I’ve been to plenty of conventions/conferences before, both professionally and as the science fiction & fantasy geek that I am, but this was the first time that I had been to a kink event (other than the 20 minutes I had spent at a munch early on in my journey!). To make it even scarier, I was going alone!! As adventurous as I am, I am also a very quiet, shy person so this was going to be a huge leap for me.
Luckily, I was able to see the schedule ahead of time and was able to think and plan a bit for what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be able to play with rope… a lot!! and I also wanted to get some sensation play in there, including some impact play. I wasn’t ready to go to a play party, but I hoped that I could absorb the atmosphere of fellow kinksters doing what we do in a friendly space and participate without feeling awkward.
The first event was orientation for the newbies, which I very much appreciated. It was a nice introduction to the weekend and gave me some familiar faces I could seek out later if I were having trouble. Directly after that was Opening Ceremonies and we got to find out what all the rubber chickens were for! Many large ones were thrown into the crowd, with more promised later.
After that it was time for the first session, and I had chosen a class on Advanced Bandanas. As I was still feeling shy, I didn’t put on the lei that would have signified I was receptive to having a partner. In retrospect, that was a real shame as we learned how to make some truly excellent toys from simple bandanas, toys with thud and toys with sting, even toys that drew blood with a bit of string added, and had I been more “warmed up” and comfortable I would have enjoyed being a bottom here and getting some lovely marks. As it was I had quite a good time playing with each toy we explored and I’ll definitely have to add some bandanas to my toy bag! This was perhaps my favourite class of the weekend 
The next session for me was Foundations of Rope Connection, or communication between rope partners. By now I was warming up to my surroundings and donned a lei. I very quickly found a partner who was very into tight, rough bondage and we hit it off immediately. Communication proved easy with the games we played during class and I quite enjoyed myself. My partner was quite skilled and could even keep pace with the speed game at the end, while I was helplessly in giggles at the shouted directions for what body part should be connected to what body part! Alas, no pictures for this… they would have interrupted the flow.
Next up was a class on solo bondage, of particular interest to me as I practice so much it for my camera work. Their focus was how a partner could provide extra elements but I did pick up a few great ideas for systems of restraint including a new way of doing handcuffs.
Then came a session on evil rope tricks. I picked up a few more tips and knots here, mostly in the form of party tricks/sleight of hand.
For the last formal session, I attended a class on Sensual Scenes. Again I donned a lei and quickly found a partner who was willing to top me. Again, this session stressed building a connection between partners which is awkward when you’ve just met but we managed nicely I think. We fed each other strawberries with our eyes shut, lingering on the smell, the taste, the feel on sensitive lips. I took off my shirt (I was wearing only a karada beneath) and let him rub coconut oil into my torso. We also experimented with some stiff reeds applied to my back in alternating rhythms, sometimes as a dull mallet and sometimes as a sharp switch.
I didn’t feel brave enough to attend the play party that night but I did attend the informational session on How Not To Be A Creep which seemed to be mostly common sense to me (but really, how common is it?). I also spent some time going through the dealers’ rooms and picked up some Very Nice Things 
The next morning I had to attend an event at home and didn’t get back to the con until the early afternoon. I was pleased to discover that I was early enough to attend a session on Tension & Flow – Essentials of Rope Control. Though I didn’t find a partner this time, I was able to work on the exercises myself using primarily my legs and really enjoyed the class.
After that were the Sunday Quickies which were short sessions based on people’s interest and offerings. I attended sessions on self-bondage, take-down & capture, and body assessment for bondage/suspension and enjoyed all three.
Closing Ceremonies were bittersweet… it was hard to reconcile with the fact that this weekend was at an end! Thanks were given, many rubber chickens were thrown, and we were treated to two superb performances of dramatic suspension. I left vowing that I would definitely be back next year!!
The hardest part was coming home and not being able to say a word to anybody… I’m so glad I could tell all here 
Go see who else is being wicked here
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