The Creepy And Now Holiday-Appropriate Mansion, Thursday Evening

[deathsmajesty]

Once again, the gate that blocked off the bottom end of Phoenix Way was opened, inviting everyone to the creepy (though much less abandoned) mansion. This time, however, instead of being guided around to the gardens, the lit path led them to the front door, where the a tall figure in a tattered robe and deep cowl gestured for them to step inside the door and get onto a...boat? Once people had climbed in settled themselves, the ferryman began to guide the ship down the River Styx. Or, okay, their long entrance hallway, with blue lights to either side of their boat to mimic water and bathing everyone in an eerie blue glow. (Yes, okay, the boat perhaps wheeled down the hallway rather than floated, but they had not refinished this house just to flood the hallway for verisimilitude. Even if Liliana had considered it for a few minutes.)

The double doors leading to the ballroom were opened, with thick fog rolling out of the doorway. And through that doorway, people could descend the stairs into the Underworld proper. Black and gold were the prevailing color, with deep red nods to a pomegranate motif. Gold coins and loose gemstones added to the decor, a nod to Hades' wealth - but even amidst all the dark opulence, touches of other colors could be seen: tucked away in various corners and small niches were flowering plants, a surprise kiss of springtime to be found in the least likely places. Rather than one large chandelier, they had several, creating areas of both light and shadow around the ballroom.

Welcome to the Underworld, dear friends.

Comments

Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Making their way about the ballroom, welcoming their guests was the forbidding Hades, King of the Underword, and god of Death and Wealth, and his Queen, dread Persephone, once more returned once to his side with the changing of the seasons.

(Had she debated going with Kore, the goddess of spring? Yes. But then there had been pastels.)

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[joan_of_bark]

Pamela didn't own a Halloween costume - it hadn't been a priority when she'd first arrived here, and it certainly wasn't one now. Halloween, like so many American holidays, was mostly a show of consumerism. She wasn't interested.

But she did own at least one piece of clothing that would fit a party. And she was interested in the rest of the island, the people she didn't speak to on a regular basis-- would they be as strange as the ones she'd met? Or would they be more ordinary?

Whatever the case, she showed up to the party wearing her one appropriate jumpsuit, her hands in her pockets, her expression unreadable as she took in the opulence of the mansion.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[my_own_advocate]

"Well," said Lucifer, as he entered wearing a simple black-on-black-on-black three piece with a purple pocket square, "The theme feels unnecessarily personal."

Hmph.

He wondered vaguely if it was possible to put a DMCA claim on a party. In fact, the only thing stopping him from making a point of it was the good mood left over from getting to dress up Octavia for the occasion.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[slothbabyproductions]

Okay, Kamala arrived in her Captain Marvel cosplay for the party and somehow felt overdressed and underdressed at same time.

At previous adult parties she had gotten by with working at it so that might be fueling some of her anxieties as well but in the end she decided to stick it out and try to be as inconspicuous as possible as one can be in a red, blue and gold costume with a mask that had an orange Mohawk.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[sword_chocobro]

Who'd've thought the day would come where Ignis was the one actually showing more chest than Gladio? And while there had been a costume he'd considered that would have left all his muscles on display in their usual glory, he was pretty sure that costume would have led to an instant ban from ever stepping foot in this house ever again.

So he just stuck with something thematic that was still probably way more revealing than it should have been. He'd considered leaning a little more into it by going full Ares or something, but at some point, it just felt like too much effort.

But speaking of effort....he was just going to be looking around a little and shaking his head, not surprised, of course, but....well....you know.

But hey! There was food on sticks, too!

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden had ordered some clothes from Boc for her trip to Daventry and he'd gotten so into it that he'd made her more than she'd needed, so...time to wear some for other reasons! She'd decided that this outfit had kind of a martial look to it, so with a couple of plastic swords she'd snagged from the Spirit Halloween, she was dressed up as some kind of...cool desert warrior.

Or something.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[the_best_sister]

Yelena had gone back and forth on costume ideas for the party. She had initially thought going silly but after having met Liliana last week she decided instead to go for a more elegant costume with all the appropriate accessories.

Arriving here, she was glad she went with the dress instead of the weird mad hatter costume she had been considering.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[what_big_teeth]

Halloween wasn't really something Eleanor had grown up in; she'd already been born to the sort of family where 'Halloween was every day' could apply, and then she'd been shipped off to a Catholic boarding school that would, at most, allow for some candy exchanges, as long as they came with lectures. So she felt a little out of her element and a little uncertain about her costume, but it didn't take a big leap of faith to know that at least one person in the room might appreciate her attempts to cobble together something superhero-y.

And she sort of had to admit, she thought she looked pretty good? But it felt like a bold move with so many actual superheroes around. Guess she'd see how it would play out!

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had found a costume. Unfortunately for her, she didn't look at the bag she brought home from Spirit Halloween until about an hour ago, when she discovered there had been a terrible mistake.

And when she saw all that went into getting to the party she seriously considered turning back and going home. Because it meant now she was here as sexy popcorn. Looking a little out of place.

No one could get on her case for the longest time after this! She was still here!

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[single_man_tear]

Look, Dean had promised Summer that his costume would be extremely low effort and it truly was. He had pulled it out of the corner of the trunk of the car where it had sat for years unused after going undercover at a high school as a gym teacher.

He did at least have the decency of washing it first before showing up at the party. He did make at least one extra level of effort by purchasing a red ball at T&C. Just for authenticity.

"Dodgeball anyone?"

He's looking at you Lurch.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[somethingwithturquoise]

The hints that Summer had dropped about her costume was that it had fishnets, a tail, and that she'd look cute as fuck in it, and so she, in her pink bunny outfit was here to absolutely deliver.

And wonder where the hell Ignis had been hiding that torso this whole time.

What? It was a valid question!

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[hashtag_chocobro]

Prompto was, admittedly, a little worried about the Underworld theme being a little to scary for Noctra (definitely Noctra, that's who he was worried about!), but Ignis assured him it would be okay, and the fact that she'd met the boat thing with fascination more than anything was a bit of a relief. They definitely weren't going to stay for long, just enough to say hello and let Noctra sort of ogle all the pretty costumes and be excited about a party, and then back home hopefully for bed nice and early. But he would have felt bad missing it entirely, especially since Noctra did seem to really love Halloween and was having a lot of fun with it.

They even let her pick her costume! Sort of! They decided that she could pick whatever story she wanted and they'd all use that to dress up as, and she'd gone with Little Red Riding Hood. And so there they were, Prompto as the wolf, Liz as Little Red, and, of course, Noctra knocking it out of the park as the grandmother.

Because admit it. Babies dressed up as old people was the epitome of comedy.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was here in a lovely Empress Costume with a beautiful Tree of Life cloak to cover up any time she felt the urge.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had been queen of a figurative Hell in a literal underworld, once. Between that and being partners with a certain Lucifer Morningstar for years, her take on the theme was always going to be skewing a specific way.

(Besides, the myth of Persephone was a familiar one, and she wasn't the Persephone in that scenario.)

She arrived in a sharp black (let's pretend this picture is of a) three-piece suit which fit her like a glove because Lucifer had thrown a lot of money at someone to make sure that was the case, and on a very tight schedule as well. And on a similar theme of Lucifer not doing half-measures, on her feet she was wearing a pair of Louboutin loafers, red sole and all. The embossed pattern was apparently meant to represent alligator skin, but... Serpents in a garden, and all that.

She was taking in the opulence of everything around her, and thinking about the Mountain Men.

(There were just a lot of things from the Ground on her mind lately.)

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[beautiful_boc]

When he's spoken to Liliana about her party this evening, she'd mentioned being something else, blending in, and Boc took that to heart. He knew there was no way he could convincingly blend in with humans. Such an attempt would be laughable and potentially shameful. But he could blend in in a different way, especially considering the overall aesthetics of the mansion.

Because if he tucked himself away quietly and didn't move too much, one might almost think that stone imp was entirely just supposed to be there as part of the decor.

Of course, closer inspection would reveal that this particular gargoyle was breathing, and cloaked in fabric that merely resembled stone at a passing glance, and that, occasionally, a furry clawed hand reaching up to snag some food from the table he'd settled down near.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

Had Irene and Amaya been somehow tipped off, all the way in far-off Daventry, about the theme this evening? Or had Irene simply been waiting for the right opportunity for this particular playful couples costume, and this felt right?

One could totally just have a couples costume with the woman one lived with in a far-off kingdom, you know. It didn't have, like, to mean anything unless you wanted it to.

But, of course, it was also possible Irene simply didn't have enough opportunities to wear Tom Ford in far-off Daventry.

Clad in a gathered pale lilac gown, with a simple hairpiece and a necklace just to add a touch more to the effect -- no points for guessing who made either of those, by the way -- Aphrodite made her entrance. And as was tradition by now, the first thing that caught her eye was those chandeliers.

"Bloody hell, they're multiplying," she noted admiringly.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[special_rabbit]

Yeah, if the combination of Liliana and Ignis' Halloween bash and the homecoming weekend weren't good reasons to take a little venture back Fandom way for a long weekend, then Amaya didn't know what would have been! And, well, with the theme, the costumes basically took care of themselves, because, naturally, wouldn't an Aphrodite also need a Hephaestus?

(Pretty convenient of you there, Greek mythology, when you got right down to it).

So Amaya's costume (*but like nicer, shush) was a costume in that she was a bit more of an extravagant and burlier stereotype of a blacksmith than she was on a daily basis, with a nice new leather apron and all those little metal armored details that she'd whipped up these last few weeks, but the hammer? Well of course the hammer was authentically hers!

And, if anyone asked, the smudges on her face were definitely done for aesthetic effect and not that she hadn't realized they were there, really!

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[stykera]

Stark could have leaned into the Other Side of it all for this party.

Matching Summer was more fun and his stylist had picked out something he was pleased with and even with the totally pink not red cape the magician outfit wasn't too similar to the creepy opera singer of Halloweens past.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[pun_king]

The worst thing about Halloween was trying to figure out what to be, especially when there were so many great costumes to choose from. But Graham decided that, ultimately, he had but one true path, and that was the path of true punnery.

Because, you see, he had found this great tunic, and, with the right cloak and boots and leggings, what else could he be than.....a Graham cracker??

Triumph, meanwhile, decided he wanted to be a pirate.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Thanks to a certain popular movie, Steve was dressed as a flourescent version of Plastic Blond Himbo. Tony was around here somewhere in the version that wore an amazing coat.

Still riding the high of the Dodgers' win last night, Steve was even more inclined than normal to love everything he saw tonight. "This looks incredible."

He was going to have to make sure Tony didn't make it snow for the Yule party now, wasn't he.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[x_wondrous_x]

Every day was Halloween for Stewart, but, since he was rather afflicted with this annoying thing called trying to impress certain people, it being actually Halloween and there being a party for it meant putting on something a bit nicer than his usual coveralls and taking it as a good excuse to show off his make-up skills, with his moves taking on a particular sort of skeletal jerkiness in between the usual slides and spins that seemed to motivate most of his seeming inability to go anywhere without making it some sort of dance.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

Eric had gone to every Halloween party for years dressed as a vampire: his normal outfit with his fangs out. And while classic, he felt like maybe he should expand on the theme a bit this year. And Tiny had already dressed up as him and he was not going to let Tiny win on costumes.

So tonight he was one of those terribly glitter-infested fake vampires, but with a great ass and his own really shiny and pointy teeth.

Food and Drink

[deathsmajesty]

This was an Ignis party, so obviously there was a delicious spread of food and drink. Wine there was in abundance, pulling double duty as both refreshment and decor, but one could also go to the discreetly set up bar and order something stronger, or without alcohol at all.

[Please wait for Ignis to ping in with food!]

Re: Food and Drink

[chef_chocobro]

And while Ignis had a firm dedication to style and fashion, it was hardly any surprise that he was more than willing to follow Liliana's lead on decor and theme, but it was when it came to the food that he really shined, and that was clearly evident in the spread provided to fuel their guests' party-going antics and give them a little bit to nibble and nosh on.

Naturally, the pomegranate was heavily featured, with both a braised roast and party-friendly chicken wings, as well as vegan-friendly kebabs.

Tarts were, of course, a a must, but cake leaned heavily into a different aspect of the theme.

The other influences went heavily Mediterranean, as well, from the several charcuterie boards, to the bite sized falafel and lamb sliders. Even something for those who just preferred snacking on things crispy and salty.

And, of course, the drinks were almost endlessly moddable within respectability to its quality, and it would all be wonderfully finished with a touch of pomegranate sorbet.

Dance

[deathsmajesty]

It was a ballroom, after all. Enjoy a Halloween playlist and dance the night away!

...Not in a Sanderson Sister kind of way. Your hosts actually did want you to leave eventually.

Re: Dance

[chef_chocobro]

The problem, of course, with being such gracious hosts, was that there was barely any time for the King and Queen of this particular Underworld to spare for each other. But Ignis, at least, and he rather suspected that Liliana was of the same mind on the matter, intended to steal as much of that time for themselves out on the dance floor. And with what would surely be the first of many, many more invitations out onto the dancefloor with him, he slipped so easily and so naturally into position and into step with her.

"The night," he declared, "is still quite early, but I daresay we've gone and done an excellent job with this one, my love."

OOC

[deathsmajesty]

Man, finding Hades costumes that aren't AI, bland af, or based off of the Disney character is BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.