xistentia | I see trouble on the way.

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.

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!

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Amanda is actually one of the better dance partners he's had. In his opinion, she has nothing to be worried about. And even if she were to make a fool of herself, she might take some tips from the blond woman who's caused quite a scene several times over and seems to be enjoying herself still quite thoroughly. ]

Who have you taken up residence with?

[ He isn't overly familiar with a lot of Xistentia's population but Era has been helping him keep tabs here and there. ]

And yes, you're correct. I found the aesthetic of the movie to be something reminiscent of home but Era and I both had several critiques about the flaws in their fighting styles.

[it rarely occurs to Amanda that only a couple people have been over to know that she and Kavinsky live together, so it's not embaressing--really, it's not--but it does feel a bit awkward, since he does tend to have a more...vocal presence than she does]

Joeseph Kavinsky. He, ah, runs the car place. [that's...a positive thing, right? Or at least neutral] We met in Eudio, I had his powers for a little while and he taught me how to control them so I wouldn't set my apartment on fire or crush my Eevee with something and I managed to impress him.

[which still doesn't explain how she handles living with him. Really, she thinks it's mostly the fact she needs someone to keep her out of her own head so much.

She laughs at Aymeric's commentary on the movies, nodding] That's a problem when you watch something that has elements you're familiar with, yeah. If I could have, I would have thrown popcorn at a lot of science fiction movies back home for completely misusing terminology, never mind what they did to the technology. There's a reason I mostly watched educational channels.

[ Aymeric was told of the power swap this evening. It's understandable, in that context, why Amanda would choose to reside with Kavinsky... Still, from what he's been told from Era he can't say he cares much for the young man. He doesn't say anything but nods in understanding.

But on the topic of films, he finds himself more engaged. ]

I think I'd probably enjoy documentary type films, from what I know of them. If nothing else, to learn about earth and its culture since it seems to be the common world.

[Amanda doesn't mind not lingering on her roommate--she'd find it hard to defend him to most people if it really came down to it, although she'd could probably at least throw out that he was one of the first people she knew to find out about her past without treating her with much pity.

It was probably sad how far that could go.

Still, she grins, nodding]

Yeah, that's why I loved watching them when I was a kid. I couldn't travel much, but I could see all sorts of places and learn about what they used to be like. That's part of how I got interested in space, some show talking about how we were all made of stuff that came from the stars a long time ago.

[which, even with what she'd learned through work, was still correct just...in a different way]

It's not as good as the real thing, but it's close. And it's usually a lot easier to stay engaged than with academic texts.

I suppose I'm what they call... 'old-fashioned'?

[ Said as a question because, really, it hadn't occurred to him until he arrived in Xistentia that their society was antiquated in some ways. Era had told him it before - how deep-rooted in tradition they were wasn't always a good thing, he knew - but it was another thing entirely to be faced with 'phones' and Garlean-esque technology and treated as if he was old for not understanding it.

He's only thirty-two, you guys. Cut him some slack. ]

I much prefer text - academic or otherwise - still to most forms of entertainment provided here.

[Amanda can't help laughing; there's something ridiculous in the fact her life has gone from being on a spaceship in another person's body to having friends who didn't know what television was until a few months ago]

That's not always a bad thing. A lot of times, the old-fashioned kinds of people where I'm from are the ones with the patience and interest to solve the kinds of problems no one else pays attention to.

Do you have any special interest, academically? Here or back home.

[ The multiverse is a wide, strange place full of all sorts of possibilities. ]

I like the sound of that, [ he agrees. ] I've certainly felt my age since arriving here. The populace is on average quite a bit younger than myself, which can make it... difficult to relate.

[ As for a special interest, hm. He supposes the easy answer is: ] Political Sciences. I'm the leader the people's of Ishgard chose to lead them so I'm inclined to believe I'm doing something correctly. As for other academics, I'd say... Philosophy was likely my forte. I'm not familiar with earth philosophers; however, I'd be happy to learn.

[Amanda nods]

I...sort of had both the same and opposite one at the same time? A lot of people I went to school with were older than me, since I skipped a few grades. But when I actually started working, I was often one of teh youngest in my program, or at the very least the only woman. It's not the only reason I'm socially awkward, but it's definitely a huge part of it.

[Amanda shakes her head at his focus, though] I'd be completely useless in helping you there, I'm afraid. If you wanted to understand the nature of a black hole, or faster than light travel, sure. But if you want to talk about why we're here, or what we should be doing with ourselves, I'd fall asleep. I think it's important that we do care about those things though. I think...they're the sorts of people who have stopped a lot of the potential mutinies on my friends' ship, among other things.

I see trouble on the way.

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