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

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!]

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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.

It would definitely make a funny addition to Nell's outfit, though probably coming down over her hips. Still, she'd think it was funny. Plus it would carry his warmth and his scent. Always a plus.

"Everything is so fancy - and elegant. And everyone..." looked like they belonged there. She felt more like she should be bustling around serving people. Except even the servants were fancier than her.

Oh well, Gladio was happy with her, and Liliana wanted her here, and she was happy just being her ownself, so everyone else could just go on being all fancy.

And here Gladio was rocking completely unfancy blue jeans and was feeling incredibly comfortable and unworried about it.

"Everyone around here," he said, "definitely loves a chance to dress up and go out. Tonight's obviously no exception."

He grinned down at Nell, giving her a little nudge with his elbow.

"Just remember to stick you pinkie up nice and high when you drink your tea, and you'll be fine."

Nell laughed and nudged him back. "Be careful or I'll just make you carry me on your shoulders and I'll pretend your my horse." Not that he wouldn't love that!

"It's all righy, though, and Liliana says she put lights out in the garden so I can slip out if I need some space." Or, take Gladio with her if she wanted a little less space from him.

[The writer decided against "or I'll just ride you like a horse' for ... reasons.]

"I do make a pretty good horse," Gladio assured Nell, with a little bit of a wink in there, because, come on, how could he not? "But lights out in the garden sounds pretty nice even if you don't need some space. A little fresh air, a few moments to ourselves, maybe..."

[The writer was probably....wise in that editorial choice, although this writer cannot guarantee the effect was still successfully avoided entirely].

"I was thinking that myself," Nell said with a grin. "A beautiful night, music drifting out from the ballroom, tucked away in a cozy garden alcove..."

She sighed happily. "Maybe we should go out now."

"Well," said Gladio, his grin gaining a good deal of softness at that sigh coming out of Nell just then, "we do have all night ahead of us, but I gotta admit, I'm with you on that sounding like a pretty good idea."

Which meant he was now holding out his arm for her to take. "Shall we?"

"I think we shall," she said cheerfully as she took his arm. "We can walk in the garden, steal a kiss or two, and decide the best place to rest when our feet get too tired from dancing."

The garden was indeed beautiful, a bit overgrown, but wild and lovely and Nell couldn't help but catch her breath. "Oh Gladio, this is wonderful!"

Leave it to Nell to be more impressed by a wildly overgrown garden than a beautiful ballroom.

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

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