Inside, there is a bar, with a silver-haired girl sitting at it. She looks up at him; her eyes are black as night, and full of falling stars.

"Hey, there! I like the effect in yours, very aesthetic." He looks around taking in the seemingly normal bar and the seemingly impossible view to exploding stars with the same level of cheerfulness. "What's going on?"

"This is Milliways, the bar beyond any universe. I'm from a different one than you, I'd guess. You can get a free drink from Bar if it's your first time here; she's a person. Sometimes the management take over doors in other realities and make them open to here; no-one's quite sure how they do it."

 She halfsmiles. "I'm Aurica. You?" 

"Gabe Valentine-Oswald. Man, that sounds way more interesting than my first guess." He approaches Bar's countertop.

The bar appears a napkin. 

Hello, it reads, I'm Bar.

"That's cool! May I get my free drink?"

What would you like? I can surprise you if you'd prefer that.

"Surprise me!"

He gets a stein of worms and mud. That is, gummi worms and chocolate goo. It comes with a large straw.

Gabe is surprised, but takes a sip without hesitation. "Yummy! Well done. I don't know how much an invisible bartender earns but it's clearly not enough."

The management pays well enough. And there are always new travellers to keep me busy.

"Cheers to that!" He raises his glasses. "So, hey you said that you are from another universe?" He turns to Aurica. "What is that like?"

"Terrible," she deadpans. "Mine's broken."

"That sounds tough, why though?" He sips some of his not-actual-worm drink.

"There's a thing in it called the Glitch where you can fall out of the world and die, if you're lucky. I survived, but now my death by loneliness is stalking me. That's where I got these starry eyes from." 

"They are cool, but definitely not working that price. Is that death, like, a grim reaper or something?"

"More like a powerful curse. People slip away from me. When I'm most alone in a place where nobody goes, the world starts to fade away, and eventually I'm back falling through the same Glitch I did originally. I always come back, but it takes something from me each time. I know other people dying of memories, lightning and recklessness. We all saw something we shouldn't have, and..." 

She looks down into her drink. "Some of us reacted better than others to realizing... the whole deal. We have a club, half to support each other, half to keep an eye on each other. It's called the Chancery."

"Ah, good that you have Glitch Anonymous for that." Sip. "Your world doesn't have any sort of magic to fix it?"

"It has quite a lot of magic, but none of it works on un-things like the Glitch. More mundane things work, though. I was never much of an extrovert before this. Now I'm sitting here talking to a stranger. So it's not all bad."

"Hey! Progress!" He raises his drink.

She raises hers. Clink!

"What's your world like, then?"

"We don't have a Glitch and un-things. In the sixties some wacko cultist managed to perform a ritual that actually worked. And now people that are young and talented get magic. We call them Glorybearers, each can make a healing potion and a power potion."

"Yeah, most places are better constructed than my home universe. Tell me more about these potions."

"They are called the fancy names 'elixir' for the healing one, and 'ichor' for the power one. Elixir is made by a glorybearer using water and does something heal-y, sometimes weird heal-y, like, healing lost memories or whatever. Ichor is made from the glorybearer's own blood, it grants a power for a while, but non-glorybearers get tired from drinking it."

He actually knows the term "restorative", but "heal-y" is a personal joke between Henry and the rest of the family.

"Interesting! Are you a glorybearer?"

"Nah. I am married to two, though. Henry's ichor does anti-magic. Temple's does, like, alchemy - he can mix elixirs and ichors and create new things."

"Awww, two. That's very sweet. Do you have a favorite?"

"Henry. We grew up together, and we are less in love and more joined at the hip. But I love Temple lots."

"Yeah. Having a favorite doesn't make the other one worse. I... haven't really had the time for romance. The eyes make it difficult these days, though I know people like me. Ashara and December are too themselves, and Clematis is like my mom and it would just be weird. So I'm lonely. My one weakness." She halfsmiles. 

"People don't like the star eyes in your world? They look cool."

"They're associated with people who want to break the world more. The Glitch is infectious, it sweeps people up and uses them to propagate. Some of my friends in the Chancery got swept up like that, and did terrible things. That's... fairly common. And then there are the Decievers and the Warmains, each their own kind of awful."

"Gah, sorry for that. It doesn't sound like the sort of thing my world's magic can solve. But, hey, no point in mopping. Can't give the Glitch, and the Deceivers, and the war ones the satisfaction."

"Yeah. Hurting the world just causes more pain and suffering, not less."

"Also, far less fun!" He raises his glass again. Gabe is clearly the type of person that doesn't let something like malevolent forces outside his universe make him unhappy if he has any saying so.

"Yeah. Milliways has been great for me. Want to share friends?"

"Sure! Are any of the people in mentioned here?"

"Yeah, I can call a couple of them from the door if you want!"

"Yes, go ahead."

She walks over, opens the door and calls. 

"Chancery girls, I've got someone you might like to meet!"

A woman wearing a big black fur coat comes through the door and does an elaborate curtsey with a grin. 

"Alasha. Dying of Recklessness. Always the first to curiosity's call. Who are you?~"

"Gabriel Valentine-Oswald! Not dying of anything at the moment." He mimics the curtsy, despite wearing jeans and a sweater.

"I see Aurica is making friends again. That's good, keeps her infection down. What sort of person are you, then?"

"Just your average very attractive, very gay man living with his two magical husbands and their kids, while doing artistic work when I have time."

"Sounds like you've got it made! I'm lesbian when I have time amid my busy life, which is fairly frequently since I tend to make time. Living with a curse sucks but it doesn't rule my life or anything. We could gossip about our respective partners? Or you could tell me about your art, I like to tinker in my spare time."

Gabe wholeheartedly approves of this attitude towards curses. "Both? One of my husbands' family is fun to talk about."

"Go ahead and tell me all about him!"

"Okay, so my husband's name is Temple. It all started with his dad, Stephen, he got powers from being very good in bed. A talented that he put to good used to good use in the following years, including by having six kids between with three different relationships. He married and had a son, Franklyn. Two years later, Temple's mother got pregnant with him. The truth of Stephen's affairs comes into light, and includes at least one other co-worker. Despite all that, Stephen's first marriage continued, because there was already a third in kid in the oven from his first spouse. As you may guess, it was not a particularly happy marriage, but not just for the obvious reason. The couple grows distant. Anyway, the third kid, Meghan, grows up and gains magical powers, then both her and Franklyn are kidnapped over that. They are rescued, and they end up fine. But the incident leads to the first marriage dissolution because Solomon, Stephen's first spouse, comes out as a transman. For once, Stephen acts like a good person and is actually very supportive. But for some reason - which I suspect is related to Stephen's sexual prowess - Solomon agrees to have another kid with Stephen through a surrogate. Little Adam is born eighteen years after Franklyn, the two co-parent him and eventually divorce after getting new partners. Stephen's marries a woman that - I kid you not - is called Mary Jane. They have twins. They divorce when the twins are barely talking, because Stephen has not stopped cheating with other women."

He takes a sip from his drink. That was a long monologue. And it's not even over yet.

"But what I find the cherry on top is that one of the twins come out as gay last year. Which means that Gay Pride, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, is a family event. And Stephen had a shirt that started as 'I support my ex trans-husband', then got 'and my gay son' and now as an extra 's' after son."

Maybe Bar can get him some water, chocolate is delicious, but not thirst quenching.

Water is free!

"Wow, that's one complicated history. I just know a girl who does ill-advised science experiments in thunderstorms."

"That sounds fun! Does she use magic?"

"She does! She claims she actually caught a lightning bolt in her hands once, but I don't know if that's true. It's quite the tall tale."

"Does she claim it felt energizing?"

Alasha laughs. "No, she says it was terrifying as hell and almost earthed itself through her. And then she would have been dead. Again." 

"Aw, inconvenient. Still a fun story. Do you all get up to that kind of excitement often?" He includes Aurica in that question.

"Frequently enough. Less than I might like, but then I'm the one who's dying of Recklessness."

"We try to keep it down to a dull roar."

"Heh, more fun than dull boredom."

Aurica nods and pulls her drink closer. 

"What do you get up to, personally? Anything interesting?"

"Heh, making art - or teaching it in the LGBTQ community center - and keeping the husbands and the kids happy. Sometimes taking the little ones to see the grandparents or god-grandparents. Sometimes figuring out what we can do during the weekend that feeds Temple's wanderlust." He sighs dramatically, obviously not meaning to taking seriously. "I practically live the terrible suburban nightmare housewife life, but with double the spouses, three times the muscle, and ten times the good looks."

"Twice the humility too, I'm sure. Sounds like a good life. Maybe a little quiet for me, but good."

"The kids keep things from being too quiet, but I guess that might not be enough for someone dying of recklessness."

"It has always been my flaw. One day it'll get me for good, but until then... Why let it cramp my style?"

"Hey, no one is coming out of life alive, might as well enjoy it along the way."

"Exactly!"

"I'd rather live more and slightly less vigorously, but..."

"But...?" Gabe says invitingly.

"I can see the sense in doing it Alasha's way too. Even if it does tend to cause messes."

"Aha. Broken eggs and omelets, my dear. Or whatever is the saying. You don't usually do things just for the fun of it?"

"I mean, I do, but... at a smaller scale than Alasha gets up to."

"That reeks suspiciously of moderation, but I guess you do you."

She laughs. "Moderation can be fun! But I think we're going in circles now."

He is suspicious at moderation can be fun. "What do you get up to have fun?"

"I read. I play games on my phone. Sometimes Clematis lends me some of her braceletmaking supplies and I make bracelets. Those are usually good days. Today is a good day, I'm even socializing with a stranger. Clematis will be all proud of me." 

"Aw, she should be! It's not easy to socialize with a handsome and humble stranger you met in a bar."

"Mm, well, it's not easy to socialize with a depressed cursed girl either. So maybe you should get a medal too."

"Aw, you too kind. But I am used to bringing out nerdy kinds out of their shells."

"The charismatic wunderkind strikes again, huh?"