#I could go on and on about the watchers and their control of the games

[starberry-cupcake]

I'm trying the post-it method and it's really messy but, if it helps, I'll keep it up, because I feel like live-reading doesn't help me out with processing this as much as going back on notes does...god, I sound like palmolive...

previously, in nona del 9:

this happened

this is the general tag for all the recaps I've done

CHAPTER 8 (third house skull, which, I guess, but tangentially)

sriracha girlie from school is still on the case and asks nona to up her game in the surveillance task and pretend she's on a radio call

she doesn't elaborate but I doubt it'd help nona understand much anyway if she does

she's just happy to help

nona has to put little boots in the six-legged dog's feet before going out into the scorching heat, though

it's the summer here, so I feel you, noodle

(bonus info: our new puppy apparently has been aptly named because she has 0 fear and is trying to jump into the pool head first like a maniac)

so nona, because she has no preservation skills either, just like our puppy, thinks is a good idea to pretend like she's talking to coronabeer

she still calls her "crown", but it doesn't make me feel any more ok with her pretend calling coronabeer of all people

wasn't she with BOE and whatnot? what if the enemy is listening?

she invites her to her birthday party on the beach

and I might be too cautious but I know better than to share so much information in the wild outdoors where someone could listen

like 'I'm gonna be in this location at this day, please come steal from me or whatever'

maybe it's just my latine self talking, but be careful out there

how do they trust this girl to not be a hazard on her own?

she's like 8 years old

oh, great, I sound like mercygirl now

nona starts drowsing off and a bible chapter comes in, which people have told me is her sleeping

gonna remind everyone I didn't find that out on my own

that's not a victory for me

JOHN 15:23

"Whoever hates me hates my Father as well" is the bible verse in this one

well, then

I haven't read the bible this much since I was in my second school (out of 4)

so here we are again with dr. reverend emperor john buttface's monologue

there's a distraction tactic possibility to get him killed, if we ever need one

he mentions the eye color change as things get weird with their experiments

and says cassiopeia?? potentially? or cyrus? told him he looked like edward cullen "from that old movie twilight"

like I'm not gonna clock dr. reverend emperor john having read twilight with his own two changing eyes

so dr reverend emperor john the menace and his terrible lyctors start doing awful things to the corpses that aren't rotting

allegedly due to dr reverend emperor john "loving them"

whatever that means

and the corpses remain undamaged

what I'd like to point out here is that these people are deranged and god awful even when they hadn't been 25 million years old

this is them brand new from the package and they're all either terrible or complicit in being terrible

I think cassiopeia is the only one visibly suffering but still, man

these people were always like this, this isn't some "we've been out in space so long we've lost touch with our humanity"

happy out of touch thursday, this is you, this has always been you

dr reverend emperor john starts talking about touching the corpses' hands and feeling them even when they aren't there with him

mercygirl is doubting his sanity

yet still they all followed him to hell, so who's crazier here

they picked two corpses, a guy and a gal, to make more specific experiments on, and he named them ulysses and titania

titania after the shakespeare character

ulysses not after the greek hero

and by controlling their hands from across the room I guess they discover necromancy

he's still talking to harrow through all this

CHAPTER 9 (sixth house skull, but at what cost?????)

sriracha girle tells nona that, after her imaginary phone call with coronabeer, the ceaseless watcher left the building

literally

nobody knows what this means but sriracha girlie is still on the case

then they start hearing shots outside and everyone has their safety precautions but they're all bored about it instead of afraid

wish this was just a fiction thing and not the current world

so everyone gets picked up except for sriracha girle, as ush

camilla comes to pick up nona from school and gets pastries (aka facturas, where I'm from)

camilla is doing the lord's work here

she got them by selling out pyrrha's cigarettes, apparently, which I find a great exchange but I don't smoke, so I'm obviously team facturas

then, we get a nona flashback from a month prior, about the Event which prevents them from going swimming anymore

they used to go to the sea at dusk to have some private time with the water

and by them I mean nona went swimming, because the sea is filled with deadly jellyfish, so they'd kill a regular person, but not nona

she can swim with the jellyfish, which sounds beautiful, actually

the whole swimming description is so relaxing and beautiful and I am hating this heat but I'm grateful for the swimming opportunity it provides

swimming is great

swimming with jellyfish without dying must be great

relaxing moment for 3.5 seconds for everyone

of course things can't be relaxing for too long, this is tlt we're talking about

nona sees some people surrounding camilla and guesses it must be the police

which, in every universe, is a Problem

tons of police men surrounding one woman, yeah, doesn't look great

but I was fine because this is camilla fucking hect we're talking about

no cops at pride, just camilla and knives

nona can't hear their conversation but, at one point, she can hear camilla say "speak House"

which ??????????????????????'

doesn't sound good AT ALL

nona sees one of them pointing a gun and warns camilla, which earns nona a shot through the shoulder

so then, when nona resurfaces, she finds everyone lying motionless and camilla squatting on the sand

and I was like "of course my baby did that"

but then nona looks at her and she's got one camilla eye and one palmolive eye

and is talking like camolive is some sort of dragon ball fusion

they ask nona not to freak out

I'm freaking out

camolive's timer starts going like crazy and they ask nona to drive them home

camilla comes back to herself at this point BUT

she's bleeding everywhere

like, blood coming out of her skin

it's everywhere

nona asks her to get palmolive but camilla says they can't

so nona has to drive them home in the middle of the night with the blood and the salty water and the potential police following

nona thankfully can manage and pyrrha says camilla is in thanergy shock

she says they can never do that again and that if palmolive wasn't sharing a body with her, she'd be kicking his ass

AND I WOULD BE TOO

PALMOLIVE, I SAID IT LAST RECAP, MAN

YOU HAD ONE JOB

KEEPING CAMILLA SAFE

WHAT ARE YOU DOING??????

camilla asks them to not tell palmolive she was "weak"

pyrrha drinks in camilla's honor while she's recuperating and nona asks her why she said goodbye to her if she's gonna be fine

to which pyrrha asks how does she know she was saying goodbye

basically, camilla is not dying but she's also not fine

which I got from the very heavy bleeding, thank you very much doctor pyrrha

if something happens to camilla I swear to whatever god that isn't the monologuing prick in the sleeping chapters I'm gonna go feral

PALMOLIVE I'M GOING TO CHASE YOU DOWN

AND THAT'S IT FOR THIS RECAP!!! I think the post its system is better for me?? I'll figure it out as I go. See you on the next one!!!

[alsnoble]

So people have been talking about how Grian was acting a lot more watcher-y than usual in Wild Life, and it really made me notice how much Grian plays in third person. It’s not even always for strategic purposes either, as sometimes he’ll just be in the middle of a conversation and switch to third person.

I can imagine him getting more used to/reliant on his watcher abilities, and every so often he’ll just open another eye for no reason. Maybe his abilities make him feel more in control, in a series where almost nothing goes to plan.

[infizero]

oh yeah i still havent gotten around to going thru the limited life tag after the latest session, what are everyone’s ideas for how the whole cleo/gem pearl/lizze thing worked in-universe. are they just dressed up as them, are they straight-up possessing their bodies, etc. do we think that canonically the others know it’s them or do they just think cleo and pearl are acting weird. i like hearing different interpretations

[novastardoughnut]

The lore implications session 3 Life Series

right okay... so that new episode huh? Snails...

Now. I think there are some facinating ideas to play with beyond the obvious. indeedy Grian does know everything going in and created the game and its rules and such. mumbo getting mad at Grian for knowing and not telling is also an interesting implication. an idea i have been seen thrown around is Watcher Grian being in the know and not in control. and i like the idea there but we can go further

Grian is LOSING control of the system. we have seen a number of moments here from the last 2 episodes where the pressure and chaos has proven to much leading to moments that went too far. a couple of moment have seen Grian nearly ban or throw around the idea of banning people for breaking rules (even if they were accidents as it was with Jimmy killing Skizz). there's been Grian complaining that "it feels like its becoming a creative server" or "the car its breaking my emersion" (like okay but 1 season ago there was a giant dog-house, and a fun fair. two seasons ago was a giant submarine and a loaf of bread in the sky. 3 season there was a floating heart shaped... house??? and whatever the red velvet keep was... oh and box (who could forget Box)).

it gives the feeling as if these things aren't going (or aren't being received) as intended. as if the pressures of immortal snail chases and constant hunger, make players act in a more frantic erratic and unpredictable manner. thus players making more rash, haphazard and dangerous actions. people cant spend time mining, working on bases or resource gathering because "the snail will find me" or "I need to eat". you end up with rushed and cobbled together half bases or you just get straight ugly looking bases.

I think its interesting that the recording session was only an HOUR of time like... thats not normal at all and in that time there were 37 total deaths. which is an absolute bloodbath. one could imagine that the snails could be themselves an embodiment or manifestation of the watchers now coming to take life PERSONALLY. in previous series i wrote a theory that the watchers are getting hungrier each season and I think this may work well within that wheelhouse.

also grian ending the episode before scar can die again is umm... ahhh... how do the french put it... *screaming and kicking back my legs like a teenage girl talking about a crush*

[imtotallynotthere]

ALRIGHT PEOPLE. SELF AWARE MR. RECA.

For those waiting for the SCP cross over with Still Wakes the Deep, it's coming! Life decided to throw me out of the bumpy car ride and into many curbs.

Now, I don't believe Reca is his actual name, but it could be all the same. For this, I'm going for it isn't and is instead his "stage name."

As a tag states, if anyone would know they're in a game, it would be this man. Without further ado, ✨him✨

I have a feeling that Reca would suspect something isn't right. He'd notice his memories don't date as far back, but he'd probably look at it as nothing. However, when he sleeps (can memokeepers even sleep?), he sees the same scenes over and over again.

It's only until you, the player, play the quest that he finally understands.

When he can't control his speech or movements whenever in the proximity of the Trailblazer(s), he realizes the truth. Those dreams must've been different versions of himself, there's no other explanation. The sound of your voice, however, is what really sells it.

When he first appears, he hears your voice. It sounds far away, but he can make out some words; words such as "suspicious", "eyes", and "this is the scene?" That's the clearest sentence one. He can hear your laughter at him putting the woman from The Family down a peg, you even cheering him on.

He can hear you even joking about how he looked after that. Something about a black and white cat meme picture with a knife pointed at it. He wonders what that's about.

He can feel the eyes of you, the singular audience member to his entire set, watching his every move like he's on camera.

Yes, he doesn't quite like being controlled, but since he can't do anything about it yet, why not dramatize the act more?

His lines are given with a little more fervor. His actions, he finds, can be dramaticized as long as it fits the exact scene he's in. He puts on a show to appease his only audience member watching from the far background.

He can hear your gasp at the reveal he's a memokeeper. The slight laughter at his own silly antics, such as when he takes a picture of Robin and everyone else dancing while Boothill gets dragged into the floor.

And when the curtains fall on his scene, he hears you clearly for the first time; sounding so close, yet so far all the same:

"Who are you really?"

While he wishes to tell, he can't exactly do so. He knows he doesn't have the free will (disgruntled as he is about that), but that's not the actual reason. He wants to keep you guessing.

So, keep on guessing his role. You are the Watcher, as he'll address you, even if he knows your name. You're his special secret and audience member.

He'll see you again once the curtain rises in his next play. Perhaps, he'll be able to finally talk to you and bring you into his next act?

[silly-anon]

One thing I always think about is Lizzie's Secret Life death

Like, it's so abrupt. Sure, it seemed inevitable when she backed herself onto the ledge but the ENDERMAN! I couldn't spot where or when she looks at it. So, here's what I propose.

That enderman was already mad at Lizzie when she brought Scott to the End. Why? Because she planned her death. She broke the Canary Curse on purpose.

After Last Life, Jimmy told Lizzie about the curse and how much it hurt. Lizzie made a decision there and then. She would break it.

Before leading Scott to the End, she set up that enderman. She angered it and trapped it in a mechanism that would release it once she was on the edge.

The Watchers despise Lizzie for this. The only time They took notice of her before was when she made the bet that Joel would be the first red during Last Life. They involved her because of Kingdom Craft, They wanted to get Their hands on her. They realised They couldn't force Lizzie to be insane during Last Life so They forgot about her. But she freed the Canary, she broke one of Their curses.

The assassination attempts during Wild Life weren't just everyone trying to get Lizzie off dark green, it was the Watchers trying to make a new Canary. But they underestimated Lizzie. Now They really want her either dead or under their control.

Lizzie keeps evading Them. She isn't playing Their game, They are playing her's. Lizzie is no fool, she builds an image of herself and drops it when it's convenient.

The other thing They despise about her is the fact that she's keeping Them from making Joel follow the lore. This means They can't get to Joel.

Because Joel wasn't meant to win. They wanted Ren to win, They wanted to show Martyn what happens when he ignores Them. Making him win Limited Life wasn't enough, so They went after Ren.

Lizzie has an obligation to protect Ren after Last Life, so she did the one thing she could.

Be a shadow leading people to their death.

Lizzie breaks the rules, she puts a dent in the Watchers' plans. And she gets away with it. Because she doesn't mess around like everyone thinks. She knows what she has to do.

She took Jimmy out with her. She knew Grian had trapped the bunker but she didn't care because she could get Jimmy out of there with it. She's doing what Grian can't because the Watchers can't touch her. She bows to no entity.

And it's not the first instance of it either. Throughout Empires SMP 1, she wasn't concerned by Xornoth, she barely acknowledged him. And he left her alone because he knew better. She was constantly after the crown when it was introduced and hesitant to follow the others laws at best.

The same thing happened in Empires SMP 2, she made people bend to her whims and she didn't get involved with the crossover. She had her own agenda and wasn't going to be put off.

But she took notice of Tag. Because it showed her how Grian functioned as a runaway. She observed him and deduced what she could use against the Watchers.

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

I have thoughts about the traitor perk in eden's garden, for how just vicious it was. Did she knew it had a time limit for her own death going in? did she accept it and only have that sprung on her after? It's so cruel, so so cruel, and the fact Tozu doesn't even PRETEND to deny it. There's a bit of "well she chose it" but there's not downplaying of like "well i only implied so actually not my fault" hes just like "Yeah i did say she'd die lmao, funny huh?"

It FULLY sets up that unlike the canon games, Tozu isn't pretending like he's fully above the game, that he has to be hands off, and that makes him stronger. He's fully admitting right off the gate that he's not above lose lose situations or playing favorites, he's fully brazen about how obvious it was set for Eva in a way that fully suggests that you cannot break this game by exposing the machinations behind the rules for being forced or lies. Tozu isn't as separate from the players like Monokuma pretends to be, he was fully down for casually showing up on command, fucking with Damon's head, and then leaving, and apparently several others did the same.

You can't even call out Tozu as being an unfair game master because he never really says he is. If he saved a stunt like this for the end it would have been a whole thing of unraveling, but he didn't, he did it in the first real murder and didn't even hide it like Tsumugi did. He's setting himself up as a player on the board immediately, he's not the student's and thus can only go so far, but he's very open about making exceptions and being loose with what he's allowed to do or not do. This isn't the kind of game that requires strict rule following protocol, because Tozu's a player too.

Tozu isn't some far away watching mastermind laughing but required to stick to a script that could break the whole game if taken advantage of, he's right there in the action, he's not pretending he's above the game or that the game isn't inherently biased or weighted, he fully embraces that he's a player as well, just a different player with different rules. Him targeting Eva so heavily isn't a violation of the social code, no more then Wolfgang isolating Eva and Damon was, players are allowed to target each other.

He delights in it even, he loves being the game master not despite being a player, but because of it. Tozu has very little thought that he's built different or untouchable, Grace showed that in the prologue by getting some damn good hits in. Tozu isn't pretending to be the person controlling the pieces, he knows he's also a piece and revels in it. Giving him a kind of power that other masterminds lacked.

He will set traps beyond just motives, he will bait, he will come when you call and adjust the rules to make sure you can do your murder that would totally otherwise break it, he is a potential ally, he is a rival player, he is tangible and real and cannot be just brushed off once he hands over the motive. If you can't figure out how to talk to Tozu, how to appeal to Tozu, if you fail to keep him in mind as a player instead of just a watcher and judge, you will be at an objective disadvantage over those who do, because Tozu knows he is fallible, that rules are imprecise, and instead of pretending otherwise, he uses that fallibility to make himself even more dangerous by embracing it and using it against the group.

[remthegremlin]

sorry im still insane about wlsmp but like so many of the life series “traditions” were broken this season and i think thats just so interesting.

the canary curse is officially broken, no more excuses no more “oh well its been passed on- oh its this doesnt actually count or” yeah no none of that- jimmy is a beast and he did so well he deserves credit for his skills 😤 he got 12th out of 18 so try and canary curse that my boy is a rockstar 😤

most of the fanon interpretation of watcher!grian is him hiding it which was kinda supported by the fact that grian being the admin of the past life series didnt really matter bc he kinda was on everyone’s level- but wild life? he was IN CONTROL. he activated the wild cards he called the end of the sessions he KNEW THINGS other people didnt and oh man thats fucking tasty its refreshing! grian was such a character this season- he fully leaned into the admin position (and for us we see it as him leaning in to the watcher aspect) and people were commenting on it? they knew he knew things when previously it just wasnt mentioned by anyone. im insane about this i love watcher!grian that fully accepts who he is and uses his powers for chaos and fun

the TEAMS- the teams this season were incredibly interesting. we had the bamboozlers who everyone assumed were gonna all go out first bc they were all bad at the game and accident prone and considering the fact that the very gameplay was all out of wack yeah it was kinda expected that the clumsy players would slip up first- but they didnt! they ALL made it to the finale. the four Gs- everyone was making jokes about how they were forcing themselves to stay together and how they were gonna fall apart and it was gonna be so toxic but they were one of the strongest alliances besides gem and joel- and even bigb who betrayed cleo still kinda stayed apart of the team- which speaking of bigb he was AMAZING this season with the creaking bit he had going but also he socialized more and instead of being a total loner he tried being part of the four Gs and yknow what i’ll take it. and the fanart of him skyrocketed this season so bonus points! but yeah the four Gs, destined to fall apart stayed together to the very end and im so happy they beat the divorce allegations. JOEL AND GEM. these two. these two were AMAZING. they truly played to the game- they didnt take things too seriously, they had fun- and most importantly they stayed together. i think what im trying to say here is that the teams this season were just so much fun to watch and it didnt feel like they were held together with tape and glue and i love that. the chemistry was top notch. i just started rambling here but i loved them!! the tuff guys, renwood, and the spanners (???) were phenomenal as well but we already knew those guys have great chemistry with each other. i definitely lost my point here oops.

last thing- wild life was so fun and it feels like the shift in the life series has settled and now everyone is just having fun and i think thats amazing for them. the shift definitely started with secret life- thats where the canary curse was broken, thats where scar won against all odds (the no regen? and scar winning? impossible- but it happened), where grian finally died an honorable death (i say this bc all of his deaths previously he’d been unhappy with- yknow the i dont feel good with scar, dying in a frenzy, dying to a warden, falling to his death- but secret life? he died trying to win a 3v1 and legitimately could have won. if gem hadnt been so high in hearts he definitely could have survived), and grian being the admin was actually relevant bc he knew things others didnt (and that scene where the end portal went off in the court house god that was good food for the watcher!grian fans) where the mechanism of the series was fun and chill and not just about killing, and of course- the tone of the series was fun and wholesome rather than completely hostile like the other 4. secret life was a nice transition to wild life and im so happy that the lifers seem to be having so much fun now.

IN SHORT. i loved wild life! i love how different it is from the other series. and im so glad that the lifers are having fun and leaning in to the insanity of it all. amazing. and this was just supposed to be a little paragraph about the broken traditions but i started rambling. my bad lol.

ALSO JOEL WON! the silliest, wildest man won! isnt that fitting?

[sherlockggrian]

gonna talk about lore for a second cause it's eating away at me here

this is all entirely personal and 80% made up with zero basis other than the ongoing au for hermitcraft/life in my head, btw. Grian has steadily been getting more confident and dangerous with his powers since the end of season 8. He was terribly afraid of them and refused to use them for the first few years after Evo, and it took a long time during season 9 for him to be more comfortable. Each life series he gets more and more powerful and has more influence over the game. He's still not on the side of the watchers themselves.

In season 10, he uses it casually. He sits on the dock and mentally flies around the server to check on everyone. He can jump in and out of worlds and universes. He can stop time and talk to people in their dreams. Pearl has some powers as well, though she is not a true watcher in the sense and thus isn't quite the same as Grian. I was thinking about Taurtis, and how he made Grian and probably Pearl into what they are, and how he's the reason the watchers are so obsessed with Grian and his group specifically - becayse though Taurtis has lost most of what made him human, forgotten his human form and thinks mostly as a powerful entity, he still has this connection and ties to the other Evo players.

Which is why Grian and Pearl want to kill him. Permanently. They cause a rip in the world borders of Hermitcraft, and Taurtis comes to them, and during the fight something goes wrong and Taurtis ends up posessing Grian. He's now sort of two people, with Taurtis able to control him sometimes, but Grian powerful enough to fight it off. This small disruption in the world is enough for the watchers to trap the players into Wild Life.

Grian/Taurtis choose the wild cards. Grian knows what is going to happen, yet is somewhat powerless to stop it. He's in this sort of interal war while also trying to keep his friends alive (and failing miserably). Scar, who believes the canary curse being broken last time is what let him beat the watchers (he won instead of Gem, the one who the watchers wanted), is working dsperately to stop Jimmy from dying.

Pearl is the only one who knows about Grian. She's keeping quiet, waiting for the right moment to intervene again, like she did last season. They always keep their distance from each other because they know they're the ones who can sort of protect everyone as best they can from the watchers, and it works better when they are spread out. Their alliance is very thin at best. Despite their powers, they don't trust each other.

And Bigb, once again, is there to observe. He is not a watcher, or a listener, but something else, a 3rd being that the watchers keep a careful eye on. He could end everything, if he wanted, he wasn't even intended to be there, but he chooses to go along with it, for reasons unknown to anyone but him. He is not allied with the watchers, but he does nothing to prevent their attacks. Nobody knows where he came from, or where he goes when the games are over. He is merely there.

[kitskiis]

I think the saddest part about secret life Joel is just how futile all of his actions are in that season. On a surface level i mean stuff like all of his more careful gameplay being cancelled out by a singular failed tnt trap but on a deeper level i specifically mean how that character contrasts with last life Joel. Joel is undoubtedly at his lowest point in the life series in Last Life. He goes down to red in session 2 and spends the majority of the rest of the season alone (and when he does have allies it’s only bc of a shared bloodlust). The red bloodlust completely takes over and this festers for nearly *8 sessions*. Not only that but the one time he is given a chance to restart and go back to yellow his old alliance member goes to red, leaving him alone again, and he is made boogeyman the next session. This, overall, has lasting consequences (he actually wanted to be fairly friendly at the beginning of LL, a stark contrast to how bloodthirsty he was at the beginning of DL or Lim L), and gained him a reputation that has never fully gone away. This is especially bad bc most people agree that LL was the most violent season (despite the lower kill counts in comparison to LimL) and was generally the worst and most traumatizing experience in the games for most people involved. Compare this to secret life, which everyone agrees was definitely the happiest season for Joel (or at least the most normal. His life is a tragedy no matter the season.) he has allies that (for the most part rip mumbo) stick with him until the end, he is friendlier with a larger group of people, and when he initially has to deal with the loss of some of them he has people who can ground him (bc as much as I adore the bad boys, grian was not qualified to do that). He was so hopeful that season, and was generally in a much healthier place mentally. And yet, despite how much he seemed to have grown, those 2 seasons ended so similarly for him it was almost comical. Joel engaged in a fight at the end, watched his ally get killed by scott, and is then forced into a 2v1 against Scott and another player that results in Scott taking his final life and him finishing 5th overall. I was describing both of those seasons here. After everything he did to grow, after all the improvements he had made, everything ended *exactly the same*

Making this about the bad boys for a second (because I’m me) they kinda suffer similar fates. Grian learned in the most tragic way possible that his allies were doomed to fail as long as he was with them no matter what, that this was not something that he could control by simply avoiding killing them himself. Even when he actively tries to save them (“let Tim do it he needs the time” “Joel you can kill me!”) he’ll still lose them in the end. I think this realization is also what made him stop trying to fight it, which resulted in him killing or almost killing his allies from previous seasons immediately afterwards (stabbing scar in the back and that one scene where grian kinda ominously jumps with a sword like he was about to crit and kill bigb after finding out he had 50 seconds left on his timer). It’s sorta like a way of telling the universe “fine. You win”

Similarly Jimmy. Well. I don’t think I need to explain that one. Even when he was given hope that things could be different, that he could break the curse, he died only a few minutes later. I still hold on to the narrative that the watchers only allowed that to happen to give Jimmy false hope that things can be different only to rip the rug out from under him and drive home the point that he is in a losing battle because by the time of secret life Jimmy was one of the only few people who genuinely still believed he had a chance. Obviously this is not something that can fully be a reality until he goes out first next season so if he doesn’t that’s a little awkward but just work with me here

TLDR; here is reason number 672 on why I believe the bad boys are the most doomed motherfuckers on this server and their alliance is a modern tragedy

[cauli-is-awake]

life series theorising (spoilers ahead beware)

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i like lore and was bored so i compiled this neat lil theory about the life series'.

the main thought in this is, what if it was meant to end with secret life?

and that's why it was so different from the other series before? it was meant to be a big dramatic finale from the watchers and it got fucked up by the players still, and that's why we have wild life -where the watchers are angry and have completely let loose- .

think about it, the really obvious watcher reference in the secret keeper, no more mystery and controlling the games ominously from the shadows, they were directly "we are in control and doing this to you". the tasks getting harder and building up to the final "win secret life" it's so much an order than any other finale:

third life "there can only be one winner" -grian desperately wants to remain in his desert peacefully with scar but is forced to give it up to make it so there is only one winner as the watchers intended. even his jump of the cliff is an act of defiance, killing himself on his terms.

last life "i've spent all season being honourable, im not about to stop now" -scott isn't in a bloodlust like many other players, he is defying the watchers, not by living on peacefully (for he knows that isn't possible) but by having a fair match, being honest and never betraying allies and ending it in a similar fashion, the watchers are furious and strike him down for defying them, vowing to end this treachery.

double life "tilly death do us part" -pearl is given the win by scott. in lore you cant tell me that wasn't purposeful a pairing, and after sessions and sessions of fighting it all comes to an end with scott's sacrifice (already going against the watchers in not going with his soulmate and again by killing himself). the watchers are hoping, WAITING for this full scale fight that never happened. and the worst part is, PEARL FORGAVE HIM. they made up. the watchers are fucking pissedddd.

limited life "this is a death match for a reason" -martyn in the watchers grasps is common is lim life fics, and it leans into that build up of wanting control and watching players thwart it every time, so they full on possess a player and make him win the way they want, with betrayal and violence (even better the players were trying to organise another "fair fight" between the final three). They brought back the boogie, maybe that was there anger festering and they had to cause more chaos and bloodshed and on such short notice just borrowed from Last life? Even the life gimmick of lim life kinda feels like a hint at the near end, time is counting down like the watchers patience and willingness to play, once the countdown (limlife) is over, the finale begins. This time the game ends as the watchers want BECAUSE they interfered, proving to themselves they still control the games.

then we get to secret life and everything is meant to end:

jimmy isn't the first to die (canary curse)

scotts alliance breaks apart (his loyalty is finally tested)

a substantial amount of murder from non reds (boogey apocalypse)

in secret life everything changes

BUT IT DIDNT (dun dun dun)

LIZZIE DIED FIRST BUT WAS STUCK IN THE VOID, CANARY CURSE CONTINUES

GEM AND THE SCOTTS FALL APART IN THE BOOGEY APOCALYPSE BUT SCOTT IS STILL LOYAL AND LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR GEM

AND PEOPLE SURVIVE THE BOOGEY APOCALYPSE, SO THE TASK FAILS

(i could draw more differences but this is enough example for me)

so their big dramatic finale failed

maybe that's why scar lived?

the watchers forgot him in the secret life world in their rage

UNTIL WILDLIFE:

when they are throwing everything at them possible (WILDNESS)

(atleast this time it seems to be working if mumbo's death is anything to go by)

thanks for listening to my yapping ^-^

i love drawing silly conclusions from the series

[burgerrat]

" All it takes is two bad races, and you're out. " - NASCAR: Full Speed

I think it's time we talk about IRL racing a little bit. Because if you know how real racers are like on tracks, Turbo's behaviour is nothing short of common. And another thing that makes me believe that Felix misread the situation since he and Turbo were neighbours and there's a chance he knew what Turbo's ego was like.

In Wreck-It Ralph, when we get a timeskip of the 30 years in the beginning, you don't really see any other racing games. TurboTime was the only racing game in the Arcade.

Do you know what any racecar driver is like? Competitive, EXTREMELY so, and they are extremely pressured- because they have fans, they have watchers, they have their team who believe that they are going to win this race. There's racecar drivers who are so competitive they don't even try to make friends with their competitors, they attack them. They're not there to make friends, they're there to win. And that is what Turbo was made for, to be controlled by a player and to win.

It's not unheard of racecars crashing into eachother because a driver purposefully bumped hard into them. Or getting into fist fights and needing to be separated by their team after a race. And if you're a BIG name in the game and you lose? That pressure I mentioned earlier grows tenfold for the next race, if the racecar driver stays in line and manages to get more wins than losses, otherwise, you're out of the picture in racing.

The Twins being Turbo's competitors in game was alright: they're what challenges the main character, Turbo, in the race, making his game all the more intriguing for players and keeping them interested. Turbo loses because of a bad player? Well that's no issue, it could make the player become more competitive since they will want to practice again, and again.

That competition was fine for Turbo because it never truly affected him. He still had everything, fans, attention, and at the end of the day he'd still win even if he crossed the finish line in 2nd place because he had many players.

But...

What happens when there's another racing game? Another competitor, this one an actual threat, outside of your control? Outside your game?

If Roadblasters remained, the new racing game out of two in the whole arcade, it would've absolutely become the next popular racing game because it's just as competitive, with better graphics, and what of the old school, 8-bit racer in white and red? How many in the arcade would've joked about him being in second place? How many in the Arcade would try to ridicule him, do you think? And what of the competitors themselves? They were racers, same as him. Of course they wouldn't be friends.

The image of a racecar driver is everything to them. The expectation of that person their fans, their watchers, their team, see them as.

If players used Roadblasters, who looked better, than TurboTime, soon they wouldn't see that game in the same light they did before. You can't look at Pokemon Red and tell me it's the same as Pokemon Legends Arceus. New things that look better and have different mechanics can be more appealing to people. And Turbo knew that.

Might I mention again both of these games are about racecar drivers? They would have never become friends. They would've become enemies. A lot of racers that have won on multiple tracks don't go there to make friends.

They race to win. And a lot of them will stop at nothing, even if it costs their life.

[emerald-cobracat]

Has anyone considered how none of the winners in the life series actually get to survive past the games.

Grian killed himself immediately after killing Scar. Scott is killed by a command after winning. Pearl dies at most a second after Scott kills himself. Martin is the only one who survives after winning and even he runs out of time.

The games aren’t meant to be survived, even the winners fall victim to the death that plagues the server.

None of the victors go against this. Except Scott and Martin.

Scott is killed almost immediately afterwords. He’s killed by Grian (I think). Grian is a watcher. Wether he left or betrayed them doesn’t matter. He still has the power and knows the power of the watchers. He knew that Scott wouldn’t die after his victory. He knew Scott would move forward and try to save them.

The watchers don’t like Scott.

This would cause them to hate him. To despise him. To make is so that the games would never be kind to him again. But then Grian kills Scott. He uses the power he once abandoned to save Scott from the watchers wrath.

So maybe the watchers don’t like Scott but they approve of him. He got one of their own to use his power again. They would favor him but they’d let him be. It’s why Scott and Pearl survived as long as they did even if they didn’t team up. The watchers left them alone because Scott was part of the pair. In limited life Scott was doing the best he could and very little went wrong for him. He managed a crazy bucket clutch with the entire server trying to kill him. The only thing that went wrong is him being boogeyman first and even then it just meant he had more time.

It’s also why Scott couldn’t win double life. That would get rid of any good will the watchers have for him.

The watchers want Grian back in their ranks. And so far Scott is the only one that got Grian to use his power.

However Martin doesn’t play the game as he’s supposed to. He betrays everyone and in the end doesn’t play fair. He wins but in the cruelest and most desperate way he could.

Martin also dares to live after he’s won. He dares to not abide by the rules and die. Yes he does die eventually but he had an hour left on his timer. An hour, no winner has lasted that long. What if Martin is doing so badly right now because in that hour he did something. He challenged the watchers or maybe used that time to find something on the server in an attempt to free himself and his friends.

What if he did something so that the watchers couldn’t kill him. They’d have to wait until his time ran out.

They’d hate that.

It could explain why he’s doing so badly now too. Yes Martin might share the canary curse because of him attacking Jimmy but what if it’s more than that. What if the watchers are getting directly involved with everyone because of Martin. What if Martin found something in that hour in limited life? What if he’s so close yet so far to ending the games?

The watchers would hate that. They’d try to stop him.

And what better way then to further control everyone then by putting them against each other with a secret.

I also like the idea that Scott is using his good will with the watchers to learn more about them and try to stop them. During limited life the watchers began to notice so Martin who may or may not have known what’s happening gets involved.

[hydrangeapartridge]

Neve's visit (Manfred learns about rings part 2)

As part of my EmmRook post game collection, I wrote a short fic about Manfred learning about rings (their use in magic but also their symbolism) which can be found here.

Here is the sequel. Enjoy! (could contain spoilers for the end of the game)

(Side Note: all my EmmRook fics can be found on AO3)

Emmrich was pacing. It was an unusual behaviour for him, reserved only to his reflexions on the most complex scientific questions he faced as a scholar. However he was not working now, but the fact remained that he was crossing the living room for the umpteenth time under Rook’s half amused, half worried gaze.

She sat on the meridian, waiting for Neve to arrive. It was the first time they would see her since Manfred bought her a gift; a pretty snake-shaped silver hairpin. If Emmrich had always had a very good relationship with Neve amongst the Veilguard, the prospect of the gift giving visibly caused him some distress.

“I never thought I’d get to experience a meeting with the in-laws while being the in-laws” Rook’s usual jest had the benefit of stopping Emmrich in his tracks.

He turned to her, a slight frown creasing the perfect line of his dark brows. “ Darling, this is nothing of the sort” He corrected her “Merely a reunion with an old acquaitance, in which Manfred will happen to gift a significantly costly jewel to a charming woman” Emmrich was talking with his hands, which he did when passionnate, but mostly when nervous. “People exchange gifts all the time. There is no particular stake in this particular exchange”

So he tried to convince himself. Rook shook her head, a fond grin splitting her lips. She got up and slowly stepped up to her husband.

She placed a hand on his elbow in a gesture that became as familiar as breathing. “Then why are you more tensed than before an important watcher’s assembly?” She teased him, caressing up his arm until her hand was on his stiff shoulder. “We’re seeing Neve. It’s going to be nice. Relax. ”

Emmrich sighed. “I can’t” He breathed in defeat, lowering his head until his forehead was resting against Rook’s.

“If we had more time, I’d offer plenty of ways to distract you” Rook whispered, her lips drawing closer to his.

Emmrich was usually a master of self-control. In the Watch, her learned meditation and breathing techniques to ground oneself, and how to be detached and impassible. But his naturally emotional nature still came back when dealing with matters important to him; more often matters of the heart than of the mind. Matters he couldn’t reason with.

Another sigh, but Emmrich didn’t pull back. “Dearest, you always do choose the most interesting times for your advances” He placed a hand on Rook’s waist and brought their faces closer. “I could certainly be tempted to indulge in you. It would make the wait far more pleasant indeed”

Emmrich’s poetic way with words always made Rook melt. She was surprised her flirting went through but needn’t be convinced any further, and pressed her lips against his in a tender kiss.

If their kissing started chaste, slow and comfortable, Emmrich grew bolder as he gladly lost himself in the distraction and comfort his wife offered. His second hand came to craddle the base of Rook’s skull, fingers carefully threading in her hair as he gently but firmly angled her head to deepen the kiss. His bangles sang as he teased her bottom lip with his tongue, and when she parted her lips, wickedly slipped inside, in a move only he held the secret to, that still made Rook’s knees weak even after years of practice.

Rook pressed closer to him, lacing her fingers behind his neck in an embrace that was only known to true kindred spirits. Together they formed a perfect entity, in a pose that could remind one of the romantic tableaux exposed in Orlais, painted to praise the devotion of eternal lovers.

While he thoroughly lost himself in Rook’s mouth, Emmrich moved his legs with intent so that his thigh ended up pressed flush against her center. Rook’s resulting moan was music to his ears, so promising. Too bad the next thing those ears caught was the sharp noise of a knock on the door.

The two lovers barely had time to step away from each other before Manfred came rushing down the stairs. The spirit made a beeline for the door, eager to be the one to welcome their guest. In his hurry, Manfred thankfully didn’t notice how breathy and flustered his caretakers were. They gladly let him open the door while they recovered from their promising but interrupted tryst.

“I’ll get the tea” Emmrich offered, reluctantly moving away from his wife.

Rook nodded, and after running a hand through her hair to make sure it was still in place, she headed to the entrance to greet Neve.

- - -

Neve Gallus was as always delightful company. Under her strict and cool appearance was a heart of gold. Ever thoughtful, she brought an offering of Carastian candy, chocolate coated treats from Tevinter, that she knew Rook enjoyed (Emmrich didn’t have as much of a sweet tooth as his wife, but he was known to indulge in them sometimes while grading papers).

She came alone, Lucanis being busy on a contract; which was probably better given Manfred’s generosity was reserved to her.

Neve got them up to date with the situation in Minrathous in more detail than she did in letters, and once it was done, they discussed more casual matters: recent activites and funny or scandalous anecdotes. Emmrich, ever the social butterfly, was absorbed in the conversation, but his never ending stirring of his tea told Rook that part of him was still slightly nervous.

At one point, Neve asked about Manfred’s learnings. The skeleton had been quietly sitting beside her, but he perked up when prompted with questions about his training at the Necropolis. While Manfred told Neve a few stories in his own imperfect way with words, Rook wondered if maybe he could be nervous about giving Neve her gift. Wisps were drawn to Neve, and Manfred was no exception. He always enjoyed her best amongst all their friends. But could he have learned reserve after spending so much time with humans?

It turned out Rook was completely wrong about that part, for two mere seconds after the skeleton finished explaining the most recent spell he learned, he announced. “Present for you” And promptly stood up to retrieve the pretty gift-bag he previously hid behind the couch.

Manfred proudly handed Neve the bag, and her usually hooded gaze widened. “For me? Really?” She asked incredulous as she took the package.

“Yeay!” Manfred confirmed and Neve chuckled.

“I’d say you shouldn’t have, but that wouldn’t be elegant of me” She opened the bag and peeked inside before she retrieved a squarred black velvet box from it. “Wow, this looks fancy. What’s the occasion Fred?” She asked, incredulous.

Rook heard Emmrich gulp beside her. She was hanging onto Manfred’s every word, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“To thank you for the coat!” Manfred replied casually.

A beat of silence. Rook felt stupid.

Given the circumstances of Manfred’s purchase for Neve, Emmrich and her automatically connected it to the rings they bought and their meaning. They didn’t even think to ask why Manfred wanted to get Neve a gift, probably too afraid of the answer. It didn’t occur to them either that Manfred could feel obliged to Neve for gifting him a new coat as a reward when he graduated from his first cycle of apprenticeship. That day Emmrich had given Manfred a gift too, Rook remembered; his first ever magic staff. It had been a wonderful day of celebrations.

A muffled chuckle beside her made Rook turn to her husband. Emmrich’s laugh then turned light and airy, relieved and joyful. It wasn’t often that Emmrich was caught laughing freely, and if the delightful sound of it surprised Neve, it sent butterflies in Rook’s stomach. She was grinning impossibly wide as her lover tried to cover his reciding laughter with the back of his hand in front of his mouth.

Neve looked to the couple with a frown but was unable to hide her own smile. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Just that Emmrich was so afraid Manfred wanted to elope with you he almost gave himself an ulcer” Rook offered, voice singing with mischief.

“Rook!” Emmrich protested. The pink slightly dusting his cheeks was adorable.

“We were worried about the intentions Manfred put behind that gift and obviously made a too big deal out of it” Rook continued explaining more seriously, not minding the glare Emmrich sent her.

Neve raised one thick and pretty eyebrow, visibly judging Manfred’s caretakers.

“Well, can I open it now?” She asked, admiteddly a little amused.

Rook nodded and Neve opened the velvet box under Manfred’s undivided attention. He had observed their exchange but didn’t comment on it. Maybe he didn’t understand everything and was more eager to see what Neve thought of his gift than to understand what all this was about.

A little gasp of surprise escaped the ice mage when her eyes landed on the refined piece of jewelry.

“I understand your worries now” She lowly whispered before she turned to Manfred. “You truly shouldn’t have... but I appreciate it. This is beautiful Fred. I love it”

Manfred let out a victorious hiss, visibly happy with himself. Neve undid her coiffure, letting her long dark locks cascade on her shoulders. She took the hairpin and skillfully twisted her hair around it in a pretty updo. She turned her head both sides and asked. “How is it Fred? Suits me?”

Manfred clapped and cheared, making Neve chuckle fondly at his antics.

Emmrich watched the exchange, arms crossed over his chest, but a smile on his lips. Rook let her hand travel to his thigh and inched closer. “Relieved my love ?” She whispered in his ear.

He sighed through his nose before he gave her a warm smile that lit up his rich brown eyes. “Impossibly so dearest”

[bluedragonfairy2000]

Wild life was something!

I’m going to do my own take on the celestial poem. I don’t fully expect anyone to take it seriously but feel free to read over if you want!

Spoilers ahead!

Ok so first off congrats to Joel for winning! I know it probably been spoiled to death by this point but I’m going to be courteous to the people on my blog who don’t already know.

Secondly my take on the celestial is that the later winner are no longer celestial bodies. They represent something else entirely.

The first five:

The Sun (grian), The Stars (Scott), The Moon (Pearl), and Mars (Martyn). Then their is our home the Earth (Scar)

After that we have the explorer (Cleo) and their vessel (Joel).

Now Joel’s is easy to explain, everyone is equating him to his Car since it was such a big part of his series and it feels disingenuous to separate them, hence the vessel, which could be a car or a spaceship, which is exactly how Tango described Joel’s car the first time he saw it.

As for Cleo this one is a bit more nuisances. It feels like most people just write her off or equate her celestial body to something small like Pluto. However, I think we can definitely do something more profound with her.

Due to how off the Real Life series was, what with it’s VR aspects, short run time, and big players like grian being out quickly (first in this case. It almost feels like Real Life is an outlier. Almost like it was the first attempt that Grian did to try and separate the life series from the watchers. First by removing all traces of their powers in real life, and then exerting his own control over the narrative in Wild Life.

For this he was punished, in real life he was killed off first, and in Wild Life he not only had his window curse reaffirmed but they kept the canary around just because they knew it would bug him (P.S this is a joke, Jimmy did real well and I am proud of him. He might have possibly won if he didn’t have grian plotting to kill him)

So for all of the watcher series their an air of finality and their winners get celestial body names. Third life: Sun, Last Life: Stars, Double Life: Moon, Limited Life: Moon.

The only one that feels like it doesn’t fit this trend is secret life, but I think it still counts because it was clearly the series that the watchers partook in a more active role. And the odd series name mixed with the celestial body contagions shows that it a turning point for the series. The watchers and Grian are battling for who has control over this series. As the watchers make the tasks but it Grian’s job to check them and implement them. This is when he realizes he can make the rules now and he no longer at the mere whim of the game.

Thus his games have strange titles Real life, and Wild life. And his winners had names befitting of those from the outside coming in and taking over the watchers galaxy. Joel is the spaceship (Car) and Cleo is the Astronaut (or wander or explorer, whichever you prefer)

They are an astronaut because they are sometimes that is gone in the blink of an eye, just like a human is to the universe, they feel and act out everything they do, and in the end while their life was short they made a major impact on the universe they were in, even if no one knows it yet.

That my take on it at least, if you guys prefer celestial bodies then Cleo can be a comet, here for a short time but going out in a blaze of glory, and Joel can be Pluto, because Pluto is a very memorable planet and I doubt any of us will forget Wild Life any time soon. It has a chaotic orbit, which fits the theme, and it small which both thematically matches his mane and he one of the few people who the crew makes short jokes about.

[inkyquince]

I'm going to make fun of so many peoole who don't like veilguard. Because....

Veilguard is the spiritual successor to Dragon Age 2

Inquisition is more like Origins, and I would call it the spiritual successor if it wasn't sufficiently lacking in other areas

Now there are dumb fucks out there who only like origins or only like inquisition. It's their entire personality when it comes to dissecting the dragon age games.

I like dragon age a lot because each game is a different genre. Origins is depression melodrama. 2 is a comedy that loves to stop and punch you in the gut every now and then, and shows the prime time when your friends are more your family than blood is. Inquisition is... A political thriller that happens to have magic (and the ugliest graphics. Bruh why is everyone but like three people so deep in the uncanny valley. Why is combat boring). Veilguard is getting to see what it feels like to inherit a situation outside of your control, it's more like an underdog story.

"it has cringy dialogue" and you don't remember origins? You think bioware doesn't dish out cringy dialogue for each game?

"the art style-" is STYLISED. Origins is good looking for graphics that feel outdated for 2009. But it's not realistic looking. 2 had it's budget slashed viciously so it does look wonky especially with their cameo characters. Inquisition, as I've said, feels deeply ugly because there is nothing stylised about it. They went for realistic and now everyones inquisitor is kinda ugly, sorry. People enter the uncanny valley, they always look better in concept art. The three prettiest people we have is Dorian, Cassandra and Josephine. Everyone else enters the uncanny valley of WEIRD looking. It's busted and I'm sorry. Veilguard? Fuckin stellar stylisation. The art, the environments, the magic, is so goddamn pretty.

"you cant control your compa-" yes you can. You can make them attack. Why are you sad about missing out on inquisitions boring combat where you press R. Wow. Amazing.

People have rose tinted glasses for these games. Play them from the first to the last game and I'd say veilguard is FULLY one of the best. I saw some loser on tiktok scream about the iron bull's signature being EXPLAINED in text and not shown?? Saying 10 years and for what?

10 years for a play through, start to finish, took me 55 hours doing ALL of the quests and exploring. From the amazing character creator and the hair physics that inquisition, 2 and origins could never make work. From the beauty of the backgrounds, how each location feels deeply lived in, compared to inquisition where new environments felt plastic and not real. For a finale that had me crying for 20 minutes at the choices I made and knew would make again. For the reveals, for the conversations, for the natural ending for Solas. I only cried in origins after my warden died. I teared up at Hawkes mother dying. Inquisition got no tears from me.

I'm sorry that you're hung up on small details. I have complaints too. Maybe a better fantasy term for trans and non-binary, but honestly the conversations that we're able to have about them? Deeply lovely. I personally wish that one day we can go back to the origins start, where we spend around 20 minutes IN our origin and then go frolicking. I'd kill to see that with the mourn watcher and crow origin so we can be excited when we see them again when we revisit the important NPCS. Personally do want the Lucanis romance to kick off earlier in the game, but he is one of the hardest ones to romance for good reason and it made sense for the character. I miss importing decisions but to be fair, the choices I made in origins wouldn't have shown up that much in veilguard, except maybe Kieran being in the background of some scenes at a stretch, but mostly for inquisition and Hawke. Varric obviously sees a lot of Hawke in Rook (just look at the dialogue wheel) and I wish we got to hear Isabella talk about them.

But these are so little. I have way more complaints about inquisition but I will still play it. I can acknowledge the flaws but if you hold it, or origins on a pedestal, that's just embarrassing for you, that you're stuck on a game, instead of being stuck on the series, in an excellent fantasy setting that keeps being expanded on.

Veilguard let's us say goodbye to Solas in the best way. There was NEVER going to be a happy end for him. Stop deluding yourself that the inquisitor and Solas would have rode off into the sunset. It's frankly embarrassing that themes from inquisition and veilguard flew over your head if you beloved that.

I've seen this same anguish over a sequel and it was for 2, after origins. Now 2 isn't the perfect game. It doesn't even have a proper title. But 2, a decade later, is well loved. It's full of jank, it's got strange coding, but the story has a lot of love. But it wasn't origins, so fans wailed and pissed. But it's a fan favourite these days and Hawke is deeply beloved and remembered fondly to the point that the possibility of their death in inquisition made an impact.

So, basically, get over yourself. None of these games are perfect and yes it took 10 years but I love it. I get to play as a crow for the first time, a faction I've loved since Zevran was able to rizz himself out of being killed. You can play as a Warden again, for the first time since Origins. Griffins are back and they're adorable. Their quest is heart breaking and anxiety inducing. You can play as new factions, ones we didn't fuck around with before, the shadow dragons, the mourn watchers, the veil jumpers. We get several amazing romances, that feel in character. Everyone is bisexual again but have clear preferences. Bellara has a preference for women, Emmerich has a preference for men, Lucanis has Never being in relationship. Taash and Harding might get together, Lucanis and Neve might get together. We get a companion that's trans, we GET to be trans for the first time. In inquisition we have krem but the developers never thought we would want to be trans, so I will happily take what we can get. Could it be better? Always. But I'm not stuck in 2014.

Take off your rose tinted glasses and go fuck that old man and maybe you'll lighten up.