aprilrcse

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"To be honest, I just came to get out of the apartment, I have never watched any of these movies yet." April flashed a small smile, "I don't really watch movies, but only because I'm too cheap to spend money on netflix or hulu or whatever things are being used these days."

OPEN STARTER: @windsorbaystarters. LOCATION: Silver Moon Drive In - Pride Weekend.

Lila was excited for this - she loved queer films. She was especially excited to watch Bottoms, something that she enjoyed when she streamed it but didn't have the chance to see in cinemas. Movies were expensive in the city. She locked up her car and made her way to the stand to get some popcorn, and decided to make some conversation with the person in front of her. She needed to make some friends in this town, after all. "Are you a fan of any of these movies?" She asked.

[aprilrcse]

"Now that would've been nice, a date I mean. I have been very MIA on my dating apps that I sort of gave up entirely." April said as she flipped through her sketchbook and chuckled lightly, "Do I really look that pathetic with a sad look on my face or something?"

open for @windsorbaystarters where: mug shot cafe

Elle claimed a small corner in the busy cafe with an oat milk vanilla latte and an almond croissant parked on the table in front of her. She'd been sitting there doing admin, and it was driving her a little bit nuts. Not something she'd ever get really used to. "Okay," She turned to the person next to her, who looked a little lonely. "What happened, your date stand you up or something?"

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"Oh god, if it's close to T-swift then I will say a huge no thanks." She placed the record back into the stack and continue browsing through some other choices. "I listened to enough Taylor Swift to find her irrelevant these days."

"She's lovely in real life, I don't know if I've listened to any of her music other than the stuff on the radio, though." He admitted with an awkward chuckle, tilting his head to the side as he flipped through the racks of the early 00's and late 90's. Peak music time, in his opinion. "Kinda similar to Taylor Swift, I wanna say? But I can't say I know much about her music either."

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"Chris Stapleton...he sounds familiar, probably heard his music on the radio at one point." She glanced over the vinyl and chuckled, "I bet I did hear one of his music, it was that Tennessee Whiskey....now that was a good one."

"You like country rock, huh?" She asked, mulling the band over for a second. It was difficult to think of a modern comparison to them. "Maybe you could try Chris Stapleton?" She suggested, before turning around and flipping through some of the country vinyls. "I'm sure I saw something by him earlier..." She remarked, before finally pulling it out and holding it up to show the woman.

[aprilrcse]

"I think it's because we are in that new generation now that all the celeb babies are getting older, they have more money and networking to do shit." April said with a slight shrug of her shoulders, she was envious of those kids but of course she wasn't one of the lucky ones to be blessed. "I would say a little bit of everything...I don't mind all sorts of music...except country, that is a hit or miss for me."

"Seems like just about everyone in Hollywood is a nepo baby these days," he said with a shake of his head. He couldn't deny that some of them were talented, but it was still frustrating seeing certain artists get ahead just because of who they're related to or who they know. "Well first of all, tell me the kind of music you're into so I can get a feel for what kind of recommendations to give you. Are you into mainstream pop? Classic rock? Little bit of everything?"

[aprilrcse]

F•R•I•E•N•D•S (1994-2004)

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"I have never heard of Kings Elliot, what sort of genre are they?" April asked questioningly. She was curious but also always open to trying something different song wise, something to add to listen to when she was at work or a jog.

Today's adventure had him and his daughter coming down to Main Street Records. They were killing time before they went to go pick up his wife to get dinner at Maple Grove to celebrate his mother's birthday. As he browsed he kept an eye on Cece who hummed around trying to find a specific record to give as a birthday present. Eli stood still against a pile of records when a voice got him out of his focus. Slowly looking over he hummed, green eyes taking note of the Gracie Abrams vinyl in the others arm. "I'm probably in the minority here but I think she's overhyped. I'll probably change my mind once her hype dies down and I can actually listen to one of her songs. If you want a similar vibe without the overhypeness, I recommend Kings Elliot."

[aprilrcse]

"I'm pretty open to whatever, I try not to discriminate on good music. Except country...country just doesn't hit different anymore...unless it's Johnny Cash or Shania Twain." April said smiling, music just isn't the same anymore but that was because things were always changing into something different.

"Can I say both?" She said, when she turned from her own browsing to see the Gracie album on hand. "I saw her a couple years ago in LA, my sister's huge on her. The live version hits different. Still can't really get into the records though." She was also very, very buzzed. Everything sounded good. "That what you're looking for? Singer-songwriter types?"

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"CCR, Creedence Clearwater Revival. My dad introduced me to them and since then they're always on repeat for me." April admitted with a shy smile. "But Eminem is a close second, once again, thanks to my father." She laughed lightly, "But I am digging Sabrina Carpenter too."

Caroline smiled at her answer, she also loved old music. It wasn't so much that music back then was better, it's just when you look back you only remember the best that that music era had to offer. Still, she thought she could help this woman. "Who's your favorite artist?" She asked, just trying to get a feel of her exact taste in music.

[aprilrcse]

"Just looking, I figured I should at least try out some new vinyls since the ones I have need a break from me constantly listening too." April admitted with a small smile. "I got Sabrina Carpenter's vinyl the other day so I thought I can go with something similar...but I keep going back to Eminem's vinyl."

“i mean, i've seen her – probably ‘cause people i follow repost her stuff. she’s not exactly my thing. ever since someone said her song sounds like she's saying bacon egg and cheese? turned off. no offense to her.” or bacon, egg and cheese lovers here. “so no gracie – just looking or trying to find something specific?”

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"No, I'm a classic rock kind of girl too, thanks to my dad. I just figured I should at least broaden my vinyl collection but I dare say I will not be downloading spotify anytime soon...as tempting as those free audiobooks sound and all." April said smiling as she placed the record back into the shelf as she browsed through again. "So, what record would you say is your favorite?"

Now that a year had passed and Aslan had accepted that his latest stint in Windsor Bay was a bit more permanent this time around, he figured it was time to finally start unpacking some of the boxes he’d left stacked a mile high in his closet. He’d started with his record player and collection of vinyls, realizing then that he needed to add more records to the pile. And so here he was, eyes peeled for some vintage Fleetwood Mac when a voice at his side snagged his attention. Narrowing his eyes down at the vinyl in question, Aslan gave a thoughtful hum, trying to recall if he’d ever heard this artist before, though he felt quite sure that he hadn’t. “I honestly wouldn’t know if I’d heard her or not,” he admitted, chuckling softly, “Sorry I’m not much help– more of a classic rock guy.” And the occasional country track too, if he was being honest. “Album cover looks nice, though,” Aslan shrugged, knowing that really didn’t say much about the record itself, but here he was, taking a page out of Chesney’s playbook and giving optimism a try.

[aprilrcse]

"A nepo baby huh?" She questioned and let out a small laughter, "Well...then I guess onto the next. I don't really care much for the over hyped. I just want to listen to one that is really good...do you have any recommendation? I'm trying to add a collection to my vinyl since I have a record player I want to actually use when I'm home and not let it sit there collecting dust you know?"

Asher was making his usual rounds through the aisles of the record shop, straightening up anything out of place and stopping to help a few customers along the way. He stopped in his tracks as he heard one of the browsing shoppers ask a question. He glanced over the album cover, not recognizing it off the bat. "I can't really say, since I really haven't listened to anything she's put out," he said with an honest shrug. "Though I did hear she's a nepo baby, since her dad is a famous director who is known for his lens flare effect. So if I had to guess, I'd go with she's probably overhyped."

[aprilrcse]

"Probably...I only use tiktok to watch silly videos and occasionally some DIY air dry clay projects." April admitted with a smile, and shakes her head. "Not a thing, maybe I heard her on the radio but I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan."

if he wasn't here for asher, it's not like kiernan had much else to do besides browse — after all, he uses spotify. records weren't being spun in his already disaster of a room and the aspect of taking care of them so they didn't get warped sounds a bit more complicated than he'd like. so instead he just looks to look at the artwork and judge from there. the name sounds familiar. “isn't she on tiktok?” he's heard a thing or two, whichever went viral first. “dunno. i don't know really anything 'bout her. do you?”

[aprilrcse]

"I'm mostly into the oldies, can never go wrong with them but I figured I should at least add some people from this decade to my collection." April said with a slight shrug, she figured it would be good in case she wanted to listen to something recent but at last, she kept finding herself looking through old rock and roll even if she already had a vinyl or two of them.

Caroline once again found herself in Main Street Records - easily one of her favorite places in Windsor Bay. She once again had to set an alarm to make sure she didn't spent too much time there before going to look through all the records. Hopefully she didn't impulse buy anything this time. She was so lost in looking through all the vinyls, that the voice of the other woman startled her - but she still shifted her attention over.

"Some of her songs are decent, but I wouldn't personally buy one of her vinyls, if that's what you're trying to figure out." Caroline said, as she assessed the album for a moment. A few of her teenage students like Gracie Abrams. "What kind of music do you like?"

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"Hmm...so Olivia Rodrigo is the way then huh?" She said laughing lightly as she placed the vinyl back into the selection as she tapped her finger tip on the top of the vinyls. "I was just looking to see what else I should add to my collection, I have some oldies so I figured I should add some recent artist."

Jin looked up from the bin he’d been flipping through, hovering over the “reduced price” section. That’s usually where he found the best stuff to sample for club remixes. He glanced between April and the vinyl, tilting his head thoughtfully. “That depends.” He let the records he’d been flipping through flop back into place and turned to face her properly. “If you’re buying it to cry in your kitchen at 2AM, she might be the one. But if you’re hoping to reinvent yourself through music, she might not be dramatic enough.” He teased, smiling some. “What are you going for?” 

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"I guess I should broaden my song choices since I tend to have more of a divorce rock dad vibes, with a little bit of good ol' Shania Twain to the mix and 90s hip hop." April said with a grin towards the other before she placed the vinyl back into the selection. "I'm trying to up my vinyl collection, be like Peyton from One Tree Hill, now that would be epic."

continued from: open starter by @aprilrcse

Chesney loved records, and she was glad to have found a friend who also loved to shop for them. April and Chesney had met while April's father was sick, and Chesney had reached out after it all shook out. From there, a friendship spawned naturally. Looking up from the albums she was flipping through, Chesney eyed the one April was holding. "Oh, Gracie is good for sure." she replied, nodding a few times. "I know people give her crap for being a nepo baby, but frankly, I think she's got a fresh songwriting style. If you like pop, then she's gold. If you're not into introspective pop with a Gen Z flair, then she may not be your style, but that's an oddly specific vibe to dislike, in my opinion. "

[aprilrcse]

THE CHARACTER.

FULL NAME: April Rose

GENDER: Cis woman

PRONOUNS: She/her

AGE + BIRTHDAY: 28 + April 8, 1997

LENGTH OF TIME IN WINDSOR BAY: 26 years

HOUSING: Downtown

OCCUPATION: Tattoo artist at Ink City

THE INTERVIEW.

What’s it like, living in Windsor Bay? Did you ever picture yourself settling down here or did you always know this would be your home?

April pondered over the idea of living in Windsor Bay, it wasn't exactly popping like a busy city life she imagined herself being in like New York or Chicago but it was home to her. She couldn't exactly leave her mother behind after her father passed, or maybe she was terrified of leaving in general. Now at the ripe age of twenty-eight, she knew here window was fully shut as she accepted living here. "It has always been home for me, I can't exactly imagine myself living anywhere else." She lied through her teeth with a small grin forming on her face.

What’s your family like? Are you still close, or have you blocked all their numbers?

"Well it was always my parents and I growing up, my parents always wanted a big family but that wasn't in the cards for us--well my parents anyway, since it was difficult for my mother to conceive. But I was happy to be an only child. I'm not very close with my mom or dad side of the family. Only because they weren't approval of my parents marriage. So I guess you can say the only actual family I have in this town would be my mother and of course some close friends."

Top five songs currently on your Spotify?

"I want to say any Eminem song but the actual top five songs I have on repeat would be i hear a symphony by Cody Fry, Gnarly by KATSEYE, Falling by Iration, She Keeps Me Up by Nickleback, and Love Gets Me Every Time by Shania Twain."

THE PERSONALITY.

— + Creative, honest, humble — - cynical, impulsive, indecisive

APRIL IS PORTRAYED BY CAMILA MENDES, AND WRITTEN BY TASH.