#bigbs betrayal to cleo lives in my head rent free

[whereispearlescentmoon]

My thoughts on Billy are this:

Pearl has no named pet in Last Life. She had a wolf army but only two survived with her to the final fight, she didn’t react very much when they died, and she never named any of them. She used them to great effect for killing, however, which is a lesson she would bring with her into DL. She did utilize them to help Ren kill Cleo, which… cycles and all that. “We want to kill Cleo and then we can reconnect the three Gs” lives in my head rent free. The only other pet she has is her two axolotls, which she does not name and both of which Joel kills.

I don’t know that Pearl has ever really connected to an animal the way she connected to Tilly because she hasn’t been alone since Double Life. Tilly was her lifeline because she was all Pearl had. She was her soulmate because no one else wanted her. She was the only living being who Pearl could rely on. And both times losing her were devastating to Pearl. The first time, it kicked off the Scarlet Pearl arc, and the second time it spurred on her rampage towards Impulse and Bdubs, and Cleo and Martyn. She had her wolf pack because when you can’t count on allies to fight beside you, to protect you and want you to live, you have to be able to count on something.

This is in contrast to every series since, where Pearl has largely kept her animals tucked away in her base and where her pets have been more important in the way they help her interact with other players than anything.

The first thing Pearl says to Froggy is, “I found you! Hello! This is gonna be my friend of the season, in animal form”, because she wanted to be prepared in case she was alone again. And then said “You are my love. If you die, I don’t know what I would do,” because again, she was thinking about what happened after Tilly’s first death. She was preparing to need animal companionship in lieu of players, but then she found BigB.

Froggy stayed at the bottom of that pit trap for the rest of the series if I remember correctly, and Pearl hardly ever moved her from that one corner of the tower even before that. Why? Because she had BigB to bounce off of, and because, frankly, cats just aren’t as useful as wolves in Minecraft. You don’t get a cat for protection, unless you’re really that scared of creepers. Pearl wanted a companion from Froggy, not a warrior. She didn’t want to risk losing something dear again, so when Froggy falls into the pit trap that kills Pearl, that she herself set, she leaves her at the bottom.

Mailbox and Matchbox were closer to the kind of companionship she had with some of the wolves in DL, but certainly not Tilly level. And again, she didn’t want to risk losing them, which is why they stayed tucked under her base near the skeleton farm. It’s why her main concern when the wither and the warden were out was to get three things underground: Matchbox, Mailbox, and Bdubs. She didn’t want to lose any of them.

However, the most important thing about her wolves in SL, to me, is how they affected her interactions with other players. For one, they were the catalyst for the “Pupper Alliance” with Cleo. Pearl doesn’t play the social game, so she often takes alliances in situations of when you can materially help each other, rather than out of friendliness. Needing bones to tame wolves gave her a material reason to ally with Cleo. It also meant that we got yet another Cleo and Pearl betrayal when Cleo killed some of Pearl’s wolves later on. The other is something Pearl actually said in her episode today. She knows how powerful a wolf army is, it’s a large part of how she won Doible Life. Which is why when it came down the wire, because she had no intentions of winning, she left Matchbox and Mailbox at home and sat down her wolves so they wouldn’t hurt Gem. That was Scar’s kill, his fight with Gem. It’s probably the most literal example of her wolves taking a backseat to her companionship with other players.

In Real Life, she was just doing it as a joke and because she wanted to pet a Minecraft wolf in VR (which I respect so hard) and thus I have no analysis lol.

As for this season, it seems like Pearl’s theme this whole season has been “trying to live up to what people think I am, even though I’m not that anymore”. It’s why it’s kind of funny that she keeps trying to do the cool Scarlet Pearl killer thing and failing miserably. And it’s why when she comes across the wolf in episode one, she goes out of her way to not only tame it, but name it something so close to Tilly (yes I know she was likely also playing into the Tilly Milly thing). But just like with Froggy and just like with Matchbox and Mailbox, her main priority is keeping them safe, not with using them to win. She doesn’t want to win, she’s here to have fun!

Losing Billy isn’t devastating to Pearl because, unlike in DL or LimL, she doesn’t really need the wolves for emotional support, and unlike in LL, DL, or SL, she had no intention of making a dog army because she has no intention of placing high. Pearl has literally said she wants to see a top four of people who haven’t made top four before (and Impulse lol), which as the only person who’s ever made top four in all of her seasons (4th, 1st, 4th, 2nd), is a pretty big tell. She was trying to keep him safe by not moving him, but like she said to Joel, everything dies in the Life Series.

I would also like to point out, Pearl has only ever named two of her pets entirely on her own, Matchbox and Milly. Martyn named Tilly because she had accidentally trampled some wheat (tilling, get it?) She named Froggy after the frogs that BigB had said were his family, because Froggy was hers. Mailbox, if I’m remembering, was a Bdubs idea. Matchbox was only named because Pearl kept accidentally calling Mailbox Matchbox so she decided to just name one of her other wolves. Milly was a joke that Pearl came up with. And Billy was Cleo’s suggestion. To quote Pearl when she found Froggy, “I don’t know what I’m gonna call you yet. We’ll find out. You know usually we kinda figure these things out when we go talk to somebody,”

[sleepyy-dakota]

MCYTtober Day 6

Betrayal

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Prompt list made by Me

Sorry for no drawing yesterday I got extremely sick

[desolationcleo]

re: the flower crown post

tell me more, also what minecraft flower language post

This Minecraft flower language post! For those who do not wish to click a link, it's a headcanon post that MC flower meanings are based on the effect a suspicious stew gives, which lives rent free in my head and has affected my fanart and headcanons and is also how I memorized suspicious stew recipes

It has also led me to mentally weave flower crowns for every Lifer. As you did not ask about a specific character, I will go with Cleo.

Daisies: For love!!

Blue orchid: And on that note, anyone else remember when Cleo gave Bdubs a blue orchid in 3L? Yeah that lives rent free in my head

Lily of the valley: Bitterness and heartache. Not bad for someone who's been divorced roughly 4 and a half times.

Cornflowers, azure bluets, and dandelions: they're what I headcanon her canon flower crown(s) in the first 3 seasons (at least as a green/yellow life) to be made of. In the case of the cornflowers, they're also for shock and sudden betrayal, and because of the cornflower in Double Life.

Poppies as well as normal and wither roses: The red life version of the above. Additionally, poppies here are a threat or "watch your back" (Cady time to turn and cough because you took me down but you didn't finish me off). Roses were left for her in her base by BigB with an "i'm sorry" sign, and of course they're also a reference to "dress me in red and throw your roses" from another one of Cleo's numerous theme songs. Wither roses for death, hatred, murder, and intent to kill, also being the decay flower fitting an undead. (all of that minus the apology sign is Why I headcanon her flower crown as a red life to be made from those 3 flowers btw)

Pink tulips: man I love that the flower language headcanon post has pink tulips mean codependency

Alliums: Used here to mean protection and a wish for someone to stay safe. Trying to give Bdubs a golden apple that one time, giving him and Scar armor and food out of concern for their safety later on...

On one side of the flower crown is a single sunflower, resembling the one on her canon crown in seasons 4 and 5.

Because I associate cornflowers with Cleo a lot, the front of the flower crown has a central cornflower, with crystals arranged around it like leaves. Scattered throughout the rest of the flower crown are a few more crystals, and in the back is a ribbon. (This part is inspired by a design headcanon post about LL!Cleo that I have incorporated into my belief system)

[sleepyy-dakota]

Now we're up to date on the Hermittober drawings, here's today's! Day 11, Curse.