Matilda Sits Cross Legged On The Counter As She Watches Jesse Lock Up Around Her. Her Shift Technically

JENNA ORTEGA as VADA CAVELL The Fallout (2021) dir. Megan Park

KOFI SIRIBOE The Next Come Up Interview (2019)

Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017) dir. Sean S. Baker

matilda is sitting on the floor behind the counter, trying to eat a sandwich as quickly as possible. They’re now ‘ down a staff member ’, so she’s doing a shift ALONE for the first time. It is an odd feeling, and she’s trying to keep herself busy as to not focus on or feel the overwhelming grief that comes with loosing a friend. The sound of the door takes her by surprise - of course, their first customer of the day is going to come while she’s trying to have lunch - and she quickly wraps it up before the familiar voice echoes through the shop. She stands up quickly, a smile forced across her features. ‘‘ good afternoon, darling boy ! ’’ its bright, it has to be. ‘‘ i mean, you’re welcome to still do so if you wish, i’ll just close my eyes. ’’

DESPITE LACKING EMPLOYMENT THERE , the record shop would be one of the first places anyone who knew nickie would look , should they be on the search for him. less so lately than usual , but loitering around the shop and bothering its employees ( mainly his sister ) was typically one of his go-to pastimes. wandering through the door , the first thing they noticed was how quiet it was , not a soul in sight. " anybody here ? " they called out , hoping someone might emerge from the back rooms , " hope you know I'm going to start stealing things if I'm left alone for too long. " it was a joke , sure , but one that had the likelihood of quickly becoming reality if he grew bored enough.

CLOSED STARTER | FOR MATILDA YAXLEY ( @hecrtgolden )

(   Kathryn Newton   +  cis  woman  +  she  /  her  )     🠒     john  hughes  movie   by   maisie  peters   is  something  that  resonates  with   matilda  yaxley.  the  shop  assistant  at  record  this!  record  shop  is  glen  ellen's  very  own   broken  bird,   who  has  been  in  town  for  twenty  years  and  while  they  are  only  twenty  five,    they  can  be  very   naive    but  if  their  friends  mentioned  them,    you'd  think  they  were  more  benevolent.   in  a  town  where  every  one  knows  everyone,    it's  hard  to  keep  a  secret,     but  i  think  the  killer  knows  that  [  redacted  ],     and  it's  bound  to  get  out  sometime  soon.   i  wonder  if  the  killer  also  thinks  of   symptomatic  by  peach  prc,     butterfly  clips,     always  chipped  nail  polish,     glitter  eyeshadow,     handmade  bracelets,     smudged  mascara,     bruised  lips   like  i  do,    when  i  think  of  them.

full name — matilda yaxley nickname(s) — tilly, tilda, millie. name meaning — battle mighty age — twenty five date of birth — march 19 place of birth — fresno, california current location — glen ellen, california, us gender — cis-woman pronouns — she/her sexual orientation — heterosexual religion — agnostic occupation — assistant at record this ! record shop education level — high school family — louise yaxley ( mother, deceased ) , daniel jones ( father ) , evie yaxley ( maternal grandmother, deceased ) , jose yaxley ( maternal grandfather )  finances — working class  spoken languages — English

medical diagnosis’ — post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, pyrophobia 

Inspired by : NELL CRAIN (THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE), JANE EYRE (JANE EYRE), JO & AMY MARCH (LITTLE WOMEN), SCOUT FINCH (TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD), ELIZA DOOLITTLE (MY FAIR LADY)

TW for abuse, fire, stalking, Metal health

- Matilda was the only child born to louise and daniel, although she always craved for more. In her earliest years she begged for a sibling. She said silent prayers to a god she didn’t believe it and whispered it into Santas ear when december rolled around. She never got a sibling, no, instead her parents separated. 

- two houses, two homes, two kitchens, two phones. two birthdays, two christmases. it was FINE, but it made her sad. She wished so deeply for a nuclear family. Instead she got awkward handovers where her dad will rip her from her mothers arms and moan that she was a BITCH. 

- When Matilda was seven, her life was flipped on its head in the worst way. The divorced was being finalised and as a result, her Dad set fire to the home where she and her mother slept. He was the first on the scene, the first to pull his only child, terrified and screaming, from the burning building - ‘the heroic dad ’ the headlines went mad ‘ hero dad braves flames to save daughter ! ’. 

- It didn’t take long for his plan to foil though. The police were onto him from the get go. They just needed evidence. They watched him carefully, allowing him to lap up the glory like a dehydrated dog. Five weeks after the event, he was arrested on suspicion of pre medicated murder, malicious arson and endangering the life or health of a child. He lost custody of Matilda and she was sent to live with her ageing grandparents.

- her grandfather was already living in a care home when she moved in, the dementia had set in some years prior, and her grandmother had said she was grateful he would never know the weight of grief over their daughter. They visited him three times a week, and life with her grandparents was slow but comfortable. 

- five years later, when Matilda was almost thirteen, her father was released due to a lack of evidence. He was not allowed contact with his daughter until she was 18 and could make the decision herself, but he was still always there. she could feel his eyes watching from afar. 

- When she was eighteen he became persistant. He would show up at her school, at the house, on street corners. Begging for her attention, and when she refused he would throw out threats to her life and her grandmothers life. 

- Several months ago Matilda lost her grandmother and with that the home she lived in. She has been living with friends (sofas mostly). He is still everywhere. He comes to the record shop often, and even though he’s barred now he stands outside and waits for her.

- Still, she is almost naive ( it’s probably the trauma ! ). She has the sweetest most kind heart in the world . Queen of ‘it’s fine ! I’m okay ! How are you ? Do you need anything ? Tea ? Coffee ? A hug ? Oh no I’m not projecting I’m fine !’ 

Sammy gets to work early most days, which is surprising given his famously shitty time-keeping habits when it comes to his personal life. Today, however, he’s running late. Not late late, he’s still got time to spare before his shift actually starts - but only 20 minutes or so rather than the usual hour he gives himself to lounge behind the bar. The reason is the shining new black eyes he’s sporting as he walks in. ‘‘ just me ’’ he mumbles - not feeling as talkative or irritating as usual. ‘‘ we got any ice packs back there ? ’’

open ! where: local bar 

it’s a little insane that the local bar opens as early as it does, nevertheless, benjy is there if not a little just… hungover, not from alcohol itself but just sheer tiredness that feels just about as painful as a hangover. believe it or not, the local bartender didn’t partake in much drinking, but shit at home was not going great, he had a whopping medical bill to pay for his dad’s home healthcare worker and he looked at their accounts last night and it wasn’t going all too great on top of their kitchen sink just absolutely breaking, spraying water everywhere. shit piled up, and by the time he opened the doors and checked restock and turned on the goddamn television a murder happened over night. or early day. either way, it was all over the television and he leaned back against the bar to look up at the screen and said, “shit,” before turning to face the customer. “well that’s cheery,” he mumbles underneath his breath, just what this town needed really. “what can i get for you?”

Sammy is almost always the first to throw the punch. It’s a fight or flight instilled in him - gifted even, by his father. And when his anxiety levels are already high, so are the rest of his emotions. He’s barely slept, bags under his eyes from a four-day stand-off with his dad, so when a couple of older men that used to tease him in school make a snide comment about his mother, he’s the first to throw the punch. Every ounce of frustration that has built up goes straight to his fists as he swings, ‘‘ Fuckin’ say it again ! ’’ He’s spitting like some feral animal, barely registering the hands that grab him from behind and pull him away ‘‘ No - let me fuckin’ at ‘em, I can take them. ’’ the heel of his hands press into his eyes as he tries to bring himself back down. ‘‘ they’re always fuckin’ pickin’ at me, that group of fucking pratts are. They called the fuckin’ cops on my brother last week as well ! ’’