At the end of 2008 and 2009 I made posts exactly like this one, a “best of” post, if you will. Basically a highlight of the important things that happened in the year previous, which will be followed by a post of the things I hope to happen in the year to come.

While I didn’t achieve all the goals I set for 2010⁰¹ I did achieve quite a few of them. I didn’t get either of the licenses I mentioned last year, both of which I would still like to get, actually, but I did find a partner (albeit an ex at the time), write more, comment more, figure out my job situation, work on getting out of debt (not there yet), and I was definitely more active. Pretty good, if you ask me. So here are some of the highlights of the year.

In 2010 (kind-of sort-of in chronological order)…

• I was in a production of Julius Caesar with Theatre in the Rough in Juneau.
• I reunited with Onyx and moved back to Seattle after spending the first two and a half months of the year in Juneau.
• I participated in my first foursome and my number of sexual partners increased by four (though it hasn’t increased since July).
• I had some great weekends and got to meet Tristan Taormino, Amber, Em, Lilly, Nadia, Roxy, and Alpine Subdreams, and see Kyle, CoyPink, Alec (CoyPink’s husband), Essin’ Em/Shanna, and Minx again.
• I attended the Seattle Erotic Arts Festival for the first time, Sex 2.0 for the second time, and Element 11 for the second.
• I sorted out what I’m doing with my life and have been making strides toward that goal. It’s a work in progress.
• I worked on becoming more healthy and active and, in the process, lost quite a bit of weight, although I haven’t really talked about it that much, other than the post I just linked to which is more about my reconciliation of being size-positive but still wanting to lose weight than actually losing weight.
• I celebrated five years with Onyx (not counting the break in our relationship from November 2009 to January 2010).
• I changed my domain once again from FemmeFagette.com to OfPleasure.com
• Onyx and I did a lot of talking and examining of our relationship and rediscovered our Owner/Cuntpet dynamic. After a few months I asked for a new collar to symbolize our new relationship and he re-collared me on the five-year anniversary of our original collaring.
• I started the 30 Days of Kink writing prompts which I’ll finish in 2011.
• I attended and participated in the Seattle Esoteric Book Conference performing in a ritual play The Shrine of the Golden Hawk.
• I became more in touch with my spirituality, joined the OSOGD, and worked on learning and growing in that arena as well as others. I reconnected with the Goddess I am devoted to and am working on doing her work.
• I became a Certified Hypnotherapist.
• I participated in a pornographic documentary which helped recognize my desire to do work in porn. Scarlet Sophia (@ScarletSophiaXI) was born.

More? Of course there’s more. That short bullet-point list doesn’t account for everything I did in 2010, but it’s definitely a start. I didn’t mention my sex toy review site Wanton Lotus Reviews or my sex toy review round-up project Pleasurists which celebrated 100 issues. I didn’t talk about all the times that Onyx and I had sex or exchanged words of love. My posts for this past year haven’t even captured everything I have written about, this year was more about going out and doing.

I’m excited for the next year to come. I think it will be amazing.

1. I do not like to call these resolutions but rather goals, expectations, and hopes for the next year. Resolutions have too many connotations associated with them. [↩]

I didn’t intend to be vacant for the holidays, it just sort of happened that way.

Thursday the 16th was Onyx’s birthday. It feels like we’ve been going going going ever since. The party we threw for Onyx’s bday was a great success, then the lunar eclipse on Monday night, then we went to a solstice party on Tuesday, performed a solstice ritual on Thursday, and met my sister and her boyfriend at the airport on Saturday during their five-hour layover, then had people over on Sunday for the Sacred Sexuality Book Club we are hosting. There were plenty of other things in between, but those were the big ones.

All this activity and socializing has been making me a little crazy, honestly. I’m a hardcore introvert, by which I mean I recharge by being alone and get zapped of energy while socializing with others. I have been so much of a hermit the last few years, as well, that I’m still adjusting to being so social. It’s nice, though, we finally have a good group of friends that we know and like and have activities that we engage in. Our hermit-like behavior is becoming more chosen than default.

Luckily since Sunday and for the rest of this week we have absolutely no plans outside of work and New Years Eve, our usual Thursday night and Sunday afternoon activities have been cancelled so we’ll have lots of time for ourselves, which we have desperately needed after the last couple of weeks.

Technically we don’t celebrate “Christmas,” though my family has an important tradition of gift giving. We sent out quite a few presents and received many as well, the biggest of which was a KitchenAid Stand Mixer that was a group effort from a handful of my relatives. I’ve already used it a couple times and it is amazing! Seriously worth the money. I kind of want to start a food blog now but there’s no way I have time for another blog, I hardly have the time to update what I already have.

There were plenty of other awesome presents as well, including lots of Cthulhu items, some geeky shirts, lots of socks (I seriously have an obsession), some books, and a pair of amazing kick-ass and comfy knee-high boots (my tied-for-favorite gift with the Stand Mixer. They will be featured in a Wanton Wednesday soon)! Overall it’s been a great last few weeks and I’m very much looking forward to this week of relaxation.

Even though Christmas itself has passed I am still going to leave you with my newest favorite sorta-Christmas song by Lon Milo DuQuette “If We Believed.”

Not too long ago near the beginning of this month I answered a post in the Seattle Area Personal Ads group on FetLife (login required) for a project titled Process of Pain for Raise Your Fist Productions. It explores masochism, giving a taste of what pain is, what masochists and sadists love about pain, how we play, and other various things. I was very interested in doing this and Onyx agreed to be part of it as well, as a part of being in the documentary was agreeing to do a scene on camera.

Last Monday Amanda came over and we shot a breast play scene. Onyx pulled and twisted my nipples, slapped my breasts, pulled my hair, slapped my face, and made me come on camera. He also used crops, a cane, and nipple clamps on me. It wasn’t a super heavy scene, though there was a good amount of pain, and we didn’t fuck on camera but I did come multiple times. Amanda said she got some very nice shots. She’s filming other couples for this as well and I’m sure I will post about it again when it is done. I’m very excited to see the finished result.

It’s brought up a lot of interesting things for me, as I’ve always loved porn and for a long time I’ve had a fantasy about doing it, though I’ve not always had the body-confidence that I have gained over the last few years. I’ve been seriously considering exploring phone sex work again in the last couple months, I made a couple NiteFlirt accounts but have not yet utilized them to their full potential, and now after this experience I’m seriously considering getting into ethical queer pornography as well.

I say ethical queer pornography because that’s the only type I would be willing to do. This documentary was a great first step, I think, it proved to me that it was something I could do on camera, and I enjoyed doing so. I have a lot of theatre background and have been on stage and in front of the camera many times so I always kind of new I would be able to do it, but there was always some doubt. Now that doubt is gone.

I’ve also recently been reconnecting with my Goddess Babalon after a slight deviation from her path and I believe that getting in to sex work and pornography would be a great act of devotion to her. She was part of the reason I started exploring phone sex work two years ago as well.

Since filming I came across this quote while reading Demons of the Flesh: The Complete Guide to Left-Hand Path Sex Magic for the Sacred Sexuality Book Club Onyx and I are hosting at our place which first met today.

“The moral pornographer would be an artist who uses pornographic material as a part of the acceptance of the logic of a world of absolute sexual license for all the genders, and projects a model of the way such a world might work. His business would be the total demystification of the flesh and the subsequent revelation, through the infinite modulations of the sexual act… the pornographer has it in his power to become a terrorist of the imagination, a sexual guerilla whose purpose is to overturn our most basic notions of these relations, to reinstate sexuality as a primary mode of being rather than a specialized area of vacation from being and to show that the everyday meetings in the marriage bed are parodies of their own pretensions. -Angela Carter

Papageno 4 by selfmade1

I found and used this on last week’s Pleasurists and love it so much I wanted to share it here too. I’ve become enamored with peacock feathers lately and want to do this to my hair. That is all.

It was nothing strict or formal or fancy, we’ve never really been any of those things. We just talked.

We talked about how we got to collaring in the first place five years ago: when it happened, where it happened. We talked about the past five years and highlights of our relationship. We talked about how we got back to collaring and the changes that have taken place over the past year especially but over all our time together.

He told me he is proud to own me. I told him I am proud to be owned by him. And I am.

The hard cool steel slid around my neck and he screwed it in place. I have not taken it off since, nor do I plan to for as long as possible (probably not until the next time we fly, to be practical). It’s heavy and the weight of it constantly reminds me of his ownership. I love being reminded.

He used me then, emphasizing his ownership, dragging me into the bedroom by my hair and fucking me until we were both exhausted and spent. We cuddled and murmured our “I love you”s and talked more about the symbolism of the collar. He said he loves the way it looks. I couldn’t agree more.

We’ve come so far in the last five years. Both of us have changed so incredibly much, I would go so far as to say we just got more alike over the years, even more perfect of a fit. We’ve both settled so happily into these roles, as well, in a way I always dreamed that we would but always wondered if it was possible. Now I know it is. He’s amazing.

My new collar is a custom made 3/8 inch thick stealth collar from Ring of Steel. It has an onyx inlaid in the center and two garnets on either side for five gems in total. It’s so us, so perfect, and exactly what I wanted. He’s exactly what I wanted.

Just like everything else the needs of poly people can change quite often. Since Onyx and I got back together and I returned to Seattle we have had quite a few casual play experiences but neither of us have really been interested in another new relationship. I think at least partially this is because we were both so burned by the last one, but mostly because of the change in our dynamic and activities.

We’ve both gotten considerably more involved in the local occult community than we ever really have been before while we’ve been together. Our D/s-slash-O/p relationship is also far more solid and working. Also we both are working a lot and I’ve been taking a certification class recently. Add all this up together and it means we have just about enough time for each other, let alone someone else.

This is one of the drawbacks of being poly: even with a desire for another relationship there is a point when it comes down to how much time you feasibly have for a new relationship. Now, all of this isn’t to say that either of us would be against a new relationship should something develop organically (the only way we would want it to anyway), but neither of us is actively looking for another partner.

That being said I do still feel the pang of desire for being with a woman. I need a woman in my life with which to have an intimate relationship, that is just a fundamental truth at this point. I’m confident, however, that I will find someone when the time is right. There are just too many things that I am working on and that Onyx and I are working on together so there isn’t much room for anything else. I am very much still poly, as is Onyx, but that doesn’t mean we’re out there actively looking for new relationships.

This isn’t abnormal for poly people, in fact while in the midst of writing this post I came upon the term polysaturated⁰¹ which describes what I’m feeling quite perfectly, except I only currently have one partner but many many activities.

This all said, not looking for a relationship also does not exclude the possibility of casual and play partners, in my opinion. Something with friendship and emotions but without being “serious” would be ideal for me at this point in time. I would love the opportunity for purposefully casual play with friends as we’ve already explored a little.

This desire has definitely encouraged me to get looking around more at the local kink community, which I am already making plans to get more into. Not just to find causal play partners but to friend friends first and foremost. While there is definitely bleed over between the occult and the kinky scenes here in Seattle it’s also not a ready topic to be broached with a new acquaintance at occult social events.

Anyone who is already friends with me on FetLife may have noticed that I’ve been on there more lately and I’ve especially been looking at events in my area and tirelessly ticking “going to” or “might be going to” when I find one that interests me. Onyx has been doing much the same. We already signed up for a Delving Into Power workshop with Lee Harrington in February which we’re both very much looking toward. Plus the weekend intensive class I’m taking is over next weekend so we will have more opportunity to go to events than we have in the last two months.

I’ve been slowly pulling our focus toward kink as well as everything else that we’re doing, as I’m sure you may have noticed if you’ve been reading this blog at all the last couple months. Whether or not this happened because of starting the 30 Days of Kink or I started the 30 Days of Kink because my focus was already shifting to kink-related areas is a definite chicken and egg scenario. Regardless, it’s happening.

I’m really looking forward to getting into the community here, and I’m sure I will share as that journey moves along. Perhaps the ebb and flow of poly needs and desires will change once again through this exploration.

1. via Gabe on FetLife [↩]

There are days where all day my thoughts continue to come back to complete control. Lately it’s been giving up complete control to another, to the point where my clothes and activities are all laid out for me and presented in an unquestionable manner. All I do is in service and dedication to the other. All I am is an assistant to improve their life and quality of living and a toy for them to play with.

It’s an enchanting scenario for me, though logically I know it’s not something I could stand on a daily basis. Not without some radical personality changes, that is. I admire those that could do it, though, able to set ego aside completely and simply live in dedicated service to another being. Perhaps what that is what compels me about it.

I wonder if the fantasy would be better than the reality. If I would get irritable and selfish, or grumpy. If I could actually do it for a day or a few.

I’ve been attracted to the idea of control for as long as I remembered. It started as a fascination with consensual non-consent and rough ravishment play. The idea of force is little but taking power over another, controlling the other, turning the other person helpless. It may be the helpless aspect I’m attracted to most of all, being completely at the whim of another person.

The control that Onyx exerts over me, that I have given to him, I think that it could expand to anything he chooses. My relation to control has changed so dramatically in the last year or two. I find myself wanting to give control over to him more and more, getting rid of any expectations and taking pleasure in doing as he demands.

I feel submissive in a different way than I used to, and I like it.

I used to be so much more resistant than I am now. I was defiant and bratty, but not for the sake of fun because I felt somehow threatened by giving my power away, maybe because I was doing that unconsciously in a different way already, but that’s another post.

We don’t play with power as deeply⁰¹ as I would like to, though we’ve been playing deeper than we have before. What I mean by “deep” is, in a way, the same as “more” in that he has more control, more power, and has been embracing that. I don’t think there’s anything inherently better about playing more deeply, but it is simply something I want to explore.

A few nights ago I brought this up, and I hope I helped to dissolve some of the fears Onyx has about it. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to figure out if he has a genuine interest in something or if he’s just willing to try it to appease me. Perhaps it doesn’t matter either way because trying it could end up giving him a genuine interest in it.

Since then I’ve felt a bit of a shift, and I hope it continues until our re-collaring on the 19th.

1. for lack of a better term [↩]

Five years ago on November 19th Onyx collared me for the first time. We were in my apartment in Ashland, Oregon at the time. He lived in Salt Lake City and was visiting for the weekend.

We had been together long distance for only about five months when Onyx collared me the first time. He’s bought me a few different leather collars over the years, most of them have deteriorated in some way due to 24/7 wear. Currently I wear a heart-shaped necklace that he bought for me for the holidays in 2007 as my collar.

So much has happened since this collar was bought, not to mention since he first collared me, especially with our D/s dynamics, that I have been longing for a new collar. I wanted a permanent collar, one that would stand up to 24/7 wear. I began looking around at collars, not mindful of the anniversary that was coming up. We have been talking about getting me a metal collar with gems for years⁰¹ and I found a different style than we were looking at all those years ago, but a better style. We finally have it in our possession. It arrived in the mail today.

Since I have to wait to wear it until the 19th you have to wait to see it until the 19th. Though some of you have seen it already (cheaters).

I wanted something sturdy, something he could use to choke me with if he so chooses⁰², and something that could be locked. I got all of those things. It also has onyx and garnet gems inlaid in it, just like we were wanting years ago.

In some ways I feel like we’re finally getting to the place where we wanted to be all those years ago, the relationship we both wanted to have that we just couldn’t get to. I think a lot of that was me, though we both had hangups before. We’re at such a solid place now it’s almost ridiculous.

I’m not sure what he has planned for the (re-)collaring on this November the 19th, though I plan on asking him. It was so accidental⁰³ that I brought up wanting a new collar in time for us to get it right around our collaring anniversary. I’m looking forward not just to wearing the collar but for all it will represent: the rebirth of our relationship after breaking up last winter and finding each other again; his ownership of me and the different flavor our D/s-O/p has taken; our love and our bond which is now stronger than ever, transmuted from leather to steel.

For as long as I can remember I’ve seen collars as important and binding. As binding as a wedding ring, if not moreso, and far more preferable to me⁰⁴. His is the only collar I’ve ever accepted, and this relationship is the longest I’ve been in. I’m excited to show this renewed commitment to him and our relationship.

1. the conversation in that post happened before the November 19th visit in 2005 [↩]
2. since we do a lot of breath play this does not seem like too much of a request, though will definitely be risky, but we will examine the risks [↩]
3. or at least I was not consciously aware of the collaring anniversary until I looked it up [↩]
4. I am just not that big on marriage for various reasons [↩]

This is part of the Sex Toy Day Blog Carnival. For more information see the bottom of this post.

It’s no secret that I love sex toys. I love them so much I have both a sex toy review blog and I started and run Pleasurists, a sex toy (and other adult product) review round-up.

I remember the first time I bought a sex toy. It was at Babeland’s Seattle store with my older sister. I was fourteen at the time, but I always looked old for my age. I picked out a plastic glow-in-the-dark bullet. I still have it, actually. I remember absolutely loving it. I had used various items as “sex toys” previous to this including fruits and vegetables (usually with a condom) and my own hands, of course, but having a sex toy was empowering and made me feel grown up and sexually alive, in control of my own body.

From that point on I bought a lot of sex toys. I bought my first strap on (the Terra Firma Harness) and dildo (Vixen Creations Leo in black) at sixteen online. I regularly shopped at Babeland online and whenever I had excess money I would get a little something for myself. I bought vibrators and dildos as well as various kink items like handcuffs and blindfolds. I mostly used all these on myself or for partners over the phone. I remember my sister giving me a Babeland gift card for christmas when I was eighteen or nineteen.

I have always loved sex toys. In June of 2008 when I discovered a sex toy review program I jumped at the chance to enter it. I reviewed a few products I owned and then got accepted as a reviewer, which lead me to another company and another. I had already been writing this blog since late 2007. That’s when sex toys changed my life again.

From reviewing on my own site and setting up Pleasurists I have met so many amazing and wonderful people. I have met people through this blog as well, which I’m not discounting, but the variety of people I have interacted with through Pleasurists alone is amazing. I feel like part of an online community.

At first sex toys empowered me, enabled me to embrace and take control of my own sexuality. Now sex toys are such a part of my daily life and I love them even more. I can’t imagine my life without sex toys, or at very least I don’t want to.

From What Is Sex Toy Day?

To celebrate, we’re giving away 1000 vibrators to the first 1000 people who enter their info at SexToyDay.com at 11AM EST/8AM PST on November 4th, 2010. Sex Toy Day gives you an opportunity to experience the joy of sex toys completely risk free. There is no cost for the toy or for shipping. It will be shipped with complete discretion in a plain white padded envelope from Sawhorse Enterprises.

They’re also encouraging everyone (especially sex/sex toy bloggers) to participate in a blog carnival related to sex toys or become a sponsor.

This whole idea brought to you by MyPleasure.

I’m taking a class on the weekends, including this weekend. They are intense and rather draining, but we still did a bit of Halloween festivities. On Friday night we watched a few horror-themed pornos: The XXXorcist, Re-Penetrator, and Bella Loves Jenna. The first two are parodies (obviously), the third is just horror-like. They were both awesome and kind of disgusting. Lots of vomit in The XXXorcist, for instance, including during blowjobs and when the possessed women ejaculated. Ew. On the plus side they used toys from Divine Interventions! I seriously need to get my hands on some of those.

When I got home last night (Saturday) Onyx and I decided to take it easy rather than going out. We still got dressed up, though, so that we could take pictures and share them with you. We dressed up as vampires. Overdone, maybe, but we were inspired by the massive amount of True Blood we had been watching, and that some things are classics for a reason.

Happy Halloween, blessed samhain, etc. What did you do for Halloween?