#zjo

28: A song by an artist with a voice that you love

I have been trying to narrow this down for sooo loong but suffice to say I know who I pick there’s just too many songs to choose just one that is perfect. They’re ALL perfect! This artist has an insane vocal talent, capable of singing delicate and impassioned ballads, and in the same turn growling strong anthems alongside thick rock guitar. I think I will choose these two songs because they encompass a broad spectrum of his skill, but I highly recommend flipping through some of this bands tracks as their songs have a lot of variety! Nothing But Thieves: Real Love Song If I Get High * (* I love the original, but the alternate version on EP ‘II’ is also a v good stripped version that focuses on his voice!)

30: A song that reminds you of yourself

ok I just suck at picking one song, clearly, but here are two: Houndmouth: Sedona As someone who works in the film inudstry ‘little hollywood’ is a nickname that resonates, and this song captures the vibe of all the ups and downs that come with the chaotic lifestyle that comes with my career. I do blast this and yell along to it in my car when things are going particularly tough because it always puts me in a good mood.

AJR: Christmas in June this band has a ton of very relatable lyrics and I love singing along to their boppy melodies about all the things no one talks about but most people feel. Very cathartic. This song in particular hits home because of aforementioned career. I have to put my personal life on hold for 8 to 10 months at a time, which means I miss out on… a lot. Weddings, births, birthdays, funerals, and all the little day to day mornings and evenings with my loved ones…(yay 80hr work weeks) it all goes out the window for huge chunks of time, and even when I do make plans my ever-changing schedules of a film production make me flaky when I have to cancel on friends and family last minute because of reshoots or extended hours. Just last month I had to cancel on my grandfather three weeks in a row due to work conflict. Wanna hang out? My current next free hour for a phone call is three weeks away. Fun!

(five years later.....)

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? Ok I have 2 that really surprised me!

Keep Me Closer I wrote this thing in a few sprints and didn’t try too hard with it. Well, it compltely blew up (also thanks to some high profile people in the fandom really liking it and promoting it) and it’s by FAR my most popular fic. It kind of makes me cry because of how little time or effort I put into it vs some of my other fics that I slaved over and never got half the traction, but that’s life!

alsoooooo

Your Pain (is mine now) I wasn’t sure this one would be well recieved becuse things kind of ‘fade to black’ before the real fucking begins, so instead of a Porn Without Plot it’s more like Plot without Porn… oops??? I mean it’s definitely still explicit in the lead up, but it deals so much more with the emotional moment and heaviness than the sexy actions and I didn’t think it would get much attention. I was wrong! People loved that aspect of it! The immense positive reaction I got to it actually inspired me to write another fic exploring similar themes, and so far that one has gotten super huge positive feedback as well. I was surprised but pleased to see how many people like a heavy dose of angst served alongside their smut :P

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

Curbside ok I actually adore this lil fic. It was more born from a sprint where I just sunk into the emotional moment and I loved the way I felt when writing it. I was listening to ‘call my dad’ by AJR on repeat and I didn’t grow up with a dad but I’ve felt that - when you’ve made bad life choices and everything is shitty and you fucked up, and you just want a protective figure to come save you and tell you that despite all the wrong choices you’ve made, everything is okay and they still love you - but alas Louis also does not have a true father figure in this fic, so instead of a saviour he has a toxic relationship to take his bad choices to another level. I always wanted to continue this into a full blown ‘co-dependant toxic relationship’ series but I never came back to it. Perhaps I will in the future because that is a dynamic I think is super juicy!