Gathering: Halloween Gala

[concierge]

A large, decorative sign situated prominantly in the lobby reads:

The Nexus Hotel
proudly presents its
ANNUAL HALLOWEEN GALA

Formal Reception
Nexus Dining Hall
6 PM - Midnight

Monster Mixer
Nexus Basement
8 PM - 2 AM

Masquerade attire recommended for all guests

Most of the chairs have been removed from the Dining Hall to allow for ballroom-style dancing to the orchestra set up on the far end of the room. A polished cherry wood open bar is aligned along one wall. The adjacent Bistro is open for the duration of the formal reception, serving gourmet hors d'oeuvres.

Downstairs, the basement's largest storeroom has been converted into a spooky nightclub, complete with DJ, dance floor and cocktails.

Comments

[bonetown]

Alex is totally and completely ready to rock the hell out of the party. This year, there's no weird possibly-bird-kissing-related disease and she doesn't sound like she spent two days with Max's weird trash cooker, so there's no chance that her Marilyn Monroe costume is going to get her mistaken for a drag queen, nope, not this year, not for Alex Kerkovich.

She's downstairs in the mixer, but lingering just outside the door because she needs a boob check and there isn't a convenient mirror around, so she's resigned to giving them each a lift and a pat, making sure the push-up bra is working for all its' got. Only when she thinks she's ready does she reach out for the next passing person. "Hi," she greets breathlessly. "Are you going inside? Do you need some company?"

[not_lost]

Alex was easy enough to recognize even in costume, and after the brief initial surprise of the hand gripping her arm, Fiona couldn't help but break into a wide smile. Her hair was huge and she was wearing legwarmers, but at least she now had a wingman.

"Girl, you don't have to ask," she replied with a short laugh, and looped her arm through Alex's as she gave the other costume a once over. "Marilyn. Nice."

[haolehothead]

Halloween is not supposed to be held in some weird space-hotel that Danny keeps managing to trip into. Halloween is supposed to be his and Gracie's time to go trick-or-treating door to door. And yes, okay, fine, he understands that his apartment complex is not exactly a child's paradise of candy, but it's still their time, so when he stumbles into a fancy dress party, he takes the time to appraise it and flicks the red cape he's wearing back.

Right, okay.

He can cope with this. Time seems to stand still every time he shows up here, so maybe this is a little pre-game warm-up. Maybe he'll have a drink, maybe he'll find some food, maybe even relax before enduring the childish marathon of candy hoarding. And actually, now that Danny thinks about it, it sounds like one hell of a good plan.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

Harvey is making his grouchy way through the dining hall and sees the guy in the red cape. It's not much of a costume, which is why it catches his eye in the sea of other costumes about the gathering.

"Nice cape," he remarks as he moves through the room, searching for a bar, because he could use a drink.

[trulyoracular]

There's a costume gala.

There's a costume gala and Olaf doesn't have his costume, so he pops back to Auckland and informs Mike that he has pressing business before digging the kraken costume out of Mike's basement and ignoring anything about gods and Loki and hunters and he will get back to that, he truly will, but right now there is a costume party to attend and he has a kraken costume to slip into (so to speak).

Once he's well equipped, he goes back in all his purple and multi-legged glory, incredibly proud of himself for finding it in the depths of his closet.

[malachai]

To be honest, what he was wearing wasn't much of a costume. Docs, black jeans, his black jacket and the scabbard and sword he usually wore strapped to his back when he hunted. Okay, he didn't usually let his demon horns show, or smile wide enough to show his fangs, but it was Hallowe'en and he was trying to get into the spirit of it.

That's when he saw....entirely too much purple.

"Why do I get the feeling I don't want to know?" he asked as he approached.

[legendthatwas]

"Nice," said Martha, looking Olaf over from head to toe. Halloween was really an American thing, in her experience, but plenty of people at the hotel seemed to be going with it. As it was, she was able to roll with it, because she'd already got a black leather catsuit (uh, don't ask), and a cape was easily purchased, along with a belt, some duct tape for modifications and a white wig.

Okay, maybe this fancy dress idea had been in the back of her mind a while with nowhere to be aired, and she was pretty sure she was getting the hang of this back and forth travelling thing.

"That's some outfit," she continued.

[kuno_ichi]

Olaf was impossible to miss in the crowd, his giant purple head and arms swaying above (and occasionally into the faces of) the people milling around him. April made a beeline for him, grinning all the way.

"Did you make that yourself?" she asked on approach, taking the opportunity to fully take in the craftsmanship. She felt boring standing beside him in her Katniss costume, her bow the only truly unusual thing about her ensemble.

[malachai]

Nick had to admit that he'd considered going as one of the Greek gods, Apollo actually, but he'd decided against it after an hour or two of laughter over the irony. In the end, he'd gone as pretty much was he had been once, a Dark Hunter. In the spirit of the night, he'd let his horns show (and didn't that just feel freaking strange after all these years).

Whatever, it wasn't like he'd come as the Malachai.

[legendthatwas]

There weren't many people wearing more black than Martha was, but her cape and hair offset it. This was as compared to Nick, who was basically a shadow. Martha thought she'd seen the horns, but thought it was a trick of the light across the room until she saw him again, closer up, and brighter. "You might as well flaunt it," she said, greeting him with a cheeky smile.

[vampire_shield]

Bella walked into the party still half amazed that she hadn't completely wiped out yet. She was teetering on five inch heels - something she'd never been able to manage in her human life - as easily as if she was on bare feet.

And she loved it.

The fact that she was dressed as a witch and meeting a witch dressed as a vampire, was just a bonus. She also couldn't wait to see what everyone else thought up for their costumes.

[powerof_water]

Adam's costume wasn't uncomfortable by any stretch but the velvet suit he'd donned to be a vampire was a little outside the box for his usual jeans and tshirt wardrobe. He slipped in his plastic fangs and when he spotted Bella.

"I vant to suck your blood?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He's still not entirely sure what this strange place is or why he can't leave (and yes, he had checked as many doors as he felt was necessary, all leading to the same bullshit conclusion - that's he's stuck here), and he's not happy about any of it. Especially not when there is mention of a Halloween party that he is likely required to attend and requires a costume.

Since he has only just arrived at this ridiculous place, he's not sure where to find a costume. That is, until, once he obtains a room, he finds what could only be considered a costume tucked in the closet. Oh, he knows what it is, he's seen the movie. He just doesn't think the closet is funny.

Though, unless he's going to the party as 'Bruce Wayne', this will have to do. Hey, at least it comes with a cool hat, right?

So, black pants, black shirt, black trench coat, black hat, black shoes, black mask and a red tie - he's all set to be Denny Crane's alter-ego. He did draw the line at coloring his hair or wearing contacts to change his eye color - this is ridiculous enough.

As much as he isn't thrilled with the idea of being stuck here, he does need to eat, so he makes his way to the dining hall for food if nothing else.

[iwillnotsettledown]

MacKenzie is dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, if only because it's the easiest costume for her to throw together on such short notice - one of her own dresses and a pair of heels, some jewelry Will had given her and the cigarette holder is the only thing she actually has to buy.

She's looking for something to drink when she bumps into a man dressed all in black and frowns a little, trying to work it out. "I am woefully behind on all things pop culture. I bet you're something excessively popular and I'm just woefully square, aren't I? We can blame it on me being English."

[almightythor]

Thor wasn't exactly sure what Tarzan was but he was allowed to carry around Mjolnir and that made up for the briefness of his costume in some respects. He was not shy about his appearance but he found that in Midgard, one normally should be clothed in most occasions.

His first order of business was, as always, food and drink, and Thor made his way to the refreshments.

[malachai]

"Nice look," Nick said in greeting as he approached. "Apparently we went to entirely different ends of the spectrum, costume-wise."

He indicated the jeans, boots, and leather that covered him from top to bottom, then nodded at the hammer and touched the handle of his sword. "But neither of us are leaving the defensive stuff behind."

[lianyu]

Ollie feels a bit silly, but after a week of wallowing in his own misery, he decides getting out might help. He doesn't know how (Star City has nothing to offer him now, just shame and heartbreak), but anything has to be better than sitting in his room, watching movies and catching up on five years of pop culture.

He doesn't even consider cheating and going as the vigilante; he hasn't touched the outfit or the bow since he arrived in the hotel again. Instead, he opts for something ridiculous and playful, and he even orders up a few things from the hotel shops to make it happen.

When he steps into the dining hall, he doesn't quite feel the part, but he's done enough playing the part of millionaire playboy to make a Tony Stark costume work, drawn on beard and all.

[vampire_shield]

Bella was doing her best at human speed as she walked from the table holding the drinks with a glass in her hand and thought she was managing it well enough until she nearly plowed into a new arrival.

She stopped immediately and her eyes flew up. "Crap, I'm sorry."

[themadmanwithabox]

While the Doctor had perused a multitude of impossibly vast costume options in the TARDIS' wardrobe and while his fez had called out to him with that intoxicating siren's song, there had been one outfit in the depths of the TARDIS that he'd pulled out with no lack of fondness brimming over as he ran his fingers over the spotted cravat and the worn weathered kilt before tugging them out.

Jamie McCrimmon might not remember him, but he remembers Jamie.

And tonight, the Doctor is honouring his dearest Highlander by wearing the clothes that he had left and the cravat is as cool as you get.

[legendthatwas]

"Doctor. I have never seen a hairier sporran in my life." This was true, though Martha hadn't really been around that many kilts all that much, or in Scotland all that much. She was resisting the urge to ask him if he was properly dressed underneath, but the thought still made her blush--different Doctor or not.

[the_watchtower]

Chloe is, yet again, in the middle of a hotel with a fluffy dress on but at least this fluffy dress is by choice and not because she's stuck here with no memory.

(Well, she still has a few holes but most of it has come back so she calls that a win).

Tonight, in honor of her new residence in this weird hotel and not back in Metropolis where she belongs, she's decided that Wizard of Oz is the only way to go. She'd just look stupid as Dorothy so she's decided to be Glinda the good Witch instead, complete with crown and wand and fluffy pink gown. She gathers the lace and tulle in her hands and hightails it to the drinks, wanting one to make her feel a little less awkward about such a conspicuous costume. Sure, she picked it, but she never seems to think these things through.

"Uh, coming through, dangerous costume related liability not covered under your policies, move aside, hope I don't spill drinks on you?"

[vampire_shield]

Bella smiled when she saw Chloe coming towards her, then laughed when she heard her commentary. "Hello, Chloe," she smiled, wondering if the woman remembered meeting her when she first arrived. "I love the costume but something tells me we should be standing apart in case someone tries to throw a house on me or something."

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh hasn't celebrated Halloween in so long that he doesn't even remember what that's like but when he ducked out of the hotel through one of the doors to go costume shopping, a lot of people kept saying he looked like someone named Jax on some tv show he'd never heard of. He looked at a few magazines, agreed there was a little resemblance, and picked a leather jacket, a tight black t-shirt and his regular jeans.

He's also got a bandanna to cover his hair, since the Jax guy's was longer, and wishes he'd thought to grow out his beard. He doesn't know if the people at the hotel will recognize it but it's definitely a costume and it's better than coming in his Jaeger bodysuit, right?

[miss_vas_normandy]

The time Tali had spent aboard the Normandy had been extensive, but certainly not enough for her to know every human tradition. This celebration, if it could be called that, was news to her. She didn't really put on a costume since walking around in a decidedly human body already felt like wearing one.

There were upsides to it, being able to touch the world around her with ungloved fingers, much less sickness, and no longer having to worry about sticking to a highly specific diet, but Tali was discovering she was still a picky eater. It was just by choice now rather than a necessity of genetics.

"Excuse me," she said quietly and politely, pointing to something on the buffet table. "Do you know what that is? I mean, what it's made out of?"

[legendthatwas]

Martha Jones did not usually do Halloween. It was an American thing, from movies and telly and the occasional children's book she'd read at an impressionable age. Mostly an excuse to drink, be disgusting about gore and death, and for people to turn up in A&E looking like and doing utterly bizarre things, in her experience. And there'd been the one time with the Doctor on Martaxas, when the zombie invasion...well. It'd put her off the whole thing, really.

But never mind. This seemed like the done thing, and if she was being fair, she hadn't had a chance to do fancy dress in ages, nor a particularly appreciative crowd. At least someone here would get the reference, instead of 'damn, Halle Berry was hot in that'.

She steeled herself for the experience of sipping a pumpkin spice cocktail, but then was pleasantly surprised. Oddly, it wasn't too bad.

[digyourman]

The Springsteen costume was a cop-out, Larry knew that. He'd spent days trying to conceive something more clever, more easily-recognizable to the average Nexus guest, and nothing had presented itself. Anything scary felt wrong and gratuitous now, and most everything else required access to materials Larry just didn't have. He might have plied a friend to take him through their door to go shopping, but his heart hadn't been in it. More than anything, he'd simply wanted to attend the gala, and he could do that with one bandana tucked into the back pocket of his blue jeans and another tied around his head.

It surprised him how little it bothered him to dress as a rock star, and he had to wonder if it was the magic of being someone else that made it okay.

Martha's costume was infinitely more impressive than his own for several reasons, and Larry's eyes were lit with appreciative awe as he stepped up, guitar strapped across his back.

"Storm," he said, nodding his approval. "That's a killer costume, lady."