#abby stevenson

[hanukkahbingo]

Panfandom Hanukkah Bingo

WHAT: A fanworks bingo celebrating Jewish (and Jew-ish) characters across any and all fandoms. Write fanfiction and/or create graphics (moodboards, edits, vids, whatever you like) to fill prompts on this overall bingo card. During the 8 nights of Hanukkah, submit your fills to the AO3 collection and/or post them on Tumblr to be reblogged and added to the Bingo Masterpost.

WHY: Jewish characters and Jewish fans are often overlooked or erased during the Winter Holiday Season in favor of “Secret Santa” exchanges, Christmas-themed fics, and the idea that ~Hanukkah is Jewish Christmas~ (which spoiler for all fics in this bingo: it’s not). This panfandom Bingo challenge is to celebrate Hanukkah on its own terms and give Jewish characters and fans a place to breathe. :)

MORE INFO!

[aimmyarrowshigh]

Fic or Art/Graphic Title: U1. Latkes - Abby Stevenson Author/Artist Name: aimmyarrowshigh Fandom: The Baby-Sitters' Club Jewish or Jew-Ish Character(s): Abby Stevenson, Anna Stevenson, Mrs. Stevenson Bingo Squares Being Filled: U1 - Latkes Rating: T Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply Link to Work: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43745988

[hollie47]

Fic or Art/Graphic Title: A Family of Blessings Author/Artist Name: Hollie47 Fandom: Baby-Sitter's Club Jewish or Jew-Ish Character(s): Abby Stevenson, Rachel Stevenson Bingo Squares Being Filled: A2, N2, H1 Rating: G Warning(s): None Read Here on AO3

This was written for Hanukkah Bingo 2023 hosted by the amazing @hanukkahbingo.

[ed-recoverry]

List of free audiobooks on YouTube for anyone interested

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Alice in Wonderland

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H P Lovecraft

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Village by Caroline Mitchell

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (fuck JKR)

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Upside Down by Danielle Steel

The Fiancée by Kate White

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Theif

Accidentally Married by Victoria E. Lieske

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

The Collector (book one) by Nora Roberts

The Lies I Told by Mary Burton

Dead Man’s Mirror by Agatha Christie

The Hobbit

The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey

The Good Neighbour by R J Parker

The Island House by Elana Johnson

Desperation by Stephan King

The Healing Summer by Heather B. Moore

The Last Affair by Margot Hunt

To Be Claimed by Willow Winter

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Inn by James Patterson

Wonder by R J Palacio

Faking It With The Billionaire by Willow Fox

The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum

The Catcher in the Rye

The Lottery Winner by Mary Higgins Clark

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

Death of a Nurse by M C Beaton

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Frozen Betrayal by Clive Cussler

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Line of Fire by R J Patterson

Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

The Remnant by Tim LaHaye

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

Payment in Kind by J A Jance

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A Marriage of Anything but Convenience by Victorine E. Lieske

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Inheritance Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The Kama Sutra by Mallanaga Vatsyayana

The Wisdom of Father Brown by G K Chesterton

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Robin Hood by J Walker McSpadden

The Poor Traveller by Charles Dickens

Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865 by Sarah Raymond Herndon

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Man After Man

Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Charlotte’s Web

Midsummer Mysteries by Agatha Christie

Out of Silent Planet by C S Lewis

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

The Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harai

Hamlet by Shakespeare

[seeinganewlight]

2024 books read

2024 goal: 150 books

january: 1 - heartstopper vol. 1 → alice oseman (reread) 2 - heartstopper vol. 2 → alice oseman (reread) 3 - heartstopper vol. 3 → alice oseman (reread) 4 - heartstopper vol. 4 → alice oseman (reread) 5 - heartstopper vol. 5 → alice oseman 6 - a fragile enchantment → allison saft 7 - some shall break → ellie marney (audiobook) 8 - only if you're lucky → stacy willingham (arc) 9 - over my dead body: a witchy graphic novel → sweeney boo 10 - notes on an execution → danya kukafka (physical & audiobook) 11 - murder on the orient express → agatha christie (reread) 12 - our wives under the sea → julia armfield (physical & audiobook) 13 - the invocations → krystal sutherland (arc) 14 - red string theory → lauren kung jessen 15 - the breakup tour → emily wibberley & austin siegemund-broka (arc) 16 - the name drop → susan lee 17 - the secret of the old clock → carolyn keene (reread) 18 - bright young women → jessica knoll (audiobook) 19 - last call at the local → sarah grunder ruiz (audiobook) 20 - no one can know → kate alice marshall

february: 21 - worst wingman ever → abby jimenez 22 - drop, cover, and hold on → jasmine guillory 23 - with any luck → ashley poston 24 - the atlas six → olivie blake (reread, audiobook) 25 - that's not my name → megan lally 26 - not here to stay friends → kaitlyn hill 27 - this golden state → marit weisenberg 28 - today tonight tomorrow → rachel lynn solomon (reread, annotation) 29 - past present future → rachel lynn solomon (arc, annotation) 30 - the atlas paradox → olivie blake (reread, audiobook) 31 - the guest list → lucy foley (audiobook) 32 - in the market for murder → t.e. kinsey (audiobook) 33 - the neighbor favor → kristina forest 34 - in the mix → mandy gonzalez 35 - everyone in my family has killed someone → benjamin stevenson 36 - the seven year slip → ashley poston 37 - veronica ruiz breaks the bank → elle cosimano (audiobook) 38 - finlay donovan rolls the dice → elle cosimano (audiobook) 39 - the simmonds house kills → meaghan dwyer (arc)

march: 40 - the mysterious case of the alperton angels → janice hallett 41 - the book of cold cases → simone st. james 42 - what the river knows → isabel ibañez (audiobook) 43 - cut loose! → ali stroker & stacy davidowitz 44 - how i'll kill you → ren destefano 45 - the reappearance of rachel price → holly jackson (arc) 46 - when no one is watching → alyssa cole (audiobook) 47 - outofshapeworthlessloser: a memoir of figure skating, f*cking up, and figuring it out → gracie gold (audiobook) 48 - julius caesar → william shakespeare (rerad, audiobook) 49 - the family plot → megan collins (audiobook) 50 - if we were villains → m.l. rio (reread) 51 - alone with you in the ether → olivie blake (physical & audiobook) 52 - disappearance at devil's rock → paul tremblay (audiobook)

april: 53 - shakespeare: romeo and juliet graphic novel → martin powell & eva cabrera 54 - shakespeare: macbeth graphic novel → martin powell & f. daniel perez 55 - shakespeare: julius caesar graphic novel → carl bown & eduardo garcia 56 - shakespeare: a midsummer night's dream graphic novel → nel yomtov & berenice muniz 57 - twelfth knight → alexene farol follmuth (arc) 58 - kill for me, kill for you → steve cavanagh 59 - murder road → simone st. james 60 - everyone on this train is a suspect → benjamin stevenson 61 - listen for the lie → amy tintera 62 - king cheer → molly horton booth, stephanie kate strohm, jamie green 63 - twelfth night (musical adaptation) → kwame kwei-armah & shaina taub 64 - in juliet's garden → judy elliot mcdonald 65 - fat ham → james ijames 66 - death by shakespeare → philip l. nicholas, jr 67 - a good girl's guide to murder → holly jackson (reread) 68 - good girl, bad blood → holly jackson (reread) 69 - as good as dead → holly jackson (reread) 70 - dark corners → megan goldin (audiobook) 71 - the one that got away with murder → trish lundy (audiobook) 72 - funny story → emily henry 73 - imogen says nothing → aditi brennan kapil 74 - people we meet on vacation → emily henry (audiobook, reread)

may: 75 - episode thirteen → craig dilouie 76 - the girls i've been → tess sharpe (reread) 77 - the girl in question → tess sharpe (arc) 78 - wild about you → kaitlyn hill (arc) 79 - just for the summer → abby jimenez 80 - my best friend's exorcism → grady hendrix 81 - second first date → rachel lynn solomon 82 - the ballad of darcy & russell → morgan matson 83 - the good, the bad, and the aunties → jesse q. sutanto (audiobook) 84 - truly, madly, deeply → alexandria bellefleur 85 - your blood, my bones → kelly andrew 86 - amy & roger's epic detour → morgan matson (reread) 87 - romancing mister bridgerton → julia quinn (reread) 88 - the viscount who loved me → julia quinn (reread) 89 - bittersweet in the hollow → kate pearsall 90 - to sir phillip, with love → julia quinn (reread) 91 - when he was wicked → julia quinn (reread) 92 - it's in his kiss → julia quinn (reread) 93 - on the way to the wedding → julia quinn (audiobook, reread) 94 - emma → jane austen (audiobook, reread)

june: 95 - first lie wins → ashley elston 96 - we got the beat → jenna miller 97 - firekeeper's daughter → angeline boulley 98 - chlorine → jade song (audiobook) 99 - what stalks among us → sarah hollowell 100 - hollow fires → samira ahmed (audiobook) 101 - part of your world → abby jimenez 102 - the road trip → beth o'leary 103 - yours truly → abby jimenez 104 - finally fitz → marisa kanter 105 - the last love song → kalie holford

july: 106 - dead girls walking → sami ellis (audiobook) 107 - home is where the bodies are → jeneva rose 108 - we used to live here → marcus kliewer 109 - the children on the hill → jennifer mcmahon (audiobook) 110 - what moves the dead → t. kingfisher 111 - my throat an open grave → tori bovalino 112 - dashed → amanda quain (arc) 113 - asking for a friend → kara h.l. chen (arc) 114 - beach read → emily henry (reread, audiobook) 115 - book lovers → emily henry (reread, audiobook) 116 - happy place → emily henry (reread, audiobook) 117 - you have a match → emma lord (reread, annotation) 118 - bonnie & clyde musical script → ivan menchell (reread) 119 - such charming liars → karen m. mcmanus (arc) 120 - she left → stacie grey (audiobook) 121 - let the games begin → rufaro faith mazarura (audiobook) 122 - death at morning house → maureen johnson (arc)

august: 123 - cleat cute → meryl wilsner (audiobook) 124 - i wish you would → eva des lauriers 125 - the break-up pact → emma lord (arc) 126 - water for elephants → sara gruen 127 - when you get the chance → emma lord (reread, annotation) 128 - come out, come out → natalie c. parker (arc) 129 - my lady jane → cynthia hand, brodi ashton, jodi meadows 130 - the lies of alma blackwell → amanda glaze (arc)

september: 131 - the spare room → andra bartz 132 - late bloomer → mazey eddings (audiobook) 133 - savor it → tarah dewitt (audiobook) 134 - triple sec → t.j. alexander (audiobook) 135 - the skeleton key → erin kelly 136 - the examiner → janice hallett (arc) 137 - the dark we know → wen-yi lee (audiobook) 138 - pretty girls → karin slaughter 139 - a good girl's guide to murder → holly jackson (reread, annotation)

[ebdaydreamer]

WIP Wednesday

tagged by the lovely @buddiearemydads

im so close to being done with the hook up fic, I've just been so busy recently. interact with this post the be tagged when I finally post it

So, when he bounded into work one day, having just got the results of his latest DXA scan, he was practically floating.

“Oh, yeah? They measure the fat in your head?” Chimney teased.

But not even that could bring him down. “Ah, see, that would be funny, but we’re about a week away from submissions being due for the Hot Days, Smouldering Nights: Men of the LAFD wall calendar, and I’m already at my goal weight, so it seems like my head is clearly working perfectly.”

Predictably, Hen rolled her eyes.

The four of them bickered about the calendar, and Buck couldn’t help but tease Bobby and Chim a little. Younger sibling habits never die.

“I mean, sure, let’s be real. They are only picking one candidate from each station.”

Chim pointed behind him. “Ok, that is a beautiful man.”

Hen followed Chim’s finger and saw her eyes widen. “Where’s the lie? And I like girls.”

Buck turned slowly, wondering who the hell they could be talking about. Stevenson, from the B shift? Was he working today? He was fairly handsome.

Then he saw who was shirtless in the locker room, and he couldn’t help but agree. He was perhaps the most beautiful man Buck had ever seen in his life. And he knew what the others didn’t. He remembered the feeling of those abs under his tongue. He remembered his mouth pressed to his skin, a mark still adorning his collarbone. He remembered the taste of his come in the back of his throat.

Eddie. Eddie was in the locker room, putting on a LAFD uniform.

“Who the hell is that?” Why the hell is he here?

“It’s Eddie Diaz, new recruit.”

Hold on. A probie? Bobby had hired a new probie?

“Graduated top of his class just this week. Guys over at Station Six were dying to have him, but I convinced him to join us.”

“What do we need him for? Um…” Buck tried to bite down his panic and was met with laughter.

“He served multiple tours in Afghanistan as an Army medic. Guy’s got a Silver Star. It’s not like he’s wet behind the ears,” Bobby told them.

Army. That must be where he got those scars.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you. He likes to be called Eight Pack.” Bobby is definitely teasing him, but Buck’s ears are ringing.

Eddie was here to replace him. He had to be. With a guy that competent on the team, what use would Bobby have for him?

Buck grimaced as Chim patted him on the stomach. He locked up that amazing night far back in his brain. Eddie might be the hottest man Buck has ever seen in his life, might have had sex with him that put him on cloud 9, but none of that mattered. He meant it when he told Bobby this job was all he had even more so as Abby drifted further and further away. But it wasn’t just the job, it was this team. Chimney, who cracked jokes and teased him like there was no tomorrow. Hen who rolled her eyes and gave great hugs. Bobby, who gave him advice and taught him how to cook and was already more of a father to him in the past year than his own father had been his whole life. He couldn’t lose it, no matter what. He’d fight and cling like his life depended on it.

He followed the group into the locker room and saw Eddie’s eyes flicker in recognition.

The team could not find out about them sleeping together. For one, they’d all think that he had returned to his Buck 1.0 days, and then all the respect he fought for would disappear. Respect that they just seemed to be throwing at the new guy. So he stuck out his hand. “Evan Buckley.”

Eddie gave a slight nod of understanding. He shook his hand firmly, and Buck briefly remembered that strong hand around his cock. “Eddie Diaz, nice to meet you.”

Buck snatched back his hand and tried his best to not storm off.

He’s pretty sure he failed.

tagging: @elvensorceress @spaceprincessem @911onabc @gayedmundodiaz @wh0re-behavi0r @heartbeatdiaz @alyxmastershipper @gentoodiaz @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @buck-coded @wildlife4life @shortsighted-owl @monsterrae1

[smallboyonherbike]

[rockislandadultreads]

November NoveList Challenge

For this month's challenge, give thanks and read a book about chosen family or family gatherings! For more recommendations, be sure to check out NoveList - all you need is your library card!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let's get started.

This is the first volume of the "Ernest Cunningham" series.

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire - right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy… but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate, and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly, and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren't sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them.

This is the second volume of "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" series.

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

In the summer of 1925, along Washington, DC’s “Black Broadway”, a malevolent entity has begun preying on Negro residents. Twenty-three-year-old Clara Johnson is determined to discover what’s going on in her community. Using her natural ability to talk with spirits, she begins to investigate, but a powerful spirit tasks her with a difficult quest: steal an ancient, magical ring from the finger of a wealthy socialite.

When Clara meets Israel Lee, a supernaturally enhanced jazz musician also vying for the ring, the two decide to work together. They put together an unlikely team including a former circus freak, a pickpocketing Pullman Porter, and an aging vaudeville actor to pull off an impossible heist.

But a dangerous spirit interferes at every turn and conflict in the spirit world is leaking out into the human world. With different agendas, even if Clara and Israel pull off the heist, only one of them can truly win.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic - including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.

[staceymcgillicuddy]

okay wait also before i go to bed: babysitters club au please. bonus points for including at least one ridiculous outfit description here. triple bonus if the outfit includes a jaunty beret with like a sequined tiger appearing to leap from chrissy's forehead at some point. (sorry for plagiarizing u, ann m. martin. probably.)

YES EXCELLENT. OKAY. My brain immediately went to mapping the characters onto their BSC counterparts and then this happened.

Nancy Wheeler as Kristin Amanda Thomas. I will not be taking comments at this time.

Chrissy as Mary-Anne Spier. HEAR ME OUT, because I know Chrissy is aesthetically the Stacey BUT Mary-Anne is quiet and reserved until you piss her off and then she turns into Little Miss I Love Myself and gets sassy haircuts and is the only member of the BSC with a boyfriend AND if she's Mary Anne I can kill off Laura.

For Claudia Lynn Kishi, I'm going back and forth on El or Will, because El has a very unique sense of fashion, and would probably do well with some of Claudia's canonical outfits, while Will is a talented artist who probably needs his own phone line since he keeps breaking his mother's when he calls her from the Upside Down.

Argyle as Dawn Read Schafer because he has long hair and is from California and some people find him annoying but I like him.

Steve as Anastasia "Stacey" Elizabeth "Boontsie" McGill because if he was from New York City he'd probably talk a lot about being from New York City. Also he probably has the nickname Boontsie.

Barb as Mallory Pike because Mallory is a horse girl and Barb gives me big horse girl energy. (Also lol that Mallory doesn't have a middle name? I guess her parents forgot? I don't really care for Mallory.)

Max as Jessi Davis Ramsey because nobody on Stranger Things is canonically a dancer BUT Jessi was cool and precocious and hung out with older kids while being suave, just like Max.

Erica as Shannon Louisa Kilbourne because she gets. shit. done. and you can't spell America without Erica. Seriously, though, Shannon was a high-achieving mfer with no patience for fools.

Eddie as Logan Bruno SIMPLY for Mary Anne proximity but also because I think making Logan a metalhead would be the most interesting thing that anyone ever did for Logan's character.

Robin as Abby Stevenson because she showed up late in the series, stole my heart, and is definitely a lesbian. Abby also doesn't have a middle name, so that's fun.

This leaves me with Lucas, Mike, Jonathan, and Dustin if I'm doing main cast. SORRY, KIDS. Let's see how many "other" characters I remember from Stoneybrook.

Lucas as Sam Thomas because Sam seemed cool and was kind of a jock but still had time to flirt inappropriately with Stacey, but in this universe we'll say it's APPROPRIATE flirting with Max-as-Jessi and Lucas-as-Sam is 11 not 15.

Mike as Trevor Sandbourne because IIRC Trevor dated Claudia for a while which works if you are a Byler OR a Mileven shipper, which probably says a lot about why both those ships are fun!

Jonathan as Bart Taylor because of the Nancy proximity, only instead of coaching a kid's softball team, he takes pictures for the yearbook and Nancy, in addition to running the BSC, a softball team, solving 70 mysteries, and going on many trips around the world in various Super Specials, is also the editor of the yearbook.

Dustin as Janine Kishi simply because Janine was a geek who liked computers and shit, and Dustin enjoys such things. I'm sorry, Dustin! The BSC did not have as many nerd tropes as I needed!

Bonus:

Angela as Cokie Mason because fuck her

Jason as Alan Gray because Alan is the closest thing the series has to a real dick

Billy as Robert Brewster (if you're into Harringrove and subscribe to my Steve-as-Stacey theory) because they dated.

Anyway, this took FAR longer than it should have and I am like 30% proud of it. Please be gentle.

[ruinedsoulsrp]

Muse: Abby Based & Based Open: Males 25+

Abby's brows furrowed slightly as the other spoke. "I thought we closed the Stevenson account?" she started. "I placed the final papers on your desk last night, did you not get them today?" she asked, slight worry creeping into her voice. Not worry that he'd be upset, but worry that if they were misplaced, the two would need to stay late to work together to finish them. It was one thing to be together in the office during the day with everyone else around; she was able to somewhat hide her crush at that point, but alone with him it was a far more difficult task.

[motherartistsmakingart]

Hey MAMArtist* Ashley Thaxton-Stevenson (she/her) !

What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live? I am originally from Southern California, now living in Brooklyn with my spouse Robert and our 2.5 year old Caius!

How do you describe your art practice?

I am a theater maker and educator, working across many different techniques and genres of theater. Some recent projects include Associate Directing Fiasco Theater’s Pericles at Classic Stage Company, performing in Spellbound Theater’s Shakespeare’s Stars (a multisensory Shakespeare experience for ages 0-3 and their caregivers) at the New Victory Theater, and playing both Kamala Harris and Mike Pence in Bertolt Brecht and 21st-Century Verfremdung, with the Verbatim Performance Lab at NYU.  As an educator, I teach acting with NYU's Program in Educational Theatre, develop curriculum with Fiasco Theater, and teach upstander skills through drama to elementary school students with the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Across all these different projects, I am most compelled by how we can use theater to tell community stories for our joy, healing, and collective liberation.

Who is your artistic crush?

Right now, I am re-reading the plays of Susan Glaspell, after being in the room for a reading of her play The Verge earlier this spring with Fiasco Theater. SusieG was a genius and I would love to go back in time and have a drink with her and talk about plays. 

What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?

Snacks and wipes at all times. I never go anywhere anymore without snacks and wipes, and this is true of so many parent artists I know. And you never know when in rehearsal, on the subway, at a community event, during a protest, or on the street where someone will need one or the other (or both!). It’s a super power to be able to care for folks' physical and material needs in that way.

You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! YES! I am the Community Engagement Coordinator of Fiasco Theater and we have been hosting a workshop series this fall called Play|Ground in collaboration with PAAL and Broadway Babysitters. These workshops are centering caregiver artists, and rooted in play, community, and embodied practice. We are also providing free onsite, arts-based childcare! The next workshop is taking place on Saturday, June 1st and space is still available! Folks can learn more and sign up HERE. Registration is on a sliding scale starting at $5.

How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? This workshop series really is a dream come true in terms of integrating all the things that are important to me as an artist and a human! Since becoming a parent, I have had to be so much more intentional about how I spend my time. When you weigh the cost of childcare, busy schedules, the needs of my child and my family unit, and my desire to spend time with my child, it has been very hard to prioritize my own continued artistic learning and development. The goal with Play|Ground is that caregiver/artists won’t have to make some of these hard choices. Instead, they can instead show up to a workshop as their full selves and get enrichment for their spirits and artistry, all the while knowing that their child is being well taken care of in a safe and creative space.

What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?

Two books I am reading right now that are really impacting me are Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad and How the World is Passed by Clint Smith. I am also here to proselytize to you about the utter delight of romance novels (some recent recommendations include How to End a Love Story  by Yulin Kuang, Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, and Funny Story by Emily Henry).

I am listening to Jon Batiste’s album WE ARE, the podcast Normal Gossip, and Norah Jones’ albums from the early 2000s.

Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?

The thoughtful care, tending, and grace that you show to a dear collaborator, a student, or your child is something that you yourself also deserve.

BEST LINKS to find you and your work!

www.art-s.co www.fiascotheater.com/playground https://www.bax.org/youthworks/ 

Photo credits: Top Row: Directing YouthWorks Bottom Row, L to R: TOKOPHOBIA talk back at the Center at West Park (facilitating with a baby in arms!); Headshot by Alex Leyva 

*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Ashley!

[wearelondonhq]

mw characters? pls i know you answered a mw earlier but i need some more ideas lol

of course, lovely! prepare for a long list but just naming a few that we would love to see:  sam wilson, jennifer walters, shuri, riri williams, may parker, kamala khan, nakia, maria rambeau, g'iah, nadia van dyne, gamora, nebula, cosmo, nick fury, talos, happy hogan, ned leeds, peter quill, kraglin, casey ( loki ), johnny storm, ben grimm, scott summers, doctor hank mccoy, darren cross/yellowjacket, adam warlock, james howlett/logan, odin, matt murdock/daredevil, peter parker 2/peter parker 3, harry osborn, eddie brock/venom, anne weying, gwen stacy, miles morales, miguel o'hara, jessica drew, norman osborn, doctor doom, pietro maximoff, tommy maximoff, billy maximoff, phil coulson or any of kang’s variants (marvel), mindy meeks-martin, chad meeks-martin, danny brackett, dewey riley, gale weathers (scream), lynn denlon, jeff denlon, cecil addams, laura hunter, addison corday, brit stevenson, mallick scott, bobby dagen, joyce dagen (saw), cho sang-woo, seong gi-hun, kang sae-byeok (squid game), bruce wayne, barry allen, arthur curry (dc), joel miller, sarah miller, ellie williams, abby anderson (the last of us), anakin skywalker, ben solo, rey skywalker (star wars), mysaria, viserys targaryen, alicent hightower, aemond targaryen, baela targaryen, rhaena targaryen (hotd), abby schmidt, vanessa selly (five nights at freddy's) and you can also find our most wanted from the hunger games universe right here! if you need some more specific ideas, feel free to send an ask with your fave fandoms!

[aimmyarrowshigh]

Panfandom Hanukkah Bingo

WHAT: A fanworks bingo celebrating Jewish (and Jew-ish) characters across any and all fandoms. Write fanfiction and/or create graphics (moodboards, edits, vids, whatever you like) to fill prompts on this overall bingo card. During the 8 nights of Hanukkah, submit your fills to the AO3 collection and/or post them on Tumblr to be reblogged and added to the Bingo Masterpost.

WHY: Jewish characters and Jewish fans are often overlooked or erased during the Winter Holiday Season in favor of "Secret Santa" exchanges, Christmas-themed fics, and the idea that ~Hanukkah is Jewish Christmas~ (which spoiler for all fics in this bingo: it's not). This panfandom Bingo challenge is to celebrate Hanukkah on its own terms and give Jewish characters and fans a place to breathe. :)

MORE INFO!

[noratilney]

For the OC Questions: 1, 2, 3, 14 & 18 for Veronika Lantsov, Abby, and Jasika, please! :-D

Thank you!

VERONIKA

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

I wanted her to be a Lantsov and a tidemaker. The backstory started as a way to explain why she had been absent during the story prior and then grew to add in some connections.

Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Yes! I wanted her to look believably related to Nikolai so I looked at blonde fcs. This was before his casting was announced so I was working only with the book description. I had saved Hunter Schafer as a fc I wanted to use and I ended up picking her for Veronika.

How did you choose their name? 

Ravka draws on a lot of Russian names and terminology but doesn’t exactly stick strictly to it. A friend of a friend is named Veronika and she’s Polish-American so I thought it was in keeping with an Eastern European flavor. Also it works to give two different sounding nicknames, “Vera” and “Nika” which suited my purposes since Veronika has to conceal her identity.

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 

Veronika very much resents her Grandmother Yulia for keeping her locked up and away from people but she’s also a lot more sheltered than she realizes.

Relatedly, her whole objective is to leave, to escape but the what happens after is not really something she’d worked out which is also why she ends up entangled in the messiness happening in the Little Palace.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

Well, it turns out that Veronika’s tidemaker powers didn’t just spring out in her from nowhere… ;)

ABBY

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Definitely backstory first.

Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

No, actually. I’m not sure how plausible she and any of her family members are at appearing related but I also don’t care.

I did choose to make her Caroline’s cousin almost immediately after committing to making her a Tyler Lockwood oc though.

Also I wanted her to share Trevino's Latino but passes for white background so that I could incorporate that element into Tyler's character biography and have Abby and Tyler interrogate what that identity means for each of them.

So wait, maybe yes then?

How did you choose their name? 

I've always been fond of the name Abby given one of my childhood best friends was named Abby and as a minor character appreciator, I’ve liked Abby Stevenson from the Babysitter's Club.

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 

Oh, fuck is this girl stubborn, oh my god. Like I love it and she shares that with me but also like please stop making your own life harder.

It ties in with the first thing but she also has a very pessimistic outlook on life and is always expecting the shoe to drop. Hence her resistance to romance or making long-term goals.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

For the longest time, she cannot for the life of her remember Klaus’ name and calls him by a rotating list of C and K names (although not to his face, lmao).

JASIKA

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

I started playing with the idea of making a Marcel oc after I got deep into Angelica, my Rebekah oc.

Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Sort of? It depends on what you mean by that.

I knew I wanted Jasika to have some things in common with Marcel, particularly some things that he and Rebekah didn’t.

So I chose to have Jasika be a Black woman and I also made her a half-sister to Hayley.

How did you choose their name? 

This one is very simple. I borrowed it from the voice actress Jasika Nicole.

Ballard was chosen from scanning a list of surnames until I found one I liked.

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Jasika is very twisted up inside over her whole family history. She’s hated Andrea Labonair and her mother for stealing her dad and being the Crescent Pack’s golden child for years even before she actually met Hayley.

For the record, this is not something Jasika's internalized from her mom. As I started writing this, I remembered how in Magic for Marigold, Marigold develops this intense hatred of her dead father's first wife, Clementine, who she despises for being held up against her mother. Marigold's mother Lorraine isn't bothered by it because she says when she shared her life with Marigold’s dad, they had a mature and loving partnership as opposed to the overly romanticized youthful relationship between him and Clementine. I think subconsciously that influenced this dynamic.

Anyway, it’s a little different here so I wouldn’t say Jasika’s mom has no bitterness or resentment over how Mr. Labonair handled his relationships but she’s also moved on with her life.

Jasika on the other hand is still seething about it and putting a face to her enemy has not changed that.

Marcel is clearly the more emotionally mature of the two of them when it comes to their respective familial mistreatment. He’s actually moved on to some degree.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

She went through a goth phase in her teens and still maintains a love of wearing black.

[autisticallyfeisty]

Possibly unpopular opinion: while I love that Dawn is canonically mspec and am pretty sure Kristy’s going to come out at some point, I’m not really hoping for the two of them to get together. I have never understood why that’s such a popular ship in the BSC fandom. They seem so different to me, and not in an “opposites attract” kind of way. I always shipped Kristy with Abby, because they had a lot of things in common and enjoyed hanging out together. Also, Abby’s last book in the series was all about her friends pressuring her into going on a date on Valentine’s Day even though she doesn’t want to, and then at the end she puts her foot down and decides to stay home, and then Kristy ditches her date and goes to Abby’s house and the two of them watch horror movies together. I mean, come on.

Anyway, I really, really want Abby to be on the show, regardless of whether or not she and Kristy end up together. She was always one of my favorite characters. I’ve noticed fans who are older than me have a weird amount of vitriol for her...just because...she was introduced after they stopped reading the books...I guess? I hope that doesn’t dissuade the showrunners from including her.