armanya

One of the things I wanted to try to do this year in order to use Dreamwidth more (and also just as a writing task and being better at reccing things) was to make a monthly DW post with things I watched/read/played/listened to and fanwork recs from the past month. I actually starting writing a post for January over a week ago but I lost two thirds of it because computers are annoying sometimes, and I just didn't have the motivation to redo it until now (linking all the recs takes some time!). Let's hope I have better luck this time! 

Two notes: Not all the recs here will be new things, just things I in the given month. Some may not even be new to me - I might end up being excited about old things I dug back up too. I will stay away from major spoilers here - there might end up being some very minor ones.   

I Watched

The Good Place 
Yes, I watched the last episode. And I cried. So damn much. The ending was absolutely perfect. But I also wasn't ready to let go of this amazing show and the characters I have grown to care about a whole lot. This is definitely a show I will be rewatching again and again. (And it has so many pop culture references, I'm looking forward to the heavy dose of nostalgia this show will give me in like 20, 30 years?) But seriously if anyone reading this has not watched this show, do yourself a favour and watch it. It's funny, it's heartwarming, the writing is impeccable and contains so much good advice and wisdom peppered in between clever jokes and references. 

The Witcher 
It's no secret by now that this show is my latest fannish obsession. Ironic, considering I couldn't decide if I wanted to watch it - I love the games and was afraid I'd be disappointed, especially since I'm not really a fan of Henry Cavill. But then I saw an interview with Cavill where he talked about how he pursued the role because he is a big fan of the games, and that made me reasonably sure that I would actually enjoy it. And I have to admit he was perfect as Geralt! Also Joey Batey stole the show and it was impossible not to fall in love with Jaskier. 

Picard 
The pilot episode was... interesting? I can't say I had too many thoughts about it, I was mostly just curious to see where it would go. (Which was pretty much my feeling after the pilot episode of Discovery, which I ended up loving). By now I'm 3 episodes in and I'm still curious to see where it will go. Some interesting characters. Sir Patrick Stewart is always great so I will probably keep watching for him if nothing else.  

I Read

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Yeah, I decided to actually read The Witcher books finally (partly because the popularity of the series made it easier to buy the same edition of the whole series - I hate owning series that aren't a complete matching set lol). I'm about half way through and enjoying it so far? Since I've played the games I already had more canon knowledge than the series, but it's always fun to read the source material and see how adaptations differ. I tend to find it easier to get into books when I already know the characters from a screen adaptation too (I refuse to listen to "you must read the books first!" opinions on anything - that is nothing but personal preference). I quite like the short-story collection format, so I'll see what I think once I get past those first two books of short stories, I guess. If you want a preview (or just really enjoy Cavill's voice), check out this video of Henry Cavill reading The Witcher. 

I Played 

Greedfall
I originally meant to buy and play Divinity: Original Sin II because my sister loved it and recced it, but unfortunately it gave me horrific motion sickness only 10 minutes into playing, so I ended up returning it (props to Steam for always being great for that!). A little sad, because it did look like a great game from the little view I got. Anyway, I decided to buy Greedfall instead since I've had my eyes on it for a while. I was not disappointed! I haven't gotten very far into the game yet (mainly because I had to restart a few times to decide which class I preferred), but so far the characters and story are interesting. The game world is gorgeous too, very immersive - I've spent a good while just wandering around sightseeing by now. I did have minor motion sickness issues with this game, too, but there are mods to fix it, so it's playable at least. 

I Listened To 

Fine Line by Harry Styles
I was far too busy listening to Christmas music in December to spend much time listening to this album, so I made up for it in January. What can I say? It's everything I expected and wanted from Harry's second album. I love his voice and his music style. My favourite song off the album is Cherry, because I'm still very into that mellow folksy sound. I also really like Falling, because it's so raw and gives me all the feels. "What if I'm someone I don't want around" is a line that really packs a punch (and is sometimes painfully relatable). 

Hurts 2B Human by P!nk 
I've had this on heavy rotation again for a couple of months, but I wanted to give it a mention here because it is fantastic. I really recommend it. I love Walk Me Home. As with any P!nk album, there are also several emotional songs that just hit me right in the feels. My favourite is Courage. 90 Days was thrown straight into my angst fic inspiration playlist (it's bound to end up on at least one shipping fanmix). The Last Song Of Your Life makes me tear up every damn time.  

Fanwork Recs 

Self Recs
Another one of my goals for this year, since I only posted 4 fics last year (3 of which were drabbles), was to finish and post at least one fanwork every month. I just managed this for January - it took me until the very last week until I found inspiration. I feel like The Witcher might end up keeping my muse inspired for a bit though, it has the potential for pining and angst I am craving right now, as well as a powerful character for me to write as a sub/bottom, which I am always craving. ^^  And yes, bottom Geralt was unsuprisingly my first controbution to this fandom. 

Falling, Catching (1869 words) by ragingrainbow
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Witcher (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion
Additional Tags: Bottom Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Light Bondage, Porn with Feelings, Top Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Kissing
Summary: “You know I can easily break out of this,” Geralt points out as Jaskier inexpertly twines the rope around his wrists.“I know,” Jaskier says, patting Geralt’s shoulder as he finishes tying the last knot. “But you are not going to, are you?”

I also made a little Geralt/Jaskier fanmix for the snowflake_challenge, which I haven't posted to AO3 yet because I want to make a proper cover image first. 

Art Recs

A Kiss for Nanny! by lonicera-caprifolium (Good Omens, Aziraphale/Crowley) 

“I’m in the Middle of Some Romanc-ibrations” by ravandus-poliux (Mass Effect, femShep/Garrus)

Ever fucked a leshen? by clownsins (The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier)

The Witcher by witcher-the-last-wish (The Witcher)

If I'm to choose between one evil and another... by whoeveryoulovethemost (The Witcher)
 

Fic Recs
As always, my AO3 bookmarks is a more complete reclist, these are just the fic I loved the most. 

Sticky Sweet (3540 words) by Bunnywest
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Characters: Peter Hale, Stiles Stilinski
Additional Tags: Kinktober 2019, Hand Feeding, Getting Together, Werewolf Courting, Courting Rituals, the filthiest clean thing I've ever written, Slow Build Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Summary: Peter’s gaze is drawn to a long-limbed boy sitting at the end of the table, twirling a breadstick between obscenely long fingers. He has dark, haphazard hair, pale skin, and beauty marks peppering his face and neck. His head is thrown back in a laugh and the line of his throat is long and tempting. Peter wonders what that throat looks like when the boy swallows, and if he’ll make pretty noises when Peter feeds him. He imagines, just for a second, his fingers slipping between those lips, feeling them hot and wet around him.