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

[mylandmyrules]

Nell wasn't exactly in a costume, wearing her usual skirts and tunic top, but she was wearing a cowboy hat to go with a certain someone's cowboy outfit. She was a bit overawed by everything Liliana had put together here and found herself whispering every time she spoke.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"Nell, darling, do you know -- I very nearly had the same costume idea," Irene greeted her with a wide smile.

It was true! Irene had toyed with the idea of being a cowgirl, mostly because it would amuse her to play American and tip her hat all night -- but ultimately, Jessica here had won out.

(And it went without saying, of course, that her variation on 'cowgirl' probably would have been a skosh different from Nell's. Just a skosh, though.)

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell laughed softly. "I think yours might've been a little fancier than mine," she said softly, still feeling like she needed to whisper amid such elegance. "You look very beautiful tonight."

Not a dress Nell would ever dream of trying to wear, but she could appreciate its beauty.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"You don't think it's too much?" Irene asked playfully, winking at Nell as she cocked a hip in a way that was definitely too much. "How've you been, dear? Survive last week okay?"

Obviously, but she could only imagine what sort of...Home Depot Garden Center Nell's shop might have become. Or maybe a doTERRA pop-up!

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"It would definitely be too much for me," Nell said honestly, "But you manage it very beautifully."

She smiled at Irene. "I was lucky. My plant shop was protected, so it managed to stay itself, if hard to find amid the coffeeshops and TV head people."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"Oh, I think you could pull it off. Bet you'd glam right up," Irene assured her, and she did -- but she left it at the compliment, lest she make Nell uncomfortable or feel self-conscious.

"Coffeeshops everywhere, and not a suitable cup of tea to be found amongst any of them," she continued, grousing good-naturedly (though, admittedly, she also had not tried very hard; perhaps Peet's would have delivered.) "My shop became a much...seedier establishment than it normally is. Not my favorite."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell looked at Irene's costume and just chuckled a little. "Maybe, but I'm not so sure I'd dare leave my house with something like that on."

She nodded in agreement. "Coffee's good, but there's something about a good cup of tea. You're always welcome to stop by when the shop is open. I'll make you some."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

Nell, who said anything about leaving your house? Who said anything about leaving your bedroom? Irene was fairly sure there was an audience out there for Nell in a similar getup to her own. (Maybe an audience of just one cowboy.)

"That would be lovely," Irene replied warmly, nodding. "I keep an electric kettle in my own office for emergencies, so consider the offer extended if you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods, as well. Your teas are medicinal, though, aren't they?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Don't think Nell wasn't considering just that very thing. Perhaps when their relationship was a little further along. Soon! But yes, for only an audience of one particular cowboy.)

"Thank you," Nell said. "Yes, many of my teas are medicinal, but some are just tasty."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"Then it sounds like I need to sample a few and likely invest," Irene decided. "I can be a bit choosy about my tea -- shock of shocks, right? -- but I wouldn't exactly turn my nose up at something drinkable that can get rid of a headache better than paracetamol, you know?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh, I have teas for that, and I can customize them so that the flavor is palatable for whomever buys it," Nell said. "It's the beauty of making them yourself. And there's nothing wrong with being choosy about teas. I definitely am."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[begmetwice]

"Sometimes I'm worried I might come off a bit snobbish," Irene confided, with exactly zero external trace of irony. "At least, about tea."

Just tea, though!

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"Doesn't bother me the slightest," Nell said honestly. Her few interactions with Irene had all been positive. "And I did enjoy your company the last time you stopped by."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Nell, darling, hello!" Liliana bustled over to the little woods witch, arms outstretched. "You did decide to come, I'm so glad."

Lowering her voice, she added, "If things get to be a bit much, feel free to step outside into the gardens which I had forgotten to add to the OCD this morning but will once I'm settled. They're wild and overgrown, but will certainly be quieter and I made sure to have lights placed."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell hugged Liliana, assuming that's what the outstreched arms were for and smiled at her. "Thank you," she said. "I might just take you up on that. But Liliana, this place is beautiful! So fancy and elegant! Just like yourself!"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana was just going to roll with it, even if there had been a half-second of startlement there, it was quickly replaced by as warm an embrace she could provide. Emotionally warm, Liliana's body was quite obviously below a normal, human body temperature. "Thank you, darling. I'm quite pleased with how it came out." She preened a little, humility was for people less accomplished than Liliana Vess. "And you are charming as ever. But help a girl out, darling, what is your costume?"

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"I think I'm a sort of cowgirl" Nell said, touching her hat self-consciously. "To go with Gladio's cowboy. You look like a beautiful queen."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"That's exactly what I am!" Liliana declared, pleased as punch. "But...forgive me darling, I mean this in the very best way possible, but...you don't look any bit like a cow."

Gladio got his nickname 'Beefslab' honestly, though.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh no," Nell said with a laugh. "Cowboys are the people who take care of cows. They ride horses and herd cows where they need to go. I didn't know what to wear, so Gladio had me wear the hat."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Cows...need...herding?" Liliana asked. Huh. Things she had literally never known. "Well, it is an excellent hat," she added with a nod. "...I'm surprised he didn't convince you to wear the vest as well, but perhaps he thought he needed that to convince me it was an actual costume."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

"I may end up wearing it yet," Nell said with a smile. "He'd much rather be shirtless anyway."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"I've seen worse views," Liliana said with a shrug and an amused smile, though his physique wasn't her particular cup of tea. She preferred lithe, to the likely surprise of literally no one. "Though there are a distinct lack of ladies who share his preference for shirtlessness and that is a disappointment. Simply for parity, if nothing else."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell's eyes widened and then she laughed. "Well, I'm afraid I won't be helping you out in that respect either," she said. "My shirt is staying on."

Until she took it off for Gladio later, but that was a whole different matter.

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[deathsmajesty]

"Don't worry, dear one, I definitely didn't think you would," she assured her. "It's fine, I'll find someone to take up my cause of gender shirt parity with me, I'm certain."

Re: (Eventually) Arrive and Mingle

[mylandmyrules]

Nell laughed. "As long as it's not me, I wish you good luck."