tvdemon | OPEN POST

[ He taps his finger several more times as he considers the idea. It goes back to his original problem of that no longer seeming a viable option. Besides, Alastor thinks they would both get bored of it at some point or another. But to say that would just send them running around in circles, and so he puts a pin in that idea for now. He'll let himself think on it.

In the meantime, he might as well offer something else. ]

Hm... Well, then, [ He cants his head. ] I know what it is that I want to do.

[ It's something that he's thought on for a long time, but to say that it was a want would be too strong. Even now, it might be, but it's an enthralling idea. ]

[That's not a 'no', Vox concludes. Whether it'd be a good long long-term solution, he doesn't know, but he's willing to wager that it'd sate until they found something better. Or until one of them got taken out of the equation by some external factor, like a vengeful angel or lord knows what else could happen. 'Hell is forever' until it isn't.

Seems like Alastor isn't sold on it. Has something else in mind. Once again, Vox has to wonder why his opinion was even asked at all, then. His brow furrows and there's a touch of impatience in his response:]

Oh yeah? What's that?

[ Well, he had been hoping that Vox could offer something better. Something that Alastor hadn't thought of as he meticulously went down his list. ]

Well, it's a bit complicated, but I want you to listen until the end without making a fuss. Can you promise me that?

[ Tap, tap, tap... That tone has a warning in it, but also an offer. He's willing to let Vox away now, to leave Alastor to muddle while feeling that he's only come back around to where he started. And if he doesn't now, the media overlord will be his captive audience until he's finished.

But this is the real reason he brought him here. He wanted to reach a decision, and he has. ]

[It's an ominous request for sure. If Alastor expects it to happen- wants him to promise not to- it means there's something coming that's worthy of making 'a fuss' about. In other words, something that Vox is either going to hate, or going to enjoy so much he'll get carried away by the delight.

It just makes him more curious what that would be.]

Sure. I'll dial it back.

[He hears the tone, understands that slipping up will have consequences, but he can control himself if he puts in the effort. What are those decades of experience with masking for, if not situations like this? Yep, he'll absolutely not make a fool of himself.]

Good.

[ It's an unpleasant conversation, and he doesn't trust Vox to keep his mouth shut throughout it all. He also doesn't trust him not to cause any issues, however ill-advised that would be. If the Vee Tower were a fortress, then this might be akin to a beast's lair. It's something that changes with his whims.

But, until he does, he has the right to hospitality. Alastor does believe in proper etiquette, after all. ]

I've decided that I would like to kill you after all. Not permanently, of course - that would defeat the entire purpose of looking for an alternative solution. But enough to be free of you for awhile.

[ Buckle up, Vox, because it's only going to get worse from here. However little he's acted the part around the other man over the years, he is still the radio demon, after all. ]

[That... is not too bad in Vox's opinion. He's not in charge of Voxtek right now, not really on proper speaking terms with the other two Vees. If he were to vanish right this second, his absence would be noted and the company might make some slip-ups without his behind-the-scenes guidance, but would he really be missed? Both Velvette and Valentino are arrogant enough to think they can fare without his active participation, and he expects they'll stick to those guns for a good long while.

His chest deflates with the release of a sigh. Not through his mouth, but through the vents in his torso. His facial expression barely changes. It's humiliating to be 'killed' by Alastor without getting to repay the favor, and it sure won't quell that fury of his, but... Maybe it'd be nice, not having to think about anything for a while. Not existing in that sense. Maybe he'll wake up feeling refreshed for once, as opposed to dreading the day ahead of him. So he's not going to fight it.]

Okay. Sure.

[ If it were just that, it might not be so bad. They've known each other long enough that Alastor should treat him to a death that's excruciatingly painful, but quick. His talk of using Vox for his radio broadcast was always an empty threat.

But - ]

I'm not done.

[ He presses his index finger against Vox's chest, then gives a small push with it. He promised to listen until the end, and now he has no choice but to. But if he keeps quiet, this should prove to be a quick and painless affair. And once Alastor has had his fill, he can send Vox along on his merry way without doing any actual harm to him... Well, probably, anyway. ]

I'll tell you when I am.

['There's more?' is the most prevalent thought to course through Vox's head, and it takes every inch of willpower he has not to give that thought a voice. He doesn't know what else there would even be to add to all that. Does Alastor plan to eat his body afterwards? Vox isn't sure he'd mind. He's never 'died' to such a degree, so he's not sure how he'd come back from that, but... sinners do come back, one way or another. That'd be one way to find out. And all his hardware might just give Alastor a bad case of indigestion- or worse.

Yeah. He'd be fine with it.

He gives Alastor's finger a dirty look. It's hypocrisy at its finest to keep jabbing and prodding at Vox after that grand creep proclamation in front of all of Hell. Even so, he doesn't speak.]

[ It is unfair, but he's being very deliberate about it now. Today, he's decided that he's allowed to treat Vox as he please, just as Vox did as he pleased the entire time Alastor was in his care.

Still, he draws his hand back in response to that look. He takes a handful of steps back instead. His staff his held behind his back, and he leans forward. ]

Have you forgotten who I am?

[ He stands straight back up. ]

You see, I changed my mind awhile back on letting you guest star on my show. I want something private, so that I can enjoy myself to the fullest. I don't need you to break on me, either, or at least not that much. I think a chip or two would do quite nicely.

[ He speaks swiftly, not allowing any time for the words to process, before finally allowing a moment for the implications of that to set in. Vox could very well be the first person to learn a few of his trade secrets. Wouldn't that be lucky? ]

[Vox's eyes go from narrowed to widened. At the exact same time, the thin line of his mouth opens. No words come out at first. Killing is one thing, but what Alastor's suggesting now... Is he talking about torture? Not even just dealing a few blows or cuts like in a fight, but something far more severe?

The agreement not to interrupt is out the window, because this is another one of those things that has him jumping into the defensive. He's not panicked, but he is pushing back because if anything, he's a little offended.]

Hey, wait! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

[ This is about as far as he expected to get before the other man started having a fit. He had already considered that, too. No answer comes, because Alastor doesn't much feel like repeating himself and Vox is going to do his best to derail this conversation one way or another. He has no doubt already come up with an answer to his own question.

Go on. He'll wait. ]

Edited 2026-01-13 17:54 (UTC)

[Vox has a myriad of possible answers, some more gorey than the next, but that doesn't mean he has the actual answer answer. Imagination is a powerful thing, especially when asked to conjure up the unknown. That in itself is what unsettles him. If he knew what to expect, he might be a whole lot less alarmed.

He tries again, approaching it from a less demanding, more docile angle. It comes complete with a weak smile. ]

What uhh... What're you thinking there, Al...?

[ That sin sister smile in response to the question. Vox would get his answers much quicker if he didn't waste time with questions, but he'll forgive the more polite approach. ]

Just as I said. I want to break you a little bit - call it torture if you'd like - and then I want to kill you. When you revive, I want to do the same thing again. I've only tried it once or twice before, and I grew bored of it quickly, but I'm sure we could make it work for at least century or two.

[ His expression doesn't change, the words have that perfect mix of his usual cheer and blatant madness, but his ears lay flat somewhere early on during his answer. They stay pinned back even as he awaits whatever dramatic response that threat will draw out.

He doesn't think that he'd get bored of Vox after that, and he's being far too generous in terms of how long the affair could last. Even if he tried to make it last, it would be like repeatedly tearing open a teddy bear to pull its stuffing out, then stuffing it back in before sewing it up. Eventually, there wouldn't be enough left to hold it together. There's really no such thing as endless torture in that way. ]

[The elaboration fills in a few blanks, and while Vox already doesn't like it, there's one aspect in particular he rejects. It's the 'again' portion. 'A century or two'. How is that fair? Vox is meant to suffer till he hits a certain breaking point and ceases to live, only to come back and suffer all over again? For what? How does that help him? It's just going to make him feel Some Way about Alastor even more.

His teeth bare themselves and his shoulders hunch. Like hell is he going to let himself get turned into a helpless victim! He wants to shout, wants to lash out, wants to get it through Alastor's thick skull by force. But he can't, because he's in the radio demon's domain and likely to get beaten down as soon as he loses his temper. So it's with every shred of self-control he still has left that he settles on a grumble instead.]

That's not gonna work for me, you selfish son of a bitch. Not unless the tables get turned every so often.

[If it were a push and pull sort of thing, he'd consider it. But this sounds like it's only pulling; tearing him apart bit by bit.]

[ His ears perk back up. He shakes his head and he lifts his hands in a what can you do gesture before his hands move behind his back again. As he thought, now that he's let him start, the other is just going to make a scene.

It sounds like it's pulling him apart bit by bit because that's precisely what Alastor wants to do. ]

You see, this is why I told you to keep quiet. Let's fix that first, hm?

[ And just as he says that, Vox might find that his systems are starting to get scrambled. It's hard to say by what, given how sensitive technology can be, but there's certainly something.

And maybe his mute button will just get toggled. ]

[Vox would ask what Alastor means by that, but isn't given the chance to. The effect on his systems is immediately noticeable and worrying. Nearly all of his muscles freeze. The only exception is his neck, which whips at an awkward angle as Vox's head is thrown back for a moment. His screen glitches and in those few seconds, he's convinced a complete system failure is incoming.

It's not, though. The scramble passes, at least for now, and his body unlocks itself. As he stands up straight again, his mouth moves in a completely inaudible "what the fuck". Followed by another "what the FUCK" when he realizes not a single sound came from him. His hands go to his chest, then to his screen.

Yep. He's muted. There's a tiny symbol in the bottom right corner of his TV to indicate it.]

[ Oh, that is satisfying to see. In fact, it's even better than the first time around. It's almost enough to make him feel better about this conversation. Not quite, but almost. ]

Better.

[ A black tentacle seeps out from the ground, weaving up and down like a massive tree root. He plops down on it once it passes by him, crossing one leg over the other. He rests his elbow on his thigh, leaning his chin into his palm and tilting it back and forth as he hums a bit. ]

You're in my house, with my rules; in my room, with my tools... 𝅘𝅥𝅮

[ It's not the primary reason behind this, but it sure is satisfying to be able to pay him back for muzzling him. ]

[A hint of panic starts to surge through Vox now, if only because he can feel himself losing control of the situation at a rapid pace. That's what throws him more than anything else; Alastor forcibly pulling his hands away from the wheel. Alastor violating his inner workings and changing them to suit his own purposes. The context is more of an afterthought.

What's being mirrored back at him doesn't make sense, the way he sees it, because Alastor walked into his hands willingly. He signed up for torment. Vox didn't. He hasn't agreed to any deals, so he's free to leave at any time.

Now is that time. He flips Alastor the bird and spins on his heel to head back towards the door. Whether it's with full intent to get out or just a last ditch attempt to be in charge of his own fate is up for debate.]

[ They're not comparable situations, but why should that stop Alastor from mocking him in this way? Besides, he did agree to this. He said that he would listen until the end. There may not be no formal deal between them, but the option of leaving wave given to him and rejected.

Now, he has to see this through until the end.

Alastor remains nonchalant. This is his domain, after all, and there's relatively little that Vox can do here. The entrance back into the room disappears. There's no warning. It's there, and then it's gone, replaced by more swamp (or at least the illusion of it.) It's an awful trick, but Vox has done the equivalent of sticking his head in the lion's mouth.

Hopefully he's paying attention, too, because otherwise he's going to find a set of tendrils wrapping around him and roughly yanking him back. It's nothing too harsh, just enough to drag him down to the ground and next to Alastor... Though if he is successful, there's at least the small comfort that the ground is neither dirty nor damp that way that one would think it would be. It's almost decorative. He doesn't like being dirty, so he picks and chooses how "real" the place is. ]

[As soon as the exit vanishes, Vox's head reflexively whips around to see whether it was simply moved elsewhere. Deep down, he knows it wasn't. He knows it's now in a place he can no longer reach, leaving him stranded in Alastor's domain. Still, the instinct to find it is too strong to resist.

That search costs him. Tendrils snake up his legs, along his torso, even his upper arms. Some would call it karma, others would call it retribution. Vox himself considers it an insult. Salt in an open wound. He tries to pull himself out, but the shadows prove stronger and begin to drag him towards the waiting radio demon.

He does the only thing he can still think to do. A wave of electricity courses along his body, intended to not only zap the tendrils themselves, but to flow through them and reach the source.]

[ Vox is successful in his efforts. The electrical currents run all the way up and through Alastor, and for a handful of seconds the only thing he can do is shake as his muscles seize up. The tendrils wrapped around Vox tighten in turn, clamping down before they melt away.

With how many times he's done it before, one would think that Alastor would have predicted it. Lucky him.

Still, he remains seated in place. There's a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth, but he just wipes it away before pressing down on his ears to straighten out the fur. Then he lifts one hand, curling his index finger in a little come here gesture. ]

You have two options: If you behave and let me finish, I'll have you sent back home by the end of the day - alive and unharmed. Otherwise, you can test your luck, and I'll do as I please.

[ To the victor go the spoils and all that. ]

[The tightening of the tendrils is painful. Were it not for the layers of clothing to serve as a barrier, they might've cut into skin. As it is, it's more of a bruising. A decent price to pay for the following release. Vox falls to his knees as soon as the tendrils' hold dissipates, hands landing in the faux swamp mud immediately after. And he scrambles from there, whirling himself around to face Alastor fully.

He's still sitting on the ground, but really... there's no point in getting up. Where would he even go?

Anyone with common sense would admit defeat. Vox is not part of those anyones. He can't speak, but his facial expression sets itself in defiant anger anyway. There should've been a third option, one where they discuss terms in a way where they're both satisfied, but Alastor's clearly not interested in that. So he holds up both arms, crossing them to form an X. It's about the only version of no he can communicate. "Stop it", or "time out". Something. Anything.]

[ The radio demon's request really is quite simple, and it's one where they should both be able to walk away from it unharmed. Now, they can go away mostly unharmed. A little electric shock and bruising isn't much to them. This stubbornness is just like Vox, though, and so this torture will continue for both of them.

He lifts an eyebrow at the gesture. It's annoying, but he'll acquiesce by holding off on doing anything further, instead licking the blood off the back of his hand. ]

[... Oh. Vox's brain hadn't actually planned ahead beyond this point, so now he's left at a total loss for what to do. His mind races as it tries to assess options, opportunities, strategies. There's only one way out, which is Alastor allowing him to leave. Which means he needs to die, preferably in that not-so-permanent sense. Maybe, if he plays his cards right, he can speed that up. Get his hands on some kind of tool, use it at the perfect moment... He'd need to be real careful about it, but it's worth keeping in the back of his mind. Even if it doesn't work, he'll know he tried.

Panic turns to bitter determination. If the problem is that Alastor's pulling his hands off the wheel, maybe what he needs to do instead is put his hands on Alastor. Really dig his claws in, wait for an opportunity to throttle. Whether that's today or tomorrow, or even a century from now.

He gets back to his feet, expression impassive for a moment as both hands brush down his jacket, tugging at the hem and the lapels. He adjusts his bow tie again. It's all a show, because when driven into a corner, his smartest instinct is to perform. Finally, his mouth sets into a grin and he walks over to Alastor, head held high.]

[ He finishes lapping the blood off of his hand, then takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes it down. He's slipped into a calm himself, as he's accepted that Vox would drag this without needing to. He'd like to call him unique in that, but he's not. In his decades of broadcasting, he's dealt with countless scenarios. Before that, in life he would watch the different reactions he'd get too.

The only difference is that here, he's offering Vox an alternative. He doesn't remember the last time he did that, but it hadn't been a genuine offer anyway. It was just one more knife to stick in later on, a reminder that they did this to themselves, but he would never treat Vox in the same way that he does common fodder. He's someone to be regarded with a certain measure of respect. ]

I don't lie about these things. You know that I don't. I've just gotten tired of listening to you, and I don't need you having one of your fits and ruining another one of my walls.

[ So, if he says Vox will leave unharmed, then he will. He replaces the handkerchief back, tilting his head back to look up at Vox, both hands holding the staff that's rested on his lap. He's the image of patience as he waits to determine if (when) Vox is going to do what he does best - namely, trying to deal with every problem using brute force. ]

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