#db!reader headcanon

Night Vale

There are certainly some aspects of the town that seem familiar (hidden cameras, microphones, a constant sense of being watched) there are so many more things that are completely different from Desert Bluffs. It’s....terrifying, almost, being forced into a small box of freedom and suddenly being let out and given no direction to go. You live each day constantly watching your back, double-checking your words, wondering if this is all just a big trick or test that you simply weren’t tipped off on--and it will take you a long time before you’re convinced that its not.

It’s especially hard to get used to how Cecil acts as opposed to Kevin. He’s...louder, in a way, he speaks with his hands and his eyes and--well, maybe that is something a bit weird, you can see Cecil’s eyes. Not inherently a bad thing, but Cecil wears so much of himself on his sleeve. 

It’s nice not having to read someone’s nonverbals and behind their words to get the greater meaning of their thoughts, but it can be...a little overwhelming at times.

Following the rules of government agencies is wholly different from that of a company like StrexCorp. Sure, you’re constantly listened to and watched by the Sheriff’s Secret Police, but....they don’t seem to care about some of the things you do? They don’t care if you take an extra five minutes on your work breaks, they don’t care if you forget to smile at someone whom you pass on the street. They just don’t care and it leaves you very unnerved for the first several weeks.

Desert Bluffs

If you thought being watched by the Sheriff’s Secret Police was bad, StrexCorp is an entirely different beast. They watch you like a hawk, caring about the smallest detail that derails your productivity or quota or whatever the hell other terms they are constantly throwing your way. There are just so many terms, so many words and labels that mean something entirely different when you pull back the smiling curtain.

Everything is hollow. Words. Meaning. Happiness. Sure, Night Vale isn’t the most perfect town and it’s far from having perfect people, but at least they don’t try to say that everything is golden when it’s obvious that nothing can ever be perfect. It’s...unnerving, leaving you constantly on-edge with how to speak to people.

StrexCorp doesn’t even have to actively do anything because the poor thing would likely spontaneously die or be pushed into a severely debilitating state because everyone around them is miserable and hopeless; the wider the smiles, the more agony that fills them.

db!Reader would likely have to work from home, and even then it’s still a painful day-to-day existence. They are simply surrounded by an ocean of misery and despair without much of a way to muffle that. If anything, StrexCorp would want the reader to be a lab rat, to research their ability and see if it can be bottled up and sold or, even better, if it can be productively utilized with other employees in the company.