silly fic (and music) rec game

[nnozomi]

I am feeling unwontedly euphoric because my head/neck doesn't hurt any more (for the moment, knock wood). (All the other personal-health and global-mess things that were wrong are still wrong, but what else is new?)
I have guardian-learning stuff to catch up on and other DW socializing to do and lots of lovely 520 fics to read (flamingwell made a podfic of one of my fics! this has never happened to me before and it's lovely!), not to mention, you know, files to translate for work and octopus to buy for dinner, but here's something silly for Sunday afternoon.

I've been rereading my huge virtual stack of favorite fics, the ones I have saved offline to read once a year. Last winter I finally got around to listing them properly (in Excel because God forbid I should use AO3 bookmarks like a normal person) and there are about 700, from drabbles to trilogy-length, in about 90 fandoms. So give me, say, three numbers between 1 and 704, and I will give you three fic recs! (For reference, I started putting them together when I discovered AO3, which was...um...2012? The oldest ones go back any time before that, and the newest are, like, last week. If you want anything cdrama-related you are better off choosing higher numbers.)
As a bonus, choose three numbers between 1 and 120 and I'll give you three music recs from my big YouTube playlist, although how much my taste aligns with everyone else's I cannot say.
Offer remains open!

Take good care, be well and safe everyone.

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

What a fun activity! May I have 18, 36, 54, please?

(Also, what manner of cookery will you be performing on that octopus?)

[luzula]

All right! Give me 100, 200, 300 for fic, and 10, 20, 30 for music. : )

[cyphomandra]

27, 398, and 601!

[schneefink]

42, 211, 326?

[nnozomi]

18: Dexterity by leupagus/waldorph/screamlet, a deliciously vulgar Star Trek fic about universal translators;
36: The Metal from the Stars
by hradzka, I think the only John Bellairs fic I know of and one which does a good job sounding like the canon;
54: The Emperor's Man
by our own Philomytha, Vorkosiverse, Gregor has the flu and Miles has a nefarious (and successful) plan.

(Bonus musical items for the same numbers! Ignore if not your thing.)
18: Bizet, Le Bal
(last movement of the Jeux d'enfants), two-piano version, a delightful happy high-energy romp
36: Brahms, Serenade no. 2 in A major, not the most spectacular Brahms but very sweet and soothing (notable for woodwinds and low strings but no violins)
54: Fauré, preludes for piano op. 103, my favorite is the A major.

Re the octopus: not sure if you can call it cookery, but it's going to be o-sunomono, octopus, wakame seaweed, and cucumber diced and dressed with mild vinegar. Good for a hot day.

(Also it occurs to me that while the podfic mentioned above is the first one of my own fics, it isn't the first one I've received! We overlap surprisingly little in fandoms so I figured my request for you was best left to your own choice, but your voice is lovely <3)

[trobadora]

Yay for no head/neck pain, I'm glad you're feeling better on that front! ♥

Numbers for fic: 212, 520, 666!
Numbers for music: 8, 77, 101!

(I never use AO3 bookmarks; I keep all mine in my browser. I need a system that keeps the link and the info even if the link isn't working any more!)

[shadaras]

Oh, this sounds fun! :D

Music: 93, 84, 72

Fic: 696, 333, 123

[nnozomi]

You bet!
100: Nurture --> Nature by Petra, Archer's Goon, a drabble with excellent characterization;
200: Don't Be Afraid to Lend a Hand by labellementeuse, Young Wizards, a Yuletide gift for me that's a lovely Kit and Nita slice of life;
300: Swim Until You Can't See Land by anonymous, Rivers of London, how Nightingale and Walid might have met

10: Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Toquinho, Miucha Gravado ao Vivo--ooh, you get a whole album! Also, like, literally the best bossa nova/samba album ever made.
20: Ligeti études for piano, sort of at the other end of the spectrum but interesting
30: Bach Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H., a piece I like so much I once wrote a whole fic (sort of) about it.

[nineveh_uk]

Glad to hear that the neck etc is improved. Pain there is so frustrating.

I am enormously impressed by your fic stack, I really ought to do something similar so I don't lose favourites and can actually find them in future. So... 352 476 581, please.

[nnozomi]

Here you are!

27: The Emperor's Garden, by our own hedda62, Vorkosiverse, lovely characterization and typically excellent garden details...

398: Different Ways of Being What We Are, by Queue, Sunshine (McKinley), post-canon baking magic. Don't read it when you're hungry for sweets :)

601: trentaine des jours, by klaasje, Disco Elysium (a video game I haven't played, but I read some of the fic anyway, and this writer is excellent).

[nnozomi]

of course all questions have to be answered with 42 ;)

42: Pomegranate, by Raven|singlecrow, a gently melancholy and vivid Star Trek fic

211: Rejoining, by DesireeArmfeldt, Elfquest, a lovely fic for one of my longest-standing fandoms (long before AO3 ever happened...)

326: beatitude, by categranger, Lord Peter Wimsey, happy honeymooning with oranges.

[nnozomi]

Thanks <3 My chronic pain-in-the-neck is entirely my own fault, bad working posture... .
Putting together favorite-fic-collections has been a great procrastination method for me over the years!

352: now, in the meanwhile, with hearts raised on high, by lionpyh, Dido Twite (Aiken)--I might have cheated by one or two numbers to get you this one, but honestly this is as good as it gets, perfect canon voice, incredibly well written, deeply moving.

476: Something in the Water, by Sixthlight, Rivers of London, a very silly and enjoyable murder-mystery crossover featuring Alex Seawoll.

581: Broken Bottles Form a Star, by our own china_shop, Guardian: a short, painful, gorgeous gift for me featuring Zhao Xinci, a character I love way more than is reasonable.

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you for the fic recs, I shall explore. And it is at least a procrastination method with a useful outcome.

FWIW, but I found my tendency to poor working posture contributing to neck pain was improved when I realised I'd reached the age of needing computer glasses... Of course this hasn't address the other issues of twisting sideways, leaning over, failing to use a stand properly etc.

[nnozomi]

Thank you <3
(I get superstitious about saving things I like offline...although it occasionally means I can never find the original link!)
212: Two in the Bush, by hazel, The Changeover (Mahy), a funny, loving futurefic for a book I've always liked;

520: a winter's afternoon, Lord Peter Wimsey. Short, elegant Harriet/Peter, really lovely writing.

666: climbing up that coastal shelf, by sour_idealist, MDZS/CQL (I know it's not your fandom, but this is one of the best fics there I've come across--and you know (or have written) my favorite Guardian fics anyway.)

Music:
8: George Walker, Piano Sonata no. 1 (a nice piece by a regrettably little-known Black American composer)

77: Love Walked In, Gershwin, performed by Edward Murray and Isabelle Ganz--personal to me in a way I won't get into in an unlocked post but I'm glad you hit on it <3

101: aren't you clever to reach the Z1L range ;) 地星撞海星!

[laireshi]

I'm glad you're feeling better!

Hmm. 1, 555, 704?

[skygiants]

Extremely fun game! For fics please give me 122, 377, and 655, and for music please give me 12, 48 and 83!

[nnozomi]

A pleasure!
123: Borderlands, by dynamicsymmetry, The City and the City (Mieville), really gracefully written post-canon quasi-femslash.

333: Seven Observations of a Nebula, by Rubynye, Star Trek, an elegant and touching slice of life on the Enterprise.

696: lolol, I have ALREADY recommended this fic to you, it's achray's "My Own Hands Carried Me There." So have another Rebel fic by achray, The One That Got Away, her Yuletide gift for me and a dazzling study of Wang Shi'an.

Music:
72: Schubert, Piano Trio no. 2--I don't know this piece as well as I should but I love it.

84: Elfrieda Andrée, Piano Trio no. 2--how did you get two piano trios no. 2, lol, but I only just discovered Elfrieda Andrée this year and I love her. Lucky!

93: From the Chinese end of the playlist! Zhu Yilong singing 小半, I still can't understand most of the lyrics but I like the song and he looks gorgeous.

[nnozomi]

Thank you <3

1: Terminus, by Aria, Young Wizards--sort of the magical equivalent of a casefic, really nice and delicate and affectionate.

555: Kite, by xparrot, Guardian, Shen Wei gets very high indeed, funny and sweet with just a thread of angst.

704: Also Guardian! Twenty-Four Hours in New Dixing, china_shop's latest (I haven't been through most of the new collection yet but this one I got to beta, so I read a version in advance). Gorgeous worldbuilding and SW/ZYL.

[nnozomi]

With pleasure!
122: The Last Free Soul of Dalemark, by Firerose, DWJ Dalemark; you may well have read this already, but it's a fantastic look at Dalemark-as-history through multiple formats, unnerving and pitch-perfect.

377: Emergent Occasions, by our own linman, Rivers of London, a short fic which is all symbolism and subtext, playful and painful.

655: A Troublesome Charge, by Moonsheen, MDZS/CQL, the first in a series of fics with a central conceit I usually can't stand but this author does it brilliantly, in part by being totally unsentimental on all fronts.

Music
12: Schubert Magnificat, a very short, happy, inspiring choral piece (which I have also put in a fic, come to think of it)

48: Kapustin Piano Sonata no. 1, a marvelous piece by the Russian Gershwin.

83: Moszkowski Piano Concerto no. 1--not quite as delightful as his second piano concerto, but still deserves to be much better known. (Two obscure Eastern European Jewish composers in a row!)

[trobadora]

I don't know The Changeover, but that Wimsey fic is great! How did I miss that in Yuletide that year?!

I do read MDZS sometimes, despite not being in the fandom. Only Wangxian or 3zun, though, or things focused on Lan Wangji or Jin Guangyao. There are vast swathes of the fandom I have no idea about. *g*

I know Love Walked In from somewhere, but I couldn't tell you from where. Either way it's lovely!

And I'm delighted I managed to hit 地星撞海星, getting Zhu Yilong, Bai Yu AND Guardian all in one go! :D

[salamandras]

Congrats on being free of head/neck pain! May you continue to be free of it forever. And congrats on having podfic made of your work! I really liked flamingwell's reading of china_shop's fic, and I'm looking forward to and saving the reading of yours for later today.

How about for fic recs... 67, 435, and 689? And for the music recs, can you share 3, 77, and 101?

[chestnut_pod]

I'm pleased to know there's at least one John Bellairs fic out there!

Thank you also for the musical numbers; I've enjoyed listening to them, and found myself interested in the Fauré piano preludes in particular.

(Thank you <3)

[naye]

Hope the good health thing continues!

I am not really reading fic right now (you know how brains are), but I would love three music recs! 22, 23 & 24 please.

[tinny]

Hahaha! I'm sure those things will be in fandoms I have never heard about. :D I'll try my luck with a few later ones, maybe those will at least be Guardian? ;)

654, 678, 699 ?

I'm sure our music tastes only have very little overlap. ;) I hadn't actually seen this fan recorded version of xiaoban you linked above. I have this (maybe more official?) version on my playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4-x_5JVF1Y

[elenothar]

I'm so thrilled to hear that I'm not the only one who does the excel sheet for fic thing (though, admittedly, mine is terrifyingly sprawling; I've got about 700 items for Guardian alone because I'm a fic hoarder) XD

Asking for 77, 545, 617. I'd also be pleased with music recs, so I'm adding 17, 88, 111 to that.