Jun 15, 2026
Here's what comes next.
Here's what comes next.
00:00
16:06
Transcript
0:00
Hey there, folks. My name is Michael. I am one of the co-hosts for the Fox and Ember Fantasy Ball, and I have with me- Kitty... Kitty, who- I'm also here... we're, we're both here.
0:09
[laughs] And we're gonna be talking a little bit about the, uh, the event and just kind of leading into it, giving you a peek behind the scenes as we try to pull this whole thing together.
0:20
This is the first time that we will be hosting an event of this style, but, uh, but we have a little bit of experience at least going to them. Mm-hmm, yeah. So we went to one, uh, in- June last year... June last year.
0:32
That was the Starfall Solstice? Starlight Solstice. Star- Starlight Solstice, which is a very, uh, Velaris-themed ball. And of course, the, the Fox and Ember Fantasy Ball is very Sarah J.
0:46
Maas-oriented, uh, ACOTAR-oriented, um, I guess more specifically. And, uh, and it's gonna be landing on the 23rd of October, which is a Friday, so please, please take the day off.
1:00
And, uh, and then I think on Tuesday is when the new book will drop, the ACOTAR 6. Yes, A- ACOTAR 6, and then the seventh will be out in January, but we're ready to get you guys amped up for the next book coming out.
1:14
Right. So why don't we start with, uh, with our experience at the Starlight Solstice? Sol- [laughs] Starlight Solstice. [laughs] Is that what it was? Yes, it is. [laughs] Okay, okay. Uh, this will ha- Starfall thing...
1:28
this will happen every single time. [laughs] Uh, yeah, that was the, the first time I think that... So we went, had gone to a, um, a fantasy masquerade in California- Mm-hmm...
1:37
uh, the year prior to that, but this was the, the first time going to a, a smaller event that was, was so focused on, uh, ACOTAR, and, uh, and I had a lot of fun. I, I think about it
1:52
more often than I, than I bring to surface, but I actually do think about it. Oh, good. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. I'm glad. I wasn't sure if it was something you would like, but I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.
2:00
Yeah, I, I, uh, I really like dancing. [laughs] You're very good at it. And I- It's very entertaining... I also like jumping. Yes. Yeah, tell me, uh, what you thought about the ball. Um, I had a great time.
2:11
I thought the hosts, um, created a really good energy. There was a lot of fun things to do and explore. The cosplayers were great. They had games. They had food.
2:21
And there were a lot of good nooks and crannies to go to if you wanted to get away from the, you know, the sensory overload of the dancing and the music. Um, you could go sit by a fire.
2:32
But I thought overall, like, decorations, everything, it was pretty good.
2:36
And what sorts of things do you, would you expect, like, at bare minimum, I would say, like, what, what makes an event fun for you when you go to a, a fantasy ball?
2:46
Um, I think the overall immersion, and because that kind of brings everyone... It kind of brings everyone to a similar energy level. When everyone is excited, it's more contagious. Everyone has more fun.
2:58
You're more likely to talk to strangers and share stories, compliment people on their costumes.
3:05
So I think the, the overall atmosphere, decorations, and all the work you put into kind of, like, the finer details that people can notice throughout the night kind of really brings it all together and gets everyone on the same page.
3:18
Yeah, I don't think we were ever... So it was, like, a four-hour event, and I don't think that we were ever at a loss for things to do. I think it was five hours. Was it five hours? Yeah. Hmm. I think we got there...
3:28
Well, oh, we got there late. There a wee- We were fashionably late. We- [laughs] got there a wee bit late. Yeah. Yeah, no, I, I agree with that. I think that's a good point about the sort of contagion- Mm-hmm...
3:38
of, uh, of social experience. 'Cause that's part of why, why we all do this. We, we're, we're big nerds- Mm-hmm...
3:43
and we wanna talk to other big nerds and, um, share our theories and our excitement for this thing that we love. Absolutely, and there will be ample opportunities to do that at the, uh, the Fox and Fantasy...
3:56
Fox and Fantasy? [laughs] Fox and Ember Fantasy Ball. Yeah. Um- What about you? What did you, what did you enjoy about the ball? I like jumping. Ok- well, okay- [laughs]... more specifically. Okay.
4:04
All right, all right, all right. Uh, so I don't know. It's, it's fun to, to dress up- Mm-hmm... uh, and then go there as- Well, yeah... like- That's, that's the best part. [laughs] Yeah.
4:14
You, you wanted me to be a, a Rhysand. So a situ- And I was trying to be a Feyre... [laughs] such a situation. I think, did great. A- as were so many other people. [laughs] Yeah.
4:23
Yeah, I, I think that going there and kind of having an atmosphere that is, that is not constantly pressing you to, to do something.
4:32
Like, I never felt like I was late, or I never felt like I needed to make it in time for, for some event that was going on. You can kind of just wander around and do your own thing.
4:41
Uh, the wea- weather was also really nice. [laughs] Mm-hmm. Yeah, it was. That was a perfect night. I think we got lucky. Uh, being able to circulate in and out of the venue- Mm-hmm...
4:49
was, was kind of helpful, too, because, you know, it, it can feel claustrophobic around, um, you know, when you got a bunch of people.
4:56
Uh, me, just personality-wise, I tend to kind of feel a little bit like a caged animal sometimes. Um, and it'll... When I'm, when I'm around a bunch of people- You're very chill on the surface...
5:05
I'm very chill on the surface. Mm-hmm. I- Just quietly panic on the inside. [laughs] Right. Perceive me, but not too much. [laughs] Uh, yeah, I think that it was, it was a good atmosphere.
5:15
Like you said, we got a, a number of folks that, like, just approached us and, you know, said a comment here or there about just, uh, shared interests- Mm-hmm... or, like, a compliment on your dress.
5:26
You got a lot of compliments on your- Oh, um, well, I was active in the Discord, and I don't think you were. Mm. Yeah. Um, because I had...
5:34
Little backstory, I had, um, cut up my old wedding dress to be a costume, and I had been talking about that in the Discord, so, and people recognized it.
5:44
So that was really cool to kind of, like, make connections before you get there- Hmm... um, and kind of meet up with the people you, you planned and talked with, uh, online. Right.
5:53
So there's a little bit of a community aspect. So that was kinda neat. And we will be, uh, opening a Discord here in the near-ish future as well.
6:01
You can- You know, speak to other, uh, folks who are interested in the same sorts of things. You can share, uh, different fantasy get-ups, like [laughs] Yeah, we can, uh- I'm bad at this...
6:15
we'll do some, [laughs] we'll do some polls. Um, we can share, uh, vision boards and inspiration.
6:20
Um, I'm sure if anyone wants to do, like, a dress swap or something like that, or, like, trade things for your costumes, um, like, we can help, you know, provide a space that you guys can talk about that.
6:33
And now that this, uh, this ball is, you know, f- for New Englanders basically, like, we're not trying to, to really bring in a bunch of people from, from elsewhere. There are other balls- Unless you want to...
6:45
well, unless you want to. Uh, there are other balls happening across the country and, uh, a lot of them act- actually have been falling over, and I'm kinda curious- Mm-hmm...
6:54
if that's just, you know, financially, uh, it's just tough right now, um, which, which could totally be the case. But, uh,
7:01
w- there wasn't anything that seemed to be going on in New England, specifically, like, around this time period, you know, which is big and important and fun for the, the Sarah J.
7:12
Maas community, and it, uh, it felt like a good chance to, to do something that I think folks...
7:20
I mean, judging by the newsletters, uh, we, we pulled together a list of, I think at the time of recording this, we're at, like, at about 139 folks who have- Wow...
7:30
yeah, who have joined the, the list, and that's only been going for this week. So if you're like, "Hey, like, how, how did I not know about this event?" It's because it is very new. [laughs] It's brand new.
7:39
We, uh, we pulled the trigger on it, what? Last week. Uh, two weeks ago. Two weeks ago. Is when I started putting, like, website stuff together. Yeah.
7:47
And then, and then this past week, you know, we- we've been, um, doing actual promotion and that sort of thing.
7:53
So we, we're still looking for, uh, a local bookstore to attend the event and, uh, and try to just, you know, be there.
8:02
And so maybe folks have, uh, the opportunity to, to go to a, the local bookstore after the fact, you know, and pick up a new copy of the, the ACOTAR book.
8:09
We're also pulling in, like, we have a number of vendors that we have already tapped who are going to be there with thematic goods. Actually, we'll be vending as well. Mm-hmm. We, we do candles,
8:21
and at that point, maybe if you're lucky, we might also be doing perfumes. I'm so excited. [laughs] I'm so excited. Uh, but we, yeah, we'll, we'll definitely be there.
8:31
Likely, uh, performances, we're figuring out how much we want to, to invest in that side, like, you know, how much cosplay or, like, actors, um- Mm-hmm... in cosplay we want to, to do there. Yeah.
8:42
How, how important are cosplayers to you guys? 'Cause I think it's super fun, but do you guys think it's super fun? The Starlight- Starlight Solstice.
8:50
Starlight Solstice, uh, again, the last one or the, [laughs] the one that we went to last year, that was pulled together by two, uh- I think it was three... three college folks?
8:59
My, um, I know, I think they were in their early 20s, but I can't remember. Uh, but they, uh, they pulled together this event. I think that it was the first time that they did one as well. Yeah.
9:09
Oh, they're from New York. Oh, okay. That's why it was in New York. And that makes sense. [laughs] We, we drove three hours to, uh, to get there.
9:16
So there's not another one of those happening in New England, uh, or, like, in the, the local-ish area, and that was kinda sad because, you know, like we said- Mm-hmm... we enjoyed it.
9:26
So, so this will be the first time, our first time, um, pulling this all together. Yeah. I, I do love me a fantasy ball.
9:33
Um, that one we went to in California, I'd gone for a few year- multiple years prior, and then I took you to one, and I think that... Was that your first fantasy ball? That was my first fantasy ball. Yeah.
9:44
And then we went to the Starlight Solstice one, and that was just a whole new experience for, for both of us, and I loved it.
9:50
I, I think the smaller ones, like, the big grandeur of, of the LA one was very fun, but I think the s- the intimacy and the, like, content specific-ness of, um, the Starlight Solstice and, and balls like that is, um, more comfy cozy for me.
10:08
Not that the event is comfy cozy, but what I'm trying to say is I enjoyed it. [laughs] Right.
10:13
And as far as size is concerned, we were, we were targeting ar- around 200 participants, uh, but the venue can actually support up to 450. That sounds insane- Right... to me. [laughs] That is just, like, a lot.
10:24
Especially with all of our costumes. Exactly. Um, but it is a quite a large venue, so we will definitely have a lot of space to, to move around. So we'll probably end up in the 300-ish range.
10:37
So if every- so, like I said, we have 139 people on that list at the moment. If everybody brought their beau, uh, you know, double that number. Not your bow and arrow. [laughs] No weapons, please. No weapons, please.
10:49
Just the, um, props. Props only. [laughs] If, if everybody had a partner to go with them, then... Which, which won't happen.
10:57
You know, some people will be turned off by the, the timing, uh, price point, potentially, uh, other conflicting events. Yeah. You know, maybe folks are just on that list to, because curiosity. Mm-hmm.
11:08
Uh, so, so there, there's no expectation there, but it will be important, I think, for folks to hit the early bird deal whenever we get, get that going. Uh, and that'll be announced later.
11:21
We'll actually be announcing it via the, the newsletter, but also more specific on the timing via the, the Discord.
11:27
So once we, once we get folks into, uh, Discord and that's all set up, uh, then we'll be able to, to speak there, and I'll let you know exactly when we pull the trigger, and you can, you can pull down tickets.
11:37
Uh, in November is also, so New England, a bunch of folks tend to, uh, be up here for leaf peeping, you know, as the- November? Uh, sorry, October. [laughs] As the, uh, as the leaves change.
11:53
And so the hotel situation is something that we need to navigate too.
11:57
So we're trying to get a, a grasp on our, our numbers, uh, early on because those, because we're, we need to get enough hotel blocks to make sure that everybody has accommodations. Mm-hmm.
12:05
And, and that'll probably end up filling up quick. Yeah. And can we talk about how beautiful the view is from that, uh, mystery venue? It i- [laughs] yeah, it is, it is really good. Yeah.
12:15
That, that was one of the things that got us wicked excited. Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a good space, and the people who work there seem very, very nice.
12:22
Yeah, I think you guys are gonna like the space, and I can't wait to decorate it. All right, well, that is about where we're gonna end it for now. Again, uh, so we're gonna try to do this, this podcast situation.
12:33
Uh, at the end of this, there will be a... [laughs] at the end of this, in the newsletter, uh, there's also gonna be a link to a poll.
12:39
I have a couple of questions to help, uh, give us additional insights on what you're looking for from a Fantasy Ball that will allow us to, to know, like, the, the effort that we need to place into different areas, be it, you know, uh, cosplay or vendors or, you know, performances and that sort of thing.
13:00
We've also mentioned on the main landing page that there is an interaction optional, uh, storyline that primes the events of the, uh, the Fox and Umber Fantasy Ball. However, so originally, that was gonna be- [laughs]...
13:17
in a separate, uh, kinda like a separate world or whatever. Like, um, not a- Independent storyline...
13:24
it's an independent storyline that we thought that would be really fun to just kind of add some context to the event itself, but it would live outside of the world sort of- The Mossverse... the Mossverse in general. And,
13:36
and then in hindsight, is that confusing? Is it- Yeah, is that weird? Is it confusing to have a s- a, a plot line that isn't [laughs] Sarah J.
13:45
Maas related moving into an event that is very much focused around the, [laughs] the works of Sarah J. Maas? Right. Would you...
13:54
Do you guys want interactive storyline with, uh, characters that are brand new, or, or do you want the bat boys? Well, you can have both. Can we have both? Well, the, the thing is that- Oh.
14:07
[laughs] The thing is that it could be... We're... Yeah, we're, we're trying to figure out where, what sort of thing that we should do as far as, um, a, a storyline in general.
14:18
And when we say interaction optional, uh, how this was planning to work in my,
14:23
in my, uh, my head here was I was gonna release podcasts that gave you little bits of context about this group of characters that would be represented in the ball itself.
14:36
Like, the ball is happening for a reason, and there's, uh, some sort of contest between different houses, and, uh, and then we would file all of the, uh, participants in real life into one of these houses.
14:50
And then that way, there's a little bit of a team cooperation or interaction, but not- nothing that is, like... Nothing that's really cringe. Um- Hopefully. Well, hopefully.
15:01
Yeah, nothing where you're, uh, needing to, like, you know, play tag or, like, interact necessarily with, with, with other people.
15:09
Uh, though, you know, [laughs] I've been thinking about- I think we want them to interact with other people... I... So, so been thinking about- But I mean, yes [laughs]... those sorts of ideas as well.
15:15
[laughs] Uh, but I think things that are more lightweight so you're not, um- Mm-hmm, a little more casual. We want... don't want it to be too high pressure.
15:25
And we don't want you to, to need to, like, role play or anything like- If you don't want to- Mm-hmm... 'cause that scares me. It also scares me. [laughs] I love a Ren fair, but I am so scared to interact with people.
15:36
[laughs] Yeah, I feel the same way. Uh, so if you feel the same way, there will be a question or two potentially related to, uh, to that topic as well. So please answer the poll.
15:46
And also, if you'd like to hear more of these podcasts, um, we're planning to do one in each, maybe each newsletter. We'll see, but, uh, that'll be up to you. I think that's it. All right. Thank you very much, folks.
15:59
Thanks. Love you. [laughs] Why? Why? I love you. Stop. [laughs]
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