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Wow! What an opener!
Firstly, well done! We have a clear picture of the major players, and I love the characters. I worried Kyle might be the typical jock, but no! That one line about accepting him as a friend says it all. Brandon is excellent as the main figure. His family is interesting, and seems generally sympathetic. I'm looking forward to what happens next!
Wren
Yea, it's an entrance.
Thanks. :)
In many ways, Kyle is "kind of" the typical jock, but not really. He's an all right guy who just happens to be a bit of sports freak. *shrug*
Well, his family is pretty cool. Right now, we've only seen "Mom", but the others will make appearances. I mean, what's Christmas without your family? xD
Oh, Brandon is in for a bit of a ride. Let's enjoy it with him, shall we?
Yes this is a really nice kickoff chapter
It sounds like a lot of the transitioning may be happening at home. It really depends on how fast his change proceeds. At least he has plenty of female help when the time comes. His poor father is gonna need a ton of male lifesavers to battle the ocean of estrogen surrounding him :).
I look forward to see how it goes.
Kim
"And they'll have to take the ball from the 32..."
*curtsy* Thank you.
Well, you'll just have to wait and see. I give no details on upcoming chapters. ;)
But, yes... somebody want to pass Sen. Lange a testosterone preserver?! The man is gonna go crazy, I tell ya!
xD
Good start.
We have a good idea of who and what Brandon is, and of his surroundings. Plus he has a good friend at university. The (minor) changes he's noticed foreshadow a lot more to come.
Maggie
It's a start.
Yea, a couple pages in, I started to think the "Wall o' Text" would be intimidating. Regardless, there needed to be some setup. Once I hit page three, I was getting a little wary about the lack of dialogue.
Oh, yea... at this point, it's all pretty minor. This is going to be interesting, no doubt about it. xD
I just read this and nice job.
I like the way you wrote Brandon and brought us into the story with a nice chunk of background. I'm looking forward to see where this is going.
Bailey Summers
Thankies.
Yea. I would assume that readers are pretty familiar with Brandon, at this point. The others will come, in time. To be honest, I'm not sure who will be major players (besides Brandon and Kyle), at this point. We'll see where the writing takes me. :3
The main gist of what's going on will take some time to build up. Hope you're in for a ride. xD
Success
Here's to the SUCCESS of this universe I hope it is as strong as the center and retcon,you have a great start hope it goes and other writer take up the flag with thier own stories here at PROTEAN DILEMMA---HUGS RICHIE2
D'awwz...
That would be really cool. Though, I think there could be some people who take up the mantle once they learn all the ins and outs about what's going on. It'll be a fun reveal, that's for sure. xD
Hm... there is no stuck tag
Hm... there is no stuck tag and a science fiction tag. I wonder if he'll be able to change back. Who has infected him with girl flu and why?
I wonder how this can be a universe. Is this somekind of virus, that every guy at that college will get?
Thank you for writing this very promising story,
Beyogi
Tags are relevant to chapter.
As of yet, not much has happened. There actually IS a sci-fi tag. As to whether or not the transformation will be "stuck", I don't know the answer to that yet. I let the narrative evolve as I tell it. Believe me, it keeps me in as much suspense as the readers and that's a really fun experience. xD
There is no "Girl Flu" virus involved whatsoever. The thing that is happening to Brandon cannot happen to those around him. It isn't contagious. Why is there a heightened temperature? Why do his muscles feel like jelly? You'll find out as the story continues. You'll understand why this is a unique universe soon enough.
Poor Brandon
I like the protagonist and I can certainly relate to his lack of direction in life :D. It does look like some sort of Girl Flu, my guess would be that some of the girls from that other college spiked the drinks for some reason, but I could be wrong.
I want more!
The nature of Monkey is - Irrepressible!!!
The nature of Monkey is - Irrepressible!!!
He'll be fine.
Good. I always hope that my main characters are likable and easy to relate to. It's nice to know that part came across well. Brandon is definitely suffering from the "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" syndrome.
Oh, no. There is no girl flu, no nanites, no magic potions, or any of that. Just wait and see. :)
Nothing like that... That
Nothing like that... That excludes almost all random transformation plot devices. Hm that means it's either somekind of genetic disorder leading to a gender switch, like the center, or somekind of directed transformation by supernatural entity.
Btw. I can defitintly identify with Brandon. My parents aren't that bad... But kind of close ^^
Thank you for writing,
Beyogi
An excellent beginning...
Building a very realistic background of and for Brandon. this is what makes for a real whiz bang of a science fiction, in my opinion anyway. take the normal and toss the supernormal directly on top of it and see what happens. Really enjoying this so far.
Please keep it up, this is fun!
Diana
My favorite part!
It's kind of pathological thing that if I'm not satisfied with the beginning, then it's better to just scrap the whole thing. It's so much more validating when it's well received.
Many of my writing influences start off that way. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Robert A. Heinlein, and Issac Asimov maintain that though things seem extraordinary they're really just ordinary, when you take them into perspective. It's a great strategy to use. :)
Monon Bell
No doubt as the changes start accelerating, one of the biggest questions on everyone's lips will presumably be: "What the heck happened at Monon Bell?!"
It's probably safe to assume that as nobody else is affected, his drinks at the party weren't spiked, so for the moment I'm pegging it as either the CH3CH2OH or some other ingredient in the drinks interacting with his body in a very unusual manner - so far causing vastly increased metabolism (diet + sweating), reduced skin pigmentation (looking pale) and presumably some degree of decalcification (one aspect of the shrinking). So reaching for a strong drink when the test results come back might not be such a good idea... :D
(Yes, my first degree was Biology. Aber were then daft enough to let me back in for a year to do a Masters in CompSci...)
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
The football game?
Thanks for the insight on that. I wasn't really sure where people were getting the impression that all of this began. Well, you guys will be in for a surprise. :)
Wow... people are coming up with all kinds of possible causes. How did the discussion go from "Girl Flu" to Ethanol? *gglz*
Boy, are you guys in for a treat... xD
Where did it all start?
It's mentioned several times in the story that the symptoms first appeared in the aftermath of getting rather drunk following the dance marking the end of the week-long football event. They're initially dismissed as a hangover, but it lasts... and lasts... and lasts...
As far as we know, there were no symptoms before the dance, so it's reasonable to assume that whatever triggered what's happening to Brandon started there...
Given that apart from the general atmosphere, about the only two things we're aware of that were different to any other event were (a) girls being present, and (b) over-indulging in C2H5OH. Occam's razor suggests booze as one of the more likely triggers (presumably coupled with something unique but previously undiscovered about Brandon's biochemical make-up).
If you want a really wild epileptic tree, let's say one of the girls was an alien in disguise, and for whatever reason singled Brandon out for some "special" treatment :D
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Who's razor?
LOLZ! Man, I should go to college, or something. Never covered that in high school. Thank the Goddess for Wikipedia, though!
"The simplest explanation is typically the correct one." Keep looking for your trigger because you're missing by a mile. xD
Yeah, Old Bill of Occam...
He was a hoot at murder mystery parties... lol ;P
Diana
Damn you, Col. Mustard!
Oh, yes. I'm willing to bet that he was the "life" of the party. xD
Only Real Alternative...
...that sticks out (after the ones you've eliminated in the comments) is that Kyle did something to Brandon. He's pre-med (most likely a biochemistry major) and therefore is probably taking lab classes, giving him access to biological and chemical materials. He's the one who pointed out the sum total, so to speak, of the changes to Brandon, suggesting that he knew what to look for more than Brandon did. And he's clearly attracted to Brandon in some way, whether as a friend or something more.
(And that exchange when they meet about Brandon being the only male child and getting strong-armed into poli-sci and then politics by his family might have suggested to Kyle ("sucks to be you") that Brandon might be receptive to a change in circumstances.)
The opportunity was certainly there; the obvious time and place was after the dance; you eliminated at the dance, but since they're roommates Kyle could have slipped him something at home afterward. (Perhaps he was jealous of Amanda.)
Certainly an interesting setup. Wasn't aware the whole school background -- even Martindale Hall -- was real until I checked Wikipedia and then the school website ( www.wabash.edu/aboutwabash ). Several things you described seemed to verge on parody, the dorm name included. (Apparently there's no connection to television host Wink Martindale, who went to Jackson State in Tennessee.)
I'm really curious where this is going. There's the title to be concerned with: Proteus was a shape-shifter, not restricted to one alternate form and able to change voluntarily. If Brandon's headed in that direction -- "emergence" -- it looks as though it'll take him a while to get there.
One possibility is that the form -- presumably female -- that will be able to shape-shift is what he's heading for now. Given the "dilemma" of the title, I'm looking at a weird theory where he'll be faced with a choice of getting his male form (or a male form) back permanently, or have shape-shifting ability as a female. Going further out on that limb, I'd guess that Kyle went through the same thing and chose his male form, and that's the reason he knows how to initiate this and what happens next.
Eric
A whole lot of... wow.
Man, you guys are as bad as some of my friends playing Clue. "It was Professor Plum, in the library, with a knife." ... "It was Miss Scarlet, in the conservatory, with a rope." ... "It was Yvette the Maid, in the study, with a candlestick!"
It's actually really funny to watch, as the writer. xD
At last count, there are only three full-time all-male colleges in the United States. There's one more in California on a ranch, but it's a two-year school. Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, is one of them. It's a pretty neat school, too. Fun fact: Andrea James, a transsexual actress and activist with Deep Stealth Productions (and friend of Calpernia Addams), is a Wabash alum. So, technically, she's the only girl to have ever graduated from the school.
The rest of this is pure speculation. Mind you, really good speculation. However, you'll have to see what happens. I give no details. :P
A really good start, keep at
A really good start, keep at it. And no, I won't indulge in WAGs, for now. :)
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
after you mention this
i did not remember it, so i reread it. it was good then and still is. I look forward to new chapters of both your stories.
thanks
if you still come to the sight
Plz put more up or just make an appearance. I am sure alot of people want u back
Sounding like a wonderfull
Sounding like a wonderfull start..You owe me the continuation for two stories now!! Get hot!!
Love em!!!
alissa