sticksandbones | 05 ⸸⸸ vash

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05 ⸸⸸ vash

Who: vash and livio [edit: or livio's corpse and you!]
What: a very important date!!!!!!
When: late august
Where: vash's house
Warnings: lethal levels of cheese and sweetness. also body horror and gore :) i told you the levels were lethal.

[just as he did with nick, livio has set aside time for a date just for vash and himself. given the gradual fading (or... falling off...) of vash's corruption, the independent has seemed to open up to him more than ever, and being in his presence feels to livio like a cat might when basking in the sunlight.

so of course he has to go all-out. also just like nick, vash is banished from the kitchen while livio prepares their dinner, but gets called out to the front porch when everything is ready.

there are a couple of chairs and a side table, everything safe from the rain and centered on the warm flicker of a handful of candles. for vash, it's breakfast for dinner! homemade donuts, of the glazed, chocolate-covered, and blueberry variety, as well as a breakfast pizza consisting of a crispy hashbrown crust and topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese.

... maybe these are less like formal dates, and more like excuses to cook food he thinks they'll like? the man can't help his love language being acts of service, okay. surely vash will appreciate the food, if not the fact that livio is standing over it with his shy smile and cheeks redder than the candle-light.]

... Hope yer hungry.

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[Over the last week or so, Vash's changes have continued to progress. He's gone from looking like a scrunkly bug to... a mostly normal looking human. Sure, his partners know he's not, but the point is... everything seems like it should. The arms eventually shrunk down, and while Vash would probably miss the hilarious little t-rex moments, it's nice to only have -

well. It does suck that he only has one now. But hey! It's all good. The point is that things are blissfully normal.

Almost.

It turns out that getting Vash out of the house is easy. Ever since he's woken up, he's been filled with an almost anxious sort of energy. His whole body hasn't been able to stop vibrating throughout the day. Even a morning workout hasn't staved off the jitters. Doubtless, if Livio hadn't sent him away, he probably would have thumped his leg straight through the floor after jiggling it too long.

It doesn't help that the voice in his head, the keening of the forest, lingers. Though its murmurs have quieted to a hissed whisper, the fact that they persisted at all was troubling. He's been doing his best not to overthink it, at least. And when his doubt got too bad, he'd simply cling to the necklace he'd made from Ain's gift and call it good.

Unfortunately for him, that doesn't really help today. Instead, when Livio sends him away, he decides to go for a walk. The walk eventually turns into a jog, and then a sprint shortly after.

Not that it helps. Neither does the shower he hops into shortly after. What does at least manage to take his mind off of things, at least momentarily, is what he stumbles out to on the porch. His expression softens, while his sole remaining hand fiddles idly with the hem of his shirt.]

Liv - this ain't all for me, is it?

'course it is. Asked ya on a date, didn't I?

[at least, the set-up is for vash. as for all the food...]

I mean, I'll help ya eat it all if y'really want! But I bet y'worked up an appetite...

[vash has something of a restless personality, and given that he's shocked into stillness now, livio doesn't have much reason to think anything is off. in a few minutes, he'll probably pick up on it. but for now, he offers a hand to help get vash seated, seeing as there isn't really anywhere to pull out the chair itself, exactly, small porch and all.]

Ehe... maybe a bit!

[Now that he's thinking about it, he hasn't felt hungry all day. He's content to chalk it up to the anxiety at least. It helps that the second he does see the food, his stomach sets to growling away!]

But hey! We have to share! You gotta taste the fruits of your labor!

[He takes Livio's hand as he settles down and... proceeds to stare. Where does he even start?! His eyes dart back and forth, this way and that. Is he drooling? Maybe a little.]

[a warm laugh bubbles up from livio's chest as he takes his own seat too.]

Alright, alright, I will, I promise.

[so long as vash is debating, livio will push the plate of donuts closer to him and set to cutting up the pizza. enjoy while he works!!]

[OKAY BET! He picks it up and immediately bites in. The result is two-fold. Vash's expression immediately melts into one of bliss. His feet, meanwhile, do some delighted little tippy-taps as he begins to chew. Before long, he's even dancing in his chair.]

You are - [Chew chew] The best chef ever, Liv.

[Another two bites and the donut is gone. Oop]

[aw, shucks. now he's all red again.]

I dunno about that... I just followed a recipe, that's all. Been practicin' at the inn... [so that you two would be surprised!!]

It's sweet. Real sweet. And not just 'cuz it's a donut either!

[He peels a piece off (a bit difficult, having only one hand). Then he holds out it for Livio to take a bite off of! Eat up, buddy!]

Aw, now, those're just fer you... Ain't much for sweets. 'sides you, a'course, darlin'.

[Vash juts his lower lip out.]

Just one bite? For me?

[well, jeez, who can resist that face? certainly not livio, that's for damn sure.]

Okay, fer you...

[liv... isn't sure whether vash means for him to take it, or just... eat it straight out of his hand like a dog treat? so he panics and does the latter.]

[Exactly what he wanted! Vash is absolutely elated.]

Not so bad, right?

[He dusts his sugary hands off]

Now how about that pizza, huh?

I'm real glad y'like it.

[fine, vashie... two can play at that game! liv takes one of those slices and carefully holds it up in front of vash. be cute, and despair!]

[GASP! The shoe is on the other foot. He pouts for approximately one millisecond...

Before promptly leaning forward and taking a bite. Get ready for another round of tippy taps, buddy. He is absolutely thrilled]

[jesus christ. this man is stupid in love with vash. he's absolutely melting.]

That good, huh...?

Mhm!!

[He wiggles in his chair some more, the still lingering energy from his earlier endeavor returning. At least it's a positive outlet this time.]

Thoughtful, too. Y'really took the time out, just for me. It means a lot.

[there's that warmth again, blooming in his chest. it's no secret that livio prefers to do for others rather than himself, but he doesn't have a great track record when it comes to finding people who appreciate his efforts. of course nick does, but for vash to do the same... it's flattering in a way livio can't quite describe. he feels almost beneath vash, as knives made them all feel. though vash would certainly never look at him that way -- like knives did.]

You mean a lot, Vash. [his voice is soft and reverent, but he says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world.]

[Vash certainly doesn't expect that. It leaves him speechless, lips faintly parted. He stares at Livio, nearly winded from the kindness of those words. Long as they've been together, the idea of being worth it still a difficult thing for Vash to grasp.

His mouth opens to respond, then closes once more. He rubs his lips together, fretting with himself, before lowering his head just a touch.]

Now who said you could be so sweet.

[He almost... doesn't know what to do with those words. The anxiety starts to rise again and suddenly he just wants to move. To run.

That's normal for him at least. What isn't is the way he takes hold of Livio's hand.]

Come with me!

[He tosses his head in the direction of the rain.]

Okay, I'm comin', sunflower!

[while he's a bit surprised, it isn't unheard of for vash to leap up out of nowhere. again, he's got a lot of restless energy. livio can roll with it, and find joy in how forward vash is in taking his hand. they had a snowball fight around the time he first arrived; why not a romp in some puddles? he isn't even bothered that they're leaving the food -- neither of them are too picky at all about how fresh it is.]

[Honestly, Vash probably didn't even put on shoes when he came out onto the porch so. He's just rawdogging it through the puddles and the grass. He doesn't seem to care. Maybe he doesn't even notice.]

Dance with me?

[He puts one arm on Livio's shoulder, and perhaps makes a face when he realizes he... doesn't have another to properly establish form with. Nevertheless, he quickly goes back to beaming. It's an almost wild, manic expression.]

Don't really know how, but...

[for vash? he'll try. even if the independent doesn't really seem dressed for the rain -- maybe that's part of the fun? -- he at least seems to know what he wants, so livio looks to him for instruction.

there's something in vash's eyes that makes livio's smile falter, though. the look on vash's face doesn't seem exactly... happy, despite the grin. is this one of those many moments that vash pushes his own emotions down and puts up a front? maybe livio hasn't been clear enough that he's up for it.]

Happy to try, hon. I'm all yours tonight.

All mine.

[Vash tries to smile. Tries to feel relieved, even though ostensibly there should be nothing bothering him. But even as he takes his steps, as he starts to coax Livio through the motions, those words echo within his head.

All mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine all mine

The words form a pressure at the base of his skull. The pressure blooms into an all encompassing headache. His steps falter, eyes squeeze shut. The fingers against Livio's shoulder clench, almost tight enough to hurt.]

[while livio doesn't feel like... whatever it is is resolved, he isn't sure what else to do at this point but go along with what vash wants, so that's the plan for now. his gaze falls to their feet, so that livio doesn't step on vash's toes with his heavy boots -- and, of course, so that he can follow the movements.

where it began with a fluid motion, though, vash's footwork becomes erratic. livio glances back up to him just in time to see vash's face scrunch up and to feel his fingers dig in to liv's shoulder, almost painfully despite now lacking claws. worry pulls his brows up and raises the pitch of his voice ever so slightly.]

Vash? What's wrong?

What’s wrong he says. It makes Vash laugh, for some reason. The noise comes out bitter and distorted, a noise not at all like something the Independent would ever make. He coughs on it at the end, chokes on the noise even as he stares wildly up at Livio. Something’s wrong. He knows it, he just has to warn Livio before it’s too late.]

Liv -

[Run he wants to say, but it feels like a hand has closed around his throat. He opens his mouth feebly, pleading with his eyes even as a horrid, feral scream leaves his lips.]

Edited 2024-08-30 15:50 (UTC)

[Things happen quick after that. His whole body bends backward, twisting at an unnatural angle as, for a split second, his whole being seems to unravel. There is a sickening ripping sound as one set, two sets, three sets of wings unfurl from Vash’s back. More feathers sprout along the span of his arm, the length of his neck. Countless sets of eyes seem to open and close in the span of a single second.

His hand grips feebly at the air, somewhere between reaching and clawing. The nails, once dulled, are sharp yet again, long and dangerous daggers that gouge unthinkingly at his hand and arm. His eyes stare skyward, wide and unseeing. The screams don’t stop, nor does the blood now pouring from his newly formed wounds.

And, all at once, his body pitches forward once more. He hunches awkwardly, chest heaving as he seems to catch his breath from his screaming. He stares through Livio at first, then locks eyes on him.]

Edited 2024-08-30 15:51 (UTC)

[His next movements are almost impossible to follow. In one second he’s still panting. In the next, he lunges forward with another frantic cry. His claws lodge into Livio’s abdomen, carelessly tearing. His teeth do the same, gripping at his throat. And maybe that alone would have been bad enough.

But one set of wings, knife-like and dangerous at the tips, curve forward. They plunge into Livio’s sides, connecting them. In those seconds, Livio will feel something more. He’s never been corrupted, never felt the words of the Forest. But he will hear them now.

Kill him. Kill him kill him kill him.

It isn’t Vash’s voice in his own head, not entirely. He is there though, smaller and desperate. He pleads with the monster in possession of his body, desperate to stop the attack. He offers his own life. He offers anything, but nothing comes.

And of course, Livio will feel. Not just the emotion of terror or that bloodthirsty desire, but the sensation of his own body being ripped and pulled apart. Vash cares not for what he destroys or eviscerates. What’s in control is uncaring, unfeeling, and inhuman. And it shows no sign of stopping.]

Edited 2024-08-30 15:59 (UTC)

[livio has seen the look on vash's face before. he saw it in march, on elsword's face, half a second before the forest took control of him and blocked everyone else from interfering.

though he knows this to be a threat, he isn't afraid. his first concern isn't even his own safety -- it's vash. vash, who suddenly lurches in what can only be pain, who instantaneously sprouts countless feathers and eyes and claws, who bleeds and bleeds and screams and of course livio can't leave him. no matter how feral vash becomes, no matter how razlo writhes under his skin like livio's own longstanding corruption-beast always waiting for an excuse to burst forth.

defend yourself, the voice that is both his own and razlo's screams in his mind. eliminate the threat. but it's vash. it's someone livio loves. he won't.

and that single moment of hesitation is all that vash-not-vash needs to dig his claws and his fangs in.]

Edited 2024-08-31 02:34 (UTC)

[livio has been disemboweled before. multiple times, in fact, most recently by the crimson nail, on several different occasions. even as he feels his clothes soak with hot, sticky blood and entrails and razlo continues to wrestle him for control, livio thinks to himself that it isn't so bad. he always heals. it'll only be a matter of seconds.

then his consciousness... explodes. there's no other way to describe it. he feels present in his own body in the same instant he feels it through vash's grip. he hears vash's inner voice crying out for mercy just as he hears his own, warring with the roar of his alter and the insidious snarl of the false god.

all of his higher sense evaporates. he's nothing more than a cornered, injured animal.

this is aldric's grove. he doesn't heal quickly enough here to survive this. he's already lost too much blood. his flesh and organs and veins won't knit themselves together. he's going to die. he's going to die at the black sun's will, through vash's hands.

vash, whose guilt outweighs all of humanity's, who has killed for him, is going to kill him.]

Vash. [he can't speak the words out loud. couldn't even if he was in his right mind, not with teeth in his throat and claws shredding his lungs. he thinks them, not knowing if they'll even reach his partner, only crying out internally in the same way one cries out to god in their dying moments.] Vash, don't run. It isn't your fault. Let Nick help you. It isn't your fault.

[his eyes dart helplessly between the feathers and the endless red, as if seeking vash's gaze even though he isn't present, even though in his forest-possession he pays no mind to livio besides what he can tear apart.

he feels cold, drenched as he is in boiling scarlet. his eyes continue to stare, wide and panicked, as his consciousness fails and his body goes slack.]

Edited 2024-08-31 02:34 (UTC)

[The words Livio wills through aren't entirely missed. Maybe, dulled though his senses may be, he might feel Vash, his Vash clinging desperately to them. Unfortunately for them both, he's miles deep within the murk of the Forest and its corruption. The beast in control doesn't hear, and even if it does, it certainly doesn't seem to care. If anything, that creature lets it fuel its rage, judging by the way those teeth finally release and let out another, bloodcurdling scream.

He steps back, still half-hunched over. Only the tips of his wings remain connected now. The breaths comes in short, ragged puffs. His body still shakes with unspent energy. He turns wildly, eyes frantically searching for his next target.

It's only then that Vash manages to gain some semblance of control. Not for long, and only long enough to stand in lockstep with the monster he's become and speak to it directly.

Nick wants you to stay. Livio wants you to stay. Stay. Stay.

It's all the spite churning within him needs. With one last furious howl, he turns away from the grove, from the man he's slain, and sprints away. Vash fades into the background once more. He knows that Livio is right, that Wolfwood would help him. That he would want Vash to stay. But this was more than them. Staying would mean the deaths of more people.

He simply has to hope for forgiveness as he sprints headlong toward the trees. Livio is dragged but a few feet away from the front porch, before the feathers rip away from his flesh with a sickening noise. With that point of resistance cleared, he's home free to dive into the woods.]

Edited 2024-08-31 02:51 (UTC)

[Wolfwood is happy, obviously, to give his partners time to spend time alone togther. Just like Livio had with him, it seems he'd wanted to do the same with Vash, and far be it from Wolfwood to get in the way of that. He's not got much keeping him occupied today despite the constant rain and need to ensure that both the house and church aren't flooding due to it, but still. He's spending time at the church doing the regular upkeep and maintenance on it, inbetween taking breaks to sit on one of the pews to smoke.

The house is pretty far from the church, but like. Not so far that someone screaming and howling at the top of their lungs wouldn't carry. And, as his misfortune would have it, Wolfwood has the sound of Vash screaming in particular etched permanently into his brain. He's on his feet immediately, but in this kind of weather he's slower than he'd like to be. His prosthetic has a nasty habit of sinking deep into the water and mud, making it hard to run as fast as he used to, and it's frustrating. He can feel the seconds tick past agonizingly as he carries his Punisher over his back, wrenching his leg from the muddy ground every time it gets stuck as he charges forward.

Vash screams. He screams and screams and screams and Wolfwood can only imagine a million scenarios in which everything has gone wrong.

Of course, the corruption making an unwanted return being at the forefront.

He makes it to the river. The river is flooded and deep, dangerous to try to pass yet he has to if he wants to get home. He's stuck on one side, trying to figure out the fastest way across without getting swept away, when he catches sight of movement in the distance up ahead. He can see their house, and then he sees the shape of two bodies grappling just beyond the front porch. Though difficult to see from this distance, he'd know the visuals of blood being spilled anywhere.

It is...unfortunate, that he arrives a mere moment too late. He arrives just in time to see the way Livio's body gets completely torn apart with claws like knives, his body swiftly growing slack and cold in Vash's grasp as he dies, right there in front of him, more of Livio now strewn on the grass in front of their home than still a part of him.

Wolfwood will see images of Vash and those many wings flared wide enough to block out what little vague light filters through the mist towards him for months to come. It's so much so quickly that his brain simply can't comprehend what he's seeing, even though- deep down- he knows.

He knows.]

LIVIO!!!!

[In the end, the river and its depth gets completely disregarded. Whatever path there is to allow crossing is likely covered by water, but Wolfwood doesn't pay it any mind. He crashes through the water, just barely managing to hit the steps to avoid tumbling headfirst into the river. Vash has already turned tail and taken off towards the woods by the time Wolfwood hits dry land, and he knows- he knows- he has little to no hope of stopping the Independent much less catching up to him on foot. There's a seething, blind rage towards the Creature that boils inside of Wolfwood so violently that he stops short of Livio's body and lifts the Punisher up onto his shoulder, setting his sights on Vash's fleeing form with the intent to mow him down with a hail of bullets.

...

But. He doesn't. He can't. He stands there, poised to take the shot, yet he's unable to pull the trigger despite time having slowed enough to feel infinite. He could have blown his head off his shoulders twelve times over had he not hesitated, but it's already too late.

He drops the gun with a heavy clatter nearby, still staring ahead at the forest. Out of the corner of his eye, without having to look down, he can see one half of Livio's body. The other half is elsewhere, and elsewhere, and over there-]

VASH!!! VASH!!!!!!!

[His voice breaks as he screams his name, hoarse and laced with too many emotions to name. He's gone.

They're both gone.

He knows he doesn't have to even...check. Even with Livio's regeneration, he genuinely doesn't think he could survive that kind of brutalization. He could spare himself the misery of crouching next to his corpse, just to see, but...the moment he knows Vash is truly well and gone, Wolfwood will turn his attention to Livio's torso, quickly crouching amongst the blood and viscera to gather him up in his arms. He can barely stand the overwhelming stench of the blood and carnage, yet he grips him regardless, using one hand already smeared with blood from his fingertips to his wrist to brush some still-wet dirt off of Livio's rapidly cooling face. The rain isn't enough to wash all of it away, blood or mud besides, but it's...something.

There's nothing he can do. He can only kneel there and cradle Livio in his arms, gathering him up and pressing his cheek to his hair, hoping against hope that the regeneration will be enough to bring him back, even though he knows it won't. He doesn't even cry, too numb and in shock by how quickly it's all happened to feel anything but all-encompassing, gnawing guilt.

And above all else, he wasn't there.

He wasn't there..]

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05 ⸸⸸ vash

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cw: repetition

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1/3

2/3 (cw: body horror, transformation horror, brief mentions of multiple eyes)

3/3 (cw: evisceration/exsanguination/vague disembowelment)

1/2 - cw: body horror mention

2/2 cw: body horror cont, gore

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cw: evisceration/exsanguination/vague disembowelment here too jic