[open log] star light star bright, the first star i see tonight

[topslug]

Who: Anyone & everyone!
When: July 6th-July 9th
Where: In front of the Newcomer Community Center.
Summary: The seventh day of the seventh month; a time to make wishes and a time to dream.
Warnings: None for the foreseeable future! NSFW wishes may crop up, so I'll update this entry as necessary.

Comments

[stabilimentum]

[Claude knows better than to blindly wish for something. As a demon that preys upon ignorance and exception, he has been laughing under his breath while reading these requests. The number of loopholes here is staggering. If he weren't limited by his current contract, he'd undoubtedly hunt down the most desperate wish-makers.

To hide the invasion of privacy, he's holding a pen and piece of paper in his hands, as though he's just standing there, trying to think of what to write.]

[topslug]

[ Well hello, Mr. Faustus. Have one Yako Katsuragi sidling your way, the bright glint in her eye promising trouble (or at the very least, well-meaning fussing). ]

Can't decide on a wish?

[stabilimentum]

[Claude didn't expect anyone else to approach him, actually. This is a... well, it's a surprise, surely, and perhaps a pleasant one. Conversing with Yako Katsuragi is a little like playing with fire, since she still smells of another demon that might not appreciate it. Claude wonders if hers is here or incoming, and/or will notice him, and/or could react badly. Battles between demons are exciting to him, since they're really rare where he comes from. The best way to instigate conflict is to interfere with their things.

For now, he waves the paper--a long, pale pink strip--around meaninglessly.]

There are just so many possibilities, [he says, smiling faintly,] and I'm keeping in mind "be careful what you wish for."

[topslug]

[ In turn, Yako can't help but be drawn to Claude-- curiosity is, after all, one of the most inevitable forces of the universe, second only to gravity, love, and the tendency of all bellybuttons, no matter how immaculately clean, to gather lint. She hasn't attempted to confirm Claude's species (excuse me, Mr. Faustus, but are you a demon? just seems so rude) but she has her theories, and they serve to simultaneously pique her interest and remind her to be careful around him. ]

Always a good thing to keep in mind. [ She laces her fingers behind her back, absently stretching her limbs as she regards the wall. ] People have made a lot of wishes so far.

[stabilimentum]

[The truth about Claude is one of the worst-kept secrets there possibly could be. Anyone with enough curiosity--and enough time on their hands--can go back through the Network archives to figure it out. From public conversations alone, one will realize that Claude Faustus is, at the least, some sort of otherworldly entity. Several euphemisms for "demon" have been used to refer to him, but he continues the charade of normalcy becomes it seems important to. It's not his intention to attract unwanted attention to himself or his household. Life is difficult enough as it is with the angels in the know.

So here they are: Claude is smiling faintly, and Yako is looking at the wall, and they're both being careful around each other. It's unexpectedly fun, even when he wonders if she'll ever ask.]

If it's not too forward of me, Miss Katsuragi-- Have you already made a wish of your own?

I THOUGHT I REPLIED TO THIS BUT APPARENTLY NOT

[topslug]

I haven't. [ Not exactly a lie; she's made her decision about what to write, but simply hasn't been written down. ] I've liked reading what everyone else has written, though. See anything interesting, so far?

[ Because even if she's uncertain of so much else, she's certain the way he lingers around the board has little to do with indecision and everything to do with finding out what everyone else claims to want. Despite the fact that he's fiddling with that strip of paper in his hands, something about Claude Faustus simply doesn't seem like a wish-making man. Demon. Whatever he is, or isn't. In the final analysis, it doesn't matter. ]

notifs suck

[stabilimentum]

[Claude blinks once, twice, then again. In the briefest flicker of shifting eyes and jaw tensing, his surprise for what Yako said is apparent. Perhaps it's the modern era that has irrevocably changed all notion of privacy--that it's socially acceptable to read over the wishes of others. For what he truly is and where he comes from, Claude thinks wish-making is an intimate, almost sacred activity with details to be divulged only if it's of the utmost importance.

And, yes, of course it's hypocritical of him to frown at her. He's all too eager to memorize these wishes and fantasize about prying apart the minds that made them. He never claimed he was anything other than an unrepentant monster, though. When will humanity learn its lesson about taking forbidden knowledge?

Oh well. They're inherently curious things, the both of them, whether or not it damns them. She's curious about what he is, too, and he's curious about how she's curious in the first place. For her boldness, he'll deign to stop frowning and answer.]Many of them

they suck even more than usual these days

[topslug]

[ That's one Yako hasn't seen before; she follows Claude's gaze to the board, to bright pieces of paper pinned like so many fluttering, shifting butterflies against the dull cork. It doesn't take long to spot it, and she smiles, echoing Claude. ]

It sounds a little sad, don't you think? [ A breeze kicks up and the susurrus of the paper makes it almost seem as though the wishes are dissatisfied, straining to tear free. ] I wonder if that means they've given up on wishing. Or maybe they just wanted to be different. [ She trails off.

Yako likes thinking about the kinds of people who would have made a wish like that. Anonymity isn't necessarily a guarantee of honesty. There are some wishes too personal and too heartfelt to ever put on a board. ]

[inkyubeytor]

Are you here to grant wishes too?

[stabilimentum]

Ahh, I knew I'd run into you, [Claude says amicably. It would've been hard to miss Kyubey's unique scent, since it's hanging all over the general area.

Searching one of his pockets, he comes up with a gift of candy: chewy caramel with vanilla cream filling.]

Granting wishes is difficult when I'm not tied to their souls. [After unwrapping the candy, he motions with it, in and out, to show his intent--and then lightly tosses it at Kyubey.] Have you managed to grant any today?

[inkyubeytor]

[When he sees the candy he eyes it greedily, unblinking red eyes focusing on the shape immediately. Once it's tossed his mouth opens wide, as he stands up on his hind legs to do so, balancing himself with the appendages from his ears.]

I have. [He settles back down on his front paws.] Being tied to their souls seems rather unproductive.

[stabilimentum]

[Claude is somewhat envious of Kyubey's freedom to grant multiple wishes whenever he wants to. For a demon, it typically takes years to complete a contract adequately. Doing so improves the taste, thereby providing better sustenance, but he gets greedy as hell when it comes to pure quantity.

If he could glut himself on even a fourth of the humans with wishes stuck to that board... fuck, he'd be so satisfied...]

I agree, but it's necessary for our survival. It will result in souls of greater quality. [He slips the empty wrapper onto his tongue, enjoying the traces of flavor.] Are some wishes not "better" than others to you, Kyubey?

[inkyubeytor]

Of course. No two wishes are equal.

[stabilimentum]

What was the "best" wish you have ever granted? --In whatever metric you'd use to gauge such.

[inkyubeytor]

The wish to eradicate all Witches from every timeline, past, present and future.

[stabilimentum]

[Oh.]

And you were able to grant this wish?

[... Claude might be somewhat jealous.]