Lauren Mallard is a member of StrexCorp's management who has been Night Vale Community Radio's program director since late January 2014[1], a StrexCorp executive since the beginning of April 2014[2] and the vice-president of StrexCorp and owner community supporter of Night Vale and Desert Bluffs Metropolitan Area since mid-June 2014[3]. She was appointed to her position by StrexCorp, and StrexCorp's interests are her primary concern. She has appeared on Night Vale Community Radio alongside host Cecil Palmer on several occasions, and, although she always speaks pleasantly, presents herself as friendly and easy-going, and never overtly speaks ill of anyone, she is unable to disguise her thinly veiled, roiling hatred for anyone who stands in opposition to StrexCorp's interests.
When asked for job interview tips with StrexCorp, Lauren's advice included: Dressing in the animal parts for the job you want not the job you have, if asked about your greatest weakness, just screech an unbroken tone for several grating minutes, have a question of your own prepared (you'll need something to ask yourself over your months in the night cage) train hard, and to bring your sharpest knife.[4]
Relationships[]
Daniel[]
Prior to his death/deactivation, Lauren is often described interacting with Daniel, and becomes concerned for him after having not returned from photographing the kittens.[5] She mentions asking Daniel to drive her places, and Cecil describes their routine of pressing themselves against the walls of the break room chanting “I take my warmth from your great warmth" repeatedly.[6]
Kevin[]
Kevin and Lauren's relationship is typified by thinly veiled malice disguised as friendship. This is best illustrated in an interaction from episode 47, Company Picnic.
LAUREN: Thanks Kev. Can I call you Kev?
KEVIN: Haha. No Lauren, by no means.[7]
After the events of Old Oak Doors part B, where she is sent to the desert otherworld,[8] Lauren is made mayor, but is used by Kevin as a puppet to achieve his own goals for the town. For example, when Lauren announces her plans to build a public library, he texts her to tell her to build a monument dedicated to the smiling god instead. She immediately concedes.[9] This suggests that Kevin still held some amount of power over Lauren even after the dissolution of Strex, at least at that time. After the town becomes angry at her over the monument and tattoos a permanent frown on her face, she is removed from her position as mayor.[10] In episode 237, Frown Night, she states that she blames Kevin for this. However, she gets her revenge on him by becoming High Priestess of the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, an honour apparently bestowed on her by the smiling God because of her great suffering. After this, she refers to Kevin as her child and asks him to call her "Mother Lauren". During episode 237, Kevin appears to be scared of Lauren because she has become a high priestess and therefore reports directly to the Smiling God what everyone is doing and thinking and feeling. When Kevin asks her how the smiling God sees him, she replies that she is only allowed to tell people happy news. [11]
Enemies[]
Lauren has made appearances on the air three times so far, during her first two appearances, she not-so-subtly asked Cecil about enemies of StrexCorp; notably, she asked Cecil, "What's [his/her] name again?" in both instances.[1][2] On February 1, 2014, she was inquiring after Carlos the scientist, who had just forced StrexCorp to recall their line of transdimensional oranges after they began causing consumers to spontaneously cease to exist forever. On April 1, 2014, she was inquiring after Cecil's niece Janice, a likely ally of StrexCorp's most tenacious and resourceful enemy, Tamika Flynn.
Lauren Mallard's relationship with Cecil is also strained. Although she only speaks effusive praise for Cecil in her appearances on the air, on March 15, 2014, she gave him a StrexPet, a deceptively cute, ferocious bio-machine that brutally attacked Cecil and gravely wounded the station pet, Khoshekh, before finally being deactivated by Night Vale Animal Control.[12] Given Lauren's tendency to publicly praise her enemies while presumably plotting against them in private, it is likely that the StrexPet was a thinly veiled attempt to assassinate Cecil for his implicit support of Tamika Flynn's anti-StrexCorp rebellion. Cecil is not oblivious to Lauren's antagonistic inquiries and purposely avoided naming his niece upon her asking (Lauren remembered on her own accord).
Lauren's relationship with Kevin also remains rocky after the events of The Mudstone Abyss arc, and now that she has been promoted to High Priestess, she has been taking revenge on him by using her new powers to make him uncomfortable.[11]
The Complete StrexCorp Takeover[]
On May 1, 2014, following Cecil and Tamika's failed rebellion, she and Kevin confronted Cecil[13] and apparently did away with him, for they ended up hosting the May 15, 2014, broadcast, claiming that they had always hosted the show. She also mentioned that they had arrested a group of scientists, but were unable to find Carlos.[7]
On June 1, 2014, Lauren and Kevin were still reporting on the Company Picnic when Cecil reentered the studio through an old Oak Door, scaring them away.[14] They ultimately found a secret location to hijack the Night Vale broadcast and did so during the June 15 broadcast.[3] However, their attempt at quelling the rebellion was reverted by Tamika Flynn, who, along with her army, scared Lauren into running back home to Desert Bluffs.[8] After the events, "Old Oak Doors Part B", Lauren wandered in The Other Empty Desert before she stumbled into New Desert Bluffs. During "Toast", she recorded a voice message with Kevin. It seems that now Kevin has some kind of authority over her.
In the Desert Otherworld[]
After fleeing to the Desert Otherworld, Lauren found home in Desert Bluffs Too. She was the town's mayor for a while, (although it seemed that Kevin still has the authority over her during that point.[9]) When angry citizens drew a permanent frown on her face, she was forced to give up her position (as anyone incapable of smiling cannot be mayor).
In episode 237, Frown Night, Lauren reappears, and it is implied that Kevin has not seen her for a long time. In the intervening years, she has become High Priestess of the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, which she claims was a position bestowed upon her by the Smiling God itself in recognition of the hardships she has faced. Due to this position, she has been given the title of Mother Lauren. The Smiling God has bestowed upon her various powers, such as light radiating from her head, people weeping when they see her eyes, the ability to turn invisible, and the abilities to "see all and do all". She acts as an informant to the Smiling God, informing it of the thoughts, actions and feelings of its congregation. She now wears a standard headdress made of pig's teeth on religious holidays and a golden robe that covers her entire body. She also has appeared to have reached a degree of acceptance towards her tattooed frown, saying that "it’s not a tattoo I ever wanted for myself, and it was certainly not a punishment that I deserved, but yet, like all things in earth and sky, it makes me very very happy".[11]
Mentions[]
- Episode 40 "The Deft Bowman" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 42 "Numbers"
- Episode 43 "Visitor"
- Episode 44 "Cookies" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 46 "Parade Day"
- Episode 47 "Company Picnic" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 48 "Renovations" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 49A "Old Oak Doors Part A" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 100 "Toast" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 120 "All Smiles' Eve" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 135 "The Mudstone Abyss Part 1"
- Episode 136 "The Mudstone Abyss Part 2"
- Episode 137 "The Mudstone Abyss Part 3" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 237 "Frown Night" (vocal appearance)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 40 "The Deft Bowman"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 44 "Cookies"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 49A "Old Oak Doors Part A"
- ↑ Listener Questions 3
- ↑ Renovations
- ↑ Numbers
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Episode 47 "Company Picnic"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Episode 49B "Old Oak Doors Part B"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Episode 135 "The Mudstone Abyss Part 1"
- ↑ Episode 137, "The Mudstone Abyss Part 3" (transcript)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Episode 237, "Frown Night" (transcript)
- ↑ Episode 43 "Visitor"
- ↑ Episode 46 "Parade Day"
- ↑ Episode 48 "Renovations"