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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From:

hasaknightjob

Amazingly that got a chuckle out of Steven. He looked at Llewellyn with great fondness. "Have I mentioned how wonderful you are, Llew?"

From:

pocketpretzels

"A few times," Watts said, blushing furiously even as he said it. Not that the blush was all that visible beneath the mask. "I'm glad you think so."

From:

hasaknightjob

"I know so," Steven said. "Only you could find a way to make me laugh in spite of everything. Good in spite this time."

From:

pocketpretzels

"Oh, well," that blush wasn't going away any time soon. "I'm glad, too, that I am able to do that for you."

From:

hasaknightjob

"You make me laugh and smile and feel safe," Steven said. He reached to take Llewellyn's hand, if Llewellyn would let him. "Present. Not lost."

From:

pocketpretzels

Watts did indeed let him, threading their fingers together and giving Steven's hand a squeeze. "Your anchor," Watts reminded him. "Always."

From:

hasaknightjob

"Real," Steven agreed, giving Llewellyn's hand a squeeze in return.

He looked around them. "Though I suppose it'd be hard to mix the date up while we're here. Pretty clearly Halloween."

And thus perhaps a good thing the party hadn't been on Saturday as it had totally never been originally planned, nobody saw anything we swear.

From:

pocketpretzels

“The costumes aren’t a bother?” Watts asked, concern etched on his face.

From:

hasaknightjob

"I wouldn't mind being a little more certain of who some people are," Steven admitted. "In hindsight maybe going out for a coffee yesterday or today would've been a better first step."

From:

pocketpretzels

Watts nodded. “It’s quite the leap, going from the safety of our home to a large room full of people.” Many of whom were wearing masks or otherwise not dressed as they typically would be. “But I’m here, and the furthest I shall go without you is to the snack table.” And even then only if Steven were comfortable with that.

From:

hasaknightjob

"Long as I can see you, I'm all right," Steven said. Their outfits hadn't been planned with this in mind, but Steven realized it helped a great deal that Llewellyn was wearing one of his normal suits. "And... maybe heading home a little earlier than we might normally."

From:

pocketpretzels

“That is all right with me,” Watts said. “You need just say the word.”

From:

hasaknightjob

"I will. Not just yet," Steven said. He looked around to see who was there. "I'd like to say hello to our host at least. Oh! And there's Liz. Be nice to say hi to her as well."

From:

pocketpretzels

“Is she taking photographs?” Watts asked, following Steven’s gaze. “It would be nice to get some of both of us, don’t you think?”

From:

hasaknightjob

"Oh I'd like that," Steven said. "And she's very good at it. Pictures."

From:

pocketpretzels

Watts nodded. “I do like selfies- and we ought to take some! But professional-looking portraits are appealing as well.”

From:

hasaknightjob

"Agreed," Steven said. "You know, we could get those done outside of parties as well. I'm sure Liz and Prompto would be happy to set up an appointment, assuming appointments are how that's done."