Vash => victory_road Application

[fulltimeproblem]

Player
Name: Box
E-mail: N/A
Preferred Contact: eightcorners or BoxTime#5035
Timezone: EST
Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A, but used to play Atem

Character
Name: Vash the Stampede
Series: Trigun Stampede
Timeline: Episode 10, after splitting up from Wolfwood
Canon Resource Links:
Vash on Trigun Wiki - but it doesn't have Stampede-specific information
Trigun Stampede on Trigun Wiki

Personality:
Vash's feeling of uselessness started before he turned one year old. By this point he was approximately 10-12 years old in cognition, but it took less than a year from birth to have the feelings of unworthiness, undeserving, and uselessness settle into him despite his happy, joyful demeanor. Thanks to the love from his brother and caretaker/mother-figure, these issues didn't creep up as often, typically only in times when he was comparing himself to his brother. His twin brother, Kni, had powers from being a plant (type of alien) that Vash had none of and he would comment that all he was good for was sleeping and eating. Then, the fleet of ships Vash was born and raised in suddenly went crashing to the nearest planet in a tragic event, one that Kni caused but claimed Vash as an accomplice in. After surviving the crash, Vash confronted Kni, only to be taunted with the fact that he was the one who gave Kni the codes he needed to trigger the destruction of the ships carrying hundreds of humans in cryo-sleep. Project SEEDS was in ruins, and Vash now felt responsible for the calamity.

Wishing for death to escape the guilt, Vash runs away from Kni and into the unforgiving desert of Noman's Land, having to dodge the few struggling survivors reaching out for help as he rushes past them. When he's found by the crew of a ship that survived the fall, he's overcome with those feelings of being undeserving due to his guilt, to the point where he doesn't allow himself to eat for a number of weeks, maybe months. During this time he lies that Kni died as well, protecting his twin brother from the humans despite being the catalyst for the crashes. During his time with this ship, Ship Three, he's able to provide help to them by communicating with their plant (alien used for power source) and fixing it from its weakened state. Once this happens and he feels as though he's of use to the humans he decides he can eat again; in finding purpose and usefulness. He's able to live happily in aiding the humans and be among them almost as one of them. Ship Three becomes Home.

However, after a misunderstanding between him and one of the ship's leaders, he runs away to find Kni, who immediately challenges his resolve on helping humans. It's revealed to him that the humans surrounding Kni, who now goes by Knives, think of plants as only being disposable servants to humans. Knives implores that humans are the bad ones who take advantage of his and Vash's plant brethren, and has proof of humans behaving this way, yet Vash remains steadfast in his belief that humans aren't all like that and, as a whole, are deserving of second chances. After many murders and a scuffle, Vash is confronted with a choice: humanity, or his brother. The conflict ends with Vash pointing the gun given to him by Knives at Knives in order to protect the human from Ship Three who came after him. This is when it's cemented in Vash's mind that humans need to be saved, especially from Knives, and he will carry that burden until the end.

150 years do little to change his mindset. Vash is lighthearted and a little goofy when allowed to be off guard. He smiles, plays with kids, and helps everyone where he can. Ever since he was a child he had an infectious charm about him and it carries on into adulthood. He grows up into a pacifist, preferring and insisting that conflicts be settled without much arguing or any violence. He carries the gun from his last conflict with Knives but significantly more often uses it defensively, drawing it at all only when absolutely necessary. A mix of being 151 years old and superhuman from being part alien leads him to being able to have the experience, knowledge, and sense to do crazy things like throw a boulder in the sky and shoot it in the exact spot where it will explode into enough tiny pieces to take out a ton of falling bombs at once. Much like his gun, the sunny demeanor is defensive.

Vash describes himself as not having any pride or being brave at all--he simply does what needs to be done with as little violence as possible. He rushes into dangerous situations without hesitation, such as running after an active gunman or into a tunnel a noise came from, as long as he thinks his actions can lead to saving someone. He rarely shows fear, and the only thing he's been explicitly scared of is the potential of Knives showing up to a place with a damaged plant, knowing his brother's destructive, violent behavior towards humans. His skills with a gun are incredible and superhuman, but he chalks that up to being lucky, still having little faith that anything he does is remarkable. He's quick to surrender when conflict arises, and is also quick to run away rather than fight back when trying to talk it out doesn't work (his physical agility and agileness are helpful in those situations).

For better or worse, Vash sees the inherent humanity in all humans, even when that humanity has been painfully stripped from them. While this makes him able to speak to that humanity in the sympathetic way he does, it leaves him open to pain when the encounter turns violent or even deadly despite his efforts. He saves a father-son criminal duo because they're only human and thus deserve a second chance, and manages to get the people they wronged to help. When the townspeople of the town he saved twice turn on him, he still wants nothing more than to save them from danger, still. To him, it's a simple purpose he has to fulfill, which is to save humans, regardless of crimes. He's asked multiple times throughout the series whose side he's on due to this need to save everyone possible, and he never answers. This drive to be a savior leads him to sometimes make big promises, such as to do anything to fix something, or promising that if God can't save someone then he will. His friend Wolfwood comments that this trend of empty promises are just lies, to which Vash struggles to process, as he believes he's fully capable of fulfilling those sorts of promises always.

Because of Knives both looking for damaged, exhausted plants to take and searching for Vash, Vash's path is paved in destruction. This leads to the incredibly high bounty on his head, thus making him a big red target. He doesn't do anything to disguise himself, believing and hoping that someday things will calm down enough and he'll be able to live beside humans peacefully. Before the tragic events at Jeneora Rock, he tries to leave without a word, sensing that his time there is done; he says he's "not the type to overstay", when really his decision is fueled by fear of Knives. However, the tragic events tragically do happen once Knives finds him there, and many people die, the town is in rubble, and Vash is the only one to blame. He accepts the banishment he receives, not surprised and mournful. After Meryl rushes after him, she sees him smiling, and when she asks Vash how he could smile at a time like this, he responds that he doesn't deserve to cry. What place does he have to cry over a tragedy he caused and feels ultimately responsible for? So he doesn't cry.

Vash is self-sacrificial. He's willing to literally take the bullet for others, and in instances where he feels deserving of violence he lets it happen even though he's fully capable of fighting anyone off. In the city of July he's met with someone whose parents were in Jeneora Rock during the tragedy that befell there; Vash puts down his surrendering hands and allows himself to be shot directly, and when Wolfwood confronts him about this he says that his body moves before he can think about it, adding that he can't leave anyone in a tight spot. Revealed soon after, the severity in number and damage of his scars is shockingly high; at the very least, there is evidence of multiple skin grafts, scar tissue, and metal plates all over his upper body and arms. Despite all the horrible things humans have done to Vash and plants, Vash still wants to defend humans, which Knives later accuses is not out of an act of love, but an attempt to atone for the crash 150 years ago.

While fighting Knives near the end of the season, Vash exclaims that he doesn't care if humans hate him, that he'll prove himself to them without caring about what happens to himself. He yells that he doesn't care if humans will continue to hunt him, that he'll just keep running away again and again until the day comes where he can stop. Vash doesn't evolve over time as much as he doubles down on what he already believes in. His need to be useful to others is woven into him so tightly no one has been able to budge his resolve. His dream is to someday live peacefully beside the humans as Vash the Stampede, the name humans gave him.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Breeder
Starter: Oddish
Password: Atomic Fireball

Samples
RP Sample: Musebox Thread!

Victory Road Sample:
"I dunno, girl, I don't think I'm good with giving out names," he laments to his Oddish sitting beside him on the log, "but it seems like everyone's Pokémon have nicknames, yeah?"

His Oddish coos at him and swings her legs in a tiny kicking motion. She doesn't give any indication of being upset, or that she understands what Vash is saying at all if he's going to be honest with himself about it. He takes a bite of his apple and chews thoughtfully while he collects his thoughts. It's been difficult for him to not dwell on what he isn't back home to do; for the most part he can push it down during the day until nighttime hits, but then everyone he talks to goes to bed, and he's left alone with his thoughts.

Today to distract himself he took his Oddish to what people call "the beach" to stand ankle-deep in "the ocean". The sand he was used to, but it was a different kind of sand. His Oddish seemed to enjoy herself, though she nearly got washed away by an incoming wave.

Vash chuckles, remembering how much he freaked out and panicked. At the time it was terrifying, but now it was kind of funny to look back on.

"Hey, do you wanna go back to the beach tomorrow? I'll hold onto you so you won't float away this time."

Oddish chirps delightfully; Vash takes it as an enthusiastic "yes". He looks over at the tent he spent an incredible amount of time putting up and then at the fire keeping him and Oddish warm.

He glances down at Oddish and then smiles. "You're not red, but I like geraniums. They're flora, kinda like you. How about that for a name?"

He's still unsure if Oddish understands him, but she chirps again with more excitement than before.

Vash grins and gently pats her leaves. "Geranium it is, then!"