#also... this might be considered a little spicy. pre-spice mayhaps

[birdybirdnerd]

36 stannarrator ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

A kiss...

36: ...to give up control.

ehehehehe......

ill admit, this is partially inspired by this drawing @queenburd made

The tip of a leather dress shoe nudged under Stanley's chin. He raised his head, eyes tracking up the Narrator's form as his gaze was dragged slowly up to meet the fellow's eyes.

Bathed in the red danger-lights of the facility on lockdown, the Narrator was a sight to behold. Dark, dangerous, a sly grin sharp on his teeth- the image made Stanley's already-fast heartbeat kick up another notch into overdrive, as the anticipation built heady in his gut and in his head.

"If you want to throw my story off track," the fellow purred, tracing Stanley's cheek with the toe of his shoe, "you're going to have to try a lot harder than that, dear boy."

Stanley pulled slightly at the bonds holding him snug. They didn't give, not even a little. That fact made a delirious giggle bubble up in his chest as the situation spiraled deliciously.

The Narrator moved, slid off the table with the two buttons and dropped soundlessly to his knees in front of Stanley. With Stanley's crouched, hunched position, the fellow still held the height advantage as he leaned over him.

"Are you ready?" he whispered, letting the act slip for a moment to show a sliver of genuine concern.

Stanley nodded, grinning wide and excited.

The Narrator smiled. Pressing a quick, sweet kiss to Stanley's lips, he pulled back, letting the mask of cold contempt fall back over his face.

"Good. Then let's begin."

[desirepathzine]

Scent Memory: Hove Parfumeur

I'm currently slated to take a train to New Orleans in two weeks. I have taken this train once before, last year, to spend a few days with my best friend and see the opening date of The Cure's North American tour. This year, we'll probably just hang out and enjoy the city. We're last on the list for Echo and the Bunnymen tickets. I love them, but if we don't go, there are worse places to be without concert tickets than New Orleans.

My best friend and I are unabashedly goth kids at heart. We love Bauhaus and Siouxsie, art and architecture, dead poets and their work, wandering graveyards together, crying on each other's shoulders. When we hung out with my younger sister for the first time, she dramatically tuned to me and said, "You're both just so", she put her hand to her forehead, "Melancholic!"

We wear it proudly.

I often talk about my perfume knowledge and memories with them. When we were planning our first trip to New Orlenas, we both stumbled upon the recommendation of one of America's oldest perfume houses, family run for four generations, now in a tiny shop on Chartres stree, Hove Parfumeur. My dear friend treated me to three dram vials of whatever I wished.

New Orleans is one of the only truly 'old' places in the United States (old is an extremely relative thing here), which is astounding considering the absolute gauntlet of challenges it has faced as an entity. I think Hove embodies that. Small, strong, distinct, and extremely hospitable, the little shop on Chartres street hosts a variety of scents that are all distinctly New Orleans. All of its facets represented in little vials.

Upon entering, the first thing I noticed were the stone floors. Much like everything in the quarter, there is no uniform pavement, watch your step. It's a beautiful space, with what I believe might be a rentable room on the second floor, someone was leaving to start their French Quarter afternoon as my friend and I arrived. All of the scents are pre-spritzed on testers for you to peruse, and they're available in a variety of different options: bubble baths, body powders (essential for dealing with being sweaty in the humid Louisiana climate). There are several historical recipes that have not been changed in years, evoking hoop skirts and southern belles, the raucous celebrations of Mardi Gras past, and paying homage to the voodoo roots ever present in New Orleans.

My three picks were as follows:

Kiss in the Dark is a lovely, light, spicy floral. It is the least egregiously spicy spice scent I've ever tried (and I love egregiously spicy). It is dark and feminine and lovely and its name suits it perfectly. Hove's website decribes it as "neither heavy nor light", which is remarkable for a perfume like this. I wore it almost immediately out the door. I also ended up pairing it with Le Labo's Rose 31 and it worked wonderfully.

Mantrap is a resinous spicy scent, also worthy of its name, I guess (I didn't trap any men with it, but I also didn't set that intention when I wore it). This vial travelled with me to California and worked well against all of the Baccarat Rouge and Mojave Ghost that clouds the elevators and sidewalks there. It feels a little dangerous, mayhaps a touch more edgy than many of Hove's other offerings. It has become my go-to goth nights scent, to perfume a night of dancing in heavy makeup and fishnets in a small room.

Flame is unusually described as "beautifully worn by dark redheads", which, I am. So I had to try this. It's heavy, bold, and extremely spice forward ( I guess I was really feeling the spices on this particular trip, but they are a usual suspect in my perfume lineup, so this was unsurprising). This was the scent that ended up on my neck during that beautiful Cure concert that we were in town to see. My favorite song by The Cure is their track for the ever iconic The Crow soundtrack, "Burn". It's a perfect scent for that song, and I was delighted when they played it that night. Delighted in that I burst into tears and had to be held up by my dearest friend, who completely understands how hard that song hits for me. "there wasn't anybody else I'd rather see that song with" they said. I did the same for them during "A Forest".

It's been a year and my vials are well loved. But what to do on a new journey, a different one? We know so much more about the city now, where we like to eat, what we like to do. What new scents will I take a peak at this time?

I love research, especially for travel. I love digging deep into something that fills my brain (hence why Desire Path even exists). So while bored at my dayjob I'll put together guides in Apple Maps, and pinpoint places that matter to me, why I want to do there, do deep research on restaurants I may not even try while in town, just laying down a grid of interest for my next adventure. Today I was looking through Hove's catalog, imagining what might scent the next trip. and here are some possibilities that I am very interested to test out when next I am on Chartres Street.

Valiant - what a word, what a thing to name a perfume! This is a near certain buy for me. Sandalwood and mandarin orange sound like a perfect combo for journeying through new parts of the city, and for keeping that brave flame I find when I travel going, longafter I return and go back to the day job. It also might be an nice contrast to my heavy spicy picks from last time. I think I'm going for more freshness and green this time around (which also helps keep spirits up in damp heat of New Orleans, there's a lot of forecasted rain for our time there).

Heliotrope - a note that is rare, and I have no idea why. Any vanilla and heliotrope fragrance has a permanent place on my perfume tray. So feminine, so lovely, so pretty. I look forward to sniffing Hove's take on this.

Rue Royale - just as Flame was suggested for dark redheads, Rue Royale is apparently suitable for fair brunettes, which tickles me. The only description, barring hair preference, for it on the website is 'dry and light' which I am always down to try. Again, probably nice for wandering the packed quarter.

Nude - I thought this might be a skin musk type of affair, something I usually love when travelling or going to concerts since it is less likely to bother anyone sitting around me, but it is described as a walk through a tropical garden with a hint of musk. The name is an aspiration, not a reality then. Love it.

Fascinator - this might be the southern belle fragrance that punk goth kid would love. It has that secret key to unlocking the southern gothic through scent: oakmoss. Seriously, if you need the withering belle energy, find your nearest oakmoss scent. It sounds rich and warm.

But who knows what will entice me when I'm finally back in such a unique place? That's the best part about perfume. Notes that I thought I understood will constantly reinvent themselves when put in the right position, viewed through a new context. It's a small magic happening all the time. And there is no better place to experience magic than New Orleans, fresh off the train, and with a friend who knows that too. I'm looking forward to it more than anything.