valentinadiaz

[valentinadiaz]

Who: Val & open! (2/3) When: August 2024 Where: Brush to Canvas

She was alone in front of a modern piece of art, staring at it while her brain was trying to figure out what it was about. Most of the time, Valentina was good with that; probably because she was an artist, too. She could see things in a different way. But this time, it was complex. For some reasons, she couldn't understand what the painter had tried to say. "What do you see?", she asked when she heard someone getting close. "I promise this is not a trick, I'm just trying to... understand," she added, keeping her eyes locked on the canvas.

[valentinadiaz]

Ugh, tell me about it, this is one of the best seasons and it always flies by. If I could, I would make it stay a bit longer. Especially this year, it's such a good one. Are you enjoying yours?

It feels kind of surreal knowing that summer is coming to a close. I feel like every month is going quicker than the last. How has everyone’s summer been going? Are we looking forward to the change of weather or do we still want to hold onto the sunshine?

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The feeling was mutual. Valentina had missed her friend too, and seeing her again was making the whole faire even better. As they walked together to get a drink, the woman turned her head towards Tasha. "So, what did I miss?"

"Okay good, because I definitely missed you," she said with a grin as they hugged. And she did miss her friend, thankful for her to be back in town. "Yeah absolutely," she replied and motioned for Val to lead the way.

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It was nice, to see how music was still making Alec smile, although Valentina hadn't been gone for lot. Now, she was thinking that she should have come back home earlier. "I was going to say that it was a bummer, that I missed it. But if there's other gigs coming up, I'll make sure to be there!"

Alec went ahead and ordered himself a Jack and Coke, leaning back against the bar and turning to talk to Val as they waited on their drinks. He nodded at her question, of whether or not he was still making music, chuckling as she hadn't been gone that long. "Always," he smiled. "Just played the carnival last month, got a few other gigs coming up in the next few months."

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It seemed easy to tease Leo, which was, in Valentina's mind, a very good thing. "I'm messing with you, take your time," she assured as he was looking for the stand. But when he finally found it, she didn't hide her enthusiasm, following him to the place where they could get the snack. A smile brightened her face when she finally put her hands on the artichoke. "Thank you very much. Have you ever tried one before?," she asked out of curiosity. "Or do we taste it together?"

"There is no pretending involved," Leo protested as he stopped and looked around, trying to get his bearings. "It was right by a stall offering glass blowing but now I can't....." His words faded as he looked round with a frown. Suddenly he brightened up as he pointed across the area, "I see it. Let's get you fed." Marching off at a pace Leo quickly purchased the snack and held it out to Valentina, "Here you go. I hope you enjoy them."

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"To be fair, that's why I eat right now," she confessed. "I wanna be able to dance the night away without feeling uncomfortable." So in her mind, it was better to have some food now to have time to digest it before drinking and moving on the dancefloor. "Merrock parties, actually. I've never been to a bad one."

"Both are good options. I'd like to try everything since I honestly can't decide, but I think I wouldn't want to dance at the end of the night if I went that route," she joked, laughing slightly. She was a bit indecisive, but at least now she could narrow it down slightly. "So I'll agree with you on that, Merrock's food is hard to beat."

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She didn't mind being the one screaming. If her body felt the need to express its surprise, there je goes. Plus it was a happy scream. The kind you let out when you were just enjoying your life too much. "Very angry," she agreed with Nari, but the smiles on their face showed that neither of them was afraid of said dragon. "This is the best flight of my life!"

"Oh! Yeah! Now you scream!" She found herself letting out a loud laugh when Val let out the scream, having expected the other woman to be the brave one that didn't mind one bit when the ride started rocking, which made the whole thing all the more funny. "Hang on tight! This is an angry dragon!" but her laugh was far more delighted and gleeful than it was afraid, surprising even herself as she reached to hang on to the bar in front of her. "It really does feel like we could just fly away!"

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"Even if we turn it into King of Pickles?," she suggested, knowing he wouldn't agree with that one either. But the game was too good to be left right away. Especially now that he had tasted the pickle and realized it was just... a pickle. "No, that's just the perfect size for a random pickle lover," she explained as she grabbed the stick back. "Sometimes they're just pickles but the simplest things are the best. That's the real lesson."

"King is too simple," he replied with a tongue in cheek smile. He didn't quite want to be the Benefactor, but some other big, important title -- or the one that she had just given him, that would work, too. Either way, he was happy to have some respect. "I thought that it would have some sort of special flavor!" he protested with a laugh, holding the stick back out to her. "You know what, this has been a learning experience for me. That sometimes pickles are just pickles."

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"At least you made your stomach happy," Valentina pointed out, thinking about how she was going to be hungry again soon because her snacks were not enough to feed her for a long time. "It is. But then again, I feel like everything's always great in Merrock's parties."

"I haven't gotten much in terms of snacks, but I did have some fries and macaroni and cheese earlier," she laughed. She had also started drinking, but not enough to count it yet in terms of Cori standards. "The food is pretty good, overall!"

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Valentina was smart, maybe too much for her own good. "That's what we call a master stroke, Leo," she retorted with a grin. "I'm Val, by the way. And don't worry, you won't be disappointed. The pretzel is really good." She could have given him the one she had in her hand, but it wasn't as funny as bargaining with the man. Especially now that she could win something. If they find the right stand. "Are you pretending to be lost just to avoid buying me the infamous artichoke?" she bugged him.

"Always cheese, I will try to remember that," Leo replied with a smirk. His eyes bulged with fake indignation at her proposal. "It's not enough to ridicule my selling skills but now I have to buy the information from you. This had better be as good a pretzel as you are suggesting because these artichokes are not cheap." Turning away with a chuckle Leo began to head towards the back of the fair area, "It is somewhere down here, I just can't remember exactly which way."

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"Were you selling clothes half naked like a Hollister guy? Cause that would explain the persuasion skills," she joked. At least it would have worked on her, but that wasn't the point. "Always the cheese. That's how you win people over," she taught with a smile. Then she pretended to think for a second. "Look... I see the efforts you're making so, I'm going to show you. But first, you have to buy me one of those cheesy artichokes," she suggested.

Leo's cheeks flushed as he was called out again on his sales technique. "No, I am definitely not in sales. Other than a short lived stint in a menswear department during summer break from college I have never attempted to sell anything. However I used to think I was quite good at persuasion, but clearly not." Nodding along he chuckled, "Lead with the cheese Leo, you should know to always lead with the cheese! So I guess this means you are going to keep the secret of the incredibly good looking pretzels all to yourself then?"

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ADRIA ARJONA getting ready for the LOS FRIKIS premiere at the Miami Film Festival on April 6th, 2024

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"Right?" Valentina answered with a grin. It would be a bummer to eat just one thing when there were so many choices around them. "Do you have a favorite?," she asked slowly.

Lara had made it a goal to try a little bit of everything while she was at the Renaissance Faire. "It all looks so good," she agreed. "So there's nothing wrong with trying a little bit of everything!" she gestured towards the different booths with food.

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Valentina crossed her arms, listening to the guy explaining how nice the artichokes were until he stopped, making her laugh once again. "Not that much. I hope you don't sell anything for a living," she couldn't help pointing out. "To be honest you should have started with the cheesy part."

Leo held his hands up in surrender at her question. "Alright, hear me out. I know artichoke is a kind of weird negotiating point but these are no ordinary artichokes. They are deep fried with this cheesy goo inside and a creamy sauce to dip them in." He stopped with a grin, "I'm really not selling these well am I?"

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She nodded at his list. "Those are nice choices," she commented. "Pretzel, but you've already had it. And beside that -- turkey leg. I know it sounds and looks impressive, but it's actually good."

Sam just let out a chuckle and a shrug in response. He took a few seconds to remember which foods he'd try even though he hadn't really tried that much food yet. "Pretzels, fried mac and cheese, scotch eggs," he answered. "So, what's your suggestion? If it's better than those I've tried is even better."

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"I'm with you on that," she agreed. "But at least you're behaving while we're surrounding by families." Not that everybody was caring about it, as she ran into some drunk teenagers earlier. "So you're going to dance all night long?"

"Sweeter maybe," Noa conceded. She took a seat next to Val, arranging the long fall of her skirt so her legs didn't tangle. "But more fun? Nah. I'm pacing myself for the gala tonight. I've found dancing is a lot more fun when your tipsy."

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She could tell that she was facing a history nerd and although she wasn't into it, it was nice to see someone pay attention to those details. "Just apples? I like them but it would have been sad. Merrockites wouldn't have let it happen."

"They didn't even have potatoes in England then, let alone french fries," Grey commented with a shake of his head. "But would we be happy with foods from the time period? Because...that does not sound good to me. And we'd probably have a bunch of apples."