#compound aus

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Was reading this post by @hamliet and realized that Vox being driven to insanity as a result of his attempt to break into Heaven is actually super fitting if the show ends up really leaning into the Tower of Babel parallels.

God cursed the Babylonians to be unable to understand each other's scrambled speech; Whatever force Vox encounters in Heaven scrambles his brain and makes it so no one will ever fall for his lies again.

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@storm-ismyusername

Okay, so, the "Vox's kids die as children AU." I came up with the image of Vox keeping his kids in a fish tank first, but upon further reflection, I've realized that it doesn't really line up with the timeline I've established.

Vox's children were 7 and 10 when he died (1957)

Vox worked under an overlord for 3 years after his death until he broke free, started his own business, and met Alastor (1960)

He and Alastor were friends for 6 years until they fell out (1966)

Vox gained official overlord status 2 years later (1968). By the time Vox had the resources for the fish tank plan, his kids would've been 18 and 21.

The only window of time where Thomas and Sarah can die and still be children is 1957-1961, so it would have to happen when Vox was still in the employ of his overlord. I actually think the idea of struggling single dad Vox is really charming, so let's go with that.

With that background, I'm not sure if Vox would feel the need to do the fish tank thing since they went a decade without anything going wrong. Maybe it exists, but Sarah and Thomas aren't confined to it 24/7. Everyone already knows they exist, so they're allowed to move around the tower as they please (they are absolutely not allowed to go outside, though).

Okay, with that out of the way, onto the responses. Gonna answer this in parts: this one is the pre-canon stuff, the next will be the canon stuff, and the third will be RAM stuff.

Ondine & Fineas where they die as kids: How does child Sarah and Thomas react to: 1-Dying 2-Going to Hell 3-Reuniting with your dead Dad (who now has a TV for a head) Would any of their Sinner features be different? Is it weird I can see Vox being more fatherly to Sarah and Thomas than he was in his human life? So when Sarah & Thomas die as kids does Vox find them before or after his big fight with Alastor? If before, what would Alastor make of the situation?  How long does Sarah and Thomas fend for themselves in Hell? A few days, a few weeks, a month, a year?  Did someone find the first? Did Vox only learn his kids were in Hell when someone was using them as blackmail against him? Did Sarah and Thomas watch as their father brutally murder their kidnapper in front of them?  Maybe another Overlord (like Carmilla, Zestial, or Rosie) found them and gave them to Vox because they felt threatening children was beneath them and drew the line at hurting kids. Wait what if Alastor found them first? What would he do with them if he did?

Okay, so Sarah and Thomas die somewhere between 1958 and 1959. They still drowned, maintaining their aquatic theming, but I'm not sure how exactly– could've been from their mother driving under the influence and crashing the car through a bridge's guardrails, could've been just regular drowning at the beach or something. Their mother survives, so they land in Hell alone (I have no idea what an 8~9 and 11~12-year-old could've done to get sent to Hell, but let's just move on).

Not sure how Vox finds them. In the main AU, they found him by recognizing his voice in an advertisement and seeking him out, but at this point, Vox is just some random nobody. Let's just assume he got extremely lucky and happened to come across them 1-30 days after they first arrived but before anyone else thought to scoop them up. Vox is horrified that they're dead and in Hell and privately swears to permakill his wife for letting this happen if he ever sees her again. He brings them back to his shitty little apartment and starts trying to figure out how the fuck he's supposed to care for children in Hell.

Despite the circumstances, Vox is actually a better father in Hell than he was on Earth. He has nothing to his name other than a shitty errand boy job, a tiny apartment, and his two small children who he thought he'd never see again. While the stress of having to provide for them is a beast, losing everything sort of forced him to get his priorities in order in regards to them. They become far more tight-knit than when they were alive as Vox is forced to spend more time with them and get creative when it comes to meeting their needs.

It's all quite the adjustment for Thomas and Sarah. Dying and trying to survive on the streets was as traumatizing as you'd expect. Reuniting with your dead dad and having to adjust to living in poverty is also a lot to take in. Every day, they're stuck in a one-room apartment with gunshots constantly going off outside and explicit instructions from their father to be as quiet as possible and not open the door for anyone– very different from the upper-middle-class suburbanite life they were used to. Eventually, their dad will come home with cheap food, they'll spend some time together, and then all curl up in their one bed and try to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's not a comfortable life, but it's definitely more intimate than how things used to be. Thomas starts letting go of some of his resentment of Vox since he can tell he's actually trying now, and Sarah's view of him as A Good Dad, Actually solidifies.

Eventually, Vox secretly kills his overlord, starts his first business, and is taken under Alastor's wing. Things become more comfortable for the three of them, and Alastor becomes something akin to a weird but fun uncle to the kids. Things are looking up for the family as Vox starts to build power and wealth. It's horrifying for the kids when Vox comes home one night without a head and swears vengeance on Alastor, but that incident only adds to Vox's upward momentum. After ten years of struggling in Hell, Thomas and Sarah (or rather, Fineas and Ondine) find themselves back in the lap of luxury as their father claims the title of the Overlord of Television.

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been thinking about a human version of the torture recently. the moment alastor gets inside vox's head is represented by human!vox getting a needle in the eye.

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Had some ideas about Proto Vox and Niffty while driving

Vox and Niffty meet when Vox's boss hires her to make his clothes/costumes. She's not under contract with his overlord (not under contract with anyone, in fact); she's just freelancing, so she only comes by the compound once every few weeks.

The two of them form a tentative bond over the hardships they face due to their demonic forms, and their shared ambitions to eventually rise above their stations.

Vox is hamstrung by being locked into a deal with his boss and only ever being allowed to leave the base in her company. Niffty is just a regular sinner with no real power, but she uses her seamstress job and unassuming appearance to network and collect/trade information.

Vox is privy to tons of information about his overlord's business dealings and private affairs since he's almost always with her. Up until this point, he hadn't been able to make use of that information due to his limited mobility, but now he has Niffty. He shares confidential information with her, and she carries it back outside. She then trades it to others in exchange for favors/assets/information, which she shares with Vox whenever she sees him next.

They're able to keep this arrangement up for a few years. Niffty's starting to accumulate some power, but Vox is still stuck under his boss' thumb. One day, something bad goes down between Vox and his boss, and he confides in Niffty that he needs to get out of this fucking place; he feels like he's gonna snap if he doesn't. Sympathizing with her friend, Niffty decides to take a risk. She spreads a rumor that Vox's boss has done/is planning on doing something to slight the Radio Demon.

Just as she'd hoped, Alastor shows up at Vox's overlord's compound and kills her, broadcasting her screams to the city. Niffty is excited, not only because there's now a power vacuum that she can take advantage of but also because Vox is free. However, he's nowhere to be found. Niffty assumes he split to go strike out on his own and tries not to resent him for not getting in contact with her (and hopes that she didn't accidentally get him killed by sending the Radio Demon after the woman whose company he was always in).

Years pass, and Niffty builds up her business, eventually achieving overlord status. At an event, she happens to cross paths with Alastor... and Vox! She's thrilled to see him again (and that he's not dead). It turns out that Alastor took an interest in him when he went to kill his boss, and Vox has been with him ever since. Things were a bit rocky at first, but after a while, the two of them became friends– actual friends, not a master and servant like Vox and his old boss had been. With Alastor's guidance, Vox has been building up power of his own. He recently discovered that he can modify his body, and has just gotten his first augmentation: a pair of neon blue claws (which look suspiciously similar to Alastor's, but Niffty doesn't mention that). The two of them agree to stay in touch and possibly do business together now that they've got more than just information to offer each other.

Vox and Niffty remain friends, occasionally meeting up for business-related things or just to chat. Vox slowly upgrades more and more parts of his body. Niffty's happy for him that he's finally able to gain some control over the form he hated. She jokes with him that she's jealous; he gets to change his body however he wants, but she's stuck looking this way forever. Do ladybugs go through metamorphosis? However, things are starting to get tense between Vox and Alastor. She can't tell if it's because of the upgrades, Vox's increasing confidence and success, or something else.

Eventually, Vox and Alastor fall out. Niffty is just as shocked as the rest of the city when Vox emerges from their fight not only alive, but having forced Alastor to retreat. Yes, it was a stalemate and Vox came out of it the worse for wear, but it was still something no one else had been able to do before. While she knows the split from Alastor hurt him deeply, Niffty is happy for Vox that he's suddenly in the spotlight, ready to claim the power he always craved in a body that feels right to him.

Alastor has a dilemma now: he wants to make Vox pay for ruining things between them and daring to try to compete with him, but he doesn't want to kill Vox. He's also curious about a certain ability of his that he's aware of but has yet to fully explore. The solution to both problems presents itself in the form of Niffty. While she and Vox truly aren't that close, she's an easy target, and Alastor's been feeling spiteful these past few months.

Vox is shaken by Niffty's "death," but it does nothing to dissuade him from the path he's on– quite the opposite. However, he's horrified when he learns about Alastor's new maid. Seeing Niffty, a clever and driven woman who he'd once commiserated with over their pathetic demonic forms, reduced to a hyper, childish freak is like something out of a nightmare. Vox could hear the message Alastor was trying to send loud and clear: "If I can do this to her, I can do it to you too." The thought of losing everything and truly becoming the fool everyone had once assumed him to be was terrifying, but Vox's pride and hatred of Alastor would not allow him to back down. He took measures to protect himself from his former friend and continued working to build his soon-to-be empire.

When Vox and Niffty reunite at the hotel, neither them are in the right headspace to process what's wrong. However, there's a little twinge of... something deep within them both. Something like sorrow.

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@storm-ismyusername

1 - How does 60sMindbreak!Vox condition different from regular RAM? (Can he remember specific events? Is he less scatterbrained and distractible? Does he break less things while at the hotel?)

Vox would probably be significantly more mellow than his main RAM counterpart. He's still distractible, high-energy, and struggles with short-term memory, but he's far more stable. There's not a 50 year gap in his memory, he doesn't have the trauma of the torture or his confinement to grapple with, and he's more or less acclimated to the way his mind works now. No one's afraid that he's going to suddenly fall apart for no clear reason and set the building on fire in this verse– he's just Alastor's offbeat, old-fashioned friend/lackey who probably shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time.

2 - Since Alastor broke Vox before he became an Overlord does he have less powers/is weaker than regular RAM?

It's sort of a weird situation. They're equal in terms of power level since neither has any active contracts anymore, but their levels of experience are difference. Main RAM Vox had become very adept at using his powers before the broadcast, after which he lost control over them, although there's still a bit of "muscle memory" there. 60s Vox never had those years of refining his powers, but he isn't starting from scratch like main Vox is. Not sure who would be more powerful since it's not exactly clearcut.

3 - How is Vox's relationship with Velvette different from canon? How is Valentino's relationship with Velvette different from canon?

My interpretation of canon Vox and Vel's relationship is that he's her mentor. He respects her abilities, but still can be a bit condescending to her. Velvette sees him as old (despite his best efforts) and kind of cringey, but she also recognizes that he's incredibly clever and his advice is worthwhile. For Valentino and Velvette, I think Valentino's opinion of Velvette changes with his mood. Sometimes he thinks she's cool and fun, other times she's a spoiled bitch who needs to get off her high horse. Velvette repeats Valentino as an overlord, but not as a person. His temper tantrums are ridiculous and she's not sure why Vox puts up with him– the sex must really be that good. However, Vel's not one to turn down partying with someone just because they're a pain to deal with sometimes. Her and Val can totally get along, so long as he's not stepping on her toes.

In this AU, Vox isn't as self-impressed as he is in the main verse, so he sees Velvette as more of a friend than someone whose raw potential he needs to mold. He might still have his quasi-paternal moments, but he mostly talks to her as an equal. Valentino tries to shut her out at first, but as time goes on, he realizes how fun and clever she can be and starts opening up to her a bit. Velvette starts off her character arc thinking that Vox is a freak and Valentino is a miserable shit. She ends it feeling like she's finally found her people. Yeah, they're freaks, but they're her freaks. She doesn't want to part ways with them; maybe if all this redemption shit doesn't work out and they all break free of their masters, they could be a team.

4 - What does Velvette think of Charlie, Vaggie, Sir Pentious (if he's still there), and Alastor? What does Valentino think of Charlie, Vaggie, Sir Pentious (if he's still there)?

Velvette's giving "sullen teenager" during her first month or so at the hotel. Like mainverse Angel, she doesn't take any of the redemption exercises seriously and can be kind of a bitch to deal with. Her and Vaggie clash a lot because of her attitude. Charlie is endlessly patient with her and thinks that once she can get her to open up, she'll buy in. Velvette bullies Pentious if he's around. Eventually, Velvette starts to chill out and becomes a bit softer with the OG hazbins.

Valentino is also hard to deal with. He's moody, thinks Charlie's mission is laughable, and is prone to making deeply cutting sarcastic remarks. His relationships with the original cast are similar to Velvette's, being mostly antagonistic until they start growing on him a bit. It takes longer for him to come around than Velvette, though.

5 - What would Velvette's reaction to seeing Mindbreak Niffty scuttling around the hotel? (Such a contrast to the cutthroat woman she worked under.

It makes Velvette's hair stand on end. She may not have liked Niffty, but this is just scary, seeing her turned inside out like this. Velvette was already leery of Alastor, but now she's actually afraid of him.

6 - What would Valentinos react to seeing Mindbreak Niffty so helpless? Would he try to hurt her (but she would like the pain) or has he grown enough of a conscience to just ignore her instead?

I'm not confident enough in my characterization of Valentino to say. We could meet in the middle and say he does something to hurt her as revenge, she reacts positively, and he's freaked out, deciding it's not worth it.

7 - Would Niffty and Vox's relationship be slightly different?

Depends on how malleable Vox's grasp on reality is. He could forget that she used to be Velvette's boss/accept Alastor's claim that Everything's Fine, She's Part Of The Team Now and start treating her like a friend, or he could be a bit more hesitant.

1 - Velvette and Valentino making fun of Alastor's stupid haircut while Vox tries (and fails) to defend it. (He secretly thinks it looks stupid too).

Valentino and Velvette are high school mean girls and Vox is trying not to give in to peer pressure (but there's a mean girl deep down inside him too, just waiting to come out).

2 - Thinking about when Vaggie flung the Hotel residents into a literal war zone. Velvette doesn't know how to fight! She was a regular teenager before dying and was snatched up by Niffty quickly after arriving in Hell so never learned to fend for herself. I can see Velvette completely freaking the entire time, potentially using Sir Pentious as a (in)human shield, and relying entirely on Valentino and Vox to not be brutally maimed or worse. This would probably be the moment Velvette became actual friends with Valentino and Vox. (Also when she realized how dangerous Vox truly is when he electrocutes an entire block. (Vaggie just assumed Velvette could fight and is horrified when she learns she threw a non combatant in the middle of a literal war zone. She would definitely apologize afterwards.)

Velvette probably has some self-defense skills, but not enough to hold her own in the Doomsday District. She definitely would try to use Pentious as a meat shield and is lowkey in awe when Valentino and Vox suddenly reveal themselves as highly competent fighters. Vaggie might've been too preoccupied with her musical number to notice that Velvette wasn't fully participating in the fight (until Val gave her one of his guns, that is).

3- After Vaggie finds out how Alastor maims Valentino including removing and selling his wings) she tries to reach out to him. At first Valentino pushes her away and lashes out, thinking it's pity when really it's empathy. Vaggie finally managed to break through his shell when she hand sewed him an eyepatch. After that he doesn't completely push her away and they start to become kinda-sorta-almost friends, eventually.

Vaggie and Val, the two most prickly people in the hotel, making nice. Charlie would be proud if she wan't preoccupied with the "Alastor's been abusing my friends" realization.

4- I think Valentino's eyesight looks like this:

Don't know enough about low vision to dispute this. He probably has depth perception issues given how he's missing an eye.

5 - Husk, Niffty, and Angel Dust are nicknamed The Glamours~ by regular Sinners because of their glamorous looking lifestyles and how much time they spend together.

Cool

6 - Alastor's a lot softer with Vox than in regular RAM He's a 1-3 out of 10 on maliciousness, breaking Vox was a complete accident and he tries his best to be kind to him. (Still a monster to Valentino though.)

That would be interesting, and has the potential to be kind of sweet in a messed up way. Alastor might've taken what happened with Vox as a lesson: don't be reckless with your powers and don't act out of anger. He ended up breaking his friend because he got too caught up in their fight and tried something rash. It'd make him even more infuriating to deal with from Valentino's perspective though. Alastor maintains that he's not hurting him out of spite (well, not entirely), he's just doing what's necessary to correct him. Valentino thinks that's a crock of shit, but if he says so, he's putting himself in danger.

60s Swap: Valentino experiencing phantom pains from his missing wings (and arm).

Mental image of Vox and Val sitting together quietly as Val "flexes" his missing arm. Vox doesn't know what to say or do, so he just decides to be there with him.

60s Swap: Velvette takes Angel Dust's role where would she take the group in episode 3?

Velvette probably wouldn't volunteer a location, she just sits there making snide comments until Vaggie snaps and tells her that if she's so smart, why doesn't she pick the trust exercise? Velvette takes them to the mall. The exercise is "trust me with your credit cards." Vaggie wants to throttle her but– shit, where did Vox go?

What would Velvette, Vox, and Valentino think of Lucifer and vice versa?

Vox is excited to meet royalty and tries to schmooze with him (the effect is slightly ruined by the fact that Vox is talking so fast that Lucifer thinks he's on coke). Valentino doesn't really give a fuck, but enjoys watching him and Alastor bicker. Velvette's curious at first, thinking Lucifer is going to be some cool, cunning anti-hero, and is lowkey disappointed when he turns out to be just some cringey dad. His and Charlie's reconciliation may have touched her just a tiny bit, though.

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Went through my Sims game and decided to take picture of all the different outfits I've made in order to keep track of what I have and haven't done better. Here are all my RAM Sims.

Overlord Niffty + Wandavision Ending Niffty

RAM!Velvette, F!RAM!Valentino, M!RAM!Velvette

RAM!Vox

RAM!Vox in the pilot + RAM!Vox formalwear

RAM!Vox in the tower

RAM!Vox abduction outfit

RAM!Vox Other Ending

F!RAM!Vox

F!RAM!Vox formal/party clothes

F!RAM!Vox in the tower

F!RAM!Vox in the pilot and the Wandavision Ending

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random idea: husk having a soft-spot for ram!proto!vox

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Morning commute thought: A version of RAM where The Broadcast still happens, but when they rebuild Vox’s body and turn him back on he’s… fine? He’s traumatized and very on-edge, but there doesn’t appear to be any long lasting effects. Val and Velvette are relieved and immediately start acting like they were never scared in the first place, and Vox… well, he feels strange. He uses his brush with death as a way of boosting his profile as an overlord (no one’s ever survived one of the Radio Demon’s broadcasts before!) and tries to rewrite history to give the impression that he drove Alastor off rather than Alastor just choosing to dump him at V Tower once he was done with him (he must’ve thought Vox was dead or would die soon and that’s why he backed off… right?), but behind the scenes, he can’t help but feel that something’s off. The doctors/engineers say they can’t find anything wrong with him— heck, Vox can’t find anything wrong with himself— but a feeling of dread still lingers in him. He’s certain Alastor isn’t dead, but then where is he? Why did he disappear right as he was about to claim victory over Vox once and for all? And why does Vox have no memory of the latter half of the broadcast? He knows there’s more to it than just him falling unconscious— he did that a few times throughout the torture and Alastor just woke him back up. The anxiety from not knowing what Alastor did to him dangles over Vox’s head, driving him to paranoia.

There are two options for what could happen next.

The first is that seven years pass with no change; Vox is completely fine and eventually his fear wanes. He survived, he’s prepared for when/if Alastor returns— everything’s fine. But then the day arrives when Alastor does finally return. The Vees were prepared for a fight, but all it takes is for Alastor to slip into the tower once, and suddenly Vox is gone without a trace. He’d considered the possibility of subconscious triggers, but had dismissed it after thoroughly searching through the data of his mind. If Vox, an overlord specializing in mind control, couldn’t find any trace of subconscious commands, then surely Alastor must not be capable of installing any… right?

The second option is that over the course of the next year or two, Vox’s mental health begins deteriorating. At first, it’s just paranoia; he’s scared of Alastor returning to finish the job and worried that his recovery isn’t as full as everyone thinks. However, as time goes on, Vox’s behavior becomes more and more erratic. He’s losing large swathes of time for no clear reason; it’s increasingly difficult to stay focused on his work; it feels as though something within him is slowly rotting away. Vox withdraws from public life, trying to keep his worsening condition hidden from the other Vees, hoping to find a solution himself and fearing they might turn on him if they notice this weakness. However, he can only keep it secret for so long. By the time Alastor returns seven years later, Vox hasn’t been seen in public for quite some time. Most people assume he must be holed up in V Tower, running things from the shadows or trying to protect himself from another attempt on his life. Very few are aware of just how sick Vox has gotten since his last public appearance.