Due to the nature of the series, only spoilers involving the series' backstory in Martyn's continuity will be marked.
Note: Unless otherwise specified, all tropes pertain to the characters, not the content creators that play them.
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The Watchers — UNMARKED SPOILERS!
The Watchers
The mysterious voice in Martyn's head, and the main antagonists of his "Eyes and Ears" continuity. The two Watchers, in his continuity, are the ones who assign and control the Boogeyman, responsible for giving out secret tasks, and are implied to be responsible for the Reds going Ax-Crazy, if not the world of the Life SMP existing at all. They introduced these concepts purely for their own amusement, and get very angry when their rules are ignored or circumvented.- Berserk Button: They hate it when someone tries to ruin their fun or refuses to play by their rules. When Scott tells Martyn on Day 8 that he's the Boogeyman, and that he's going to wait out the session to see if he turns Red as opposed to betraying one of his allies (and ultimately defies the Boogey Curse entirely, dropping him to Red), the Watcher is enraged.The Watcher: He refuses to participate? He mocks us... THIS WILL NOT STAND!
- Canon Immigrant: The concept of the Watchers is taken from the Evolution SMP (more commonly known as Evo), an SMP that ran from October 2017 to November 2018. It was run by Grian, and included many people who are now members of the Life series, including Martyn.
- Character Catchphrase: "Our will be done."
- Cosmic Plaything: According to Word of God, the Watchers in general have varying opinions on different players, but a few stand out:
- They hold a grudge against most of the former Evolutionists who had tried to flee from their grasp at the end of Evo SMP. Pearl is noted to be among this group.
- Other than the Season 2 Day 8 Boogeyman fiasco, they generally hate Scott on principle as he's relatively pacifistic, is a lawful-type character, doesn't lose trust in others easily, and is content to let others take the victory over him.
- Inverted with Martyn, Skizz, and Joel, whom the Watchers are rather fond of — the former for being more willing to do their bidding than others, and the latter two for the chaos they bring as Red Names.
- Emotion Eater: By Word of God, Watchers feed on strong, complex emotions between each season, positive or negative, but prefer negative emotions as they're "better" to feed off of (read: taste better). Once Grian realizes this, he has estranged himself from the Watchers as they're purposely trying to make his friends suffer more, which the Watchers aren't too happy about.
- Exact Words:Martyn: Hold on– no– wait a minute! You said you and your allies will see the end! You said I could bring them all! Impulse, Jimmy, Mumbo, me! You said we'd all join you in the end!
The Watcher: You misunderstand.
Martyn: Ah– nonononono! You told me that if I did everything you said, that there would be a place for us! There was no stronghold, there was no portal, so you couldn't have meant THAT End...
The Watcher: And so...?
Martyn: Unless...
The Watcher: He's learning.
(Beat)
Martyn: (sigh) You just meant the end of days, didn't you? THE end. - God Is Evil: The closest known equivalent of deities to the Life series, who actively feed off of the players' suffering.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Of the Life series; they only appear in Martyn's perspective and tend to operate on a scale independent of the conflicts between players, never intervening physically and at most only via game mechanisms like the Boogeyman curse and the secret keeper tasks.
- In-Series Nickname: They are referred to as "the Shadow" prior to The Reveal of their true identity.
- It Amused Me: Their motivation for creating the Boogeyman, and potentially all the gimmicks of the Life series. They like to watch people turn on one another, and hate it when someone ruins their fun.Martyn: Yeah, cheers, buddy! Thanks for living! One last stand, knowing that full well we'd have to run out of food OR patience eventually! And then what?! We just kill one another?! Is that it?!
The Watcher: Amusing, is it not? We had a taste before. Back in the winter. It wasn't enough! There was something... missing. The adrenaline of war softens the fear of men. Their souls don't ring with the color of panic and confusion as they try to understand what's happening, moments before their demise. It's DELICIOUS. Our hunger grew those months. We waited. And then all it took was a simple 3... 2... 1... and you all obliged. - The Omniscient Council of Vagueness:
- The Watchers are the mysterious forces working in the background of the series and like to speak in riddles.
- There is also an unknown group known as "the Council" which entities like the Watchers originated from.
- No Name Given: 'Watcher' is their group affiliation, not their name. The Watchers in Evo were simply referred to as "Watcher 1" and "Watcher 2", with Grian eventually becoming "Watcher 3"; the Watcher from Last Life goes similarly unnamed.
- Pragmatic Villainy: If a season is too traumatic for a player, the Watchers usually pull them out for the next season so they can heal their souls... so that they can feed on the players again should they heal enough to participate in a future season.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Throughout their appearances in 3rd Life and Limited Life, they exclusively speak in rhyme. Subverted in Last Life, however.
- Walking Spoiler: For Martyn's "Eyes and Ears" continuity. Since it's implied that the Watchers are responsible for the Life series happening in the first place, to discuss its origins will inevitably involve discussing the Watchers' existence and presence. It also makes it quite difficult to talk about Grian's backstory and true identity.
- Wham Line: With one line, the Watcher reveals their own identity, confirms that Evo and Last Life take place in the same universe, reveals that Grian isn't even human, and reintroduces a well-loved character from a five-year-old SMP that has long since ended.Martyn: Just... tell me one thing before I go. Why were you so set on Grian?
The Watcher: Hmph... HIM. He was never meant to be there. He was only ever meant to watch.
The Listeners — UNMARKED SPOILERS!
The Listeners
"There are some who watch, We are those who listen."
A group of otherworldly beings who oppose the Watchers.- Canon Immigrant: Just like the Watchers, they originated from Evolution SMP, specifically from Martyn and Jimmy's perspectives.
- Good Counterpart: Possibly to the Watchers. Both are otherworldly beings, but unlike them, the Listeners use their powers to try to help the players in the death games; however, cc!Martyn has stated that whether they are truly good is up for debate as well.
- Last Episode, New Character: They make their debut in the very last scene in Martyn's Limited Life finale, though they were mentioned once before then, at the end of Martyn's Last Life finale.
- Rhymes on a Dime: They speak in rhymes during their only appearance.
The Secret Keeper
The Secret Keeper
Your secret is...
The giant statue in the middle of the map in Secret Life, and is responsible for the main gimmick of that season.- Ambiguously Related: Not only does the statue has a flipped Watcher symbol, the Secret Keeper also shares the traits of Rhymes on a Dime with the Watchers and the Listeners. Subverted in cc!Martyn's post–Secret Life lore stream, confirming that in the "Eyes and Ears" continuity, the Secret Keeper statue is a façade through which the Watchers speak.
- Eldritch Location: An giant statue of stone and moss with a flipped Watcher symbol in place of its face, surrounded by the sounds of Whispering Ghosts, where the sky goes dark for anyone who gets close enough. It is one of the few things that is able to ignore the Anti-Regeneration that prevents players from healing, and the land around it seems to partially restore itself between the 6th and 7th sessions after taking damage from the Wither.
- Rhymes on a Dime: They delivers a rhyming message to someone whenever they decided to reroll for a hard task.The reward is more
The risk is great
Let me open the door
Accept your fate - Secret-Keeper: Subverted. Despite being named after this trope, they didn't keep any secrets, instead giving out secret tasks which the receiver has to keep a secret about them.
- Whispering Ghosts: Whenever the Secret Keeper gives out tasks, or someone pressed the success/fail/reroll for hard task buttons, background whispering can be heard.
