I see trouble on the way.

[lacquers]

Characters: Everyone! Yes, you too!
Summary: Mandy's Masquerade hosts a fantastic Halloween party with a costume contest, some very special cocktails, and a few other surprises.
Date(s): Late in the month of October.
Warnings/Notes: Please mark any threads that need content warnings.

Mandy's is looking a bit festive this evening. Arrayed with spiderwebs, pumpkins, and other ghoulish decorations, the interior resembles a spooky haunted house. Spooky, not scary! Everyone's invited to stop by and celebrate All Hallow's Eve with spirited drinks, excellent company, and a lot of that Magnus flair.

You can loosen up on the dance floor to Monster Mash, Thriller, Dead Man's Party, or maybe something from this list. The spooky sky's the limit! Visit the bar for one of several special drinks you won't soon forget. You can also sample some tasty and holiday-appropriate baked goods, courtesy of the other Mr. Lightwood-Bane. Finally, stop by the table with the MAGIC 8 BALL to learn a little more about your fellow partygoers.

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Potions.
drink list

Siren Song
If you're a little tone-deaf, don't fret. This drink will turn you into a master at serenading. It won't actually give you the ability to influence anyone via magical means, but maybe if your song choice is apt, you'll woo someone either way!

Firework!
A drink that comes with a portable fireworks show hovering over its surface. Drinking it will give you the sensation of ingesting liquid pop-rocks.

Blacklight
Does what it says on the tin and makes the drinker glow under a black light. It's also kind of sour.

Frankenstein's Monster
This drink is quite shocking. Not dangerously so, but when you drink it, you'll have the impression of getting a tingling little jolt of electricity down your spine. It's aliiiiive.

To Be or Not To Be (A Daemon)
Drink this and you will find you've been magically swapped with your daemon. It only lasts ten minutes, but hey! You'll get to see how the other half lives. A note: you won't inherit one another's abilities!

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Who Wore It Best?
costume contest

Congratulations to our costume contest winners!

In first place for individual costumes...

Rafa wins for his devilish costume and he'll be awarded 2 potions: the first of which will up his luck stat, granting him good fortune in an endeavor (it says "Deal with the Devil" on the bottle) and the second will up his persuasion stat, helping him to be more successful in an argument (it says "The Devil's Advocate" on the bottle).

In second place for individual costumes...

Nico plunders the second place spot and will be given a treasure chest full of chocolates that are rum flavored. Careful, they pack a bit of a punch and when consumed, they'll make whoever eats them feel especially happy. No sad drunks here!

In third place for individual costumes...

Zeke and his amazingly sunny costume are in third and he wins a sunflower plant that will never cease to bloom and seems to have a bit of a glow about it. Plus, perpetual supply of sunflower seeds?

In first place for couples costumes...

Magnus and Alec came first for their portrayal of... each other... and they win a pair of seemingly mundane t-shirts that say "Bennet" and "Darcy" on them. What's that about?

In second place for couples costumes...

Vex and Kenzi delighted with their take on the Addams' family patriarch and matriarch and won second place. As a prize, Kenzi will be given a shampoo and conditioner set that seems pretty innocuous until you check out the writing on the bottles: 'Have YOU ever wanted hair like Cousin Itt? Are you ever in luck!' Just a small amount will make her locks lustrous and smooth. Vex will be given a very lifelike and animated hand in a box.

In third place for couples costumes...

Rose and Kaz were drop dead gorgeous in their mafia-inspired garb. As prizes, they will receive the following: for Rose, a pair of magical die that make music when thrown, and for Kaz, a set of playing cards that are intricately illustrated with astonishing art that seems to move. Watch out for the face cards, they get very opinionated about your playing. They both also receive a chip that can be relinquished to Magnus for a small magical favor.

Comments

[creatio]

Yeah, he is.

( Excuse her, she's just going to smile like a lovesick fool for a moment. There hasn't been enough time to focus on the positives lately. And being able to be with Jace? That's right up there.

Thankfully, she spares Alec the awkwardness of straight love affairs to instead marvel at his newfound ability. ) Okay, that's definitely dedication to the costume. How are you doing that? ( She's so proud of him, honestly. Look at him using magic powers instead of being all Clave-like. They've all come so far.

Also, she's taking a cupcake. tyvm, Alec. )

[helical]

( aw. he's happy for both of you. he's never seen jace this happy in their entire lives, even if there's a somewhat desperate and manic edge to it he hasn't put his finger on yet. the happiness vastly overwhelms the rest, so he can't even tease her for that, only smiles at her and shakes his head a bit. ridiculous!!! but also understandable. he knows just how they feel, after all. )

A warlock doesn't reveal his secrets, Fray. ( eyebrow quirk, typical of magnus. and another wave of a hand so new drinks appear on the table for them.

but he does answer, at least a little. ) It's Magnus', so it's temporary.

[creatio]

You're totally loving it. Showing off!

( Not that she would be able to resist doing so either. If given magical powers for the day, Clary would flaunt them. The world would instantly become a more colourful face. Madness would ensue. It's probably for the best that she doesn't have them, really.

But she can still reap the benefits, taking the drink with a smile. ) I didn't know Warlocks could do that. ( Grant power. She assumes it's probably a charm or something. But her interest is purely in enjoying Alec letting his hair down. ) It's a shame he didn't give you magically dancing shoes, too.

( POUT. )

[helical]

( he is definitely loving it. it's nice for magnus to share such an important part of him with alec like this and it's nice to relax and enjoy a costume party in full. he feels he deserves a break, for once, so he's taking advantage of the night. )

It's kind of like when I helped him heal Luke, except the other way around and he figured out how to bottle it. ( don't ask him for specifics because tons of magic still goes way over his head, even married to a warlock. but this gives him some perspective.

he makes a face at the thought of magically dancing shoes. )

I'd take those off right away.

FLIP.

[creatio]

Spoilsport.

( No, it's still playful. She's not actually all that upset over his reluctance. It's a very Alec thing. And at least they can have this. Drinking and talking to each other. Not at each other's throats. She's thankful for how far they've come.

Taking a sip of her drink, Clary lets her gaze wander over the room. ) This is nice. I've kind of missed Magnus' parties. ( And all the magic that goes into them. But there's something else she enjoys too, and that's having the majority of her people all in one room. She can see Jace and he's safe and sound, and she can check in on Alec and Magnus too.

She just wishes Izzy would find her way to them. )

Though I promise I will require zero piggybacks this time round.

[helical]

( alec is thankful too. it's clear clary is part of their lives now, and it's made things easier to just accept that. besides, after being in eudio with her... it feels different. like it allowed them to be in each other's universes without the stress of their home life. )

Me too. ( he likes these parties for similar reasons, but izzy's absence is marked. he misses her more than he can say.

it's nice to see jace and clary like this, though. they look... happy, even if there's something almost manic about it. they're making up for lost time. it makes sense. )

Looks like you two figured stuff out.

[creatio]

( It's hard to try and keep her smile from being tinged with sadness. Maybe in time she'll stop feeling like this. But for now, whenever she thinks of Jace it's followed by a tight squeeze of wild fear around her ribs, a helpless rush of adrenaline because she wants to be able to do something. Fix it somehow. She can't, she doesn't know how, and so she has to focus on the here and now, Jace talking and laughing across the length of a crowded room. Real and somehow impossibly alive. )

Yeah.

( And she does smile, hopelessly sweet. ) It was about time, right? I'm done with the universe trying to take it away from me.

( She'll fight, especially here. It's all she has. ) What about you and Magnus? I know back home things were difficult. But you're okay? ( Being married in one world and then not, she can't imagine that. )

[helical]

( it's nice to see her smile. and he feels some of that joy through his bond with jace, an echo of a feeling he recognizes isn't his own. that's good enough for him, even if he has questions from the way they look at each other some days, like it's more like they think it's a now or never kind of thing rather than a now and forever kind of thing. )

Good. Fight for it, ( he says, because god knows he did, and still does. he's not the type to give up, but he doesn't think clary is either. part of why they butt heads is that they're both stubborn, isn't it?

his eyes shift over to magnus, also looking pretty cheerful, which alec also thinks is the only thing that matters. )

We're... ( he lets out a sigh through his nose. clearly not an easy topic, but he nods, looking down at his glass. ) Yeah. We're okay. ( and they are, for the most part. it's hard seeing someone you love so much hurt as much as magnus has been on their trip back, and hard to live with memories of that person turning away from you. even if they've talked at length about where to go from here, he felt the coldness and distance and remembers it.

but it's in the past. he's been focused on making magnus feel better, on mending the cracks in their relationship, on moving forward as they've agreed to. he turns back to clary, smiling almost shyly. ) Still married. Still in love.

[creatio]

I will.

( It's probably the truest thing she's ever said. Because Clary knows this is all she has now. This place, this time with Jace, she can't lose that. And if it means having to fight tooth and nail to cling to it then she will. She has more of a stake in the war these days. A party like this is not the place for strategizing battle plans though, and so instead she watches Alec, a soft smile playing at the corner of her lips. )

Good.

( She's not the only one who almost lost something, back home. )

I knew you'd work it out. Things just got a little out of control. ( Honestly, she hopes that even if they do go back home, they'll be able to move on together. They're stronger. And Valentine is dead, she has to hope things might ease for them. ) Now I know to address my christmas card to Mr. & Mr. Lightwood-Bane.