FOR LOVE .

𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐍𝐌𝐀𝐍. 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄.

i was doing this as a joke but um. um i

is this a firefox thing or is tumblr just purely fucking with me now. why do i have this 2008 ms paint ass color wheel LET ME PUT IN MY SILLY HEX VALUES

for once, your brother isn’t shooting first ,  so you lean on the chance ,  hand still hovering by your holster;  the other palm of your flesh hand out toward him . ❝ look,   maybe we don’t fight this time, alright? just once? we used to be able to just talk ,   you know ?   let's just do that today. besides ,   i’m really hungry. ❞ you're hoping he'll try to win you over through words : it is never any more pleasant than fists where he's concerned , but with a town of people so close by , you'll tolerate whatever vitriol he spits your way . you miss him a little , too , but nobody needs to know that.

there's a quiet part of him that sees where wolfwood is coming from , can understand how horrifying it would've been from another angle , the boy and his weapon held over vash's head , his young eyes bright with learned violence . what a world you've made, knives. the bigger part of him is staunch & stubborn, knows full well there are always options. kneecaps , elbows , shoulders , kidneys , anything that gives humans a chance. standing makes it feel like his guts are going to spill between clutching fingers ( only held upright by the priest himself ) , but it's all ignored for now ⸺ he's too busy glaring down wolfwood ; even as vash jerks the both of them sideways to avoid a stray bullet's bounce trajectory. ❝ no more , you hear me ? DO YOU ? ❞

you don't even blame miss ieri for spending most of her time out on the balcony instead of ' doing her job ' (quoted) ,  because even the two suns must be a welcome sight if one spends a long enough time in a metal cage like this. rem was like that too , you think , insistent on turning her face to any light , even if artificial.  you're so grateful to have her flesh & blood with you , still recognizable , still young from cold sleep .  she's sharper than her sister ⸺like knives is sharper than you⸺ but she listens patiently as you REGALE her about lost lovers ,  even laughs when you play up stories of sheriffs and heiresses;   about how this was the one , i swear it, if you just ignore the last thirty people i said that about .  it’s gratifying to be heard , even if you only play it up to wring an exasperated smile out of her . you're not really one for romance; especially when the lifespans on this planet are the way they are. ❝ but you should'a seen her!  she was such a looker,  you can't blame a man. she had these huge brown eyes, and her hair was longer than my coat ! ❞ something else about her was huge , too , but you'd never say that in front of a respectable woman.

✰ IF YOU WERE THE TYPE TO SHUT UP WHEN FACED WITH A DEADLY WEAPON , you'd probably live longer . but you're not, so you shrug instead , smile light on your face. ❝ i MEAN , i wouldn't say burden , but it's more of a chore than you'd think . people sure do hate being told they're wrong. ❞

horror crawls up your bruised spine. your voice is raw from the tears you hold back, something nearly hateful and childish in you thrumming & tantrumming. ❝ i'll ⸺ i'll scream and rage at you right now , wolfwood ! you killed him! he was a kid, goddammit ⸺ you ! ❞

✰ your sigh is defeated . ❝ no, knives. ❞ you're wary as you watch him , hand hovering close to your firearm . trust is a luxury your brother's given up a long time ago . even facing him here has taken more of your RESOLVE than you'd care to ADMIT. ❝ that's kind of the problem , isn't it ? ❞ humans adapt , grow , change. you'd give anything for nai to be more like them.