Vashwood

Vashwood is the slash ship between Vash the Stampede and Nicholas D. Wolfwood from the Trigun fandom.

Trigun Manga
Vash and Wolfwood's relationship throughout the manga is one of the most prominent and important dynamics of the story. Initially sent by Vash's brother, Knives, to act as Vash's "guide", the bond the two develop over the course of the manga strengthens into a genuine partnership and friendship. The two characters eventually are able to recognize and understand each others' emotions, despite their differing principles. While Vash — a gunslinger whose rumored to be a "Humanoid Typhoon" and an indiscriminate cold-blooded killer — harbors a pacifistic philosophy to a detrimental degree, Wolfwood — a travelling priest — violates the "Thou Shalt Not Kill" principle and settles to kill others whenever necessary for the sake of self-preservation or to otherwise protect Vash.

Following the end of the initial manga after an epochal event, Vash the Stampede goes into hiding under the alias Ericks in Trigun: Maximum. Wolfwood sets off to find Vash, and inevitably the two are reunited and continue on once more. The pair are constantly together until Volume 10 of Maximum, where the character Livio the Double Fang (Wolfwood's childhood friend) and Wolfwood's old "mentor" Chapel are against them. Wolfwood ends up dying following the confrontation, and a grief-stricken Vash must travel onwards with Livio, carrying Wolfwood's signature weapon the Punisher.

Interactions between Vash and Wolfwood range from bickering to heartfelt discussions of morals. The two characters within the themes of Trigun's story operate as narrative foils and moral opposites to each other.

Trigun Anime (1998)
Vash and Wolfwood's dynamic remains relatively the same — although there are a few minor story differences due to the filler crammed in between crucial story developments, making Trigun's animated adaptation much different than the manga. During Vash and Wolfwood's travels, they stumble across a town being attacked by sandworms, all of which is orchestrated by the fourth Gung-Ho-Gun Zazie the Beast who concealed himself among the children. Zazie holds Vash, women, and children all at gunpoint. However, Vash attempts to persuade Zazie against pulling the trigger, claiming that he could adopt a peaceful lifestyle. Vash's negotiation seems to work, however it's promptly cut short as Wolfwood wantonly shoots and kills Zazie out of paranoia, resulting in a group division and an argument between Vash and Wolfwood about their ideals, to which Wolfwood would then punch Vash out of frustration and storm off.

Inevitably, Wolfwood comes across his teacher, Chapel, who reassigns his duty to kill Vash rather than to safeguard and guide him in exchange for ensuring the safety of an orphanage Wolfwood had devoted himself to protecting. Struck with a dilemma, Wolfwood begins to question his morality, resulting in an emotional breakdown as Wolfwood revisits his former orders to protect and guide Vash, and his own desires to save Vash "even if it meant killing a child". He questions where he went wrong, and reconsiders his own principles, whilst being comforted by Milly.

Next morning, Wolfwood and Vash attempt to make amends and apologize to one another - though instead Wolfwood attempts to twist it into a duel, which gets interrupted by incoming gunfire which he blocks with his Cross Punisher. The two take cover in a bar to strategize, and Wolfwood opts to handle Chapel whilst Vash handles the sniper, Caine the Longshot. Before they part ways, Wolfwood asks what Vash's real name is. Unfortunately, Vash lightheartedly refuses to disclose that, and they set off after smiling at one another.

Wolfwood ends up being gravely wounded following his confrontation with Chapel. Although Wolfwood is the victor, he decides not to kill Chapel despite his demands, embracing Vash's philosophy of refusing to kill other people — however, this mercy only results in Wolfwood's demise thanks to Legato's manipulation of Chapel. Wolfwood then meets Vash in town again, consoling him over his failure to prevent Caine's suicide, discussing the "mortal way of life"; which involves making mistakes, and accepting our own shortcomings. Wolfwood disappears to seek repentance at a church, leaving a blood trail behind him. He reflects on all of his choices, and entertains the idea of there being an Eden if he is reincarnated, thinking of Vash, Meryl, and Millie as he gazes at the cross and realizes that there are many ways to save people, proven by Vash. He agonizes over his mortality, not wanting to die - stating it would be presumptuous to ask for forgiveness. He then bleeds to death before the cross, holding onto his Punisher. Inevitably, his body is discovered by Vash.

Following Wolfwood's death in the anime, Vash visits a town and delightedly indulges in donuts. He hums about them tasting sweet, like honey, before proceeding to break down as the grief of Wolfwood's death settles in, alongside the guilt of being indirectly responsible for Wolfwood's passing.

Inevitably, Vash when embarks on a final battle against Knives, Milly hands him Wolfwood's Punisher Cross to bring with him on his solo journey. At one point, when Knives disarms Vash and is about to deliver a certain killing blow, Vash hears Wolfwood's voice telling him to use his Punisher Cross, which secures Vash's victory against Knives. He inevitably leaves the memento on the battlefield alongside his revolvers as he returns to Meryl and Milly.

Trigun Stampede (2022)
It's expected that Vash and Wolfwood's dynamic will remain the same. In Trigun Stampede, the two meet thanks to Meryl accidentally hitting Wolfwood with their vehicle, and swiftly grow acquainted with him. They meet Zazie The Beast early, and fall prey to sandworms. Although Wolfwood is acquainted with Zazie, he conceals that information and explores the belly of a sandworm with Vash and Roberto. Roberto appears to see right through Wolfwood's "travelling priest" farce, claiming him to be an assassin. Vash, however, doesn't seem wary around Wolfwood. When Roberto questions why that is considering how Wolfwood is "the type of person to kill with a smile on his face," Vash denies that fact and turns toward Wolfwood with a particularly soft look on his face, saying that he "could see it in his eyes." Wolfwood is speechless at Vash's claim momentarily before averting his eyes and replying, "You're messing up my posture", deflecting Vash's read on his character.

This scene potentially references their previous exchanges and successful reads on one another despite being recently acquainted in the Manga - such as Wolfwood pointing out how relieved he was to see Vash's real smile, since every other empty grin had worried him. Likewise, when Wolfwood forces Vash to point his gun at his face, criticizing his philosophy, Vash states that he can "see a man forcing himself to play the devil while his own heart cries out" in his eyes.

Quotes
"This is the first time I've seen a man put others' lives in front of his own. Is he ignorant to his adversaries' skills, or his own? He makes me sick..."

- Wolfwood

"You really think I care whether I win or not? [Wolfwood] is reason enough for me to fight."

- Vash

"You... told me back then... that my face looked better with a real smile. If you could see yourself through my eyes right now, you'd see a man forcing himself to play the devil while his heart cries out."

- Vash

Fanon
Vashwood is one of the most popular ships amongst Trigun fans, making up 250 of the 910 fan fics within the Trigun tag on AO3. While the majority of their interactions can be read simply as a close friendship, many fans take to interpreting subtext between them as being easily read in a romantic sense.

As the two are frequently paired together in official art and content, there is plenty of material for fans of the ship to use to support it.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Vash the Stampede/Nicholas D. Wolfwood tag on FanFiction.net
 * Vash the Stampede/Nicholas D. Wolfwood tag on AO3

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Trivia

 * In Trigun: Maximum Vol. 10, Chapter 7 when Vash and Wolfwood share their final drink together, the brand of the drink is called Bride. While this could initially be noted as an innocuous choice of drink, it's worth noting that such a scene takes place directly before Wolfwood's death, hence making him a corpse. The association in the scene can then be drawn towards corpse bride.