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

[heroic_jawline]

"Twenty-four," Steve repeated, smiling. "And how many times have you turned 24?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Why, this would be my very first time!" Liliana said, wide-eyed and innocent, completely ignoring how she'd already told him she was over two hundred just a moment ago.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"Well, enjoy it," Steve said because he was far too polite to mention that she'd said she was over two hundred. "I was in a war when I was 24, so don't take my example."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana's expression shuttered, ever so slightly. "If only war were so obliging, hmm?" she asked lightly. "To leave out those below a certain age."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"Oh, I wanted to go," Steve said. "My best friend was already there and it seemed important to stand up against what was happening and say that I wasn't okay with it."

He pressed his lips together. "And then I saw actual war."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Ah," Liliana said with a nod. "Yes, the reality is very different than the propaganda." She took a drink of her wine. "War came to my home, instead."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Steve said earnestly. He'd walked through France, Germany, and Belgium. The civilian losses had been hard to take.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

War was brutal. Even having enemies called skin-witches and the like didn't change the tenor much. It was always gruesome.

"It was quite the interesting backdrop to grow up against," Liliana said, her tone sounding like they were discussing the weather or a particularly fine up of tea. "I was never on the lines - far too young and not a warrior besides - but I was a cleric. A healer. So I saw much of the aftermath of battles."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve winced. "I'm sorry you saw that."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I could say the same for you, darling," Liliana said quietly, her eyes a little distant. Not the kind of stare that suggested she was reliving any of her memories, but more the type that she suggested she was almost taking stock of them. "That war was longer for me than yours was for you, I believe."

There had been others, of course. There were always wars.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded. "I was only in it for about a year before I went on a suicide mission."

What a fun party conversation topic you've chosen, Steven!

"I went under the ice, came back out 70 years later."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Under the ice?" Liliana asked, unaware that that was a literal phrasing.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve held his hand like an airplane and swooped it down towards the ground. "I crashed in the North Atlantic Ocean," he explained.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Which is very icy...?" Liliana hazarded. "From whence you were rescued seventy years later?"

Honestly, that made a fair bit of sense when you were coming from Magic: The Gathering lore.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded. "More or less, yes."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Fascinating," Liliana murmured. "I suppose that is one of the best case scenarios you could hope for when undertaking a suicide mission."

Or just...don't do them. Liliana suggests not doing that at all.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded. "It was definitely not what I'd been anticipating."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana went to lay a cool hand on Steve's shoulder, if he'd allow it. "Here's hoping you needn't be in a situation where that knowledge can be used again," she said softly.

Catch Liliana Vess agreeing to a suicide mission. Would never ever ever happen. Surely.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"Well," Steve said with a humorless little huff of laughter, "I wouldn't completely count it out."

His life was insane.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Have you considered just...not doing that, Steve?

Patpat. "Darling, I'm pretty sure you're expected to go on exactly one of those in your life and then the next person in line stands up."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"But what if no one else stands up?" Steve asked. "I can't let that happen."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Why should anyone else stand up if they know you're going to?" Liliana asked, arching an eyebrow. "At the very least, waiting to see if anyone else does seems like a sensible alternative."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

Steve's glance went towards Tony again. "Depends who the someone else is."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Oh noes, there were two of them. She had been assuming that Tony was a right-minded person like herself who had no intention of flinging himself onto any grenade that just happened to roll across their path.

"Perhaps those people would be less inclined to volunteer if they weren't trying to stop you?"

She didn't even know any more. How were you all so eager to leap into danger?

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[heroic_jawline]

"Well, it's kind of our...other job," Steve said. "They call us when the world is in danger. Aliens, world-destroying robots--"