reminder that in s1 Alastor realized he was going to die in his fight with Adam so he dissolved into shadows to escape, but in s2 when he realized Vox was about to pull a murder suicide with the Might of Lilith pointed straight at him he stayed exactly where he was with a look that almost translated into I Dare You to Do it. Look at it how you wish, mr self-preservation Alastor was ready to die with Vox.
like YEAH Vox betrayed his own plan because of Alastor, BUT SO DID HE!!! Alastor's entire shtick is keeping himself alive and in control. That split second where he was ready to die with Vox is in of itself a betrayal to his core self.
Alastor's side: Season 1 Episode 2, Stayed Gone Close Reading
So in s102 Radio Killed the Video Star, we first see how Al reacts to enemies he doesn't care about, aka Sir Pentious.
When Sir Pentious shows up to his pet project with a giant death machine, tries to kill him and blows the walls off his establishment, he pretends he doesn't remember him, and beats him and his death machine up while laughing. He's not bothered at all, until Pentious rips his coat. Even after that, he brushes it off.
When Vox talks a bit of shit about him, here's his immediate reaction:
(cutting off the full smile because that's his default expression)
Alastor's feelings are always in his eyes, and that expression is definitely not the unbothered look he had when Sir Pentious blew up his establishment and tried to kill him. Nope. That's angry and legitimately bothered.
What was Vox saying that set him off?
(Warning this is really long and really detailed)
The whole thing is a duet, a paired set of verses that echo each other deliberately. Taking it line by line:
Well, Stayed Gone starts out with the line "I'm gonna make you wish that you'd stayed gone", which Alastor replies to with "I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone." The meaning of the two is subtle, but raises interesting implications. Vox is staying "I'm gonna make you regret coming back". Alastor is saying "I'm gonna make you miserable".
Then Vox says "Say hello to a new status quo", which Alastor replies to with "Your status quo will know its race is run". Vox is trying to put the message out there that "things are different now". Alastor replies "That different world you've made is going to come crumbling down".
Then, Vox goes on a tirade. He calls Alastor a "has-been", "a fossil", etc., basically trying to convey that Alastor is "part of the past". He tries to build himself up, and says "He should have stayed away". Then we cut to Alastor on the line "while he hid in radio, we pivoted to video".
Basically Vox's whole point he's trying to make is "I'm over you. You're lame and I don't care about you". It might not be insignificant that he says "We pivoted to video". It's actually on the words "WE pivoted" that Alastor has that glare expression.
And Vox's next line "Hell's been better since he split, now he's back, who gives a shit". Now obviously, this is bullshit. Vox says this while giving the most obvious shit in the universe. But still, Vox's intended message to Alastor in his first half of the song is "I don't want you around. I have a new life, you'd hardly recognize me, I'm so fine, how could a person like you bring me joy", that kind of vibe.
So it's interesting that Alastor then proceeds to do the exact same thing. Something people don't mention a lot about Stayed Gone is that Alastor's verses are a reflection of Vox's. It's easy to assume that Vox starts this beef because he cares too much. But Alastor then proceeds to echo his verses.
As if he feels the exact same way.
He has a bunch if paired lyrics. Let's look at em side by side.
VOX: Top of the hour, and we're discussing a certain has-been
Who has been spotted cavorting around town/After a seven-year absence. Did anybody miss him? Did anybody notice?
ALASTOR: Salutations, good to be back on the air. Yes, i know it's been a while since someone with style treated hell to a broadcast.
So Vox's insult is "you're a has-been and nobody cares that you've been gone". Alastor's first rebuttal is "you have no style" . They mirror each other's medium-style greetings, then proceed to loudly insult each other with "I don't need you loser".
Vox: So, the radio demon is back in town/Why is he hanging around?/ What does that mean for your family?/ Well handily, I've got good news/ He's a loser, a fossil and I don't mean to sound hostile
Alastor: Sinners rejoice! Instead of a clout-chasing mediocre video podcast...
So they then trade insults about each other's mediums, with the gist of Vox's still being "he's a loser" (There's that Word Again. "Loser Baby", "Show me you're not a loser", archetypal much?) and he's a part of the past. Aka. MY past.
Vox: But the demon is a coward!/You can take that as gospel
Alastor: Is Vox insecure (note: Everybody in the audience: YES.) Pursuing allure?
Followed by Vox calling Alastor a coward and Alastor calling Vox "insecure". Interestingly, I wonder if that insult hits Alastor quite as hard? Like, he did run away at the first sign of real trouble with Adam. I wonder if he feels that way some times.
Vox: Pulling my viewers? Impossible!/'m visual, he's barely audible/Stop givin' him the time of day/Don't listen to a word he'd say/I hope he had a nice vacay/But he should've stayed away
Alastor: Flitting between this fad and that, is nothin' working?/ /Every day, he's got a new format
Vox declares that Alastor won't "pull his viewers" and Alastor makes fun of his 'new format' and 'flitting between different fads'; typical of their 'new vs old' battle.
Then we get into the real meat of the whole thing.
Vox: While he hid in radio/We pivoted to video/Now his medium is gettin' bloody rare
Alastor: Is Vox as strong as he purports/Or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other Vees
It's probably VERY important that "we pivoted to video" is paired up with Alastor's jab about "The Other Vees". Vox tells him "I've got a we, I've got a new team" and Alastor throws out for the first time his meaningless insult that he'd "be powerless without the other Vees", which is a wound he loves to smack all the time. Like, over and over again. He really has a hangup about Vox 'needing' Vel and Val, even though we know for a fact knows Vox is capable of becoming the strongest sinner in hell without them.
Why is Alastor so fixated on mocking Vox for needing Vel and Val? This dig isn't even to make him abandon them and become the strongest since he wasn't planning that at this point.
Then here's this exchange:
Vox: Hell's been better since he split/Where's he been?/Who gives a shit!
Alastor: And here's the sugar on the cream/He asked me to join his team/I said no, and now he's pissy, that's the tea
So this is interesting. Vox's message in this bar pairing was "Who gives a shit about you". Alastor's response is "You do. Remember? You asked me. You need me."
I think what sets Alastor off here, then, adding all these points up, why he says this, is that Vox tries to claim that he's over him and doesn't care that he's back. I mean, obviously that's not true, but we know that Alastor's biggest trigger is being ignored. It's the only thing that really upsets him, other than being in real danger. And obviously Vox isn't ignoring him. HE's the only one who actually gives a shit that he's back.
But he's trying to pretend he can. He's saying publicly "he's a fossil, there's a new status quo, we pivoted to video, who gives a shit". And I don;t think Alastor can even deal with Vox PRETENDING to be over him.
His entire message is "You're not over me. You're nothing without me. you need me. Don't ever forget you wanted me." ("You still need me like you did before" from the reprise, mm?)
Based on this I think it's safe to say that Alastor would not be happy if Vox ever actually got over him. He doesn't want Vox to ever get over him. He kinda feeds on all that attention (I'm not the first person to point that out). Even Vox trying ti imply that he's moved on prompts him to publicly out Vox for once wanting him. Whether it's about control or about twisted love. Al wants everyone and especially Vox to remember: You are never getting over me.
the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.
pov you accidentally opened the camera app on your Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and now he’s about to end your fucking life.
side note: I’m literally too silly to figure out how alastor’s ears are meant to go. which is the front and back and what part is black and red?? I just made it up.
He would rather die than beg for his life. Rather die than grovel to Vox. I think that's why this is the moment Vox realizes Alastor will never be "beaten into submission" he will never get what he wants so instead everyone is going to die.
In my head this is a whole abandoned zone au where the shark saved the deer at some point when he fell into and almost drowned in his tank so now in return the deer hunts for him and brings him other deer and mammals to eat (and maybe partakes in some classic cannibalism— Don’t think too hard about the logistics ok.) Love finding new ways to ship radiostatic <3 Do tell me if y’all wanna see more of these two I’m having fun drawing animals
Who would have known how much I adore Alastor's habit of tapping on the Vox screen, and it looks so familiar and organic to both of them - Vox immediately takes the hint and shuts up and doesn't look surprised at all, and Alastor does it with such ease and ease, as if repeating the same gesture for the hundredth time. And God, I want to believe that this habit originated when they were still close!! <3333
Or how Alastor grabs Vox by the collar and he reacts as if it's completely normal
Vox literally doesn't do ANYTHING about it in that scene and just continues the conversation, allowing Alastor to hold him as he pleases.
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