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Wed, Jun 18, 2025

6:24am EDT

Members: 587

Guests: 2,533

Total Online: 3,120

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
None

The Latest
6/17: Interactive: "Chelsea 2.0"

6/17: Public: "Chelsea 2.0"

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Nostrum

about 3 hours ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

It's alright. That is just an estimate - if one chapter was posted daily, it's achievable in 2 years even accounting for some days off - and one that benefits from multiple chapters and contributors adding to it. It's not an impossible goal and it's not a solitary goal either - yet it's an achievement nonetheless. (Which is what I wanted to remark. Very few interactives develop in such a way that they can boast over 4,000 chapters. That means you could read 10 chapters daily and you'd still be spoiled for choices after one year.)

Specifically - mentioning this isn't meant to put any pressure on you, but as a way to reflect, look back and say "who would've imagined this little story about a boy finding a magic book that allows transforming into others through physical means would grow into something huge?"

Seuzz

about 8 hours ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

Two years would be an attainable target, assuming I don't vanish for six months again. But I'm not going to set it as a goal. I got this far by not paying close attention to how many chapters there are.

Nostrum

about 8 hours ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

That's basically 556 (at the time of the milestone) chapters.

Two years, tops? Especially if collabs happen or multiple chapters are posted at once?

Seuzz

about 9 hours ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

So don't push me!

Seuzz

about 9 hours ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

Let's try to get to 4500 before we start covetously eyeballing 5555. Personally, I will be very pleased if this thing ever gets to 5K!

In terms of word count, by the way, 5000 chapters of BoM would be 8 times longer than the complete Harry Potter series, and about the same size as 19 Lord of the Rings.

Nostrum

a day ago
In response to "New Month Brings New Chapters"

Just to point out as a matter of historical relevance: today's chapter (June 16th) marks the 4,444th chapter of "The Book of Masks"

. Though it's important to remember that the interactive has received some clean-ups and that this isn't just Seuzz's work, it does mean it has grown to be one of the most prolific ones.

It'll probably take more than 4 years to see the 5,555th chapter, so keep that in mind. Daily writing and posting is easier seen than done.

1 Like

Nostrum

May 16, 2025 at 12:20pm
In response to "Student Bodies: Transfer Students"

Congrats, rugal b.

! I know how much you worked for this idea, and now it's a reality. And with a heck of a backpat, to boot!

rugal b.

May 15, 2025 at 6:49pm
In response to "Student Bodies: Transfer Students"

Yeah, I don't think there's anything incorrect in what you said. Part of the motivation for doing it is that I liked Student Bodies but as you said, the logistics behind it made it hard to really work with. So I liked the idea of scaling it back a bit and there's a bit more of an element of horror or maybe erotic horror (since it's still inherently fetish work) to it. That doesn't mean that it's doom and gloom or something like that but I do like the idea that it shouldn't be so clean, that it should be a little weird and offputting and eldritch.

2 Like

Seuzz

May 7, 2025 at 10:46am
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 ✍️

May 6, 2025 at 12:21pm
In response to "Photofinish"

Ok folks. you need to up your bidding.

June 17, 2025 at 12:12pm

#1091690

Turning Point

We've finally reached a turning point, so I'm going to stop work on this branch here:

* Interactive: "Chelsea 2.0"

* Public: "Chelsea 2.0"

* Commentary: "Re: "Fading Thunder" Etc."

Next up, a return to "A Dead End"

. This is the branch where Will, Caleb, and Keith became partners with a sophomore girl named Teresa. Where do we pick up?

The guys have forged some custom masks combining their faces with those of other people, and they have succeeded in making two golems, which they have stashed in the old school basement for ... fun and games. Well, Keith and Caleb have been having fun and games; Will has been distracted and a little grossed out at the idea of "following" where his friends have already been.

The plan currently is to forge some new masks for fun and games, and the guys are armed with some blank masks to take into the school. (To prevent themselves from being apprehended under their own identities, they will go in disguise.) At the moment, though, the question is what to do with the leftover graveyard earth they have stashed in the old barn out on the highway. (A barn that doesn't belong to any of them, but to some Eastman students they accidentally made the acquaintance of.) Make a third golem, or not? Tomorrow will bring the answer.

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