182 - It Sticks With You

[@chillsahoy2640]

I like how Cecil gives an in-universe explanation for why the family has mostly just stayed indoors and not gone out. They could have mentioned a virus created by a vague yet menacing government agency, but that already happens every other week! Being hooked on TV shows? Now that is relatable.

[@holicandy01]

Fun fact: a group of owls is called a parliment.

[@radtech21]

FUNKADELIC.

[@lilaboxx]

What if the city council is just a bunch of owls in a trenchcoat?

[@leppaberry]

What an adorable story about a family outing! Sure hope it doesn’t take a dark, surrealist turn…

[@technopoptart]

this feels as close possible to admitting that cecil is dead that i have heard all these years, the only thing that comes close is the blackened mirrors memory

[@MugetsuFused]

Anyone else reminded of that episode with the lost boy that turned into a tree and his sister with her kids picnic under the tree? Idk if I just like tree analogies, but that one is one of my favorites.

[@MugetsuFused]

You guys, I need to inform you that I went to relisten to ‘132- a bedtime story’ and it is ,in fact, a story Cecils mother used to tell him. Me: afraid.

[@klltsun_2576]

@@MugetsuFused Ohhhh no my brain is buzzing at this new info that can be connected to the red strings in the conspiracy theory board- aaaaaaa I need to focus on the school lecture not this-

[@MugetsuFused]

@@klltsun_2576 I’ve been relistening to the recent episodes and in ‘146- The Birthday of Lee Marvin”, LM talks about his dream where he is walking through a massive flooded forest. He doesn’t know where he is going.... He hears birds overhead... and this is all mentioned right after he is talking about the dark planet of awesome size, so the atmosphere was already creepy enough. Please stop talking Lee Marvin. 😭 Edit: Lee Marvin is talking to “ the me in the wall “ of his house now, send help 😫

[@klltsun_2576]

More on the bedtime story. A friend and I in discord got to talking about it after I saw your comment, and I just want to put forth these comparisons. -The boy’s family sounds similar to Cecil’s family before his father left or died or whatever happened to him. A mother, a father, a son and a daughter. They seem idealistic and claim to care for the boy, but fail to actually show concern and care. Like that time Cecil broke a leg from falling from a swing and his mother is just...”why are you crying when you don’t exist.” -The way the boy lost his humanity and was used as a resource around his community... similar to Cecil’s role as the Voice of Night Vale? -Because he became a tree and its parts were spread all over as they were used, he was able to observe and know many many things. Like how Cecil, as Voice, can see events around town and inside the minds of its citizens, reporting what they are doing and thinking and about thier life. -His mother was...I forgot the word but I think it was mentioned somewhere about her having the ability to see the future. The covering of mirrors which is a sign of mourning in jewish tradition, the leaving of flowers in that tree, the story of the boy becoming a tree, did she know Cecil will become the Voice, and was she mourning him? Mourning his father? Both?

[@MugetsuFused]

@@klltsun_2576 you have a talent for putting all of my fears for Cecil into words. You>🤾‍♂️💥🧘🏼‍♀️

[@trixie7759]

Yo is it just me or is anyone worried Nightvale might end soon, with them finally tackling the story of Cecil himself, or am I just paranoid that the series that I am incredibly emotionally attached to might end

[@davidegaruti2582]

I don't think it will end afther they track his backstory : They did way more radical things in the past : Fixed time in nightvale , Gave a creation myth to nightvale , Defeated satan , Had elections , It might be just a very weird series of stories that will have some bearing on the plot later on , And still the fact that it will end will make every episode that much more enjoyable : Think abt cecil and carlos first date , Abt the beagle saga , Abt stex corp and when they took over night vale , Abt the faceless old woman , All of those will be there , they will live in you and i would prefer them to stay in the way in wich i fell in love with them , rater than getting one upped or mangled beyond recognition when the writer needs somenthing shoking , Nightvale ending will make it that much more meaningful since these 200 or so episodes will have meaning in our lives , we will be able to look back and remember where we where when we heard them ...

[@trixie7759]

@@davidegaruti2582 yo how did you make that sound so poetic, also I really appreciate the reassurance 💖

[@davidegaruti2582]

@@trixie7759 your welcome fam

[@janosrock]

@@davidegaruti2582 "had elections" ... i still can't believe they tried to pull a democracy on us, like, my suspension of disbelief has a limit, thank you very much ¬¬

[@hdervish2497]

I was afraid of the same thing during A Story About Huntokar

[@snallygaster5]

When he said "it was a trip that will stay with me forever" did any one else realize he would forget it by the end. I would love to hear Carlos' side of the trip

[@runeruunkur2778]

This episode hit a level of unsettling I hadn't felt since they originally did tapes Cecil found. You do amazing work!

[@feywildgamingyt]

Esteban is precious and must be protected

[@felixcosm]

I'm starting to suspect something or someone is trying to keep Cecil's memories hidden. I wonder if there'll ever be an episode where his memories come flooding back all at once. On an unrelated(?) note, my laptop's screen started to flash omniously during the Weather. I'm sure it's not a hidden message from any menacing agents or eldritch beings!

[@Echos.Art.Corner]

"Ah, this is just a blank tape" FREAKING P A R D O N??? Also, yay! Another Joseph song for the Weather!

[@klltsun_2576]

The man telling the boy to go into the tree. Doesnt sound like Carlos, it could be Cecil’s father and a younger Cecil. It also seems he keeps going into that tree, only to forget that he did, and then he goes in again, and forgets again. What is that light. That cold light sounds like The Smiling God...

[@brendancahill4856]

it probably is considering that this is the third smiling god reference in the past year and were nearing the tenth anniversary

[@klltsun_2576]

@@brendancahill4856 !!!!!!! Tenth anniversary!!

[@IceQueen975]

I'm praying Kevin comes back. I love Kevin so much...

[@klltsun_2576]

@@IceQueen975 Samee, but I’d rather him not come back with Strex. Smiling God, sure, he seems happy with it in DBToo and he’s free. But I’d rather he not get captured by Strex again.

[@testmachine1687]

See, I assumed it was Cecil and maybe the last time he saw his own dad - and started this whole tree-and-owl-sounds saga of forgetting. Anyone else notice that no one else can hear the "owls"?

[@iliketoeatbatteries8122]

That’s my favorite episode of the office too!

[@ramei123]

Its such an iconic Episode, by far one of the best imo

[@iliketoeatbatteries8122]

@@ramei123 definitely, so well written

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

what episode

[@iliketoeatbatteries8122]

@@threwthelookingglass7194 the episode cecil mentioned

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

@@iliketoeatbatteries8122 hmmm herd him mentioned it..

[@Companion92]

This gave me flashbacks to "Cassette"

[@NoRegretsHomestuck]

Man knowing that Carlos listens to all his shows I wonder how worried he is for Cecil

[@westons.966]

The first time I listened to Welcome to Night Vale was during a class project on note taking, it was difficult with all of the... things that happen.

[@wynnt1]

Ah, good old Nightvale. Starts out wholesome yet weird and than BAM! FREAKING DARK MADDNESS MWAHAHAHAAHA

[@tomorrowsclassic505]

It's a special episode that has a Joseph Fink song in it!

[@hdervish2497]

It always makes me so happy when Joseph sings to us.

[@beatatiii]

Hello nightvale💜💜💜

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

..Ello...

[@patriciastolz1682]

Treeeeeeees... Trey are us...

[@reeda5390]

I literally just finished listening to the last episode then got the notification for this one. Heck yes

[@holicandy01]

Starting my day with coffee and my favorire radio host! Good morning Night Vale, good morning!

[@HiImSeanIPlayBass]

Idk if I’m ready for the guys to be parents honestly. I’ve been with the show since year one and I feel like I’ve literally grown up/old with it. If Carlos and Cecil are parents now...that probably means I’m going to be one/need to think about becoming one soon. It’s a scary thought. I don’t want to be a bad parent. I don’t want to screw up a kid.

[@CelestialBunnyPaws]

You don't have to have kids, but don't let uncertainty be the reason that stops you. You'll be a great parent, just don't let the pressure of society be the reason you make the choice.

[@testmachine1687]

Hey, resolve to be a weird parent. It takes the stress off and kids love it.

[@thenameless2379]

WAIT?! WHEN DID CECIL AND CARLOS ADOPT A SON?! I HAVE HEARD EVERY EPISODE OF WELCOME TO...right, i have never been to their live shows...

[@klltsun_2576]

In A Spy in the Desert, Cecil would choose a single audience member whom he tells his secret to everytime the show ends. Those audience member then had to keep that secret for a year until the live show gets released online with Cecil’s secret. That secret was Esteban, you can probably find a clip of Cecil’s secret somewhere in tumblr or maybe in other websites to if the fandom shared it around

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

🤯🤔😳🕴🤫☁️🌫hail

[@flareinc7413]

Kinda sad that they dropped a bomb like Esteban in like a live show that was only shown in the US. I know I probably still could get it online but not the same. :)... Can I get the show online?

[@klltsun_2576]

@@flareinc7413 Yeah, you can :>

[@idiotgay]

they mentioned their son in the episode before this-- and I think he was first mentioned like a year ago

[@oddlandlad2804]

always good to hear from night vale

[@june8791]

Happy Night-Vale-New-Episode-Day!

[@rebeccalambert3240]

I was about to go to sleep. . . But like, man, I can't end on this one xD

[@strawberrypainting]

So many questions

[@villagecreep2692]

yay I literally just jumped for joy in my chair

[@rainestar1817]

Cecil is a wonderful treat to listen to.

[@TheStickdragon]

Kellogg's....it sticks with you doesn't it Cecil...you were the boy under the tree...

[@ramei123]

HECK YEAH NEW EPISODE

[@MySerpentine]

I am worried about the light. Also the 'look around you.' . . . actually there's a lot of Strex stuff this episode.

[@thenameless2379]

You don't think Kevin might comeback?

[@amniamin22]

@@thenameless2379 Ooh I hope so I miss him so much

[@klltsun_2576]

I know right!...not sure about Kevin coming back though, at least coming back wth Strex. He seemed really smug when he told Lauren he’s in charge now, not Strexcorp. He’s mostly talking about the Smiling Gods and singing praises about it while in Desert Bluffs Too, instead of singing Strex’ praises.

[@testmachine1687]

I noticed that too, at "look around you", plus the triangle of orange unmoving lights. I was thinking the tree-light was more of an afterlife or secret passage thing, but then the familiar horror... hmmmmm

[@amniamin22]

@@testmachine1687 I actually thought it was some sort of afterlife. The flowers placed on the trees? It sounded like he died there 0-0

[@nullamor7992]

Ey, first episode being all caught up! I absolutely love this podcast

[@birdmanbytheclaw]

missed you nightvale

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

hug.... missed you too🤗😶😖😓😭

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

ALL. . . HAIL... THE. . . GLOW... CLOUD... 🌫☁️🌫

[@klltsun_2576]

ALL HAIL

[@kyledunn3747]

ALL HAIL THE GLOW CLOUD

[@alexisrieck9928]

AHHHH THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD EPISODE SO EERIE AND FUN AND SO MUCH LORE

[@PheonixStarsx]

Good night Cecil good night Kevin who smiles good night Carlos the scientist and the glow cloud that drops dead animals , good night Janice and Abby May they have dreams of love and happiness, good night to red Mesa and cactus park and to all the creatures of night vale and beyond , good night and sleep well oh creatures of the night

[@Solarstormflare]

I'm now scared of Owls

[@RK900Gaming]

You and my dad

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

watch... movie ,"the fourth kind"..has mila jonavich ..

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

@Joshua Skaug 🕴👾👽🤜🤛

[@testmachine1687]

I strongly suspect that cecil has critically misunderstood the concept of owls.

[@FrancescoBianchiTaliesin]

There is a sad, melancholic undertone throughout the whole episode... Who hurt Cecil?

[@testmachine1687]

Good question: Ummm "Owls"? Or the mysterious "father" beckoning him into the tree the first time?

[@DarcyTheLunatic]

i just listened to episode 132 (bedtime stories) again and what if the tree in the forest (this episode) is that boy that turned into a tree (episode 132) and Cecil's mum is his sister and that's why she's putting flowers there?? like in episode 132 the sister was putting flowers there too so it would make sense?? although it's been centuries, but then again time is weird in nightvale soo 👀

[@jamesehlenfeldt7132]

Awesome! This was a great episode!

[@catherinemcn6599]

Hey y'all i'm Worried now, thanks

[@chiaroscuroamore]

I’m back to listen to the weather for this episode as I really need it right now

[@TheStickdragon]

Is it just me or does it seem like Cecil..in the woods...you found the warmth of the Desert town you call home?that the warmth of that tree navel was the warmth of your home? ....how long have you been here Cecil? When did you come the nice Desert Community that we all call home?

[@rebeccalambert3240]

Carlos just sighing listening to the radio show, and when Cecil brings it up that night, saying "Yeah, going on a hike sounds like a great idea". How many times have they done this?

[@rebeccalambert3240]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M NOT ABOUT TO CRY YOU ARE

[@lilaboxx]

Wow, I'm all caught up now, took me like three months and I'm so happy that i found this show 🥰

[@astrossarave]

Can I approach the figures in the dog park now?

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

🤔🤨........🤫🕴no

[@astrossarave]

@@threwthelookingglass7194 why not?

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

@@astrossarave do you want the secret police... that how you get them... i dont wanna.go.back to re education camp

[@klltsun_2576]

@@threwthelookingglass7194 That, and it would be rude to when they made it clear they dont want to be acknowledged

[@mars_does_stuff7106]

OH MY GODJXHSAOAMAL ALEX ISN'T DEAD ISN'T DEAD I CANT

[@felixcosm]

Hmm, Cecil said he's "been in this job longer than he's been alive". Even though he corrects himself, I doubt he simply misspoke. Cecil Palmer is a mystery through and through. Maybe that's one of the reasons Carlos fell in love with him, because he's the weirdest part of Night Vale Edit: yall I think Cecil is dead and him crawling into the hole is so he can be reborn into that weird light? Maybe??

[@joshuafass5841]

For me i feel as if something is tramatic to Cecil about that tree when going in it as a child. He remembers always getting close to the tree but when he remembers the event he blanks out that event and that he ever revisted it. Thats why he returns ever year but never remembers.

[@testmachine1687]

Cecil, buddy, I do not think those are owls.

[@CelestialBunnyPaws]

Spoilers: Is Cecil dead? Is that why he never ages? I... have so many concerns...

[@MrWerwoolf]

What about owl's sounds of chainsaw?

[@CelestialBunnyPaws]

@@MrWerwoolf Standard Night Vale. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@casinman8730]

That actually would make some sense. Especially cuz in some circles when someone dies the mirrors are covered so the deceased cant see themselves...

[@felixcosm]

@@casinman8730 Holy shit

[@notawebii6985]

Listening this at work and periodically removed my headphones, reinsert them just to hear a loop of what I'd just heard and thought my KZbin broke for a minute lmfao

[@anasaelaponte1085]

They're still active 😱

[@klltsun_2576]

‘course they are. They’re also doing online live shows

[@anasaelaponte1085]

@@klltsun_2576 woah!! Last time I listened was back in 2015 lol. Haven’t gone back till now

[@dsagent]

Funnily enough there was some guy turning sunshine into cryptocurrency. He built a bunch of home made solar panels and used the power to mine.

[@mothermothproductions]

sad theory: mom doesn't talk to Cecil and abby because they died while playing in the woods. and nightvale is purgatory

[@rebeccalambert3240]

Me: . . . so are the flowers for his father. or cecil.

[@thenameless2379]

What was up with the last episode? There was no audio.

[@lilithwills812]

I think it just uploaded wrong- it was okay on other platforms.

[@NowInHD]

his father.. :C

[@spiderq848]

Right so leaving flowers under a tree... A tree that Cecil got trapped in... Welp Cecil is definitely dead, isn't he? But is this the afterlife or has Cecil made up the whole universe of nightvale? (Which has been talked about in the past but was played off like a joke) I personally much prefer the idea of a genuine anomaly in the universe to the possibility that none of this is "real" so I'm hoping the theory is wrong but we'll see

[@PheonixStarsx]

5:00

[@hawk222]

So, uh... How many hawks was that again?

[@handinlovablehand]

CHUCKLES IM IN DANGER!

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

those are not OWLS.. AND Cecil... the owls took them

[@testmachine1687]

Agreed. Definitely not owls. A) No one else can hear the "owl" sounds B) Pretty sure Cecil has critically misunderstood what an "owl" even is.

[@OMGstephG]

Wait when did they have a son?

[@Biowoman.]

They've had a son for a long time, he was adopted two years before 'A Spy in the Dessert', which was when It was revealed. In the episode 'The General' recall how Carlos asked about their family and asked if they had.... but then paused and asked if the call was on air, when Cecil confirmed it was, Carlos waved it off. Several times in that episode Cecil stopped short of mentioning someone in the family, he was trying to avoid mentioning their son on air.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

...Well that's... creepy...

[@coremagpie9221]

Today is the third day of the rest if your life. School just started.

[@cca1834]

big man

[@thenameless2379]

( in conspiracy keanu's voice) what if Carlos, Esteban, his whole life was in his head? And in the end neither Carlos nor Esteban or anyone else he knows exist? He's been alone in the Studio his whole life because (REDACTED) wiped his mind and he has been living a "wandavision"- like life this whole time and will remember when (REDACTED)

[@nashbyrd4020]

Considering that would completely make the entire series pointless I highly doubt that is the case.

[@klltsun_2576]

@@nashbyrd4020 I agree with you

[@dracorex426]

There sure were a lot of ads this episode.

[@hum8141]

Ok when did Cecil get married and hav a child??? I watching this in order and thought I’d sneak here and boy Carlos and Cecil hav been busy

[@tmaxgo6696]

he got married to carlos in ep 100. That was (i think) a recording of toasts at the wedding. He apparently adopted a son 2 years before a spy in the desert. "Biowoman 2 weeks ago They've had a son for a long time, he was adopted two years before 'A Spy in the Dessert', which was when It was revealed. In the episode 'The General' recall how Carlos asked about their family and asked if they had.... but then paused and asked if the call was on air, when Cecil confirmed it was, Carlos waved it off. Several times in that episode Cecil stopped short of mentioning someone in the family, he was trying to avoid mentioning their son on air."

[@charlesvalentine9638]

Every 2 minutes, there are ads. It totally breaks up the flow of the story. I am never listening to this on you tube again. For your own benefit, go find the podcast instead and listen to that.

[@MacTechG4]

Too many bloody ads... I know times are tough and WTNV has to make money to keep making the show, but the ad density on this episode is excessive

[@lorddogod]

The last few really, i understand but like bruh

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

🤫🌫☁️

[@april42084]

I don't like nightvale anymore. What happened????? Gay fan fiction now. What a bummer.

[@OrbitalOrc]

What happened is that you're homophobic :)) The story hasn't changed at all. In fact, Cecil and Carlos aren't even the main focus of this episode. You just can't tolerate same sex relationships.

[@peteisgod66]

Also it's been gay since the beginning. The first episode is basically cecil fawning over the new guy in town and his hair.

[@DalynJenkins]

The owls are not what they seem