Halloween Party, Creepy But Nowhere Near Abandoned Mansion, Tuesday Night

[deathsmajesty]

After basically being dared to do it by Tony Stark (and putting in six weeks of renovations, bless Hannibal for the contractor), Liliana, dressed as an empress, hair pulled back in a profusion of curls by her angelic headpiece, was ready to throw her first Fandom party. Sure, it was for a holiday she didn't really understand, but she'd heard enough about it to make due: there was supposed to be candy and people were supposed to be in costume. Done. Everything else was just the same as a regular party, right?

Granted, the last party she'd hosted had actually been for a bunch of vampires and that had been seventy years ago on a completely different plane, but bah, details. You had food to eat, music to dance to, dark corners to sneak off to, and either enough witty people or enough alcohol to keep the conversation flowing. Liliana was hoping that there would be plenty of the former showing up, but just in case, she'd made sure to stock plenty of the latter.

Though her newly refurbished ballroom was actually very light and airy, she had done her best to recreate some of the spookiest elements she'd seen in her travels. The dancefloor was covered in about a foot of heavy fog that swirled and eddied with every movement. While most of the chandeliers were shrouded in fabric and false webbing, she personally found the main chandelier was decorated in something she much more unnerving. Black and red candles flickered about the room held by ghostly hands, dripping skulls, and the occasional elegant standing candelabra. One of the few concessions to magic she'd used tonight was to have the candles lit with tongues of false fire, which provided light but no heat. And they glowed blues and greens and purples, which was a nice effect. Red roses were placed upside down in vases, while more questionable arrangements sat in decorative vases. Out of deference to her guests' squeamishness sensibilities, all creepy critters, skeletons, and dead bodies were all cunningly crafted fakes, not a single real bone or drop of blood in the place.

Other than, of course, what her guests brought in with them. And should they leave with fewer of either than they'd come in with, well, that was hardly her fault. Probably.

Arrive and Mingle / Photos / Dark Corners [NFB] / Refreshments / Dance / Gardens / OOC

[Please hold for OCD up! Do the thing!]

Comments

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell laughed softly. "I think yours might've been a little fancier than mine," she said softly, still feeling like she needed to whisper amid such elegance. "You look very beautiful tonight."

Not a dress Nell would ever dream of trying to wear, but she could appreciate its beauty.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"You don't think it's too much?" Irene asked playfully, winking at Nell as she cocked a hip in a way that was definitely too much. "How've you been, dear? Survive last week okay?"

Obviously, but she could only imagine what sort of...Home Depot Garden Center Nell's shop might have become. Or maybe a doTERRA pop-up!

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

Eric was there as the world's laziest vampire. (Because he was already a vampire, you see. He thought this was hilarious and had thought so for the last few hundred years.)

He had his fangs out, of course, and his hair done, and had even put on one of those ridiculously generic capes to go with his all-black shirt and leather pants attire.

And now he hovered (not literally, that would be weird) by the door and waited to be invited in. Because there were rules to be followed, especially on Halloween.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

Never let it be said that Tony didn't know how to dress to impress. And he might have needed to work a little overtime on his and Steve's costumes, but he managed with all that extra coffee that'd been on island before.

Tony was a knight in his traditional colors, mask, red suit, with a very stylized take on the armor covering one arm and shoulder. Which went along with Steve's outfit...

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell waved at him. If not for the cowboy hat she'd look just like her usual self. "Hello, Steven."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"It would definitely be too much for me," Nell said honestly, "But you manage it very beautifully."

She smiled at Irene. "I was lucky. My plant shop was protected, so it managed to stay itself, if hard to find amid the coffeeshops and TV head people."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"Oh, I think you could pull it off. Bet you'd glam right up," Irene assured her, and she did -- but she left it at the compliment, lest she make Nell uncomfortable or feel self-conscious.

"Coffeeshops everywhere, and not a suitable cup of tea to be found amongst any of them," she continued, grousing good-naturedly (though, admittedly, she also had not tried very hard; perhaps Peet's would have delivered.) "My shop became a much...seedier establishment than it normally is. Not my favorite."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[sword_chocobro]

Well, the vest did sort of spoil it a little, and forget about how it ruined the possibility of showcasing his fantastic back, as well.

Maybe that just meant he'd have to ditch it at some point. It was probably small enough to wind up another enhancement to Nell's 'costume' like the hat maybe.

He gave a small huff of agreement, although he maybe looked a little less impressed as he glanced around again and tried to appreciate it a little more through Nell's eyes, and not through the admitted nostalgia it was digging up from his times at the Citadel and the Amicitia estate.

"It's definitely exactly what I'd expect from Liliana," he offered. "It's nice. Definitely went all out while still keeping it classy."

And he was begrudgingly coming to terms with the fact that Igs would probably love all of it, too.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

A sparkly blue dragon, complete with mask and hand-made chain mail (with the arms left unclothed because Tony prepared for invasions even at Halloween), scaly irridescent wings, and a tail that swooped to the ground from the wide metal belt over Steve's navy leather pants.

Steve would eventually remember he had a swoopy tail, too!

"That was a walk," Steve said with a grin. "Very invigorating."

And long. So long.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"At least it's decent weather for it," Tony remarked. And not, you know, snowing.

Re: Food and Drink

[stykera]

Stark did enjoy party snacks, and drinks. At some point he had to make his way over, especially once he saw there were cupcakes.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[meepmeepmeep]

There had been a Spirit Halloween right there, guys, so of course Beaker had gotten his Frankenstein costume there! Did it fit him? Not at all! Could he see out the eye holes? Kinda!

Would this be a problem around open flames? Maaaaaaaybe.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[pocketpretzels]

To be honest, Watts wasn’t certain a party whose central theme involved dressing up as something you were not was the best idea, all things considered.

“And the food,” Watts noticed, his gaze naturally drawn that way.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

What kind of insanely cold places have snow at Halloween?!

"Especially since you didn't give me sleeves," Steve agreed with a grin.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

What are you talking about, Ignis? They weren't couple-y at all. That was all Gladio propaganda.

There was another slight pause on Liliana's behalf as she registered the tension, though she remained ignorant of what caused it. There was also the subconscious expectation that he would reach for her and the way he didn't do that left things feeling subtly off in a way she couldn't put her finger on. At least, not yet.

"I surprised I made it," she said. "Between the ungodly hours of construction and the cruel demands that I travel for my breakfast, I am nearly worn to a shadow of myself." She smiled at him, before reaching out to lace their fingers together. "Thank you," she murmured, soft but sincere.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"It's a look!" Tony insisted.

Re: Food and Drink

[meepmeepmeep]

Yay, food! Could Beaker reach most of it? Eh. He'd improvise. There had to a chair around here somewhere, right?

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[pocketpretzels]

Watts had arrived with Steven, and was not spending too much time outside his beau’s reach, but there were moments here and there where you might catch this ‘party animal’ on his own (though shockingly, with Steven still in line of sight).

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"It is," Steve said with a fond smile. "Thank you for all of the time you put into it."

And not just because Steve very much enjoyed watching Tony hammering things.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[special_rabbit]

And Amaya, for her part, didn't recognize Irene really until she spoke, which, really, didn't that sort of mean they were winning at this whole Halloween thing? Her dress, however (and the whole look overall, really), seemed incredibly familiar to her for some reason she couldn't quite put her bony metal finger on, and she was squinting at it trying to figure it out when Irene approached.

"And aren't you not," she noted, blinking a moment to consider the costume now with newly appreciative eyes.

"Looks nice, though," she added, with a little red seeming to glow a bit under her mask.

Still couldn't shake that odd feeling like she'd seen this dress before.

Or at least she thought she had.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I have absolutely no idea what you're supposed to be," Liliana said with a merry, since there hadn't been a Wild West block yet. Thank god.

"Thank you for for coming, Gladio. Recovered from your multiple dunkings?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Summer," Liliana said, a trace of surprise quickly hidden under warmth. "Lovely to see you, I'm glad you made it."

She gave the costume an approving once over. "You look fantastic, darling."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Blind Eternities, I love your costume," Liliana breathed. Introductions could come in a moment, first things were very first. "Who--? Where--?" Liliana prowled around Amaya, taking in every aspect of the costume. "Exquisite craftsmanship!"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Another face Liliana vaguely recognized, but couldn't place the name. "Welcome," she said with a smile. "An excellent color on you."

Did she know the costume? Nope! Did it matter? Also nope!

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

Probably just in Irene's closet! Where else would she have seen it? On her own person, as part of a venom-induced hallucination? Crazy talk.

"Thanks," Irene replied with a wide smile, because she knew she looked great (but also ridiculous.) "It's making me consider whether red might not be a nice change for summer, next year."

This was delivered with a little pat to her wig, so it was clear she meant her hair and not the dress, but her hand also went quickly enough from that wig to the metallic structure covering Amaya's back. Irene did so love an excuse to touch in public, and she figured that running a curious, gloved finger along that metallic frame provided enough plausible deniability, right?

"And you've outdone yourself." Because really, she should have expected something cool from Amaya, and that's what this was: it wasn't intentionally sexy, or campy, or even all that scary -- it was fucking cool.