's... it's only been a few months here. I served him for a decade. Our relationship is complicated but getting better and I love him more then anything. Even if he's a bit... dense in that regard." He sighs and picks up his head again to give her a tired look.

"I'm sorry. Your son has befriended a very broken man among broken people. We must all sound like a disaster to someone like you."

"Odd is one way to put it," Rem answers with a polite laugh. The more Legato talks, the less codependency seems to be the biggest problem with whatever he has going on with Knives. Rem wants to give him the benefit of the doubt that it's a product of whatever world Legato comes from. She really does, and she's really not one to judge, but… Well, she's definitely judging now.

"Legato, um…" God, where does she even start unpacking all of that. The right answer is probably to tell Legato to see a therapist and backpedal out of the conversation, but that doesn't really feel like it'll be helpful in this moment. It sounds like he needs something to hold onto, but she's not sure what to give him.

"You… You really shouldn't view someone as better than you or that you're bringing them down to your level. Especially not a partner… Relationships should be based on equality." She hesitates, then frowns a little, "Does Knives think he's better than you?"

[dreamingnaturaljelly]

Trigun 6 - 9

I wanted to watch more eps but I'm very tired so these four will do!

episode 6:

- oh hey this ep actually takes off where the previous one left off i like that. Heck yeah

- i like the style, and sometimes the art gets kinda rough which is fine in that "the action scenes look pretty so this is acceptable budget balance"-way,  but sometimes the faces are so thin it's kinda terrifying?? 

- a SANDSTEAMBOAT WHAT THE HECK YES

- Vash angst? 

- Elizabeth's design is the first one i dislike BUT since she's a shady lady i will accept it. Like boobs out is not a look for an engineer, but it's a look for someone trying to mislead someone else. I just don't think that kind of design ever really looks nice... I can't list examples from the top of my head, but I feel like I've seen similar designs - They're always supposed to be pretty dresses but then they get designed by people who have zero sensibility for what a pretty dress actually _is_? Like slapping on some ribbons isn't instantly gonna make it look good. IM SORRY THIS IS SUCH AN ANIME PET PEEVE OF MINE

- Wait meryl's twenty, does that mean Millie's like eighteen??

- WAIT IF ELIZABETH WAS THREE WHEN THIS HAPPENED THEN HOW FUCKING OLD IS VASH

- (Seriously though Vash Angst, Im ready)

episode 7: - I really don't know what this story is doing in this scene with these sex workers. Like they're treated nicely and the person who hired them for Vash is talking to them like normal people and it's a rather unsexy convo which I really like. I just don't understand why Vash, who takes 0.01 seconds to be attracted to cute women usually, pretends to be asleep. Like it'd make sense if he was in love with someone and the narrative wanted to be all "oh no i can't cheat on this person i like" or it makes sense if it was all slutshamey and it wanted to be all "oh no gross women can't sleep with many people for MONEy no no i can't participate in that" but it's ..... none of those things. It's funny because the entire show is about Vash doing dumb shit nobody gets, and I trip over this one scene where for once that isn't the point ahhaha.

- Vash adopting this random stray kid though?? a good boy

- Who the fuck is this neon jojo man

- i do love a good shounen protag who cries a lot, like ngl, my favourite thing about shounen stuff is that boys cry a lot in them.

- WAIT THIS IS A CLIFFHANGER I 

episode 8: - Vash you look like Chiyo's dad and i hate/love it as is always the case when Chiyo's dad is involved.

- Vash i appreciate your values but please don't just walk around when someone shot you

- IM WORRIED ABOUT MILLY AND MERYL WHERE ARE THEY

- OHSDJKHSDF OH THERE THEY ARE, literally during the same scene as i wrote the previous comment they return and i should not have worried bc they're Goood.

- everyone's celebrating but that one dude who was operating this ship is still dead like uhh - oh well i guess it doesn't matter if you can't steer the ship!! - oh oops i guesss it does, idk about this weird streak of predictions on my part

- THIS IS THE LEAST CONVENIENTLY PLACED EMERGENCY BRAKE I HAVE EVER SEEN, like i get not wanting guests to use them but behind searing hot pipes is Perhaps too much.

episode 9: - Millie YOU'RE AMAZING but how do you two not have money for the bus

- Also im the bg character who needed to pee very badly

- THANKFULLY THERE WAS STILL PLACE ON THE ROOF OF THE BUS FOR THIS GIANT CROSS I BROUGHT. 

- I LOVE THIS NEW GUY'S NOSE - I DONT THINK THAT TINY CHURCH REALLY PROVIDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED OUT OF A CONFESSIONAL BUT UH

- well i guess Vash and Wolfwood are now forever friends since Wolfwood just did a nice thing for kids. 

- DRAMATIC ASSHOLES THROWING THEMSELVES INTO THE DESERT TO FACE GIANT ROBOTS IN ORDER TO SAVE A CHILD, now that's the good content

- I will say this ship is already approx as good as Millie/Meryl so im excited. 

- this action priest is a disaster

- I also know Wolfwood’s VA .......... aaaaaand oh boy we got Aizen and Muraki now that's about as bad as it gets and we will ban this info from my brain right now.

- There's something i always really like about religion surviving the apocalypse. Like in this case of Christianity, you have the concept of the rapture right? And I really like the idea where like if the world ended and you could assume you got left behind by your god, you won't just abandon your faith like that. Regardless of which faith that is. 

- Wolfwood I will commend you on your good taste but please do not use Millie as a pillow to sleep against WITHOUT ASKING

Okay though what I ideally wanted was something of an overarching storyline and what i got was not only angsty implications of exactly that, but also a story that took up two eps & continuity in where we're actually at, so I'm pleased. 

[ninetyfivepercentdantomasik]

Great Characters: Vash the Stampede (Trigun)

Has there ever been a cooler character than Vash the Stampede? When pushed to name anime characters, Goku of Dragonball Z may be the most well-known, but few have had as much influence on the medium as the man with the sixty billion double-dollar bounty.

One only needs to watch the Trigun intro to see why Vash has inspired so many other characters and series. He is the total anime package; spiky hair that dangles over his face, round sunglasses that obscure his eyes in dark/serious moments, red trenchcoat for dramatic poses, and his signature under-barreled revolver. No opening has ever had so much cool on display, and even non-anime fans get can get easily blown away by the amount of badass he displays. Which begs the question, why isn’t Vash more famous?

The answer is because it is all, quite literally, for show. They sell the legend that is “The Humanoid Typhoon���, and then they introduce us to Vash, the donut-loving doofus who preaches “Love & Peace” (complete with V finger pose). He is the only character able to successfully evade bounty hunters by claiming to be himself. The contrast between the outlaw from the opening and the nincompoop in the actual show is so powerful, even we the viewers question whether he’s actually Vash the Stampede, the man who destroyed an entire city and has been declared a “Living Natural Disaster”. Every first-time watcher asks themselves the disappointing question, “is this really the same show?”. Our “fearless hero” spends more time running away from fights than anything else and actually refuses to kill or even threaten to kill. Vash will sooner strip naked and bark like a dog than fire his wicked cool gun. And he has.

It’s frustrating for a while until you’ve had time to look back and appreciate what the show did. It allowed us to see this epic display of a protagonist’s abilities and design in every episode, without forcing them to compromise his character. The hardest part of depicting Peaceful Warriors is that you have to enforce their philosophy not to resolve situations with violence, while also giving the audience situations in which they will use their astounding combat prowess. Batman won’t kill, but he will spend billions of dollars on heavily armed tanks, jets, and weapons to beat up criminals. Goku doesn’t like solving things with violence, but he doesn’t have a job and spends all his days training and dreaming of fighting really strong warriors. No one in Bleach ever dies, they just employ attacks that eradicate buildings, crumble mountains, and leave opponents with devastating wounds erupting with blood that will, ultimately, fail to kill them. It’s really sloppy, when you look at it. Trigun is one of the few series that stays true to its principles; Vash only killed one enemy. Legato, a Nihilist who used his psychic powers to enslave an entire town into attacking Vash, then to attack the insurance agents who are tasked with following and cataloguing Vash’s damages, and finally he used his powers on Vash to force him to raise his weapon. Vash refused, resisted, took bullets, begged, pleaded, fought against his own hand, wept, and finally fired. He saved everyone, stopped a mass murderer, and yet the act of taking a life still almost destroyed him.

Vash does use his gun, but only when absolutely forced to. Again, he will sooner demean and humiliate himself than resort to violence. Thing is, the space-western future Trigun takes place in has more bounty hunters than bartenders, and every single one of them knows about the $$60,000,000,000 bounty on Vash’s head. 5,000 bounty hunters could retire on that score alone, so more than a few are willing to risk killing some idiot claiming to be Vash the Stampede on the off-chance that he is. Fortunately, Vash is skilled enough to shoot guns out of hands, dodge barrages of machine gun fire, and neutralize or pacify very violent and stubborn people without killing them. In yet another hilarious twist, the swathe of destruction that follows Vash wherever he goes is caused almost entirely by the people trying to collect his bounty, thus fueling the legend further. It’s a farce of mythic proportions.

The show only ran for one 26-episode season, but is absolutely worth checking out, as is the movie Trigun: Badlands Rumble. Viewer Challenge; try not to overwhelmed and influenced by the awesome of Vash the Stampede.

[goldendivinewrath]

@duunswitch

Maybe just... not touching anything in the garden sounds like the best option, but Vash elects to keep that to himself. "Ha ha, speaking from experience, two trouble-makers don't really tend to be better than one, but I'll try not to cause any disasters, okay?" Hey, that's the best he can do and he's really going to try.

Of course there's not as much reassurance as he'd like in the whole instruction to yell, but he does his best to nod and hold still anyway. Flinching would probably make him look bad for all sorts of reasons. It doesn't hurt! That's the good thing. It does feel... weird, but he's been through an awful lot of weird in his life, so there's no real defining the whole process beyond that. Things change and shift and there's a warm-cool-tingling that runs all the way through him for a few seconds, but altogether? Not the worst experience. Definitely not something he'd pay to try again, though.

Moving is... delicate. Slow. He blinks one eye, then the other, and the first thing they look down at and focus on are his hands. Hands with thumbs, and his prosthetic is exactly as it should be. The bonus of not having Brad yell at him later is good, very good.

"Oh, uh--" There isn't a whole lot of subtlety that comes with reaching under his coat and making sure there's no tail back there, but since he's suddenly feeling the strong need to check... Ah, yeah, mostly flat, a different kind of embarrassing. That's fine, then. Spinning in a circle and making sure everything feels right, he beams an enormous smile. "Wow, thank you! I really appreciate it! I hope that wasn't too much trouble!" Ah yes, rubbing the back of his head finally felt right again.

"Oh, no. I don't think so." She thought about it for a moment, frowning to herself. "Just vegetables, really. A couple flowers and some herbs. As long as you don't eat any of the ones you don't recognize you should be fine." The herbs, specifically since they were for potions. The vegetables would be fine to eat. She'd had some for lunch, even.

"You don't have to worry about being trouble, though. I make enough on my own, a little more can't hurt." Leanne grinned, reaching down to press her fingers to the circle. "Okay, this shouldn't hurt. If it does then yell or something."

She squinted into the distance for a moment, before pushing magic into the circle. It flared and popped, before activating. With a cloud of smoke, he began to stretch and reform; as soon as he looked human she let go of the magic and leaned over.

"Well? No lizard bits? No missing limbs or anything? I don't see a tail... Or lizard hands."

[bloodandgunsmoke]

They ride in silence for a while and while Vash wouldn’t call it amiable, it is companionable at least. Current circumstances aren't much to smile about. Not that they had been before but the heaviness hangs over them like a storm cloud long after they've emerged back into clear desert. He’s not sure if Wolfwood is an experienced enough rider to know just how to steer his Tomas into line with his own, or if this bird is just particularly attuned, but he appreciates it all the same. Noting his brief struggle, Vash slows his pace by a fraction so that their progress is a little less bumpy. It can’t be helped entirely, but it’s a small improvement.

He doesn’t pressure his friend to speak, instead focusing on the horizon, scanning for anything on the sandy expanse that looks out of place. There's nothing aside from the occasional minor worm or oddly shaped rock before they finally reach the steamer. It makes for an imposing sight and a sobering reminder of how close they'd all come to disaster. Vash casts a sidelong glance at Wolfwood. At the calloused hands currently clutching the reins of his Tomas. He can no longer make out the lingering scent of smoldering flesh clinging to him and hopes against hope that the memory of the pain is more distant now. If it is, he's sure it's only because there is some greater pain residing in his memory.

The sound of Wolfwood's voice turns Vash's head towards him, gaze diverting from it's trail along the Humpback's tracks. He pats his bird idly as the words sink in. His brother. Whether by blood or by bond it hardly mattered- the way he said it spoke measures about their relationship. The way he avoided looking at Vash. The way he continued searching the horizon for a body they would never find. He's already opening his mouth around a lie that they will and has to bite it back upon realizing that's what it is. Wolfwood has made him brutally aware of how he speaks to people, so earnestly offering hope that he was incapable of securing each time every time. He wouldn't do so now.

“He knew you. In the end”, he says in place of a falsehood, with more solemnity than usual. It's probably not much comfort but he hopes it counts for something. ...Unless Wolfwood feels like it would have been easier if Livio had never come to at all. Would he still have taken his own life? If not, it would have come down to one of the three of them, and Wolfwood would still feel the blood on his hands. Vash wishes there was some way to walk him to the water and rinse. If nothing else, he doesn't mind if it's easier to blame him.

It's starting to get dark and with the setting of the suns comes a chill that makes him realize how foolish he'd been to leave his supplies behind. Riding back down the switchback in the dark is out of the question and while they might be able to take shelter in the steamer, they'd have to leave the birds which is also not an acceptable option. Come to that, there may not be raiders now, but they would surely come sooner or later and it would be better if they had some space between them. And Hopeland... Doubtless his friend isn't keen on widening an already open wound and Vash... Well there aren't many civilized places he can set foot in safely these days and he'd rather not tack on a fresh mess to their current list.

“Ahh... We should find someplace to camp soon, don't you think? We'll have time tomorrow to look more too. At least I don't mind.” It's a genuine offer, but Vash is also probing to see in how much of a hurry Wolfwood is to get them to the city. He wants to be wrong about his suspicions, knowing that he's not. Knowing that it doesn't matter either way because he's fairly certain that he'd do just about anything to lift even a fraction of the burden on this man's shoulders.

Vash catches up quickly.

Nicholas is not particularly surprised at this--more at the flutter of something like relief that feels ill-placed, undeserved, when he should be irritated. Probably. It would be impossible to converse over the howling, skin-flaying sandstorm, so he does not bother--

But he does glance aside, shifting his grip on the reins without really intending to. His Tomas reads the gesture as 'close flank,' likely owing to some flocking instinct or another, and thus the fluffy blue bird falls into lock step with Vash's steed. It is somewhat forgiving of a more novice rider. Wolfwood's expertise is more mechanical than animal despite his experience with Tomas chicks.

Maybe they should've stolen borrowed the news van. Two worms, one stone. It would've prevented any chance of Meryl and Roberto giving chase. Nicholas does not relish the idea of this entering the news cycle.

That thought (and the accompanying scowl) sends a wobble through his riding posture, and a hard bounce of saddle under his backside.

"Fuckin' ow--"

There's no stopping now. They descend a perilous switchback path down the flank of the mesa, leaving the safety of the ship and its surrounding shield behind.

Out onto the sand. The Tomas accelerate effortlessly.

Something about the speed and a lack of engine noise is both calming and haunting. Wolfwood tries and fails to mimic Vash's stance, but he manages... something less shaky, lifting himself up off of the saddle by heels in the stirrups.

It is impossible to miss the hulk of the Humpback marooned in the sand. So much damage to the engines warrants extensive repairs. It stopped mere feet from Hopeland's retaining wall, and its shadow is welcome relief for the orphanage and surrounding town as the suns slant toward the horizon.

They'll have the light for a little while, but not long enough to search and make their way back. It makes the hairs on Nick's nape prickle.

Onward. Past the sandsteamer's hull - at a fair, wary distance, eyes up for sniper glass, for raiders, for potential pursuers - and then past its stern. The tread tracks haven't been buried completely, ripples in the vast emptiness.

It has begun to sink in, the improbable nature of a search for a lone body out here, even knowing roughly when the vessel was forced to turn. They follow the enormous gouges and furrows, criss-crossed with the tracks of smaller vehicles.

"He's my brother," he says aloud. A beat of honesty, a beat of determination - explanation, apology, perhaps. As the cult's executioner, it would not be the first time he had to hunt another Eye of Michael member. Certainly not the first time he had to chase Livio down.

Just a different context now.

[thehumcntyphccn]

Their hands connect, surprisingly. Livio had grasped his hand, and even gave into the handshake with what seemed to be a yearning to meet in the middle just in kind. Despite being slow, despite the hesitance, It's an action that causes an even more vivid tenderness to flood over the Humanoid Typhoon's face, and expel through his eyes as the smile only swells. Vash gives a firm and strong shake as he trusts the other enough to even close his eyes into the smile - like a winking feline.

This man had once been sent out to slay the wanted disaster, through a mess of complexity, yet not for a moment did the Stampede blame the ex-assassin for those actions. Especially not when he acted like this when confronted.

" I see the resemblance, really! The two of you are like two peas in a pod - no wonder why he cares so much about you. Nothing like the love someone has for a younger brother or sister. "

Vash beams even as he is thanked, and even as he is apologized to; in response he simply waves his hand all nonchalant as if he had been given appreciation over a meagre offer or favor.

" Don't worry about that! Really, I know you didn't really want to kill me - and even if you did I couldn't really blame you, y'know. I know Nicholas sure wants to strangle me to death pretty often- I must be a real handful, sometimes~ "

The Humanoid Typhoon is talking to Livio not as a prior threat, but as if he was an old friend.

It seems like he was a bit too used to this after all.

" How has that been, by the way? You were able to get that taken care of alright? I guess if you hadn't, you wouldn't really be here right now. "

Quickly, his voice softens, and so do his eyes as he looks right into the other's golden ones.

" I'm sure Nicholas would like to know you're okay too, Livio. "

Livio would have pressed himself into a corner if he could had. Why he didnt he didn't know...but it might have had to be that look in the blonds eyes. Unconditional care, kindness in a warm gaze in this dark place. That might have been it.

Baby blues that could shatter a mountain now stared down at him with all sweetness of a divine sky. Nobody ever looked like that to him, only ever Nicho...so as he slowly approached he could do nothing else but stare in silent awe, only flinching when Vsh put his hand out in greeting. No fear. Not a single bit...full of cheery smiles and a genuine happiness that could melt the steel heart of the Double Fang....

Just what the hell was this kid? Human? Plant? Angel...?

He had...so much mercy.

Just like Nicho.

The ex-eye member took a shaky steady breath before hesitantly moving forwards an timidly putting his hand in Vash's in a cautious shake. A hand that had almmost been stain in Vash's blood, now shook his hand like an old friend. Heh.... he knew his name too. He-....remembered the name of his enemy.

Liv nodded. "I-..yeah. Yes. Eherm...my name is Livio. Livio the Doublefang." The silver haired assassin finally mumbled.

"I--....I'm Nicholas's baby brothher."

There was a pause to let that sink in before he released Vash from his handshake and instead fidgeted with his jacket instead. "Not by blood mind you, but our bond is probably even thicker than that by now. If him not waking me up from my mind control wasn't proof of what we have I don't know what is.''

"Both him and you saved me that day...I suppose I owe you my thanks, Vash the Stampede...and my apology. I-...never truly wanted to hurt you. My mind was not my own. It hasn't been in a long time. You can imagine was a bullet to the skull can do to cleanse the brain though."