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

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

Once Thor had ensured things were running smoothly at The Devil's Nest, he had abandoned his post in favor of attending the party.

"The quality of these scrubs is terrible," he could be heard grumbling as he stepped off the boat.

Well, yeah. It's a costume. Don's lack of sympathy had been recorded.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Scrubs?" Liliana asked from his left. "Welcome to the party, Thor darling, but what are we scrubbing, exactly?"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

"I suspect you will be scrubbing nothing, Lady Vess," Thor said dryly. Call it a vibe. "My attire," he explained, gesturing to himself, "is known as 'scrubs.' They are meant to be worn by those who 'scrub in' for surgery as sterile attire, although they are usually...not quite this flimsy."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Your suspicions would be correct," Liliana said with a smile that made no bones about the fact that not only was she spoiled, she was pleased with that. "But I understand. We had smocks for that, they would go right over our normal clothing. Linen in the summers, wool in the winters, for their antimicrobial properties."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

"Properly, these should be cotton," Thor told her, "the better to go through a very hot wash cycle, but alas, they are...some plastic-based material or other."

You could have bought real scrubs, Don pointed out, and Thor ignored him. That would have defeated the point of a costume, he felt.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I have noticed that a number of fabrics on this plane are," she said, nose wrinkling. "Though I suppose they feel if it only has to last the night, why use real...?"

Congratulations, Liliana. You have discovered panned obsolescence.

"Is it rude to bet on how many holes and gashes these end up with by the end of the night?"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

Just. So much trash. It was one of the ills of the era, but alas, it was not for Thor to solve.

He did have thoughts on climate change, though.

"Not at all," he said. "I do not anticipate these garments holding up well, and many costumes are of...similar quality." Everyone say a prayer that Raiden's sexy popcorn costume maintained its structural integrity (Or not. Some people might be praying for not). "The seams are a travesty."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"That is beyond my ken," Liliana laughed. Look, she toiled not and neither did she spin. She was a lily of the field. "I can sew a straight line in fabric since I can in flesh, but that's truly the extent of my abilities."

Why sew? That's what servants were for.

"Ignis does, however. He can tailor, a bit, and I'm certain he would share your despair at the seams. And the texture."

Which, fair.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

"Are you a healer, then?" Thor asked. He had gotten the impression she followed rather a different path. "I know only enough of such arts to tend to my own armor. A warrior who cannot do so is one who can expect his equipment to fail him at the worst possible time."

Re: Arrive and mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I was," Liliana clarified. "As a girl, I was a healing cleric in the Forward Order of Blessed Serra." Her mouth twitched, a sneer or a smile or maybe even both. "I learned both magical and knife and herb healing. Now I am a necromancer, though I still have my knives and herbs if I ever truly need them."

She smiled at his talk about equipment. "And then, if you're lucky enough to survive, be brought back to the healers where we take turns calling you seven times a fool for not doing the basic necessities in wartime until you wish you were dead."

Re: Arrive and mingle

[ifwebeworthy]

Thor had to smile. "That part is the same, although usually the patient is too heavily anesthetized to hear the surgeon's opinion, these days."

Don was not the sort of surgeon who turned into an asshole in the operating theater, but if his patient had done something stupid to get them there or something went sideways in the process most people who knew him would be shocked by the things that could come out of his mouth.

"Nurses, though. One should treat their nurses with respect and fear."