New chapter of Tapestry finally

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New on The Masque

Picture Challenge #5 by raven, Jane Harris, raven, Tamin Rated: 2 - Provocative [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Pic Challenge #5. Photo: "what title do you see" by ~raphaelclass
Categories: The Library > Story Orgy Chapters: 3 http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1436&warning=6

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Mom's Second Man by Rajah Dodger Rated: 3 - Risqué [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Bobby's mother remarries, but why is he jealous?
Categories: The Library > Consenting Partners Content Notes: Exhibitionism, Incest, Masturbation, Ménage à trois, MILFGenres: General, Menage a troisChapters: 1Completed: Yes http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1435&warning=3

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This Fall by Hai Ning Rated: 1 - Conservative [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: autumn paths curve, as I curve on them.
Categories: The Bedroom > Poetry > The Ecstasy Genres: PoetryCompleted: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1434

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How to Spot a Dominant at Ten Paces by Sensuous Sadie Rated: 2 - Provocative [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Yes, he looks exactly like the Dominant of my dreams. Confident, assertive, mysterious, but is he?Categories: The Attic > Essays
Content Notes: BDSM, Dominance/submissionGenres: Essay/How-toChapters: 1Completed: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1432

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More than eye Candy by xpurrteez Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: A young woman seduces an older man.
Categories: The Bedroom > Stories Content Notes: Older, PWP – Plot, what plot?, Romance, Sugardaddy, Virginity/First timeGenres: RomanceChapters: 1 Completed: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1431&warning=4

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Scamp's Lady by Bleu Mushroom Rated: 2 - Provocative [Reviews - 3] New!

Summary: When you're a Colonial rebel, even going to the market place can be dangerous. Detained by the British, Deborah Morgan's healing skills bring her to the attention of Col. Kit Marshall. He wants those skills almost as much as he wants Deborah. She fights him almost as much as she fights her growing feelings for him. A murder that both of them feel compelled to solve complicates their private war, set against the historical events of the Revolutionary War in the South. Scamp's Lady finds that, even with peace, jealousy and greed provoke battles that could cost her her life.
Categories: The Bedroom > Stories Content Notes: Action/Adventure, Drama, RomanceGenres: Historical, RomanceChapters: 24Completed: Nohttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1369

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His shirt by rangergirl Rated: 3 - Risqué [Reviews - 1] New!

Summary: His bed, his shirt, his woman.
Categories: The Attic > The Gentleman Dominant > Stories Content Notes: BDSMGenres: BDSMSeries: NoneChapters: 1 Table of ContentsCompleted: Yes http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1430

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Life interrupted by Clvfan Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Chad and Jill are happily married but are separated by the war in Iraq. Both are highly sexed people. How will they cope with this problem
Categories: The Library > Consenting Partners Content Notes: Cuckold, Exhibitionism, Group, Infidelity, MILF, OlderGenres: Menage a trois, WifeslutChapters: 8Completed: Nohttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1320

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Aladdin and the Magic Lamp by Clvfan Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: An adult version of Disney's Aladdin. Contains the sex that Disney couldn't put in the kids movie, also extends beyond the marriage of Jasmine and Aladdin. Lets just say the Genie gets lucky.
Categories: The Conservatory > Stories > Animated Movies Content Notes: Alternate Universe/Reality, Drama, Fantasy, Group, Humor/Parody, Multiple partners, SwingingGenres: Sci-Fi/FantasyChapters: 4 Completed: Nohttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1358

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Randy Rachel: Cockhunter by Mag58 Rated: 3 - Risqué [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: A married woman goes looking for fresh cock on a Friday night.
Categories: The Library > More than a Couple Content Notes: Heterosexual, Multiple partnersGenres: WifeslutChapters: 1 Completed: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1429

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Julie and the Office Bull by Mag58 Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: A married woman finally succumbs to a colleagues sexual overtures
Categories: The Library > Consenting Partners Content Notes: CompleteGenres: Porn Without Plot, WifeslutChapters: 1Completed: Nohttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1428

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Be Careful What You Wish For by mjbarbag Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Rob and Susan plan a anniversary weekend away. RolePlay, Fun in the bath and in the great outdoors, and male domination.
Categories: The Bedroom > Stories Content Notes: Bondage, Dominance/submission, Exhibitionism, Fantasy, Heterosexual, SpankingGenres: GeneralChapters: 6 Completed: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1426

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A Holiday Tale by mjbarbag Rated: 3 - Risqué [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: The holiday season has total stressed Helen. But, Gil devised a way to let her relax.
Categories: The Bedroom > Stories Content Notes: Handjob/Fingering, Heterosexual, Masturbation, RomanceGenres: GeneralChapters: 3 Completed: Yes http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1423

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Amber's Enchantment by dweaver999 Rated: 4 - Wanton [Reviews - 3] New!

Summary: Amber is a slave of House Grantlo, on the world of Destran. Taken from her own world, one located in another dimension, she was brought to Destran to be trained to be one of the premier sex slaves in the world. Having accepted her fate, in fact, reveling in it, her training continues. But all is not well on Destran. As the world enters the infamous burning times, political tensions are heating up to rival those of the surface of the world itself. The Wizard's Guild has long known a secret, a secret that it's used to increase its power and wealth at the expense of the other political factions. Amber soon finds herself drawn into the midst of the upcoming political turmoil when all she wishes is to be the best slave she can be. While she desperately wants to be a good slave, as these troubles enter her life, she finds it harder and harder to not take sides. For unlike all other slaves on Destran, Amber remembers her past, and the injustices that people can do to one another...
Categories: The Bedroom > Stories, The Attic > Due, The Library > Another Reality Content Notes: Alternate Universe/Reality, Anal sex, Anthropomorphic/Furry, BDSM, Bisexuality, Bondage, Dominance/submission, DP, Drama, Exhibitionism, Fantasy, Female/Female - Yuri, Group, Heterosexual, Interracial, Masturbation, Ménage à trois, Multiple partners, Oral sex, S&M, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Sexual toys, Spanking, Xenophilia (Sex with Aliens)Genres: Sci-Fi/FantasyChapters: 6 Completed: Nohttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1317

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Promises by Saguaro Rated: 3 - Risqué [Reviews - 0] New!

Summary: Charlene gets more than she bargained for from her former mentor
Categories: The Attic > The Gentleman Dominant > Stories Content Notes: SpankingGenres: BDSMChapters: 4Completed: Yeshttp://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1421


Also, there are two new photos of Sensual Sadie in the Gallery. Both are beautifully lit, with gorgeous settings and props. Sadie herself is the model.

anti-spam, The Masque's birthday

I've added two more measures to the anti-spam campaign on The WIKTT Archives gallery - another Captcha and an email-completion part of gallery registration. It's already cut down on about 90% of the WIKTT gallery spam (but hopefully not new fans of the artwork posted.) All this means is that new users to The WIKTT Archives gallery will need to fill in another Captcha box and check their email for a link to validate that it exists and complete registration. This is a fairly normal thing for many websites, so I don't think it'll be a huge hassle for people that really do want to see the gorgeous work posted.

If it works as well as I hope it will, I'll implement it on TheMasque's erotica side as well, though I'm having far fewer issues with it. I'm bugged that we're having to irritate real people with these measures so I'm trying to make it effect the fewest users as possible. Thanks for your patience!

Also, this month, The Masque celebrated it's 10th year online! It's been such a journey from the first days of doing everything by hand and literally making masks for each section. If you're interested in how it used to look, oh so long ago, check out http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://themasque.net It was really different, with fancy colors and little rooms and a LOT more masks. Though it had the same look, the story sorting structure changed twice as it grew - can you spot the differences in those old files? (you may even see a few old fic gems in there that have disappeared off of the newer websites, if you look hard).

On the other hand, have you seen the new artwork and stories on both sides of the site? There's some wonderful new stuff to take a peek at!

~BG

combatting gallery spam

We're trying something new to combat the utterly ridiculous amount of spam in the galleries. I've implemented two systems to filter the spammers in the gallery. I'm moderating all comments so that artists don't get hassled any more by junk emails and signed up for a filtering program. I'll only be moderating comments until I get the filtering program all trained up and every legitimate comment will be sent through as long as it's not an ad for games, shoes, designer clothing, random quotations of Dickens, or in Chinese. I check comments every day so will absolutely approve new, legitimate comments same day they are left.

I'm still deleting about 75 fake usernames and 100-ish spam reviews per day of spammers and am working on new ways of stopping them from even registering. It may mean jumping through a few more hoops for real users, but I'll let you know how it's going as we move forward in the battle.

We're also working on getting the little program back to have the "Most Recent" gallery uploads shown on the front pages again. I don't know about you all, but I'm really missing seeing those!
Have you been to the site recently? There's so much that's new on both sides that you should come on over for a peek! (Hint: check out the artwork and leave some non-spammy comments!)

Thanks so much for your patience while we work on making the site even better.

Cis - Benevolent Goddess
http://www.themasque.net

Unbelievable...It's a Blog...

*This is not a Pro or Anti abortion rant*

It's a Child, Not a Choice

Interesting phrase. Everyone has an opinion but I sometimes wonder if anyone stops to think what that child might want.

My best friend just had a baby and I am beyond happy for her and her family. She's wanted this for so long and I'm happy she's happy. The reason I say this is because I hope she doesn't read this blog or, if she does, she knows me well enough to not be mortified, infuriated and offended.

I love kids – I have no idea why, I have no concrete reason – I just do and I always have. I have none of my own which, at one point, was a source of great pain. I now see it for the blessing it is. I can barely take care of myself. At 22, it was understandable; at 44, it's pathetic. A child would have had no chance with me. I have a job working with kids who are emotionally and behaviorally challenged. I love these kids and they know it. With me, they know where they stand; my expectations don't change and, while my approach to each kid is different, those expectations don't vary from kid to kid. And, while I love these kids and don't mind the job (much), it barely pays the bills. I have nieces and nephews and the kids I work with and find they suit my need to be maternal just fine without actually rearing my own.

A couple of notes before I go any further:

I do not like abortion. In a perfect world, every child would be born either into a loving home or given to a loving adoptive home. Because someone, somewhere WANTS that child. That's not the problem. The problem is that these kids aren't being born into loving homes or being given up for adoption. They're born to children who think having a baby will solve their problems and give them someone who will love them. Or they're born to mothers who are addicted to something. Or to an abusive father...or mother.

In a perfect world, people who don't want kids...um...WOULDN'T HAVE THEM. This is 2010, people...USE A CONDOM.

I do not see it as my place to tell ANYONE what they should or should not do with their lives or their bodies. I don't want anyone telling ME what to do, after all.

I also will never understand people who have nothing better to do than tell other people how to live their lives. Why do you care if I go to hell? Seriously..if the Jehovah's are right...only a scant few are going to heaven...I'm one less person who might steal a seat on the bus. Stop trying to save me, I'll refuse just to annoy you.

So the bumper sticker says “It's a child, not a choice” and, again, I wonder if we were able to ask the child if it wanted to be born – would it? If it knew its life was going to be nothing but heartache and misery and pain – would it choose to be born? If I knew what this life was going to bring, I would have grabbed my hat, said “no thank you” and gone screaming in the other direction.

Let's reason this out a bit. You meet someone and fall in love, get married (or committed or whatever) and decide to build a life and a family. Great. You're going to have a child. Why? Think about it...why are you having a child?

Let's look at it from the child's point of view:

They're pushed screaming and crying from a warm, safe place into a cold world that, with the notable exception of a couple of people (hopefully), doesn't give a DAMN about it. Now, if it's one of the lucky children, it's born into a household where it is wanted and loved for the first five years. It's sheltered in its own little world where it's the ruler of the universe. Never expecting what's coming next. It gets sent to school. Huh? Wait...I don't want to go to school and sit all day and learn...stuff. I want to run and play and watch cartoons and...why don't I have a CHOICE?

13 years later:

Okay...done with THAT...now I'm going to go and run and play and watch cartoons and play on the computer and ...what? Get a what? A job? Go to college? WHY? I don't WANT to do those things...

And it goes on from there...job, mortgage, car payment...*blinks* Suddenly the kid that never asked to be born is bringing a kid into this world.

And that's just the kids who are actually raised in a loving home (or homes ...because I know several kids whose parents have divorced and they're lovely children anyway).

Okay...you get the picture. You've given birth to a child that you are now going to put all the expectations on that someone put on you. The child didn't ASK to be born – unless Sylvia Browne is right and we all chose our lives before we got here – if this is the case, ignore this blog and excuse me while I make plans to KILL MYSELF when I die (re-read that, I did NOT just threaten suicide) because what the FUCK was I thinking when I planned this shit? Was I high? Maybe I should have been? Ok...enough digression – but YOU chose to have it. YOU gave birth to it ... I think you are now responsible for it...FOREVER...because YOU made the CHOICE to bring a child into this world...the child didn't really have a say in it. And that's the truth for every single one of us. Someone else made that decision for us. Thanks. No, really, thanks a lot.

And, let's face it, Life sucks monkey ass about 78% of the time. Yes, I pulled that percentage out of my ass. A friend's father was fond of saying life is peaks and valleys. Too bad the peaks are usually not as high as the valleys are low and they're PEAKS so they're pointy and don't last as long as those flat-ass-stretch-for-fucking-ever valleys.

I've been in this latest valley for...3? 4? years...I'm tired...to the bone, spirit, soul tired. The constant...and I do mean constant...struggle has driven me to my knees. I'm a spiritual person. I believe there's something greater out there looking out for me...but for some reason, it feels like whoever's been looking out went on vacation. I don't know what I did...but it must have been really bad for karma to be biting my ass this hard.

Two weeks ago I almost drained what little I had in the bank and ran away. Almost. I had the plan...all I needed was my backpack with my laptop and e-reader...a couple of t-shirts and pairs of jeans, socks and underwear. Throw it in the backseat and just disappear. Luckily (?) my common sense (which, according to my mother, is sorely lacking in me) kicked in and I knew I wouldn't get far and then I was in trouble cuz...getting a job would prove problematic while on the run from your life and, unfortunately, no matter where I went, I'd still be with me. (yeah, someone else said it better...no matter where ya go, there ya are). So I can't run from my life...cuz...I'm still me.

So. There ya have it. It's not a child, really...it IS a choice...whether you've chosen to have it or chosen not to have it, you've made a choice. And you've made it for someone else. Choosing to have a child isn't necessarily the “right” choice – considering who and what that child might grow to be...and considering that you're going to push that child into making its own choices...when the first and most important choice was never his or hers to make.

Think That'll Do It,

CNQ

I was reminded today that I haven't posted in a long dang time. Oops, sorry.

What's new? Gosh, not much, really. I'm a pretty happy camper!

Looking back, I see that i never updated folks on that gestational diabetes test. The test was nasty - wow, if you've never done this, seriously, don't make it a goal. It involved four blood draws in three hours after drinking sugar soda. Midway, there's a major sugar crash that made me want to curl up in a little ball on the floor and cry. Of course, I recovered, but golly, it wasn't fun. The good news is that I passed!

My feet, hips and butt hurt. Baby is sitting very forward, so when I curl back on my ass to ease it, I sit on my tailbone. Awesome, right? Not so much. I've broken my tailbone three times, thus it's whacked out and not able to be sat upon. My feet and hips hurt cuz I'm pregnant. *shrugs* These will all be just fine in December... uh, maybe January. Frankly, this IS the worst and I don't have anything to complain about.

I'm doing well on what's going in my mouth. I'm avoiding fast food really well, eating healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinner. I've stayed the same weight during my pregnancy and at 33 weeks, I think that's pretty good. Doctor isn't worried about my weight in the slightest - though those of you that have met me know that, seriously, it's a good thing that I'm not gaining. The last ultrasound I had showed this boy in baby pike position - which seemes to be a favorite position for him. His head is down but so are his feet, lol. He likes nibbling his toes!

Had a tantrum at Dane a few weeks ago that actually had an effect. I was feeling ignored and hideous. Post tantrum, I have tummy-rubs (which also accomplished Dane figuring out that my moaning and groaning about being kicked really was about PAIN), being cuddled and reminded that I am attractive, even feeling like a freaking blimp. Today, of course, I had my first serious craving - frozen hostess cupcakes - which he both authorized and purchased. He got kissed for such good behavior.

The blonde started the year off poorly, missing three homework assignments, and thus failing her Choir (who the hell fails CHOIR?) and Lit. We are now homework nazis, which is just what needed to happen. She's settling into it, if not nicely, then simply doing. She finished her first essay. She had a week to finish it, thank goodness, so we did 4 drafts of it. I'm glad to say that all I did was prod her ideas and go over grammar (hers is better than mine, btw). I refuse to be "do it for her" mom. I hated when other kids had "help" when I had to do stuff all by myself and I'm not letting my kid have an easy road of it, either.

I'm trying to collect information for a financial planner. This money stuff is so frigging brutal. I don't like it, i don't want to deal with it, but I am because I have to, to forestall any kind of money freak out later on down the road. I have help with it, thank goodness, because I'm hopeless with it. I am so very grateful for the assitance!

Oh, I wrote a little D/s ficlet, entitled "Brunch", under my alter ego, cis at http://www.themasque.net. It was a quickie write that I had fun dreaming up. I hope you enjoy it. I'd love to hear what you think.

Win an autographed book!

Nearly everything we do today is on demand. TV shows on demand, movies on demand, ebooks on demands, even games on demand.

We’ve dedicated our latest writing challenge to The Masque's own Justine Elyot's latest book, On Demand. To participate and possibly win, write a story with the theme of "On Demand". The story may be either fanfiction of any fandom (Potter on The WIKtT Archives, any others on TheMasque) or original work on The Masque. All stories must be submitted by May 31. The story may be as long as you wish, but multi-chaptered pieces must be completed by May 31. Justine Elyot herself will declare her favourite and the winner will receive an autographed copy of her erotic new novel.

Just when you think it can't get any easier... we're running a second chance to win another copy of Justine’s novel! There's nothing more satisfying to an author than receiving comments on his or her writing- it's the instant feedback that keeps the motivation flowing. Continuing with the On Demand theme, the person who leaves the most feedback during the entire month of August will receive another autographed copy of On Demand.

Authors, in your story notes, please note that your story is an On Demand challenge response.

If you’re looking for more to read by Justine, check out her story 1888 on The Masque!

Good luck!