Music is emotion.

Caroline Waver - 29 - Music Store Owner - Mother.

[weavercaro]

NAME: Caroline Weaver.

FACE CLAIM: Florence Pugh.

GENDER: Female.

PRONOUNS: She/Her.

SEXUALITY: Bisexual.

AGE: 29.

BIRTHDAY: January 4th.

LENGTH OF TIME IN WINDSOR BAY: 4 years.

HOUSING: Suburbs.

OCCUPATION: Owner of Pulling Strings.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Compassionate, friendly, charismatic.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Naive, overworked, scatterbrained.

tw: mentions of child neglect.

BIOGRAPHY

Caroline was born in Kent to two parents who loved her very much and always encouraged her passion for music. Especially since it was the only thing she seemed consistently passionate about. All her other interests came and went just as quickly. This all made sense when she was diagnosed with ADHD in her late teens.

She ended up going to university to study music, and opted to do a year abroad in New York, and even spent a summer taking a road trip through the country. She loved it so much, she decided to move back to the States after she finished her final year in England.

There, she settled upstate in New York and commuted to the city every day to work in the pit at several Broadway shows. She wasn’t a big fan of musicals beforehand, but her job gave her a newfound appreciation for them.

While working in the pit at Wicked, she found herself falling for the actor playing Fiyero. He was from a rich family and they clearly bought his career for him, but she didn’t really mind that. She loved his charm.

Then he got her pregnant. And promised to stick around.

After giving birth to her son, Jonathan, the fighting started. He didn’t support her as much as he promised and he got defensive whenever she broached the topic. Eventually, he left her all together.

Naturally, Caroline milked all the child support she could get from him and decided to start anew in Windsor Bay. She decided to open a music store, and enjoyed being able to focus on music she enjoyed. She got a dog, made some friends. Loved her son with everything inside of her. She was happy.

CONNECTIONS - PLAYLIST.

[jacobxcarmichael]

Jacob was dressed the part, he had a bright yellow feather boa wrapped around his neck, a pair of gold shorts on and not much else. Rainbow's on both of his cheeks as blush, and glitter shimmered on his chest. Jake wasn't even part of the club but being an ally was huge to him. "Are you okay?" He asked, concern clear on his face as they knocked into each other, but that faded once her smile appeared. "Yeah, it's freaking incredible." The male beamed from ear to ear. "It's my first year at pride here so I was wondering how it was gonna be, but it's great."

[weavercaro]

"I'm good." She said, when he asked if she was okay. "Are you?" She decided to ask, since it was her who ran into him. Her gaze then glanced down to his boa, which she absolutely loved. It was great to see people go all out for event like this. "Really? Well I'm glad you're enjoying." She said. "I like your boa."

[aprilrcse]

"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."

[weavercaro]

"There you go, then. You like his music and he's released some of it this decade." She said, before handing the vinyl over to her to have a closer look. Hearing about people's music taste was always a fun time for Caroline. And just being able to talk about it in general.

[lenavalentin]

"Caroline," she greeted, her features instantly lighting up at the blonde, "hey, I'm doing great, can't really complain. How've you been?" Feeling the vibes and the fun, she lightly bumped her hip against Caroline's. "That's amazing! Honestly, I wish I had some musical talent so that I could learn, too. You printer must be suffering, though." A light laugh bubbled up, it was a compliment as Lena imagined Caroline was getting many takers on the freebies. "I had some buttons and patches made," she grinned, "rainbow coffees with the slogan 'cup of pride'." A little shrug of her shoulders conveyed that it was cheesy but her smile said she thought it was cute. "Come into the cafe sometime and I'll get you one."

[weavercaro]

"Oh god, yes." Caroline said, when Lena pointed out that her printer must be suffering. Nonetheless, she was proud of the idea. She also had a jar out for people to donate to charities that support trans people, hoping that the freebies would encourage people to donate. "A cup of pride sounds adorable!" Caroline said, giving Lena a smile. "I'll definitely come around someday."

[clubrevenant]

Bex let out a low whistle, not mocking — just impressed in that damn, girl kind of way. She leaned back a little, arms folded, eyes locked on Caroline with a grin that was all teeth and zero pity. “Okay. First of all — Broadway ex, deadbeat dad, Wonderwall douchebag? You’ve got the holy trinity of emotional whiplash there. That’s some real-life Greek tragedy meets indie romcom shit.” She finally took the shot she’d poured earlier and let it sit a second before speaking again, the burn grounding her in the moment. “Let me get this straight — man dips on fatherhood and has the nerve to be doing eight shows a week while you’re holding down life and guitar lessons like a badass? And then you swipe right on Ryan, 32, vibe curator and guitar god who thinks Wonderwall is the musical equivalent of foreplay?” She blinked, deadpan. “I’m actually offended on your behalf.” Then the smirk returned — less sharp now, more amused, like Caroline had passed some unspoken test. “But you know what?” she said, voice dipping just slightly lower. “I get it. You needed a release. Not validation, not romance — just someone to shut up and make you feel something that wasn’t rage or exhaustion for five minutes.” She reached across the bar, grabbed a bottle of something decent, and poured them both a shot without asking. “To bad decisions,” she said, lifting her glass. “And to women who still show up for their kids and their craft even when the world hands them clown after clown in a fuckboy disguise.” A beat passed, the edge of a smile softening her face as she added, “Also, you let a man play Wonderwall at you and didn’t commit murder. That’s restraint. You’re stronger than me.”

[weavercaro]

Caroline let out a small laugh at the woman's response. She was quite happy with her life overall - she loved her son, she loved her job, she loved living in a small town where she could walk her dog somewhere scenic. But when she looked back at things like that, she did notice a small tinge of tragedy. So small she could laugh at it sometimes. "I own a music store that provides lessons, but yes. That's pretty much what happened. I'm a huge Oasis fan, but there's nothing particularly sexy about their songs." Though to Caroline, that was what was so amazing about music. There were contexts, situations, different ways to appreciate them. It could express so many different things. "The feeling anything but exhaustion thing is definitely a factor." Rage wasn't something that Caroline felt that often, not anymore. The topic of her ex abandoning her and Jonathan was a sore topic that could make her angry if she thought about it for too long, but she had plenty of other things to focus on. But god she was exhausted. Even with all the stimulants in her system. "I also just don't want to give up everything, you know?" It did make her feel better to know she could still be touched. She could still feel good. Even if she couldn't have that sweet romance anymore. She didn't have to give up all of which she yearned for. When the woman poured her a shot, she shook her head apologetically. "I can't drink, medical reasons. And I'm driving this lot home." She said, nodding to her incredibly drunk friends. Though she raised the shot in a toast anyway, before pushing it towards the other woman to down as well. "You need to tell me something, now."

[leoniem]

CUSTOM MADE FOR ⦂ @weavercaro LOCATION ⦂ PRIDE PARADE.

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie — I have no idea how I ended up with the paintbrush." Leonie glanced down at the small, aforementioned brush in her hand before back over at Caroline somewhat apologetically. "The girl told me told hold it while she went to make change? I think? I don't know. Surprises me we haven't gone over fully to Venmo." Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, before the mischievous grin began its languid sprawl across her face. "I can't promise any of the fancy face paint designs but hey, if you want, I could attempt a lil' rainbow."

[weavercaro]

Caroline let out a small laugh when Leonie explained her situation - it didn't sound like the most professional way to man something but it's not like she could judge. There was a time when she was just as careless with her own job - if not more. "I'd love for you to attempt a rainbow." She said, before sitting herself down.

[weavercaro]

CLOSED STARTER: @lenavalentin. LOCATION: Downtown - Pride Parade.

"Hey, Lena. How are you doing?" Caroline said, smiling at her once she approached her. "Is the cafe doing anything special this month?" She asked, thinking it was great to see such a small town go all out for pride. "I'm offering free sheet music of songs by LGBT+ artists this month. There's been a few takers already. Lots of people want to learn how to play Chappell Roan songs."

[weavercaro]

CLOSED STARTER: @jacobxcarmichael. LOCATION: Downtown - Pride Parade.

"Oof, sorry." Caroline said, when she ran into the man. The place was more busy than usual, and while Caroline preferred when things were quiet - it always warmed her heart to see so many people come out for Pride. "It's hard to get my bearings when it's busy, but isn't the turnout amazing?" She said, grinning.

[moonshineshelf]

Caroline's confession was so relatable to her, in complete agreement over warm weather supremacy. "No better feeling than the sun on your skin. I think the most extreme weather I can do is rain," shaking her head at her own silliness. "That's so intriguing, did you ever picture a specific place as permanent home?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that. Dogs are absolutely precious," she commented, thinking back to their beautiful Sparkle. Though, it also made her smile - the common thread with dog-owners - all affirming they had the best companion in the whole wide world. Wholeheartedly believing so, and personally for Laurel? She had no reason to not believe that. She wondered if that was a thought running through Caroline's mind. "Amazing! Honestly, I"m usually hanging out at Java Junction, my attempts to write, but to be safer," she slipped her phone out of her pocket, handing it to her. "We could just text and find a time, or who knows? I wake up earlier than Eli and beat him to Sparkle's morning walk," said with a laugh, knowing the likelihood of that happening was slim.

"Good idea, we would not know what to do with a keyboard in our home." Listening to to her explain the different lessons offered, she looked over at her daughter engrossed in conversation and knew that she could do the hour lessons. After all, she had been asking for music lessons for some time. "Let's do the hour lessons, with school ending soon too, she's eager to have things to do. I'm intrigued by the group lessons program, is it something you advertise?" Not for her family, but her mind never strayed far from what she could write about. This program seemed like a perfect thing to highlight for the town. "I only aks because I write for the paper, I'd love to write about it, and about your store too. I'm sure the town would love to read about it."

[weavercaro]

"I mean, I never even imagined moving to the States growing up. I always used to figure I'd stay in England." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "When I moved to New York, I figured I'd stay there. Now I guess I'm staying here." Everywhere she set roots felt like home to her while she actually lived there.

When Laurel handed Caroline her phone, she tapped her number into her contacts and handed it back. "Just shoot me a text and we can make plans to meet up." Caroline said, handing the phone back over. She was very huge on people, and always excited to make a new friend.

"Summer holidays are definitely a time where kids can get bored." Caroline agreed, before looking through her books to see what hour long slots were free. "There's Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday slots available." She said, before the conversation moved over to the music program the store had for kids from low income families. "We do, we have flyers up around town and stuff like that." She explained. "And it's on the store's website. But it would be really good if you could do an article on it, we could reach more kids."

[weavercaro]

CLOSED STARTER: @xio-c. LOCATION: Xio's Studio.

"Wow, we sounded really good." Caroline said, after the two had a little jam session. "You know, I've actually written a few songs." She confessed, before digging into her tote bag and pulling out some sheet music that she scribbled on. Stuff about her ex, stuff about pressure, stuff about some bad hookups. "I'd never record them myself because I don't sing, and honestly - I think the music is solid but the lyrics are rubbish." She explained, though she didn't expect lyrics to be her strong suit going into writing these. "Figured it was time I finally shared them with you."

[clubrevenant]

Bex clocked her the moment she laughed — not loud or obnoxious, just one of those real laughs that slipped out when you weren’t trying to impress anyone. Rare around here. She liked that. The girl wasn’t trashed, wasn’t falling over herself or trying to get free shots with a wink and a sob story. Just present. That alone earned her Bex’s attention. At Caroline’s approach, Bex poured herself a refill, but didn’t shoot it just yet. She eyed the other woman from across the bar with a brow raised, the beginnings of a smirk playing with her lips like it wasn’t sure if it wanted to stay. “No judgment zone,” she promised, holding up two fingers like a lazy scout’s honor. “Unless it’s your cousin or involved a clown costume — then all bets are off.” She reached for a rag and wiped down a spill that didn’t need cleaning, just something to do with her hands. “But lonely hookups? You’re in good company. I’ve made out with someone just because they were wearing my ex’s cologne. So. Bar’s on the floor.” Her eyes flicked up, locking onto Caroline’s with something like a dare in them. “Alright. Let’s hear it. Lay it on me, mystery girl. Who broke your heart or made you wish you’d stayed home with microwave mac and cheese?”

[weavercaro]

"Right so, earlier that week I saw that my ex got a Broadway gig. He was playing Orpheus in Hadestown. Huge deal. And it may sound horrible, but I hated that he was doing well." She explained, it was rare for her to feel hatred for someone. But she hated this man. "Then I looked through his Instagram and saw that he had a new girlfriend. Which just made me angrier. Because he left me to raise our son on my own, and I had to give up things like a serious relationship to do that. It just hurt to know that he was going on like he didn't have a son."

Caroline let out a deep breath, and grounded herself. It wasn't like she shared that often, but it was important context to the story. Which was going to go out of the realm of sad and into something funny. Or at least she hoped the other woman would find it funny.

"I matched with this guy on Tinder, and we arranged to meet up the following Saturday. My son had a play date with someone in his preschool and I already gave myself that day off work, so I figured why not? I just felt like I needed sex." She shrugged her shoulders. "Now, I told this guy over Tinder that I'm a music teacher, and that one of the instruments I teach is guitar. So he decided to play Wonderwall at me when I got there."

That was when Caroline let out a little laugh. She still found that incredibly funny to think about. It was such a dumb move to pull on a guitar teacher. "I didn't say anything, but he could tell I was unimpressed. He kind of pressed me, until I admitted that I know how easy that song is to play. It's actually my go-to when I'm looking for a first song to teach my own students. And that would have been fine if he didn't make this big deal about being this elite guitar player, and he was going to play this expert level song. He really thought that I was going to fall for that."

"He just completely undermined me as a professional guitarist, and I had sex with him anyway. And it wasn't good."

[onexmillion]

"Most people assume out of sadness right? But nah at least for me. It's just watching them grow up right in front of your eyes. Is he a introvert or extrovert?" he moved the leash so sparkle could sit in front of Caroline and smiled. "She's very loving. September, you've got plenty of time to prepare. Have you looked into the pta meetings yet? If you need help weeding out the boring parents, let me know. Believe it or not there are quite a few."

[weavercaro]

"I mean, part of me wishes he'd be my little boy forever." Caroline confessed, with a small laugh. "But I do love seeing the little man he's becoming. He's such a sweet boy." There were a few fears Caroline had regarding Jonathan. That he'd turn out to be like his father - neglectful and egotistic. But that fear was slowly dying as she watched him grow to be genuinely kind. She was also scared that he'd end up having low self esteem because of what his father did to him. That fear was only growing. "He's definitely more of an introvert."

When Eli assured her that Sparkle was okay to pet, Caroline leaned down and started lightly petting her head. "She is very loving. What a sweet dog. How old is she, now?" She said, giving the puppy a grin.

"That would be a huge help." Caroline said, smiling a little when Eli said that he'd help her weed out the boring parents. It was very rare that she found people boring, but when she did it was little bit more than she could bear.

[avimohan]

"i'll just take 'em all." it was easier that way, replacing each string in one go and plucking away until it happened again. he met the woman's eyes with a grin and a lifted brow. "new student? how's that goin'?" he admired those who took on a new hobby with patience and a eager soul. he'd taken the route of aimless strumming until it all fell together and he could carry a decent tune. "it's goin' steady. i have a few projects i'm helpin' friends with. signed a contact with a firm to do some work too. you know how it is, i'm always doin' something for someone."

[weavercaro]

Caroline nodded and grabbed one pack of each string before making her way behind the counter. "Good, actually." She said, when Nic asked about the new student. "A kid starting on piano, and is actually eager to learn." A fair amount of the kids that Caroline taught were just there because their parents forced them. Children who were forced to learn piano because of parents were easily her least favorite demographic to teach. "With a firm? Does that mean more steady gigs?" She asked. "It's good to keep busy."

[5555ilenthill]

[gabrielaxcortes]

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?"

[weavercaro]

"Wow. You're pretty good at reading people. I have, in fact." Caroline said, glancing up to the woman who asked if she had been stood up. Maybe using your lunch break to meet up with someone you matched with on Tinder wasn't the best idea - but as per usual, she only wanted sex and she didn't want to waste too much time out of her busy day. "She just messaged me saying she can't make it."

[clubrevenant]

open starter!! (@windsorbaystarters) || location: shooters!!

Nights at shooters had teeth. The kind that sank in slow — right around your third drink, when the jukebox hit something you swore you’d never admit to liking and the haze from the old overhead lights made everything feel just a little softer around the edges. Outside, the place still looked like it had been forgotten by time and forgiven by no one, but inside? Inside was her kingdom. Bex leaned against the bar, one boot propped up on the foot rail, fingers drumming against a chipped bottle opener like she was waiting on fate or trouble — whichever showed up first. Her hair was a little messy, like she’d run her hands through it too many times, and her black tank top had survived at least two beer spills and one idiot who thought calling her sweetheart was a good idea. “Alright,” she said, voice rough around the edges but still loud enough to cut through the low murmur of bad decisions and cheap whiskey. “I've had three couples make out in the corner, two people try to break up at table six, and one guy ask if we have pumpkin spice tequila. so unless one of you plans on catching fire or confessing a murder, it’s officially the most boring shift I've had all month.” She poured herself a shot — no lime, no chaser — and let it burn down like it owed her something. Then, with a smirk curling at the corner of her mouth, she leaned in. “So, who’s got a story worth the spill? Bad hookup, good revenge, something you swore you’d take to the grave but won’t shut up about after two drinks?” Beat. “And don’t lie. I've got a nose for bullshit and a baseball bat in the back if you make me regret asking.”

[weavercaro]

Caroline once again found herself being designated driver. She didn't mind, though - it's not like she drank herself. It was also nice to get out of the house now and then and laugh at other people getting drunk. The bartender at Shooters seemed to be having a pretty rough night from her own perspective, but when she made that announcement to the bar, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She wondered how much she'd be able to tolerate drunk people while sober if she worked in a place like this and had to handle it daily.

At this point of the night, she found that the bar staff were better to talk to than her actual friends. So she decided to get up and approach the woman. "I'll tell you about my worst hookup if you don't judge me." She said, leaning over the bar. "I was feeling particularly lonely that night."

[avimohan]

a wave of surprise swirled in his chest, followed by a warmth that embedded in the familiarity of someone greeting him. a soft, barely traceable smile pulled at the edge of his mouth as his eyes landed on her. "no project this time. just need some new strings." there were only so many hours one could pluck before the strings wore out and delivered a flattened tune. "how's business?" the male's gaze shifted to the wall of guitars, each one crafted to tell a different story.

[weavercaro]

"Strings. Which ones do you need?" She asked, making her way around the counter and to the guitar accessories section. E, A, D, G, B, E - she had them all in stock. "Business is good, got a new student recently." She said, turning around to face him at that question. "How is business going with you?" She asked.