sloanefm

[sloanefm]

MARTY,

🎸

“i wouldn’t snitch on you.” and for a heartbeat, the knowledge that marty knows about the whole… hoedown throwdown thing comes up in their mind. “i would probably have to mug you back, though. even it out,” marty remarks, hand with its palm down and a swift motion to drive the point home. “was it busy tonight with some trivia or whatever? or was it just a regular pub night?” they don’t quite know why they ask; they don’t go the the wild rover all that often but talking about a pub seems better than to let the conversation stir itself somewhere marty doesn’t want it to. “it’s fine.” there’s a tight smile on their lips, meeting sloane’s eyes for a moment before shrugging. it wasn’t, not really. well, it would be if not for everything else that made the stolen nerf gun feel like a fucked up cherry on top of a shit cake. “i’ll get a new one soon enough. don’t know what those fuckers want with a plastic nerf gun but i hope they’re having fun with it.” they huff, equal parts annoyed and amused. “i heard they took your jacket. hope it wasn’t like… a favourite of yours. they’re the weirdest robbers ever.”

          “that’s very generous of you. i wouldn’t really blame you if you did though,” she says, and an easy laugh escapes her. “you need to pick better victims. all you’d get is–” she rummages around the pocket of her jacket. “an empty straw wrapper, two sticks of gum, and a temporary tattoo of a dinosaur.” she pulls each item out ceremoniously and lays them on the palm of her hand for marty to see. “actually, the tattoo’s pretty badass.” she returns them to her pocket.  truthfully, she tries to dedicate very little of her thoughts to the hoedown throwdown, though it’s debatable whether or not she’s found any success in it. after all, she’s still out here. “the ways of gang members will always intrigue me,” she states. if she was a more vulnerable person, something like disappointment would’ve shadowed her tone. things are better this way, anyhow. sloane shrugs her shoulders, not wanting to dwell on it for too long. “it was a bit short on the sleeves actually. so not a terribly hard loss.”

[sloanefm]

NISA,

         nisa grins against sloane’s shoulder at the picture she paints. “y’know i really should start paying more attention to the news. had i know, i totally would’ve joined the protesters. i bet i could make a mean sign.” what’s it even take to make a good sign for a protest? nice handwriting, eye catching colors, and a slogan? she can handle that. “oh, don’t worry about losing again. i’m devising a plan make sure we kick his ass next week as we speak. i hope you’re okay with cheating, because currently, my plan is to get the questions in advance. if flirting with bartenders is the sacrifice i have to make to keep my roommate, so be it.” not that it would be much of a sacrifice, considering that’s how nisa gets nearly half of her drinks, but that’s beside the point.

          “eh, who cares? it’s all propaganda anyway.” her mothers would likely be horrified at how little sloane pays attention to news, but it’s not something that’ll change anytime soon. a laugh bursts out of her at nisa’s plan. “‘course i’m okay with cheating. besides, that’s way better than anything i got. all i could come up with was just deliberately sabotaging wes’s team, and i didn’t even have any details ironed out. it’s not like doing anything to his teammate will affect their performance.” she rolls her eyes, mostly to herself. for a few moments, they walk in a comfortable, synchronized silence. “still feels surreal that the boat just sank like that. not that i felt great about any of it, but–” she lets out a low whistle. “what a way to end with a bang.” sloane had imagined about fifty different worst case scenarios, and still, none of that even compared to the reality.

[sloanefm]

Friends 

Season One Episode 1: The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate 

[sloanefm]

NISA,

         there’s a chill in the woodstock air, but nisa doesn’t even feel it; warmed by the drinks she’d had at trivia and sloane’s company. her arm is looped through sloane’s, and her head’s resting on her shoulder as they walk home. the two have slipped into a casual closeness with an ease that’s surprised nisa, given how difficult most of her other relationships in woodstock have proven to be. “i know you’re not the type to scare easily,” nisa says as they come to a stop at a crosswalk, waiting on the minimal small town traffic for their turn to jaywalk. “but still, i’m really happy you didn’t decide to skip town after the whole boat explosion thing.”

          her lips press together in a thin line. it’s a kind assessment of her personality, but she’s starting to think she scares easier than she expected. sloane’s head swivels left, then right, and left again before she judges the street safe enough to be crossed. “it was a tough decision.” she chuckles, squeezing nisa’s arm gently. “agonized for days. people were protesting, storming the gates.” they step back onto the sidewalk, continuing down the street towards home. “but it’ll take more than a near death experience to get rid of me.” there are still the reasons she can’t confess, of course— the ones that will change the way nisa sees her. she’s not willing to screw that up right now. “losing to wes’s team for the third week in a row might do it though.”

[sloanefm]

MARTY,

there’s a strange sense of freedom that comes with not knowing where the fuck you are, even if just for a moment ( marty is… maybe seventy percent sure she’s somewhere near wild rover pub but that’s it ). the night has become a sort of blur for marty — long and yet not long enough, calm all around them but their chest still feels tight and their breathing never really feels weightless at any given moment — and they don’t know whether it’s the fact their day has been longer than most since they can’t really tell if they slept the night before or if it’s the weed they’ve brought as their only companion. their little bubble is burst by someone’s footsteps; it should be alarming, to be approached by someone at ungodly hours of the night, and yet all marty can do is slowly look up at the person that had come meet them. “i thought someone was gonna mug me or somethin’,” marty jokes as soon as she sees sloane’s face, trying to let out an amused scoff but all it comes out as is hollow and weak. they put the camera down, fully looking at sloane this time. “you coming back from some cool place?”

          “well now that i know you’ll recognize me, that’s that plan out the window.” it’s not a strange sight to see sloane walking around late at night; marty, on the other hand, is. although, given their circumstances, she might have come to start expecting this behavior. nearly everyone’s been thrown off-kilter at this point. she takes a seat next to marty without waiting for an invitation. “nah, just closing down the wild rover.” she shrugs. it’s an easy place to be at this time of night, but even they were nearly forcing her out the door. “galaxy quest is definitely cooler.” sloane leans forward and rests her elbows on her thighs, face turned towards marty. “sorry about your nerf gun, i heard it was new too.”

[sloanefm]

CHASE,

“Or maybe I’m just too distracted with this,” he counters, shaking the spray bottle in his hand before he throws it onto his bag, approaching her, as well, now that she has made the first step. He doesn’t think Sloane’s easy to overlook, not when he keeps noticing her every time they happen to be in the same area outside of the store. Besides, he’d argue that being easy to overlook is not a bad thing. If anything, he prefers being easy to overlook. Anything to not be perceived. He looks in the direction of where she’s looking, till he gives up and looks back at her, not sure what she’s looking at. “Uh—yeah, he is. I was there yesterday morning. Have you?” he wonders, letting out a light, short-lived chuckle at her following words. “Sounds like you have a lot of them in your pocket.”

          “sure,” she nods. “also a possibility. that’s too bad. i was really hoping maybe i’m just part chameleon.” a part of her has always thought this to be true. or maybe she’s just good at disappearing, which would make her something else entirely. she notices his face turn in her periphery, and she stifles a smile. “oh, there’s nothing there. just checking to make sure my vision’s still perfect.” her gaze returns to chase. 

“no.” a strained expression crosses her face at the admission. “i don’t really know him, it would feel a little self-serving, i think.” sloane cocks her head. she’ll probably still go, to be honest. “i do, i never leave home without them.” she affirms, rocking back and forth on her heels. “so do you ever go anywhere besides the skate park? your house doesn’t count, and neither does work.”

[sloanefm]

WES,

         wes nods as if he’s listening. it’s more of a formality than anything. jennifer had lined out all the job entailed before his first shift and with her apathetic demeanor, sloane is the last person he needs around to remind him what he’s supposed to be doing. what he’s more concerned with is figuring out what she was doing bumming it in a small town. “what if my question for you, though?” he starts, situating his body to face her. without regard to how she might respond, he inquires, “are you planning on sticking around town much longer?” his tone comes off harsher than he intends. if she plans to stay in woodstock much longer, the last thing he needs is animosity between him and someone who could potentially have a say in whether his plans for a mayoral campaign end in success or disappointment. as a precaution, wes throws her deceptive clarification. “don’t get me wrong, i’m all for figuring life out by spending time in a place that’s not your hometown. i’m just curious. there’s not a lot to do here.” 

          she’s caught by surprise at his question, which is usually a more difficult state to find her in. she nods once. “very straightforward.” sloane notes, raising a brow. of course, it’s the million dollar question. there must have been a moment, months ago now, when she could have left with an easy conscience. it doesn’t seem like a possibility anymore. “i’m not sure,” she finally says, surprisingly candid even if wes doesn’t deserve it. she thinks he’d dislike this answer anyhow, which, in the grand scheme of things, is more important anyway. “can’t i just like it here?” she rolls her eyes, but it’s yet another honest answer from sloane— or it used to be, at least. now there’s colluding against people she hadn’t really known, a prison break she still doesn’t understand, a death on her well-intentioned hands; if james is the string tying her there, there must be a pair of hands trying to cut it. that’s the only way to explain all her bad luck. she focuses her gaze back to wes, mouth quirked up in a curious smile. “or is that concept too outlandish for you?”

[sloanefm]

COURTNEY  EATON .

[sloanefm]

CHASE,

He thinks he’s alone at the skate park—and it’s exactly what he needs. He can focus better, think better, especially right now, when there’s so much going on. He was already someone with so much plaguing his mind and thoughts, and right now, this has become even worse. He turns around to fetch another spray paint bottle when his eyes spot a familiar figure. Sloane. He has no idea how long she’s been standing there. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve found this amusing. It’s not the first time he and Sloane coincidentally end up in the same place outside of High Volume, but after the party, he hadn’t really talked to her about what went out. Looking back, he should’ve, as she was part of it, with him and Eric. He reciprocates her gesture after just staring at her longer than he should’ve. “Didn’t know anyone else was here.”

          they’ve run into each other before; most of the time, if they aren’t at work, all that passes between them is a glance of acknowledgement. there hadn’t really been a reason to interact beyond that. of course, a lot has changed in the past few days. so sloane approaches him, even if it feels a little unnatural to. “maybe i’m just easy to overlook.” she toes at a pebble on the ground, then looks up, somewhere past chase, squinting like she’s trying to see something. “i hear kem’s feeling better.” sloane deliberately misses the target, skimming past the point she actually wants to make. “have you gone to see him? i’m thinking it’s probably best if i leave any titanic jokes at home.”

[sloanefm]

TRIP,

     SINCE MEETING HER, SLOANE JENNINGS has flown entirely under trip’s radar. he’d thought her figured out : unassuming, mundane, nice, of course, but nothing to write home about. however, in the span of less than a minute, she somehow managed to undo all of that. ❝ right, your mothers, ❞ he repeats, intrigued by the way she says it like there’s a story here he should already know. honestly, he’s a little bummed he doesn’t. sloane carries on, whirling through the scene like a tornado in both her words and actions. it leaves him blinking and befuddled, wondering how on earth he managed to write her off for so long until now. eager to have more of his preconceived notions about her rocked, trip grabs the lemon she requests and scrambles after her. ❝ okay, seriously, what are you on ? ❞ he asks, half joking, half not. ❝ ‘cuz whatever it is, you’re going to have to share. ❞ this part, at least, is said with a laugh.

          she stops in her tracks, turning to face him with an all too serious expression. sloane considers the question for a moment, furrowing her brows. she’d tap her chin if her hands weren’t so full. after a pause, she shrugs. “actually, i’m unmedicated.” she continues walking. “but this would’ve been a great place to take psychedelics. we should’ve conferred earlier.” sloane pokes her head into a room and nods. “ah, this’ll do nicely.” she sits cross-legged on the floor, her back to the wall, and makes quick work of the drinks, her own first then trip’s. “poor man’s midori sour for you.” sloane presents the drink to him, chest puffed with unearned pride. she lets a moment pass as they sip on the cocktails. “i have a confession to make,” she says evenly, tilting her head back against the wall. her eyes flutter closed. “i’ve actually seen your band play before. van buren?”

[sloanefm]

WORKING FOR THE MAN,   ⋆   ❪  task seven.  ❫

what is their favorite shift to work/time of day?

sloane is an opening shift supremacist. she likes an early start to her day most of the time anyway, but also she’s got better things to do in her afternoons and evenings lmao

also, she likes how empty the store is in the mornings. busy shifts go by faster, but morning shifts means it’s easier to slack off and sloane’s never had a problem finding ways to keep herself entertained.

who are your muse’s top 3 favorite people to work with?

sloane likes working with her friends :) so her favorite shifts are definitely ones where she’s scheduled with nisa, her wife, or jude, her bruvver. after that… shifts with trip are nice, she likes the music he plays!

who does your muse not like to work with?

generally, sloane doesn’t have “least favorite coworkers.” a shift’s a shift, and she’s not the hardest worker so she’s never really upset when there are other slackers on shift with her— but the answer is wes. she just doesn’t like him <3

what is in your muse’s locker?

random knick-knacks, nothing really of value, mostly stuff to keep her occupied during her shifts. a deck of cards, a really old yo-yo with a cartoon of dw, a coloring book, colored pencils, hair ties, an extra pair of shoelaces, loose change, lip balm, blue nail polish. 

sometimes she’s got multiple jackets in there because she’ll bring one to work with her, then forget to leave with it later

how does your muse get to work?

sloane lives in close enough proximity to the store that walking IS an option, but it’s a fairly long walk and sloane doesn’t usually go straight home after a shift so most of the time, she drives to work. sometimes she bikes. it’s really all dependent on her mood and what she feels like doing that day.

finally, list the top 3 albums your muse has on rotation during their shift.

sloane will usually relinquish music rights to whoever’s on shift with her, but if she’s picking, then she’s choosing music she likes to listen to and she doesn’t care if it’s overplayed or doesn’t fit the vibe! so: crazysexycool by tlc, revolver by the beatles, and voulez-vous by abba

[sloanefm]

i’m literally a girl boyfriend

[sloanefm]

MAX,

@volumeupdates​. 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  hospital,  a  few  days  after  the  hoedown  throwdown.

     IF  THERE’S  TWO  THINGS  MAXINE  SINCLAIR  has  learned  in  life  it’s  this:  life  is  such  a  fragile  thing,  and  people  are  meant  to  leave,  one  way  or  another.  being  here  revives  memories  max  has  done  her  best  to  tuck  away  and  though  they’re  all  telling  her  kem  will  be  fine  she  also  remembers  a  time  after  her  dad’s  death  when  they’d  told  her  she’d  be  fine.  she’s  not  so  convinced  she  ever  was  after  that.

     right  now,  max  is  staring  down  a  vending  machine,  knowing  full  well  she  has  no  more  cash  on  her  and  she’s  not  really  feeling  yet  another  kit  kat  bar  anyway.  in  fact,  the  mere  thought  of  it  makes  her  wanna  double  over,  but  both  trip  and  kem  have  been  adamant  about  her  trying  to  eat  something.  the  least  she  can  do  is  pretend.  

     sure  she  could  go  home,  trust  that  kem  is  in  good  hands,  there’s  not  much  she  can  do  here  anyway,  but  between  the  bench  in  the  hospital  lobby  and  the  immediate  proximity  to  kem  should  he  need  anything  max  feels  better  staying  —  this  despite  the  dried  blood  on  her  boots  and  her  greasy  hair.  

     max  decides  to  turn  on  her  heel,  headed  back  to  her  designated  bench  that  they’ve  told  her  to  leave  a  hundred  times  after  visitation  hours,  when  she  walks  straight  into  someone  without  so  much  as  glancing  at  them.  «  watch  it,  »  she  exclaims,  agitated,  out  of  character.

         sloane is at the hospital more out of obligation than any real worry. kem’s going to be okay, the doctors had made that clear. he was lucky— they all were. more and more often, she wonders if she’s standing on the right side of the line, if her loyalties are being kept with the right people.

she’s sort of wandering around, trying to find kem’s room when she’s max quite literally runs into her. instinctively, she steadies max by holding on to her shoulders. “hey.” she takes in max’s appearance, notices the dried blood. “you’re a sight for sore eyes.” she says in a chiding voice, tone empathetic. “have you gone home at all, max?”

[sloanefm]

CHRISTIAN,

christian placed his order, then nodded a short thank you when the bartender slid the glass over. he turned to sloane then, really taking her in for the first time since she started at the store…then he placed her. he always looked familiar, but he just figured it was the small town thing. “christ,” he ducked away, suddenly embarrassed.

christian didn’t remember everything he told her, but from what little he could recall, and from her comment, he knew it was nothing he normally would have told a co-worker. “you can just forget all that.” he tried with a shake of his hand. 

         “there you go.” she nods encouragingly, with as much enthusiasm as a grade school teacher. “hey, no shame, we’ve all been there.” not that sloane has; she finds herself somewhere between an open book and a tower with high walls, something closer to a house with the lights off, the blinds shut, and the door closed— but not locked.

“it would be kind of difficult to, i think.” she’s just trying to be annoying now. “it made for a really good story to tell my coworkers.” sloane pauses. “kidding. it was just one coworker.”

[sloanefm]

[sloanefm]

WES,

       wes doesn’t really know sloane. they’re only familiar with each other because of trivia night and even then, he assumes she only knows him as the guy who yells at her partner from across the bar when things get heated. all in all, it may be from lack of initiative on his end. except he gets the feeling she doesn’t care for him all that much. it doesn’t bother him, not when the feeling is mutual. he can’t comprehend what sloane is doing in woodstock to begin with. with them working the same shift, his first shift, there’s an uncomfortable silence that hangs in the air. “so,” he clears his throat, attempting to make things less awkward. “you’re supposed to be training me?” he doesn’t do well with other people showing him the ropes, more inclined to figure things out on his own, but he’s willing to try if it means he gets to stick around the store longer to make a change around town.

          it’s true, sloane doesn’t really know wes either, but that doesn’t stop her from disliking him. he’s got this way of making every lie sound like the truth that she doesn’t trust, and she tends to stick to her first impressions. “i am?” now that she thinks about it, she vaguely recalls jennifer telling her about the new hires. god knows she doesn’t understand why the store needs this much staff, but – with the amount of slackers they’ve got, sloane included – it’s probably for the better. “there’s really not much to it. you sort records, recommend music to customers, ring them up." sloane shrugs, sitting up. training is a term used very loosely in high volume, and it becomes looser still in her hands. “you can claim any empty locker in the break room, breaks are fifteen minutes, but hardly anyone sticks to that unless jennifer’s around.” she lists them off with her fingers. “that’s pretty much it. if you have any questions, ask whoever you’re working with on your next shift.”

[sloanefm]

location: the skate park status: closed, for @chaseraynor​

          when sloane has to explain it to herself, it’s not as if they’d had a whole lot of other options. still, that’s one less person on earth because of something she’d done, and the sequence of events is startlingly easy to follow. it shouldn’t be that simple; and it’s a strange thing to know otherwise. of course, there’s the other side of it; the side where their actions helped someone, kem and max and christian. it helps a little. she forces herself to stop thinking, reminds herself of where she is. the skate park, not the boat. her gaze focuses. when she makes eye contact with chase, the irony isn’t lost on her. sloane lifts her hand awkwardly in greeting.