Event Open Masquerade Ball 2019

Will had arrived late, dressed to the tens in some of the best formalwear one could find in his time consisting of a black tailcoat and trousers with a dark grey waistcoat with a white ascot in addition to a black masquerade mask, all of which but the mask the tailor had said was no longer in vogue, not that Will paid that comment any heed. After all, it's not like fashion could have changed that much in a century and a half, right?

Oh, how wrong he was. The way people dressed formally nowadays was largely foreign to how he dressed back in the 1880s.

It's too late to change clothes now, he thought with a grimace as he walked over to the refreshments and grabbed a glass of champagne. After he grabbed his drink he turned to observe the dancefloor, watching as the dancers danced familiar dances. At least some things don't change.

The petite silver-haired woman, dressed in a long black vintage sequinned dress from the 1920s with a black lace mask, had been casually moving from group to group, person to person, chatting with guests at the masquerade. She knew a good number of the party-goers present and had taken the opportunity to say hello and find out how they were doing.

"Lovely evening, isn't it?" she said as she sipped at a glass of dark red liquid, reminiscent of wine, as she greeted the tall stranger, taking in as she did so that his attire dated to the turn of the last century - something she found quite interesting.

@Flintstone

Will flashed the silver-haired woman a charming smile as she addressed him. "Very lovely indeed," he answered in a distinctive southern accent, "Although with such fine company, how could it not be?"

"I'm glad but not particularly surprised you approached me," he added after a slight pause, "After all, I must certainly stick out like a sore thumb even in this...unique crowd. I'm guessing you want to know why I'm dressed like a relic from an entirely different century. Do you not?"

@Zora

"Maybe..." Natasha answered as she regarded the young man with a friendly and somewhat flirty grin. "Although, you really do not stick out as much as you might think," she stated, her words tinged with a very slight but noticeable Russian accent.

"Now if you were wearing a candy-striped parka, the wings of an angel, or a french maid's uniform," she teased as she took a sip of her "wine".

@Flintstone

Yuki chuckled. "I can definitely agree with you on that front. There are some people around here who like ruining each others' days, but for the most part people are rather open." The white haired teen had noticed his partner's increased sense of being at ease, evident in how his eyes were more or less looking up now and his legs weren't brushing up against Yuki's own as often as they had been.
"By the way, try standing straighter. If you can keep your back straight while waltzing, you'll look twice as skilled and three times more confident. If you can get this down pat, we can try adding a spin to this routine! Before you know it, everyone will want to dance with you."

He giggled a little at the idea of multiple ladies asking his partner to dance with them. If his flustered response to Yuki's request had been his reaction to one person, imagine how multiple requests would go down! The poor man would probably be redder than a tomato.

@Wolfie

"Oh, sure," he replied as he held his shoulders back, straightening up. This caused him to lose timing slightly and stumbled over the boy's feet but quickly corrected himself. "Whoops, sorry" His head hung a little, slightly embarrassed but then remembered about keeping his back straight.

"I'm not too sure about adding a spin," he joked, not yet grasping even the basics. He kind of hoped that it wouldn't be true about all the people dancing with him. That just meant more people to try to keep up to and eventually standing on their feet.

Even when he performed every now and then, he didn't exactly dance. His guitar offered a nice barrier to hide behind, either just tapping his foot or gently swaying. This was a whole other ballpark but he was quite impressed with his attempt so far.

@Hope the Bard

"Heaven forbid I commit such a variety of fashion faux pas," Will said with a chuckle, "Still I am glad you approached me. This night would have been simply dreadful without some decent company."

He finished off the glass of champagne he was holding and offered his hand to his companion, "Shall we dance while I explain to you why I'm dressed so differently from the rest of the crowd? It is a masquerade ball after all."

"Once you finish your wine of course," He added upon seeing she had yet to finish her drink.

@Zora

"But of course," Natasha responded agreeably as she accepted the stranger's proffered hand as she took one last sip of her drink, and then placed her almost empty wine glass on a passing waiter's tray.

"I'd love to dance, and also hear why you are dressed like a gentleman from the late 1800s," she remarked politely, easily guessing when his attire was from since she, herself, loved fashion and had also lived long enough to recognise his outfit.

@Flintstone

---

Bel let herself be twirled, laughing as her partner managed to easily manoeuver her through the dance move.

"Oh, I wholeheartedly agree," Bel remarked as they returned to gliding almost seamlessly across the ballroom.

"If you come to the ball looking for someone, you probably will come away disappointed. It's always better just to enjoy yourself, and let things happen," she said.

@PixelatedGlory