ph_logs | [OPEN] The world is spinning endlessly

Who: Siebren and friends
What: October Shenanigans
When:...October? Possibly also November
Where: Siebren's home, the
Warning(s): Potential cannibalism mentions, unreality, mental unwellness, memory manipulation (self-inflicted), more in comment titles

1. This is the sound of energy [Gala Aftermath]
You can't believe how easy it is. You just have to go... a little crazy. And then, suddenly, it all makes sense, and everything you do turns to gold.
He calls into work the morning after the gala. And a couple more days beyond that. In that time, he is
~~metamorphosing~~
~~assimilating~~
~~unpacking~~
~~digesting~~ everything that occurred that night. He stays at home, alone, trying to avoid everyone and everything.

much. It's too
The fragments of past that he's avoided for their sharpness rotate in him mind, turning their points toward him, crystal shards of time that threaten him. And yet, some part of him reaches out with Pandoran curiosity, like Sleeping Beauty toward the spindle. What he pricks isn't a finger, but he feels the pain just as instantly. And yet, and yet...

too much. It's
There it is, the multiple choice past solidifying in fractals, like frost spidering across a windowpane. Siebren has no way of knowing whether this is a correct past, but it is now his, memories feeling more stable than they have in years. Some things are lost, others are fake, but the end result is more real than anything he's been able to grasp before.

For three days, anyone approaching Siebren's home for any reason may hear, even from outside the building, the sounds of someone having a Bad Time™, with pained screams or furniture being thrown against walls as his gravitational powers pulse and fluctuate. For three days, he struggles.

And then, there is silence.

Traveling through the galaxy [The Library; CW vertigo]
Siebren returns to work. Nothing is wrong. He is fine. Can't you see how fine he is?

Somewhere, a book falls off a table and he flinches. And then, to anyone within a certain distance of him, the floor seems to fall away, in a dizzying cloud of galactic light, just for a moment, before he regains control, glancing around to see if anyone noticed.

Into eternity [Stargazing Night]
A notice goes up on the bulletin board, and letters are issued to penpals with explicit invitations: Crane's Ridge, 9pm on a given night. Bring snacks, drinks, something to sit on. Siebren will have his telescope and star charts.

He's brought some cheese and crackers and apple butter himself, as well, and is floating beside his big brass telescope, dressed in a comfortable sweater. For the moment, he is completely at ease. For the moment, nothing could possibly bother him.

Right?

A One Note Symphony [Wildcard]
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ah, look, one of the stars has come down to join us."

There is a wound that many nerds have, where you invite someone over to share your special interest and they don't have a single solitary fuck to give. Having someone show up to a night like this helps heal that wound. Siebren lights up with a bright, easy smile.

"The weather is nice for this."

"Oh, hush." Shen Qingqiu laughs quietly at what sounds to him like a silly joke and setting down his bag, digging through to unearth two ceramic mugs. "It's a lovely night," he agrees. "But rather chilly, isn't it?" And Siebren still isn't wearing shoes. Shen Qingqiu opens the thermos, letting the scent of fine Darjeeling fill the air between them. "Tea?" he offers, with real affection in his voice. "And then you can show me whatever's caught your eye."

This too is a demonstration of care. Not just showing up, but looking after each other. Making sure that your friend can not only do the things he loves, but do it comfortably as well.

"Ah, tea would be perfect." Siebren's smile comes easily. It's warm and bright and a little boyish, even though the chill in the air has started to turn his nose red. Eventually, he should get himself a scarf, a hat; he arrived in the springtime as weather was turning warmer and hadn't really needed to bundle up yet.

He lingers close to Shen Qingqiu, and if their fingers brush when he accepts his mug, surely that, too, is coincidence. Siebren has had his whirlwind romances--Drelasa stole his heart immediately. Rambo burst in the door and decided to love him. George...he still doesn't know what's going on with George. But there is kissing.

He doesn't need something grand and quick. He's content to flirt with the lightest of hands, here. Besides, in all honesty, he's probably too old for Shen Qingqiu, anyway.

For his part, Shen Qingqiu is an old hand at convincing himself that that little electric thrill he sometimes gets from contact with other men, their skin pressed against his skin, is nothing more and nothing less than the pleasure of a dear friend's company. What else could it be? Siebren may enjoy kissing other men (assuming Shen Qingqiu himself didn't simply hallucinate that) but surely whatever sixth sense it is that constitutes gaydar would have already let him know that Shen Qingqiu is out of the running, so it's fine. Nothing to worry about, they can just enjoy each other's platonic company.

He smiles at Siebren over the lip of his mug, his eyes sparkling like the stars above. "It really is a lovely night," he says quietly. "Hopefully we'll have a few more of these, before the weather turns. I've heard that last year they got quite a bit of snow."

"If the nights are cold, but clear, they can make for the best experience stargazing. With the right company."

There's a warm slyness about that comment.

"Company like mine, you mean?"

Despite the chill of the air, Shen Qingqiu still finds his face feels rather warm. He sips his tea slowly to calm himself down, and then glances down back at the path he took to get up here. "Is no one else coming?" he suddenly asks, surprised.

“Not right now. Not tonight. It’s just us.”

Because it’s easier to flirt, and perhaps do more than flirt, in privacy. Unless…did he misread the situation?

“Is that a problem?”

"No, of course not." He thinks he should be...he *is* pleased, by the fact that Siebren is apparently unwilling to divide his attention at least for this one night. That he's giving it all to Shen Qingqiu like a gift, all his brilliance and thoughtfulness. It's flattering.

He smiles and gestures to the telescope. "Shall we, then?"

"I do believe we shall. The telescope's currently pointed at Peresid, one of the other planets in this system. On a clear night like this, sometimes you can see its moons." Siebren gestures for Shen Qingqiu to step up to the telescope, smiling warmly. And once he's there, Siebren's hand rests gently on his back.

Shen Qingqiu stiffens a little under that gentle touch, confused for a moment as to what it's doing there -- but it is rather dark here, he finally decides. Surely Siebren is making sure he doesn't stumble or knock over the delicate telescope. He lowers his head to peer through the scope, letting out an admiring sigh as the planet appears in his field of view.

"Lovely," he softly declares.

"It might be my favorite planet in this sky." His hand lingers, but it doesn't move up or down.

"Tell me about," is Shen Qingqiu's quiet request, as he studies the planet and the moons partially occluding its great sphere. "How does it compare to Earth's neighbors?"

"Smaller than Jupiter, and with fewer moons. I'd still theorize it's a gas giant, though. The color is hard to see, but the reddish hue makes me think iron. There could be ice, frozen water ice, on one of its moons somewhere."

"And frozen water might mean life..." Shen Qingqiu raises his head, looking up at the stars with his own wide, glittering eyes. "Have you thought about it? Whether there might be life on other worlds in this universe?"

"As much as I thought about it back home. Entirely possible, yes, but one of the more interesting questions is: would we recognize it as life? We don't even understand mushrooms on Earth completely!"

"Wait, we don't?" Shen Qingqiu turns to look up at him now, his eyes glittering with that same wonder he'd given the stars. "What's left that we don't understand? They're simple detrivores, aren't they?"

"That leaves the entirety of the mycorrhizal network on the table! The mapping capability of slime molds! Chitinous cell walls! Bioluminescence! Simple? Hardly that." Siebren is practically bouncing as the fungi facts come out of him in spurts.

"I know about bioluminescence!" Shen Qingqiu does his best to respond, in a cheerful mirror of Siebren's enthusiasm. He laughs, putting a hand on his friend's arm. "Are we done looking at the stars tonight, so you can tell me about mushrooms? Or should we table that for a second appointment in a warmer environment?"

Believe it or not, this is still not him flirting on purpose...

"Over a warm drink, perhaps even." This is absolutely Siebren intentionally flirting. Too bad it isn't going to go anywhere, right?

Not right now...but Shen Qingqiu will remember that.

[OPEN] The world is spinning endlessly

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and...wrap