as salem stepped out on the balcony she was taken back by the view. the breeze from the ocean and smell of the beach had her in awe. "i can't believe you get to have this view everyday." she said in disbelief as she sat down and placed her plate on the table. the sound of leon humming to the jazz music was comforting in a way, she'd missed so many little things about him. "i've missed you so much, truly." salem blushed a bit while looking over at him. "i'm just really happy we could do this. i really miss being able to do everything with you." there was a lot she wanted to say but her nerves were starting to get the best of her again. she decided to turn her attention back to the dish and proceeded to eat a forkful. "okay, this is actually pretty good.." nodding a bit before continuing to eat, "but i think i could do without the raisins. the texture is just weird and i've never really liked them anyways."
leon chuckles at her words. he's always liked that she can drink as much as him, and party as much as him. "i'm not gonna quiz you right now, but beware because i might later," he teases back. after she's plated the food, the blond nods and they make their way to the balcony. "if you hate it, there's more for me, so it's a win-win situation," he chuckles and sits down on one of the chairs. the night is beautiful and the ocean waves crash no far from them. there's a jazz song playing in the beach restaurant across the street and leon immediately recognizes it as a duke ellington one. he softly hums as he sets his plate on the table. "i've missed you, sal," the man finally says, looking over at her. she's the person he wants to see every day. the one person he trusts with all his joy and all his darkness. it makes him sad that she could just decide one day to end things and leave him a mess. he hopes this time she won't leave. not again. not a third time.
🎈 BALLOON — what is something you've created and/or accomplished recently that you're proud of?
🖤 BLACK HEART — what would you say is the darkest thought you've ever experienced? what do you think caused you to have that thought? have you ever planned on or fantasized about acting on it?
🏹 BOW AND ARROW — if there's something from your past that you'd give anything to go back in time and redo, what is it?
💔 BROKEN HEART — is there anyone in your life you wish you had a better relationship with? if so, how come? what makes this person important to you?
🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your favorite holiday and why?
🎈🏹 answered here!
🖤 BLACK HEART — what would you say is the darkest thought you've ever experienced? what do you think caused you to have that thought? have you ever planned on or fantasized about acting on it?
"that's crazy, next question?"
💔 BROKEN HEART — is there anyone in your life you wish you had a better relationship with? if so, how come? what makes this person important to you?
"myself definitely. being picked apart about everything little thing for so long does a lot to a person's confidence. being on tv has damn near done irreversible damage to how i perceive myself. i'm trying really hard to be kinder and more patient with myself though."
🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your favorite holiday and why?
"halloween! i always try to be back in new orleans around that time because the atmosphere is absolutely insane in the best way. i would love to throw a giant halloween party at some point."
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?"
"i guess i just figured the person who owned the cafe actually owned the cats as well. maybe they're just loaning their cats to us to distract from the terrible coffee." salem teased while petting a smaller black cat that resembled stevie. "im almost sure im like a cat whisperer because i haven't come across a single one that doesn't like me." chuckling at spencer's comment she looked over at the other for a brief moment. "you could pretend to pass out or something. i'll stash two in my bag while you create a diversion. i just hope you're a cat person because you're definitely taking one of them."
spencer lifted an eyebrow, shrugging at salem, "i mean, what can they do to you? complain because you're giving them a good home? call the cat police? there's probably too many cats to keep track of here anyway." they looked around, a cat perched on the table adjacent to them, "plus, i dunno, they seem drawn to you, they should let you have one free of charge." they stated, "ask the staff which one they like the least, bet they'd let you have that one." they joked, scratching one of the smaller cats behind the ears, "if you decided to opt for stealing one instead of asking, i'll create a distraction for you." they half-teased.
salem's instagram !! @valpoinspo
tbh salem has a weird relationship with social media. she's a little more private about what she posts and is very big on using the close friends feature (she's too lazy to keep up with a private account lmao) if she weren't a musician she probably wouldn't want such a big presence online. her typical posts are random things like stevie and her friends and plants.
status: open @valpostart location: cerro barrón street market
"i love this place, i absolutely love it." salem said enthusiastically to the other while holding up her bag of treasures. she'd spent most of the morning at the street market shopping around for things to put in her temporary place in viña del mar to make it feel a little more like a home to her. to no surprise though she mostly purchased jewelry and a few articles of clothing for herself. "i know i'm probably going overboard and i look like such a fucking tourist but i'm a sucker for hand made things. why aren't you as excited as i am?" she said slightly offended the other wasn't sharing her excitement.
salem shook her head and chuckled at the mention of avia. she told birdie should would get them something big and here the two were eyeing a large monstera plant. she wondered for a second how birdie's cousin would react to them bringing home such a large plant after essentially banning the other from owning one again. "i kinda feel like i'm setting myself up to get in trouble with aviva but i can take the heat if it's for you i suppose." she nervously glanced over to birdie for a moment. they were on their date that wasn't a date (truthfully neither of them could tell you what exactly it was) but she was trying her best to be normal about it. just two friends shopping for a plant. "it's nice but if we're going to potentially piss your cousin off we should at least go bigger."
closed / @cybermuses location / plantas altas
꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ --— " okay, so – aviva did say no more live plants, but it's fine ! i think if i use the defense that you'll be over to check up on them, she'll be more open to it. " birdie says it with a grin, eyes scanning the monsteras in front of her. they very pointedly aren't looking at salem – she might puke from nerves if she does, too distracted by the fact that salem looks very pretty today. does she always look that pretty ? of course she does, birdie just never really let herself think about that before all ... this happened, " what do you think ? it'll be your kid, too, you get input. "
as salem plucked a few grapes off the vine she chuckled at solana. the age difference between the two of them seemed to slip her mind until it was mentioned. solana always reminded salem of a big sister no more than a few years older than herself. "you talk as if you're like....prehistoric babe. you're still pretty young. there's no real reason why you can't go on a bar crawl with me or be backstage at a concert." giving the other a playful nudge. she didn't have many older friends but it was refreshing to be around new people with different hobbies than hers. "i'm just now getting into it really and the most i know is that i hate those dry bitter red wines." she scrunches her face up at the thought. "i just don't have the taste palette for it honestly. whats your favorite?"
the joy radiating off of salem was infectious, and the slight ache in solana's cheeks from smiling so much was proof of that. " oh, super believable. " the comment accompanied by a soft bout of laughter. " now don't get me wrong, that's not a dig about who you are as a person. " she told her, plucking a few more grapes from the vine before tossing them into her basket. " you're young, there are way more fun things to do at your age. " truthfully, she would have been more surprised if she was a wine connoisseur. " i know i didn't do my first wine tasting until i was at least your ago. i just didn't have the palate for it back then. " now having a glass at the end of a long day was one of sol's preferred ways to unwind. at the admission, she rested a hand on salem's forearm, giving her a faint shake of her head. " i would never. "