CECIL GERSHWIN PALMER

"This is Cecil. I'm not here right now. Or maybe I am, but just hiding from the phone in a desperate attempt to pretend that no one is there.

Either way, feel free to leave me a message here for...well, for whenever. I will be listening."

[It's Cecil again. This time, he's sitting in the living room of a sleepy, somewhat bare-looking apartment, small clutches of eggs wrapped in blankets on the floor as Cecil looks on from the sofa.]

Alright. Without mentioning anyone who might want me for reasons I could only begin to speculate on...I found an apartment. Carlos? Carlos, if you're listening to this...call me.

[Ballou's with him on the sofa, so he gives the Meowstic a few ear scritches before continuing.]

For everyone else, I've got eggs! I'm not sure exactly how it happened, as no one in this world knows anything of Pokemon mating rituals, but to be honest? Some questions are better left unasked.

So, if you want goat eggs, or formless specters, or cute little kittens with eyes that stare into the uncertain abyss that is your future, well...you're in luck! I'll admit that it's just a little concerning to send these eggs off to trainers unknown to me or any of my Pokemon, but I trust your judgment. And if I can't, well...my Pokemon are watching. They are always watching.

[OOC: It's another egg post! You can have your character respond to this post, or claim their egg here!]

Aaaaw, aren't they just precious?

[See Cecil. See Cecil standing over three clutches of carefully-nested Pokemon eggs, all sorted out and placed onto colorful blankets, as some of his other Pokemon look somewhat unimpressed on a sofa.]

I'll admit, I don't think any of them are particularly rare, but listen: no Pokemon is perfect. It only becomes perfect once you learn to accept it for what it is. And within each of those eggs lies an innocent, wholly new creature, ready to place its affection and trust with you as you inevitably train it to destroy anything and anyone that displeases you!

Ahem.

I tried setting the prices to something I felt was pretty cheap for this first round, but I'll also accept barters: another egg of your choosing, for instance, or canned goods, or even plasma! You should really get yourself an egg.

Especially those three over there.

[He points to a clutch of three dark blue eggs, all sitting on a black fleece blanket.]

Yup. I'd really love to see those go to a new home. I don't know why anyone would ever set them aside!

[He might be uh, pushing a bit hard for those three.

Anyway, the claims post for the eggs is here!}

Name: Indy
Personal Journal: butcherpete
E-mail: dizzydances@gmail.com
AIM/Plurk/Etc.: swirlix
Timezone: US Central oooor GMT -6
Current Characters in Route: ...I don't think I have any

Character
Name: Cecil Gershwin Palmer
Series: Welcome to Night Vale
Timeline: After Episode 56. "Homecoming"
Canon Resource Links: For the canon itself
Cecil's wiki page. I'm not sure if it's been updated recently, so I'll talk about a few more recent canon points in his personality section.

Personality: It's a bit unclear as to how much of the "real" Cecil we can get from canon, since the majority of episodes take place from his point of view. And boy howdy, this guy is one hell of an unreliable narrator.

However, before I go any further, one thing needs to be clear: Night Vale is more or less a police state. Seriously, it's like a somehow even more fucked up Airstrip One. Saying, doing, or endorsing anything that the local government deems dangerous or forbidden is grounds for painful re-education, if you're not outright disappeared or killed. And there's one thing that's obvious about Cecil: he's a boatload of contradictions in a sea of doublethink and cognitive dissonance. Years of conditioning have left a mark on him, and while he does have some inkling that what he's been taught is wrong, fear and doubt keeps him from being an out-and-out rebel.

There are, for all intents and purposes, two sides to Cecil: the Cecil that years of indoctrination and fear have shaped, and the Cecil that exists despite all of this. I'll be covering both in separate sections.

Indoctrinated Cecil:
"He was raised in the Night Vale tradition of silence. And with a belief in the power of hierarchy and bureaucracy."

Cecil's biggest flaw is his complacency: he doesn't like to question the "rules" by which his society functions, and becomes very uncomfortable when he finds others--especially people he cares about--doing so. This is especially horrifying because of the nature of Night Vale itself: human sacrifice, police brutality, and other acts of violence are ingrained in Night Valean culture, and because of his upbringing, Cecil has an extreme aversion to tackling the morality of these things head-on. It could also be that he's conditioned to see them as normal, which, once again, is not a good thing in the least. Cecil is also content to keep power in the hands if a privileged few, and fears the instability brought on by any sort of social change--things that do not bode well if anyone he knows starts sticking their nose into things they shouldn't.

Being this conditioned to accept the way society works would also, likely, extend to any new settings that he finds himself in. Without the City Council or the Sheriff's Secret Police to make the rules, he's likely to find some authority figure to latch onto and regiment his routines for him, and is likely to feel somewhat directionless if given absolute freedom. He's also superstitious as hell, and latches on to folk beliefs in much the same way.

The only time he openly stood up to an authority figure in canon was when they posed a threat to his community and their way of life. And let me tell you, that was one hell of a "better the devil you know" scenario. Without a direct threat like that, it's entirely likely that, should any authority in Route do something questionable, Cecil would keep his head down and avoid asking too many questions, lest he incur whatever wrath they have. And if he does ever criticize anyone, it'd be indirectly.

Night Vale in general is also extremely wary of outsiders (the traditional way to greet an outsider has been to point at them and shout "INTERLOPER!"), and as of recent events in canon, this xenophobia has gotten worse. As a result, while he's extremely unlikely to be hostile to any new CR  he gains in this game, one can expect a lot of suspicion from him initially.

"Real" Cecil:
"I sometimes wish I could tell you more, but I cannot. I cannot tell you everything I think you should hear because it is…boring. Or, it is unnecessary. Or it is very necessary, but unapproved."

Despite what Night Vale has done to him, however, Cecil still has a personality that isn't scary dogma or shoutings of "INTERLOPER", and part of that personality is a journalistic curiosity of any happenings he deems interesting or unusual. Upon first arriving in Route, he's going to want to take a look at all the things. Unfortunately, Cecil's sense of self-preservation is practically non-existent, so someone might need to babysit him for a while.

This is a case where nature--Cecil's investigative streak--runs completely counter to nurture--the oppressive government he lives under trying to stamp it out. And at the canon point I'm taking him from, recent events have led to him only starting to question the ideals he was brought up on. However, he's taking baby steps, and isn't completely divorced from the oppressive regime that raised him yet. It's entirely possible that with time in-game and the right CR, he can become more honest with his words and be able to be more critical authority when needed, but that would take a while.

He's also shown courage when push does come to shove, and, while he's not exactly the sort of person who can fight directly, is willing to risk his life to give necessary support to people who can. Once again, I'm going to have to stress that in order for this to occur, his "community" has to be threatened in some way.

Speaking of community: while his workaholism prevents him from socializing much in a lot of cases, Cecil derives a lot of his self-worth from being a part of a community. He feels safest and happiest when with a close-knit group of people who accepts each other, does things together, and helps each other in times of need. As such, he's fiercely protective of and nurturing toward anyone he considers part of his "group", and being around strangers for too long can leave him feeling very adrift until someone gains his trust. His protectiveness also gives him the side effect of the worst vindictive streak you will possibly ever see on a human being: it's shown multiple times in canon that he has no problems getting downright violent with people who threaten the people he loves.

Even in his dorkiest moments (and boy howdy, has he got a lot of them) Cecil is charismatic as fuck. His speech has a hypnotic, lyrical sort of quality to it, and he uses it at pretty much every opportunity he can, often waxing philosphical and lyrical at things that really do not deserve it. He's extremely dramatic that way. He was able to successfully become the voice of Night Vale's resistance movement against Strex in this way, and it's implied that his voice and charisma is a large part of the reason other people--namely his current boyfriend Carlos and friend Earl--find him attractive.

Cecil is also sassy as fuck. Once again, he does tend to be more subtle and at least censor himself a little when directing his sass towards someone he believes can punish him for it, but people he deems equal or inferior to him are not spared in the least from his sass. Actually, this is part of a larger problem of Cecil having absolutely zero brain-to-mouth filter and not knowing when to shut the fuck up--a problem that Cecil flaunts at just about every opportunity he gets.

All of this also makes him a huge hypocrite, but hey, we have all been hypocrites at some point or another in our lives.

STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES:

• + "At night, you can see the red light blinking on and off on top of the radio tower. A tiny flurry of human activity against the impeccable backdrop of stars and void." Cecil's charismatic and an excellent public speaker. It comes with the territory of being a radio host.
• + "A friendly desert community..." Cecil has a wonderful sense of community and civic duty, and is generally always willing to do something if it'll better the greater good.
• +"May we always be human--beautiful, stupid, temporal, endless." He can get pretty philosophical a lot of the time, and, despite being conditioned to view even the worst of atrocities as normal, does believe that every person has inherent value. He also offers up (usually good) advice at the end of each episode, so despite him being wrong a good deal of the time, he certainly has the potential to be a good mentor.
• +"I had to reach far back into my past and remember the skills that got me my Advanced Siege-Breaking Tactics Scout badge from when I was 12, but…here I am, inside, a few carefully-planted explosives later." He has a number of survival skills that would come in handy on a Pokemon journey, thanks to having been a Boy Scout.

• +"And then he looks back at the house, as the man on the radio says that he looks back at the house." Can do remote viewing dealios (implied in canon as to how he knows certain events are going on). This has a chance of failing, and he can't see outside of the range of places he's been before in most cases. Feel free to nerf this as you wish.
• +"Well, it’s been several months, and the kittens have just been growing like you wouldn’t believe! They’ve molted twice, and some of them are already getting their grownup kitty spine ridges!" There's nothing much to say here, except that Cecil is a huge smoosh around children, animals, and his boyfriend.
• +"Are we living a life that is safe from harm?  Of course not. We never are. The real question is--are we living a life that is worth the harm?" During the time Strexcorp took over the radio station and the rest of Night Vale, Cecil directly rebelled against authority for what may very well have been the first time in his life, risking his life in the process. If he can process that someone is wrong and doing horrible things, and if that someone poses a threat to whatever he considers his "community", he has absolutely no problem with acknowledging it and helping to take them down.
• +"Yours is the best voice of all." Cecil has what is probably the most beautiful and sonorous of baritones to ever grace a set of vocal chords. Seriously. Give it a listen.
• +/-"For the first time, I looked out at the faces of my fellow citizens and saw them – not as friends and companions, but as a dangerous combination of suppression and indoctrination." He's already begun, after 50something episodes, to question the willful ignorance that's been a part of his being for his whole life.
• +/-"The baristas will be required to return to their caves just on the outskirts of town, near the Sand Wastes, in the Barista District." Cecil's senses of reality and normality are a little bit...divorced from a "normal" person's, and he's come to accept horrible, horrible things such as torture, mass death, and human sacrifice are totally normal. This is good for conditioning him to survive in the hell that is Night Vale, but not so good for most other situations.
• +/- "Regret nothing until it is too late. Then regret everything."  Cecil has a lot of enthusiasm for his job as a reporter, and as such, is ready and willing to investigate just about any new thing that comes up. However, this is a double-edged sword:  it comes with a complete and total lack of self-preservation. Giant vortex appears in your studio? Jump inside! Shape outside of your station vaporize a few of your interns? Continue talking about it and making it angry! Mysterious subway appears in town that no one's returned from? Take a ride on it!
• +/- "Ours is a quiet now. No one is speaking but me. If speaking took me any energy, if it were not merely a reflex of my living form, then I, myself, would not be speaking either." This guy does not know when to shut up. He will tl;dr about plenty of things, and often get into territory you wish he hadn't, but the main deal is that he's just so fucking chatty that any silence from him is downright disturbing.

• +/-"I don't believe violence is the answer. Violence is a question. The answer is far more terrifying." He does meet the minimum standards of human decency, at least most of the time.
• +/- "Why would I say that? Why would I say anything? Words? No, these are just strange noises I'm making with my face!" This guy is full of sass, even when that sass can come back to bite him in the ass.
• +/-"I first met him at the wedding. He’s busy, or he says he is. He does always seem to be at the station. Or at least, he used to be." Cecil is one hell of a workaholic in the absence of people who can snap him out of it. He does seem to be becoming more self-aware in this regard, though, since he mentioned in the latest episode that he "needs to get out more".
• - "D’awww, listeners, Daniel is blushing! He is very, very red. You have a lot of blood, Daniel!" Cecil often makes thinly-veiled threats against anyone who earns his ire. While it's hard to make it onto his list, his antagonistic and unnecessarily bloodthirsty behavior towards people who do definitely isn't a good thing. In addition to his more violent remarks, Cecil can also be unnecessarily catty to others, and has no problem airing out any dirt he has for them in public: note that a lot of his jerkish remarks were said on the air.
• -"NO! NO! STEVE CARLSBERG! WE ARE OUT OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS, GOODBYE!" He's an asshole to his brother-in-law to an unnecessary degree a lot of the time.
• -"The government makes no secret that they can control the weather, and earthquakes, and monitor thoughts and activities. That’s the stuff a big government is supposed to do! Obviously, you have never read the Constitution!" While Cecil has shown open rebellion towards authority before, that authority was Strexcorp: an outside corporation unpopular with Night Vale that invaded the town and threatened the local populace. When it comes to the government of Night Vale itself, Cecil is more resistant to seeing them for the oppressive force that they are, and is uncomfortable with the idea of change. It's entirely likely that this would also apply to any other authority Cecil starts getting used to.
• -"'She will learn only what she is allowed to learn in schools!' he explains to me regularly, and loudly. 'Don’t poison her with education!'" A large part of Cecil--the part that's still affected by the police state that is Night Vale--is pretty insular and dogmatic to a scary degree. It's only recently that he's begun to get over some of his willful ignorance.

• -"I’m sure there is vengeance to be found! I’m sure I will find it! I'm sure; I just have to find the right recipient." Yes, he's protective of the people he cares about. This has the side effect of making him vicious and vindictive as hell towards anyone who threatens them-he's sworn revenge on Strex because they maimed his cat, and tried to murder Kevin when he thought the latter would be a threat to his town.

• -"Also, I'm battling Lyme disease." He's not in especially good health due to...well, look at the quote.
• -"Drink to forget." Some bits of canon hint at him being borderline alcoholic, including mention in a later episode that he supposes he'll take up "drinking and crying alone in a quiet room".
• - "I tell him he looks like a baby boomer mall mom on a cruise vacation." Seriously, this guy's fashion sense is horrendous.
• -"People pick at the hummus. They want to be polite." Brings mediocre pita chips and hummus to potluck events

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Breeder although he's not going to be very good at it
Starter: Someone's going to kill you one day, Cecil, and it will involve a mirror. Mark my words, chi Bronzor
Password: SPRING ROLLS

Samples
First Person Sample:

...hello? Is anyone here? I don't think this is Night Vale, I...where is this place? And why is there a woman in this house who claims to be my mother, when my real mother had always warned me to beware of any possible mirrors? Also, to beware of just about anything, but ah, you know how parents can be.

Oh. I almost forgot.

[He puts on a face of stony insularity, and, with a piercing-yet-vacant glare, points at the viewer.]

INTERLOPER!

[His expression returns to normal, and he puts his hands back into the pockets of his furry pants.]

That was the traditional Night Vale greeting to all outsiders...although I suppose in this situation, I'm the interloper?

Sorry about that.

On to more pressing concerns.

[He gestures towards the Bronzong near him, which currently looks nothing like a Bronzong. Most of this has to do with the paper shopping bag draped over its body.]

Uh, does anyone have an idea what this...being eats? It didn't want any of my trail mix, and when I tried feeding it a rice ball and some pickles it just stared at the food blankly, before hovering into this house's bathroom in disappointment and concern. I am afraid that I might have offended it enough to bring a terrible curse upon ...or at least, have it telepathically assault me, it's hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Third Person Sample:

Someone's going to kill you one day, Cecil, and it will involve a mirror. Mark my words, child.

Okay, so those were never exactly words Cecil wanted to hear in his life, but there was no undoing prophecy, especially when the prophet in question happened to be your own late mother. And besides, he'd made adjustments. No mirrors in the house. Covered up all the mirrors in his workplace. Have everyone else in the world learn to adapt to his....well, haphazard driving skills, especially in the wake of all the traffic signs in town being switched to Braille. It was fine. Everything was fine.

But now he was standing face-to-face with this creature, whatever it happened to be. The impostor in the living room who claimed to be his mother (and he'd doubted her from the start; his mother was dead) said they were going to be friends. And while he'd been wrong about many things before, this...Pokemon, they said it was? Looked awfully... mirror-y. It even made a clinking noise when it hovered around, which also suggested that it just might be some new type of lizard or something, but really, Cecil didn't want to take any chances. Nope. Not at all.

He reached out to touch the Bronzor--with his hand stuck in a pillowcase, of course--before confirming that it was, indeed, real.

Nope.

Not dealing with this.

Or at least, he didn't want to deal with it. Not at first. But the more he turned away from the Bronzor, the more it hovered closer, trying to attract its attention. It was, if Cecil was being totally honest with himself, terrifying. And maybe a little cute.

Okay, he supposed he couldn't exactly fault the poor mirror-creature for being...well, a mirror.

Five minutes and the acquisition of a paper grocery bag later, he'd found the solution to his problem. Sure, the Bronzor looked utterly ridiculous with a bag over its body and lopsided eye-holes cut out, but that was still a lot better than dying.

Okay.

Crisis averted.

For now.