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]

Listen, some people made hovering look good, okay?

"If you've come looking for the dainty necks of virgins, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place," Liliana said, standing in the doorway. "Is that why you're lurking in my gardens instead of coming inside?"

An invitation? Magic vampires were just built different.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"I need to be verbally invited inside," Eric said. "Old rules, I'm afraid."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana blinked in surprise. "Fascinating," she murmured. She almost seemed inclined to ask more questions, but then remembered she was a hostess more than a necromancer right now and stepped aside. "Please do come in, Eric," she said, gesturing inside. "The party wouldn't be the same without you."

She paused. "Hmm. I procured some refreshments for you, but now I have to wonder if there are other ways you differ from the vampires I know best."

Blast. Was she going to have to offer him a bartender to sip on for a bit?

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"What sort of refreshments?" Eric asked. "I can drink synthetic blood."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Synthetic blood?" Liliana asked, blinking. "Is that truly a thing?"

Now she was tempted to bring some to Olivia, see what she thought.

"No, I have some blood mixed with a good wine and, if you can't drink that, a nice blend of several farmhands. I'm assured it's very robust and both were bottled this morning."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

Eric nodded. "It's the reason we came out of hiding. The humans weren't so terrified when they weren't all just walking snack cakes to us."

Though Eric still mostly viewed them that way. Sorry not sorry.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana gave him a skeptical glance. "Ah, yes, several thousand year old entities, so well-known for changing their views about people they consider cattle."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"Well, humans are fairly stupid," Eric said, "and fascinated by getting to come close in what they think to be safety."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Oh, like you don't go out of your way to cultivate an attractive image though," Liliana said with a laugh. "Though any human who hasn't learned that bright colors and pretty scales are often a sign of danger needs to pay closer attention to nature, it's true."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

Eric smiled sharply. "I'm always happy to provide that lesson."

He was a giver like that.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Of that I have little doubt," Liliana said with a laugh. "But truly, darling, can I get you a glass, either pure or diluted with wine? And will room temperature be fine or should it be warmed slightly for you?"

Liliana would never be such a bad hostess as to not have some refreshment on hand for him.

"Or do you subsist wholly on the synthetic variety now?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

Eric made a face. "I prefer the real thing," he admitted easily. "Warmed, undiluted. Please."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Of course darling, just a moment."

Not that she went, perish the thought. Liliana didn't fetch. Instead, she gestured to one of the bartenders who brought her over a flute of champagne. And while she was there, Liliana murmured some instructions and sent her off.

"There," she said. "Any time you'd like a refill, simply let that one know and she'll make sure to fetch you another glass." Raising a playful eyebrow, she added, "Do refrain from nibbling the help, won't you, darling?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"Just for you," Eric said, smiling. "I used to have a parade of DJs through the club until Lucifer arrived and declared that déclassé." Eric rolled his eyes. "He didn't need to eat them."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Thank you, darling. What you do with your humans is on you, but these are mine, at least for the night," Liliana said. "Also, I've been to enough vampire parties to be able to continue on a conversation while getting arterial blood on me because someone couldn't wait until the next round was brought out and attacked a thrall, but I highly doubt most of the people here can say the same. Not that you'd be that--" obvious "--gauche, I'm sure."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"Certainly not," Eric sniffed. "Baby vamps have no manners sometimes."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Not just the fledglings is the problem," Liliana said, wrinkling her nose. "Also, the older, entitled vampires close enough to their progenitor that they think manners just don't apply to them."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"Then they never learned manners," Eric said. "My sire would have never allowed for such a thing."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"They really never did," Liliana sighed. "It's why I never wear my best gowns when going to vampire parties. Which is a shame, because otherwise Olivia throws the best ones. But there's always someone who decides to be a messy eater and someone else who thinks that just because I'm a human means I'm prey."

A beat, as she finished her wine, before she admitted, "Granted, depending on my mood, the latter can be fun, but still hard on my gown."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"And I'm sure they never covered dry cleaning," Eric said sympathetically.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"...Dry cleaning?" Liliana asked, brows drawing together.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[texted3times]

"An invention in this time good at getting stains out of clothing," Eric said.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Ah," Liliana said vaguely, since she wasn't the one worrying about actually doing the cleaning. "Either way, you're correct, they don't pay for the laundering."

See? No manners!