doubledollar: (356)
Vash The Stampede ([personal profile] doubledollar) wrote in [community profile] kaisou2024-01-03 12:34 pm

SEED 12 - Along the lonely road of the heart

WHO: Vash + The Network, + The Cottage
WHERE: Both at his home and on Libra
WHEN: Around 11am on Jan. 3
WHAT: Hey guess who woke the up
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of death, but otherwise it's just a sad plant man waking up.

.//_ Long Sleep - ○ [ closed to Kni ]
[ Nights on No-Man's land are long and cold. The days are blazing hot in a way that can't be described--but the moment the sun went down, the air became dry and unkind to the skin, and to anyone who didn't have the privalege of a home heated by gas or fire learned to bundle up and wait it out.

The best that Vash the Stampede--once again a Wanted Criminal with millions of doubledollars on his head--chooses the warmest place he could to spend the night. The remains of a beat-up old restaurant that had been long abandoned now that the city it was in no longer had a Plant to breathe vitality into it.
That was his life, lately. Eat what he could. Run as fast as he can. Stay away from the major cities where the majority of people lived now that the world was so changed--now free of Millions Knives and those who wished to wipe out humanity.
Earth knew of the Plight of No Man's Land, now, and it'd be only a matter of time before the planet became one that thrived.

And Vash would be no part of it. Having saved the world, Noone knew the whole story of what he'd done. Only that the fight between he and his brother lasted too long, endangered the lives of too many--and they all wanted someone to blame it on. That's fine. It suited Vash fine to be the one they blamed. They were safe, and that's all he cared about.

《 All he cared about? 》

No, that's not entirely true. There are other things to care about. The insurance girls. Livio. Wolfwood's memory, and a small apple tree were things he'd have to take care of, still.
...And of course there was

...Eve, and Dante. Zulius and Jun... Rose. Waver, Takame--

Kni.

《 Who? 》

He's drifting into sleep that feels lucid. Like he's falling through space, sparkling stars passing through his fingers as he tries to wake up; tries to stop himself before he falls too far.

《 But how far? 》

The building he'd fallen asleep in had been dark--pitch dark, enough so that you could see the entire galaxy spread out in the sky just outside. And he's sure that's why his eyes suddenly ache, why there's a bright blue light that threatens to blind him.
And the touches of a ... song. One that, by instinct, he feels himself gently ... singing along to.

《 It always comes to me. That song. 》

It isn't in the dark, cold building in a forlorn, abandoned city that Vash wakes up in, but rather, the warm, bundled comfort of his own bed, in his home. His home--on Earth, not on No Man's Land. But...
His eyes fly open as it all comes back in a rush. Like a flooding of his brain, the dam between where he was and where he should have been simply breaks, and were it not for the glowing blue Plant holding onto him where he lay.

He might have thrown himself out of bed, all at once.

There are patterns dancing across Kni's face, in an odd, and yet familiar way that he can't quite recognise. His own skin almost turns pale and white under the others' touch, small, featherlike scales lifting up--under his eyes, out of his ears--until he's looking a little leafy under that glowing light.

...Unsure if the other is asleep or awake, Vash does the one thing he can think of in this moment:

He laughs. A short little unsure sound that bubbles in his chest, uncomfortably. An unamused, uncertain sound as he moves to wrap his arms around the small version of his precious brother. ]



.//_ Hello, World - ○ [ Open to Libra Network ]

video: un: ♡☮STAMPEDE

[ he almost wants to just do this over text. But. Given what's happened, he manages to tell himself that it'd probably mean more to show his face. to show he's alive and okay and--not. dying. Having looked back to the post Kni made, he figures it's pretty important people know he's. You know. Alive.

So the image that's appearing on the screen is of one Mr. The Stampede--and while he does smile, the expression does appear to be a little hollow, a little tired. Mixed in with the fact that his hair is nearly fully black--...strangely, save for some very minor golden roots at the very base--he's not exactly looking himself.

But alive. alive is important, right? ]


I'm sorry if Kni--
No.
I'm sorry if I worried anyone. Falling asleep like that and not waking up must have been pretty uncomfortable for anyone to witness. But.
...I'm okay. It was weird, but I wasn't ... here. I know I was here, but I wasn't. I think I went back home for a while. ...A long while. Once my internal clock figures itself out, I'll figure out exactly how long.

But I'm okay. I'm tired and I definitely feel like I'm made of rusty wire--and my face hurts a bit for some reason.

But I'm okay.

I don't know what you all did while I was asleep, but. I probably have a few of you to thank for what you did do while I was out.

Thank you.

...

Um. Now if I can. Put that aside for a minute, I have a really important request.

...I don't want to leave this world ever again.
I.

[ he's quiet, and his expression goes vacant--like he's somewhere else. Just for a minute. ]

I don't have any reason to go back to No Man's Land.
So if anyone knows how I can... keep from ever having to go back there.

I'd appreciate the help.

Thanks.


.//_ Home Free - ○ [ Open to Anyone at the Cottage ]
[ and after the message on Libra is done, he's going to get up from bed, where he's tucked Kni in--who probably hasn't slept in days and desperately needs it.

He'll be puttering around, refamiliarizing himself with the home he'd been away from for what is... likely years, at this point. Fixing his hair back into its usual style, and. Maybe looking for a certain something he knows Wolfwood might have hiding away in some corner in the cottage.

Feel free to stop him in his sort of manic, quiet shuffling. He could probably use a friendly voice or touch to bring him back down to earth after all that's happened. ]
asipofbride: <user name=ponponpon> (pic#16389789)

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[personal profile] asipofbride 2024-01-03 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wolfwood doesn't realize just how much he and Dante have in common, sometimes.

there's inevitably going to be a surge of people to look at Vash--to see that he's alive, safe, well, and inverting his hair by some means of strange biological fuckery. wherever the press of people is, Wolfwood is not. Kni needs Vash, Eve needs Vash, all of Vash's friends need Vash, and Wolfwood

... Wolfwood needs Vash too, but he's used to swallowing down his wants and desires for the greater good, for choking his heart down and burying it deep under what had to be done. he smokes his feelings in cigarette after cigarette behind the house, tucked in the shaded nook they'd built despite how the cold bit into his legs and back, and there he'll wait 'til things calm down, when the garden grows quiet and cold again, when Kni's fallen asleep after his long vigil. ]
asipofbride: <user name=ponponpon> (pic#16369512)

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[personal profile] asipofbride 2024-01-03 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ and when things are quieter--when it's probably just Vash, Dante, and himself left awake in the embers of the day, he'll eventually be as ready as he can be to deal with all of this everything inside of his chest, affection an agonizing shackle that he's once again wearing, love festering in his chest and making him weak, not just a weapon, a tool for violence and everything that means

Nicholas D. Wolfwood has not been human in a long time, but he can't help but feel so terribly weak and open in the wake of standing before Vash, cigarette between his teeth, hands in his pockets as he tries to feign nonchalance while feeling so blessedly relieved that this pretty little interlude isn't over, that he gets to keep dreaming. ]


Quite a fuss you kicked up, Needlenoggin. Guess people ain't ready for you to do more than your usual two hours of shuteye anymore.
Edited 2024-01-03 17:00 (UTC)
fionnuisce: (when you were young)

[action]

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2024-01-03 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[In the kitchen, he would find the world's most pissed off housewife professor hard at work. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows (and some worrying jagged scars across his right forearm), Waver turned to Vash in the kind of irritation that could only come from concern and gestured with the spatula in his hand. (Vegetarian stir-fry, by the smell of what was cooking. He figured it a safe bet Vash wouldn't be one for eating meat.)]

You. Sit down before you dissociate out of your skin. Inhale, count to four, then exhale and tell me if you're alright.
whiteshroud: (jun152)

UN: hikari-vi | voice

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-01-03 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh thank God. Jun lets out a sound of relief. There's a lot to unpack here, but first thing first...]

I'm glad to see you're alright. There were quite a number of people worried about you. Welcome back.
prunedworlds: (feeling calm)

Video

[personal profile] prunedworlds 2024-01-03 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm glad you're alright."

She'd chosen to believe he would be, of course, that was just how Ritsuka worked, but that doesn't mean she's any less relieved.

"Is Kni doing okay?"
fionnuisce: (carrying onward)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2024-01-03 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[That was fine; he knew how to cook the basics, and rice with vegetables was about as basic as one could get. Satisfied that Vash wasn't about to fall over, he turned back to the stove with a quiet sigh.]

Physically, yes you were. There's not a whole lot I can do in regards to healing that others haven't done better, but I can at least solve one of those problems.

...I'm glad you're alright.
whiteshroud: (jun74)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-01-03 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[he'll chuckle]

It's alright. I get the feeling.

[It's not Vash's fault, but he understands the need to apologize.]

Only a few days on this side. It's January 3rd, 2024. How long do you remember being back home?
asipofbride: <user name=ponponpon> (Default)

[personal profile] asipofbride 2024-01-03 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he watches Vash for that long, quiet moment, letting his words hang and fade as his lover plays with his own hair, busy with the man that he sees in the mirror today. he's said his piece, been as vulnerable as he dares to be in this moment, not without something else being given, without something being taken.

he continues to feign casual calm as Vash turns to look at him and--takes his sunglasses, of all things, blinking in the cottage's low light as his face is exposed and all of his tells and little feelings in between. usually he'd quip something up, call Vash a name, but he's still feeling raw and full of holes and Vash's face is strange. ]


You don't spontaneously change your hair color after too much Fireball. We've checked before.

[ he meets sound with sound, cagey, not-very-playful deflections coming easier than sincerity, than affection. ]

Scared? Me? Wouldn't be much of an undertaker if I got rattled that easily.
fionnuisce: (i know it's true)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2024-01-03 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't understand your biology well enough to comprehend it; Wolfwood and your brother implied what happens when your hair changes color, and the rest of us reacted appropriately.

[Waver shrugged, his back to Vash as he worked. Easier that way, knowing it was hard to keep his expression steady.]

You don't have anything to apologize to me for. You're not the first or last person I've been worried over, so focus on apologizing for worrying your kid brother first.
Edited 2024-01-03 18:06 (UTC)
whiteshroud: (jun79)

[personal profile] whiteshroud 2024-01-03 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
That's how you passed out? [Damn man] I knew liquor could have a lot of side effects, but that's a new one.

[Something to be mindful of next year when he turns 21 he guesses! ]

Two years.... [Damn] That's a long time. It must be surreal to be back.

[Which...he hasn't forgotten that request]

But.. are you sure you don't want to go back one day?
asipofbride: <user name=ponponpon> (pic#16369543)

[personal profile] asipofbride 2024-01-03 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I for one am blaming black cherry vodka, as she was the last thing in you before you fucked off for three days.

[ this feels nice and normal

even though Vash's face remains hauntedly open, staring at Wolfwood as if he expects to see through him, as if he expects him to crack open and reveal that he's still on Noman's Land, covered in sand and curious worms, but

no, no. he's warm to the touch, cheeks scratchy with his poor shaving job due to the three days of emotional lockdown, leaning into the hands that pet through his hair, that hold his cheeks, allowing himself to be handled and caressed without much fuss. there's gonna be some ribbing, but no fuss yet. ]


All three agonizing days of it, you asshole. Don't do that again. You look like you've seen a ghost. I should bite you for all the commotion you stirred up.
fionnuisce: (waiting on some beautiful boy to)

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[personal profile] fionnuisce 2024-01-03 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
...

[For just a second, he froze. Eyes wide, color draining from his face, and the only visible tell of the sudden distress laid in the sharp tension of his shoulders and how he had abruptly stopped moving.]
fionnuisce: (the one thing I won't do)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2024-01-03 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Then the moment passed with a slow exhalation as Waver swiftly collected himself, shaking his head.]

...You're Vash. It doesn't matter what you are or where you came from; no one important is going to weigh that as though it means anything against who we know you are.

I'm the one who should apologize. For naking you believe I would really think you were an idiot to think like that. I think it takes a hell of a lot more strength of will and body alike to spare someone than it does to kill them.

And I think...it's okay, if you can't spare everyone. I don't think that makes it meaningless that you cared enough to try.
prunedworlds: (feeling calm)

[personal profile] prunedworlds 2024-01-03 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, it's not like you meant to, so it's not really your fault..."

As if she wouldn't be doing the exact same thing in his shoes.

"It sounded like he was really scared. I hope he'll be fine now that you're awake again."
poisontippedcure: (4)

action!

[personal profile] poisontippedcure 2024-01-03 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[As soon as Rose hears the message over the network, Rose rushes back inside the cottage. She couldn't bring herself to return home, really. Couldn't bring herself to pull away from Vash, and Kni--who's probably sleeping like a log right about now.]

[It doesn't take her long to find Vash, and when she does, she immediately latches onto him from behind. She hadn't meant to startle him with a surprise hug, but she could feel tears starting to form, and she needs a moment to compose herself.]

[When she pulls away, her eyes are miraculously dry. It's fine, she's fine. Everything's fine now that the weight of the world feels like it's lifted off her shoulders.]


You had us quite worried, you know.

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