The Masked Ball -- Coming Soon

[Michael]

You might have spotted our new ad banner in rotation at the EpiGuide or on our site's front page. This month, years of story come to a head when Claire and Brent crash Loretta's masked ball. Long-held secrets are revealed... relationships change forever... and by the time the night is over, returning to real life will be impossible.

[Chris]

I'm excited about this! It's rare for a web series to even have such an extensive (decade-plus-sized) history to begin with, and the fact that you've finally got all the pieces sufficiently in place to pull the trigger on a storyline that so totally shakes the foundations of the series has me super-stoked to see where we go from here. As long as Nick Moriani doesn't show up as a zombie, or something, I'm on board for whatever you've got planned and eager to see it play out. Apart from the minor tease at the end of Episode #584, we still haven't gotten the lowdown on the Loretta Vendetta. And the whole (Philip?*/)Molly/Brent/Claire business will likely come to a head. So it seems business is about to pick up in a mega-huge way.

Now, when you say that "returning to real life might be impossible," do you mean that literally? As in: it's not going to be possible for some of the people involved to return to King's Bay, except in a body bag? I have the vaguest sense that my long-held and simmering dream of being rid of Claire once and for all could seriously be realized; and yet, story-wise, the farther removed she is from the Fishers -- and it pains me to say this, but -- the more I've found that I enjoyed her. So, alas, I don't know how I'd feel about her being rubbed out by one of Loretta's thugs. But I'm sure I'd get over it pretty quickly. Anyway, this is probably the most "into" FP I've been in a while, and it just seems like everything's hitting stride at all the right times.

*I must confess my obliviousness, re: Philip/Molly, because up until his dream about mackin' it with her, I honestly did not get that vibe, even after he broke it off with Lauren. Frankly, if he'd done an about-face and pursued Josh I'd probably have been less surprised. But whatever... Keep up the excellent work, sir!

[Michael]

Thanks for your post, Chris! Good to see you around these parts.

Originally Posted by Chris

I'm excited about this! It's rare for a web series to even have such an extensive (decade-plus-sized) history to begin with, and the fact that you've finally got all the pieces sufficiently in place to pull the trigger on a storyline that so totally shakes the foundations of the series has me super-stoked to see where we go from here. As long as Nick Moriani doesn't show up as a zombie, or something, I'm on board for whatever you've got planned and eager to see it play out. Apart from the minor tease at the end of Episode #584, we still haven't gotten the lowdown on the Loretta Vendetta. And the whole (Philip?*/)Molly/Brent/Claire business will likely come to a head. So it seems business is about to pick up in a mega-huge way.

This masked ball will bring forth a lot of revelations and explanations which, as you said, tie all the way back to the series' origins. This is what I love most about the long-term format of the soap genre: you can call back to something that was planted five, ten, twenty years ago and reveal pieces that were there all along, without anyone knowing it. It's beyond exciting to be able to do that with a history I've built myself.

Originally Posted by Chris

Now, when you say that "returning to real life might be impossible," do you mean that literally? As in: it's not going to be possible for some of the people involved to return to King's Bay, except in a body bag? I have the vaguest sense that my long-held and simmering dream of being rid of Claire once and for all could seriously be realized; and yet, story-wise, the farther removed she is from the Fishers -- and it pains me to say this, but -- the more I've found that I enjoyed her. So, alas, I don't know how I'd feel about her being rubbed out by one of Loretta's thugs. But I'm sure I'd get over it pretty quickly.

Ha. I don't ever expect Claire to be much of a fan fave, but I'm glad you don't find her too repellant these days! I don't want to tip my hand one way or the other regarding the climax of this story, but death is a very real possibility for certain characters. But the "returning to real life" line refers just as much to the idea that there are revelations coming that will fundamentally alter what "real life" is for some people -- so there won't be anything to which they can return, just a new road to follow.

Originally Posted by Chris

*I must confess my obliviousness, re: Philip/Molly, because up until his dream about mackin' it with her, I honestly did not get that vibe, even after he broke it off with Lauren. Frankly, if he'd done an about-face and pursued Josh I'd probably have been less surprised. But whatever... Keep up the excellent work, sir!

Really?! Not about his interest in Molly -- I included that scene because all we'd had in that regard were hints from other characters' perspectives. But he's still reading as gay? Hmm. If I hadn't done the Seth thing so recently, I might just make him bisexual and go for it.

Thanks again for stopping in, Chris! I hope you enjoy this upcoming arc.