Adella sees those around her as shining with innate colors and patterns. She is the exception to this phenomenon. Most important to Adella are her two friends, Phoebe and Marcus, who shine with yellow and blue patterns. During Phoebe’s birthday party, however, Adella comes to realize that her friends’ projections onto her are contrary to who she wants to be. The story ends with Adella deciding that if she were to choose a color to identify herself by, she would choose vermilion.

Vermillion seeks to explore the relationship between visibility, external perception, and self-image. As a fictional story told through the lens of a Black woman who feels unseen, Vermillion underscores the heightened sensitivity to external perception that occurs from living in a racialized world. In particular, a world where the involvement of others influences how you are perceived.