serena, autumn check-in ! first of all, what are your latest aesthetic inspirations ? what perfumes do you want to try before the end of the year ? what books do you really want to read ?? and what are you really craving right now ? :x :x <333
hii, bebe <3 <3 <3
i haven't answered fun questions like these in a while.
my aesthetic inspirations have been from music, lately. chaeyoung's shoot reminded me of some of my favorite artists. big aya takano and yayoi kusama vibes. i saw the latterâs outdoor exhibition, cosmic nature, in 2021 for my birthday.
i've told you some of them already but i'd like to try d. grayi's white rabbit and vilhelm's moon carnival.
not a particular book but i want to read about issey miyake. i like designers who talk about their personal philosophies.
sushi! i had it yesterday with family and now i'm craving it again. my throat is sore, so i'm picturing having it with green tea and honey.
tyyy
autumn check-in, my vampy ! if you've the time and desire to answer, i would like to ask if you have any books you want to read, films/tv shows you want to watch, and anything you're looking forward to doing before the end of the year ?? :* :* :* :* <333333
How lovely of you, my dear friend! <33333 I've actually been on the lookout for autumn vibes, and bookmarked a recent post from you because I know you got me covered ;)
In terms of books I just finished two anticipated ones (Clown Town from the Slow Horses series and World Pacific by Peter Mann), so now am a bit aimless. Possible candidates: The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club book 5), Atlas of Unknowable Things, American Werewolves by Emily Jane, The Book of Lost Hours, Dark Reading Matter (Thursday Next series), and Slewfoot, which I still haven't read. I also really want to dip into folk horror but am very picky at the same time.
New Films & TV shows: Frankenstein!!!!!!! Chief of War!!! Slow Horses season 5, Wake Up Dead Man, Murder at the Vicarage, Wicked 2.
To re-watch: The Living & the Dead, Crimson Peak, Sleepy Hollow
And things I want to do; I've been super into art journalling, which is basically what we do on urstyle & pinterest but in a real life bullet journal with stamps and glue and it's been an absolute joy. Also I'll be giving a talk at the local cinema on Jane Austen and I look forward to that :)
I hope you're well and vibing, my dear, thank you for the check-in! <33333
My eyes had drifted shut on a small wood-panelled room in the back of a chapel.
When they rolled open...Â
Salt-chlorine wetness inundated my senses before anything else. I blinked hard at the vast darkness over me- the night sky- and abruptly, sat up.Â
It was obvious to me that something was not right. No matter where my eyes fell, blackness and shadow were present, obscuring most of my surroundings. What was plainly visible was the large swimming pool directly at my side- its aquamarine water luminous in the dark- and the bright emerald tiles beneath me, spiraling outwards into the gloom. The tops of large red umbrellas emerged from the shadows along with lines of white plastic lounge chairs, all neatly gathered around the pool. The unmistakable sound of sea swells were faint (due, perhaps, to my poor hearing) but present.Â
A seaside resort?Â
Turning my body, I could see a crystalline glint just out past the pool- panels of towering glass. It looked like a building with an awning and yet more levels above that.Â
My own condition was besides the point; the expedient matter was my surroundings. However, as I got to my feet- at the same time, realizing I was barefoot- I gave myself a quick once-over.Â
I touched my face and the back of my head where my fingers encountered my cousinâs handiwork of âfestiveâ curls and a mass of pearl hair pins. No lumps or bumps, cuts or scrapes- no blood came away on my fingertips. Nothing.Â
I had imagined being knocked over the head cartoonishly with a vase and being dragged there for some inexplicable reason.Â
Was all of this related to the wedding? Was it some sort of jokeâŠor a surprise honeymoon gone wrong? We certainly hadnât planned a honeymoon⊠But I couldnât imagine Hayes doing either, rigid as he was. Pranks and grand romantic gestures were hardly his thing.Â
The train of my gown had slipped into the pool. I pulled it out with some effort and it slapped onto the green tiles, heavy with chlorine water. I stood for a moment, dismally regarding the soaked satin around my feet.Â
My aunt, I knew, would be in tears as soon as she saw the dress. It was an up-cycled turn-of-the-century vintage affair with a modern slit down the center of the chest. The neckline was high and beaded delicately, and the sleeves were long and billowing. Â
It wasnât my first choice. Or even my second or third, but my aunt, a self-styled vogueish Manhattanite, staked her ego on the gown⊠It hadnât been worth the fight, and frankly, the dress wasnât a major deal for me.Â
I couldnât help thinking, as I turned towards the building of glass panels, that maybe she was somewhere inside, waiting to skin me alive.
âYouâll need this.âÂ
The voice startled my heart into my throat. Turning quickly, I saw him and clutched my chest in relief.Â
Overall, he looked his usual steady self. Lanky languor with his head perpetually hanging forward (probably from pouring over old manuscripts all day and night for years). His tuxedo jacket was missing, his sleeves rolled, and his bowtie was untied and hanging around his neck. The âundoneâ look was a bit odd. Hayes had always been neat as a pin with an eye of judgement to rival Godâs. (Rolled sleeves- ? Iâd personally witnessed the man iron his clothes while still wearing them.) I would have mentioned it at the time if our situation hadnât been what it was.
But Hayes did not appear hurt or even slightly alarmed at our surroundings. And, since he was calm, I felt slightly better. Maybe all of this was his doing after all.    Â
âHayes,â I said on an exhale. My heart was still thrumming against my ribs. âYou scared me to death. Whatâs going on?â
He took a step closer, clicking on the flashlight as he did, and levelled the narrow beam of light at my chest. âSomething is pinned to you.âÂ
I looked down at myself. Where the light touched, there was a wooden clothespin holding a small piece of plastic to the gown. I hadnât noticed it before.
Hayes came even closer, stepping on the welter of wet satin between us. Though he was directly in front of me, it was still somewhat difficult to discern the fine details of his stern features. I could see the glint of glass, the glow of the blue pool and the glazed tiles, but Hayes was somehow half-devoured by the strange scenery. One dark eye had me fixed, while the other was lost in shadow. Â
With his free hand, Hayes plucked the plastic square from where it was pinned on my sternum. He didnât bother looking at it; he simply offered it to me between two fingers. Â
I took the plastic card and the flashlight in each hand, and turned the card over under the light. On one side, there was a thick black magstripe, and on the other, two words and some numbers.Â
âThe Mnemosyne,â I read aloud.Â
A question, naturally, formed in my mind, but when I looked up to ask it, I realized I was standing alone again.
As if finally swallowed up by the darkness, Hayes was gone.
-
I called his name for a while, panic beginning to settle in.Â
The wrongness of the impenetrable darkness, the unknown resort and Hayesâ odd behaviour before disappearing altogetherâŠ
There was no logical explanation other than kidnapping, or trafficking? Hayes was not a warm person, by any means, but was he capable of something so awful? The thought turned my stomach- made it difficult to breatheâŠ
Flashlight in hand, I quickly set about slicing through the thick gloom to get to the building at the other end of the pool. The wall of glass betrayed nothing beyond it- no people, sounds or movement from the other side. Even the flashlightâs beam couldnât gore a path through the darkness within.Â
A pair of doors were set into the glass- and without a momentâs hesitation, I pushed too-hard through them-
The force of the push almost caused me to fall headlong onto the floor- and I would have had a shadowy figure not stopped my forward progress.Â
I slammed my left shoulder into something solid and felt a hand grip my arm.Â
âFigured it out yet?â Familiar, barely interested.Â
âHayes?â His name came out of me, all dark.
He steadied me, and as soon as he did, I backed away from him. It wasnât right. He wasnât right.Â
With the beam of the flashlight shining directly in his face, he never flinched.Â
âThis isnât funny,â I told him. More words- desperate- came spilling out. âYou-you have to tell me whatâs going on, Hayes. Please... I just want to know where we are, thatâs all.â
He said nothing. Merely looked at me as if I was incomprehensibly stupid.
I held the flashlight between us like a weapon, pointed directly at his head. âHayes, please.âÂ
Beyond him, my eyes were beginning to understand a few details despite the lack of light. A high ceiling over marble floors so polished they reflected the unlit chandeliers above. Gatherings of little wicker chairs and tables amid tropical potted plants and stately little decor pieces. These were only the things I could make out in my immediate proximity.Â
I was sure I needed to run- hide, if I could.
Hayes was tall and leggy, but he was not the sports type. Iâd never seen him run before, but I imagined he couldnât be very quick. After all, he was a scholar through and throughâŠbut I wasnât much better.Â
On top of everything else, my gown was soaked around the bottom and running with it would be like dragging another limb behind me.Â
Hayes cocked his head, frowning slightly. Like heâd already gleaned my intention.
I gripped the flashlight tightly with both hands and kept the beam of light trained at his head. It wouldnât do just to take off; I needed a head start.Â
"Hayes," I tried again. "I don't know what's going on. If you would just explain it me-"
"What good would that do?" he shot. His tone was snide, but that wasn't unusual for him. "You have always been slow on the-"
The metal flashlight clocking him in the face interupted whatever he was about to say.
Hayes groaned loudly- a noise of agitation rather than pain- as his hands flew to his face. He shouted my name through his fingers.
But I was already on the move, slinging the train of the wedding gown over my shoulder as I ran.
tagged by the wonderful, witchy @bebemoon who somehow sensed that I did some actual writing today (do yourself a favour and read hers here!) to share the last six lines i wrote:
(the last lines of my wip are a spoiler i don't want out there, so here are the first lines i wrote today:)
And maybe you wonder the same thing.
Maybe youâre thinking, Vesta, old gal, what gives? I donât know what the fuckâs going on. Well, get in line, honey. And maybe you think, Vesta, babycakes, youâre sure blowing this narrating gig. To which, you know what, fuck off. Give me a break. Iâm new at this. And donât call me babycakes.
You want a flashback? You want the goods? Here we go. Letâs take it back a couple hours, because boy, back then everything was different.
aaahhhhhh. idk.
anyway, if you wrote something cool recently, please be tagged! :)
happiest of birthdays, mermaid !! i hope you have a wonderfully sweet day ! xx <33333
this message made me smile so much!!! thank you very much, angel, it was a great birthday <3 <3 <3 I prayed at an old cathedral, went on a ferris wheel and had the whole cabin to myself, and finished the night off with a decadent meal including a live band and the sweetest apple tart ...
