Fans flutter, jewels sparkle as they catch the light, and the air buzzes with students’ conversation, nervous and hopeful all at once. The Ethereal Ball has at last come to... not the monastery this year, that’s for sure. Garreg Mach’s guests from Morfis, welcome or not, have cast an ever greater spell over the area and now your friends in the Golden Deer house aren’t the only ones mouse-sized. You, too, are suddenly no taller than a thumb, but that horror is supplanted with a greater one when you’re swept up by the elements and dropped into a dazzling ballroom unlike any you have ever seen before, the ceiling open to the stars above and the vague faces of the five Morfisians who peer down at you. They intend to watch you for entertainment.
The “gift” they have given you is beautiful though: a massive room draped in garlands of white and pastel pink flowers that never wilt, the scent of perfume heavy in the air, with a polished floor sparkling as if made of starlight itself. Were it not for the mice with which you now stand eye-to-eye, it might have been easy to forget your new curse. The mice, you realize, have been blessed (or perhaps cursed as well) with human consciousness, and they scurry about with serving trays and towels.
While your clothes have shrunk with you, there is a little boutique a short way down one of the halls that branch off from the ballroom. For a kernel of corn, a pair of sparrows will grant you gowns and robes of ethereal silk, shimmering silver, flowers, and fairy dust. You may never have this experience again, so why not live it up and make this a night to remember? The Morfisian elementals want you to entertain them, after all.
You’ve been formally invited to the Ethereal Ball?
A once in a lifetime experience for students of the Officers Academy, this time an even more magical night full of excellent food and drink, endless dancing, and the highlight of the year for would-be couples and longtime lovers alike.
You might be tiny, but your hosts have spared nothing to treat you to a ball that would empty the coffers of even the wealthiest nobles in Fódlan.
Each attendee of the ball finds themselves with two things:
A long chain of vines that seems to contain some magical power, worn around the neck
A strange mark on the palm of the right hand, in one of 5 shapes. See this list to find which one your muse has. Note: all muses in TOA have been assigned a mark for ease of randomizing them, but this does not obligate a muse to participate. BOLD your muse’s name on the list if they are participating.
The five elementals - Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Lightning - have claimed each of you for themselves and imbued you each with some of their power. When power is traded between two characters via a handshake or some other action that puts their marks in contact, a flower corresponding to the element will bloom on each character’s vine necklace.
The goal is to gather one flower per each of the 5 elements represented at the ball, presumably after you’ve had a favorable conversation with the attendee and earned their approval and / or friendship (note: IC interactions do not actually have to be favorable to count toward the goal).
YES: A approaches B with the express intention of making a good impression and trading power with a handshake
NO: A and B decide to ditch the party and make out in the surrounding forest
YES: A and B decide to ditch the party and make out in a beautiful clearing in the woods, and decide they might as well hold hands to share their respective patron’s power while they’re at it
YES: A asks B for a handshake, but B hates A and a fight ensues.
NO: B starts a fight with A for the hell of it, and neither of them mention the marks or the flowers.
Please tag your posts with #toaball2023
This year, do not reblog any of the inbox memes or prompts.
Bold your muse’s name on the elemental designations list to signal to the rest of the group that they are open to ball-related interactions.
A bolded name means that you are welcome to send any of the memes or prompts without asking beforehand.
You may unbold your muse’s name at any time. This will not affect whether or not they can claim their prizes at the end.
WEEK 1 : Getting acquainted (12th - 19th)
12th - New prompts
13th - Matchmaking signups
16th - Matched pairs will be announced
WEEK 2 : Preparing for the (new) White Heron Cup (19th - 26th)
19th - New prompts & White Heron cup signups
WEEK 3 : White Heron Cup & Event Wrap-up (26th - 31st)
26th - New prompts
26-29th - White Heron Cup competition
30th - White Heron Cup winners announced
June 1st - Event epilogue
Once your garland has bloomed with all 5 colors, you will be eligible to pick one prize from the Spring tab of our prize list!
You will also be eligible for exclusive access to the Dancer class! It will be treated as a Unique class with its own mastery ability. Mastering the class will also grant the character Refresh.
All characters who reach the required colored flowers will receive the prizes.
Prizes can only be claimed after the event’s conclusion.
Please track your flowers somewhere, with the name of the other character and a link to the interaction. Whether you do it on your blog or somewhere private is up to you, but you will be submitting this to claim the prize at the conclusion of the event
And that’s it! If you have any questions or concerns, please let the mods know!
The Ethereal Ball? will run until May 31st at 11:59PM EST! And in addition to the interactions and the White Heron Cup, we will be staggering three different lists of prompts designed specifically for this setting throughout the event. We hope you have fun, and that your characters make a lot of new friends!
