I don't think anyone has asked yet about the directors cut of Red With Envy Chapter 8: *White Flag*. Inside info on the thoughts and actions of characters you haven't described directly? Pretty please 👉👈💙. Rzy
Sorry for taking so long to get to this, I wanted to wait until I finished the rewrite of that chapter. Anyway, here you go!
Vox asking Lucifer if he would ever kill Alastor is definitely indicative of how done Vox is. Even when he'd fought Alastor in the past, he never would have actually killed him, but at this point, he just wants Alastor to be a thing of his past.
Lucifer calling Valentino 'Valentine' was not a typo, he just forgot his name.
At the end of chapter 7, when Vox told Alastor he wished he'd never met him, Alastor realized that his current methods weren't working - and were only making things worse. So, this chapter is him showing a little bit of self-awareness that he had taken things too far and trying to work his way back into Vox's good graces. He still slips in some insults because it's Alastor, but he does try to be nice, and mostly he falls back on old habits from their friendship.
I didn't originally have Alastor claiming that Lucifer must have forgotten about Vox because I wasn't sure he'd be that obvious about driving a wedge between them, but after season 2, I have determined he would be that obvious because he doesn't have a subtle bone in his body.
Of course, being forgotten triggers Vox's RSD, so did have the potential to cause some serious problems between them if things weren't immediately cleared up. Which is nice because it sets up the potential for miscommunication between the two of them earlier on, foreshadowing to later issues.
“I know, cause everyone who holds a different opinion than you is just wrong, isn’t that right?” This is a very strong headcanon I have for Alastor - his opinions are correct and everyone else is simply wrong. (My ex-best friend was like this, and he just really seems like the type to me.)
Alastor, of course, isn't going to leave Vox alone after he went through all the trouble to secure alone time together.
“Were our roles reversed, what would you have done?” This was Alastor's way of hinting at the fact that he did what he did for the same reason Vox would have done it, but obviously Vox completely missed that and was just like 'no, that'd be different'. Alastor was internally frustrated at that because he's sitting there like 'that's what I'm saying! It's not different!'
"The Radio Demon’s eyes narrowed in a show of irritation, but his smile inched higher at the same time." Vox had been refusing to engage with Alastor, so when he called him cowardly, Alastor was pleased to have some of their usual back and forth.
"He twisted around as he spoke, leaning his back against the armrest and kicking his feet up onto Vox’s lap." Alastor basically decided he was going to act like he did when they were friends, and this was also a bit of him claiming his territory. Most of all, though, he was hoping Lucifer would come back to find them being all cozy together and that it would cause issues between him and Vox.
I added more to this conversation in the rewrite because I wanted to show more of how natural it was for them to just chat while Alastor has his legs in Vox's lap.
“Sweetheart, they would have thought you were lying, regardless.” I loved Alastor calling Vox 'sweetheart' and 'baby' in season 2, so I just had to bring that in.
“Not even Val and Vel believe me." I like Vox opening up to Alastor about this, because this is something he avoids telling Lucifer. It highlights how his relationship with Lucifer isn't perfect because he's keeping things from him, while also showing how natural it is for him to open up to Alastor.
<We’re even on the same wavelength.> This is a line I've added multiple places in the rewrite. Vox said it to Lucifer early on, and Alastor was not happy about it; and then Vox also said it to Alastor in the flashback chapter. As I go on to explain here, this was a thing between Vox and Alastor with Vox saying it to him multiple times throughout their friendship. It was very much a subtle dig to Alastor whenever Vox used the line on Lucifer. This was Alastor reclaiming it for them.
And now for a part I didn't change - Alastor saying he respected Vox and Vox glitching in response! Still can't believe we got that in canon, too.
Alastor doesn't know that Vox's antennae are borderline sexual for him, but from his reaction, he does suspect it's something like that. He sees this as a great opportunity, he finds Vox's reaction amusing, and again, he hopes that Lucifer will return to find them in a compromising position.
Unfortunately for Alastor, the mood quickly sours after he brings up Vox liking him, sending Vox right into Lucifer's arms when he gets back.
"This was what he needed. Not Alastor’s weird games… not his respect…." Vox is trying to convince himself of that last one here.
“Normally means it couldn’t get a signal, or that there was some kind of interference." As most people I believe guessed, Alastor caused interference and he intentionally got them a bad time for mini-golf so that he would get some alone time with Vox.
“If you felt this passionately about it, you should have called yourself!” Lucifer does not like making phone calls because I do not like making phone calls, and I like giving him my brand of autism.
“I distinctly remember the first time you asked to meet me at a bar, and you waited for, what? Forty-five minutes?" Alastor just couldn't help but point out that Lucifer clearly isn't the only person Vox is willing to wait for.
"He barely registered Lucifer’s questioning expression." Lucifer still has no idea they used to be friends. As far as he knows, they've always been enemies (though he is aware that Alastor has feelings for Vox), so he's a little confused here.
"He placed a hand on Vox’s back, and the television demon relaxed into the touch, reluctantly taking the hint to cool it." Lucifer didn't particularly like Vox dropping the conversation they were having in favor of fighting with Alastor. He was feeling a little ignored, but he was trying not to let it get to him.
“I picked tonight’s movie.” Lucifer picked Bambi because Vox had texted him about being mad at Alastor earlier in the week, so he thought he would appreciate it.
Vox was really weirded out be seeing Alastor almost looking distressed because he knows Alastor really well, and that is something he's never seen from him. So, he couldn't stop himself from asking if he was okay. Though, maybe he would have ignored it if it weren't for the fact that he had at least partially enjoyed himself with Alastor that day.
The reason Alastor decided to open up to Vox was because he figured it would bring them closer. He wasn't thrilled about doing it, but he sort of plowed ahead before he could talk himself out of it.
"Then he noticed some sniffles coming from his other side." Again, Vox was so focused on Alastor that he didn't notice Lucifer at first.
This whole section I feel really bad for Lucifer because he's cuddling on the couch with his boyfriend having no idea that he's having a conversation with another guy right beside him.
<Also, Bambi should have eaten the deer that tried to steal his mate.> We all know Alastor is talking about Lucifer here.
I think that pretty much covers this chapter!
As always, let me know if you want a director's commentary for other chapters of my fics!
