VOX FALSI VOX MACHINA

It had been, what, a few months? since Vox's epic crashout; less since Alastor had any sort of communication with Vox's associates -- and today, he'd convincingly reasured those associates that he wasn't here to ragebait Vox. (How much fun would that even be? Punching down wasn't quite as fun! Too easy! Got boring quickly!)

Regardless, it felt long enough, removed enough, that being face-to-face with Vox wouldn't feel so... badweird. Unsettling. Raw.

It was odd to be back in Vee tower as a free man. It was even more unnerving to see Vox without a body. (Uncanny valley. Abjection.) Alastor had actually hashed out all the ways he could possibly make a dramatic entrance without being too off-putting, not too nice, but not too mean -- and make his offer as convincing as possible, --

It’s a questionable tactic, admittedly, though one with a surprisingly high success rate. Both the Vees know where his power button is, so he can’t avoid them forever. What he can do is lock them into a battle of attrition with him that they inevitably can’t win. Valentino shows up to ask him a question about R&D, he turns himself back off. Velvette wants corporate bank account details? Back off. Either of them starts screaming at him? Back off. No matter how many times they power his monitor on again, he can always turn himself right. Back. Off.

It’s not exactly what Vox would call exciting, or useful, or really anything other than purely petty on his part, but it is about the only thing he can actually do at the moment, so he will take what he can get.

He’s expecting the same when he comes to this time, when a press on the power button on his casing drags him from an absence of anything. Words are already falling from his speakers as his systems come to life one by one.

The door slams behind him harder than Vesper expected and that alone tells her everything: Charlie's so-called exercises and therapy have gone catastrophically wrong. She cannot fault his temper: redemption has never offered any appeal to her, either. After all, her soulless body would never be able to walk on holy ground.

Golden eyes then settle to the half-filled glass gently held between her fingers. With a soft sigh, she tops it off to the brim. Vox looks like he'll need something stronger than patience tonight.

Of course, any amount is too far, and Vox can't dwell on it lest he spiral back down into the maelstrom that brought him and all of Pentagram City to the brink of destruction. It's an odd thing, to make the conscious choice not to look a gift horse in the mouth for once. He accepts the glass from her lithe fingers, knocking a good half of it back in one go.

"This place is so fucking stupid. It's beyond stupid, even! That dumb snake had to have been a fluke. You know she genuinely believes that standing around and doing trust falls and shit is gonna get people redeemed? Like, I fucking knew, but fucking God. There is absolutely no way that listening to these little bitches whine about how they didn't help their grandma enough while they were alive is gonna get them to Heaven. Boo-fucking-hoo, you stupid fuck! The only problem you have is being a FUCKING EMBARRASSMENT to your FUCKING FAMILY, I BET! NEWSFLASH, buddy, you didn't reach Heaven because you're so fucking cringe it hurts to watch!"

I switched their outfits ✨Divorce core✨

Also, I think the characters show some similarities (puppet themes, etc)