#(I can’t talk about Joel & Etho without also talking about Joel & Lizzie or Etho & Bdubs.)

[solsays]

Lifers x Crane Wives

I saw someone comment on a life series TikTok or something to try and pair all of the lifers to a crane wives song, without repeating songs. so obviously I spent an hour doing it

Grian—Tongues & Teeth (self explanatory if you’ve EVER heard this song)

Scar—Steady, Steady (this whole song is about how their partner is walking out but they still want to be “wild and free” which is just SO Scar coded)

Tango—Ancient History (he keeps teaming up with Skizz and I feel like this song vibes with that, it also just feels very Tango)

Skizz—Icarus (this man always gives himself up for his teammates I swear, and he fuels them to keep going. It also says “oh brother, brother” which feels like Skizz talking to any of his teammates to me)

Impulse—Allies or Enemies (Impulse has been very iffy on a lot of his alliances throughout the seasons, especially in third life and with the amount of playing all sides that man has done this songs feels right)

Cleo—The Glacier House (this. this is literally just her leaving Fairy Fort. The song is talking to/about her from probably Lizzie’s perspective, but like the last line is 100% as if Cleo was speaking)

Bdubs—Unraveling (Bdubs relies so heavily on his teammates, and when he doesn’t have that stability *cough* Etho *cough* he just kinda doesn’t know what to do so this song fits)

Mumbo—Keep You Safe (this man is by no means an aggressive/reckless player [see: Joel or Martyn] and he feels like he’s just here for the vibes and honestly? Love that for him. This song is about fear not keeping you safe and watching your friends run high risks, which just is very accurate to how Mumbo plays this series. I also feel like he could fit Rockslide when he goes red cause he goes from standstill to “drop dead sprint” in terms of aggression)

Lizzie—Shallow River/New Colors (Lizzie is the only one I put as two because both of these songs are just so fitting. Shallow river—“wasted all for the title, wasted all for the crown” reminds me of Lizzie trying to kill Scott and ending up dying herself instead. I also feel like parts of it could be dead Lizzie talking to Joel, the only person who is really mourning her. New Colors—“don't tell me that I can't, I need this“ and “I give up my air, to breathe” also feel very accurate with how she is trying so hard and just keeps failing )

Jimmy—Canary in a Coal Mine (no further context needed, we all know Timmy)

Scott—Little Soldiers (this is very flower husbands, but also just feels like Scott looking back on the last seasons including Pearl, Jimmy, Martyn, all his reluctant exes. Also this man is the watchers’ like least favorite person ever and this gives that vibe)

Pearl—Ribs (i changed this from New Discovery because Ribs is entirely about somewhat angrily protecting and helping yourself because nobody else would, and it really strikes me as Pearl with the some things having been good (Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss) and some being bad (divorce quartet))

BigB—Not the Ghost (this man is so incredibly odd, he just constantly feels like he is being haunted by the watchers and just going about his life, he is the human personification of gaslight and we love that for him)

Martyn—The Hand That Feeds (he HATES the watchers with every ounce of his being, and with Ren gone I think this guy’s only purpose is just to spite them)

Joel—Sleeping Giants (go listen to it. That’s all there is to it, it just feels very Joel-ish, this lad is absolutely fucking mental)

Ren—Once & for All (this song feels like war and being betrayed, and Ren has been betrayed so much so it just fits. I mean come on “my blood’s forever on your hands” tell me that isn’t 100% something Ren would say)

Gem—Show Your Fangs (Girlboss moment, we love Geminislay. This woman is not someone to be underestimated and this song very clearly says that so it’s very Gem in my head. She doesn’t have enough lore yet to make it angsty but ONE DAY)

Etho—Never Love An Anchor (I can’t explain it, this song just has Etho vibes. I mean “It’s a secret I keep tucked inside my chest” just seems very him, I can’t really tell you why)

[verdantglow]

Okay so.

1. Omgomgongogogmg I am legit so overwhelmed (positive) by how much hype I’m getting here! Like I seriously cannot express how !!!! it is to know someone is as excited as I am about this!!! Nya, you 100% are its biggest hype man & I am so here for it.

2. I am cackling at you thinking of Joel. I’d say I was sorry for giving you the AU brain rot, but I would definitely be lying lol.

3. I have literally never had the patience to even write an outline before omg I seriously do not know how I am doing this. (Turns out even partially treating my ADHD makes my brain work better?????)

4. I love the path of your bfop au fics! I definitely wouldn’t say they’re all over the place.

5. You are very much enabling me wrt word count & chapter length haha. I’ve always been told I am can be a little verbose, but like. Sometimes you need over 1k words to properly convey the miserable, excruciating, never ending experience Joel had while waiting in the Apple Sore???? Like I really need the reader to understand how bored & also pissed this dude is. For. Reasons. Character building. Yeah. That.

6. HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT An AU of my AU????? That’s…. DUDE I cannot wait to see what you’ve got planned!!!! AAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Yesterday I decided to let myself get started on the actual prose for this fic from the beginning.

Today I finished writing chapter one.

Y’ALL.

It is 6.3K long.

And I stopped part way through what I had outlined for chapter one because I realized if I kept going, this chapter was gonna be like 10k+, and maybe that’s Too Long.

There was supposed to be at least two more scenes in this chapter.

This is gonna be CHONKY.