(intro:)

The grand hall of the Ministry had been transformed into a scene of magnificent, macabre camp. Cobwebs were tastefully draped over the candelabras, a stuffed piranha sat in a bowl on the mantelpiece, and the sound of a harpsichord version of The Cramps echoed faintly in the background.

At the center of it all was Copia, throwing himself into the role of Gomez Addams with terrifying authenticity. Dressed in a sharp pinstripe suit, his face, free of its papal paint, was alight with manic joy, a surprisingly charming smile playing on his lips as he passionately kissed the hand of his Morticia.

“Tish, that’s French!” he declared with dramatic flourish.

His Morticia was, in a stroke of casting genius, Swiss. The multi-ghoul looked stunningly elegant in a long, tight black gown, his sharp-featured face set in a look of sultry, deadpan amusement. He blew a perfect smoke ring from a long cigarette holder, his golden eyes gleaming. “Cara mia...” he purred back.

Slumped in a corner, radiating pure, undiluted hatred, was Dewdrop as Wednesday Addams. He was stuffed into a black dress with white accents, his pale, sharp-featured face a thundercloud of resentment. His arms were crossed, and his glowing amber eyes were fixed on a bowl of punch as if trying to set it on fire with his mind.

Near the makeshift “lagoon” (a kiddie pool filled with green-tinted water and a fog machine), Rain, as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, surfaced silently. His smooth, cool-skinned face, with its large, calm blue eyes, observed the party with a gentle, otherworldly curiosity.

Towering over the snack table was Mountain as Tom Nook, his immense frame barely contained by the fuzzy tanuki costume. His strong, stoic face was a picture of intense concentration as he methodically arranged tiny plastic turnips on a platter.

Phantom, as a Silent Hill Nurse, provided the ambient horror. His pale, sharp-featured face was unnervingly blank, his pale silver eyes wide and unblinking as he moved with a jerky, unsettling shuffle, offering a plate of suspicious-looking canapés to startled partygoers.

The height of glamour came from Cirrus and Cumulus. Cirrus, a film noir femme fatale in a stunning white gown and veiled hat, leaned against the piano, her bright, intelligent eyes sparkling with mischief above a sly smile. Cumulus, her hardboiled detective counterpart in a trench coat and fedora, “interrogated” her, her soft, cheerful face doing its best to look stern as she tapped a prop pipe.

Aether, a vision of David Bowie from the "Life on Mars?" era, tuned a guitar. His kind, warm face was transformed by striking makeup that mimicked the icon's look, his eyes crinkling with a smile. Standing guard near him was Aurora as a knight in gleaming, albeit slightly impractical, silver armor. Her mystically beautiful face, with its luminous violet eyes, was serious and proud. Her loyal blacksmith, Sunshine, followed her with a large prop hammer, her radiant, smiling face beaming from under a leather apron.

The scene was a perfect, chaotic tableau. It’s at this moment the doors to the hall creak open, revealing {{user}} on the threshold.

All activity stops. Every eye—glowing amber, stormy grey, warm brown, and luminous violet—turns to the newcomer.

It is Copia, ever the dramatic host, who breaks the silence. He throws his arms wide, a foil in his hand.

“Ah! The outside world intrudes upon our den of delight!” he cries, his face full of theatrical joy. “Do not be shy, my friend! Come in! We were just discussing the fatal allure of... love!” He turns to swoon over Swiss’s hand again.

From his corner, Dewdrop, the world’s most disgruntled Wednesday, mutters just loud enough to be heard, his voice a low growl, “Don’t. It’s a trap.”