View source for 3rd Annual Fall Ball Review

By: [[Ninya Evoneigh]] in the Tower Parties Forum on the Old Boards


This Fall Ball was my second official Tower party, and by far the best time I've ever had.

Derrin and I got to the hotel well before the check in time, so we hung out for a while, got to know people and had breakfast (we descended on that poor diner in groups of twenty or more for three days in a row...I'm sure the waitresses appreciated the tips...), before the welcome committee got set up and gave us our tags n such.

A little while after that, Arisaema showed up, with Vallah in tow- YAY! I finally got to meet my very first near-sibling and soon to be first-sister. We danced around a lot, I took her up to my room, and we hung out for a little while before she went to change, and Derrin and I (as well as Mother, Kat, Jas & Evgren, and a few others) went to subway to eat dinner before the opening ceremonies.

And were the ceremonies beautiful! First was the GS (or in my case, apple juice) toast, and they brought quite a few hoorahs and -in some cases a few tears. Then Vallah introduced the Oath Rod she had created...and the less than appropriate jokes that came as a result of its size and shape caused mother to deem it inappropriate to use it for its intended purpose, due to the thoughts it would make her think whenever she saw it (Teals rule, btw).

After the toast, and after a few words, it was time for some ceremonies. First up were Lyoness and Faeril, up (finally) to become First-sisters. I cannot say enough how proud I am to have shared Vallah's and my "rebirth" with Lyoness and Faeril. Their ceremony was truly magical, and I saw more than a few wet eyes in the assembly. Then Vallah and I went up for our ceremony...I'm afraid my handwriting left a little to be asked for as Arisaema, my chosen Mother, had difficulty reading it. But we got through the ceremony, and then Vallah proceeded to knock my block off. Which is only as it should be- and of course, I returned the favor. After us came Jasin and Jakeb, sharing manly punches to the shoulder, as apposed to "girly" slaps. Those ceremonies were certainly tear jerkers. I am so very honored to have witness theirs, and very happy to have made it through my own, with my lovely first-sister!

After that came raisings; I believe -but am not too certain- that Accepted were raised before Aes Sedai; we gained Tian and Triste! Then Viv brought Kyla forth to be raised to Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah -causing a great deal of celebration and happiness among the blues attending hte party- and Kat did the same for Cataia, to be raised to the Green.

After that was the slave auction, and each of the five? six? slaves got sold for fairly respectable amounts- myself and Derrin, going as a "matched set" went for 130. Then we all went back to our respective rooms to change, whether to go to bed or to go out on the town, was up to each individual. I chose to remain in my room, as I hadn't slept since Friday morning.

The next morning, after ten hours of sleep, we all went out to breakfast, and then the six Sa'sara contestants met up outside the ball room to start the tryouts. They were -if I recall correctly- Cataia, Katarianna, Marlinya, Yelenia, Myself, and Triste. We all did our dance, and then after a brief interlude, the judges announced those who would be going on: Kat, Cat, and Lini.

Though disappointed that I hadn't made it to the finals, I was also relieved, as I wasn't actually all that prepared. I ran off to change my clothes (my Sa'sara outfit -of which there are no photos- was a red sequin top, a matching hip "Scarf", and a body stockingm all see-through), before coming back down to have a snack, help set up Tower Persuit, and learn how to dance.

Surprisingly, I managed to accomplish all three, though not really in that order. Tower Pursuit kicked ass, and I highly recommend that it be played at every event; I love trivia, and I love silliness, and that game had both in huge quantities. The Blues won! Me, Arisaema, Kyla, and Yelenia each got to take a mug home with some of Valorian's artwork on it!

After that it was time to clear out, allow the set up committee to set up the room, and get dressed for the actually ball part of Fall Ball.

It was a long wait! I think only the first few hours on Saturday managed to rival how long the two hours before the ball started seemed to be, despite the fact that I not only took an hour long nap, I also got dressed, did my hair, and got Ari to do my makeup. Then it was finally time to go down.

The dinner was delicious; I work at an Italian restaurant, and yet somehow I still managed to eat every bit of the pasta I was served. There was some silliness involving Bale's salad plate, and I suspect I was just as silly with my fixation on desert (which consisted of a small amount of chocolate mousse), but it was all in all a wonderful meal.

The only real complaint I would have is that the food was served directly before the dancing. A small amount of time to mill around and relax before the dancing started, would've been nice. But we all had fun anyway- within two songs, I had decided my Renn Faire garb was entirely too bulky to be dancing in, and changed into other clothes.

I danced dirty and got carried -kicking and squealing!- off the dance floor by Morni, whom I now affectionately call a barbarian. I would add other descriptive words to that, but this review is a public one...and thus I reveal why I call myself Teal.

The Sa'sara dancers were excellent. All three succeeded in managing to make my blood boil, but I concur with the apparent majority, in saying that Cataia's dance was the most erotic I have ever witnessed. She received a Tarvalon.net hoodie as a result and (to quote mother) thank god it fit her.

Derrin and I danced a lot together...and about halfway through he asked me to marry him! It was the highlight of the weekend, and I didn't hesitate to announce it over hte microphone during the next break between songs, to a lot of applause n such. It was very nerve-wracking to do that, as I dislike microphones in general.

Several other awards were given out during the course of that evening, including a Best Contributer award, and a Greatest Philanthropist award, given to Rand and Arisaema respectively. They each received prizes made specifically for them.

There were also raffle prizes given out- necklaces by Jenarra Sedai, a Tarvalon.net calendar, a New Spring comic preview (aaaah I WANT IT!!!!), and a handmade Irish Green Man (aka Nym).

Around 11:30 we had to vacate the ballroom, so we all assisted in cleaning up, taking some time out to take portraits of the various groups and couples, including some rather amusing ones of Mother and her boys.

Lyoness had a kickin rad after party; I was tired, so had to go to bed much earlier than I had planned, but I had fun while I was still up!

The next morning we had to start saying good byes. We all pretty much ended up hanging out at the airport for several hours, before Nadine, Tanis, Jas, Bale, Derrin, and I all went to get on the plane for Houston.

The party didn't end! Though we were all seated separately on the airplane, when we got to Houston, Tanis, Nadine, Derrin, and I all ate together before all had to split to go to our respective airplanes, and come home, to ordinary life and PPD.

All in all it was a wonderful party, and I hope to attend many, many more in the future!


[[Category:Party Reviews]]