karma is a cat

Ava Marie Nguyen. 28. Youth Librarian at National Memorial Library. Books are the solution to all of life's problems. Crazy cat mom.

[avanguyen]

BASIC INFO

Full name: Ava Nguyen

Nickname(s): Av, A

Age: 28

Birthday: July 19, 1997

Hometown: Windsor Bay, Oregon

Zodiac big three: Cancer Sun, Virgo Moon, Virgo Rising

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Residence: Suburbs

Occupation: Youth Librarian at National Memorial Library

PERSONALITY

An old soul with a sunshiny personality is Ava in a nutshell. She's an introvert who would much rather spend a Friday night at home with her cats and a good book, rather than heading into the nightlife of bars and clubs.

BIOGRAPHY

As the oldest of three children, Ava began feeling the responsibilities that came along with being a member of one of the founding families early on in life. With her family being responsible for the first school within Windsor Bay, her parents Châu ( father ) and Liên ( mother ) made sure she took her education seriously from a very early age. Around the age of six, Ava could usually be found with her nose in a book. Her parents began taking her to the local library and she quickly felt like she was at home amongst the thousands of books. She loved partaking in the weekly story times and making friends who were into the same book series as her. By the time she was a teenager, Ava put in long, hard hours of volunteer work at the library. Not only was it an excuse to log some community service hours for her college applications, but a reason to spend more time within the building that had come to feel like home to her. It wasn't a hard decision to take her love of the library and turn it into her job as she became an adult. After graduating high school, Ava packed her bags and moved across the country to attend college in Syracuse, New York. The university there was one of the best in the country when it came to library science. While she was there, Ava quickly adjusted to life away from Windsor Bay, though she still felt homesick whenever she'd video chat with her parents or siblings and they caught her up on all of the latest Windsor bay gossip. As soon as she earned her degree, Ava made the move right back to Windsor Bay and applied for the open position of Youth Librarian. It wasn't a hard role to land considering everyone within the library system had watched Ava grow up and knew she would be the perfect fit for the position. She also wasn't going to complain about using her family name and their legacy to get ahead when it counted.

HEADCANONS

It's no secret that she loves to read. But Ava is the kind of person that always has to be reading multiple books at a time. She'll be in the middle of a romance, then start a thriller, while listening to a completely different book on audio. She is a fast reader, so a lot of times she will finish a book within just a day or two. She's a hopeless romantic who eats up a cute and spicy romance book. She is always willing to give out book recs to anyone that asks.

She has three cats named Ghost, Raven, and Milo. Ghost and raven are females, while Milo is the only male.

Within the past couple of years, she's picked up crocheting as a hobby. With a lot of practice, she's gotten better at it and usually always has a few projects within the works.

Even though she may not do it as often as she wishes, Ava loves to bake. Her specialty is peanut butter fudge brownies.

She loves playing cozy video games. Especially Sims, Animal Crossing, Dreamlight Valley, and anything of that sort. She does have a Twitch channel and occasionally goes live.

Ava runs a book club that meets once a month at the library to discuss the current book they're reading.

Ava has never really been in a long term/serious relationship. As a teenager she always put her school work first, which left little to no time for dating. In college she had a few short lived relationships, but nothing ever stuck for very long. Even though she doesn't always put herself out there when it comes to dating, she believes her prince charming is out there somewhere and will show up when she least expects it.

[avanguyen]

closed starter for @ariaxpark

where: Dollar Pantry

It was Saturday afternoon and Ava had already planned which movies she would binge watch tonight. The only thing she needed to prepare was to stock up on snacks. As she entered Dollar Pantry, she immediately went right towards the chocolate. Milk Duds were her first choice, as it seemed almost impossible to have a movie night and not have them on hand. She made a few more selections before moving onto the more savory snacks. Popcorn was another necessity but she wasn't sure exactly which one to get. Turning to the person nearest to her in the same aisle she asked for advice. "So I'm having a movie night and need popcorn. But should I go for the classic microwaved popcorn that's going to have a bunch of little un-popped colonels in the bottom, or should I just go for the already made white cheddar cheesy popcorn?"

[colexreyes]

Cole followed the woman to their destination, skimming though the titles once they've arrived. Her words caught his attention, piquing at his curiosity. Glancing back, Cole raised his eyebrows. "So you're saying you like to be around books on your days off?" He couldn't hold back the light and amused chuckle that rose in his chest, followed by a shake of his head. Enjoying the moment of silence, streching in the space between them, Cole pulled a book from one of the shelves and flipped it through. "I'm looking for a book for my daughter." He admitted, figuring an advice wouldn't hurt. "She's five. We recently moved to Windsor Bay and she's about to start at Windsor Bay Elementary in fall." Offering some additional information felt necessary. "Do you have some suitable books for that age at the library?" He'd already made up his mind about getting Isabella a book today, but if he could, he wasn't oppose to giving her the full library experience, too.

[avanguyen]

Ava glanced back at the man with a smile before answering, "I like to be around books constantly." A light giggle left her lips as her attention then shifted to a pile of kids books to shuffle through. "There are tons of books at the library that I'm sure she'd like. I do story time every Wednesday morning, if that's something that you think she'd be interested in." Her story times had increased in popularity over her years as a youth librarian and she managed to draw in some pretty big crowds of families. Not only was it a perfect way for kids to find the spark of joy for reading, but it was a great way for them to socialize and meet other kids around their age. "Angelina Ballerina may be a good choice for her," Ava said as she held up the book for the man to see. "Oh Dragon Loves Tacos is also another good one," she says as soon as she immediately spots the title in a pile.

[cassandrareid]

❛ ☾ ◟━ LOCATION: sweet whiskers

❛ ☾ ◟━ TIME: morning

❛ ☾ ◟━ STATUS: OPEN to everyone ( @windsorbaystarters )

Having the day to herself, Cassandra wasn't going to miss the opportunity of getting things done. Currently, she was at Sweet Whiskers, enjoying her latte while working on some of her clients' paperwork and other admin responsibilities. It was a challenge to focus on both her work and the surrounding cats around her, but she managed and was certainly proud of what she accomplished. "Hey buddy..." she suddenly called out to a Calico cat that was approaching her table. "No one tell Cleo...I know she's the jealous type." she mused to the person next to her. "—Do you have any cats of your own?"

[avanguyen]

Sweet Whiskers had become one of Ava's favorite hangout spots whenever she needed a cozy spot to get some work done or even read. Today she was doing the latter, cozied up in a comfy chair with a black cat nudging its face against her leg. "Tell me about it," Ava said with an eye roll just thinking of her jealous cats at home. "I do. I have three, actually. I feel like I always get major judgement from them whenever I come home. It's like I'm cheating on them or something."

[colexreyes]

open starter @windsorbaystarters location: bookmarked, downtown

Single parenting at a new town was a lot harder than Cole expected. There was so much he'd taken for granted back home and he was only now starting to realize that. He strolled down the aisles, his eyes drifting over the books' backs without actually reading the titles. Romance, thrillers, non-fiction — he was honestly surprised at the organization since at least in his opinion there was huge difference between all of it but maybe that was the idea. To help people find their way better. "Excuse me," he spoke softly, trying not to startle the first person that came to his view. "Do you happen to know where I can find the kids section?" He knew he should be looking for bright and colorful covers but book industry seemed to have changed quite a lot in the last few years when even romance books had such now.

[avanguyen]

Ava had a basket hanging from her arm that was already almost halfway full. Her paycheck had just hit her bank account, so it was practically begging to be spent on books. Even though she worked at the local library and had access to thousands of free books at her fingertips, there was something about building her own little personal library at home that called out to her. Ava's attention turned towards the fellow customer asking for some advice. "I do actually," Ava said with a small sense of pride. "I'm actually heading over there next if you want to follow me." She weaved through a couple different aisles before arriving at the designated kids section. "I'm the youth librarian at the library here. So I'm constantly searching through the selection of kids books here to see if there's anything cool or different to add to the library's collection." She paused for a moment, spotting a pile of picture books that piqued her interest. "I know I don't work here, but if there's anything in particular you're looking for, I may be able to help since I feel like I practically live in this store on my days off."

[islazhang]

@windsorbaystarters location: the lucerna

Isla entered the Lucerna quietly, an iced latte in her hand. She allowed the calm of the room to settle over her for a moment then climbed onto a barstool. She looked around and spoke in a soft voice, "Okay, serious question — free concert tickets forever, or unlimited late night fries?" She drank from her latte and let her legs dangle. "I feel like your answer tells me everything I need to know about you."

[avanguyen]

Ava sat perched on the barstool with a fruity cocktail in front of her that she had been sipping on for the past few minutes. Her attention turned towards the person that slipped into the empty spot next to her, immediately engaging in the question she was asking. "That's such a hard question," the woman pondered as she took another sip of her drink. "I feel like free concert tickets would be the best way to go, since those are expensive as hell these days, especially if you want to see a big artist." She took a moment to ponder the decision before adding, "but I also love the sound of unlimited late night fries. I feel like I'd get more use out of that and take advantage of the perk more often than concert tickets. So I guess I'm going with the fries."

[lateloversnights]

lana condor for allure magazine, july 2023.

[amaraxhawthcrne]

open starter @windsorbaystarters location: the lucerna (new year's eve)

Once outside, Amara pressed her back to the cold brick wall and exhaled, slow and deliberate, like she'd been taught in therapy; nights like this always buzzed too loud, too bright, too much for her. Her breath fogged up immediately, briefly luminous under a street lamp before it vanished. She glanced back over her shoulder, looking through the fogged up window — looking at the party going strong inside. She repeated the exercise a couple more times.

Just when she was about to drop her shoulders and relax, she heard the door opening and instinctively wrapped her arms around her. "Needing a breath of fresh air, too?" Amara smiled softly and stepped to the side.

[avanguyen]

Ava was a few drinks deep and had spent the majority of her night on the dance floor. She was the type of drinker that really only did so in social settings such as this, so she intended to live her best life on this special occasion. After a song ended, Ava whispered to her friend that she was going to get some water and head outside for a breather. After all, water was essential unless she wanted to have the hangover from hell the next morning.

With a cup of ice water in her hands, Ava made her way outside and breathed in the crisp air. She noticed another person hanging out against the brick wall and she casually lingered over. "Yeah, it's a little crazy in there. Figured it's about time to hydrate and get some fresh air." She paused, taking a small sip of her water before continuing. "You enjoying the night so far?"

[romero-angel]

Starter: Open @windsorbaystarters Location: The Book Nook, Mid-Afternoon

"Do you think someone who likes romance would like this one or this one better?" Freddie asked the person next to him, shutting the book he'd been idly flipping through and propping it up next to the second so they could see both covers. Romance novels were not his cup of tea, but his brother was crazy about them and he had more than run out of time to find him a Christmas present. It's wasn't his fault, really. He had been absorbed in a rehabilitation case for work and in planning a new program his boss was letting him pitch as an addition to the educational content they provided for field trips. Important things. But then he'd gotten a cool ass belt from the kid that looked like a fucking fish and he couldn't just not send him something after that. "Hell, even if you just point to whatever cover you think looks cooler, that'd be helpful at this point."

[avanguyen]

Ava's attention perked up as she noticed the person next to her was speaking to her. Even more so that they were asking about books. "Ohh, you've chosen the perfect person to ask," she said with a bright smile. "Not only am I an avid reader, but I work at the library. Do you know what kind of romance books they're into? Or if they have any favorite tropes?" She knew it was a lot to throw out to someone who may have little to no information to go off of, but it was always helpful to try to gather as much information as possible before giving a recommendation. "Personally, I've read this one and I enjoyed it. It's a cute story and should be a quick read," she said as she pointed to the book in his left hand.

[isabcllamcndoza]

“Likewise Ava,” replied Isabella with a nod. Meeting another creative in town was always a treat seeing as she was interested in what craft they like to do and excel in. Blanket making was certainly something she hadn’t tackled before and so she liked seeing the behind the scenes and thought process of how it would come to life. “Exactly, no matter how many to do lists, calendars, agendas, schedules…It’s still never enough.” Hearing Ava confirm that her mother would like the concept of the gift made Isa smile as she said, “I’m sure she’ll love it. It’s coming from the heart and you put a lot of thought and work into it. I’m glad I could help…” She pointed at the rack of yarn and continued, “All these colours are beautiful, so I don’t blame you if new ideas pop up in future.”

[avanguyen]

"So what kind of craft are you working on that brings you here?" she asked, genuinely curious as to what her fellow creative was up to. "I mean, I'm a big reader and I work at the library. While it's the best job in the world, it's also the worst simply because I come in contact with so many books I want to read but know I'll never have the time to read them all." Ava's face turned upwards into a bright smile at the woman's words. "You're totally right. Pretty sure I could crochet her a kitchen towel and she'd love it." Her eyes darted to the various colors of yarn that still sat on the shelves. "I also have quite the collection at home. I went through a stage where I just bought a bunch of yarn just because I thought it was pretty. Now I have a shit ton of random colors and no idea what to do with them."

[avanguyen]

If there was one thing Ava was always down for, it was a breakfast date with a good friend. The Crispy Biscuit had always been a favorite of hers since she was a little girl. It was one of the places around town that had some of her favorite comfort foods. After finding a parking spot during the breakfast rush, Ava slipped into the front door and immediately ran into her friend. "Hey, I hope you weren't waiting on me for too long. It took me a second to find a good parking spot." It was only a few moments later that the hostess was leading them off to a table and passing along menus and silverware. "So what are you thinking of getting?"

[hudson-reed]

"Oh no, not at all. I only was standing here for a couple minutes. No need to worry. I am usually early to everything anyways so." He shrugged his shoulders as he then chuckled. "I know, this place is always busy and it seems like it takes everything out of you to find a parking spot." Hudson agreed with Ava as he looked at her. He walked with the hostess to their spot and he sat down in his seat and he didn't even need to look at the menu. "I'm totally planning on getting biscuits and gravy with poached eggs to make it like an eggs benedict. I have been thinking about it all morning actually. Do you have any idea what you're looking to get?" Hudson mentioned.

[avanguyen]

"Usually I'm the early one, but I'm blaming the parking situation this time." That and the fact that she did leave her house a few minutes later than she had intended. "I mean, that's how you know it's one of the best places in town," she said with a nod. They settled into their seats and Ava reached for the menu, even though she was quite certain what she would end up ordering. "Ohh, that sounds really good. I'm a creature of habit and every time I come here, I usually go for the giant waffle." Her mouth was watering just thinking about the fluffy waffle drenched in butter and swimming in syrup. "Occasionally I'll go for one of their omelettes or sometimes I'm in the mood for their crepes."

[samuelfalk]

    it'd  been  a  long  shot  so  sam  wasn't  surprised  what  he  was  looking  for  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  on  the  board.  he'd  glanced  at  the  flyer  being  pinned  and  a  small  smile  tucked  into  the  corners  of  his  mouth  in  reading  it  was  an  advert  for  a  book  club.  no  way  his  schedule  would  ever  allow  for  him  to  become  a  member,  it  made  him  happy  nonetheless  to  know  they  still  existed.  "three  babies?"  amusement  shone  from  his  pale  blue  gaze  as  the  incoming  tease  felt  far  too  easy.  "were  your  cats  strays  by  any  chance?"  attention  shifted  from  the  missing  posters  to  her  and  back  again,  the  implication  obvious.

[avanguyen]

While she had a few friends that were dedicated members of her book club, it was always nice to welcome some new faces to the group. She only hoped the board would do the trick and help spread the word a little bit more. "I mean, they may have been at one point," Ava spoke as her face scrunched up into a confused expression. "I adopted them from the shelter when they were pretty young." She had no idea what their history was before she got them, so at least one of them may have been a stray before she found them. "All three of them are happily indoor cats though."

[zaidhassani]

"is it harder? to use three colors versus just the two?" he knew nothing of the art, just that he didn't have the talent or the patience to ever give it a try. "i'm thinking that... you know what's best. you just have to go with it and don't second guess yourself."

[avanguyen]

"No, it's not hard at all. At least not with the pattern I'm using," she simply explained. She knew that there were more difficult patterns out there that involved constantly changing colors or even doing a cross stitch technique to add color to a crochet canvas. Her project however, was much more simple. "You're totally right. My original thought was the pink and green, so I'm sticking with that. Thank you for helping me make up my mind. I really appreciate it."

[mateoxrodriguez]

"Oh awesome. Like I said, definitely not something that I would be able to do. I feel like that takes a special talent and that's not one that I have so I always give props to the ones that do. My daughter is five years old." He mentioned. "Oh that's true. I didn't think of it that way but yes green is definitely the superior move in my opinion." He laughed a bit. "You have to go with whatever your heart desires though and what your creative mind is telling you to do."

[avanguyen]

"You could definitely do it if you ever had the desire to learn. It just takes some practice, but I promise it's not hard." Ava understood firsthand that sometimes crafting seemed more intimidating than it actually was. It sometimes just took some dedication, tons of practice, and many failed attempts at different projects along the way. "Five years old is the perfect age to start getting into some simple crafts. I'm the youth librarian here at the library," she explained. "If you ever want to stop in with your daughter, I always have some sort of crafts around for the kids, even if it's just a simple coloring page or some popsicle sticks and glue." Of course when it came to her story times, she usually had more intricate crafts that were usually themed to pair along with whatever story she was reading. "Thank you for the opinion though, I really appreciate it. Sometimes it just helps talking the thought process out with a fellow customer."

[samairaxmallya]

Samaira managed a smile when the other spoke about potentially not finishing the blanket which was a very real possibility when it came to arts and crafts of any type really. There were a lot of unfinished projects in different storage containers that she’d brought over with her from New York, all things she wasn’t sure she’d ever go back to finishing. “Hey, I’m sure you can do it,” she said with a smile before continuing, “But that being said, even if you don’t…I’m sure your mom would love the thought behind it,” she grinned at the other woman before nodding at the other’s words. “No problem. That sage color is seriously gorgeous, making me rethink my entire living room’s color scheme right now. Of course, given that I just moved in, I have some time to rethink it and paint it again if I want to luckily.”

[avanguyen]

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ava says as she flashes a sweet smile at the other woman. "I think as long as I have a good audiobook or find a good series to binge watch, that should keep me company while I try to knock this project out in time." That was one of the many reasons Ava adored audiobooks as much as she did. It was the perfect companion to help tackle often dull tasks such as cleaning or doing laundry. It didn't take long before she was multi-tasking and listening while she was working on a craft project or even playing a cozy video game. "It really is a gorgeous color. I think it would be perfect for a living room, depending on the color furniture you watch with it." She paused for a moment, letting her curiosity get the better of her. "What part of town did you move to?"

[isabcllamcndoza]

“Anytime, I’m Isabella by the way.” replied the tattoo artist with a smile. She was impressed to learn that the younger woman had already made a few blankets before and so without a doubt, the chosen colour palette would make an excellent one for her mother. “I get that, we never have enough time in the day. I have faith that you could do it though, you got the colours down and the thought process behind it. I feel like that would motivate you when you least expect it.” 

When the other began going through each colour and deciding on what to keep, Isa was glad that she was able to help contribute to her decision. “Love that, that seems like the perfect blanket for her and of course! I am super indecisive, so any help or resource I can get I will accept and so I couldn’t resist as I know how it feels. I hope your vision works out!”

[avanguyen]

"Nice to meet you Isabella. I'm Ava," the woman replied with a friendly smile. It was always nice to meet a new friend, even more so while in the craft store because it meant they had a common interest to bond over. "Tell me about it. There aren't enough hours in the day for all the things I want to do." During her downtime, Ava's brain was a whirlwind of different activities she wanted to do all at once from reading a book, to crafting, to playing a new video game she's been obsessed with. But unfortunately there were only so many hours in a day left after so many are dedicated to work and sleep.

"I think she'll really like it," Ava nodded in agreement. Of course, her mother would like anything she made, regardless of the color palette or crochet pattern. "I can be pretty indecisive too. Especially when it comes down to yarn colors because the possibilities are legitimately endless. It makes my brain go crazy after awhile. But thank you for all of your help, again. I really appreciate it."

[riplecys-deactivated20251228]

" sure, i'm not well versed on yarn, but i can give it a go " her brother was the one enamored by christmas decorations and set on turning the ranch into a giant box of presents. " green is nice... you're making a sweater? " fingers clung to the cane before ripley glimpsed at the end of that hallway, no ribbons i sight. " makes sense it would be close to the wrapping paper " madsen felt a hint of embarrassment for not deducing that earlier. " that would be great, this place is way bigger than i remembered. "

[avanguyen]

"You don't have to be well versed in yarn," Ava said with a shrug. "All I need to know is which colors go best together, that's all." Ava nodded her head, throwing a few skeins of green and pink yarn into her small cart. "No, I'm making a blanket. Though I have made sweaters in the past." Ava led the way straight down the edge of the current row of aisles. "This place is huge. Plus I swear they're always moving things around." Ava maneuvered her cart around a display, before spotting the wrapping paper section up ahead. "There it is," she happily exclaimed, seeing the display of ribbons on the shelf right next to the various wrapping papers.