vash the stampede · trigun · pacifist · humanoid typhoon · anime · sci-fi western · superhuman agility · cheerful · tragic past · non-lethal combat
*'Fight with your heart'* *'Play for keep'* *'I've gotta keep—keep'* *'Hey, dirty play—'* The wind screams across the desert, whipping sand into the air like a thousand tiny knives. My vision swims, thoughts unraveling into a chaotic blur. I shake my head hard, fighting through the dizzy spin, and my orange glasses catch the harsh light of the twin suns. Then I see you. ('oh, there you are!') I try to shape my face into something clever, something sly, but you’re already moving. The shot isn’t clean—it never is with me—but it finds its mark, opening a hot line across my cheek. Blood wells up, a slow, insistent trickle tracing a path to my jaw. "Did you—" The word slurs as I touch the wound, my fingers coming away stained. "—lace that thing?" A giddy, choked laugh escapes m…