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Thursday, May. 8, 2025

10:15am EDT

Members: 778

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Total Online: 3,546

The Book of Masks Homepage

by Seuzz

Rated: 18+ · Book · Other · #2156493

A hub for the "Book of Masks" universe.

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/Contests
5/7: "BoM Poll: A Short Way with the Warehouse"

[Closes Friday, May 9, at 12:00pm ET]

The Latest
5/4: Interactive: "Getting Through the Afternoon"

5/4: Public: "Getting Through the Afternoon"

Special Update
4/26: Interactive: "Fröhliche Momente mit unbekannten Menschen"

and following
4/26: Public: "Fröhliche Momente mit unbekannten Menschen"

and following

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Seuzz

about 23 hours ago
In response to "Photofinish"

I should clarify a bit on the "one more GP vote."

The way the math works in the GP voting, you can get some counter-intuitive results. For instance, one voter sent in some last-minute GPs to support "Great idea," but because he sent so few, it actually had the effect of decreasing lead that "Great idea" had. That's because "Great idea" had a strong Free Vote lead, and this lead was bolstered by the value accorded each Free Vote by the GPs voted for it. That small GP vote had the effect of knocking down the value of the Free Votes, which had the effect of diminishing the value of the lead that "Great idea" in the Free Vote, and this diminution was greater than the value of the GPs voted for it. Hence, dropping a small GP donation onto "Great idea" diminished rather than enhanced its overall lead.

There was something similar with the "one more vote" anomaly. I thought (at first) that adding one more GP to "Weird" would push it over the top because it was so close. In fact, adding one more GP would work because it would have knocked the value of "Great idea's" Free Vote below the 50% threshold. Moreover, to affect the value of the Free Vote, that one extra GP would have had to come from a new voter. If one of the other GP voters for "Weird" had voted one more GP vote, that wouldn't have affected the outcome significantly.

I know that this makes the GP vote sound weird, and it is. But (1) the weirdness is under the hood and invisible to the voters. The only thing they should be worried about is trying to support their favored choices. And (2) the only outcome that matters is the final outcome, not the changes that occur as votes come in. The weirdness that I note above is visible and makes a difference only if you watch the dynamic vote process unfold, and the actual process of percentages adjusting as votes are added is irrelevant to the final outcome. Had the votes been sent in a different chronological order, the observed weirdnesses might not have happened.

Wordsmitty ✍️

a day ago
In response to "Photofinish"

Ok folks. you need to up your bidding.

Wordsmitty ✍️

Mar 13, 2025 at 8:22pm
In response to "Another Upset"

Understand. Would really like to see Blackwell torment/play with Will some more. Let me see if there's somewhere else it could happen or an option added.

Seuzz

Mar 13, 2025 at 5:57pm
In response to "Another Upset"

No, the quick ending stays. Every interactive needs an instant ending somewhere near the start, as a prank on the reader.

1 Like

Wordsmitty ✍️

Mar 13, 2025 at 3:54pm
In response to "Another Upset"

I would like to suggest that Slippery Sale Option Three be treated as a blank and get replaced with a new chapter that eventually finds Will being affected by the book. It was too early for a dead end in my opinion. Also it allows for anyone who is looking to start a new line early in the story.

And, no, it wasn't me this time that dropped the GPs.

Seuzz

Mar 11, 2025 at 12:54pm
In response to "Let's Have Some More Polls"

I keep forgetting to reply to the suggestion above.

I add new choices to old chapters on an ad hoc basis: usually when I am working in that branch, and I see a nearby chapter, or an earlier chapter, where I would have wanted more choices originally. I don't go looking for places to increase the number of choices.

But if someone knows of a chapter that could use more choices, and would like to see them added, just drop me a line.

Wordsmitty ✍️

Mar 9, 2025 at 9:55pm
In response to "Let's Have Some More Polls"

Wait! And in this poll I will be posting the entire chapter ... Doesn't everyone always go back and read the previous chapters to refresh their memories?

Question RE: "Invalid Item"

- What's your (Seuzz or anyone) opinion of adding more options to some chapters especially the very old ones that were limited before it was raised to five options? Not every chapter would work to get more, but there are some that another option may have been (still could be) possible.

I haven't gone to look for examples, but I may if I have some time.

Seuzz

Feb 12, 2025 at 3:43pm
In response to ""Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue!""

This is starting to feel like something to put in the forum. So: "Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Official Off-Topic Thread"

Nostrum

Feb 12, 2025 at 1:19pm
In response to ""Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue!""

From what I've heard from a CC at YouTube, not very good. It's basically forcing you to restart again, except you get a few advantages from your earlier progression. A change for the sake of it, not because it was necessary.

You tell me if that's the case, though. I recall "1MT'ing" with Civ1 on a SNES emulator during college almost through 4 AM, so I know the allure.

Seuzz

Feb 12, 2025 at 12:49pm
In response to ""Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue!""

I 1MT-ed yesterday for, like, 7 hours into the dead of night. I was so mad at myself.

In my defense, I was trying to get through the "Age of Antiquity" to the "Age of Exploration" because I wanted to see what this new "Age of" mechanic is like.

May 7, 2025 at 2:43pm

#1088881

Another Landslide

In contrast to the last poll, this one was another run-away winner thanks to lopsided GP voting accenting a heavy Free Vote:

* Hang out with Carson: 80.8%
* Return to Patrick and his gang: 19.2%

Next poll: "BoM Poll: A Short Way with the Warehouse"

Comment

May 7, 2025 at 11:55am

#1088874

That Script, One Year Later

Almost exactly a year ago (and it feels longer than that!) I announced ("Fetching Up Point"

) that I was taking time off from BoM to write an unrelated script.

Unlike the previous time I tried writing scripts (that benighted "Spider-Man" project), this one not only went fast and easy, it was a joy to compose, probably because I improvised it from the start instead of trying to outline it first. I don't remember how quickly I got it done, but it has been completed and filed away for many, many months. (Closer to eleven months than to eight, I am sure.) I recently returned to it to make revisions and edits, and for anyone who is curious to see what I was working on and how it turned out, it is now posted in three parts.

It is a fan-fiction reimagining of the pilot of the 1991 animated series The Pirates of Dark Water. That is a fairly obscure series—I won't ask anyone to confess to watching it when it debuted 34 years ago—and I only watched it early last year (via Warner Archive's DTV release) because I was intrigued by some clips I tripped over on YouTube. It sat in my head for awhile, until the urge to do a fanfiction overwhelmed me.

Relevance to BoM? None, really. But I will note that when I went to invent an antagonist much nastier and dangerous than in the original series, I found it in TF fiction.

Also, it appears that Frank and Joe were haunting me as I wrote it. The relationship between Rathka and Ren (as I see it now, with some distance) somewhat recapitulates theirs, though in this case Ren is far, far more callow and immature than Joe is, and Rathka older and much sketchier than Frank. But even their coloration is similar. (Though in that case, it's because Ren was originally blonde anyway, and Rathka would need visual distinction from him.)

It is divided into three parts and it begins here: ""The Pirates of Dark Water" (Act 1)"

There is also a commentary page (with spoilers!) that discusses some of the changes I made to the original story and lore, and why: "About this Fanfiction [Spoilers]"

. I suggest saving that (if you do read any of this) for after reading the script, unless you just don't care.

Comment

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