Winter Fire 2014
It was a weekend that really ran the range of ups and downs. I want to get some thoughts down, so I'll put them here.
Eric and I attended Dark Odyssey's Winter Fire convention along with our girlfriend and submissive, rightcat (she's the “right cat for the job” you see :) We started out on a very high note. Friday evening went off almost without a hitch. We had dinner in the hotel bar with our dear friend flightless and her Dom Filth, and generally reveled in the way everyone in the hotel was just bouncy and friendly. Everyone just randomly talks to everyone else in the halls or elevators. We all know we have something unusual (and misunderstood) in common, so everybody kind of feels like we're already friends. We attended a class that evening on the topic of medical concerns and safety when engaging in kinky play. For those of you who don't know, we perverts are very serious about safety. You'd be amazed how much of our education and literature we devote to the topic. Many Tops even study first aid and CPR. You're safer around a crowd of kinksters than almost any other group.
It was Valentine's Day, so later in the play space we had a special plan for rightcat. While Eric blindfolded her and kept her attention, I went to get a dozen roses I had hidden from her, and put them under her nose to smell. I used them for some nice, sensual stuff, and then beat her with them until the petals sort of exploded everywhere. The official con photographer was apparently impressed with our scene, because we got lots of pictures taken. Big fun!
We were commuting home from the hotel, so when we realized it was after 2 AM, we dashed home to try to get enough sleep so that we could attend a 9:30 AM class on Saturday. This is where things took a downturn. We didn't get out of bed until after 10, and then just dragged ass such that we weren't back to the hotel until afternoon. Rightcat had to work most of the day, and Eric and I split up for a bit so he could attend a class I didn't feel like sitting though. That might have been a mistake, because I got a little anxious being in the fray without him. As the day wore on, it became harder and harder not to think about it being the anniversary of Dirk's murder. I had been thinking that the decadent theme of the weekend was the perfect way to remember him, because what could be more appropriate? But we ran into an old friend who knew him, and we started telling stories and drinking his memory. After a while, the sadness just greatly overpowered the party mood. I tried to stick with it, but it just rapidly snowballed, and I needed to go home quite early.
On Sunday, we slept in a little bit again, and missed the morning classes... again. The three of us even had to debate the virtues of going back downtown, or just blowing the rest of the con off and staying home sulking. In the end, we decided that if we went back, we could always bail if necessary, and that if we didn't we'd likely end up regretting it.
I'm glad we went back. We attended a really fabulous class on play cutting (not for the faint of heart) by the famous Shay and Stefanos, who always put on a fabulous show, while keeping the focus on playing as safely as possible. Shay is an ER nurse, so she really knows the ins and outs of the medical concerns involved. I got to chat a little with Stefanos after the class (it helped that I was buying a DVD from him, but he's pretty approachable in any case) We did a lot of lovely sitting around socializing, and then dinner consisted of eating sushi off of a naked flightless! This is a practice called nyotaimori, and is an incredibly fun way to dine.
After dinner we went to the Gender Blender Drag Show, which was lots of fun, even if some of the acts were a little amatuerish and silly. One drag king who goes by Manny Nuff was a stand out. What a showman! He did one act in a cowboy outfit, and one in a police uniform. Bit of a Village People fetish there, I think.
Our Sunday night play was lots of fun too. Eric showed off his rope chops by tying rightcat into a seated stress position that is sometimes used for interrogation. He called it his “I recently re-read some of that Midori bondage book” tie. He later lifted her up to a standing position for some single-tail work. We used a pretty balanced range of stingy and thuddy techniques, and she is now sporting some stripes and bruises that I am looking forward to poking periodically as long as they last :)
Also Shay was in the dungeon while we were playing, and she smiled at me, not once but twice. Squee!
Those are the highlights. I wanted to be sure I remembered them. Despite some set-backs, it was well worth sticking with it and insisting on having fun.
Eric and I attended Dark Odyssey's Winter Fire convention along with our girlfriend and submissive, rightcat (she's the “right cat for the job” you see :) We started out on a very high note. Friday evening went off almost without a hitch. We had dinner in the hotel bar with our dear friend flightless and her Dom Filth, and generally reveled in the way everyone in the hotel was just bouncy and friendly. Everyone just randomly talks to everyone else in the halls or elevators. We all know we have something unusual (and misunderstood) in common, so everybody kind of feels like we're already friends. We attended a class that evening on the topic of medical concerns and safety when engaging in kinky play. For those of you who don't know, we perverts are very serious about safety. You'd be amazed how much of our education and literature we devote to the topic. Many Tops even study first aid and CPR. You're safer around a crowd of kinksters than almost any other group.
It was Valentine's Day, so later in the play space we had a special plan for rightcat. While Eric blindfolded her and kept her attention, I went to get a dozen roses I had hidden from her, and put them under her nose to smell. I used them for some nice, sensual stuff, and then beat her with them until the petals sort of exploded everywhere. The official con photographer was apparently impressed with our scene, because we got lots of pictures taken. Big fun!
We were commuting home from the hotel, so when we realized it was after 2 AM, we dashed home to try to get enough sleep so that we could attend a 9:30 AM class on Saturday. This is where things took a downturn. We didn't get out of bed until after 10, and then just dragged ass such that we weren't back to the hotel until afternoon. Rightcat had to work most of the day, and Eric and I split up for a bit so he could attend a class I didn't feel like sitting though. That might have been a mistake, because I got a little anxious being in the fray without him. As the day wore on, it became harder and harder not to think about it being the anniversary of Dirk's murder. I had been thinking that the decadent theme of the weekend was the perfect way to remember him, because what could be more appropriate? But we ran into an old friend who knew him, and we started telling stories and drinking his memory. After a while, the sadness just greatly overpowered the party mood. I tried to stick with it, but it just rapidly snowballed, and I needed to go home quite early.
On Sunday, we slept in a little bit again, and missed the morning classes... again. The three of us even had to debate the virtues of going back downtown, or just blowing the rest of the con off and staying home sulking. In the end, we decided that if we went back, we could always bail if necessary, and that if we didn't we'd likely end up regretting it.
I'm glad we went back. We attended a really fabulous class on play cutting (not for the faint of heart) by the famous Shay and Stefanos, who always put on a fabulous show, while keeping the focus on playing as safely as possible. Shay is an ER nurse, so she really knows the ins and outs of the medical concerns involved. I got to chat a little with Stefanos after the class (it helped that I was buying a DVD from him, but he's pretty approachable in any case) We did a lot of lovely sitting around socializing, and then dinner consisted of eating sushi off of a naked flightless! This is a practice called nyotaimori, and is an incredibly fun way to dine.
After dinner we went to the Gender Blender Drag Show, which was lots of fun, even if some of the acts were a little amatuerish and silly. One drag king who goes by Manny Nuff was a stand out. What a showman! He did one act in a cowboy outfit, and one in a police uniform. Bit of a Village People fetish there, I think.
Our Sunday night play was lots of fun too. Eric showed off his rope chops by tying rightcat into a seated stress position that is sometimes used for interrogation. He called it his “I recently re-read some of that Midori bondage book” tie. He later lifted her up to a standing position for some single-tail work. We used a pretty balanced range of stingy and thuddy techniques, and she is now sporting some stripes and bruises that I am looking forward to poking periodically as long as they last :)
Also Shay was in the dungeon while we were playing, and she smiled at me, not once but twice. Squee!
Those are the highlights. I wanted to be sure I remembered them. Despite some set-backs, it was well worth sticking with it and insisting on having fun.