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

[deathsmajesty]

"So help me, if the words 'rustic' or 'quaint' fall out of your mouth this evening, except in the negative, I will toss you out on your ear," Liliana declared, coming over to greet Tony and Steve with a genuine smile of pleasure. "Welcome, darling. A knight errant?"

Finally! A costume she maybe recognized! Though Steve-the-dragon helped.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"We'll also skip 'drafty,'" Steve said helpfully, grinning back. "You really pulled out the stops tonight. It looks fantastic."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Much appreciated," Liliana said to Steve with a smile. "You can currently stay, even if you're on thin ice with your whole 'morning' outlook." She winked at him. "And thank you, darling. I will admit, my pride was on the line, so I had reason to go all out."

That reason being 'Liliana was an extra bitch.'

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Well, Steve was married to Tony "Let's Build a High Rise on Teeny Island" Stark, so he more than appreciated people who were...he'd say "exuberant."

"Mornings are the best part of the day," he said with another grin. "You're missing out. Sunrises, not a huge line at the coffee place yet--"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh no, darling, are you having a stroke?" she asked, all false concern. "You're babbling nonsense. Should I sit you down and bring you over a refreshment?"

Who needed sunrise? Sunsets were the same thing but in reverse. And waiting in lines sounded like something other people did. People who didn't have staff.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve laughed. "I'm not sure the dragon tail is made for sitting, but I would love a drink and a chance to reflect on my advanced age."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh?" Liliana asked, curious. "Are you so very ancient then?"

She eyed the tail. "Hmm, might a stool work?" she suggested. "Under you, and let the tail fall over."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"Well, not ancient, but I have a few more years on me than it looks," Steve said.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana winked at him. "I'm two hundred going on thirty myself," she said.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"You don't look a day over 25," Steve said, smiling.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Oooh, I like you, you can stay," Liliana said with a delighted laugh. "I'm almost willing to forgive your terrible taste in times of day."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"That's incredibly generous of you," Steve teased.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I do what I can to be an inspiration for the betterment of all," Liliana said.

You know. Modestly.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"What can I say? I was always a fan of the knight in shining armor."

Which should shock absolutely no one with the whole Iron Man thing.

"The place looks lovely."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Thank you," Liliana preened. "I am pleased with how it turned out. And keeping you all guessing whether I've decorated it for the holiday or if this is my natural aesthetic."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

Tony hummed and he looked around. "Why not the both at the same time?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I don't know if I've heard anyone saying both yet," Liliana said thoughtfully. "Though I'll admit, my taste runs a little less macabre than this."

Not much, but a little.

"I don't tend to decorate like my house is an ossuary. I prefer more of the creature comforts."

She was firmly in the Victorian goth camp.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"Creature comforts?" Tony repeated with a grin. "Luckily I have Steve around to make sure we have some comfortable furniture and not just whatever catches my fancy."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

She winked at him.

"And important function," she agreed. "Do your tastes run towards the weird looking furniture that looks like someone dipped torture implements in shiny paint and called it good?"

Look, that's just how futuristic furniture looked to her, okay?

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"Well, that's one way of putting it," Tony replied, laughing. "I grew up in a home full of old, expensive things that I was not allowed to touch. So maybe I've swung far in the other direction."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Ahh," Liliana said with a nod, though her understanding was clearly theoretical and not personal in that. "Now it's all futuristic that no one wants to touch," she teased.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"Excuse you, everyone wants to touch my stuff," he replied with a wink. Because married, he may be. But Tony Stark was an irredeemable flirt.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

And everyone appreciated it.

She glanced back at Steve and then grinned. "But when it comes to stuff you like to touch, you did go for the antiques after all, didn't you?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[imafuturist]

"Antiques?" Tony said, following her gaze and expression softening as he looked at Steve. "A classic, we'll say."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Handsome and terribly charming," she said. "Almost enough to make you forget he things that dawn is an acceptable time to go for a run."