( clean. )

MADELLE BROWNING, 20. Waitress. Petty thief. What else is there aside from all of this?

[madbrowning-blog]

THE MIDDLE / MAD & TOBIAS --- @tobiasmnhaas​

The bad news: Madelle had to adjust to a new person in the small apartment. The space wasn’t luxurious. It wasn’t grand. It was enough --- for two people. Though Madelle had never taken up too much space as her own, whatever she did consider hers was a privilege. Over the last couple of months, she and Keegan had fallen into some sort of routine when it came to living together. All the awkward bumps, the annoying roommate habits, the strange daily routines, were out of the way now. They were there, but both Mad and Keegan had grown to live with it. With each other. With a new person in the mix, Mad would have to start from scratch.

The good news: for now, unforeseen.

Only three days had passed since Tobias had made the official move into the apartment, so Mad hadn’t had to do a lot of interaction. She left whenever she could, stayed quiet when he was around, held herself together when he took up a little too much space beside her. Despite everything, Mad still had some semblance of a heart. She knew how difficult it was to move, and thus she tried not to make it anymore difficult for Tobias. It was the least she could do --- the only thing she was willing to do.

Still, it wasn’t long until she had to interact with the new guy.

Nevertheless, she never thought her first interaction with him would be like this: her, on the dinner table; he, coming out of the shower with nothing but a towel. Her, looking up at the wrong time. Her, frowning. Him, showing more facial expression than he had in the last few days. Her, stifling something between a laugh and a scream.

The eye contact was the worst of it.

It was only when Madelle’s laugh finally burst from her lips did she shout out to him. “Go change in the shower! Don’t do that! Christ!”

[madbrowning-blog]

STRANGER DANGER / MAD & KEEGAN --- @keegantabbacchii

The presence of anybody new would have taken Mad off-guard. She was a hard woman, hard enough not to be somebody who could accept a stranger into a place she called home. And, yes, once upon a time, she was hard enough not to call anywhere home, but living with Keegan had since changed her. Whether or not she wanted to admit it. Whether or not she said it out loud. Madelle had found a space to call her own in the tiny apartment she shared with her friend. Perhaps, that was too little proof to call it home. Perhaps, it had too little backbone. But, Madelle hadn’t had that for such a long time. How could she know what it was anymore?

The truth was thus: during the nights Keegan had his arms around her, and their breaths synced in embrace, Madelle had never felt more at home. And what was even more true than this was that she was scared. Scared to have her safe place taken from her. Scared to have the silent nights they shared ripped away.

So, she stood with her arms crossed and looked up at Keegan. Anybody would have caught her off-guard! But Tobias? He was a whole other story. “Why? Of all people in the world, why did you have to invite him? Friendly reminder that he hates me, and probably wants to kill me in my sleep!” Madelle frowned. “I pay rent! Well... sometimes. But I don’t deserve to be murdered in my own bed! C’mon, Keeg!”

[julietweston-blog]

  Juliet had been comfortably seated at a small cafe table engulfing herself in the aroma of coffee. Her eyes had been skimming a book of poetics when she noticed the drink she had been sipping on was in fact not hers. “Oh right…” The french-Canadian sighed to herself remembering she had actually ordered tea..and the name written on her cup was not even a rhyme to her own. Not that Juliet rhymed fluidly with anything that would jump to mind. “Pardon?” The artist ruffled out of her seat recognizing the person who had been in line before her. Apologetically she warmed a smile, “I believe I’ve been sipping on your drink.–” She didn’t want the person to be upset with the barista not getting the order right, when it had been Juliet’s absent-mind who grabbed it. “Please, I can purchase you another.” 

[madbrowning-blog]

There was a reason Madelle didn’t go to these fancy cafes: they were too much. Too expensive, too tiresome, too out of the way, too out of her social status. If she wanted coffee, she could make her own from a sachet at home. If she really had to buy coffee, there were booths all across town where she could get them for a much cheaper price. She prided herself on never falling into the trap of expensive coffee shops. Still, Mad was twenty. She was young and easily enticed, young and gullible. It wasn’t instinct to head to this cafe after getting her first paycheck at the diner, but she did want to try.

Regret always came at the end. Madelle had been waiting for her small cup of coffee for quite a few minutes now. She was too much of a sore thumb to have the guts to go up to the counter and ask for it, so she sat uncomfortably in one of the booths. Did she have to leave? Did she have to just pretend this never happened?

Madelle squared her shoulders and sighed. There wasn’t much she could do anyway. She readied herself to go, and for the embarrassment that came with leaving. Just as she slipped out of her chair, a woman approached her. Madelle’s features were knotted into disappointment and regret when the woman spoke. And, with her words, Madelle found herself sighing with relief.

“Oh.” The relief was as evident in Madelle’s words as it was on her features. “You got my coffee? They didn’t just... forget? Are you sure?” She squinted at the woman. “Let... Let me see the name on the cup.” And, since Madelle was Madelle, she had to get a little ballsy. “Since, you know, this is a misfortunate accident, I think... I think another cup of coffee would be necessary. But also, I’m going to have to take the one you’re holding. Uh, you know, reasons.”

[madbrowning-blog]

[KC, 21, GMT+8, she/her] — is that NATALIA DYER? no, that's MADELLE BROWNING, a 20 year old WAITRESS who resides in EAST VANCOUVER. they have spent 2 MONTHS in vancouver, having moved here from BOSTON, MA. people know them as DETERMINED and PASSIONATE but they can be SELFISH and STUBBORN. word of mouth is that they identify as CISGENDER WOMAN and are BISEXUAL.

BACKGROUND—

Madelle Browning grew up to a single mother who loved her as though she were the entire world. They were the only ones that each other had, so they took care of each other.

The concept of a father was never brought up. Sometimes, when she was much younger, Mad had searched for one. However, it quickly became apparent to her that bringing up her father did not make her mother very happy.

They were a small family then, but they had each other; that was enough.

However, things were difficult. Mad and her mother got by on very little. To have three meals a day was considered a blessing. To have anything at all was a blessing.

Growing up, however, Mad’s biggest regret is not being able to finish her education. Around the end of her senior year in high school, Mad’s mother became very ill. She had powered through the last days of school, but ultimately had to drop everything after graduation so she could take care of her mother.

Though she had once planned to continue studying in a community college, Mad knew that she would not have been able to balance everything.

Instead, Mad got a housekeeping job at the community hospital and a waitressing job at a local diner. It was honest at first; she knew she had to work her ass off to even get her mother a quarter of the medicine she needed.

However, as worse came to worst, Mad began taking what she needed behind everybody’s backs. She’d nick a few tablets of medicine here and there, take some food from the diner when no one noticed. It was all so she could keep her mother and herself alive.

In the end, her mother passed just a few days after Madelle turned eighteen. Since, Mad has been on the road. She doesn’t know where she’s going; she doesn’t really care to find out.

She was working at a motel in Vegas, but then got fired for taking a watch from a client.

Now, she’s a waitress at a dingy diner. She doesn’y really know where she’s going.

HEADCANONS—

Before life got the best of her, Madelle loved music. Her local high school didn’t have a wide selection of instruments, but there was an old piano that she loved to play. Mad loved losing herself in the classics.

Her birthday is on November 28. She is turning 21 this year.

Mad smokes under stress. Since she’s been under stress ever since her mother died, her smoking habit has picked up a lot.

She loves to wear earrings! Whenever she can, she buys cheap ones from the market.

[thequotejournals]

You have always wanted to caress every monster.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

[forestgf]

absolutely nothing.

[emmacharlottewatson]

Natalia Dyer by Sam Ramirez for the Winter Issue of Rogue Magazine, January 2017. 

[wnq-writers]

Hero and villain. I have been both.

rustofstardust