auggievillanueva

[auggievillanueva]

dads review of mitski

#muse. #yeah.......

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie nodded along as Cole explained his situation — he'd gotten the experience firsthand when he'd gone to the library in search of something new that might've escaped his radar, met Cole, and ended up doing most of the recommending he'd come looking for. Not that Auggie was judging; he knew that people had different interests and experiences that led them to vast array of knowledge about this kind of thing. "Sure, of course. I can definitely help."

He looked around the store, trying to figure out a plan of action. "How about..." he turned back to Cole, "I find you a couple of things that'll always be safe bets? You might have to be a little presumptuous with the people who come to you, but I've been doing this long enough to notice certain patterns, and I have a pretty good success rate."

@colexwalters

Cole was relieved to see Auggie when he came out of the office door. Well, kind of. He still hated his job at the library, but it seemed to be sticking so, he thought he'd best get some sort of book education. How the heck did he manage that? He honestly wasn't sure. "Hey, man." He greeted the other. "I keep fucking shit up, and not knowing what to recommend people." It didn't matter what topic, he had absolutely no knowledge. "So, I decided to come in and get some recommendations from you." It was unlikely Cole would bother to read them, but he wasn't entirely sure how this would go. "I don't really care what, or who?" He asked, his eyes glancing around the store of books that felt much like his workplace, except the library was massive in comparison. "I just need to not look stupid." @auggievillanueva

#thread. #with cole walters. #cole 001. #pre event

[auggievillanueva]

"Perfect, follow me," Auggie said, gesturing toward the back of the store, where a much-too-fancy espresso machine he'd bought for himself and his employees was waiting in the back room that doubled as a break room. He didn't operate on much sleep these days, so he turned to caffeine, and he couldn't bear pot coffee.

"Oh, sure." He looked back at her question and stopped by the young adult section, pulling a couple things off the shelves after a quick scan. He handed them to her one at a time as he listed them. "Percy Jackson, always a hit. His Dark Materials... Shadow and Bone might be a bit a little difficult for an eleven year old, but if yours is going on thirty, then I think they should be golden."

@beautyxnthefire

Mia steadily followed the man inside; she hadn’t been to Oceania since before New Years, when she got Tina a ton of books to make her feel better. She hummed eyes trailing across book spines already. Reading books and watching movies had practically gotten her the life she was living now; the comfortable one. If she hadn’t kept her eyes open, she and her mom would still be living poorly in Puerto Rico. While the man spoke on the phone, she picked a couple of books she liked and set on her arm to carry. “Sure, thanks.” she said, not really used to the kindness of strangers. “Any suggestions for 11-year-olds going 30?” she asked. || @auggievillanueva

#thread. #with mia avila. #mia 001. #pre event

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie: I WAS wondering what all of that was about. Auggie: I still can't thank you enough for that, by the way. Auggie: And you still have to come and cash in on your free books.

ziggy 📲 auggie.

Ziggy: Have you had an uptick in foot traffic at the book store? 👀 Ziggy: I think the algorithms been pushing the video I did again for some reason and I'm hoping those views have turned to real life clip clops. 🚶🏽‍♂️‍➡️

#text. #with ziggy kyeon. #ziggy 001. #pre event

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie made a show of covering Rosie's ears quickly, leaning in to whisper dramatically to Kalina, "Oh, don't tell her that. I'll be bankrupt in a week." She twisted unhappily, so he let his hands drop and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek to apologize. He set her down so that he could take the books with both hands, turning them over to do a quick scan over the summaries on the backs. "Oh, wow," he said, grimacing a little at the grisliness of the whole affair. "So, the Manson family? Or is there a whole world of late 60s cult murders I don't know about?"

@screamqueen-slater

“ well bluey is pretty cool if I must say. She’s out their teaching lessons while entertaining adults too “ kalina added with another small smile to Rosie. She didn’t really see the little girl around often but she was always on her best best behavior when it came to kids and not saying anything too morbid and true crime. “ I heard some places sell plushy backpacks of bluey and bingo” she offered as a suggestion. “ oh yeah. Of course “ she replied handing him a couple books. “ so there’s a series of cases that are linked to what happened to Sharon rate in a tertiary sort of way, so I’m looking into some biography stuff with her to see who else connects. I’m working on Hollywood related cases “ @auggievillanueva

#thread. #with kalina slater horne. #kalina 001. #cult mention tw #murder mention tw

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no offense taken. I just like to know what I'm selling, really. I try to read most of what comes in so I can make recommendations. Your books seem to do really well with people who have just been broken up with, actually. Seems a little masochistic, but I'm not here to judge." Even though he did. Frequently. He stayed quiet about it, though. "No romance, got it. Let's see..." he turned to take in the section they were standing in before letting out a quiet 'aha' and taking one off the shelf — Yellowface by RF Kuang. "I'm recommending pretty much anything by this author right now, but this is a good place to start if you haven't read her stuff. Quick read, and it does have some really interesting things to say about the process of writing. Well, couched in with all the other stuff, though I don't want to spoil anything. Could help."

@coradeveraux

"You have? Sorry, I don't mean to sound so surprised, you're just not exactly my usual audience. I want my writing to appeal to a wider group of people, but it usually doesn't," she admitted. Here he was, having read not just one of her books, but many. He seemed to have enjoyed them, too, which was even more of a shock. "That's kind of how I feel when I write them. Not sure how I feel about making other people feel loneliness, though." She glanced at the books around them, the titles and covers all blending together. "No romance, that's my only request. Anything else goes. All the better if it somehow manages to get rid of my writer's block." @auggievillanueva

#thread. #with coralie deveraux. #cora 001.

[auggievillanueva]

Ұ How tall is your character compared to their peers?

"My daughter's not even five but somehow she's picked up phrase 'short king' to refer to me. I'm not even that short! I'm 5'11"! I don't know if I have Santiago or Connor to blame for this. Maybe both."

@santiagodeleons / @consrose

#meme day. #featuring santiago de leon. #featuring connor rose. #featuring rosie villanueva.

[auggievillanueva]

closed @benj-hyun

location: four leaf

Auggie rarely got nights off anymore, so when he did have them, he took advantage of them. He'd left Rosie with a sitter for the night before heading out to spend some time with friends from college. Although he'd only been at UCLA for a few years, he'd managed to hang onto a small core. They'd posted up at Four Leaf after Auggie mentioned he knew the owner, which his friends took to mean he could get them free drinks. (He let them think that, but he'd already slipped the bartender his card to cover the tab.)

As it got later and later, members of the group slowly trickled out, until Auggie was finally putting his last friend in an Uber and promising they'd do it again soon. He'd stayed the soberest of the bunch but was by no means completely clearheaded, so he figured he'd go back in for one more and decompress a little, while also waiting to see if Santiago would poke his head in.

One Guinness ordered and tab settled, he took up a seat at the bar and promptly split the G, holding the glass up in front of his eyes to check his work. "Hey," he said to no one in particular but sort of to the person next to him, who he'd registered when he sat down but hadn't yet fully looked over to take in. "Look, I still got it. Who ever said being a parent makes you boring?"

#thread. #with benjamin hyun. #ben 001.

[auggievillanueva]

"I get it, I do," Auggie said with a nod. Well, maybe he didn't really get it — Sully's situation was unique — but as a caregiver himself, he couldn't fathom Rosie being put in any kind of jeopardy. His eyebrows furrowed with concern at the mention of Sera struggling. "Is it academic? Because I can absolutely recommend some tutors, or I'd be happy to help her through some things myself." He turned to the menu board, eyes narrowed as he considered his options, before he ordered his usual flat white and a cold brew for Sully. "Cold brew should do it. Will definitely give you a little bit more pep but hopefully won't have you shaking from caffeine overdose for the rest of the day."

@sullivanxshaw

Sully knew deep down Aggie would never do something like that but there was always a few key words and phrases that had him on edge. He just never wanted to be in a situation where he would potentially lose his sisters, not after everything they had gone through. “ I know you wouldn’t. I promise I don’t think that of you. I just get nervous about that stuff. Especially since Sera has been having some problems in school lately “ he noted, admitting to someone else that the family stuff with sera was confusing for her at such a young age. “ if you’re sure. Definitely something with a lot of caffeine. I’m supposed to help one of my sisters on some sort of history project tonight “ @auggievillanueva

#thread. #with sullivan shaw. #sully 001.

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie couldn't help the little scoff that escaped his lips when she asked about a prospective romantic partner for the holiday. Logistically, he had so little time to date between the store and Rosie. Emotionally...well, that was another thing altogether.

Right after the divorce, when everything about his life was in shambles, he'd absolutely been tempted to launch himself back onto the dating or hookup scene immediately, just to try to pick up tiny little pieces of his pride. He liked to think he would've come to his senses and resisted it if the logistics hadn't kept him from it, but he didn't actually know if that was true.

"Definitely no 'sweet thing,' unless you're counting Rosie. I do have to get something like that together for her class, but it's mostly stuff I have to do for the store. Oceania's doing a 'blind date with a book' thing, and I have to make everything look presentable with the extra foot traffic."

He listened, looking over at her attentively. "That's admirable," he said sincerely. He'd never really had any grand plans for his own life, content to be a good dad, friend, son, but he'd be lying if he said that having Oceania, having his and his family's name associated with it for so long, didn't make him prideful in a certain way. "Have you figured out what you might want that to look like yet?"

@joey-madani

Joey pauses, and she looks to Auggie with a subtle curl to the corner of her lip. Amused more than anything, she hadn't meant to insinuate anything about Auggie being anything but amicable, assuming that is the reason for his quick interjection. She also just knows he's close to Santiago — him and his clan of men.

At least Auggie is smarter than the other two… Joey can say that at least.

Moving on without regarding what she'd said with an apology or assuring him otherwise, she barrels onto the next thought. "You found yourself a sweet thing for the special day?" Joey asks, half-focused on the laminated menu before her. "Or is this for your little one? The Valentine's prep? Kids do those card boxes with candy still, right?" Until high school, then it turns into secret admirer rose deliveries.

"I've just been thinking it's about time to change the trajectory of my life. I'm thirty-seven, still pouring drinks behind a bar. The tips are great, but it's just—" She sighs, tapping her fingertip to the item on the menu she's settled on as a mental note, then looks to Auggie. "Not enough. I want my name on something more than a receipt that tells the customer who I am."

@auggievillanueva

#thread. #with joey madani. #joey 001.

[auggievillanueva]

"It was just your presence, clearly," Auggie said, his tone joking but certainly meaning it to a certain extent. "She's got a sense for these things."

He nodded excitedly. "Of course! Rose has got a few favorites that she'd probably love to get in there too. Honey, you wanna show Auntie Mei?" he asked, laughing as she immediately nodded excitedly and took off toward the children's section she'd just escaped from.

When she'd been put in Mei's class, he'd tried to curb some of the more familial language at home to make sure she was calling her 'Miss Huang' at daycare, but it just didn't feel right. He was sure Rosie still used the more familiar moniker at daycare sometimes, but it seemed like she'd been able to make the separation pretty easily. "Follow her."

He raised a hand to invite Mei to head down the narrow walkways first, toward where he could already see Rosie pulling titles down from the shelves. "How's everything going at the Cottage?" he asked. "I can't believe Rose only has a few more months with you before she gets to kindergarten."

@themeixhuang

Mei let Luna and Rosie interact as she focused on Auggie, happily giving her friend a hug and laughing at his comment, "Oh I know. They're barbaric but, again, in instances like these I do understand the reason people buy them. Thankfully though Little Miss over here went to someone she knows instead of stranger danger." She grinned at the little girls too before she looked back to Auggie.

"It's good to see you too! And I was wanting to check out if there's any new books in the children's section that I could potentially incorporate into the daycare. I usually use Luna as a sample audience." Her daughter loved being read to after all, so if Luna gave a book a vote of approval, then it was one Mei added into her rotation for the rest of her kids. Before she could say much else though, Auggie was suggesting the park and both girls started gasping and babbling excitedly, both jumping a bit and Mei laughed again, shaking her head fondly, "Well, I guess I'll be taking you up on the offer then." She teased.

#thread. #with mei lian huang. #mei 001.

[auggievillanueva]

AUGGIE VILLANUEVA

full name: august "auggie" gabriel villanueva

pronouns & gender: he/him, cis man

birthday & birthplace: march 14, 1987 (37); aurora bay, ca

location: seabrook quarter

time in aurora bay: his whole life, minus a few years for college

sexuality: gay

occupation: owner of oceania bookstore

@aurorabayaesthetic

about.

cancer, death tw

auggie was born and raised in aurora bay, in a little house in fisher's cove. he was mostly raised by his grandparents; his father was never around and his mother died when he was young. his grandparents were basically aurora bay lifers as well, they moved in shortly after the town was founded. coming from a long line of academics, they opened a bookstore — oceania — in the center of town, and at the beginning it was mostly comprised of books straight from auggie's grandfather's collection.

he and his mom were already living with his grandparents when she died of breast cancer. auggie was nine, and the loss completely crushed him. he was already prone to reclusiveness and shyness, but her death just made him even more withdrawn. by the time he was eleven, his grandparents pulled him out of school to homeschool him for a time because he wasn't adjusting at school.

they mostly taught him in the backroom at oceania between tending to customers. he grew up surrounded by books, and the love must be partially genetic, because he devoured every single one he could get his hands on. when he was fourteen, he was already helping out in the store, pulling massive books down and making effusive recommendations to customers. that's really what helped him come out of his shell.

his grandparents put him back in school when he was a freshman so that he could socialize a bit before going off to college. it took a little while, but he eventually found his feet, making friends with the rest of the nerd/bookish crowd. he left home but didn't go too far for college, choosing UCLA to remain close to his grandparents. he was halfway through a degree in english when, at 20, his grandmother died.

so he moved back home again to help his grandfather run the store and enrolled at AB college part-time to split his time completing his degree and keeping shop. it took him a few more years, but he graduated and then immediately took on a full-time role managing the store, as his grandfather's health was declining as well.

his grandfather died when he was twenty-five, and auggie felt the weight of the loss tremendously. he had become a lot better adjusted since his mom died, so he managed to work through things alright, but it planted a deep sorrow in him that he still hasn't shaken.

when he got full run of the store, he weighed his options of things to keep — his grandparents' house or the shop — and he ultimately chose the shop. he sold their house in fisher's cove at a nice premium and put the money back into oceania.

sometime during that span, he also met a man, an art buyer and frequent customer at oceania. their relationship was, at first, very reminiscent of a rom-com, with their bookstore meet-cutes and the bliss that followed. they got married when auggie was twenty-nine and moved into a house in seabrook. a few years in, they decided to have a child together and their daughter, rosie, was born in 2019.

everything was fine — great, even — until auggie found out early last year that his husband had been keeping an apartment in LA he'd been conducting an affair out of for years. the divorce came swift, and it was as easy as those kinds of things can be. his husband accepted full responsibility and didn't fight auggie's demand for full custody of their daughter with occasional visitation.

auggie is very much not over what happened, but he keeps on trucking for his daughter and the store's sake.

tidbits.

auggie's is mostly soft and sweet, but the divorce dealt a huge blow to him and gave him a bit of an edge. he's a little less afraid to say what he's actually thinking, which actually can end up being a little mean (in a fun way) sometimes. he can be pretty judgmental and pessimistic under the politeness (he was raised right!).

he's got a big ole Business Plan for oceania and is very ambitious about how he wants it to grow. his biggest achievement to date is getting michelle zauner to come in for an appearance when she was promoting 'crying in h mart.' he moderated the conversation with her and cried when she hugged him. his grand plan is to buy the building next door and expand to accommodate a coffee shop, but that's pretty far down the line.

auggie's an incredibly active parent and definitely spoils his daughter. he's basically single parenting, with little-to-no regard for what his ex wants at this point.

connections.

pseudo younger brother to @santiagodeleons, who's also one of his daughter's godparents

close friends w/ @samucl-kane, another one of his daughter's godparents

ex-boyfriend of @benj-hyun

friends w/ @bradley-banner

parent friends w/ @luckylewis, @delilahcarreno

employer of @fxckaubreycarson, his daughter's nanny

employer/protective of @emersonxcassidy

close friend of @themeixhuang

#aurorabay.intro

[auggievillanueva]

Auggie rolled his eyes affectionately at Cass's tone as he leaned back against one on the shelves. His eyebrows rose at her justification, but he found that he couldn't really bring himself to to argue with it with any kind of conviction. It sounded a lot like something he said to his grandparents on a regular basis when he was younger and couldn't fathom being pulled away from a book they wouldn't let him take out of the store, rightfully worried that he would never put it back on its shelf.

Instead, he simply acquiesced to their request and pushed off the shelf to sit down next to them. "Alright, but we're keeping it brief," he said as he crossed one ankle over the other and stretched out, realizing as soon as he was sitting that he'd barely gotten off his feet all day. "But first, you're going to tell me why you're reading a book about chairs," he said, glancing at the book in her hands with narrowed eyes.

@cassidyxcooke

Cass sat on the floor of Oceania, feet crossed at the ankles, back laid up against one of the shelves. It wasn't unusual for them to post up like this, though it wasn't often they were found amongst the home improvement section. There were a few projects she was angling to try and yeah, youtube was a thing, but something just hit different about being able to decipher step by step instructions. And of course, tweak them. She was three fourths deep into a section about reupholstering furniture when she heard a familiar voice and cursed softly, "Auggie," she said his name as sweet as she could muster, head tilting to look up at him, "You always seem to forget, this is my home-- a home away from home. So if you gotta lock me in, do what you must," Cass chuckled, leaning their head against the stacks, "But if you can't, fine, my one and only condition is you sit down a second. It's been forever and I'm well overdue for a catch up on all things Auggie,"

#thread. #with cassidy cooke. #cassidy 001.

[auggievillanueva]

closed @samucl-kane

location: botanical gardens

Hands full with a pile of food from Jolyani, conveniently parked outside the gardens that day, Auggie took his time as he walked through in search of Sam. The friendly and incredibly talkative owner of the truck had thrown in a few free sides when they'd struck up a conversation and he mentioned that he was grabbing lunch for himself and Sam. She seemed to have taken a shine to Sam, which Auggie could certainly understand.

He had always loved the gardens; his grandmother had taken him there a lot when he was growing up. She used to kill almost every plant she tried to tend herself, but she always loved how they looked. He stopped a few times to lean down and examine a few of her old favorites.

A fond smile settled onto his face when he eventually found Sam, calling out a "Delivery!" from a ways away so as not to scare the other man when he came upon him. He approached, one tinfoil takeout plate containing the vegetarian combo outstretched. "If you're busy, I can leave this with you and run," he said when he reached Sam. "But I got worried that you weren't feeding yourself properly so I figured I'd surprise you."

#thread. #with samuel kane. #sam 001.

[auggievillanueva]

so i'm sayin' goodbye to the people that i feel / are real good at wastin' my time / no regrets, baby, i just think that maybe / you go your way and i'll go mine / it's been a real good time / but you got dark energy, somethin' i can't unsee / and i've got to take care of myself / i found a deeper well

#spotify. #just now digging into this album #queen kacey 🥹

[auggievillanueva]

Mocha : Dream Job?

"I already have it. I was always going to run Oceania, but it's also the only thing I've ever really wanted to do. I still don't really feel like it's mine sometimes; it's my mom's and my grandparents', but I sort of like it that way. I feel like I'm just holding down the fort for them."

#meme day.

[auggievillanueva]

be honest... do you regret marrying your ex?

"Never. Without him, I wouldn't have Rosie, who makes up for every single bad thing that's could ever happen to me. I would do all of it again, even if I knew what he was going to turn out to be, because I'd know that I'd have her at end of everything."

#meme day. #featuring rosie villanueva.