[AcrossLite][PDF][Solution] ↕️↕️↕️🤮

Aaaaand we’re back.

Apologies for the radio silence, solvers. I was out of commission for a while there thanks to a misfiring tumor suppressing gene. If you’re interested in donating to a great cause, visit my Neurofibromatosis fundraising page. I’m among the ~1 in 40,000 people who suffer from this disease, and most of my peers have it a lot worse than I do, and many of them are kids. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

As such, this week’s puzzle is dedicated to life’s many ups and downs. Spoilers below.

This puzzle was inspired by an ingenious grid by Patrick Blindauer. It’s the kind of puzzle that sacrifices a little solving pleasure for some grid art razzmatazz, which I’m here for in small doses.

Whatayasay? Worth the gimmick? Drop me a comment.