open post: in a slightly hazy lounge

[peaklordshen]

After a few false starts, Shen Qingqiu has found a proper place to test out Crowley's BL pollen vape pen.

He posts up in one of the lounges, close enough to the bar that anyone leaving there might find him. He's still in his braid and loose robes - no one else had noticeably started dressing gayer¹ when they took the stuff, intentional or not, so neither will he. He also brings snacks,² and the next book in the Blood at Dusk series, Moonless Midnight, in case it takes a while to kick in, or a while for anyone to come along to prove it has, anyway. If no one finds him here he will go looking, but roaming the Mansion's halls newly homosexual feels like a much more risky prospect than just staying put and seeing what happens.

He arrays himself on a couch, feet tucked up under him (although this might not be immediately apparent due to the robes), Crowley's pen tucked behind one ear so he can make more notes now that he has a glimmer of a chance that Binghe will forgive him,³ and takes a drag on the vape.

He coughs. It's smoke, not pollen—the blooms must be dried and then burned, like with tobacco—and has an odd, kind of greenish flavor. Not unpleasant, but not pleasant, either. He expected it to taste of, like. Cherry blossom, or something. Pink rather than green. Shit, maybe he is a little homophobic.

He takes another drag, and lets the smoke out of his mouth slowly this time, watching it curl up to the ceiling.

By the time anyone finds him, he will be staring unblinking at the opposite wall, book open on his lap to the third page of the first chapter.

[Threads with Sagramore and Luo Binghe are NSFW.]

¹ Please explain what you mean by this, Shen Qingqiu. I'll wait.
² Crowley did tell him to.
³ After he confirms that the pollen works. And goes to find Binghe. And kisses him. And— well. Maybe. After. He can raise the book club idea again?

Comments

[untamedantinous]

It smells strange in this room, Enjolras has realized. Certainly odd, but perhaps not enough to be alarming. Even so, he cannot help but pause on his way into the kitchens, just to make entirely certain that nothing altogether dangerous is happening.

"Are you quite alright?" Look, he's actually going out of his way to talk to people. That's impressive in itself.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu blinks and turns his eyes to the doorway, and then blinks again. Who is that? Is he real? Did the Mansion conjure him as, like, hey, you're gay now, here's a guy who looks like he just stepped out of one of those BBC ahistorical miniseries' where everyone is wildly hot for no reason, even though in real life they'd be unwashed and probably missing teeth and stuff, and anyway what group of irl friends is all that hot, what are they, shallow or something, they only hang out with models??

No, he reminds himself, he's in the weird interdimensional mansion that is apparently home now. People just—show up. Massively hot people included. Obliging of this one to show up just as Shen Qingqiu turned gay and was in need of him.

"Hello," he says. "You're new." He lets himself look the newcomer up and down, really notice his hotness, and there's a sort of thrill just to that. It must be what the pollen wants him to do. He raises his eyes to his face again, smiling slightly. "I'd remember."

[untamedantinous]

"I have been here only a few days, yes." Enjolras shifts a little, uncomfortable at the way this strange man is looking at him so intently. It's not often that he gets looked at like that and notices it, but here in this room there is nothing to distract him from the attention of others.

"I am called Enjolras," he offers after a moment or two, awkwardly. He's never been what one would call 'good' at beginning acquaintances.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu is way too comfy to stand up and bow properly, so he gives a fancy little nod-plus-flourish with his hand from his seat. "Shen Qingqiu," he says. He pats the seat next to him. "You can come sit, if you like. I don't bite."

Enjolras. He'll have to remember that—he'd write it down in his notebook, start a new entry, but it seems rude to just pull out a notebook in the middle of conversation. So instead he writes it down in the margins of Moonless Midnight, pretending to peruse the page a little bit first so it's not obvious he's just taking hot man notes.

[untamedantinous]

"I was only--" He considers a bit. What else does he have to do, really? He had been on his way to find a snack, something to do while exploring the mansion; and this could certainly count as that. He should really try and figure out who else is here, after all.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," he replies, rubbing the back of his neck. "You looked quite comfortable."

[peaklordshen]

"I am quite comfortable," Shen Qingqiu agrees. "And you could be, too, if you joined me." He holds out his open snack bag. "Shrimp chip?"

[untamedantinous]

There is a very polite blink. "I am afraid I've never heard of such a thing." But he does move over to the couch, at the very least.

[peaklordshen]

"Oh, dude, you've gotta try one," enthuses Shen Qingqiu. "Especially if this is your first, like, modern snack food. It's delicious."

It's weird how the pollen let him call Enjolras dude. Gay men don't call other men dude, they call them like, sexy, or whatever else. Hotcock.<sup>1

1</sup> The typist cannot take credit for this joke: [link]

[untamedantinous]

"I am not especially hungry at the moment, thank you." He might in a bit, but for now he settles down on the couch, looking about as awkward as a teenager at his first dance. It's much easier for him to converse with people who are used to him, he has gotten far too used to leaning on his other halves back at home.

"--Have you been here long?"

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu cocks his head, thinking about that. "Weeks," he decides, because it feels like it's been longer than days but shorter than months. "Time is... it can be a little odd, here," plus he's not exactly in the best headspace for figuring it out. Apparently gays really can't do math. "Where'd you come in from, then?"

[untamedantinous]

"I have seen that, yes," he nods. "--Paris, if you are meaning my home. If you are meaning here, then -- er, upstairs."

[peaklordshen]

"Paris!" Oh my god, the love interest energy on this guy!! "City of Lights." He offers the shrimp chips again, having genuinely forgotten that they were already refused.

[untamedantinous]

"That is what some call it, yes." He waves a hand at the shrimp chips, once again refusing. "It is ...certainly very different from here."

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu snorts. Pretty, but not exactly a philosopher. He shrugs at the shrimp chip refusal, taking another handful himself. "Yeah," he says. "It's a city. This is a house."

[untamedantinous]

"A very queer house, yes." He clears his throat. "I mean to say, it was a very different time there as well, we did not have a good number of things that I have seen here, so far. It is taking some getting used to." There's another pause.

"What are you reading?"

[peaklordshen]

A very queer house. Shen Qingqiu snorts, then starts to giggle, dropping his face into one of his palms. "Queerer, tonight," he says, and then starts laughing again, listing slightly against Enjolras' side. He's allowed to say that. He's gay, right now.

He sighs happily, coming out of the laughter. If Enjolras wants his question answered, he'll have to ask it again--it was lost in Shen Qingqiu's joke with himself.

[untamedantinous]

Enjolras just gives him a long, cautious look and carefully edges back from Shen Qingqiu. He's not the most affectionate person at the best of times, hardly with someone he has just met. His posture is ramrod straight, if someone knew him well enough¹ they would see how uncomfortable he is.

"I said," he repeats, slightly clipped now, "What are you reading?"

¹Grantaire, we're looking at you.

[peaklordshen]

If Shen Qingqiu were straight¹ right now, he might have caught on to Enjolras' discomfort and backed off, given him the space. Unfortunately, he's very gay² right now, so he just smiles up at him from his laighing slump--not moving closer, but definitely not moving away, either. He wrinkles his nose. "Very bad fiction," he says. "About, um." He squints. "Do they know about vampires? In your Paris?"

That one book about lady vampires is from France, right?? He should know this. Now that he's gay.

¹Sober.
² High.

[untamedantinous]

"Vampires," he replies flatly. "Stories to scare children or the foolish? Yes, I have heard of them." He can't quite figure why one would want to read about them, but perhaps this man is a Romantic like Prouvaire. He certainly seems to be acting fool enough to be one.

"I do not think your book would be to my taste, it sounds like."

[peaklordshen]

"Oh, I should hope not, it's very bad," says Shen Qingqiu, cheerfully.

[untamedantinous]

"Then why do you read it?" The concept of hate-reading is not one Enjolras is familiar with, alas. Mocking, sure, but he's more accustomed to doing that with proclamations and charters, dissecting phrases and other such things.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu grins at him. "Spirited debate," he says. "I'm in a book club. Or. I'm not in it right now, because Binghe doesn't want to see me, but I'm fixing that, and then I'll be in a book club again."

[untamedantinous]

"Ah," he says with a nod, as if that makes all the difference. "My friends and I had something....somewhat similar, at home. We discussed many things other than books, as well."

[peaklordshen]

Shen Qingqiu nods. "Book clubs can be a great excuse to hang out with people you want to talk to about everything, because they give you a place to start."

[untamedantinous]

"I suppose," he replies, and perhaps it's the thought of his friends, but a little of that discomfort melts away. "Though I -- do not think we will need discussions along the lines of my, er, 'book club' here."