salem alaric burroughs

[renasance]

-- SALEM ALARIC BURROUGHS !

-- NAME: Salem Alaric Burroughs
-- NICKNAMES: Lemon (with very close friends)
-- AGE & BIRTHDAY: Nineteen, October 31st
-- BIRTH PLACE: Helsinki, Finland; Lived in Seattle until a year ago.
-- ORIENTATION: Bisexual (strong male preference)
-- OCCUPATION & SCHOOL GRADE: College, Writer/Musician
-- PLAYED BY: Ville Valo

-- PERSONALITY !

-- AWKWARD: Salem is very much awkward. He has never been one for being the kid who has all the attention on him. In fact he'd most likely have an anxiety attack if he were the center of attention when not on stage. He is most uncomfortable with social situations to the point he comes across as 'odd' or 'antisocial' when really it's just his social anxiety disorder. He has a hard time making friends due to his social anxiety and those he does manage to befriend become irritated with his lack of wanting to leave the house. You could easily call Salem a homebody since he'd rather spend the night at home writing or playing music than going out and partying. In fact the only times he does go out in party-mode is when he has a gig to do at a club. This seems to be the only time Salem isn't stutteringly awkward, the stage sheds his inhibitions like a snake shedding it's skin.
-- HOPELESS ROMANTIC: The second biggest thing you'll learn about Salem is the fact he's a die-hard hopeless romantic. He has always dreamed of love, romance, and finding 'the one' since he was in middle school. He's obsessed with romance and since he wears his heart on his sleeve he has come back with a lot of broken hearts. This has given him lots of inspiration for his music and his writing but it has taken it's toll on the poor thing. He also has a nasty habit of picking out girls and guys with issues or major problems. This has been a habit he's had since he started dating and is obvious in his current romance. Though he's such a loving person and so codependent that he has to be in a relationship. So he's willing to take the abuse that comes along with his relationships because sometimes he doubts he deserves better. He would never leave a relationship though becomes startlingly depressed when he's out of one. He doesn't thrive without someone telling him what to do since he's so codependent. Though Salem occasionally gets that kick of a rebellious streak.
-- EMOTIONAL: Sometimes Salem comes off as an emotional mess, scratch that, Salem is ruled more only by his heart than his emotions. He never just experiences an emotion, his entire being is thrown into whatever emotion he is feeling at the time. He has been called bipolar more times than he could count though has never had a formal diagnoses. Even though he's never been formally diagnosed it's obvious in his massive mood shifts that it could be a possiblity. Salem is ruled so much by his emotions that he's a nervous, anxious trainwreck half the time from them. Salem seems tired and occasionally sickly because the turmoil he stays in takes such a toll on his body. It's not uncommon to see Salem's hand shaking so hard he can scarcely hold a pen or for large bags to form under those pretty green eyes of his. And of course since he's so emotionally sensitive he takes things to heart that most people would brush off. This made him a prime target for bullying when he was younger, which has also taken a major toll on his self esteem. He also feels responsible a lot when things get out of control between himself and his lover(s) and has a habit of blaming himself for everything. One of his ways of dealing with these emotions is that he will pick at his wrists until they bleed out of anxiety.

-- LOVES: Writing, music, boys, girls, makeup, dark clothes, animals, love, romance, his friends, letting other people be in control, libraries, beanies, cigarettes/smoking, the stage, being loved
-- HATES: Being forced to be in control, bullies, rude people, people who make fun of his accent, his mother, several of his exes, animal abusers, meat, anxiety, his unstable emotions, reality TV, too bright colors, country music, being left alone, being unloved, feeling depressed, picking at his wrists, loud noises (other than music), going out

-- HISTORY !

Salem Alaric Burroughs was born to Olivia Burroughs and Kaapo Virtanen on the evening of Halloween in Helsinki, Finland. Kaapo was a musician and music store owner and Olivia was an American-born journalist who met Kaapo at one of his shows for an interview. The two had a one night stand that resulted in Salem. Kaapo refused to have anything to do with Olivia when he found out she was pregnant so she raised Salem as a single mother. Olivia discovered religion at one of her self-help expos when Salem was four and he was raised there-after in a strict Catholic household in Helsinki. Growing up Salem was constantly dragged to masses and church services and various other things which left him little time to play with kids his age. This started the ball rolling for his social anxiety as he didn't know how to function when he started kindergarten when he was six (his birthday being in October he started a year late). When Salem was very young he was socially akward but integrated okay with the kids.

By the time Salem hit middle school he'd become an emotional wreck. He was bullied constantly for being so girly-looking, for his accent (which had bits of American influence from his mother), and for his shyness. His mother kept preaching at him to turn the other cheek instead of stick up for himself and in turn the bullying became physical. Salem had a few close friends in middle school including one he still has to this day, Mattias Korhonen. These few friends stuck by him through his bullying. Though Salem still never felt truly accepted. As he got older he noticed boys first before he did girls in terms of attraction, though this frightened him so much due to his upbringing that he began having panic attacks. He threw himself deeper into religion and even volunteered to be an altar boy at his Catholic church. This is where things got worse for Salem. He began getting special treatment from one of the priests at the church which eventually led to his being molested shortly before he turned thirteen. And this is where his belief in religion left him and the problems with his mom started. He rebelled as much as a thirteen year old boy could, including dressing more like the glam rock bands he'd secretly become obsessed with, makeup and fluffy hair and all, until finally his mother decided she would move them to the US for a fresh start.

Starting high school Salem was bullied even worse for his thick Finnish accent, his clothing choices, his appearance, and again for his shyness. He began to develop severe anxiety and emotional instability issues. Finally he turned to writing, something he'd always been good at, for a release. He began playing guitar again and found it was just the thing to take his mind off of the world around him. He began doing small performances for his friends until they persuaded him to do a performance at school. Three failed attempts later he struck gold with an original song he'd written to perform at an open mic night at a nearby cafe in Seattle. And this time something ignited in Salem that shocked everyone around him. He turned into a completely different person on stage from who he was in school, vibrant, loud, and happy. Salem met Anthony Rosswell that night, a sophomore who was part of the out-crowd at the high school, he said how much he liked Salem's music and the two began talking. It took until Salem was sixteen and Tony was eighteen for Salem to comitt.

The two had decided to make things official one night when Salem's mother was supposed to be at a Ladies' meeting at church. That evening the meeting, unknown to Salem, had been cancelled and his mother came home to find them in the middle of their activities. Salem was kicked out of the house after his mother beat the crud out of him and called him an abomination. She said she would not have a son who was so sinful in her house anymore. So Salem packed up what he could and tried to find somewhere to go. Tony's mother opened her arms to Salem and allowed him to come live there. Tony became verbally abusive towards Salem, calling him stupid and very derogatory names. Salem thought he was doing something wrong and couldn't bear to lose Tony so he simply took it. Salem graduated early at seventeen (having skipped sixth grade due to his grades) and finally saved up enough to move out to Capeside. He met Josh Maxwell last summer and the two quickly came into a relationship. That same summer Mattias, after hearing about what happened to Salem, moved from Finland to Capeside to get an apartment with his best friend. Salem has learned that Josh has an explosive temper and abuses drugs and alcohol which makes his temper worse. He's picked up the habit of picking at his wrists until they bleed in order to deal with the anxiety he constantly feels, but also uses his music as an outlet. He's now attending the local college as a music and journalism double major.

-- SAMPLE !

Salem had decided that he needed to write today, the pain in his heart completely overwhelming his senses. He quickly threw on a pair of tight jeans and a black shirt that read 'Satuttaa On Elää' (To hurt is to live in Finnish) on the front with a broken heart on the back. Tying up his converses he grabbed his black messenger bag and left his house. He was currently staying in a studio apartment until he could afford something a little larger, his mother having recently cut off his credit cards for good.

Salem's pink lips turned down in a sad frown as he made his way down the back staircase to the street below. He paused when he reached the street, biting his lower lip in indecision as to where he should go. After several more minutes of restless foot-shifting he decided on the library. It would by far be the safest place since none of his old friends were all that into reading, he doubted many of them even knew that the inside of a library looked like. He smiled despite himself at the thought of how all his friends would constantly pick on him (lovingly of course) because he would much rather go study than party.

He made his way at a casual pace to the library, a few ideas for new songs twisting about inside his head. He ran his fingers nervously through his messy dark curls as his bright green eyes glanced around. He always got terribly nervous when heading to a public place. He just felt..damaged when he saw people's eyes on him, like they knew his dirty little secret. As if they could plainly tell why he'd been kicked out of his own home and disowned by his mother. His mind absently wandered to Tony, his ex boyfriend and said reason for his getting kicked out. That night had left him terribly wounded both mentally and emotionally but Jareth had swooped in like a mischievous angel to save him.

He shook his head, trying to get the thoughts of his ex out of his brain. He hummed a soft tune as he walked, finally arriving in the parking lot of the library. It was an old, large building that seemed much too big for such a small town. But Salem was glad there was a place where he could find solace from the outside world, even if just for a couple of hours. He entered and was greeted by name by the ladies behind the desk, he stopped to let the older two fawn over him and tell him how much he needed to get a haircut and eat. He even got an offer to come to lunch with them the following week. At least he knew he would get fed then.

Locating a table in the back of the library Salem laid out a notebook and some mechanical pencils before sitting down. He closed his eyes and released a deep sigh, trying to get all of the stress from his body before starting his task. He really had no clue what to write about though he knew he'd soon figure something out. He delicately picked up one of the mechanical pencils, humming the tune from earlier and writing down a few random phrases. Finally something clicked and he scrawled down the words 'from lashes to ashes from lust to dust?'. A grin broke out across his face as he began pouring his heart into the song. He hummed the tune lightly as he worked, intent on finishing it today.

His curly hair completely obscured his face, making him easily mistaken for a girl the way he bent over his work. Salem had always been very delicately built, his cousins joking he should've been born a girl instead and giving him the nickname Lemon because they couldn't figure out a girl's name to pick at him with. His foot tapped quietly on the floor as his soft voice carried around the small area he was at, singing the words to himself. He bit his lip again, his face scrunched up in concentration. He would be famous someday, and his words would lend hope to all the hopeless.

-- OOC !

-- NAME OR ALIAS: Ren
-- AGE: Nineteen
-- THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU: Crazy, Unique, Creative
-- HOW YOU FOUND US: Proboards Support

[* NIKKI THE PEACOCK QUEEN]

Sorry for this delay, but there are certain aspects about this application that need to be discussed with the other admins.

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[jesse]

Howdy honey. We wanted to discuss your app because of the some of the sensitive subjects it touches on. We weren't sure if we wanted you to scale back on some of his troubles at the end of his history or just let you know what we think. But we've come to an agreement and decided just to make sure you knew what has to happen for this character to exist. We're not trying to police you, it's just a big time thing for those who have experienced it.

It's mostly the molestation. We need you to know that we want you to keep his reactions realistic and to approach the subject with as much caution as possible. We don't want to trigger anyone. I can see how that event spurred the rest of the events and how your character is now so I won't make you take it out I just want you to approach it intelligently and with care.

-- ACCEPTED !

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