"i'm Not Working On Anything Special At The Moment. I Was Just Trying To De-clutter My Brain Instead

if you could pick any one of your friends to set you up on a blu date, who would you choose and why?

"probably milani because she's so particular about things that i know she won't set me up with any losers. but she's also so particular in the sense that she would refuse to let anyone near me so i probably wouldn't be on a date at all."

status: closed for @skidemark // aviva

between the glue and the popsicle sticks salem had a giant mess of a pile sitting in front of her that was supposed to resemble a small house. building one out of miscellaneous items seemed like a fun idea at first but salem quickly realized she wasn't as crafty as she thought she was. "fuck it, i'm officially giving up on this. we can just say my home was demolished." she threw her hands up in defeat and let out a small chuckle. looking over at aviva curiously she noticed the other was hyper focused on her own project. "please tell me yours is going better than mine did?"

salem wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings due to being too preoccupied with scrolling on instagram. suddenly she felt someone crash into her, knocking her phone out of her hand. "shit!" she exclaimed while quickly retrieving her phone off the ground before looking over at the other, realizing it was drew on the floor. "oh god...are you okay? here take these." crouching down she handed him a couple of napkins for the drink spill. she couldn't help but laugh a bit. "immortal? but you can't handle a simple festival ride? seems like that theory has just been debunked."

open starter / @valpostart location / la fiesta de vendimia

still unsteady from his third go around the tilt - a - whirl, drew stands in front of a stall selling what smells like food, but he won't be able to confirm that until his vision returns to normal. he tries to take a sip from his tall cup of grape juice, but his aim is off so he jams the straw up his nostril. his violent recoil ( combined with the wooziness which still plagues him ) knocks drew backward, causing a collision with another festivalgoer and spilling his drink everywhere. "sorry," drew groans, sitting on the ground as he rubs his spinning head. "i'm feeling a little ... " he splays his arms out above his head, waving them around wildly. " ... you know ? three rides in the tilt - a - whirl will do that to a person. even a suspected immortal such as myself."

salem let out a quiet chuckle wishing that were true but honestly she was very fucked up. she'd been dealing with her mental illness since she was was fifteen, among other things she never really talked about. life for her would always be a constant battle mentally and emotionally. she looked up at leon with tears in her eyes as he spoke. they both loved each other, that much was apparent but she hated knowing just how much she hurt him. "and i love you leon but it's just-" she let out a sigh before continuing. "sometimes i feel like you'd be better off with someone who's more stable. i try really hard to make sure whatever problems i have don't spill over into our relationship and i hate that i make you feel so pathetic when things get like this." she knew what she was about to say next would probably definitely be harsh words to hear but it was the truth. "i can't promise that we'll get back together right now and everything going forward will be easy. that i won't get in my head again and do this to you a third time..." she fidgeted with one of her rings trying to distract herself from the small wave of anxiety that was coming over her. this conversation was too uncomfortable and she wasn't the best with confrontation. she hated knowing that anyone had ill feelings towards her or that she was able to hurt anyone to that capacity, especially leon who'd been the absolute best to her even before they were dating.

leon sighs. there's so much sadness in his eyes. "you're not fucked up, sal." he empathizes with her because he knows the feeling so well. that feeling of being a mess and not knowing why or how to explain it. he feels bad. he doesn't want to be angry at her, but she really hurt him. is he supposed to act like everything's fine? "i... i fucking love you," he looks into her eyes. "i fucking love you so much that every time you leave i-" he chokes up a bit. "i feel pathetic, you know? i feel pathetic and i do fucked up shit, too. i don't know how to deal with it." leon feels so ashamed that he fucked kala right after salem dumped him over the phone. who is he to judge her? "i love you. but you can't keep doing this to me. you need to talk to me, too. before everything blows up." he wants to forgive her so badly. reset and repeat. erase and rewind.

salem had enough on her plate with her album release looming over her head slated for later this month. her talk with leon allowed her to get everything off her chest but she still was feeling really confused about it all. she hadn't seen him since that night at her place and though she appreciated him giving her the time she needed sort through things she missed him terribly. she'd been sending emails from her phone to her manager and label when she heard a familiar voice. "hey blondie." salem replied with a small smile. "you can sit if you want." gesturing toward the empty chair across from her. she took a sip of her latte and sent off the email she'd been focused on before setting her phone down on the table. "sorry, i'm dealing with all this album release stuff. originally i was just gonna drop it with no announcement or anything but they're telling me i should build anticipation on the internet about it." leaning back in her chair she shrugged a bit. "anyways, how are you?"

he didn't expect to see her as soon as he stepped back out of his godmother's place. well, he had done it before to buy groceries and shit, but he never ran into her. and now he's at a coffee shop in line when he turns around for whatever reason, and she's here. she's sitting on a table by herself and leon wonders if he should approach her. he's missed her terribly, but he knew he had to give her space to sort out her thoughts and feelings after everything he put her through. he wouldn't blame her if she still hates him and never wants to see him again. the man really hopes that scenario isn't true. after getting a tall americano, leon walks over to salem and clears his throat so she can look up and find him looking at her with a shy smile. "hi, sal." his voice is soft and his eyes are kind.

@cybermuses

closed - for @divinctions // milani location - secondhand style

"i need you to be honest with me about two things." salem said while picking up a vintage dress off the clothing rack. she needed advice on what to do with her situation with leon and knew if anyone would be straight forward about it milani would. she was blunt in a way that most people typically weren't with salem and she loved that about her. "first off, should i just say fuck it and completely be done with leon?" the subject made her head spin but she knew if anyone would get her together about it milani being the proud misandrist she is would. "also, if i were on the rebound would this dress be slutty enough to get the attention of a cute girl at club divine?"

salem didn't expect luna to be so upset about parting ways with stevie after a month of being together. she loved that luna enjoyed their time cat sitting and the sadness her friend felt about having to bring stevie back home gave her reassurance that it wasn't too much of a bother for luna. "you can have her anytime you want for sleepovers! she loves you, i think she's secretly disappointed i'm back home so soon. hopefully drew didn't sneak her any gummy worms." salem teased while stevie climbed into her lap. it wouldn't be the first custody agreement she had with someone else and a cat after all. "you know i'm forever grateful that you were able to do this for me by the way?" pausing for a moment she picked up the gift bag she made for while she was in la that consisted of a couple of souvenirs from the museum of death in hollywood. a black dahlia enamel pin and a hoodie with a bed of skulls printed on it might be morbid for some, but for luna she knew it would be perfect. "which is why i got you some presents for being such a huge help." a smile stretched across her lips as she handed the bag over to her friend.

status / closed , ( @cybermuses ) location / salem's place !

               despite   the   month   luna   had   spent   with   stevie,   there   was   still   an   ache   in   their   heart   knowing   when   they   left   salem's   apartment   the   cat   wouldn't   be   coming   with   her.   it   was   enough   to   bring   tears   to   their   eyes   as   they   sat   on   the   floor   watching   salem   reunite   with   her   daughter.   crying   because   she   was   happy   salem   and   stevie   looked   so   at pace to   have   each   other   again,   but   also   crying   because   when   they   would   go   to   sleep   that   night,   there   would   be   one   less   kitty   keeping   her   and   drew   company.   "   do   you   think   i   could   take   her   on   weekends   ?   "   luna   questioned,   wiping   her   tears   for   the   fourth   time.   "   i'm   kidding.   "   the   laugh   was   forced.   "   no   i'm   not.   we   could   work   out   a   schedule   ?   "   a   sniffle   later   and   she   was   shaking   their   head.   "   no,   i'm   sorry.   i'm   being   insensitive.   "

"stop saying sorry! i was only kidding. plus the ceramic flamingo wasn't that important, i just thought it would be kinda camp in my bohemian setting you know?" she said before playfully nudging the other. "we can get everything if you want. the bracelet's would be cute with the matching crystals. i'll even wear your blood in a necklace if you really wanna get weird with it." salem was glad birdie shared her enthusiasm about something most people would probably find cheesy at their age. as the two approached the table salem was in awe of the different options for crystals. "okay, if you could choose any one which would it be? i know amethyst would be nice for friendship purposes."

            birdie's  eyes  quickly  widen.  "  no  !    sorry  –  no,  i  swear,  i'm  not  bored ! i  think  it's  sweet  to  see  you  get  all  googly  eyed  for  a  ceramic  flamingo,  you  know ? i'll  talk  your  ear  off  about  dungeons  &  dragons  and  why  you  should totally join  my  next  campaign  over  lunch.  "  their  grin  widens  at  the  prospect  of  friendship  jewelry  –  something  birdie  was  actually  quite  fond  of  (  embarrassingly  ),  "  can  we  get  one  of  the  bracelets ? oh ! –  we  should  get  matching  colors.  or  crystals.  some  cute  shit  like  that,  y'know  ? unfortunately  for you i'm  even  cheesier.  there's  a  place  a  little  farther  down  that  sells  pretty  ones,  c'mon.  " 

salem cleared some space on the table for him and shook her head. "you weren't interrupting at all! i'm never going to say no to having someone keep me company." she replied with a reassuring smile. "a true artist? that's new....i've never gotten that before but i'll take it." she let out a small chuckle. her definition of a true artist was someone like her personal hero stevie nicks. "not so much a masterpiece, more so a recording schedule and a lot of boring details i have to jot down for this album. i did start writing a song earlier though so i guess we can call that little bit a masterpiece." salem closed the journal to focus on the other. she'd seen taj around before and knew of him but never really had the chance to actually interact with him. "i'm salem by the way. but besides the smoothie what have you been up to so far today? "

taj had hardly left the house in general anyway. between training for his fights as if he was about to be the next coming of rocky by getting up at 2AM and jogging to crashing around 12PM midday for only 1hour close to 2, taj didn't have the most steady of sleep schedules. it was a big part of why he didn't have many friends since moving three years ago. he made the best of his off days, when he knew he didn't have any fights scheduled and tore away from his two bedroom apartment in spite of temptation. he had ended up wondering about almost like a little puppy in search of adventure and found himself at casablnca blooms and coffee. he was actually trying not to be too obvious glancing towards the beauty in the corner just scribbling away in her notepad. he was so bad at approaching people that if she hadn't suggested for him to join her, he probably would've missed the opportunity. taj was a lot of things, shy was around the 20th of them. he got up trying to remain casual and seem not to eager that someone had noticed him instead of blending in with the dozens of faces. the smoothie in his right hand, he slid into the booth across from her. "I didn't want to interrupt a true artist at her work," he smiled nodding at her journal. "creating a masterpiece in there?"

if there was one thing salem couldn’t say no to it was a shopping trip. retail therapy had always been her go to no matter what she was dealing with in life. this time around though she was happy to just simply tag along while valentina shopped around for some new clothes. while she waited she scrolled through instagram briefly, a smile stretching across her lips as the other emerged from the dressing room. “you look fucking amazing!” she exclaimed, probably a little too loud in the boutique dressing room. "well...as far as it being too much it really depends on what the occasion is?" not that the other needed a special occasion to wear it anyways. "i also feel like you're technically never overdressed. i think you should go for it." she nodded with approval.

»  𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑺 ― open ― @valpostart

»  𝑳𝑶𝑪𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 ― plaza de sol

valentina slid back the curtain to the dressing room in one of the local boutiques plaza de sol had to offer, stepping out like a model on a catwalk before striking a pose in front of the other; long limbs on display in a barely there, black, glittering scrap or fabric dress that had been calling her name from the moment she saw it on the mannequin through the front window. “ what do you think? “ while the opinions of others weren’t held in too high of a regard, she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a part of her that craved approval, attention. doing a one-eighty, she turned toward the mirror, dark hues roaming over her reflection as her hands skimmed over her hips, smoothing the second-skin like fabric. “ too much? or just enough? “