#after her Strex days

[leconcombrerit]

hi??? I LOVE??? YOUR LAUREN MALLARD ART SO MUCH im so happy to have found u on my feed it makes me so giggly and stuff

AGVHFVBFH THANK YOU

Getting along with my goal of helping spread the love and adoration Lauren deserves. And since y'all are enabling me, here goes some more sketches

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

So what's up with Kevin of Desert Bluffs? (updated with new canon version)

I'll keep it simple this time, spoilers ahead. Some of it is me filling in plot gaps, but most is based directly on what we've been shown. Updated version of This but the old one is more detailed in a sense.

Kevin was born in Night Vale, or more accurately he was created into it. Wherever it is that he came from, that place was not our universe. He was taken in by Tamika Flynn, but knew he was not the only Kevin in this universe and sought to kill himself but could not.

He was taken under the wing of Mother Lauren, an avatar for a Smiling God. But there was something about her takeover that he did not like and could not agree with. He tried to rebel, to hurt her, and failed. She absorbed him into her but he is saved by his older self who already lived his life in this universe and a desert otherworld.

After getting Mother Lauren to flee, Kevin is adopted by his older self and they return to the DOW.

He lives some years in the DOW, potentially observing and recording the movements of one of the giant centipedes which lives in the DOW, thinking it another avatar of a Smiling God if not the being itself. This recording, in the form of a notebook, is lost and ends up in a NV years at some point in his timeline. Alternatively, it is a book his 'father' who is also him, has written. He is raised with the religion of a Smiling God. This is the religion of his father, a religion his father was raised in but also a religion which changed as it was adopted by Strex. There are many texts on the religion written by his father than the child also absorbs and will one day write himself. This too is it's own version of a religion worshipping a Smiling God.

At some point he leaves the DOW and ends up in a different universe to the one he was created into. He is in a Desert Bluffs which still exists and is years away from knowing Strex. This allows him to actually age. Either his father who is also himself raises him here himself, or Kevin is raised by the Joyous Congregation as Darryl was. Either way his father ends up old and alone in the DOW. Kevin forgets much about him and his upbringing as he ages in Desert Bluffs, which he views as his genuine hometown.

Kevin becomes the radio host of Desert Bluffs community radio and is happy. Then Strex comes to town. A mysterious man from the neighbouring NV says he's from the future and that they will win against Strex - they do not. Strex leaves him permenantly physically disabled and mentally brainwashed for years. Decades. They twist the religion which follows a Smiling God into something they can use against everyone. A woman called Lauren Mallard supervises him.

Kevin is part of those who try to take over NV and make it part of DB. They fail and Kevin ends up in the DOW. Here he starts to restablish himself off the backs of ancient rotted signs of civilisations (possibly his own childhood town of Desert Bluffs Too, but likely a fresh Desert Otherworld), and calls it Desert Bluffs Too. He makes friends with Carlos the scientist of NV. Carlos leaves, which upsets Kevin but he keeps going. His attempts to befriend Cecil, his double, never being successful. Lauren once more appears and things seem almost normal for them for a while.

Kevin meets a man called Charles and the two date. He tries to get the new citizens to construct a giant mudstone abyss to a Smiling God, which causes ancient spirits to rise and attack them. The citizens take it out on Lauren, who has been made mayor. She is banished to the desert.

When she returns she is a high priestess of a Smiling God and gradually becomes an avatar for it. Kevin gets word of a younger version of himself now existing in NV and tries to talk to the boy but negotiations don't go well. He returns to the DOW to think of what to do next, realising his timeline has made a loop he returns to see NV taken over by Mother Lauren.

He rescues himself from Mother Lauren, sending her on her way and starting the cycle anew. He raises himself, doing his best for the boy. He sends the boy to a new Desert Bluffs, or the boy ends up there by accident. He stays in/returns to the DOW where the new town eventually collapses, as people also return to Desert Bluffs or other places which aren't the DOW. He grows old and alone there, eventually briefly contacted by Cecil, his double.

Did he start the religion which worships a Smiling God? Yes and no. He is doomed by the narrative either way.

[shsunderland]

wntv hcs meooww

hii wntv hcs im sobored and umm im not sleeping

kevin !!

i hc with black hair and it used to be super long and he was super proud of it b4 strex made him cut it off cus they thought it would get in the way of his work (its ok now kevin grew his hair out again in the dow)

he goes crazyyyy whenever he sees smiley face stickers or whatever he starts going HOORAY! and "oo so joyus.."

he is such a weirdo he prolly sucked on his finger for an hour after he got a cut

kevin either dresses like its winter or like he just got back from a rave and is wearing the last amount of clothing without being naked

he likes fishnets

he has soo many centipede tattoos and after a while they started to move on their own and do centipede things soo silly

he has piercings, like a lottt of them. most of them he let lauren and daniel do at strex when they had their scheduled sleepovers

kevin is also NOT white please...

laurennn

idc what the public says she is bisexual

she prolly kissed kevin or daniel at least once cus she thought it would be kinda funny as a prank but they ended up going "huh?" and werent even mad

she is bffs with daniel they do everything together they have days where they go shopping at the mall

she likes funky patterned shirts and pants and chunky earrings

her lipstick is actually just blood

shes a hair nerd and has a 10 step hair routine

she wakes up like "yawnnn such a lovely day to be alive" and then acts like a mom that was forced to get out of bed cus her kid peed the bed and she needs to change the sheets

lauren has eyes kind of

she gets her lashes done and her nails done sometimes if she feels nice

she is a little bit french

her heels are suppperr pointy so she likes to step on ppls toes with them

daniel hooray!!

he is like those dbh robots so he has like fake skin and hair but u can see a bit of robot on him

he dresses a bit like someone who just found the whole gothic scene going on in the 80s or whatever which goes against strex dress code but they cant do much cus hes a robot

i like to think he used to be human at some point

daniel also had a like new wave goth phase idk what it is called when he was a human and it carried on to his robot self

he lets kevin and lauren dress him up and do his makeup like he is a doll lol

he lays on top of kevin during the scheduled sleepovers

daniel likes cheesy romcoms

he cries a bit during the super sweet romantic scenes

"i wish that was me" "stfu get over it that will never happen oml"

he has blonde curly-ish hair

he meows on occasion, it got programmed into his system after trying to take a pic of khoshekh, no one rlly knows how

he has freckles cus strex wanted to make him more inclusive so their employees didnt get scared off by some picture perfect dude robot guy

he can open up his back and the reason as to why it wasnt his chest is cus it would be inconvenient

charlesss

he is 100 percent a southern goth dont even argue with me

the trad goth look with huge clunky cowboy boots

charles used to work as a grave digger in pine cliff cus it payed well since everyone died and became a ghost

when he wasn't doing that he was working as a bartender near the outer edge of town

he has a bit of a southern accent from cactus park

he had a bunch of old cactus park shirts and saved them all for donny when he found out he was having a kid

charles was the pregnant one he is sooo transgender

he never got any surgeries cus he did not care about having tits

and a vag was more convinent (totallyyy not projecting)

he got his uterus removeda after donny tho so no siblings for donny ig

he was a smoker at some point

he hatess wine so much

charles is hispanic in some way cus yk carlos charles ykkk

he likes to braid kevins hair in fancy ways and then started to give kevin and donovan matching hairstyles every morning

he has a home depot 12ft skeleton in his classroom

and lewis the pumpkin from target

he loves halloween even tho most ppl of the dow have never even heard of it

he eventually moved in with kevin or vice versa and has his own room and office despite also sharing one with kevin

charles just likes to sleep alone some nights or needs a place to chill out by himself

charles is also def somewhat a ghost

vanessa

she loves 80's fashion

the silly earrings and neon colors

she also made kevin do karaoke nights with her

shes kevins niece i think

her parents kicked her out and so kevin let her work at the station to earn money

they aren't biologically related but vanessa sees kevin as the cool uncle

she died and came back as a ghost and kevin isnt hallucinating and some people can see her and she actually still does stuff

she loves depeche mode and got kevin into it (totally not cus i just saw depeche mode live the other day nuh uh uh uh uh) (i did it was fire)

she likes to ride in shopping carts

vanessa also loves skunks even tho she never saw one irl

she sees them online and forces kevin to look at the cute pictures

she has a hugeee cd and vinyl collection its crazy

she has a whole room stacked to the brim with them

kevin regularly goes out to get her more

he also bought her her first record player

it had sunflower patterns

strex destroyed it but she was able to keep the remains and use them to get a new record player with some of the original sunflower pattern

ok thats all i just did desert bluffs ill prolly do night vale tmrrw even tho i like db more..

[manynarrators]

You should tell me about your Hazbin oc. Smiles.

@coronaryqueer | Please understand this is A Can Of Worms, and all can be poked and prodded @singthesongsofsin

Hellaina: She’s my scary snake lady! She’s Vox’s PA (though in truth more akin to a COO). Technically he owns her soul, but she thinks she got the much better deal out of it. She died in the early 1980s of a heart attack induced, in large part, but the whole… 1980s work culture. She is, all things considered, quite happy down in Hell! (She also despises Valentino).

Dia: Hellaina’s wife, and regular in cannibal town. She runs a butcher shop, because her actual skills in pathology aren’t… super useful here. In life she sold organs on the black market, and is a special sort beloved freak. Definitely some vibes of pastel whimsi-goth in that girl.

Jayden: Velvette’s PA. He was created to fulfill a joke originally. Vox has a snake PA, and one of my writing partners hc that Val also had a snake PA, co clearly Vel needed one too. He’s very young, like, died in the last five years and was an influencer in life (and still is in hell) sort of young.

Adelard: OLD. He was in the seminary until he had a bit of a crisis of faith, left to become a healer during the early 1300s, and then a plague doctor when that all broke out. He killed a lot of his patients because it was kinder for that than to die slowly of the plague. In Hell he’s the closest thing to a librarian, and definitely a bit of an eccentric! He collects a lot of the newly fallen.

Belphegor: lord of Sloth, narcoleptic, and an idealist. Probably going to quit at some point to create purgatory, or just… somewhere for the vast majority of the dead to go who weren’t great people but don’t deserve Hell either.

Astaroth: Bel’s best friend, another fallen Angel. Tara spends most of her time on Earth, acting as the classic deal demon. She has a fwb deal with Mephistopheles (yes the one from Faust), and also as Bel’s inter-ring liaison a lot of the time.

Metatron: the Voice of God! (And heretical on my part). He was the first thing ever created, before the universe itself was, and he, God, and Asherah were the primordial polycule… at least until she went to sleep. God did too, some 1400 years ago, so Metatron has been keeping Heaven and Earth from realizing God is MIA by acting in his stead.

As for the wtnv OCs!!!

The new one is Nezha. They’re a glassblower from DB, they’re tiers of punk, they created and then destroyed the stained glass of the Smiling God in DB’s Joyous Congregation. (I have more hc about that, but shhh, the fic will be released in a few days). Their Double was Theseus’s best friend until her death— weird magical inter-city coven they were all a part of.

Speaking of Theseus! He’s the NV weatherman. He’s quite chill, all things considered. He was part of the magical intercity coven (where he met Ted the Weatherman (mentioned! And therefore canon!) from DB. He’s known about the weird effect of the towns for aaaages, but as no one ever asks the weatherman anything, he’s never volunteered any information. After the coven fell apart, he went to uni for meteorology. In an as yet unfinished fic, he becomes Maddy’s (Kevin’s sister) best friend.

Mikhail and Matvei: a set of doubles who hate one anotber. They both went to school outside the Desert. But whereas Mikhail is a relatively good person, he studies time, Matvei is EVIL. Matvei was a StrexCorp enforcer, Matvei is now working on the Sandstorm project. Matvei carved out one of his own eyes in a show of devotion to the Smiling God, and is a hardcore loyalist even without drugs.

Speaking of! Helios is the Smiling God! …sort of. Helios created DB and then just sort of… forgot about it. He came back to find Strex and is now masquerading a priest to figure out how to fix it. He’s also the Greek pantheon Helios, same dude. In the same unfinished fic, he’s Jocelin’s (Kevin’s nibling) biological father.

Maddy and Jocelin! Kevin’s sister and no king respectively. They would be Abby and Janice’s doubles. Maddy wanted to be a botanist, as after their mother took off, ended up raising Kevin. They’re still quite close in large part because of Jo, and because there is no double of Steve. Jocelin, as a child, has a sun allergy Strex ‘fixed’. They’re like… 13 right now, but getting into acting! After Strex was defeated, they were some of the first to move to NV.

How many more do I have??? I think I’ll leave it here for now! (I need to be better at actually messaging you, I promise I’ll try!)

[mostautisticsinner]

Haha anyway. On the note of Lauren Mallard and Kevin being obsessed with each other I do like the idea of them truly being Pair Bonded. They’ve known each other since before Strex and knew each other throughout it but at some point they grew Distant. It was All they could do to stand Seeing the other coming to them with Worse and Worse wounds and after all Lauren Might as well have Abandoned Kevin when she joined Strex since it made her so Distant so he should be allowed to be Angry at her but it only makes her More Upset with him and it just , Feeds into them having a Disdain for each other and One day Lauren gets in a Fight with Someone and it Wounds her Awfully. Like Can’t do Anything but Dissociate when even thinking about how a part of her is Missing awfully. And she’s used to Kevin being at her side any time she gets hurt and she’s used to doing the same for him but she just hasn’t Been able to Care about him and he hasn’t been able to care about her. And Maybe Something else was also missing.

[your-mom-friend]

I've been listening to WTNV and just finished Triptych

Holy shit

No seriously. Holy shit

Okay so this probably isn't going far beyond my blog, so to my followers who do see this and know nothing of Welcome To Night Vale, let me give you some context.

Obviously, spoilers if you plan to listen to WTNV, or haven't reached this episode yet (Year 4, Episode 73)

Night Vale in and of itself is a friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and myseterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep

It's a strange place

The podcast is in the format of the community Radio Show, where you're a citizen listening to the news as narrated by Cecil Palmer

Bear in mind, that WTNV, for all the wholesomeness and absurdity that exists in it, is also partly a horror podcast, and you'll occassionally get descriptions of gore and violence that are graphically detailed.

Early on in the series, you're introduced to Desert Bluffs. Night Vale's sister town that is sort of implied to be populated by doubles/dopplegangers of the Night Vale Residents.

Desert Bluffs has also been taken over by StrexCorp. A corporation that is basically Amazon if Amazon was allowed to publicly violate the Geneva Conventions and brainwash their employees. And have it be part of their publicity.

Desert Bluffs has their own Community Radio Station, with host, Kevin. To give you a sample of what Kevin sounds like, he says “Wow. What a perfectly wonderful, wonderfully perfect super day! I could not be more thrilled. The Smiling God blessed me with Its presence once again." In the most cheerful voice you can imagine. No, more cheerful. Bordering on forced-through-torture-by-Joker-venom cheer.

Cecil hates him with a passion. He is the opposite of everything Cecil is and stands for

In later episodes, StrexCorp takes over Night Vale and Kevin becomes the Radio Host with co-host Lauren Mallard. Here we see him being super passive aggressive towards her

Lauren: Sure Kev! Can I call you Kev? Kevin: hahaha, no, Lauren, by no means. (she deserved it though)

Anyway this hints he isn't super happy with Strex actually but is still on their side

Fast forward, Strex was defeated in Night Vale, things go back to Normal, Kevin takes up residence in the Desert Otherworld blah blah blah

Which brings us to Triptych. roughly a year after Strex is defeated.

Cecil hosts his show when suddenly a radio signal connects him to Kevin. Kevin from the past.

Not just any past, but Pre-Strex past.

This Kevin is...unsettlingly like Cecil. They like the same things and have almsot identical views. Most jarringly, this Kevin hates Strex. He assures Cecil that he and the rest of the Bluffs are making sure they stay a small local company. He sounds like a regular cheerful person instead of...whatever he'd become alter

It reconnects to a recent-past Kevin. This Kevin was from when Strex had recently taken over Night Vale. He reveals, rather cheerfully "Can you believe it? I actually tried to stop them from buying it [DB Radio Station]. I tired, very hard. I put my own body, this fragile thing, in between the Strex Representatives and the entrance to the building. But they forced their way past me using ethically brutal methods that left me forever physically changed!"

Again it reconnects, but to a future Kevin, who is old and withered and lives in a desolate area, who is (i think) now freed from Strex's control. He's tired, alone, and regrets that Cecil never got to meet the Pre-Strex him. They'd have gotten along splendidly.

Cecil then tries to reconnect to the first Kevin, and succeeds. Kevin asks him about the future. "Do we succeed? Does everthing go as right as right can be?" And Cecil...lies. He says that their revolutions against Strex will be successful, that he is happy and lives his life.

The signal is lost.

Guys this episode left me sad in ways I didn't even know I could feel. Because everything else you hear of Kevin makes you kind of loathe him. The way he talks and the things he says (think toxic positivity on steroids and trying to kiss corporate ass) makes your skin crawl and you WANT to hate him but

He's brainwashed. He was bright and young and passionate and hopeful and fearless and Strex did unspeakably horrible things to him and just...broke him. There's barely anything left of the guy he used to be. He smiles and cheerfully talks but there's nothing behind it. It sounds like it's been beaten into him till it's all he knew how to do. He doesn't know or say or do anything that Strex doesn't want him to and it's just so profoundly heartbreaking. He was once willing to give up his life to protect the sanctity of a free radio show where he could report and Strex turned him into a puppet for their own needs.

I just want things to get better for Kevin

[lesbiancervidologist]

A small bit of wtnv cowboy/western au thoughts contiuned

- there is really no way out of or into night vale except by foot or by horse, the towns built along railroad tracks but they haven't been used in years.

- desert bluffs is already post-strex at this point. Strex Corp was a mining company that employeed everyone in town and then left. Theyre more worried about rebuilding their culture rather then their infrastructure at the moment though:]

- Kevin's a preacher, thats his main profession and he doesnt have anything similar to any sort of journalism job like this au's Cecil does!!! (Also i just. Preacher kevin<333)

- Khoshekh is a stray cat that hangs around Abby's bar, he is allowed in (even if Abby doesn't want him in her bar) hes allowed to do what he wants

- Cecil lives with Janice and Abby simply because thats more convient for the three of them:] (not sure what Cecil does after Abby and Steve get married though)

- Carlos + his scientists get horses bc I said so (also bc they gotta get there somehow) Cecil adores them as he does all animals yknow

I wrote this over the course of 4 days ill provide actual au thoughts soon hopefully:)

[kerink]

@jup1tersparx #stan is mentioned when jackie visits carlos in 1st wtnv novel#which is post strex#also it says that there is carlos ‘and his team of five scientists’#which means either dave or rochelle are unaccounted for hm#so. er. hope that helps ^-^ /gen#yeah double checked dave and rochelle are not mentioned by name in that scene

thank you you're right 🙏

and if its carlos+5 that'll mean carlos, nilanjana, luisa, mark, stan and one more unaccounted for. given that book 1 is about the flamingos, and in it devours they said connie went missing after studying the flamingos, that one unaccounted for was her.

guess this means dave and rochelle probably didn't make it out of strex, or at least had the day off when jackie was visiting

got me thinking about the missing members of carlos' team. we know he still has nilanjana and luisa and mark, and we know what happened to connie, but what happened to dave, stan, and rochelle? the last time we heard about dave and rochelle was when carlos' team had been taken by strexcorp. did strex kill them? where's stan?

[elliottjpg]

Night Falls

I’m rewatching Gravity Falls, so I re-drew my old Gravity Falls/Night Vale crossover OCs!

Hestia: spirit of Aldebaran's house

Aldebaran: librarian in Gravity Falls, twin sister of Antares

Antares: night shift waiter at Night Vale's “Moonlite All-Nite” diner, twin brother of Aldebaran

Pavo: waiter at Desert Bluffs' “Sunlite All-Day” diner, evil doppelganger of Antares

Aldebaran and Antares use their first names (Lyra and Pavo) in public, and their middle names with each other and with their loved ones. They can communicate telepathically. They need very little sleep, which they can compensate with caffeine. They grew up on a ranch in Arkansas.

Hestia is normally disembodied, and can take any human form (this one is their favorite). They are not very good at pretending to be human. Aldebaran tells people that they’re her roommate.

Evil Pavo was brainwashed by Strex Corp, very soon after he moved to Desert Bluffs. He no longer has telepathic contact with his sister.

 Here are their “normal” (not cartoony) designs!

(these drawings are from three years ago)

[kindcolors]

im also gonna ramble about DB Abby and Janice too (aliza and janet)

- aliza tried to protect kevin from their dad a lot as kids, she thinks she did a poor job

- aliza had janet through a man she'd only went on a few dates with who left pretty early into her pregnancy

- aliza and simon met a lot earlier than steve n abby, they met when she was about 7-8 months pregnant

- aliza thought simon was odd but endearing, if not a bit of a workaholic

- janet was homeschooled and didnt go out very often, she was a very lonely kid who wanted to do so much with her life

- aliza left desert bluffs (and simon) when her daughter was around 9 and she went to Red Mesa. Janet loved the new freedom and aliza tried to enjoy it with her but she was worried

- aliza still calls kevins number despite knowing its out of service (simon keeps the old phone around to listen to the voicemails)

- aliza, when simon got strex set up, had to sign a bunch of documents that kept her stuck with strex and quiet for a while until it got too much for her

- she called everyone in town before she left, she went through the whole phonebook and tried to go through twice but ran out of time

- janet is great at tennis and is on her schools robotics team!

- aliza woke up one day after work with her 'extra' two eyes sown shut, though even Simon was very shocked at this and promised it would be sorted out. that was the night she left

- aliza and janet go back to desert bluffs too and theyre settling in nicely, aliza feels like everyone hates her even though no one really knows she was married to simon once

- doesnt mind gore unless it was produced in a way that involves innocents

- aliza is a very devoted follower of the smiling god, janet is a bit skeptical but she goes along for her mom and uncle

- aliza and charles get along well, and janet teaches donnie how to play tennis

- aliza and abby are similar in how they're both reserved but she has a much harder time telling people off. her and kevin dont tease each other much

[tefmiles]

after spending WAY too long writing it, the fic surrounding @catboy-khoshekh ‘s wtdb oc lewis is done! lewis uses any/all pronouns so thats why her pronouns change up throughout the fic. 

read it hereee

Lewis looked out the dirty restaurant windows to the large, pristine Strexcorp buildings that stretched high and wide into the cityscape surrounding him. Unlike everything else, they still looked new. The windows were clean, and so were the streets leading up to the building entrances. The city's best and most expensive technology was vesseled into the cooperation with disregard to the wasting away town around it, and it showed. Beyond the city hall and the town square, a place that Strex had marked with their dirty, greedy hands, the remainder of Desert Bluffs wallowed in carnage and neglect. Measly attempts of adapting to the newest technology had been disregarded, leaving the rest of the bluffs to rot in rust. Murder and disruption from the corporation spread through the town like plague, grasping onto each citizen until no one was left without a smile and a hungry, violent need. Remnants from each day’s murder and destruction covered the town until no place was unlike the other, blood bearing and sickly. 

Strex’s testament for cleanliness disgusted Lewis most of all. Beyond the shiny, tinted windows and the sleek, golden frame of each office, the interior of Strexcorp was just the same as the city streets. Even after years, years of ripping each person away from their humanity until they were nothing but a mess of wiring and flesh, the company still hid their face away from the public, covering up what everyone already knew: they were the cause of all this. 

Lewis was a product, just like everyone else. She was a smiling face in a crowd of grinning, bloodsoaked, others, but unlike them he fought. He fought silently, through poison and knives, rising slowly to defeat each figurehead they knew of. He met them as an equal, building their trust, until the time was right, and then he striked. He was an assassin, killing those that had brought their abundance of suffering to the town, ceasing their reign of terror as an act of revenge for himself, and for each killed in the name of a false god, and a power-corrupt company. 

Years of uninterrupted work had brought her now, to a restaurant, as an associate to one of the most powerful people he had ever met: the town’s head prophet. He had never seen his face in flesh and bone, but he knew stories. He constantly heard his voice, power hungry and giddy, ready to strike at any moment. They had first learned to respect and obey him, but now Lewis knew nothing but to distrust and despise this man. 

In view of the window was the prophet’s statue, in solid gold like the two others. It was an unjust rendition, and the statue Lewis hated the most. Perched royally, in a draped gown and starred headpiece, Kevin stood, axe raised above his head, moments before its descent. If the statue’s job was to paint him as a golden-lit deity, it did exactly that.

Lewis wished for the day that they could see that statue topple, meeting other destroyed Strex buildings in a mess of wires and concrete. Each moment he wished the cooperation would crumble in his hands like dust, and today he was even closer to that wish coming true, all he needed to do was to stick to the plan. 

In front of them sat two cups of coffee, both poisoned. Lewis had built an intolerance to the poison for the last many years, and it remained a staple method to remove each leader she found himself working with. 

Once they were immobilized by the poison, it was a matter of murder, and then they were soon forgotten, like the rest of those killed under the shadow of Strex. However, this job was different from the others. Lewis was toying with someone incredibly important, and their death would not be received without questions, and, Lewis began to realize, difficulty. 

Kevin was more than a prophet. He was the figure Strex loved to flaunt as their biggest achievement, their most powerful, highest ranking fighter, their prized possession. She knew what they could do to a person like Kevin, how far he could be pushed. Lewis was suddenly more aware of who exactly he was going to kill. 

Just when the full importance of the situation had hit full force, Kevin entered the restaurant, turning fearful but not surprised heads. He was a well-known regular. Lewis took him in, trying to maintain a happy and anticipate expression. 

Kevin wore a more formal, but still lavish yellow dress, accompanied with his signature golden accents and jewelry. Red ribbon hung from different angles around his corset, letting crystals and other strange jewelry hang down his legs. Multiple weapons were strapped to his body, along with a horrific axe Lewis recognized from the statue outside. A large, square, meticulously designed hat was pulled down over most of his face, just enough to let his smile show.  He made his way over to Lewis’s table, shaking his hand before sitting down. Lewis tried to wipe off the transferred blood on his pant leg. 

For a moment, she considered the dagger concealed in her pants pocket. They were completely caught off guard by the amount of weapons Kevin wore, and how boldly he displayed them. Even for a town full of violence, it wasn’t commonplace to walk around with exposed weaponry, unless your Strex Division permitted it. Lewis guessed Kevin was an exception.

They looked down at the coffee once more, watching with restrained anticipation as Kevin took a sip of the espresso. Nothing happened, but she knew the poison would only kick in about a half an hour from then.

Since entering the cafe, Kevin hasn’t said a word. At first, Lewis had just assumed that he might not be one for conversation, but then one look at his smile and the air about him let her know that Kevin was not the type to stay silent, or even still for too long.

In fact, she began to notice that even as he sat there in front of them, he was doing just that. Different limbs of his twitched, including most rapidly his face and ears, a sign of the effects that Strexcorp’s programming had on his body. Lewis could imagine how much he had gone through to become the person that they now were, but she had no sympathy for him. Just as they were wishing harder that the poison would kick in sooner than usual, Kevin spoke. Lewis recognized his voice immediately, despising how even more sickly sweet it was in person. 

“ I appreciate you organizing this date, “ His voice dripped like honey. “ I think it’s very important to talk with soon-to-be assistants before hiring them! Have a real heart to heart, you know? “ 

Lewis tried their best to cover their disgust with a smile. He tried to maintain eye contact with Kevin, straining to remain friendly and professional. Something was incredibly discerning about not being able to see his eyes.

“ Of course, “ she tried to match his tone. “ It is my pleasure. I am incredibly honored to be meeting you, as well; having the opportunity to work with a prophet and our co-president is something that others would die for. “

Kevin laughed. Lewis noticed as his jaw moved that a small, metal chip was embedded in his skin. From this they also noticed another few metal implants, snaking their way up his neck and latching onto his ears. He recognized these as devices used by Strex to greatly enhance hearing and reflexes. If those were the only visible bionic implants, there was a good chance he was rigged with other internal implants, especially since he was one of Strexcorp’s most well-trained fighters.

Lewis shivered, hoping it would go unnoticed. “ Training “ was a loose term for what it would take to become an employee at Kevin’s level. The amount of painful surgeries and personality alterations would leave you as a shell of your former self, as all of your energy is directed for one thing: to become a vessel for the company's wicked desires.

“ Oh, but they will, and they have, “ Kevin began. Lewis snapped back to the conversation with wariness. What exactly were they implying? 

“ You see, an issue has surfaced. There is someone, an employee posing to work with us, that is making their way up through our ranks, through murder. “

Lewis swallowed. Even as he easily concealed any anxiety through his taught smile, they still felt that Kevin could sense vulnerability seeping through the cracks in his teeth. 

“ That is completely against our morals, “ she faked concern, twisting her face into the best frown she could physically muster. Even though they had fought against the operation to craft their smile, Lewis still bore painful scars along his mouth. “ Strexcorp rewards power and positions through hard, hard work, not relentless murder! “

“ Exactly my point, “ Kevin nodded, the tassels on his hat bobbing. “ It is simply unfair, and it is making many, including my-co president and I, unhappy. “

“ No one should be unhappy! “

“ No one should. That is why I must make it incredibly clear to you, Lewis, that as my future assistant, this poseur will be prosecuted in my hands. And I want you to help me. “

Lewis checked the clock behind Kevin. The poison would be kicking in any minute, if that is, it would work. He could be pumped with so much shit even a liter of poison wouldn’t make a dent. 

They swallowed, and took a sip of their coffee. Under the table, their left hand held a firm grip on the dagger slung on a garter belt, under their pantsuit. This conversation was taking a turn in the wrong direction. 

“ It would be wonderful to work with you to find the murderer. You are our best fighter, and I do not doubt a decision you make for the name of Strex, “ She beamed. They needed to try and shift the focus to something else. “ However, I think we need to discuss other topics as well. I’m sure there’s lots for me to learn still, especially with the more religious side of— “

“ Lauren and I have tracked the murderer for days now, even as they continue to use almost foolproof methods to cover up their tracks, “ Kevin interrupted. “ They have managed to kill some of the most valuable members of Strexcorp. It seems almost like they are out for revenge. “

He laughed, continuing. 

“Revenge! What could anyone possibly find deserving of revenge in my company? We are doing what we must, our job as a humble, kind cooperation. Everyone here is happy, joyous, and they intend to break our balance and watch it burn like tinder. “

Lewis didn’t respond. They were finding it hard to control their rage, and were nearly trembling. He had to know, that was the only explanation. They almost pulled out their dagger when, for the first time in the half-hour, Kevin tilted up his head to meet Lewis face to face. 

Lewis gasped, struggling to exhale. He went stark, and the hand at his weapon gripped to its handle tight. 

Kevin’s eyes weren’t the solid black that Lewis had learned belonged to every Strex employee, including his own. They were a mixture of bright yellow and black, swirling endlessly in a hypnotic pattern. He stared deep into Lewis’s eyes, unblinking. Then, as if they had never changed, his eyes flickered back to normal. 

Lewis lunged for the dagger, bringing it almost to his throat, but they found themselves stopped, matched with their own weapon, cold and sharply pressed against their skin. Kevin had moved just as quickly as Lewis had, and now the two of them were evenly matched, waiting for the other to make a move to seal the deal. 

Lewis scanned the restaurant. No one had even bat an eyelash. The couple in the table behind them hadn’t even paused eating their brunch to notice. Lewis assumed it was commonplace for murders to happen in a place that Kevin frequented, so eventually restaurant -goers had become used to it. The only person that had even payed attention to the pair was the bartender, in the left corner of the store. Slowly, he wiped a pint glass, watching with more interest about who would win the fight, then the safety of any of his customers. 

She glanced back at Kevin. His eyes were back to normal now, but he showed no signs of moving. What had that even been? Lewis knew that Strex implemented robotic eyes to enhance vision and reflexes, but hypnotic implants? She tried to imagine how long he might have had those abilities, or what they could be used for. If anything, what else had Strex done to him? 

“ I think we’d better take this outside. “ Kevin slowly stood, Lewis following suit directly after, keeping their dagger close to his neck. 

They made their way to the door, facing each other as they moved. Lewis tracked every move Kevin made, from the twitch of his ears to the slight shake of his hand. Outside, the sun poured onto the pair. 

Lewis carefully took in his surroundings. He was out of luck now. There was no way they could beat Kevin, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. Even if it was going to kill her, she was going to spend every living minute making sure he felt pain. For a few moments, they stood, waiting for the other to make a move, in front of the restaurant. Kevin smiled, and every glass window in the cafe shattered. 

In a quick, calculated movement, he lunged. Lewis didn’t even have time to think, he just did. They had waited far too long for this moment. This was the morning the prophet would fall, and if so be it, she too.

[t4tjonmartin]

thoughts on the latest wtnv eps (kinda jumbled):

first things first, i love the progression of the titles, from The Trouble With Time ("life is too short every second spent not truly living is a waste we are going to die RIGHT NOW") to The Promise Of Time ("the future is ours we will never die we no longer need to fear") as two extremes, and then The Battle With Time which represents the constant oscillation between these two extremes and sometimes finding that perfect middle ground ("the future is not ours to claim and constantly fearing the end of our lives is what holds us back from truly living it in the first place") (and of course the wonderful throwback to "death is only the end if you assume the story is about you" except....slightly more aggressive sjdbjs but that's cecil for you)

speaking of throwbacks, the whole thing with peoples future brains-as-robots and present time nightvalians fighting alongside/against them reminded me a lot of the episode waaay back with the doubles, and the first-hand introduction to kevin, and by extension, desert bluffs, strex corp, and of course, the smiling god. and since this episode saw The Return Of That Weird Ecstatic Deity through a character who was a hardcore worshipper......parallels much? [sidenote: i wonder when exactly casper discovered the smiling god, considering he's from the future]

and while we're on parallels: being reminded of the doubles episode really made me miss dana :( i wish we could've heard about her in this episode while cecil was describing what various citizens were doing. like, i think it would be ooc for present dana to cryofreeze her brain but imagine her fighting her robot counterpart and going "OH GOD WHY THIS AGAIN" or just looking outside her apartment window and hearing everything that was happening and thinking "thank goodness it's not me this time" lol

it was a nice touch for cecil to add how casper's death affected the timeline, but i think it glossed over two things. one, how the entire town and cecil the observer just....decided to kill a guy with a shapeshifting hacksaw (iirc) and then took his brain, put it in a "weak, scrawny" robot and put it to mind numbing (no pun intended) and objectively useless labour for no actual reason. that's scary af, you all?? i wonder what the writers were trying to show through that

two, how even if time in nightvale might have become "normal", its still being messed with. just like the general, the citizens in these episodes altered time significantly (killing casper, which cecil mentioned meant that now he never harvested brains for robots in the first place) in a way that may seem inconsequential presently but completely changed their future. that is also scary af, you all

another thing i noticed was how the community came together. compared to strex or hell beagle this time around the union of the town to defeat a common enemy was......a lot more violent? the scene of the whole town coming out into the streets while cecil narrated it all isn't new (though still extremely sexy), but it seems to be different every time. this time around, cecil mentioning the "neighbouring towns" of ghost pine and whispering forest also coming to help....what stake did they have in this fight? did casper try to rope them in too or does nightvale just have extremely good intracommunity relations these days? also, does this mean those towns also listen to cecil's station?

in context of that, makes me wonder why desert bluffs wasn't mentioned (either that, or it was mentioned and i'm forgetting it as usual). did casper try to harvest brains from desert bluffs? it would make sense, bc the whole smiling god connection. did he come to nightvale after going to desert bluffs? if so: what does that mean for desert bluffs' citizens? were any of the robots of the future from someplace other than nightvale too?

finally, to end on a somewhat positive note: i loved the focus on charlie bear. this working class dude just up and started an uprising to defeat casper and his robots while being a major reason that an uprising was needed to defeat casper and his robots in the first place lmao, good for him

[weepylucifer]

let’s talk strexcorp!!!

i think “strex tortures the employees” is certainly one thing to hc and write, and you should do that if it butters your biscuit, but i personally am finding i like writing strex as just. normal capitalism taken to extremes. i’m talking amazon or tesla the way it is in reality, with everything dialed up. like:

employees being paid in ~strexpoints~ or whatever that they can only spend in strex-affiliated stores and that are worthless everywhere else. like ofc the DB economy collapsed after the strex overthrow

employees being paid just barely enough to make rent and feed themselves. those who don’t manage that? well gee, way to Fail To Reach Your Productive Potential! those people are just lazy and probably get shot by strex drones behind a dumpster. need to buy anything else? like medication for example? your Strex Insurance™ will cover it! probably. maybe. unless it’s deemed Nonessential To Productivity. then nah.

in pain every day bc you can’t afford your meds and your Strex Insurance™ doesn’t cover them? just put a smile on and get to work! the only disability is a bad attitude, friendo :) oh your health is steadily worsening and you Will Die? don’t fret! you can probably be replaced by a daniel-type android. it’s okay. i mean you will die. but you’ll die in the happy certainty that at least the work will get done :)

most everyone living in Strex Apartments™ that are little more than barracks and still, somehow, cost an outrageous amount of rent

anyone who dares utter the word “unionize” gets invited for a friendly chat with kevin, who happens to need some help redecorating his studio

they’re not obedience collars, they’re Mood Adjustment Collars, reminding you with a gentle but admonishing electric pulse that you should be thinking more happy thoughts! :)

romantic relationships being monitored, regulated and manufactured with regards to which people will Heighten Each Other’s Productive Potential! you want to be in a relationship with someone HR deems unsuitable for you? too bad. better luck next time! wanna procreate? fill out the permit. there is no such thing as parental leave. children, or rather, Future Strex Employees! are raised in corporate teaching facilities

strex will also pick out your platonic relationships for you! in your allotted Self-Care™ Social Bonding Time™ , you should surround yourself with people who are best suited to you and your productive potential :)

everyone eats Strexmeals™, a cheap, efficient and nutricious food-replacement gruel. it’s the only food anyone outside of management can afford to buy. is it laced? you bet. sometimes management will hand out cupcakes as a treat for heightened productivity. how nice of them!

it’s not the working conditions that are problematic, it’s your attitude!! hey, you should smile more. then everything immediately looks much better!! a smile on a scarred, malnourished, agonized face is still a smile :) it signifies that at least you’re trying! :)

lauren is that Peppy Cool Manager that everyone’s had at some point. you know the one. she “totally gets it” and “we’re all a team here” and “we’re one big family you know!!” but she has no interest whatsoever in changing the conditions. her name tag identifies her as “vice-president” of strexcorp, and in the same way that a 12-year-old sweatshop worker will never meet tim cook, the CEO of strex has never been seen. does such an entity even exist? to the lives of the workers, it doesn’t matter.

NO ONE SEES ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE ABOVE. everyone is completely conditioned to see all this as just the way things are.

[video-killed-the-radio-host]

Mild Mannered Storm

The roller derby au no one asked for

+++×××+++++

There were two sides to Cecil Gershwin Palmer. The first and most known to the public was the mild mannered librarian. Gentle and soft spoken, Cecil got along with everyone. He could spout off any fact about any of the books in the town's library and always knew exactly where to go when research needed to be done. He was an amazing listener and friend to all. If you needed to talk to someone, he would pull out a spare stool and you could talk to him as you both stamped books or reshelved. He's mended many broken hearts amoung the shelves.

~

The other side of Cecil was a complete 180. That side showed on game day.

~

"Come on slow poke! We have to set up!" Cecil calls over his shoulder as Carlos trailed behind him. In one hand, the blonde held his skates and in the other was his helmet and pads. Carlos, who covered sound and tech at matches, was holding a water bottle, Cecil's duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"I'm coming. Im coming. Hold your horses." Carlos shakes his head with a laugh.

"We're late!"

"That's your fault dear. You took forever doing your hair."

Cecil reaches up and touches the tight French braid atop his head. It was expertly done and Carlos had to admit he was mesmerized watching Cecil's fingers dance through his hair.

"It was that or get my hair stuck in someone else's skate again."

Carlos nods and sighs. "I know. I know."

Cecil stops and gives him a quick kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now go kick ass."

"You know it." Cecil grins and makes his way over to the bench where his team was waiting. Earl, Dana, Maureen, and Deb were already to go.

"There he is!" Earl calls. "The man of the hour."

Cecil does a bow and laughs. "Sorry I'm late. Late start." He says, sitting down at change into his skates.

"Oh yeah. I'm sure." Dana teases.

Cecil flushes darkly as he finishes lacing his skate. "Not like that you dork. I just over slept."

"Look I don't care why you're late. Just as long as you bring your A-game. We're playing Strex." Maureen says, snapping her helmet on.

Cecil smirks. "They won't know what hit them."

"Do they ever?" Earl asked, standing and spinning in a circle. "Wanna race Storm?"

Cecil gets up. "You're on Ginger. Three laps?"

"Three laps. Loser buys dinner."

"Lets do it. Hey Jackie, come ref for us."

Jackie gets up and skates over. "Three laps, no contact. On your mark"

The two men crouch down.

"Get set. Go!"

There was a series of yelling cheers as they take off around the track. Earl was fast but Cecil was agile. He stooped low to the floor as they rounded the bend of the track. Cecil pushes foreward and takes the lead. He spins around, skating backwards.

"Come on slow poke!"

Earl smirks a little. "One more lap left hot stuff. I've been holding back."

Cecil smirks back. "Prove it."

"You talk alot for a Liberian." Earl says, darting around him and down the track.

Cecil makes a garbled noise and turns back around, trying-and falling- to catch up. He crosses the finish line just a second later.

"Dinner's on Cecil!" Earl announces.

"Thats what you get for being all talk." Carlos calls across the room. Cecil narrows his eyes.

"You keep talking and you'll sleep on the couch." Cecil retorts, earning a chorus of 'ooohhh's from the team.

Carlos just shakes his head. "How about you just show off now? The other team is here."

Cecil looks across the other end of the room, spotting the yellow and white uniforms. Cecil clipped on his helmet and rolls his shoulder. "Lets do this."

+++++×+++++

The game was intense, as always, because the rival teams were near perfect matches to each other. The scores were tied up to the last jam.

Cecil skated in a circle with one arm raised before skating over to take his position. He looks over at the other team's jammer, Kevin, and tips his head in greeting. Kevin nods back and the whistle blows, signaling the start if the jam. Cecil takes off at full speed, leaning to the right as Kevin tried to knock him out of the track. Cecil pushes back, turning as Kevin's other team mates tried to block him from passing. Cecil ducks down, under them. He got caught though and Kevin launches forward. Cecil bites down on his mouth guard and shoves back, pushing forward and easily catching up. His eyes are narrowed and his focus is peaked. He pushes faster, moving to the side as Strex moved up on him. It was dangerous to be so close to the side because you could be knocked out at any moment. He realizes this as the room echoed with yelling. Cecil just smirks and weaves his way through the other players and across the finish line.

The buzzer sounds and the teams line up to shake hands.

After exchanging "good games"s and "nice job"s, Carlos pulls Cecil aside, pushes him against the sound table, and kisses him deeply. Cecil makes a noise of suprise before pressing back and sinking into the kiss. Carlos breaks the kiss and rested their foreheads together.

"You were amazing tonight." He says, his voice dropping in a way that made Cecil keen. "I think we should go celebrate."

Cecil shudders as Carlos nips at his earlobe. "B-but I have to pay for dinner." He breaths, he didn't even seem convinced himself.

"Okay fine. Come on then." Carlos takes a step back, and taking Cecil's hand. He drags the skater across the room. He glided easily as he was still wearing his skates. Of course, Carlos had to catch him before he crashed into Earl. He pulls his wallet out and hands Earl his debit card. "Treat yourselves. On us. Now, if you will excuse us, we will be going home now."

Carlos then turned on his heel and dragged a red faced Cecil out of the gym.

[selfloving-shipper]

Meet my Night Vale SI

@dragongambler inspired me so I decided to write this dumb ramble out I hope you enjoy

She runs a flower shop in Night Vale, no one really knows where she gets the flowers from or where the store she sells in came from but regardless after awhile she fits right in and becomes part of the routine.

A few weeks after she arrived in Night Vale she started listening to the radio during the slow work hours and while her radio picked up the normal City Council Approved radio shows it also picked up a strange channel from a town called Desert Bluffs which she had never heard of or knew where it was located. The host Kevin was a charming man, always fighting for what he believed was right and not letting anyone silence him. She found his attitude appealing and always made sure to pay full attention whenever he came on her radio. After several weeks of listening Kevin opened up the phone lines for listener calls and she gained enough courage to call and talk with him. They ended up staying on the phone for almost 2 hours before an intern forced him to go to commercial and after that it became a routine for her to call in and chat with him for a whole during his show. When Strex came in to the picture she tried to find out where Desert Bluffs was so she could help Kevin protect the town from the corporate menace but to no avail all she could do was listen as Kevin broadcasted his final stand against Strex before the station went silent.

It was a few days before her radio picked the station back up and when she heard his voice she knew Kevin had changed from the kind man she had begun to fall in love with. She still holds out hope that the real Kevin is somewhere in there and she'll keep listening to his twisted show if it means possibly finding a way to free him

[kevinvoiceofdesertbluffs]

137 - The Mudstone Abyss, Part 3

Ooooh, snap! It’s the last episode of this three-parter! I’M SO EXCITED YOU GUYS! I’m gonna be live-typing this as I listen, it is almost midnight where I am, hopefully that goes well.

Good news - Desert Bluffs can speak in language again!

Of course... the construction on the Abyss has been stopped. Shadowy figures lurk around the dig site.

The, uh, the media (read: Kevin) has been against mayor Laura Mallard halting the construction. The media has been texting her a lot.

I want some of those DB emojis, y’all.

Now, Kevin mentions using his status as the Prophet of the Smiling God to reach his goals... this could be a mundane explanation for why people listen to him and act on his every whim, but... I’m not so convinced. I bet there’s more to it.

Kevin went out with Charles again, how cute. He’s been with him and Donovan again, fun times. Ok, this is too detailed for me not to be disturbed. Real bad religion they have here, I tell you that.

Now, mayor Mallard’s press conference speech!

She has decided to reopen the Mudstone Abyss construction, of course on Kevin’s request... aaaand language is fucked again. Great moves, Kevin.

Morning Bird records. Ok, I like that. They’re gonna be holding a Mudstone Abyss protest march. I like that as well. Sunlight All-Day Diner. Not as catchy. Also protesting the Abyss. Hmm, the whole town is protesting Kevin. Even with his Prophet status and clear supernatural influence, he seems to not be immune. Power in numbers, I suppose.

Kevin is very, very upset. And Charles wants him to be with Donnie again. We move to weather - which is very nice today, I must say.

Interestingly enough, there is also no mayor in Desert Bluffs.

Still... the construction has began... again?

Charles gets Kevin on-track again. This is... quite extraordinary. Huh.

I don’t want to spoil this here, so I won’t, but it is... it is truly something.

I’ll spoil it a little below, but still.

So... this is another way in which Kevin and Cecil are opposed.

Cecil, once again, is the voice of Night Vale. He speaks for and to the community. He is their voice in the night when theirs is not enough, or tired, or missing. He understands them and he is a part of them.

Kevin will never be that. He is there for himself and his Smiling God only. For all the happiness he speaks of, he does not speak to the people, he gives orders through his radio. That worked when Strex was there to enforce its will, which just so happened to go along with Kevin’s wants, but now that Strex is not there, well... he is powerless.

Almost, powerless, that is.

After the language barrier was, uh, removed, I guess, the construction resumed. I bet he’s still influencing the town in some way.