#and if we get cecil lore in the same episode i am going to s c r e a m

[agnes-come-back-challenge]

IF WE GET CECIL'S-FATHER-LORE IN THE LIMINAL SPACES EPISODE I AM GOING TO RUN UP AND DOWN THE SIDEWALK AT 11PM

[grave-gift]

PLEASE talk about It Devours! and any other theories you have (esp about 171, I didn't spend 32 straight hours overanalyzing it for nothing p l e a s e) -local Carlos stanon

LOL okay thank you for the ask! I will number my ramblings the same way I did in my post. 

Long post is long.

It Devours!, A Spy In The Desert Secret, and general podcast spoilers. CWs for abuse, pregnancy, and mentions of PTSD, grief, and trauma, although I don’t elaborate on them.

1.) 171 thoughts: Complete thoughts will come in a separate post! Hopefully! I keep meaning to write it and my brain doesn’t cooperate, but the too long don’t read version is “33, 106, and 171 all are the same event from 3 different points of view (all of whom are versions of Cecil) and it’s a cycle of self-sabotage resulting from the abuse he endured from his mother.” I also have supporting lines from additional episodes for this, but on top of that, Mab the bus driver in it Devours is ALSO mentioned as seeing a flickering in a mirror, which is a very significant part of the Cecil Mirror Lore I’ve been conducting. It’s coupled with her feeling a prevailing sense of unease, like her and all her passengers are in danger, and it is... very familiar. I haven’t figured out what the implications of this are yet. I am still thinking. 

2.) Esteban Nonsense: I went through a lot of canon and a lot of thinking to determine that his birthday is probably around November 1st, 2017. This means that during the events of It Devours, Carlos and Cecil are literally preparing to bring a baby home. 

It Devours was released October 17th, 2017, and I read it as taking place before then in canon (because Joseph and Jeffery would have had to submit a manuscript for approval and editing, things take time.) It takes place between 111 and 117 somewhere in my opinion. Adoption is a long process, it takes months and more often years to get approved and to get a child, and maybe it’s different in Night Vale, but Carlos’ actions in It Devours become... a lot more tragic and frantic if you can imagine he’s anxiously awaiting his own child. His reaction to Janice almost being Devoured is emotional and powerful, and he obviously cares for her so so much, but when you add a layer of “I have to stop this now because our family is growing soon” it just. WHUMP. I live for it. 

For bonus whump, you could accept a headcanon I have that Cecil’s cousin Sabina is a surrogate for them, and in 113 she is pregnant with Esteban and not her own daughter. Then, imagine that Sabina is in Night Vale during It Devours.

For bonus bonus whump, also consider: Carlos trans, Carlos seahorse dad, Carlos currently pregnant, and early on, and fucking terrified of what’s happening around him (he did choose not to go out for drinks with Nilanajana and crew to celebrate the defeat of “The Smiling God,” just sayin’ 👀) [disclaimer I’m transmasc and I’m conducting original research into improving communication and resource accessibility for transmasculine people who want to become or are pregnant; this isn’t a fetish thing; trans people can choose how they use their own bodies; die by my sword if you’re a freak about this]

3.) Overanalyzing Themes: The thematic elements in It Devours are very interesting! It is, of course, a commentary on science/logic and faith/emotion and how completely devoting (ha!) yourself to one and denying the other entirely can be dangerous. In addition to that, however, it also deals heavily with themes of trauma, PTSD, and grief. 

For that first point, I want to point out that the logic/emotion argument is completely symmetrical between the major and minor characters, and that there’s 3 tiers, in a way. Carlos vs Pastor Munn and Gordon; Nilanajana vs Darryl, and Mark and Luisa vs Stephanie and Jamillah. Carlos and Pastor Munn are both fully “destroyed” in different ways (emotionally and... physically, respectively) by their absolute inability to view the other side of this debate. Nilanajana and Darryl both start out as very polar but learn, through each other, the importance of the other side of things, and the Dumbass Crew as I am calling the rest of them are just Dumb and I adore them. Additionally, there is one character whose worldview is a shockingly good balance between scientific/logical thought and faith, and it’s god damn Larry LeRoy with with historical dioramas. If you’ve ever studied history you’ll know that it is conducted primarily through empirical investigation, but it is impossible to fully understand what history can teach us without also using “the historian’s tools” (as my professor called them), empathy and imagination. Not to mention the artistic side of those projects, which... art is another excellent example of the blending of both logic and emotion. Larry LeRoy is the balance between these two and also he’s the one who actually talks Carlos down in the end. Absolute fucking hero. 

I don’t have... much to say yet about grief and PTSD and trauma but they’re in there, a lot, and there’s a lot of good lines about all of them.

Also interesting, but separate, Nilanajana on page 112 says “I don’t think of home as a place, It’s more the ritual of my life. The work I do every day, and the things I like to eat, and where I like to eat them.” and Darryl on page 113 says “Sometimes where you live is just a place, no matter how long you live there.” This is partially a way of tying him and Nilanajana together (and also highlighting how Nilanajana grows throughout the book as the protagonist), but it is ALSO a very interesting additional take on the “home is a name/place” vs “home is people I love” lines we get from Kevin and Carlos/Cecil in the year 3 finale (and partially in Holiday, the patreon bonus episode, but that’s not really important enough to get into here). Kevin: Things without names don’t really exist. So I’m going to call this…well, I’m going to call it Desert Bluffs! Desert Bluffs was the name of my hometown, and by naming it Desert Bluffs, this place becomes my new hometown! We are in my home!! We are in Desert Bluffs, no matter where we are in space or time. What is a town but a name, right? Cecil:  Carlos held my shoulder and said, “Night Vale is just a name, Cecil. Night Vale is just the name for an area where everyone you love lives,” he said. “Don’t worry about the name. Worry about the everyone,” he said.

Just something to think about. 

4.) Side Character Love: Bro this one doesn’t require anything from me like, big brain analysis wise, I just... I love Josh Crayton, I love Jackie Fierro, I LOVE THEIR SIBLING RELATIONSHIP??? I am so happy we got to check in on them!!! I love that Jackie is dating Sam for SOME REASON god that’s a mess and I love it. I love Laura, the waitress at the Moonlight All Nite Diner, she’s fantastic and it was so good to read more lore about her!! I love Abby and Steve and Janice, particularly Abby! We learned more about Abby’s character in one line of this book than we did in the rest of the entirety of canon (she’s cool in a crisis and then breaks down later, alone, in the shower. Making her the LITERAL opposite of Cecil. I adore them.) PAMELA,,,,, GOD,,,, 

Basically. It Devours is an excellent novel. I had a lot of fun with it. 

Also, this is what my copy of It Devours looks like.