autistic 20-something tries to find The Writer

If you don't know this about me already, I'm what you might call a sweater enthusiast. Yes, I live on one of the most famous beaches in the world, which is a tourist site largely in part for its year round hot weather, but I can't help it! Knits just feel the best!

Mulani actually gets snow, which means the wool sweaters I had to order online from out of the country are finally going to come in handy. If you live somewhere cold this will probably sound weird, but I really did buy them mostly for collector's value, I guess? Well, only to me, really, since no one else is collecting sweaters on a beach, probably. I do try to wear them, but it's honestly way too hot even with the air conditioning on.

(This is the part where I make it worth your while). To survive my fashion preferences on Coast Venus, I've come up with plenty of hacks that make it not just possible but also fun and fashionable to wear sweaters in hot weather! I've transcribed them as a list of tips here for you, so you can be as impeccably fashionable as I am all year long.

Hayden's Tips for Wearing Sweaters in Hot Weather

Wear light fabrics! Linen and cotton are the best for this, there's a lot of space between the knits if you look closely and that means heat won't be trapped in with you.

Open knits. Going off that last point, open knits (you know the ones, they've got huuuge holes) make for the perfect #hotweathersweater. You won't miss out on the cooling effects of those precious, rare breezes.

What is a sweater, really? I use "sweater" as shorthand for knits, and those do come in tank tops. a last resort, but if it's really too hot, it'll do! Cardigans are another hack - you can take them off, believe it or not.

Wear light colours. This is a good fashion rule on the beach anyway, but even more so if you're in a sweater. White is the best since it reflects all light, but I tend to prefer soft beiges, blues, and greys.

Pair it with something light! You can always pair some shorts or a flowy skirt with your sweater to stay cool, and the contrast makes your look more memorable.

Stand your ground. when people ask you if you're hot (and they will!), say yes, even if you feel just fine. i've found that this is usually funnier and shocks whoever you're talking to out of whatever diatribe they were about to go in on you with.

Stay inside!!! if it's super humid, you definitely shouldn't wear a sweater... outdoors! but there's no reason not to just stay home and blast the air conditioning. and really, if it's too hot for a sweater, why would you even want to go outside?

Be autistic with sensory issues that make you only want to wear sweaters. This is my final and most helpful piece of advice. No chorus of "aren't you hot?" will ever be a match for the creative power an autistic brain has to find any solution to a sensory problem.

I had found The Artist's address but it was my first time actually seeing their home. I don't know what kind of house I expected someone who uses an alias for their artwork to live in, but The Artist's abode is a bright, yellow-painted bungalow that seemingly overflows with flowers and plants. They're neatly arranged, so it doesn't seem like something out of a movie where they're trying to give visual clues that a reclusive witch lives here, but there was greenery in the windows, and potted flowers with buds of pink, red, and orange that I'm pretty sure don't usually grow in Coast Venus. The feeling I got looking at it reminds me a bit of my neighbour's house, honestly. His place used to be owned by a local who moved away, so you can tell it's a real Coast Venus house under there, but he painted it black and added this creepy metal gate and that's not really what this town thinks of as edgy, you know? Things like that just sort of make you wonder if the person who lives inside is an expat… not that I think The Artist is, but all the foreign plants would give you that idea.

We knocked on the bright blue door, and, although I half-expected them not to, the way you sometimes feel when something you want too much is happening and you can't really believe it and wonder if it's all a prank... the Artist opened the door.

I've been trying to think of a way to describe their appearance without giving away too much since they're fairly easy to find in Coast Venus, but I feel like I owe it to you all to say something. I think their most disarming feature is their eyes. I don't really know how to explain it, but they have a sort of Mona Lisa feeling, like they've seen enough in their life to be able to see through you. 

They led us through their foyer, where everything in sight was either made of wood, green, a magazine, or a bird, into the living room. There were sun hats on the walls as decorations, and when they motioned for Kam and I to sit, I was almost surprised there weren't plants sitting on the yellow couches because they were present on nearly every other surface. There was even a vine dangling, I noticed with glee, on the easel The Artist had set up by the window.

"What brought you to come looking for me?" The Artist asked once we were situated. They wore a playful grin when they said it that probably should have warned me how things were going to go…

Kam and I explained our plan to search for The Writer, and The Artist listened thoughtfully with no trace of emotion in their expression except for amusement. Determined to stay true to the game of things, though, they told us apologetically that they couldn't give us any hints about The Writer's identity or how we could find them. 

Now you might be wondering - Hayden, is it possible The Writer doesn't want to be found after all? If this were a scavenger hunt, wouldn't The Artist give you a clue? I understand where you're coming from, but The Artist was willing to look over our route, told us they were very impressed (while also making a small comment that Arabella seems like a detour… which, really, could be a hint in and of itself, but whether that means we shouldn't go or that it's very important we do go is a mystery… and I've elected that we're going to go because it's the iconic first destination The Writer went to and I vent possibly miss out), and they "sincerely wished us the best of luck."

Determined to press more, I did ask Mirah for one more favour… if they could read to us from Signed, Venus. Mirah knows The Writer and how they talk - they can convey the story with a level of insight no one else has. Their reading was, hands down, the most poignant I've ever heard - and we do a lot of Signed, Venus readings here in Coast Venus! I really felt a connection to The Writer hearing their words in The Artist's voice… and it really made it sink in how close we already were, sitting in their close partner's greenhouse-like living room.