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Shane Bailey | 32 | He/him | Joja Mart Employee | Full-time Miserable

[shane-bailey]

Donald Glover | he/him | male | hey, you know Shane Bailey? I’m pretty sure they’re 32 and have lived here for 3 years. they spend most of their time at JojaMart but also go to The Stardrop Saloon a lot. If you ask me, they can be consistent, but also bitter at times. If you want to get on their good side, give them a beer next time you see them! 

Full name: Shane Bailey

Age: 32

Birthday: February 20th, 1990

Gender: Male

Pronouns: he\him

Sexuality: Straight

Height: 5′9″

Favorite item(s): Pizza, Pepper Poppers, Beer, and Hot Peppers

“I wish I was 6 inches taller and a whole lot smarter”

Shane was born in Zuzu City on February 20th, 1990 to Earl and Darcy Bailey. He is the youngest of four children. He has three older sisters named Connie, Lori, and Dahlia. 

Growing up, Shane had a really good home life and relationship with his family. In school he was a pretty average student, but managed to stay out of trouble. 

All throughout school Shane was a pretty good kid. He got good enough grades and had a good amount of friends. All his teachers loved him and his parents were proud of him. 

Just before graduation, things began to go downhill for him. Just about a month before he was set to graduate his mother fell ill really abruptly and not long after unfortunately passed away. Then just about six months later, it all became too much for his windowed father and he also unfortunately passed due to a broken heart. 

Losing both of his parents within 6 months of each other was very hard on Shane. To cope with the loss of both of his parents he turned to alcohol to try and help ease the pain. It didn’t take long for the alcohol to became a problem and his sister stepped in to try and help him quit.

Recovering from losing both parents and an alcohol addiction wasn’t easy at all, but with the help of his sisters he was able to push through and get the help he needed. 

Things for Shane began to look up again. He got a job as a mechanic at his friends shop. He got his own place and was doing really well for the first time in a while. Most of his time outside of the shop was spent with his two closest friends Dean and his wife Gina.

Eventually Dean and Gina welcomed their first child into the world. A baby girl that they named Jas. Shane had never been one that wanted or really thought of the idea of having kids, but it didn’t take long for his little goddaughter to steal his heart. 

When Jas was about two years old, Dean and Gina were in a fatal car crash. Thankfully, Shane had been watching Jas that night so she was okay. Since she was his goddaughter, she was now his responsibility. At first, he figured it wouldn’t be so bad. He always did really well when he watched her for them. It didn’t take long for him to realize just how in over his head he was though. 

The stress of losing his two best friends and now practically being a single father was way too much for him. The only thing he could think to do to ease some of his stress was to start drinking again. This time when it got bad though, he wasn’t as willing to accept help from anyone. It got so bad that he eventually ruined his relationship with his sisters. Then to avoid potentially getting Jas taken away from him, he called the one person he had left. 

His aunt Marnie was from his dad’s side of the family. As a kid Shane had been really close with her and loved coming to spend time at her Ranch. As he got older though, he began to visit less and less. He’d much rather be spending time with his friends back in the city than with some family. 

Even though it had been a while since they last spoke, Marnie didn’t hesitate to take them both in. Shane promised her it would be just a temporary thing, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case at all. Three years later and he’s still there. His alcoholism has unfortunately gotten worse, but he really is trying. 

[shane-bailey]

did you ever see yourself having/raising children before you got custody of jas?

"Absolutely not. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly the fatherly type. I love Jas though, so she’s okay."

[malachihq]

With hands tucked into the pockets their sundress Emily circled around the fountain, hair a calculated mess and fingers brushing the gems brought along for today’s adventure. Days away from the saloon were rare – in fact, they practically lived there; so much so that days off were a complete perplexed haze for the barmaid. Pelican Town was their home, they’ve explored what they care to explore, know the places read: people to avoid. Now though? Now they were just killing time, letting the day lead them to wherever, because in the end… that’s where they were supposed to be. Pacing turned into wandering, making the familiar trek from the fountain, around town, and eventually leading to the graveyard. 

“Hm. Reflection is needed today – not another day to wither away under the sun.” The villager picked a familiar family headstone, pressed against the back, and then slid down to sit. “Ah, I didn’t bring a journal… how do I reflect without a journal?” The question bounced around their head, repeating as brown hues traced the landscape in front of them. Eventually the weeds from the dirt started pouring new stories of life from loss, and the flowers started speaking in a familiar hum of ethereal storytelling. Daisies, lilacs, baby’s breath, and sweet peas chirped in the wind, telling her a thousand different stories. Once a tell was finished, they gave a small “thank you” before plucking it from the ground, examining it, and then grouping it with the growing bouquet in their hand. 

Emily, caught up in florals, didn’t notice the time passing, or the people passing. They were focused and inspired. “These lilacs could make amazing prints on fabric,” they mused under their breath, now aiming to find more colorful flowers to make even more amazing prints. Suddenly green hues locked in on an orange chrysanthemum – an immaculate pair to the light purples coveted in their left hand. “Oh!” The shout led to action, careless action, as they bolted forward to admire the flower; not aware of surroundings. 

[shane-bailey]

Usually, Shane would have made his way to The Saloon by now. Unfortunately, his shift at JojaMart ended up being longer than usual. He’d been asked to stay late today to finish up the truck that had come in that day, and even though he definitely didn’t want to, he complied and stayed. He couldn’t wait to be done though and because of that he was rushing what he was doing and most definitely not doing a good job. To Shane, all that mattered was getting the job done, and he did. Finally, he was free and on his way to The Saloon.

As he was passing by the cemetery, he noticed a familiar face. Honestly, it was a little weird seeing Emily outside of The Saloon. That was usually the only place he ever saw them. He didn’t pay much mind to them though and just continued on his way. When he saw them leap towards something though he stopped and raised a curious brow. What exactly were they doing? If it had been anyone else he would have just let it go and continued on, but he honestly liked Emily. They were one of the only people in this town he genuinely didn’t mind talking to. Maybe it was because they’d spent so much time together with them working at The Saloon and him always being at The Saloon. 

“Hey, are you good?” he asked, walking into the cemetery so they could better hear him. His eyes then shifted to the flower, “Were you that excited by a flower?” he asked before nodding his head in the direction of JojaMart, “I saw some flowers on my way from JojaMart if you’re on the hunt for more. I couldn’t tell you what kind they were, but they’re definitely flowers,” he said with a lazy shrug. 

[carsbake]

Carson had gone down to the beach with his folding chair and sat down in the chair with his guitar and began to strum it not knowing anyone was around as he began to sing his song “ And it goes to show, How you make your way into my dreams again. And the less we know.Yeah the more we break right apart. So we’ll raise the stakes and show them.Yeah the more we break right apart.So we’ll raise the stakes and show them.” As he heard someone behind him and said “How long have you been there?” Carson asked as he looks at the person besides him “Also what did you think of the song.”

[shane-bailey]

Usually, Shane wouldn’t have found himself at the beach. He wasn’t really much for going out. His extent of going out included going to work, The Saloon, or sometimes Pierre’s. That was it though. Marnie had been harping on him about how he needed to get some more fresh air. Something about needing vitamin D or whatever. So, since he was off today, he decided to get her off his back and go for a walk, even if he wasn’t thrilled about it at all. At least it would make her happy.

 Eventually, he found himself at the beach. One of the places he was rarely ever seen at. He had planned on keeping his little visit to the beach short but found himself distracted by someone playing the guitar. A small scoff came from him as he watched the guy. The singing stopped and the man's attention was now on him, “Just got here, and I don’t plan to stick around if you’re going to be doing all that,” he said gesturing to his guitar. “I don’t think you want me to answer that, I’d wait to get opinions from someone who's more interested,”

[artfolk]

starter for @shane-bailey​

“hey shane! you looked a little down in the dumps today. i brought you some pepper poppers to maybe cheer you up?” leah’d never been a really outgoing person, but they’d always enjoyed giving gifts to other people. art. food. post it notes with words of affirmation? you name it, they’d gifted it. so, pepper poppers seemed well within leah’s league.

“if you don’t want me sticking around, i won’t, but i hope these help.”

[shane-bailey]

Shane wasn’t particularly having a bad day or in a bad mood for any reason. Being grumpy was just his constant state of being at this point in his life. Usually, someone stopping to talk to him about literally anything, would have just further soured his mood. At first, his expression did fall to an annoyed expression, but it then went back to a more neutral one when they held out the pepper poppers. They definitely had gone out of their way to get these for him, for whatever reason, so the least he could do was be as kind as he could muster up. “Thanks, Leah,” he said with a small nod and very forced closed-mouth smile as accepted the gift. He then shrugged his shoulders, eyes focused on the pepper poppers, “You can do what you want, you’re not bothering me,” he said.

[bellicostic]

back and forth. back and forth. back and forth. very tips of fingers repeated a silent, absentminded gallop across same several inches of manager’s desk. how long had he been doing that? too long. how long had he been staring, bleary-eyed, at empty seat on opposite side of table? too long. how long had he been alone in store, listening only to faint buzzing of fluorescent bulbs high above? lights clicked off, plunging space beyond morris’ office door into darkness. too long.

with yawn that popped jaw, he stood. he made note to turn off timers on lights. it was the same note he made yesterday. and the day before that. and the day before that. maybe if he thought about fixing it just one more time, he’d remember to actually do it when it wasn’t… what time was it? gaze shielded by round lenses slowly turned to clock on nearby cabinet. damn. no going home that night. better to just nap at his desk and hit the diner early for as much coffee as it took to keep him mostly upright for following work day. again.

he laced fingers, pushing palms outwards to crack knuckles. fresh air would do him some good, even if sun had long since gone. maybe walk would even wake him up a bit. ha. he wished.

as he fumbled with store keys to lock front doors behind him, he wondered if trying to sleep in his office was even worth it. 

maybe he’d see if saloon still had lights on.

[shane-bailey]

Shane definitely spent way too much time at The Saloon. So much in fact that everyone that worked there knew exactly what to get him without him even having to ask him. The guy practically lived there. If he wasn’t there then he was a work. Today was just like any other day. He got off from his shift at JojaMart and headed straight to The Saloon. There was a change of clothes in his locker at work and that was good enough for him. 

Hours flew by as he sipped at his beers. People came in and had their fun and then left for the night. It was now at that point of the night where the only people in The Saloon were those who were working, Pam, and him. It was late and he probably should have gone home by now to get some rest before his shift tomorrow, but he wasn’t moving from his usual spot any time soon. When he heard the door to The Saloon open though, he turned with a raised brow, curious to see who was coming in this late. It was the last person he had expected to come in. Especially so late. Honestly, he couldn’t think of a time when he’d actually seen Morris here in The Saloon, but then again Shane never paid much attention to anyone while there. As he made his way over to the bar, Shane nodded in his direction as a greeting, “Did you just leave?” he asked before looking over at the time, “Jesus man, didn’t the store close hours ago?” 

[sofitrres]

yes, it was absolutely sofia’s fault, but she was practically running towards marnie’s ranch to pick up frida from her playdate with her little friend jas. marnie was so kind and didn’t care when she picked the girl up, and the same went for her whenever jas went over to sofi’s house, sort of an open door policy. half out of breath and reassured by the gentle mooing of cows somewhere in the barn, the mother knocked confidently, ready to greet either one of the little ones or marnie, but was taken by surprise when it was shane who opened the door. “hey!” this first hey was high pitched and excited, “oh, hey!” this hey was more surprised than anything else, a whole octave lower too. “long time no see, stranger. are the girls back there?” she added, twirling a finger and pointing behind shane’s shoulder. @shane-bailey​

[shane-bailey]

For the most part, Marnie was the one that watched Shane. Since she just worked from her ranch she was able to be there while Shane was at work or unfortunately drinking. Whenever he had to watch her though he never minded. Jas was one of the most important people in his life, and one of the few people that didn’t get the constant glares and bad mood. With her he always tried to be so much lighter and happier. She was just a kid so there was no reason why he should be putting his problems onto her. Plus, she’d been through enough already in her life. She didn’t need an asshole father figure now.

When Shane got home from work, he was greeted by Marnie who seemed to be in a slight rush. She apologized at least a million times before explaining she’d be out for a bit and that he’d have to watch the kids. No big deal. Any time Frida was there they kept each other pretty preoccupied. It didn’t take long for the two of them to tire themselves out and fall asleep sprawled out in the living room. When he heard a knock at the door, he hopped up from where he was sitting and rushed to the door so they didn’t knock again and potentially wake them. His expression had been neutral, but it soon fell when he was greeted excitedly by Sofi. He didn’t return the greeting and just nodded his head, “Yeah, they passed out about thirty minutes ago,” he said, looking over his shoulder into the living room before looking back to Sofi. “I can bring Frida home later once she’s up, or you can just come back. I don’t care either way,” he said with a lazy shrug. 

[farmermary]

Mary was the kind of person that needed to be friends with everyone. She was very outgoing, very friendly, very driven - and very, very much desperate for everybody’s approval. Honestly, most of the people in Pelican Town that she’d met since moving here had come to like her, or at least be neutral enough to not mind her. Shane was kind of a different story. He was a tough nut to crack, that was for sure. But Mary wasn’t deterred by his bad attitude and his constant dismissal of her. They’d be friends if it killed him.

Bombarding him after a shift at Joja was, almost definitely, not a good time to try to hang out with him, but it was her plan. She’d come to the saloon for dinner that night, as she often did when she didn’t have the energy to cook, and ordered herself a large order of pepper poppers. Really not her favorite dish - hot peppers were not her speed - but she had a game plan. Once Shane came in and came up to the bar for his usual beer, she exhaled a loud, dramatic sigh.

“Oh, Shane!” she greeted, feigning surprise at seeing him there. As if it weren’t one of the only spots in town to hang out comfortably. “Hey, you like pepper poppers, right? Do you wanna split these with me? There’s just way too many for me to eat.” She gave him a casual smile, like she hadn’t planned this out and timed it carefully so the dish would still be warm when he arrived. @shane-bailey​

[shane-bailey]

Today, like most days, was exhausting. His shift at JojaMart seemed to drag on and on, Morris was particularly up his butt about his job performance today, and so on. Now that he was off though, he was looking forward to drinking alone at The Saloon like he did most nights. However, as he made his way into The Saloon, he knew right away that that wasn’t going to happen. For whatever reason, one of the farmers in town, Mary, was dead set on becoming friends with Shane. Some of the things she did to get his attention were mildly amusing, but most of the things she did were not amusing to the older man. 

As he made his way into the Saloon, he did his best to not try and make eye contact with her. He knew Gus knew what he wanted, so he hoped he’d just leave it on the counter for him to grab so he could make his way to his little corner to sulk like he always did. For whatever reason though, that was not the case. Mildly annoyed, he let out a small sigh and turned to make his way to the bar. He kept a few seats down from Mary as he waved Gus down to order his beer. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her looking over at him so desperately hoping to grab his attention. With another sigh, he turned and faced her, a very unamused expression plastered on his face. He nodded his head to her question, looking briefly to the plate before looking back up to her. She then offered to share them with him and it caused him to roll his eyes. Knowing Mary she had probably planned this all out.  

Begrudgingly, he scooted down a few bar stools so he was now sitting next to her. “I’m only agreeing because it’s free food,” he said before pointing a warning finger at her, “Don’t let it go to your head,” he said before popping one of the pepper poppers into his mouth. “Did you wait to order these till you knew I was coming?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the pepper poppers, “They’re still pretty warm,” he commented. 

[adri0la-deactivated20241202]

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