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

[mordacita]

[ Rafa shifts, standing a little straighter and looking at Alec. That's not the answer he was expecting. He knows there are difficulties between their races at home. It's not surprising given the nature of Alec's work, or the fact that there's prejudice between them.

Still. He hadn't realised any of that had come to a head. It's disappointing that it had. ]

That makes sense, and is a wise choice, I think. That alliance matters for more than just the two of you. It must be prioritised.

[ But that's Rafa the King and politician talking, and not Rafa, friend of Alec Lightwood. He reaches out now, hand covering Alec's. He knows what shuffling and fidgeting means. ]

What happened at home, Alec? You and Magnus, are you…?

[helical]

( alec expected rafa would understand. he's a leader too, someone with people to look after as both alec and magnus do. focusing on that is better for the greater good, and once they'll have taken a few steps, maybe some of those reasons keeping children a difficult matter might start to disappear, one by one. )

I want to do everything I can for that alliance. ( he trails off, because it ties into rafa's question. he didn't particularly want to talk about this today. it's a party, so he put it all out of mind so he could celebrate with his friends. and he chose to focus on the choices he'd made with magnus since their return, how they'd talked about how to move forward from all of it.

but it's rafa. it's almost harder not to tell him. )

Honestly, it was... bad. ( he looks down at his drink. ) A lot of things went wrong. Someone was hiding among us right beneath our noses. I nearly lost my little brother. Magnus — has been through a lot and I made it worse. I did something I thought was the right call, but it was the wrong one for Magnus.

( that much he can say without too much emotion overwhelming him, but it's clear this is stuff he's been thinking about. he lets out a slow sigh, looking up from his drink to his friend again. what he'd said a moment ago will become even more understandable. )

What I was saying, about our people finding reason to undermine us by way of any potential kids — The Seelie Queen did it already. She used our relationship against Magnus. ( he doesn't want to say magnus left him, because not only does it hurt, not only does he have better context for it now that he knows about the queen, not only did he lie and therefore believe he'd brought it on himself for a while — it's in the past, and they talked about it, and alec is doing a good job at shoving all that back and focusing on the now. ) We're okay. But it's been hard. It's better now, but still... you know. It'll take time.

[mordacita]

[ And of course, the problem was a faerie queen. Rafa's eyes all but roll out of his head. ]

Ah yes, of course the source of your woes would be a faerie. Why am I not surprised? They are all too good at what they do.

[ He knows. He might be at peace with the faeries of his own world now, but he's never going to mistake a lack of violence for trust. Neither is it a surprise to him that the queen used their emotions to attack them. The faeries of Alec's world don't seem that different to the ones of Rafa's. ]

I am glad you have come through it, and her manipulations did not stick. I am sorry about your brother, as well. And for the choices you have had to make. You must always make the right one for your people, I know this, but…you know how highly I value love. You must find the balance. Perhaps, if your people were more united, there would be no choice at all.

[ So if Alec's alliance is successful, maybe he'll have less to worry about with his relationship, too. ]

[helical]

I'm meant to be diplomatic with them in order to improve those alliances, but after that... ( he trails off. he's angry about it. beyond words. he's sickened to think someone would use their relationships against them, and he's annoyed at himself for being so stunned by hearing of it. as if he didn't already know he wasn't assigned as head of the institute because he's with magnus. as if he didn't already know he owes his position to jace's heritage. as if he hadn't heard the inquisitor herself talk about downworlders like valentine did.

alec is not one to let his emotions jeopardize a mission with a greater goal. what the queen did is unforgivable to him, especially after she colluded with their enemy,
but he has a lot of work to do. ) I'll just be wary. That's all I can afford. ( for now. he has to prove himself and the shadowhunters of new york worthy of their trust. )

That's what I — ( he stops, correcting himself. magnus agrees they can hope for that in the future, and that until then they'll work together side by side, but it doesn't erase what happened from alec's heart. ) What we hope. That'll take time, too, but eventually... it might not be an issue at all.

( and he agrees with rafa. love has become important in a way he never allowed it to be before. )

I don't think you need to sacrifice love for duty. Not anymore.