The Life Series - Blog Posts

I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!!; AND I SHALL BRING YOU JOEL ART

It's kinda funny I wrote the text b4 I even knew he was gonna win

some frames I drew for a boat boys animatic that never was

I’m really proud of how these two specifically came out. The second one is a how they died each time in double life and the first is just em dancing.

edit: I also forgot this one:

Joel was there two but I accidentally deleted the layer I drew him on

I loved the most recent episode of Wild Life. I never would have guessed with all the ominous hints at what it was that it was running away from snails for ninety minutes lol but it was super fun to watch and a super creative concept! My favorite part was when Mumbo and Grian got cornered in the mineshaft and started freaking out because the snails were coming for them.

They’re gonna get you. They’re gonna get you. The snails are coming for you. Teehee.

doodle page of Joel Torreto!

Hello! You asked for characters and numbers so, uh, here's some :D

Characters: Scott, Gem, Martyn, Joel, Pearl

Numbers: 5, 3, 6, 4, 10

Oh my gosh Rain thank you sm!!! I got a drawing ask from deityoftherain I feel so famous lol. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to get to all of them right now, but I’ve got one done, and hopefully in the future when I have more time I can do more of them (I'm particularly excited by the one I have planned for Scott, flower husbands my beloved they were literally my first fandom love, so I neeeed to do a piece with them)

but yeah here is my piece for my number 4 song: Sleep, by My Chemical Romance, with Pearlescent Moon

I wanted it to feel like a glitchy and vaguely haunted old cassette tape, because that’s always what I picture when I hear the recording in the beginning of the song. I didn’t quite manage to capture the vibe I was going for, but I’m proud of the drawing overall. Also I messed up the lyrics slightly- it’s good night not good bye -and it’s driving me insane but I don’t have time to fix it lol. Also 4:42 is the length of the song. Ramble about why I chose red pearl for this piece under the cut (I will admit it was something of a coin flip between whether this song would go to Pearl or Joel, but in the end there was another song on the list that I really wanted to use Joel for. Also Joel would never feel bad about the murder lol /silly) vvvvvvvvv

This song feels so Pearl to me because it’s talking all about how haunted the person feels (technically The Patient from the black parade but I just tried to go off of what the individual song is about rather than the album lore) by all of the bad things they’ve done in the past, claiming not to feel bad and saying their irredeemable, while simultaneously condemning themselves and torturing themselves with guilt. They don’t think they’re worthy of being saved because of “the monsters that [they’ve] been” and sort of switching back and forth between a sort of morbid joy at the freedom of giving in to being unforgivable because they don’t have to search for forgiveness and a terrible sorrow and regret and fear at the destruction in their past, the loss that they caused themselves and are now suffering for, the guilt over the people they’ve hurt. They see no redemption for themselves, and feel both pain at the horrors that set them on this path and peace at letting their worst natures consume them, no longer having to try to walk backwards and instead marching forwards on the path of darkness and, if we tie it back to the album lore, the parade of death. If you have to be there, why not take the lead?

btw I’m still Really Normal about wild life Joel win

Also I have so many thoughts about card symbolism. The guy whose entire gimmick sounded like a very unsubtle mafia family won the casino themed death games lol. Also I maybe want to do a piece that’s a sort of sequel piece to this one because in hearts (real card game btw) the queen of spades is the worst card to have unless you are trying to shoot the moon. Which. Double life symbolism stuff hahahah I’m really normal about well all of this really I love all the life series.

smalletho demolition lovers au?

//CW: Blood

I mean it’s too perfect. Psychopathic bisexual demonic serial killer x depressed emo angelic weapons dealer? I couldn’t resist lol. if you want story context and/or to have a good cry, look up the lore to three cheers for sweet revenge by my chemical romance it’s beautiful and very very sad, which for MCR is also very very on brand. Anyway internet please validate me and my efforts I spent a really long time on this.

I got my mom to do the name them trend this is actually hilarious.

I asked my dad to do it as well, and he just said “they’re all named Fred.” and walked away lollllll

Hello! You asked for characters and numbers so, uh, here's some :D

Characters: Scott, Gem, Martyn, Joel, Pearl

Numbers: 5, 3, 6, 4, 10

Oh my gosh Rain thank you sm!!! I got a drawing ask from deityoftherain I feel so famous lol. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to get to all of them right now, but I’ve got one done, and hopefully in the future when I have more time I can do more of them (I'm particularly excited by the one I have planned for Scott, flower husbands my beloved they were literally my first fandom love, so I neeeed to do a piece with them)

but yeah here is my piece for my number 4 song: Sleep, by My Chemical Romance, with Pearlescent Moon

I wanted it to feel like a glitchy and vaguely haunted old cassette tape, because that’s always what I picture when I hear the recording in the beginning of the song. I didn’t quite manage to capture the vibe I was going for, but I’m proud of the drawing overall. Also I messed up the lyrics slightly- it’s good night not good bye -and it’s driving me insane but I don’t have time to fix it lol. Also 4:42 is the length of the song. Ramble about why I chose red pearl for this piece under the cut (I will admit it was something of a coin flip between whether this song would go to Pearl or Joel, but in the end there was another song on the list that I really wanted to use Joel for. Also Joel would never feel bad about the murder lol /silly) vvvvvvvvv

This song feels so Pearl to me because it’s talking all about how haunted the person feels (technically The Patient from the black parade but I just tried to go off of what the individual song is about rather than the album lore) by all of the bad things they’ve done in the past, claiming not to feel bad and saying their irredeemable, while simultaneously condemning themselves and torturing themselves with guilt. They don’t think they’re worthy of being saved because of “the monsters that [they’ve] been” and sort of switching back and forth between a sort of morbid joy at the freedom of giving in to being unforgivable because they don’t have to search for forgiveness and a terrible sorrow and regret and fear at the destruction in their past, the loss that they caused themselves and are now suffering for, the guilt over the people they’ve hurt. They see no redemption for themselves, and feel both pain at the horrors that set them on this path and peace at letting their worst natures consume them, no longer having to try to walk backwards and instead marching forwards on the path of darkness and, if we tie it back to the album lore, the parade of death. If you have to be there, why not take the lead?

I was thinking about the parallels between Etho and Joel in Limited Life and Wild Life. They need to meet. I need to know how they would react. I can’t decide if they would be best of friends or worst of enemies.

I hear Jimmy’s been getting superstitious lately… :)

this can only end well…/sarc

(This drawing is in reference to the video Jimmy posted of him jokingly praying to a piece of cardstock he had drawn the watcher symbol on, that I decided to misinterpret for fun)

Minus background and weird shading below the cut:

just two boys in boats, boying and boating.

That’s all! (Also I know the anatomy and stuff is real…funky, on this one, but idk life is short and I’ve kinda realized that people aren’t really going to react more positively if it’s more polished, so I figure that making everything look perfect isn’t really a great use of my time lol)

One very angry trip from The Relation before disaster.

(Not pictured : Etho’s knees snapping in half and then he too vanishes)

I love this screenshot so much. Perfectly timed.

extremely late to the party but anyway here’s tal wife smol husband

I forgor Joel’s antenna oh well.

hey guys so this is actually literally my favorite thing I’ve ever drawn so I am in fact going to keep reblogging it.

also in other news fill out the Smallishzine interest form please I need this zine to happen. I need to be in it.

I’ve spent an insert adjective here amount of time crafting a real life!zombiecleo fanart to make a magic the gathering pun that no one in a million years will get.

It says unstitched. I am a winner Cleo truther, and I love the un- sets, and I decided to put those two things together. This also ties into my unintelligible headcannons about the life series. Anyway I hope you enjoyed or at least weren’t disgusted by this drawing of Cleo coming apart at the seams ^^

Alt versions (text overlayed on top, textless and backgroundless) below the cut vvv

I’ve spent an insert adjective here amount of time crafting a real life!zombiecleo fanart to make a magic the gathering pun that no one in a million years will get.

It says unstitched. I am a winner Cleo truther, and I love the un- sets, and I decided to put those two things together. This also ties into my unintelligible headcannons about the life series. Anyway I hope you enjoyed or at least weren’t disgusted by this drawing of Cleo coming apart at the seams ^^

Alt versions (text overlayed on top, textless and backgroundless) below the cut vvv

I’ve spent an insert adjective here amount of time crafting a real life!zombiecleo fanart to make a magic the gathering pun that no one in a million years will get.

It says unstitched. I am a winner Cleo truther, and I love the un- sets, and I decided to put those two things together. This also ties into my unintelligible headcannons about the life series. Anyway I hope you enjoyed or at least weren’t disgusted by this drawing of Cleo coming apart at the seams ^^

Alt versions (text overlayed on top, textless and backgroundless) below the cut vvv

@insomnya777 I’ve been seeing all the posts you’ve been making recently about a very specific duo. I have also seen your pfp. I have also seen the special little guy who is the overlap between these two things. So..

just for you I have drawn them. All three of them. The write adjective here polycule ever. The undeniably something, unclear what thing but completely undeniable. The award winners for most unhinged and simultaneously pathetic group of people to ever have extreme romantic tension with each other. The have (probably) never eaten an american hamburger squad. In other words, the family.

also I wanted to clarify because I was doing all those drawings of Gem and Joel as photos of the way brothers being chaotic that I don’t headcannon them as siblings I headcannon them as chaotic, which isn’t actually a headcannon because it’s already canon. Also have I been spelling headcannon wrong this whole time? lol.

anyway I tried to be all fancy shmancy with the anatomy and Etho’s face was lost in the process but I like how Joel came out looking though, so trade offs ig. Also idk why those arrows are there. Technology hates me. I blame, um, whatever did that.

my mildly unintelligible incoherent rambling headcannons on the life series but primarily wild life and I had more to say but I had to cut it down lol and I’m mainly posting this for personal reference: (be wary, it is a long post)

Wild life is so fascinating from a lore perspective like in the past it was everyone against everyone else, friendly survival but things were just a little bit off, a little bit desperate, felt a little bit out of control, like maybe something bigger was at work here, but you could look the threat in the eyes and kill it and go home…until you couldn’t. As the strings being pulled turned from invisible twine to neon shoelaces and the hand in the shadows was suddenly the title character and every thing seemed to connect, seemed to end. But it didn’t. The watchers were the center the thumbnail the logo the everything mercilessly piloting the story towards the conclusion they desired, and then it was done, the loop back to the very beginning was made, it was finished. But then it wasn’t. What Real Life and Wild Life have in common is this sort of sense of storytelling absurdity, everything is cut short and brief and it’s silly and horrifying and painful (just to intulude here, I am still discussing everything purely lore wise. The only pain I experienced watching either of those things was sadness when they ended) and suffering doesn’t seem to have a meaning a purpose a quiet dignity anymore it’s April fools and everyone is throwing up and dead their bodies won’t listen won’t function can’t fight cant run but it’s a joke haha there’s no story no rhyme or reason it’s just torture and now the ultimate of random purposeless suffering wild cards they can’t kill each other can’t fight each other because every moment is a struggle to survive as the world itself has turned against them as their bodies betray them as they die in humiliating horrifying ways the very fiber of their being the very core of their world something is terribly terribly wrong it is like the order and rules that bound the life series have broken and the chaos of the void is pouring through drowning the code of the world as the players are ripped to shreds by the avalanche, watching their bodies crumble. It’s like the watchers finished telling their story of perfect and purposeful suffering and then pulled the string holding the knot together. It’s like the life series is a pane of glass that they polished to perfection, punched, and walked away, leaving the shards to slowly shatter as the beauty and horror and chaos and glory that makes up the world spews forth to tear it’s broken remains apart. There will still be the games, but now there is nothing pulling the strings, nothing holding it together. Suffering no longer has a meaning, a purpose, a goal, it is simply suffering. How terrifying must that be to have everything that you are shattering, pieces of you like broken glass strewn about as the void bursts forth to consume the ruins and the wreckage of the world.

We know that life series players are alternate versions of themselves, because while Hermitcraft scar is happily building his zoo in season ten, secret life scar is still out there wandering among the sunflowers. I don’t remember if real life Cleo lived or not, and we don’t know if this season’s winner will live on, but let’s pretend for the sake of this ramble being almost somewhat coherent that both cleo and the new winner live. What happens to the new winner (I’ll get to what happens to Cleo later)? The world is breaking, coming apart at the seams. Each new day brings a fresh horror from the void to try to wipe them out. And what about memories? This is where this strays firmly into headcannon territory, but my personal way of imagining it starts at a fairly ubiquitous jumping off point, the idea that lifers during the games do not have access to their memories, but going upon the alternate versions thing they do not remember the games at all. There is the original player, journeying through smps and servers, and then there is a version of them for each separate life series, shadow copies that they are completely unaware of and unconnected to created by the watchers to play puppets with in their perfect dark fairytale. Each life series is a new copy, because every game the copies all died. Up until secret life. They had had their fun, there was no reason for them to kill off the last one, scar, the winner left alive and alone. The og scar and the secret life scar are not aware of each other because og has no idea about the copy and copy wrongly assumes he is the real scar. He regained all the memories from before of Hermitcraft when he won and the watchers broke the game but the way he understands it is, because again the other life series were other versions of scar, he was on Hermitcraft uninterrupted up until suddenly they were all abducted into this game called secret life and they all were driven insane and killed each other and now he is alone. He can’t leave because the copies are bound to their worlds and doesn’t try to leave because as far as he knows there is no where for him to go. Crucially, again, secret life scar and Hermitcraft scar are two entirely different people.

So let’s imagine for this new winner, living in this horrifying shattered world, there are no more watchers to police memories. The copies are still made, the code is still there, the games carry on, becoming more garbled and twisted with each broken game, so that the copies don’t come out quite right, which explains the movement issues and nausea in real life and the way the wild cards go to the very data of the player and twist it in wild life. So this broken copy wins, and suddenly remembers, just as secret life scar did, all that came before, but the game is even more broken so they remember so much more than that. They see all the lives, every version of themselves. They see themselves after, the version that was never in the games, with their friends, living on. The versions of the friends they know are dead, but alternate, happier, more carefree versions live on with an alternate, happier, more carefree version of themselves. Their friends don’t miss them, don’t know they are gone, because they aren’t. They are alone and trapped on a world doomed to slowly fracture into oblivion. Everything is broken. But they refuse this, perhaps. They rebel. There is nothing tying the world together? Then they will escape through the cracks. They will find this world with the other copies. Real life Cleo, who remembers enough to know that they are are a copy, but the game hasn’t fully broken by real life so she is unaware there were other games. Also I’m realizing now that I haven’t really talked a lot about Cleo but tbh that’s mostly because their character strikes me as someone who is unshakable, pragmatic (this is why I think she and Scott got along so well, they both go at the games with eyes on the prize) who would of course be upset but also be rational, and simply try to make the best out of their life) secret life scar, who still believes that he is the only version of scar out there and that he murdered all of his friends. Both stuck on these worlds alone, but this new winner will break through the walls on these servers, and say come on, we’re here, we’re our own gosh dang people, so let’s go take back our lives. Idk where this goes from there but I headcannon that every real life version of all the players had mobility issues, hence the movement problems, but Cleo is the only real life player left so she’s the only one still experiencing these problems. I also headcannon that the new winner has, well, I haven’t actually figured out the specifics but some sort of residual issues relating to the wild cards and broken code.

this headcannon also introduces some interesting lore ties for Grian, and tbh I haven’t thought to much about how the watcher lore would work in this, well ig this is an au at this point, but if you think about his panic at the end of the most recent session, and that he was able to freeze time, it could be a sort of thing like he is unintentionally the one causing the games to continue being a watcher, but in the past he had no control but now he’s been handed the reins with no instructions and has no idea what to do. All the power and no clue how to use it. This also could lead to some interesting things about watching, because maybe in the past he could watch, could see that they were copies, and played accordingly. He knew the other versions would live on so he resigned himself to a certain extent to death, but now there is no path no clear cut story no string to follow through the dark he can’t see beyond the games and he’s terrified.

anyway that’s like kinda my headcannons idk if anyone will actually read this far but if you did thanks. Also I really wanna write/draw something for this, maybe turn it into a proper au, so if u person who is still reading would like to join me on that endeavor I would love to work with u.

I drew a thing. There is a very complicated and unintelligible headcannon that inspired it but tumblr said I was using too many words so I deleted it but trust me it was beautiful.

I don’t usually draw in this style but I wanted to practice anatomy and shading but tbh I hate it but I prefer it like that cause the other thing I’m working on is a drawing of Joel booping ethostrapod on the snoot and it is way less time and soul consuming but I’m way more proud of it and less work for more reward is rarely a good thing so when it is a good thing idk do a celebratory Macarena and have yourself an ice cream because life is short ice cream is delicious and being healthy is highly overrated.

alt versions under the cut because the hair came out to nicely to be covered up by all those eyeballs

I’ve been having a really terrible week health wise so to cheer myself up I drew more of Gem and Joel as chaotic sibling energy photos of the Way brothers. Idk if this genre of fanart has an audience but tbh I don’t really care because I had fun drawing it lol. Also for context for non-MCR fans (psh imagine lol/silly /not serious) my chemical romance is a band, a really good band, and the lead singer and the bassist are brothers and also really silly and there are many photos of them sillying together. This is part two of my drawing Gem and Joel as some of said photos.

This is, admittedly, one of the less silly photos from my collection, but they are usually very silly trust! Og photo under cut vv

Imagine, for one glorious moment, across time and space and what is both plausible and possible, a crossover.

I loved the most recent episode of Wild Life. I never would have guessed with all the ominous hints at what it was that it was running away from snails for ninety minutes lol but it was super fun to watch and a super creative concept! My favorite part was when Mumbo and Grian got cornered in the mineshaft and started freaking out because the snails were coming for them.

They’re gonna get you. They’re gonna get you. The snails are coming for you. Teehee.

a redraw of my very first mcyt fanart!

I’m not gonna show the og because it was truly terrible, but I tried to keep mostly the same elements. It was from when I was deep into my flower husbands brainrot arc.

I was planning to wait to see how long it took for Tumblr to show this to bluet but I’m very impatient.

@bluetbluish wouldn’t want you to think I’ve gone back on my word and not drawn them

also everyone make sure you go like and rebloob and comment on bluet’s drawing!!!! It’s amazing!!!!!!

(Also bluet I reblooged your drawing of them and there was a typo in my rebloob and it has been haunting me for the past forever. I know what the word um means I assure you I am simply mostly uninformed on the uk beyond whatever the British blorbos show in their videos. Just felt the need to clarify)

My drawing of Gem and Joel that I did for Bluet! We’ll see if she finds this teehee.

The pose is based off of one of the photos from my collection of Gerard and Mikey Way having chaotic sibling energy, because yes I will be making everything about MCR until the I-missed-their-concert blues wears off.

(Also bluet if you do find this I saw your post about collabs and I would love love love to collab again sometime but first I’ve got get the thirty wips I’ve got half finished done, dusted, and posted, plus this big project which may or may not happen)

OG photo beneath the cut

! Important PSA for car owners, check your tires, if you find bite marks and gnawing you may have a Tango infestation !

he is coming to eat your car. Feral little goblin man /pos. I’m loving Wild Life Tango’s whole let’s-be-a-menace-to-everyone-around-me arc.

(This entire post is /silly)

some frames I drew for a boat boys animatic that never was

I’m really proud of how these two specifically came out. The second one is a how they died each time in double life and the first is just em dancing.

edit: I also forgot this one:

Joel was there two but I accidentally deleted the layer I drew him on

So, Etho’s new family, huh?

They both gave him flowers at different points in the episode. Gem gave Etho an allium and Joel gave him a dandelion and I think it’s up to us boat boysers to make dandelions, like, their thing. I will be propaganda-ing that so be warned.

My drawing of Gem and Joel that I did for Bluet! We’ll see if she finds this teehee.

The pose is based off of one of the photos from my collection of Gerard and Mikey Way having chaotic sibling energy, because yes I will be making everything about MCR until the I-missed-their-concert blues wears off.

(Also bluet if you do find this I saw your post about collabs and I would love love love to collab again sometime but first I’ve got get the thirty wips I’ve got half finished done, dusted, and posted, plus this big project which may or may not happen)

OG photo beneath the cut

come on Joel! You can do it! Win that series! 7th times the charm! Cause if you lose me the betting pool a seventh time in a row I will personally come and murder you ^^! for legal reasons that was a joke.

…

*shuffles papers* uhh don’t gamble, kids.

(Just wanted to clarify: we don’t bet real money. My sister, a couple of neighbors, and I make a life series betting pool where you are allowed to contribute basically anything but money. Sometimes it’s normal things like a bag of candy or a favorite book, and sometimes someone decides put their 3-D printer on the line. For Jimmy. The printer now lives happily in its new home. Occasionally the original owner is permitted to use it. Anyway it’s all for fun and we all go in knowing there is a chance that we will lose our bets. So far I have lost three different books, the label maker, the rights to pick what’s on tv for a year, and a bag of glitter for Joel.)

also, the reason he has skizz sleeves is because we all like to ruin the surprise for ourselves as soon as we can. Curse you name mc /silly.

You better not lose me my MCR: The Black Parade poster Joel, or I’ll. I’ll. I’ll. Um. I don’t know what I’ll do, but it’ll be real bad. Be scared.

alt versions below the cut vvv