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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."Student Bodies: Transfer Students" : Reboot of "Student Bodies."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 6/30: Interactive: "Golems Three-ish" 6/30: Public: "Golems Three-ish"
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| So I hope the last couple of chapters weren't too ... uh ... attenuated. There was a spell that needed performing; some facts about golems that needed putting on the record; and Will finally getting comfortable with the idea of being with Sydney. It could have been longer—I actually cut out a full chapter that (on rereading it) I realized was just me as an author getting used to things. But here we are entering a crisis point: "Will Versus the Competition" (public) + "Will Versus the Competition" (interactive). You can vote on the first step toward attacking the crisis here: [Poll completed and deleted] |
| New chapters—"The Basics on Baphomet" (public) + "The Basics of Baphomet" (interactive)—and a new poll: [Completed and deleted]. Yesterday's was pretty close. I wonder what a three-way contest will yield. |
| So, Sydney's had another bright idea. You can read about it in today's chapter—"How to Replace a Stepfather" (public) + "How to Replace a Stepfather" (interactive)—and vote on whether to act on it in today's poll: [Completed and deleted]. |
| So, it's been a few weeks since I've thanked people for the GPs they've tipped me. I held off on posting thanks until after I'd finished posting chapters in "Student Bodies," because I was getting tips all during that run. But that run is completed, it's Saturday, and I've got a lot of people to thank: * Tal * Clockworkorange * dreadnaught * Puuuuuth * TheSkyMarshall * Wordsmitty * Easy * Achillesredux * proteus359 * araki * Feros * smitch GPs are tiny things in terms of money, but they are very big morale-boosters. My thanks to all you guys for them. |
| Yesterday concluded my side jaunt into "Student Bodies" ; today I return to Will's adventures with Sydney McGlynn in "Stuff Gets Real" (public) + "Stuff Gets Real" (interactive), which is the choice you guys voted for. The same deal will hold as the last time I was in this branch: Each time we come to a choice, I'll let you guys vote on it in a poll, and you'll get the chapter you voted for. If you vote to continue the branch I actually wrote, we'll continue down it. If you vote for the other one, you'll still get the chapter you voted for, but the next day I'll return to the real storyline. But I'll put the branch you voted onto my "to do" list. Here is the next poll: [Poll completed and deleted.] |
| Today's chapter—"A Choice Buffet" —ends in four choices. But instead of continuing along one of those branches, each of the next four days will bring one of the sequel-choices. |
| Today brings a giant switch in focus. For the first time in years I'll be publishing chapters in "Student Bodies" , which is the first interactive I ever started—a relaunch of Nptox18's "The Body Possession Powers" interactive. (He generously gave me permission to Xerox his characters and his idea.) I'm probably rusty. Here's where it starts: "Someone Gets a Science Project" For those readers who don't have WdC memberships, I'm sorry, but I won't be publishing anything new for you in the BoM Archives, but I will be republishing some old branches, so depending on how much BoM you've read while pushing through the "Servers Busy" messages, there may be some "new to you" material. I plan to publish seven such chapters a day over the next eleven days. Here's the first of seven reprinted chapters: "Your Life as a Dog" . I'll continue along this branch for a couple of days at least. I'm still listening to suggestions from people about branches that should be carried over. |
| As I said at the start of the month, I'm going to interrupt this storyline (which continues for a dozen more chapters) to go publish something else, and today is the day that I break off. Here's a poll to go with it, which I will keep open until it's time to resume: [Poll completed and deleted.] BTW, you guys have been pretty good about picking the storyline that I composed. Only at the very start, when you wanted Will to let Caleb have his thing with Sydney, did you go off the beam. We'll see how you do on the other side of the break. Meanwhile, I'll give 100 GPs (which is much less valuable than bragging rights) to the first person to explain in the comments why, in today's chapter, Mike and Carlos start cackling about amphetamines, birds, and some guy named Leon. [I'm wondering how many people get the references and can follow their train of thought.] |
| Ack! I forgot to put up a post with a link to yesterday's poll. Well, there was a link at the end of interactive chapter, and at the top of this page, and there was a decent turn out, so I guess no harm done. It wasn't close either. I was expecting much closer, and expecting it to go the other way, too. Anyway, here's today's poll: "Invalid Item" |
| That's the headline, and that's the name of the next poll in the series: [Poll completed and deleted.] EDIT: Wow, that poll looked like a runaway for awhile, but then it almost got tied up at the end. |
| Today you get a poll! Based on the events of "The Substitute Student" , should Will follow Sydney into the book shore to spy on her? Or should he proceed to the coffee shop? [Poll completed and deleted.] |
| So here is today's chapter: "A Confidence Artist" (public) + "A Confidence Artist" (interactive)Aw, yesterday turned out to be a cul-de-sac; today you're getting the chapter where Will has decided to steal that girl away from Caleb. But don't worry, I've put "Ambush from an Unexpected Quarter" and the sequel you voted for on my To Do list.You don't get a poll today, though, because today's entry ends only in a "Continue." |
| Time to switch storylines! Will, working alone, has made a mask of his friend Caleb and has been using it to prank him and to steal money from mutual friends. Will has now gathered the material necessary to make a golem; meanwhile, a sexy girl has approached Caleb and asked him to tutor her in math. I already polled you guys on which path to follow, and that's the chapter you get today: "Ambush from an Unexpected Quarter" (public) + "Ambush from an Unexpected Quarter" (interactive)And after you read that, you should vote in the new, follow-up poll: [Poll completed and deleted.] You have 24 hours. * * * * * This, by the way, is going to be the pattern around here while I'm publishing sequels to "A Plot Twist for Caleb Johansson." A lot of the chapters will end with a "Continue," but when I hit a chapter choice I will poll you on which way to go. And I'm going to poll you even though I've got a long storyline already worked out and written. * If you vote for the chapter that follows the branch I've written, I will publish it and ignore the alternate. * If you vote for the one-off, I will publish it, but then the next day I will back up and continue down the branch that I've already written. However, by voting for the one-off you will have told me you would like to see it continued, and I will put it on my list of branches to write in. And if the one-off ends in a chapter choice, I will poll you on which of those chapter choices to continue. So, is today's chapter the one-off or the continuation? You'll find out tomorrow. |
| Today brings the last of the seven chapters I wrote in this area: "The House of Professor Blackwell" (public) + "The House of Professor Blackwell" (interactive). They didn't do a whole lot besides force the crisis that had been brewing since they looked down and discovered that Lucy had been replace with a golem, but I hope it's a set up for (eventually) some fun and challenging stuff. Meanwhile, tomorrow starts the really big project that I was noodling with from the first of the year. It starts with "A Plot Twist for Caleb Johansson" (public) + "A Plot Twist for Caleb Johansson" {interactive) if you want to get up to speed. Obviously I don't want to say anything about what's going to happen, but I will caution that there is going to be a relative dearth of shenanigans. Mostly it's going to be about a new character. But I really like the character and I hope you guys do too. |
| So I'm switching things up a little today by giving you a twofer: Interactive: "Face Facts" --> "Mind and Muscle" Public: "Face Facts" --> "Mind and Muscle" While looking over "Face Facts" I decided it wasn't really worth publishing as the lone entry for the day, as it just hits the same events as yesterday with different details. So I'm giving you the sequel as well. One more chapter to go in this area, and then things are going to get interesting. |
| The last poll is now closed. There didn't seem much enthusiasm—no GPs got voted—but it met the bare minimum for me to take up the challenge of figuring out who Scott Frazier is and what would happen if he and Will partnered to study the Libra. Meanwhile, with "How to Sideline Yourself" we circle through a cul-de-sac in the current storyline. Tomorrow I will back up a chapter to "Dark Histories" and we'll take a three-chapter path down one of the other two choices.And yes, those are links to the Archives edition of BoM. It's the same material as in the interactive chapters, and it's easier to post one link than two. |
| So the vote in Part 1 was pretty overwhelming: You wanted Will to work with a partner. But which one? [Poll completed and deleted.] I'm not including Caleb because we've already got lots of Will+Caleb partnership action elsewhere. Poll will run for 2 days. It needs at least 15 free votes or 2000 GPs for me to act on it. |
| While we're still trying to figure out one new storyline—[Poll completed and deleted]—let's have another. Background: Will has given the Libra away, but he has been roped into shenanigans by his friend Keith and some of Keith's friends, who have been impersonating some of the cheerleaders and trying to make Will popular. Will does not want to impersonate anyone, but Keith (who has been impersonating Cindy Vredenburg) has suggested that he (Keith/Cindy) could start going out with Will ... "A Change of Mind" (public) + "A Change of Minds" (interactive) |
| So now we've got five chapters setting up some alternate destinations/partnerships for Will and the Libra. Would you like to see any of these in particular developed? Let's have a poll! [Poll completed and deleted.] It will run for two days and must get at least 15 votes, or it's not going to be worth it to me to concentrate on it. |
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