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⏵ player information
name and pronouns: Batty
age: 32
contact: goodluckmodes

⏵ character information
name: Vash the Stampede
canon: Trigun Stampede
age: 150+
canon point: Episode 10
history: here
abilities:

Vash is a humanoid species called a Plant. This gives him a number of enhanced physical capabilities in comparison to humans – he is significantly stronger and more agile than a normal human, for one thing, able to evade even machine gun fire at point blank range. Although his body does not seem to expel bullets that do strike him in this version as in the manga, he is able to casually dig out a bullet from his side with his bare fingers while conversing with Wolfwood and this does not appear to aggravate the injury, which suggests that he has pain tolerance above and beyond a regular human, and he may still have some degree of regenerative ability considering how little he bleeds from the wound. (In the manga, he is stated to have the capability to heal his scars at any time, but he chooses not to) He also doesn't seem to need to breathe; in episode 12 he flies out into the vacuum of space while he and Nai are fighting with no issue.

Plants are able to generate massive amounts of energy and other essential byproducts, enough so that entire cities sprung up around the Plants that crashed into No Man's Land after the Great Fall. In Stampede, this is apparently done by the Plant acting as a conduit from another plane of existence. Vash is initially thought to be different from other Plants in that he does not appear to produce anything, though in Episode 10, Conrad (a scientist pressed into service for Knives' cause) clarifies that what makes Vash unique is actually that he is the only Plant who can generate and transmit material to and from the other plane. The latter may be what was happening at one point where Vash was in great distress, and a "gate" opened up in his arm and started to absorb everything in the area like a black hole. When the arm was severed by Knives, it absorbed itself and disappeared.

He's also an expert marksman, to the point where he was able to stop an entire series of small missiles with a single revolver round fired at the right angle.

personality:

No Man's Land is a place that makes cynics of people easily. With resources as limited as they are, many people believe that the only way to survive is to look out only for oneself and not risk sticking your neck out. Vash is someone who has spent 150 years actively refusing that mentality, even when it would likely be easier for him, repeatedly taking a path of greater resistance when he believes it to be right and resolutely trying to see the best in everybody. Where he would be justified in resenting humanity for its abuses toward his kind, he chooses to believe in their potential to change instead, such as Luida's plan to terraform the planet to reduce the burden on Plants. When asked why he would want to help a town that would so easily betray him for money, he simply points out their past kindness to him. His ability to see the point of view of others, even those who mean him harm, is his single greatest strength throughout the series.

Vash's earnest desire to help can be seen as a guiding light in the darkness where so many default to selfishness, violence, and cruelty. However, this is not wholly altruistic – or rather, there is a distinct selfishness about it; he cannot bear to see others suffer, so he will carve out whatever it takes of himself to avoid it. He has little to no sense of self-worth, so he sees no issue in these sacrifices. His body is absolutely littered with scars because of his pacifism, and his willingness to allow others to do as they like to him to deescalate a situation has ranged from humiliation to strangling and being shot at, to the point where it can drive people away.

He struggles desperately with survivor's guilt – having been protected at Rem's expense eats at him, as do the crimes his brother commits in the name of their species. He takes on the mantle of protecting humanity as atonement for his brother's actions as much as in honor of Rem's sacrifice, but also as a means of coping with that guilt. He is a man defined by his loneliness – there is an emptiness in him where lost love was, and he keeps trying to fill it with the happiness of others. As such, any perceived failures hit him hard; he blames himself constantly for the suffering of others, often falling back on self-flagellation when there's nothing else to be done, such as starving himself after the destruction of Juneora Rock.

Vash the Stampede is a man on the run. Not only as the Humanoid Typhoon, with a massive bounty on his head, but he is always running from his own pain, chased by the ghosts of the past that haunt him. He feels he has no right to his suffering, and so he smiles and laughs and hides the pain away, because as long as it makes others happy, it's enough for him. He allows others to mistreat him without complaint, and never seems to allow himself to process any grief or anger or resentment. Indeed, even when others like Meryl are angry on his behalf, he seems more concerned with easing their discomfort than anything. Even his pacifistic ideology, largely an act of defiance in a violent world, has an undercurrent of desperation about it – if he is forced to let go of his ideals and belief in humanity, then he will have truly lost everything, and be forced to reckon with that grief.

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