Inside The Storm — Talking Ghost Bear: Flash Storm with Chris Lowrey

In perhaps the greatest example of my prognostification being utterly incorrect, MechWarrior 5: Clans is getting a Ghost Bear DLC after all! Ghost Bear: Flash Storm will have players take on the role of a Star Commander within the Silveroot Keshik as the Ghost Bears fight to regain their honor as the most powerful of all the Clans after falling behind their rivals during the Clan Invasion.

Not only will we get a new 12-mission campaign, but we’re getting new ‘Mechs, new pilots, and Elementals to command. To get the lowdown on what’s coming in Ghost Bear: Flash Storm, I once again spoke to Narrative Director Chris Lowrey at PGI in an email interview.

Sean (Sarna): Let’s get the obvious question out of the way: why a DLC about Clan Ghost Bear? 

Chris Lowrey (PGI): Quite a few reasons, but from a narrative point of view, it comes down to where the Bears are within the invasion timeline, as we will be introducing players to the Ghost Bears when they are at one of the lowest points in their history as a Clan. 

Back at the turn of the millennium, the Ghost Bears were the top dogs and the strongest of the Crusader Clans. Which led them to be the first Clan to call for an invasion of the Inner Sphere. But in the years since the Dragoon Compromise, their fortunes changed, and the early stages of Operation REVIVAL had been nothing short of disastrous for them. A series of unfortunate bids saw them lose the opportunity to take key worlds like Santander and Rasalhague, insurgencies on worlds like Thule that saw them needing to divert personnel away from the front lines, and a massive bungling of their logistics chains that saw them constantly struggling against their own strained supply lines. In every metric that mattered to the Clans, the Ghost Bears had fallen behind all the other Invading Clans by a wide margin.

The final straw broke on Last Frontier when the green First Freeman fought Ghost Bear’s elite First Bear Guards and Silveroot Keshik and inflicted heavy casualties against what should have been a vastly superior Bear force—including the eventual death of saKhan Theresa DelVillar. 

DelVillar’s successor, Aletha Kabrinski, used her first act as saKhan to call for a no-confidence vote against Khan Karl Bourjon, laying the blame for Ghost Bear’s poor performance squarely on his inept leadership—a vote that ultimately saw Bourjon ousted as Khan, and Bjorn Jorgensson called up to replace him. 

When the Clans are recalled to the Homeworlds after Leo Shower’s death, the Bears are likely the only ones to appreciate the halt in hostilities, as it is an opportunity that Bjorn and Aletha take to wipe the slate clean and get the Ghost Bears back in the game. 

This is the Clan that the players will find themselves introduced to when the campaign picks up.  The Clans have returned to the homeworlds, Bjorn and Aletha are looking for ways to get the Ghost Bears back on track and solidify their hold on the Bears after both of their relatively recent ascensions to the Khanship. 

When the newly elected ilKhan Ulric Kerensky presents them with an opportunity that the Bear Khans can’t pass on, Aletha and her Silveroot Keshik—whom the player’s star is a part of—are deployed on a mission to secure the Bears the means to right their ship before the invasion of the Inner Sphere resumes, and take part in a story that sees the player strive to satisfy the lofty ambitions of the new Bear Khans in securing what they believe to be the Ghost Bear’s true legacy within the Inner Sphere. 

Sean: MechWarrior 5: Clans gave us the fascinating perspective of a Smoke Jaguar warrior during the Clan Invasion struggling with their duty to their Clan and the atrocities that same Clan committed. What will be different from the perspective of the Ghost Bears?

Chris: A lot will be different. The primary goal of the story of MW5: Clans was always to introduce the Clans to a new generation of players who have never played a MechWarrior game before. 

So, a lot of our story decisions around the base game of MechWarrior 5: Clans were driven by two major bullet points:  

• Introduce the Clans, their society, and the story of the invasion in a coherent way for those unfamiliar with the BattleTech universe.
• Support the ultimate design goal of giving the players an ending-altering choice going into the finale of the game (Just like MechWarrior 4 did). 

Not only to establish stakes, establish the reasons for why REVIVAL happened in the first place, and present the story of the Clan Invasion in a way that was easy enough to understand, but also introduce a unique, but complex faction that is very difficult to just “jump right into” for those who are not already familiar with the franchise.  

As an example, as much as talking without contractions is seen as a very fundamental character trait of the Clans, to many, it sounds beyond strange. Not only does that make it difficult for the actors to perform having to change their speech patterns in a very unnatural way, but to those coming into the setting fresh, it can also come across as if the lack of contractions was the result of a script written by an ESL speaker (an actual note we had during production that had some calling for us to just not bother with that particular tick given the headaches it caused). 

This is why we decided to have our principal cast be a bunch of very young teenage sibko members to ease with the onboarding of all these goals. Why Liam used contractions as a way to not only rebel as a part of his character, but also to call attention to why the Clans as a whole have those strange speech patterns in the first place, and why Naomi was there to be a window into the minds of veteran Clan warriors instead of sticking with a full cast of naive sibko graduates. Sure, we wanted to tell a compelling story, but we also needed to tell a story that anyone could follow along with, regardless of their exposure to the rest of the IP. 

Ghost Bear: Flash Storm will be very different in this regard.  As far as we are concerned, we’ve done our job of laying the groundwork for newer players to understand the Clans through the Smoke Jaguar campaign. And now, we can dive right into a Clan-based story from a perspective that will be very different from the base game, but very familiar to those who have read the novels—the viewpoint of veteran warriors at the top of their game. 

The Silveroot Keshik isn’t your typical frontline Trinary; It is the honor guard of Clan Ghost Bear’s saKhan, Aletha Kabrinski. One of the most prestigious postings in the Clan and typically reserved for only the most decorated warriors who are fully devoted to the Ghost Bears and the saKhan’s vision of their future. And that will be reflected through the story of the campaign. 

Sean: MechWarrior 5: Clans also set the bar pretty high when it came to cinematics and voiceover work. Will Ghost Bear: Flash Storm continue to have the same high-quality cinematics and voiceover as the base game? Or will story content be more limited to briefings and in-mission dialogue?

Chris: Yes. MW5: Clans made heavy investments into our storytelling capabilities in a MechWarrior game, and we have no plans on stopping here. We have taken the time to further refine our tools and throw in new things that were technically challenging to do previously (such as Elemental characters interacting with MechWarriors).

But given that Flash Storm is, at the end of the day, a DLC, do not expect the same feature-length run-time that was found in the base game. Right now, we are tracking to have a total cinematic run-time much closer to that of a TV episode, but that number is only for cinematics. There will still be more storytelling through gameplay as there was with the base game. 

Sean: Will Ghost Bear: Flash Storm have the same character-focused story as the base game? Will we still have a Star full of colorful characters? Will we have a megalomaniacal Star Colonel? Will there be loss, betrayal, and redemption? 

Chris: Yes. Flash Storm will introduce a whole new cast of characters to expand our character roster beyond the confines of the Smoke Jaguars. And continue to expand on the greater story of the Clan Invasion from the Bear’s perspective. 

While I wouldn’t describe your CO, Aletha Kabrinski, as a megalomaniac, those who know her lore know she can be a firebrand in the right circumstances. And we don’t necessarily want this story to be nothing more than a re-skin of the base campaign. The perspective this time around is going to be very different. You are playing as members of one of the most fanatically loyal units to the Ghost Bear cause, so don’t expect anyone to become disillusioned with the Bear’s mission. This is the team of true believers who would give up anything for the Clan. 

But like before, there will still be conflicts and personal stakes in the story to immerse you in the ‘boots on the ground’ perspective into the BattleTech universe that MechWarrior has always been. It’s just that this time around, things will focus a bit more on the macro story of Clan Ghost Bear itself, their current troubles after a disastrous showing in the early invasion, and their new Khan’s mission to restore the Clan to the glory it once enjoyed. 

Sean: Who is this guy? Apparently, he’s not Bjorn Jorgensson, so I have no idea. And is this Aletha Kabrinsky? Or perhaps the player character? 

Chris: So, the guy with the scars is Samuel Tseng, one of the members of the player’s Star within the Silveroot Keshik (pay no attention to the Smoke Jaguar pin on him, we are still mid-development, so things like costuming are still being worked on).

The woman is indeed saKhan Aletha Kabrinski. She is not the player’s character, but as the leader of the Silveroot Keshik, she will act not only as saKhan, but as the player’s direct CO while working under the Silveroot. 

Sean: The Fire Moth only recently made its way to MechWarrior Online after a decades-long hiatus from any MechWarrior game. How will this little speed demon perform in Ghost Bear: Flash Storm? Will we see saKhan Aletha Kabrinski perform terrifying feats in her signature light ‘Mech? 

Chris: It’s tough to center a story around the Silveroot Keshik and not give Aletha her favorite ride. As to its performance, the Fire Moth has always fulfilled an ultra-niche role in the setting that somewhat shoehorns the ‘Mech into a very specific niche. It’s a unique niche to be sure, but not one that is as straightforward to learn as the other ‘Mechs in the game. Even in the tabletop game, it takes a lot of time and effort to learn how to properly leverage the Fire Moth, as the play patterns you need to get the most out of it are far from new-player-friendly. And I’m sure it will be much the same here in the context of a MechWarrior game. 

But we do try to give you the tools to where it can do some crazy things if you take the time to learn and leverage its unparalleled speed. We’ve seen plenty of videos of Mercs players soloing levels with the Pirate’s Bane and pilots with max evasion skills. The Fire Moth will be similar, but even more extreme than that experience; hell of a lot more payload and speed, but with little protection that leaves next to no margin for error. 

I feel that last part is going to be the thing that stops the average player from keeping the ‘Mech around in their roster for the long term. But I am curious to see what kind of crazy things those players who took the time to master the Pirate’s Bane in Mercs can come up with. For those achievement hunters out there, we were sure to include a pair of achievements tailored to the Fire Moth to give a bit of incentive to try and learn its unique playstyle. 

Sean: Ghost Bear: Flash Storm adds an interesting assortment of OmniMechs. The Night Gyr is from Clan Jade Falcon, the Ebon Jaguar comes from the Smoke Jaguars, and the Huntsman comes from my favorite, Clan Nova Cat. Will the Silveroot Keshik engage in Trials of Possession against all three Clans, or will we just get these ‘Mechs in our available inventory?

Chris: I feel like answering this would be considered a very light story spoiler. So if you want to go into Flash Storm 100% fresh, you should probably just skip down to the next question. 

For the rest who don’t mind some set-up: yes, for 2/3 of those ‘Mechs. 

The Ghost Bears were famously the only invading Clan who did not leverage what they learned fighting the Inner Sphere to create brand new ‘Mechs specifically designed to fight the Great Houses like the Wolves, Jade Falcons, and Smoke Jaguars did. Just another specter of Karl Bourgon’s lack of foresight leading the Bears in the early days of the invasion before where our story picks up. 

Bjorn and Aletha are not about to fall into the same trap that Khan Bourgon did. So the early part of the Flash Storm campaign will center on the Clan attempting to secure resources they see as vital to their logistical preparations leading into Wave 5 of Operation REVIVAL. 

Sean: Ghost Bear: Flash Storm also provides us with our first non-OmniMechs, including the Kodiak, Jenner IIC, Rifleman IIC, and Hunchback IIC. Will our fellow warriors shun us if we use these substandard ‘Mechs throughout the campaign?

Chris: No. In fact, due to the story and mechanics of the GB campaign, it might be necessary to leverage the second-line ‘Mechs. 

A big part of the failings of Clan Ghost Bear in the early days of the Invasion was the failed management of their logistic resources. Sure, some of that was due to poor planning, but as mentioned above, Bjorn and Aletha have no plans to repeat Karl Bourgon’s mistakes.  

For that reason, Bjorn and Aletha have ordered the rationing of all of their supplies and personnel. Some of those things will play into the story of Flash Storm, but this also results in one major mechanical change to the way the ‘Mech markets work in Flash Storm compared to the base game.

Unlike the Smoke Jaguar campaign that gave you unlimited reign over the Clan’s vast stockpiles of ‘Mechs, for the Ghost Bears, ‘Mech availability in the markets will be more heavily restricted and require you to leverage a much tighter budget of resources due to rationing on the orders of the Ghost Bear Khans. 

In those circumstances, second-line designs may become a necessity, regardless of how the warriors might personally feel about the stigma of using such designs in the field. 

Backfilling the Smoke Jaguar campaign to have them won’t come with this nuance, but then again, this is one aspect that we are fine with gamifying lore for the sake of creating an enjoyable game. If we forced ourselves to stick 100% to lore in this area, then players would never have an option to even pick their ‘Mech in the first place as most warriors don’t get a choice in the ‘Mechs they are assigned. Even Aidan Pryde was saddled with a Timber Wolf he loathed. 

Sean: While standard BattleMechs won’t have OmniPods, it looks like they can still be customized and even swap out engines. Can you also add or remove endo steel or ferro-fibrous armor? Will you be able to swap engines in OmniMechs?

Chris: In the case of endo/ferro options, not initially. We wanted to include armor/structure swaps, but ran out of engineer time to get it working in the back-end/UI properly. It’s on the shortlist to be added in at a later time. For now, it will be hard-equipped onto the ‘Mechs, although the ferro/endo slots are still free-floating. 

OmniMechs will not have the option to remove engines, just as that is one of the fundamental differences between BattleMechs vs. OmniMechs. In the core setting, there is a clear divide between BattleMechs and OmniMechs as two very specific things, and that is something we would like to maintain with this game. 

OmniMechs will be able to configure their OmniPods, allowing them greater loadout variety and freedom. BattleMechs will be much more restricted in what they can take as loadouts but will have access to equipment changes. One thing to note is that, unlike MWO, weapon hardpoints can be restricted based on size, and we have a meta-game layer of the game that will make repairing BattleMechs a bit more cumbersome when compared to OmniMechs to better balance the scales between the two ‘Mech types. 

Sean: Will the new BattleMechs come in multiple variants?  Will we get the Hunchback IIC 2 with its Heavy Lasers or the Hunchback IIC 3 with its ATMs?

Chris: Yes, BattleMechs will have multiple variants, but no on the Hunchback IIC 2 and 3 as both of those variants are far removed from the Invasion timeline our game takes place in. But we will provide the same MechWarrior Online stand-in designs with the corresponding missile and energy hardpoints and appropriate Invasion-era tech. 

Sean: Will these ‘Mechs be available in the base game, or are they only available in the DLC?

Chris: Yes all ‘Mechs that come with the Flash Storm DLC will be available in the baseline campaign.

The one caveat is that like MW5: Mercs, the ‘Mechs will be introduced into the base game when it is appropriate to do so within the context of the timeline. Two of the ‘Mechs being added to this expansion are specifically late-Invasion-era designs that were not around during the initial stages of the invasion. So while they will play a role from the start of the DLC campaign, for the base campaign, they will only become available when it is appropriate for them to appear in the timeline.

Sean: Will MechWarriors, technology, and ‘Mechs have the same upgrade systems as MechWarrior 5: Clans? If so, how will they be modified to support the new 12-mission campaign?

Chris: The upgrade loop will be the same as the base campaign, the only thing that will change is the content you have access to. 

Science Lab in the Ghost Bear campaign will be the same. Although as a member of an elite unit and a campaign that starts later in the timeline than the Smoke Jaguar campaign, you will immediately notice that there will be a lot of research that is pre-unlocked for you. 

MechWarrior skills are where things will be very different this time around. With a new cast of characters comes a new set of MechWarrior skills to complement the new veteran cast. Expect characters to come with not only several skills already researched, but also with a series of brand-new sets of high-value skills specific to the Ghost Bear campaign. 

While I won’t spoil everything right now, the new pilot skills run the gamut between meta-game boosting skills that can augment things like ‘Mech XP gains per mission, brand-new ‘conditional’ skills that can provide powerful offensive or defensive bonuses for ‘Mechs that position themselves in certain ways on the battlefield, and even one skill that scales with the amount of unique heavy weapon types equipped on a ‘Mech’s loadout.  

Sean: Elementals are finally being added to MechWarrior 5: Clans. How will commanding our point of Elementals work? Will we be able to both command and swap into an Elemental to run around as armored infantry?

Chris: Well, one misconception that is floating around out there that I would like to clear up is that when we say command Elementals, it does not mean that you—as a player—will play as an Elemental, but instead give orders to the Elementals as a MechWarrior of an appropriate rank to do so. 

We just posted a web article on the MW5:Clans site that will provide more information. Be sure to check it out.

Sean: We’ve only got one screenshot of the new boss, the ‘Iron Talon,’ and it appears to have a forcefield of some kind. This is giving me extreme MechAssault vibes. What’s the story with the Iron Talon?

Chris: It’s funny. We’ve had those PPC discharge effects now for over five years with Mercs but nearly every time they are used in a promotional image, some people always want to jump right to energy shielding. 

As I’m sure all the readers here are aware, we know that energy shields and other ‘magic’ sci-fi equipment without some semblance of scientific plausibility behind them is a hard no-go zone for this particular IP (outside the HPGs and KF Drives). Even if it would mean more flexibility in how we can design some encounter types. We don’t plan on changing that stance anytime soon. 

As to what it is, it’s a unique creation for this game, but one rooted in pre-existing BattleTech canon. Particularly, the Mobile Structure rules from Tactical Operations and the Rattler anti-air defense platform created by the SLDF (although this unit does not trace its lineage back to the SLDF). 

This particular mobile structure is part of the targeted planet’s defense network and stands in the way of achieving a key objective. As mentioned in BattleTech’s Tactical Operations manual, Mobile Structures like this are typically unique to single systems that construct them, and the Iron Talon is no different. 

Sean: There’s confirmed to be at least one mission where we’ll be fighting atop a WarShip, which seems like a nod to the iconic final mission in Ghost Bear’s Legacy. How hard was it to come up with a narrative reason to be fighting in ‘Mechs on top of a spaceship? Was level design particularly challenging for what is essentially a really long tube?

Chris: Funnily enough, coming up with a reason was the easy part, as there are multiple times in the lore when it happens.  We even mention one of those times in MW5: Clans when Mia comments on how Lincoln Osis won the Smoke Jaguar Khanship over Sarah Weaver by fighting her across the hull of the Sabre Cat (which for us, made for a convenient story to name-drop the Sabre Cat well before the events of Turtle Bay). 

As to level design, I know that mission in particular has gone through several revisions, so I am sure it was very challenging to execute on. But I wouldn’t be the best person to comment on that, given that outside the framework that would facilitate an encounter like that, the minute-by-minute combat encounter isn’t my wheelhouse. 

Sean: Modding has been a huge reason for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries‘ success. Will MechWarrior 5: Clans feature similar mod tools? What enhancements have been made to mod tools since Mercenaries? When will mod support officially arrive in Clans?

Chris: We’ll be handing out early access to the mod-tools in mid-late May for select modders from the Mercs community to beta test the tools a few weeks before a full mod-tools release.  

But I can’t speak to any specifics beyond that since I’m not involved with that aspect of development. 

Sean: We’re also getting a free update with Ghost Bear: Flash Storm and updates to the free Trials of War DLC. What can we expect in the free update? Are we getting New Game Plus? Pretty please?

Chris: Yes, we will be getting free updates to the game. We’ve recently made an announcement as to the content that will be pushed with the free update. More specifics will come closer to the May 7th release. 

Sean: Is Ghost Bear: Flash Storm setting the pace for future DLC? Will future DLC have one planetary campaign and add eight ‘Mechs?

Chris: No. Every DLC production is different. Even for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, the content that comes with an update is greatly determined by the amount of feature work that goes into its production. For Ghost Bear: Flash Storm, we focused on providing more of what was in the base game—a new campaign from a new perspective that moves the story of the Clan Invasion forward, more cinematic storytelling that players enjoyed from the base game, with the highly requested features/content added this time around of a deeper ‘Mech roster, a new BattleMech Mechlab, and Elementals.

If that target were to change into something more ambitious that requires a more specific effort to be exerted elsewhere, like a hypothetical sandbox campaign, then the amount of content released would have to be aligned against the amount of feature work needed to produce whatever our core feature work is. But like always, the larger the support base is for a product, the more flexibility we have when it comes to delivering on it. So be sure to check out Flash Storm if more MW5: Clans DLC is what you wish to see produced.

It’s very much like how the Legend of the Kestrel Lancers expansion for Mercs remains the only expansion without a unique ‘Mech chassis added to the roster; so much time and effort went into expanding our campaign and storytelling tools and systems to make that specific expansion and linear campaign systems work. Didn’t mean that ‘Mech production stopped, only that we were unable to deliver a new one with that particular DLC. Clans will be no different.

By all means, speak up and let us know what kind of content expansions you would be most interested in seeing developed. But just know that time and resources are a very finite thing in game production, so at the end of the day, there is only so much we can do with a single DLC expansion pack.  

Sean: The DLC looks to be a new and completely separate story from the base game. Will we revisit Jayden and the rest of Cobalt/Copper Star in a future DLC?

Chris: Unclear at this point. In fact, my initial pitch for this DLC was to have it center on a Cobalt Star side story during the year of peace to dig into some of the things we could only skim the surface of in the base game, like Yuichi’s story and some of Naomi’s development that would lead into what comes later in the base campaign. But it’s always a question of how much people want to see us go back and continue the story of Cobalt Star vs. expanding the scope of our storytelling and getting a different perspective on the events as we move the timeline forward.  

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what keeps the story interesting. If given the choice between a small side story with Jayden and co. five years later in 3057, I personally doubt that it would have as much ingrained interest with our audience as a Wolf vs. Jade Falcon Refusal War-focused story would.  

But who knows? I could be completely off base on that front. So by all means, discuss and let us know what stories you would be interested in playing through as we move deeper into the Clan Invasion timeline.

Sean: PGI was unfortunately hit with layoffs earlier this year as, according to publisher EG7, MechWarrior 5: Clans did not grow the core MechWarrior audience. First of all, I’m terribly sorry to hear so many talented individuals are no longer your colleagues. Have the cuts to staff affected this DLC or any future DLC?

Chris: It has certainly been a time of transition, and we want to take a moment to recognize the incredible talent and hard work of those who contributed to MechWarrior 5: Clans. Their dedication helped shape the game into what it is today. As for the future, our current team size is in line with what we had for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and its DLCs, putting us in a strong position to continue delivering exciting new content for our three MechWarrior titles. We remain fully committed to supporting and expanding the MechWarrior universe for our players.

Sean: Nobody gets out of these interviews without at least one fun question. If you could rewrite the Clan Invasion, what would you change?

Chris: Easily the Crusaders electing Ulric Kerensky as ilKhan. 

Yeah, I know, the ilKhan is more of a ceremonial position beholden to the larger Grand Council so from the Crusader’s perspective, they wanted to put Ulric under their thumb while paving the way for Conal Ward to flip the political allegiance of Clan Wolf while sticking it to Ulric.

But come-on… You can’t convince me that the undisputed kings of bending Clan laws in their favor (the Smoke Jaguars) couldn’t foresee Ulric bending the rules to prevent Conal Ward from taking over the Wolves? (I’m convinced that if Natasha wasn’t there, he would have just refused to step down as Khan like Lincoln Osis would later do.)  And you’re telling me no one can’t see how elevating the man who made a career of undermining the Crusaders for decades would abuse the ilKhan position to continue to undermine the Crusaders from the Clan’s highest office? 

It just makes the Crusader Clans look incredibly stupid in hindsight. Especially given how the Clans are often depicted as being well-attuned to political infighting and backstabbing given what it takes to both attain and retain the rank of Khan (you typically need to be much more politically skilled to build yourself enough of a support base within the Clan to attain a Khanship than find yourself ruling a star nation by virtue of your birth, thanks to hereditary rule). I know hubris is a big part of who the Crusaders Clans are, but I feel that was always a bridge too far into the realm of implausible.

Especially if you consider that even without Ulric, events would have likely played out the same.  The Steel Vipers and Nova Cats are still your reserve Clans and would be seen as obstructionists no matter what theater you stick them in. The ComStar deal was brokered primarily through Leo Showers so ComStar would still be in a position to give the Tukayyid offer, and Tukayyid is way too tempting of an offer for the Crusaders to pass up. Especially when the Crusaders believed in their own superiority and would have gladly taken an efficient way of conquering Terra. 

Outside of that, there are some aspects of the Dark Age era that I normally would have said should change (but most of that was already retconned into a decent spot anyway). And I don’t know much about anything past To Ride the Chimera as poring over every Succession War/Invasion Era book as part of the job leaves little time for me to keep track of anything that has happened after the 3130’s. 

Thanks again to Chris Lowrey for the inside scoop on MechWarrior 5: Clans’ upcoming DLC, Ghost Bear: Flash Storm, which arrives May 7. Wishlist it now on Steam or the Epic Games Store, and for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 closer to release.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.