fics by Erin Ptah

Title: A Story About Consequences
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, others
Rating: T
Disclaimer: This is a not-for-profit fanwork using characters belonging to Fink and Cranor.

The idea of complete freedom, the idea that there will be no consequences for any of this, is a relief at first, then a delight. But when your theory is thrown into doubt, you start testing it, pushing for limits, trying to find out if there's a breaking point. And if there isn't — if none of this ultimately matters — then does it matter what kind of person you turn into while finding that out?

(Carlos's character arc, up to Well of Night, recast through the lens of A Story About You.)

( There is no accountability. There are no limits. You look into whatever you feel like, drop it without finishing if you get bored. Sometimes you talk like a badly-written scientist character on a cheesy TV show, just for the hell of it. It's so much fun. )

Title: This Rabbit Hole Never Ends (1-2)
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Steve, others
Rating: G
Disclaimer/warnings: Not my characters, just borrowing.

Cecil agrees to move to the otherworld desert to live with Carlos, and discovers that even when they're in a new and unfamiliar place, their relationship hasn't changed.

An anniversary, and a snapshot of what came after.

( Cecil shook himself. What was he doing, dwelling on past stresses? Tonight was supposed to be for celebrating. )

Title: Gender Swap
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Tamika, Frances, TJ, Jackie
Rating: G
Disclaimer/warnings: Not my characters, just borrowing.

Cecil takes Carlos to a fun local Saturday-afternoon swap meet.

(Takes place at some vague, unspecified point in canon. *handwaves*)

( "I have some old genders in the back of my closet that I haven't touched in years; I keep meaning to trade them in. It's so much fun. Have you ever been?" )

Title: Ringtone
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil(/Carlos)
Rating: G
Disclaimer/warnings: Not my characters, just borrowing.

Double drabble (200 words). There's a song stuck in my head, okay, and I'm hoping that inflicting it on the rest of you will help get it out.

( Something's gotta give now / 'Cause I'm dying just to know your name )

Title: Vacation (Had To Get Away)
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Rochelle, Girl Scouts, Faceless Old Woman, others
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Night Vale and everything related are mine. All mine. Because I am Joseph Fink, creator of Welcome to Night Vale. Yes indeed. The real Joseph Fink, that's me.

Post-episode for "Missing."

They're not fleeing town. Just...going on vacation. At the last minute. With people from all over Night Vale (not rebel sympathizers or anything! just friendly, helpful, ordinary small-town folks!) working together to speed their exit along.

( A trio of yellow helicopters are visible in the sky by the time they burst through the doors. )

Title: Cecil On The N.T.A. (1/2)
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale, His Dark Materials
Characters/Pairings: Cecil(/Carlos), Dana, ???/???
Rating: T
Disclaimer/warnings: See the His Dark Materials AU masterpost.

"Subway" with daemons, in two parts. (It was originally supposed to be a one-shot, then it doubled. As these things do.)

Part one: Cecil wanders into the newly-formed Night Vale subway...and ends up trapped for several years, away from his boyfriend, his daemon, and his home. Being a radio professional, of course, he documents the whole experience on tape. These are those recordings.

This goes with the big long His Dark Materials AU, but you can probably read it as a standalone, too. Just know that Carlos studies Dust, Khoshekh is Cecil's daemon, and Cecil has weird vision, an alethiometer, and a witch's range.

Title is a play on the Kingston Trio's "M.T.A.", featuring the immortal lyrics "Did he ever return / No, he never returned / And his fate is still unlearned / He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Night Vale Boston / He's the man who never returned...."

( I have started marking off the days with tally marks carved into the wall at the back of my seat. The long-faced whistling passengers did not seem to approve of this public vandalism, but we are pulling away from another stop at which they got off, so I do not have to worry about their disapproval any longer. )

Title: Republic of Heaven Community Radio
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale, His Dark Materials
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Khoshekh, Carlos's family, a whole pack of scientists, Josie, angels, Steve and kid, Earl, Dana, the Man in the Tan Jacket, the Apache Tracker, the Faceless Old Woman, Pamela Winchell, Serafina Pekkala, Xaphania, past Lyra/Will, Tamika, Lord Asriel, Hiram McDaniels, Kevin, Lauren, and more
Rating: T
Contents: Re-education, non-con daemon-touching, daemon separation, physical violence, religious trauma, blood/injury, character death, mentions of suicide/suicide attempts, intercision. Basically, canon-typical violence/trauma, for both canons.
Disclaimer: Night Vale and everything related are the property of Commonplace Books. His Dark Materials setting and ideas are all Phillip Pullman's.

A masterpost for the WtNV His Dark Materials AU. See also: the TVTropes Page.


( Story, illustrations, guest art, vocabulary, and daemon guide )

Title: Children of an Elder God (can make Excellent Trophy Boyfriends)
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, assorted Night Valeans, Cecil's father
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Night Vale and everything related are the property of Commonplace Books.

For this Night Vale Community Kink prompt. "Cecil is over a hundred years old and looks like he's somewhere in his late thirties or early forties, so Carlos never even considered the possibility that his boyfriend might still be the Eldritch Abomination equivalent of jail-bait."

(Specific content warnings are in the endnotes, due to spoilers.)

( 'I've gotten about eight different calls or texts about you since your broadcast started. Some of them with pretty...colorful threats about what I can expect if I, ah, 'take advantage' of you. Should I be worried?' )

Title: Good Morning, Night Vale
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Kevin/Carlos
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Night Vale and everything related are the property of Commonplace Books.

There's a new radio host in town.

( Everyone I've spoken to has been so kind and reassuring, and from the bottom of my heart I am grateful for your hospitality. )

Title: Family Reunion (1/4)
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale, fake news, The Magic School Bus
Characters/Pairings: Cecil/Carlos, Jon/"Stephen", Ms. Frizzle, other crossover cameos
Rating: T
Contents (across the whole story); moderate sexual situations, canon-typical character death
Disclaimer: None of these series and/or people are mine.

Cecil brings Carlos as his date to a family reunion. He can't wait to catch up with his journalist cousin Stephen, and he's sure Carlos will get along great with his scientist aunt Valerie.

( 'You have to not...freak out. Or scream. Or hide. Or run to the nearest phone and call up the SCP Foundation. In fact, you really shouldn't let on that you've ever heard of the SCP Foundation.' )