19B - The Sandstorm

It starts out so nice, you think "Oh, Haha! Night Vale hates Desert Bluffs because they're nice and normal! How humorous". And then Cecil shows up and describes the room...

I love how well the writing made us feel as a member of the Night Vale community so that whenever we hear Desert Bluffs, we recoil, even if we don't know why. It's great.

The saccharine cheeriness of this place creeped me out. When Cecil came on and described the inside of the recording studio, I felt validated.

Desert Bluffs seems like a cheerful place but it has horrible people. Night Vale seems like a scary place but it has wonderful people. I feel like this is some metaphor that I can't grasp.

I understand why Cecil hates Desert Bluffs. This is terrifying.

i find that kevin's voice is perfectly chosen for this; it's quite pleasant and friendly but it can sound rather disturbing, especially when we're so used to cecil's dulcet tones. but i think the music helps with the entire 'being too perfect it's too disturbing'.

"I hugged this man, and he hued me back!" So okay, for emphasis, a 'hug' in Desert Bluffs is performed by grabbing the other person's neck

Something I realized is that Cecil has never lied to us. He absolutely always gives us the news and tells it like it is. Kevin here is sugarcoating everything, he won't really admit to what is going on, and it seems like he has some evil intent behind his cheery disposition. And you know, a liar who tells happy news is a lot scarier than an honest man telling us awful news. We grow to love nightvale, despite its many, many tragedies, because we love the characters. Desert Bluffs is an infinitely darker place because there are no friends there.

Awh Desert Bluffs is so sweet. Kevin is such a sweetheart. They're all so much happieOH GOD ABORT ABORT NOPE EVIL DEMON HAPPY VOICE DEVIL NOPE I'M OUT

Honestly, I don't mind Kevin's voice, but I do feel quite wary and unsettled by how...cheerful and normal Desert Bluffs is.

Why is everyone surprised? Literally last episode he said something along the lines of "There's no blood".

"I let him live!" "He hugged me back." Either Cecil is far weaker than he thinks he is, or in Desert Bluffs they use violence to show affection.

Why the blood? I thought at first desert bluffs was a good place, I should've been clued in by Kevin saying "this dry, bloodless desk."

So in Night Vale creepy things happen and people are super paranoid.  In Desert Bluffs gory things happen and people smile like nothing is wrong.  Kevin describes the meeting with Cecil as a hug.  Cecil describes it as a fight. Blood was filling Kevin's shoes for the first twelve minutes of this, and yet you never would have known unless Cecil showed up to point it out.

I feel so bad for Cecil omg he sounds so scared

I JUST NOTICED THAT THIS MUSIC HAS THE SAME MELODY AS LAST EPISODE'S WEATHER BUT IT'S NADE WITH TONES INSTEAD OF VOICES WHAT THE ACTUAL WHAT

Steve. Carlsberg. Listens to... DESERT BLUFFS RADIO? Yep. I agree with Cecil on this one. Steve. Freaking. Carlsberg.

Oh god I thought Night Vale was a horrible place to live but in Desert Bluffs I would become a serial killer I'm not even joking

WHAT THE HELL????? HE WAS SO OPTIMISTIC AND CHEERFUL??? AND TALKING ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS OUTSIDE???? AND HIS STUDIO IS COVERED WITH BLOOD AND TEETH!?!!??!?? I AM NEW TO THIS FANDOM AND I AM SO CONCERNED RIGHT NOW

This is too disturbing and eerily happy and it creeps me out I miss Night Vale