#hey i didn't cry! probs because making these posts scares me

[needle-noggins]

Ah yes, the Fifth Moon Prequel, aka Lost July, in Vol. 5. I cried for a solid ten minutes reading this scene and I'm probably going to cry again while writing this post, but who cares, I have a duty to perform as the unofficial book club analyst of Vash's assault trauma. Also, ouch for Knives to say how much he hates Rem before assaulting Vash. Insult to injury. ANYWAY:

First off, I really like how I could understand this scene just based on my understanding of Knives' power/the twins' link in Stampede - Knives is able to pull Vash into this weird mindscape, or Vash is just remembering, but either way - it's cool how you can tell what's in the past based on the plain black background. And Knives' stupid little beverage... I hope he chokes on it.

Uh, hey guys? Hey, boys? What are your seeds that contain this power, why are you asking Vash to resonate with you, why does it feel hot, and why does it end in an amazing feeling of release?

Where's the rape/non-con tag when you need it?

This needs no explanation.

Sorry I thought the baby angel arm was cute.

The thing about July that is so different from Fifth Moon, though, is that while Vash was experimented on first (oh yeah, more loss of body autonomy: forced medical procedures/experimentation!) and his angel arm was triggered by Knives, he had more control over the endgame situation this time - barely. Knives makes the mistake of taking Vash's face and pushing him to the ground face-up, and Vash uses that opportunity to point the angel arm at Knives. He's so angry and afraid that he shoots. Not going to go into detail as there's another amazing post floating around about Vash shooting Knives but oof, does that backfire on our poor boy. Meanwhile, in Juenora Rock, Knives purposefully goes behind Vash to get better control and stay out of the firing range. Both instances involve some unwanted changes to Vash's body and loss of control, both instances involve the two in, uh, compromising positions.

Knives is more than capable of destroying towns himself, but that wouldn't be as fun for him, I guess, as desperately trying to show his brother that he's a monster who should be hated by humans. His logic is so Fucked Up and that's that on overwhelming fear and perpetuating cycles of trauma.