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 |  A hub for the "Book of Masks" universe. |
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The Interactives "The Book of Masks"  : A high school student discovers a grimoire that can make magical disguises."The Wandering Stars" : Sequel to "The Book of Masks.""Student Bodies" : A high school student is turned into a blue goo that can possess people.For non-WdC Members "The Book of Masks: Archives" : Dodges the "Servers Busy" barrier!"The Book of Masks (Abridged)" : Introductory storylines for new readers.Community "BoM/TWS Message Forum" : Community for readers of the interactives."BoM/TWS/SB Wiki" : Notes and documentation for authors. Spoilers!Current Polls None The Latest 4/15: Interactive: "Sunday at the Park with Teresa" 4/15: Public: "Sunday at the Park with Teresa"
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| Jeez, this is embarrassing. It's been a long time since I've thanked anyone for sending me Gift Points, even though I've received a pile of them, particularly with the last branch. I'm sure I've received others than from Easy and AstralBot3D, but I will thank them directly for the kindness they showed in giving me points, and will make a general thinks to anyone else who gave me GPs before that long hiatus I took. I had to clear out my email box with dynamite when I came back, and I lost a lot of emails. Meanwhile: The round robin (rugal, Nostrum, and me) starts today: * Interactive: "The Mystery of the Girl from the East" * Public: "The Mystery of the Girl from the East" and the poll continues: [Poll completed and deleted.] |
| Today's chapter— * Interactive: "Corporate Strategies" * Public: "Corporate Strategies" —brings this branch to a temporary stop. I am definitely going to return to it, because it was huge fun to game out and write. It also has a slightly different atmosphere, because in this one the fakes not only know that they're fakes, they also subtly act like fakes, thanks to the accidental way that Will has been programming them. I'm going to be running some polls during the month of September, and I'm going to start with a poll about this last chapter. Which choice do you want to see continued when I resume this branch? Should Will start by recruiting some partners? Or should he make some more doppelgangers first? Poll is here, along with the rules: [Poll completed and deleted.]. It closes on Thursday, August 25. * * * Meanwhile, tomorrow brings a change of pace. Rugal, Nostrum and I spent a lot of August doing a round-robin writing exercise, and we'll start posting it tomorrow. It will begin with a sequel to "Prospective Partnerships" Will is looking for someone to help him do work with the book. He has been very hesitant about making a decision, though, to the point that he is now entertaining some pretty unusual possibilities: Catherine Muskov? Genesis Lee? A girl from Eastman High that he just met? |
| Today I put up a bunch of chapters in the interactive: * "The Hands, Eyes, and Ears of Fate" --> "If You Were Only Someone Else" * "The Smart Set" * "Lives of the Party" * "A Leopard Who Can Change His Sports" * "Prizes Behind the Curtain" Five of them are short and similar to each other, since they just expand upon yesterday's chapter. But I didn't want to put up only one very short chapter, so I'm posting all the expansion sets plus the sequel heading into the branch to be developed. In the Archives, though, I'm only posting the two chapters in the active branch, not the four pointing in directions not taken (yet): Archive: "The Hands, Eyes, and Ears of Fate" --> "If You Were Only Someone Else" * * * Separately, and not really related to anything: A few days ago the YouTube algorithm threw some videos at me: comedy sketches satirizing the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types. That's not really something I'm into, but they were funny, and I was struck by two in particular: ISTP Sketches and ESFP Sketches I know the Durrases are not super-popular around here. But whoa! Those are Frank and Joe. It was almost scary, they are so on point with the characters as they exist in my imagination (though Joe is more energetic than they guy in the skits). |
| I put up a post in the forums (in case you don't dip in there very often), asking for favorite MtF branches in BoM. That's to help out someone who is searching specially for those kinds of stories in BoM, but I also figure it's a topic that people might have some fun comparing notes on: "Favorite MtF Storylines in BoM" Oh, and new chapters for today: * Interactive: "In Search of the Perfect Hiding Face" * Public: "In Search of the Perfect Hiding Face" |
| Today brings an end to one of the stories you guys chose in the last Plot Plinko. * Interactive: "The Closet Case" * Public: "The Closet Case" As I warned you, it was going to be more about setting up characters and situations than actual shenanigans. It's also supposed to set up lots of ways that things could ricochet and rebound in different combinations. But starting tomorrow I will bringing shenanigans, by returning to the same area as when I came back online, with a sequel to "Queens and Pawns" (That's a new addition to the Archives, btw.) The story so far:Will sold the book to Caleb, but it has somehow made its way to Chelsea Cooper and Gordon Black. Gordon has used it to turn himself into a statue, and Chelsea (who thinks that Will knows all about the book; it's complicated) has been asking for Will's help. Will, in studying the book, has found a spell that would allow someone to replace people with obedient duplicates, and even to impersonate them. Will is concerned that if he shares this spell on Chelsea, she might be tempted to use it on him, and is thinking of using it on her |
| Today brings two chapters from me: Interactive: "Exit, Stage Left" --> "The Final Shot of the Story" Public: "Exit, Stage Left" --> "The Final Shot of the Story" The second is a little stub that ties off one branch, but don't worry that all this has been dribbling toward an anticlimax. Tomorrow I'll back up to "The News from Roberta" and take the other choice to keep the story going. I just wanted to nail down my preferred version of this choice, and to establish that Roberta and her attitude toward the book are completely sincere. She did not steal the book so she could get up to hijinks with it. |
| So, as promised, today brings the start of one of two branches that won a Plinko Poll: Interactive: "A Charity Drive to Drive You Mad" Public: "A Charity Drive to Drive You Mad" Maybe I should add a little caution, given the way it's evolved as I've written it (and am still writing it). First of all, don't expect hijinks. This is early in the story, and things have only just been introduced. But second, this was a choice to involve Will with people in the junior class, few of whom have been really introduced in the interactive. It takes time for me to figure out who they are, and to set up a social environment. Besides, as BoM is heavily weighted toward "identity theft" as a motif, it takes time to set up identities to steal. EDIT: Also, I do want to set up a variety of off-ramps along the way, so that the branch doesn't get locked into one development at the very roots, but has a chance for multiple options to develop. |
| Today brings the last chapter in the branch I've been publishing: Interactive: "Shocks to the System" Public: "Shocks to the System" I warned you it was a short one. Yeah, not much happened in it except some set-up. But it's been sitting on my hard drive for months and months, so I decided to push it out. I was planning to start publishing a different branch tomorrow, but I changed my mind at the last minute and will instead start publishing a sequel to one of the winners in the last Plinko Poll: the "Continue helping these girls" option at the end of "Cheerleaders and Charity" . (I'm not done writing it yet, but I decided I didn't want to make the voters wait so long.) The story so far: Will has made a mask, but he needs to find someone to use it on, because he doesn't want to experiment on himself. He has been scouring Westside during its after-class hours, and has wound up helping some girls who are working on a charity drive ... |
| Oh, it was a very tight race in that last poll. For several hours, almost up until the end, it was tied between "Will shows the book to Yumi" and "Will invites Yumi to Justin's party" with "Will holds on doing anything for now" far back in third. At the last moment "Show the book to Yumi" got an extra vote ... ... but behind the scenes, "Invite Yumi to the party" got more GPs. Adjusted for GPs, the score was 8100 - 6950 - 1400 with "Invite Yumi" taking the prize. My thanks to all who voted! |
| My new branch starts off today with a three-fer: Interactive: "Favors Denied" + "A Conjunction Outside of Pisces" + "Firecrackers at the Tennis Court" Public: "Favors Denied" + "A Conjunction Outside of Pisces" + "Firecrackers at the Tennis Court" That's because each of the chapters is relatively short and none of them have much plot. This part of the story is a switching yard (see what I did there?) where things can shunt off in different directions, so I thought it best to get the mechanicals stuff done and out quickly. Meanwhile, the poll is still running: [Poll completed and deleted.] Remember, I changed the weighting of the Free Votes so that it's easier for a choice that's lagging in the public poll to win out over one that's leading. |
| First of all, see the entry "Plot Plinko: Everybody Wins!" for an update on the poll I posted yesterday. In other news, today brings the final chapter in the branch I've been publishing: Interactive: "The Tracker, Trapped" Public: "The Tracker, Trapped" I think I mentioned at the start that it evolved out of a commission, but then I decided to make it a freebie. The idea I was pitched (in case you can't tell) was to switch Gordon Black and Jack Li. Gordon is moody and anti-social, while Jack is a confident extrovert with lots of friends, and the idea was to find out how Gordon deals with Jack's life. It's a tricky situation, because given the branch it has to be observed from without by someone who supposedly doesn't know about the switch. That means that Gordon can't express himself openly. His reactions have to be written and read, as it were, between the lines. But I really liked the idea and the challenge, and I spent a LOT of time imagining how Gordon would react, and how he'd try to act as Jack. I don't know how it came across on the page. I do know Gordon's reactions go a lot deeper than what I wrote, and I have already written more chapters in this branch and will be returning to it again. But this is enough for now. Anyway, tomorrow I start publishing a short branch, something that's been sitting in the pile for a very long time but which I've decided to put out there. It starts with "Some Ginger and Mary Jane" . Will took the book in to school and wound up selling it to Spencer Osborne in exchange for some marijuana, which Will is going to put into the time capsule. And that seems to be that. As chapter ends, Will's friend Keith is asking him to go buy some weed, in order to help Keith win a bet. There's already a branch where Will does help Keith. Tomorrow we'll find out what happens when Will turns him down. |
| Change of plans. I've closed the latest Plot Plinko Poll early, and the result is ... Everyone's a winner! I was looking at the post I made yesterday, and it occurred to me that it was ambiguous. What I meant to write was that the next time I started a Plot Plinko Poll, I would be reweighting the Free Votes. But I think some people must have thought the reweighting would start with yesterday's poll. If so, that wouldn't be fair to those who sent in GPs. So I've decided to go with both choices. I will be composing a sequel for the unwritten choice "Continue helping these girls", and will also be writing a sequel to the alternate branch, "Assertiveness". It will be awhile, though, before either one gets published. I have a very fat and happy backlog now. "Assertiveness", though, still needs a poll, so here it is: [Poll completed and deleted.] Also, to make it absolutely clear, I am going to reweight the Free Votes starting with the above poll After playing with some values to get a better sense of the weight that I want, I'm setting so that in this poll the Free Votes will be worth 1/5 of the average of the GPs sent to me. This will make it easier for GPs to change a result. Rule of thumb (this isn't absolute, only a rough guide): If Choice A has 150% of the votes of Choice B, but Choice B has twice as many GPs as Choice A, then Choice B can narrowly nose out Choice A for a victory. But there will be other factors (such as the number and size of the GP gifts) that will complicate this calculation. This should make the voting more unpredictable and hence more fun for everyone. In the poll leading up to this point, a small lead in the Free Votes tended to outweigh even large GP bequests. |
| The competition was fierce, with several choices getting GPs. But the Free Vote totals of choice He continues searching the school gradually built an insurmountable lead and took the victory anyway. If you voted GPs for a loser, I'll soon be sending you a refund, as well as your share of the GPs voted for the winner. [Poll completed and deleted] Will, while searching the school for someone to test a magical mask on, has been dragooned into helping some girls. He now has a choice of going off one-on-one with Yumi Saito, who is a cheerleader; or he continue helping two of her classmates. What's his decision? The poll closes on Tuesday, August 2, at 12:00 ET. The current storyline continues with— Interactive: "On the Outside, Peering In" Public: "On the Outside, Peering In" BTW, the next time I do some kind of story-writing poll, I'm going to change the weighting so that Free Votes are worth somewhat less in the final result. Even when the results are fairly close, it takes too many GPs to push a lower-ranked choice to the top. I think that GPs, which are voted by people who are passionate, should punch harder. |
| The Plot Plinko poll is getting competitive. Not only has the vote been close this time around, but Gift Points are now being deployed. So if you're looking at the current results, don't assume that the vote is going the way it looks. There's other votes coming in behind the scenes where you can't see them! |
| The choice Someone else at the school after a random search was so overwhelming in the early vote that I am closing the poll early and moving on to the next one: [Poll completed and deleted] Will has decided to find someone at school to test the mask on. He could pick a teacher, a girl he spotted in the tutorial offices, or someone backstage in the theater. He could leave campus, and look inside a local department store. Or he could take another look through the school. What does he do? Unless there's another overwhelming early consensus, the poll closes on Sunday, August 1, at 12:00 ET. The current storyline continues with— Interactive: "Piled Higher, So Digging Deeper" Public: "Piled Higher, So Digging Deeper" |
| The choice Will uses it on a friend won the third poll and it wasn't even close, so now it's on to the fourth: [Poll completed and deleted] Will has decided to test the mask on someone at school. Who does he choose? His friends Caleb or Keith? A random stoner? Or a random anyone-else he might trip over after classes let out? Poll closes on Saturday, July 31, at 12:00 ET. And current storyline also continues with— Interactive: "A Double Game of Doubles" Public: "A Double Game of Doubles" |
| The choice Keep the book a secret won the second poll, so now it's on to the third: [Poll completed and deleted] Will has made a mask, and he needs to test it onto someone. Who does he pick? Himself? His brother? Or a friend? Poll closes on Thursday at noon ET. And current storyline also continues with— Interactive: "Bets and Bluffs" Public: "Bets and Bluffs" |
| Just a reminder that there's a poll running: [Poll completed and deleted] At the moment the results are pretty close. If they remain close, GPs could tilt the results one way or another. |
| The choice Keep investigating the book won the first poll handily, so now it's on to the second: [Poll completed and deleted] Here there are three choices: Does Will keep working alone, or does he find himself a partner? And if he does look for a partner, does he choose his best friend, Caleb, or does he look for someone else? Poll closes on Tuesday. The current storyline also continues with— Interactive: "A Second Chance at Leah Simmons" Public: "A Second Chance at Leah Simmons" |
| You know what we haven't had in forever around here? A Plot Plinko Poll! If you don't remember what that is, that's where we get really interactive. We start at the beginning of "Book of Masks," and you guys vote on which path to take. We continue down the branches, plinking between chapter choices, until we arrive at an unwritten choice. And that's where I take over, continuing the story from there. We've done this before and it's been fun (at least for me). There will be two ways for you to vote. The first is in a poll that I will post, giving the chapter choices. The second will by awarding Gift Points (GPs) to your preferred choice. You can find a fuller description of the process in the poll here: [Poll completed and deleted] That poll, and all subsequent polls, will be open for 48 hours, then closed and a new poll posted. Today's poll, naturally, starts at the beginning of the story, and you've got five choices of path to take ... |
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