sometimes i have "ships" but other times i am simply aware of which fictional characters are in love with each other. these are different things.
Look, I know ships are all subjective. But you cannot convince me that Vash and Wolfwood aren't queer coded. This is a series from the 90's that has a Canon trans woman who is trans and also explicitly recognized as a woman, not 'a man dressed as a woman'. (there is perhaps some outdated language, but transsexual WAS the language that was used by the trans community at the time)
And she may be a villain, but she is not a villain BECAUSE she's trans. Which is astoundingly rare in older media. And then there's Zazie, who is gender fluid and referred to exclusively by the pronouns of the form they choose to take.
Nightow was clearly very aware of, and respectful to, the queer community. In the 90's. In a post AIDS world that was deeply paranoid by propoganda against the queer community, and more specifically against gay men.
Furthermore, it's overtly and textually stated - in Vash's inner voice no less - that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Wolfwood. And immediately after, the Couch Scene is absolutely an allegory for a marriage and packed with symbolism supporting that.
And then when Vash chooses to save Livio and break his one absolute rule, he does it as an act of love. Because he had to protect Wolfwood's family, the thing he spent his entire life protecting, the thing he sacrificed everything for.
Wolfwood was the one person in 150 years that Vash connected with on such a deep level (again explicitly stated by Vash's inner voice) and it shows throughout the entire run of maximum. Allowing Wolfwood to point a gun at the back of his head. Bringing Wolfwood to ship 3, his home, to help protect the people there, Being ready to fight to the death after 7 months of captivity, using a significant amount of his power to protect the orphanage from Knives and the arc, even knowing he'd need as much as he could in the final battle.
I don't care that they didn't kiss or explicitly say the word love in text. There's so much there that speaks to a deep, intense connection and a desire to live their lives together. Honestly a kiss would be trivial in the face of everything else already there that shows how deep their connection goes.
