Vox can understand Velvette just fine. They don't necessarily need to get along all the time, but they have a mutually beneficial contract that guarantees her support in the most efficient way possible, just how they both like it, short and strict and to the point.
Vox does not understand Valentino.
It drives him unimaginably, disgustingly insane.
He knows how to handle him, make no mistake. Valentino is a never-ending powerhouse that wrangles out content from his employees like there's no tomorrow. He's proven himself to be Vox's most lucrative investment yet. He is resourceful, well-connected and most importantly predictable enough to rein in. Because he listens to you, because he needs you.
He is also, undeniably, out of his goddamn mind.
Yet you've already invested too much in the corporate empire you've built together and there is no point turning back now that you have him so close to your side. It's OK however! He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to throw away the best partnership deal he's ever had just for the sake of something petty cause -oh, wait - he genuinely might just be that stupid and you never would've guessed because he's so cocksure of his bullshit that 80% of the time it ends up working in his favor anyway.
Fuck his life indeed.
The kicker for this of course is that Valentino, genuinely does believe he has struck gold with Vox.
Valentino is a clingy, possessive, immature, perverted, sadistic, egotistical man-child with severe rage issues and zero impulse control. No he is not aware of this at all. No he does not know why nobody is able to tolerate him and why every single person he gets close to hates his guts with every inch of their burning rotting souls. All he knows is that hell has now given him a flat faced prince in shining liquid crystal armour, riding on a cash filled horse with promises of power and luxury, who's practically handing him success on a silver platter. Doesn't mean that Val trusts him, doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy seeing him lose his shit. But at the end of the day vox has his back, and as long as Val keeps calling for him, he'll eventually turn up and make everything better. Cause hey if Vox hasn't left him yet for this long he must be doing something right.
Right?
323 notes
·
View notes
something that sort of irks me about fanon kerry is just how much some people miss the point of his storyline. like a lot of people seem to think that kerry just accepted johnny back into his life, and wanted to continue a relationship/friendship with him. furthermore, some people think that kerry used v to get close to johnny, but that isn’t the case.
the entire point of kerry’s storyline is that v helps kerry get over johnny. firstly, by getting his closure in ‘a like supreme’. all kerry wanted after fifty-four years of waiting was to play one last gig with johnny and put it to rest. and we KNOW for a FACT that this is all kerry wanted, because johnny is the one to ask ‘wanna do it again?’ to which kerry replies, ‘huh? no. this was enough.’
from this quote from kerry alone, we know that he didn’t want to continue his relationship with johnny, at LEAST not the way they had before. kerry doesn’t even comprehend that johnny would want that at first, and this could be because of his own ideas about how johnny feels towards him, but the ‘huh?’ indicates clearly that kerry’s intentions in doing this show was to get closure and put it to rest. and kerry likes to process things alone, we know this from when he says he needs a power nap after meeting johnny again, and on the roof of dark matter, and, when kerry leaves after johnny resigns his music career to kerry, giving him his guitar. ‘won’t play without you.’ both of them, in this moment, accept that they will never be what they were. too much time has passed and too much pain has been caused.
this leads me to my next point; being that despite kerry being able to put aside his grief for johnny, and begin to overcome it, he still struggles to overcome the feeling of inferiority. this is what he calls v for. and when kerry calls, he initially asks ‘johnny?’ and a lot of people see this as evidence that kerry is hoping for johnny, and is disappointed when it’s v, however, kerry clearly states that he doesn’t know how the situation with johnny works, and is receptive when v explains it. during the gig where v and kerry blow up the us cracks’ gear, a number of people had come to the conclusion that this was a ‘show’ for johnny, to make an example of the kind of person he was. however, i don’t think it was done with the intention of johnny seeing it, of getting johnny’s approval. however, kerry didn’t know johnny can see what v sees, so this makes that impossible from the get-go. the reason kerry did this was not for the approval of johnny, because he had put the chase for approval to rest after the last show. the reason kerry did this was less about johnny, and more about the impact johnny had left on kerry.
kerry has a ‘sore-spot’ when it comes to success, the offence and upset kerry expressed is genuine, because he believes that his success is his own, and his fame is already in a precarious situation. we know he is aware of this, because he keeps several copies of articles criticising his music around his house. kerry is sensitive, and insecure and believes that his music may not be good enough. this is because of johnny, because johnny stole the show, because johnny had convinced him he’d never make it alone. we know this because of the conversations v and kerry have at dark matter. so, the act of blowing up the van, the act of breaking into the venue, the act of threatening them with a gun, was not to impress johnny. it was an act of severe retaliation to insecurity, and his own defensiveness, caused by johnny. when kerry decides to allow us cracks to use his song, it’s a major breakthrough for him. it’s one act that is symbolic of his maturity growing.
and that was not something that johnny helped him do. it was something that v helped him do.
the conversation they have at dark matter is also important here, and i can’t remember the exact quotes, but the entire gist of the conversation is kerry discussing how he feels about success. how he feels about night city, and how he still feels like he’s in johnny’s shadow after all this time. it’s negative, it’s holding kerry back from allowing him to achieve everything he’s ever wanted, and to enjoy it. he doesn’t WANT johnny to be around him, because he WANTS to be free of the feeling of entrapment, overshadowing and inability to achieve. that is the entire point of the conversation. and in a moment, (male) v is able to stop him being afraid, to tell him, he doesn’t need to be afraid, he doesn’t need to be insecure, he doesn’t need to hold himself back. johnny is dead. kerry is at the top of the city, literally, overlooking everything else. (and all it takes is a little kiss from v in that moment to make him smile)
AAAND finally, boat drinks. literally the epitome of character development. kerry tells v about the six months he spent at sea, working in a cruise ship, where he learned what it meant to bleed ‘in service of the rich’. this memory he shares with v is about him, alone. it’s about his life and when he decided what he believed in, it’s about when he came up with his first great song, and it’s not about johnny. kerry discusses ‘life’s loops’, and tells v that they’ve inspired new songs, a whole new album, and that they’ve helped kerry overcome his fears and inhibitions.
v alone, i repeat, V ALONE, inspired kerry, and helped kerry reach maturity, and reach his full potential and creativity, so that he could move on and be an independent person. for male v, this is why he loves him. v is special to him.
it was never about johnny, it was never an attempt to keep johnny in his life. it was about getting rid of the debris johnny left in kerry’s life. and despite the fact that they had loved each other, it did not work. johnny had made his choice in 2023, and kerry had made his in 2077.
johnny chose to die, in hiding of himself, and then kerry chose to live his life, in search of himself.
i can and WILL elaborate further on ANY point that i have either mentioned, or any counterpoint
thank u
80 notes
·
View notes