forgive me great sage, for I have fucked up

1. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH god I love a good interrogation of the negative narrative space left behind by someone’s death. this is rare bc we so often do fix its in fanfic but I’m so greedy for more of this.

2. I love historical AUs and the pining they often facilitate. mutual pining is great in general but I think it often falls flat in modern settings, but in historical AUs where there’s rigid lines around propriety and relationships it creates this whole other delicious dimension

3. miscommunication. is there anything so wonderful as people not telling each other what they mean and it all deteriorating as a result. particular soft spot for smut heavy works that feature miscommunication or a lack of communication, I think it hits at such a valuable and common experience

4. speaking of smut. fuck or die. the three entries that come before this should explain in part why I like this trope but I think it’s such a fascinating way to explore characterization and how characters interact and the tensions there. also gives great opportunities for whump and darkness. one of my favorite fics of all time has this. I have one in the vault but would love to write it again!

5. my most controversial but kidfic…I love kidfic. if of course I think the characters would have kids but for a good writer I’m so willing to take a chance and go outside my convictions to read it. I think it’s also again a great opportunity to explore characterization

- nessa (i hope this is fun and joyful in this time of evil stress <3 lmk also if u need a sounding board for [redacted exam that ive also taken] prep)

TOP 5 SPECIES I LOVE I went hard and looked up the species names for these…

1. Tachycineta bicolor. this bird has such a special place in my heart. my first true commitment to serious scientific research (which I love! I love science and I miss science and research dearly! I’m getting my PhD in another couple decades!) was with these guys. really interesting creatures

2. Ursus arctos horribilis. not the nicest name but I love bears, they’re my favorite animal and I love the encounters I’ve had with them (from inside cars at a safe distance). I think they’re really cool

3. Eumetopias jubatus. I have seen these guys at a great distance in the wild and would love to see them more frequently. another favorite animal

4. Carabus vietinghoffii vietinghoffii. deeply creepy looking as a specimen when dead. really cool when alive, I love the colors of their shell. incidentally learned that a sighting I had of them years ago absolutely should’ve been reported to researchers skdkdjcjcn

5. Archilochus colubris. I have a vivid memory of being in 2020. bad. I was an essential worker. and the gf and I going on a brief vacation and carving out a space of peace. we stayed in a cabin and watched these guys come to the bird feeder and since I’m a bird person I was entranced by this for hours

1. I am obsessed with winter. I found something I wrote in the first book of my trilogy (my real book is the third and final of the trilogy. the other two are not worth trying to query and publish but provide important context for me as the author) where I very poignantly described the beauty of the bright and cold winter sun glinting off the snow. that’s my favorite weather ever. I miss it dearly

2. controversial opinion but I do like the mud and slush of spring as snow melts. it was always fun as a kid

3. another spring one, but I LOVE green up. I know this is a very location specific term but green up is that day when all the trees go from bare to suddenly having buds and leaves. very magical

4. I like the sound of bugs in the summer!! It’s very comforting to me. really enjoy the ambience it brings and the reminder of being surrounded by other living beings

5. fall is my least favorite but when I moved to attend college I moved somewhere that actually has fall (where I grew up doesn’t) and the intense vibrancy of the colors of the trees was absolutely staggering to me that first year. and every year after

wonderful question…

1. I have a pair of green velvet flares that are the best clothing item I own. a classic outfit I often wear that I do consider a dream outfit because it’s so versatile and comfortable is the green velvet flares with a black boatneck top

2. I also have a newly acquired teal dress that people keep calling my princess dress. it has ruffles which I usually don’t wear but find to be tasteful in this case, as well as some cutouts and a flattering neckline. very fun to wear very dreamy

3. I love a 70s silhouette and I have a fair amount of tops with wide and/or bell sleeves but what I don’t have and would love to acquire is a mini dress with bell sleeves. I think it’s such a classic and fun style and the juxtaposition of the wider sleeves and fitted skirt is flattering on me, it would be cooler as a dress. thinking maybe some burnt earth tones or a really vibrant and loud print

4. I knit a lot and am working on two of my dream sweaters right now, one of which is incredibly complex more traditionally inspired colorwork in more muted tones and one of which is more modern with incredibly vibrant colors (electric blue and hot pink). I plan to wear them with another wardrobe staple, a black calf length tshirt dress, and tall boots. I think these handmade items are definitely dream outfits to me because I use a pattern but custom make them to my measurements and tweak to make them exactly how I want.

5. and I just need a pair of leather pants. it is absolutely wild that I do not own a pair of leather pants

oof. difficult. also made more difficult by the fact that I’m pining for American groceries

1. this one pasta that the gf and I have collectively frankensteined together from different recipes. it has bacon, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes with onion and garlic and cooked in a red wine and cream sauce. it is so good.

2. pozole verde…I can reliably get about two of the ingredients I’d need to make it here

3. BRUSSEL SPROUTS I know this is not a full meal but my kingdom for brussel sprouts. I like to semi caramelize them in butter until they’re almost done and then pan sear them to finish with lemon and red pepper flakes

4. I do not have access to Lawry’s season salt and it’s killing me slowly because it means I cannot make my favorite drunk meal (first learned in childhood) that is pasta. a huge amount of butter. season salt

5. the best Thai place in my hometown’s yellow curry. another thing I will be beelining for once I’m in the US