#probably less cohesive bc post con crash is hitting and also its 1am again bc that's how post cons be

[actuallyrandompersondaily]

By the time Janet — Doctor Janet now, really, though the part of Carlos that spent his grad years beside her while they both ran off of caffeine and spite would never quite believe either of them had their doctorates — came into Night Vale, he'd already accepted that he had been forever altered by the town. He'd knowingly sealed his fate with that first kiss shared underneath the glowing lights above the Arby's, and hadn't ever regretted his choice. Why would he, when it had lead to the life he now lived?

He just hadn't realised how much he'd changed. He'd thrown himself recklessly in to the sands of this town in the name of science and love (which was, of course, the most scientific choice of all), casting away his preconceived notions about how the world worked, and it had reshaped his every molecule. The core of him had twisted ever so slightly to allow for a reality that now included floating cats and extreme temporal anomalies, and in doing so had made him forget that he'd ever felt any differently.