Alright I'm gonna keep Vee posting cause I love them, sorry.
Something I find funny is that Alastor is frequently characterized as "one of the girls" in fanon. It's a cute take for sure, but it's really funny to me that the fandom has basically categorized Alastor and Vox interacting with women as that "Hello, human resources?" meme when Vox's relationship with Velvette is far more genuine (or at the very least healthy) than anything Alastor has displayed in-canon thus far in regards to his relationships with women.
Like, think about it.
Alastor and Rosie: She owned his soul and he made it quite clear he wasn't happy with the situation in S2. Maybe they can stand together as equals in S3 but I've got money on Rosie still being mad at him (and honestly, on Alastor trying to get one over on her in revenge and her absolutely not having it. She fixed his staff at the end of S2. That's the last favor he'll be getting from her, methinks). I could go into more detail on this, but honestly Don't You Forget and the lead-up to it pretty much solidifies this for me. Rosie is fair with Alastor, gets along with him as polite company, and is honest to a fault... But they aren't friends. When he disobeys an order, she is quick to remind him of the true nature of their relationship, and he is quick to push back against it.
Alastor and Niffty: This one is the closest thing he could have to a genuine relationship. He obviously has some sentiment towards her since he saved the roach crown. However, he also owns her fucking soul. She did show up for him in the fight against the Vees without needing to be asked (though it's debatable that Alastor was happy with that), but we also can't forget about her burning with the rest of the hotel crew in the "You'll let them die unless you do" line in Hear My Hope. I am not thoroughly convinced that was just a bluff yet. If Rosie fears what this deer man is capable of, so do I. It's really hard to talk about this relationship with certainty, though. Without knowing the circumstances of how they came to be in their current arrangement, it's impossible to label exactly what this one is to either of them. However, the power imbalance in this one alone still prevents me from thinking of it as entirely genuine on Alastor's end. Especially given how he treats Husk in the same situation. Alastor feeling more assured with Niffty because he doesn't see her as a threat in any way or because she accepts/enjoys the arrangement also doesn't necessarily net him any points. That sort of old-timey chivalrous attitude still needs to be analyzed through the misogynistic lens that a man of Alastor's time period might possess, after all.
Alastor and Mimzy: They both basically admitted to refusing to label their relationship because they're just using each other. She uses him for protection & bail outs, and he finds her somewhat entertaining because she's a party animal like him and knows not to cross the "yeah we're totally friends" line. They know where they stand and I wouldn't really call it "friendship". Ironically enough, that unanimous agreement on what they are might make this his healthiest relationship with a woman, though.
Alastor and Charlie: He's only at the hotel because he was forced to be there, left the second he got the chance, has repeatedly stated he does not believe in her dream and can't wait to see it all crash and burn, fully admitted to Rosie that he'd like to manipulate Charlie and "guide her potential", forced her to make a deal with him to get a favor from her for information he only knew due to happenstance, and then used said favor to force her to do something she really didn't want to do at her lowest point. His ass does not care about her beyond what her power can do. Honestly, based on their conversation from S1 before they make their deal, Charlie recognizes this on some level too. I'm really curious how their relationship develops in S3 and beyond now that Alastor is free from his deal, tbh.
Alastor and Velvette: This one is hard to judge because Alastor was literally manipulating all 3 Vees throughout the entirety of his capture by making Vox think he didn't need the other two and then nudging the other two like "See? Look what an asshole he is, please do fight amongst yourselves it'd be so fun to watch-". Velvette obviously agreed with him on certain points and they're both huge gossips, so I'm sure there's some common ground... But after the way everything went down I do not see Velvette being cool with Al and how he almost got half the pentagram blown up for his own selfish purposes.
Meanwhile Vox and Velvette are over here quipping with each other, wearing matching outfits through the entirety of Speedrun to Redemption, and doing whole ass bits with each other. They're having little laughs throughout their entire trip to the hotel and then getting into the limo at the end and fully breaking down ugly laughing with each other when all is said and done. She's calling him to help with Val, she's saying "kisses darling" to him when they end phone calls, and he recognizes her hard work as evidenced in S1 (and S2 before everything goes to shit). They have tons of pics with each other, aren't afraid to check each other as business partners and friends, and when push came to shove and Vox fucked up royally in the S2 finale, Velvette was right there alongside Valentino to pick Vox up and take him back home. He wasn't dropped, he wasn't used, they're equal members of a triumvirate and better for it tbh.
I'm not saying Vox is some bastion of feminism (he isn't) or that Alastor gets along better with women just because he sees himself as stronger than them (I'd seriously like to believe after his dealings with Rosie, and everything he's seen from Charlie that this isn't the case lol), but I do think it's interesting that the fanon characterizations have sort of flipped what we've seen from canon itself on it's head. The main difference between the two (and frankly what I really want to see touched on in canon) is that (especially) after S2, Vox should know better than anyone what the value of true friendship is. Alastor, however, continues to look down on it and only think in terms of how he can use people/what they can offer him.
Once again @itsallalldeadair makes a very resonant addition.
I think it’s also because Vox is often seen as more villainous of the radio-video duo, he’s more prone to receiving Hate Sink treatment with people flattening his character to be even more unlikeable to prop up Alastor even when the evidence proves otherwise in some cases.
I mention someone's post in the tag rambles so ig I might aswell link the post here
💬 1 🔁 11 ❤️ 28 · After a couple weeks of hanging out and reading other people's thoughts and analyses, I think the biggest surprise to me
the post is abt more things than what I mention it for but the extract I'm refering to is the first, also just go check out and follow @darkstarofchaos 's account in general, they are CRIMINALLY unkonwn for how good their analyzes are imo
You flatter me!
Also, I've been thinking about it for a while, so I might as well say it here: Vox's relationship with Velvette reminds me very much of Angel Dust's with Cherri. They aren't into each other, but they're comfortable with a degree of closeness society normally reserves for same-gender friendships. They hug. They dance. They have tea together. They publicly address each other with endearments like "darling" and "sweetie". They lean into each other's space and sit close together even when there's room enough that they don't have to. Their relationship is very openly affectionate.
And this is all in spite of the fact that society still can't be normal about men and women being friends unless the guy is Stereotypically Gay (as evidenced by the fact that I keep seeing fics in which Velvette views Vox as an "old man", when she canonically treats him more like a gal pal. Or the two of them get weird about things like physical contact or sharing a bed because Gender. Velvette practically rides Valentino into battle and no Vee is safe from being suddenly grabbed in a hug by Vox, I can almost guarantee they're not putting that much thought into touching each other).
As for Vox's masculine insecurity:
Fragile masculinity would not survive contact with that much pink. Or that teacup. Or the mere act of drinking tea, if you belong to the camp that says tea is a feminine thing.
He does not care. All that matters is that whatever bit of space he's occupying at a given time is His Space. And he will make himself at home whether you want him there or not.
Actually, you know what. You know what. Bringing Alastor back into it. His behavior is way more in line with fragile/toxic masculinity than Vox's is. Which doesn't necessarily mean he cares about such things. But like.
He insists on hiding any and all vulnerability, including emotions
He refuses to be emotionally available, and would rather mock other people's feelings than listen to them
He Will Not admit to caring about anyone ever
He refuses to ever ask for help, and in fact, sees needing others as a weakness
He asserts himself with aggression and dominance displays
He responds badly to criticism, especially when his usefulness or abilities are called into question (aka, his entire dynamic with Lucifer)
He relentlessly mocks other men who fail to perform according to the above standards (again, Lucifer. And especially Vox)
Obviously Vox does a lot of this too, especially where vulnerability and emotions are concerned. But it's hard to judge how much of it is normal for him, because so much of it only comes up when Alastor is around. No one else is questioning what he contributes to his team, or calling him weak for having a team, or mocking his feelings. Just the guy who traumatized him. And spends five episodes picking at the wounds.
What we do know for sure is that he's fully capable of affection and concern for others, and he shows he cares even if he can't admit to it. He brags about his team immediately after being told that he "still relies on others for his power", so he clearly doesn't see why working together is a bad thing. He does fall back on aggression and dominance displays, especially when he's angry, but he also usually tries to control his anger, even with Alastor (which is something Alastor himself is not actually that good at, judging by how he behaves with Lucifer, and with Rosie in S2).
Like. Vox has issues. A lot of them. But between him and Alastor, the one who acts like he has a problem with his masculinity is the one the whole fandom decided is comfortably effeminate. Which is ironic.
