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Frustrated. Frustrated would be the first word that comes to mind when one attempts to describe Vash. With a perpetually constipated look upon his face, there is just something... something so tightly wound in that soul of his. Something, just waiting... to snap. And when it does, it won't snap cleanly. His fuse has only grown shorter over the years, and the anger only builds and builds... and who is this anger directed to? Even Vash himself has forgotten.

There's a lot that Mr. Zwingli has the right to be frustrated about. And hand in hand with this frustration comes anxiety. Anxiety that he prefers not to outwardly express. Anxiety that keeps him in line. He's the man with the plan. The man who is thought to have his shit together. And honestly, he's trying his best to keep it together. When he's put in a situation that threatens to pull apart that order, well, that certainly puts him on edge. The world is a very messy place, and because of this, he will always attempt to place it in order, even if entropy will eventually overcome. Nothing about Vash Zwingli can be considered disorganized. His private home environment is spotless.

Because of his desire for order, he is naturally very diplomatic. If his life had gone down a different path, he would probably easily be in the running for becoming Switzerland's head diplomat. He prefers peace and would rather negotiate than outwardly fight. Though his short temper may lead one to believe he would be one for arguments, he really would rather end arguments as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Not that that is always successful. Especially with his tendency to believe that he is right and his proclivity towards preaching. 

His preaching seems to be the only time he is really communicative, sadly enough. If one is able to get him into preaching mode, that would indicate a great deal of care in what that person is thinking and how that person views right and wrong. Otherwise, he won't give you the time of day and would simply see talking to you as a waste of his time and energy. However, his preaching may also indicate great anger as well. 

In fairness, he's a bit of a recluse. He's naturally a bit shy, and he's come to accept that. He can't quite express his feelings as he would like to. He acknowledges that he does close himself off in an effort to protect his own feelings, but in truth, he feels trapped by this. He wishes he could make his feelings more clear, but due to circumstance, he feels that showcasing this... vulnerability, would only put more people in danger. He feels that showing vulnerability would put himself in danger, and so he continues to build these walls, never to let anyone in. He already kicked out the one person he did let in, and he still regrets it.

His steely, cold demeanor is something that sets him apart from his fellow agents. He had seen many die in the field, and he is certain that he will see more allies die, which only contributes to his attempts to keep away from forging too personal of a connection with anyone. Because of his esteemed position in MI6, he is becoming much more critical of a person. He is inclined to give what he believes to be constructive criticism to his underlings and in general to those around him. His criticism may seem overdrawn and at times, too harsh, but he only speaks truth. This is perhaps the only manner he shows care to his fellow agents. 

No one can deny that Vash Zwingli is one of the most capable of the field. His cast iron work ethic, his constant strive to become better at what he does, his capacity to hold authority. It's no wonder that he had been given a licence to kill and had survived as long as he has in the field. However, people don't truly... know Vash Zwingli. His guarded nature has kept him from trusting others. Vash is the kind of man that prefers to work alone. He relies solely on himself and has no faith in those around him. In fact, he is ranked as one of the more difficult agents to work with, almost always opting to work solo if given the chance. His difficulty in making friends is only accentuated with his natural intimidation tactics that have kept people away.

Besides this, though, Vash Zwingli has a sense of dignity and does not wallow in his loneliness. It bothers him upon occasion, but he buries himself in his formalities. Despite his frugality, he follows the suit of his younger adopted sister, always well-dressed, always ready and alert to do what is asked of him. He can be charming when he needs to be— especially when he acts under his cover as Alois Chevrier. 

The best way to describe Vash, then, is easy. He perpetually has a stick up his ass. He's much too serious, too stubborn, too stingy, too uptight for his own good. It's no wonder that he's landed himself in the hospital plenty of times, not just for his profession, but because of his overestimation of his very human capabilities and his capacity to take what's coming to him. MI6 had made him change his cover due to how much work he had put into being the top banker at London's top financial institution. He grudgingly accepted the cover of food critic.

He can come off as too cold for his own good, and almost... uncompromisingly stubborn. He believes he knows what is best for him. He's not the life of the party, no, he is the death of the party. He has lost his sense of humor and has forgotten how to laugh at himself. People who work with him know not to try to convince him of anything otherwise. He is all business and no fun, and there is simply no way to move him. 

These walls are not meant to protect him from others, he reasons. No, these walls are meant to protect others from himself.

Guns: Modifying them, upgrading them, buying them... well this is one of the exceptions of Vash's "Let's go cheap" facade. He likes his guns top quality. And he enjoys his trips to the local shooting range.

Peace: It makes his job much easier and he loves the peace and quiet. It gives him room to think. He really doesn't mind tranquility that would otherwise bother those inclined to entropy.

Coupons: They're like ambrosia. He loves couponing and tends to subscribe to coupon magazines and clips coupons on the weekends. Call it obsessive but he even has a collector's album for easy picking.

Nature: Most people don't know that this is his secret pleasure. Nature is where he could feel alive and at peace, so on his down time, he tends to go to one of the many parks and tries to stay away from the busy city. His own backyard is well-trimmed.

Cooking: He saves himself a lot of money by cooking for himself. He also has taken to baking and chocolate making. And his chocolate is at a sellable quality, so that says something.

Wine: The Swiss are said to prefer wine. He does indeed prefer wine to beer, but he'll accept beer as well. He's become quite good at discerning low quality wine from high quality wine. 

Gardening: Shhh, it's another guilty pleasure. He doesn't mind helping his sister in the garden and making the backyard look fabulous.

Chocolate: It is said that the average Swiss consume 22.36 pounds of chocolate per year. Vash will deny that he consumes that much. He probably consmes about 21.5 pounds of chocolate per year. However, he, being the food critic he is, he will only accept the finer chocolates of this world. Swiss chocolate is particularly high on that list. He also happens to make his own chocolate and sells his own line of chocolates. 

His Sister: Despite how much he distances himself from her, he still holds strong feelings for her. He would do anything to have her by his side, to have her happy. However, he is almost positive that his sister wouldn't be happy to see him again. It hurts him very much that he had treated her with such coldness, but it's all in her best interest...

Wasting Money: It's hard to earn money, wasting it is not permitted!

Being Proven Wrong: Vash is very stubborn. His word is dogma. If he's wrong, he's right, if he's right, he's right. It's not a great idea to correct him, though he'll take the correction personally and will keep it in mind.

Fairytale Nonsense: Vash is a very pragmatic person and would not desire to be caught up in fantasizing. He's given up on happily ever after, unfortunately. And he doesn't want it filling his sister's head either.

His Sister's Boyfriend(s): Past, present, and future. He had actually gotten to approving one once. But then they did things that he didn't approve of and he broke her little heart. Sad. As a big brother, of course he's going to want to protect his sister.

Being Set Up: He hates the thought of being set up with someone to go on some "blind date". That's nonsense and he doesn't have the time for that. And dates cost money, ick.

Surprises: He can't do surprises. Nope. He hates being caught off guard.

Traveling: He is homesick for Switzerland, so further traveling is out of the question. He really hopes that he will be able to retire quickly and return home eventually.

Parties: Best not invite him to any parties, not even his birthday party. He's the death of the party.

Being Protected: He is quite capable himself, thank you very much. Don't feed into his inferiority complex.

His Height: He gets it. He is short. Big deal. However, it's best that one does not poke at that insecurity. 

Disorder: He has the tendency of needing to clean everything up in the event that disorder presents himself. 

Romance: He just isn't open to being so vulnerable for someone else's benefit, and he absolutely hates it when people are too direct and give him unwanted attention. 

For his Sister to be Happy: That's all he really wants at this point after losing quite a few family connections that he had trusted before. She's his only family now that everyone else is... not living anymore. It's ironic that they had initially adopted her when she had been given up by her family in Liechtenstein, when she had no family, and now she's his only family... well, he needs to protect that only family he has and cling onto the moment. He wants her to be happy, to live a good life, to never worry about men breaking her heart, to go do the things that are good for her... he doesn't know if he'll ever get to see this dream to completion.

To Stop Worrying: His career isn't very helpful and he can't exactly get out of this career either, in any case. He already has the nice house, but he wants to be financially stable, to own some stocks that will only go up, to be provided for well enough, to have some stability in his life. He just wants to be able to live peacefully in his home at World's End and hopefully the world won't end there! He just constantly worries about the bills and staying alive. He hopes his past doesn't catch up to him soon.

To Reconcile his Past: He still has nightmares about what had happened and how he had become a tool. He remembers it all very vividly and it just hurts that it's been going on like this for the longest time. His sister is now a woman and is probably taking most of the fall-out of his emotional turmoil because of his fear of loss. He has yet to answer to the enemies those that had wrecked his life. He hasn't shaken the guilt of being the catalyst to kill. And he can't help but feel cheated of his youth. If he hadn't been so stubborn before, he probably wouldn't have to live the way he does. The "What ifs..." ring in his mind ever so clearly as well...

To Feel Again: He feels so numb. He hasn't smiled in years, and he doubts he ever will again. He just wants to feel something. Anything. Anything other than this numbing sensation of anger and resentment.

Being shot by his own Gun: It's a shame for a marksman to be shot by his own gun. He fears getting shot in general. Really, it's like... writing a story and your own characters coming out of that story and stabbing you into Sunday. It's a bit of an honour thing and a bit of a fear thing derived from past experience (though it wasn't he who was shot by his own gun).

Romance: He's not too sure about himself here. He's afraid of letting people down, and letting a lover down is just about the worst thing you can do. That's the same as letting yourself down. His last experience had ended in a way that he pretty much couldn't accept.

Having Nothing: Not just money, but people in his life to make him feel a bit more alive.

Betrayal: If you make an alliance with him, you keep to it. He's putting his hundred percent in it for you, and you should too. Comrades stick together. Really though, he rarely makes alliances with anybody and friendships have to be calculated.

Noisy Crowded Spaces: Vash does not function well in those kind of places. If he can't have room to think or sanity to think, he'll try to think himself out of it, but he just absolutely, positively hates those kind of places. He fears not being able to allow himself think.


His Sister: Not that he really fears her in the sense of fear. He fears the harm that could come to her as a consequence of his actions.

There was one thing that the Zwinglis of Berne undoubtedly had. Money. Lots of it. Money had shaped the Zwingli household for generations, and Vash was no exception. He was born into it, bathed in it, soaked it all in. His father was among the coheirs to the Zwingli banking dynasty, and as such, groomed Vash from the day he was born for the world of money that he would soon inherit.

As the only child, he was given utmost attention. He was sent to one of Switzerland's best boarding schools. His education included achieving fluency in languages such as English, French, German, and Italian. He excelled in sciences and mathematics. In his spare time, his Uncle Heinrich would train him in marksmanship.

Even with his talents, he was naturally introverted. It didn't quite help that every moment he spent at home entailed his mother prepping him for social functions to build connections. He simply felt he wasn't suited for receiving so much attention, but it couldn't be helped. After all, he was the eldest of the next generation of Zwinglis.


However, there was one spark that ignited in his void of loneliness. His parents had decided to adopt a young girl from Liechtenstein when he was ten years old. Though Vash initially felt replaced and inadequate (after all, they weren't very parental to him to begin with), he eventually warmed up to the shy, shaken girl. The two were inseparable for a time. She was his anchor during those staunch social functions. He knew how to talk business, and she knew how to charm.


However, that came to an end when his Uncle Heinrich had passed away while touring Algeria. Malaria. That was the reported cause. However, this was met with much skepticism. The body wasn't shipped back to Switzerland. A man like Heinrich could have afforded malaria pills. A man as experienced of a traveler like Heinrich would know to take precautions against malaria. But that was the cover-up. A traitor to the cause shouldn't even be given the honor of such a clean cover-up, but a man such as Heinrich doesn't go down so well. 


With Heinrich out of the way, there would be no more resistance. The Zwinglis looked toward who they believed would be their prodigy. They looked toward Vash.

Vash was sent to Anglicus International Academy to be groomed to take on a role in the banking conspiracy that the Zwinglis have been participants to since the French Revolution. He would be expected to partake in their mission to control the world's money supply from Switzerland and gain influence over governments across the globe through blackmail and bribery. Heinrich had simply gone against the mission and had joined MI6 in an effort to combat their efforts. Lili was also offered a seat at Anglicus, but their parents had some semblance of morals. She was too young to begin working towards the mission, they reasoned, and so sent their son alone. 

Vash wasn't aware of the greed and the ulterior motives to his education. Instead, he took advantage of his education and excelled without the distractions of the social functions that permeated his childhood. He excelled in his business concentration and had earned an internship with the Bank of England at the age of 16. Anglicus had given him powerful connections. His classmates included the daughters of the Dutch royalty, a future Italian ambassador, the son of the president of Kenya, a Chinese computer whiz and many more important figures. Every student had a high career goal. His had been to become the Minister of Finance in the UK, a goal he had made during his stay in the UK.
Though he longed to return to the mountain air of Switzerland, he felt his ambition could be quenched in a financial capital such as London. Vash would go on to graduate from Cambridge.

He invested his money in the British stock market and lead a comfortable life in London for a time, sending letters to Switzerland as a good son should. He worked at London's top accounting firm, PwC. He had a nice apartment in Barbican that he shared with his then-girlfriend. It was a knock on the door that changed everything.

A classmate of his, heir to the French Bellerose banking dynasty, knocked on his door. It was time to pay his dues for his success. Vash was briefed on the circle. He refused their offer. That was his mistake.

He lost his job at PwC. He lost a great deal of money. His girlfriend was threatened and eventually left. But the nail in the coffin...

His parents had decided to put up resistance against the circle. His refusal to join cemented their fate. They were killed in a "skiing accident." His sister had survived. 

The next knock on the door was from another classmate from Anglicus. 002. MI6 was the only safe place for Vash. It was the refuge that his Uncle Heinrich had found years before.


Vash attended the funeral in Switzerland with 002, sitting at the very back. He watched his sister mourn, but he couldn't bring himself to mourn. He couldn't bring himself to approach her. He wasn't going to put her at the front line of danger, no. He was't going to show the circle his vulnerability. There is no time to mourn. There is work to be done. 

He buried himself in his work and moved to World's End from the investment money. He earned his licence to kill and his label as 003. He had initially covered as a banker under the name Max Riese, though nowadays, he has become an esteemed food critic by the name Alois Chevrier. As Alois, he's a smooth talking food critic of Belgian origin whose restaurant reviews can make or break a business. His cooking is impeccable and his new line of confections and cookbooks can't seem to stay off the shelves.

But as Vash Zwingli, he is far from smooth talking or loose. He hasn't heard from his sister in ages, nor has he attempted to communicate with her. But all for the best, all for the best...

He found himself eating a sodium-ladden meal at the Shanghai Hous of Chinese in the sketchy neighborhood of the Aylesbury Estate. That wasn't his usual cheapskate eatery, nor was it one of the healthiest cheap food he had ever had... nor did it taste very good. Of course, he never said anything about taste. He'd just have to be content that there was food in his stomach and would have to claim "I ate it for the taste."

Why was he eating such a cheap meal tonight? Well, it's been a long day at the bank (lie), he's too tired and hungry from accounting to go home just yet (lie), and he wouldn't want to bother his sister with cooking up something that was always delicious (truth). So that is how Vash decided to go have dinner at the Shanghai Hous of Chinese.

The establishment was humble, run down (look at how the "E" is missing from the sign... and the word "Cuisine" was probably supposed to be next to the word "Chinese"), and permanently smelt of oil and soy sauce. The people who ate were sketchy, many of them recent Chinese immigrants coming here for business or to start a new life. You could tell who was here for business. You'd see them as ones in suits... though of course, they were the minority. Those here that were rich in China tended to go to The Jade Dragon. Here, you see the low scum who decided to jump ship and swim here to London to hopefully make a new life. Well heh, bad idea. London sucks. Go follow that new ad line and go to Romania, it seems happier.

He had ordered chow mein, something that seemed mostly harmless. After all, a lot of Chinese food he had seen before didn't seem like... food he would eat. Food involving cow tongues, dog meat, and livers wasn't very appetizing to him. And what were those... Ching Chong Balls? Well that's not edible at all. From the looks of the samples at the counter, they seemed like... balls of grease rolled in bread crumbs or something of that sort. "Made of real tiger bollocks!" they said. And so, he did not even dare to try having a sample of those tiger balls.

He silently fiddled with the wooden chopsticks to eat the chow mein. Of course they'd be too cheap to purchase proper silverware... or lazy to go wash silverware. Rain started trickling outside, heard on the roof of the rundown restaurant, the overhead lamp shaking from the rumbling coming from the second floor, swinging left and right, left and right, the noodles slipping off the chopsticks... ahhh, the joys of msg.