#my mom is so attached to my birth name that i just. can't bring the will to tell her not to say it anymore

[brainfullofbees]

.

[mayasdeluca]

Station 19 7x01 Thoughts

We finally got Marina back on our screens! I missed them so much. 😭 You could tell Carina was connected to that little baby from the start and the fact that it made her realize she wanted a fresh start with Maya in a new home because the waitress didn't make it. (Loved Maya reassuring her saying she did everything she could too!) I loved that scene (that was mostly spoiled) except the kiss angle! Like come on ABC, we are on at 10pm now, that can't be happening! Even if I get they were probably going for the 'sneaky' vibe since they were at work and I loved that they were trying to be a little secretive about it but we better not see any of their other kisses like that, there's no excuse!

The chef immediately going up to Carina and saying he wanted to adopt the baby gave me weird vibes from the start and you could tell Carina was upset at the idea...I also really like that the name ended up being Liam because it has its own meaning that doesn't have to do with anything else and it's a cute name! (in my opinion)

The last Marina scene...I really wish it was longer and they had gotten more of a chance to really discuss the idea of adopting a baby because they really didn't bring it up at all? I liked that Maya was the one who suggested it first even if we saw that Carina was already attached but I just wish they could have expressed their feelings about it more before automatically just saying yes we can do this. I get they are crunched for time and there's a lot going on but it just feels like they're cheapening what is an important story. But I'm thrilled that they added they will still try to get pregnant and continue that process...here's hoping by the end of the season they will have two babies. (My theory of Carina giving birth in the finale and that being the 'crazy Grey's crossover' with a character being at Grey's in a way they haven't before is definitely following that.)

The Andy speech was even worse in real time. Like really? She even had to name every single person who was captain before her? Excessive and unnecessary. Show don't tell. She's definitely going to get on my nerves this season.

Ghost Jack was...interesting? I guess it added something. Not surprised he won't be able to fight fires anymore since we all basically guessed that anyway. I am curious if he'll be on throughout the whole season or if he'll end up leaving or something.

Vic was amazing with the Crisis One stuff. Theo is still an asshole and I want nothing to do with him. The Ross/Sullivan stuff? Eh.

Oh also the fact that Travis and Emmett got the 'sex' scene of the episode and not Marina? 🤡 Some choice words about that but hopefully ours is coming...

All in all I wish we got more Marina but they are moms!!! They have a little boy!!! Liam Deluca-Bishop is theirs and I can't wait to see them with him! Give me all the cute domestic scenes because that baby is adorable! 😍

And this was everything. ❤️

We are so back!!

[lettherebemonsters]

I haven't done anything for you guys in days so here's some fun facts about my clowns! (Well....fan facts. Outside of Ringmaster the other two have their own canon.)

Kenneth was actually a triplet and the smallest of the babies.....at least he was going to be. His mother died giving birth to her children and only the very smallest managed to survive, though he'd have permanent lung problems all his life.

His mother's name was Emilia, and she chose the name Kenneth for her son after her father. Unfortunately Kenneth never got to know his mother's side of the family and was trapped being victimized by his father.

Kenneth actually took most of his looks from his mother rather than his father. He had her blue eyes and bright red hair. He lost this with age and the Entity corrupting him into an immortal slasher.

Kenneth is almost permanently drugged up. His sense of reality is so warped that he lives permanently in his own Wonderland. Reality was too horrifying to him...so he invented his own reality to escape it.

Ringmaster is Venetian and Corsican, but he hates his Corsican half so much he's extremely violent towards anyone who brings it up. To him, Corsicans are traitors (mainly due to his mom and dad divorcing and him blaming his mom for it.)

Ringmaster is a vampire, but a strange one. He's mutated from eating other vampires and absorbing their viral strains. As a result of cannibalizing other vampires as he himself was turned, the surviving vampires locked him away as punishment.

Unfortunately.....he didn't stay locked away.

Ringmaster is very deceptive and manipulative. Whether he was always like this or is a consequence of the madness brought on by being turned into a vampire and infecting himself with a myriad of vampire strains is unclear. But he's hedonistic, vile, obsessive and extremely dangerous. He's very much like Dorian Gray only that the one or two people he truly cares about he cares about too much.

Ringmaster's main ability is to lure victims by song. He can hypnotize the weak with his music and lures them close to feed on. Most he kills and hangs their bodies as his puppets, but those he likes, he infects and adds them to his Cirque Asylum. He's also able to psychically control his undead thralls using marionette wires bonded to his nervous system. These wires are also a major weakness because he can feel pain if they're torn off his body. The cross on his back is attached to his spine and spinal column, making it extremely painful for him if the entire apparatus is removed forcibly.

The only people capable of stopping Ringmaster is his sister the Dollmaker and her boyfriend Freakenstein. At one point, Freakenstein was forced to decapitate the Ringmaster to end his tyranny. However, decapitation isn't enough to kill him permanently.

Ringmaster is immune to sun and holy objects, and the only way to 100 percent end him is to destroy him at the cellular level.

If you survive a bite from the Ringmaster, you'll forever be his slave and/or become a vampire. Only Freakenstein has been able to avoid this due to being a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and thus, a much more potential viral strain than Ringmaster's vampire virus.

Clown Springtrap is a technological genius and a narcissist. He's not afraid to let people know that he just doesn't care about anyone. The people he truly loved are all dead and the one person he gives a shit about ran off to his former best friend. So he's thoroughly done with everyone and wants to make it EVERYBODY'S business.

Clown Springtrap only looks like a clown. He very much HATES being permanently bonded to his clown body and gets very salty over the clown jokes. Though sometimes he uses them when he kills people since fear brings out more Remnant for him to feed on.

Clowntrap relies on Remnant to keep functioning. He can't die since he's already dead but he craves Remnant to keep himself from going completely out of control. In a way he's similar to a vampire, in that he'll literally guzzle the blood from a victim in order to extract as much Remnant as he can.

Clowntrap is probably the only straight clown of the bunch but you wouldn't know it because he's extremely metrosexual. He loves bright colors, loves fashion, loves to cook, loves the arts.....Basically he's the most unstraight straight guy that ever lived.

He's also very loyal to his late wife. Only after thirty years since she passed away has he started opening up but largely his heart will only belong to his bunny queen.

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x06 - Sex and Candy

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Maria’s (Heather Hemmens) investigation into her mother’s disappearance leads her and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) to the home of a mysterious boot maker named Travis (guest star David Anders). Meanwhile, on her journey of self-discovery, Isobel’s (Lily Cowles) night out leads her into the arms of someone unexpected. Finally, after making some major scientific strides, Liz (Jeanine Mason) is dealt a devastating blow. Geoff Shotz directed the episode written by Rick Montano & Vincent Ingrao (#206). Original airdate 4/20/2020.

DETAILS:

Max and Isobel's fight:

Lights start flickering when Max starts getting aggressive and then get brighter as he gets more worked up.

The first attempt to expel it seemed like he was causing an earthquake.  He blew out all the windows in the gym, knocked Isobel down, and there was shaking.  But it didn't seem to go beyond that room - no damage is seen when Michael arrives or around town.

Note, after the earthquake thingie the lights go out 

His hands are doing the electric power thingie and THEN he also grabs the lightning.

I think Isobel used her telekinesis to stop it and then push it away, which seemed to work...but if so then why couldn't Noah do that last season? 

Was it the sheer volume of electricity? There was definitely MORE than with Noah.

Michael uses his telekinesis to manually reset Max's heart.  This is very smart of him. Note that he's using his own heart/pulse to get it right.

They are using the antidote to Liz's serum to try to heal Max's mind. 

Michael says that they've been giving him antidote injections for three days (time jump).

Three days of antidote and no new memories for Max.

Isobel remembered her blackouts within a few hours of getting injected with the antidote in 1x10.

Note: Liz hesitated using the antidote this way in 1x10 because Isobel could still be dangerous and they didn't know about the 4th Alien yet.  There doesn't seem to be a similar hesitation with Max. Because Liz trusts him more? Because him forgetting her is more personal? It's not like there isn't a chance that Max is still dangerous…

Maria arranged a Mexican market in the Pony parking lot to subsidize her income.

Buffy the Beagle is Forrest's dog!

Maria comments that the meteor shower makes animals act strange. And humans too.

Forrest and Maria are organizing an open night mic at the Wild Pony.  Free drinks for performers.

Maria clearly approves of Forrest and Alex getting to know each other.  She smacks Alex for his awkward flirting.

The bootmaker's farm is about an hour outside of town.

The Science:

Kyle and Steph are watching a "surgical separation of craniopagus twins".

Craniopagus Twins = twins attached at the cranium/head. (Aka not a heart surgery).

"Did you know, ever since 1947, twin births in Roswell are higher than the national average? Maybe it's aliens."

Speaking of awkward flirting…. "You're just my favorite person I can't stand."

The Spanish:

Le cambio una bolsa de chiles para mi papá...for the free fries next time you come to the Crashdown.

Liz is bartering.  She says basically, I'll trade you a bag of chiles for my papa for free fries next time you come to the Crashdown. 

Note, the captions for this are wrong and use the Spanish word for grasshoppers instead, but you can clearly hear Liz say chiles. Thanks to @rosaortecho for pointing that out to me.

Max says:

I'm trying to eat clean. Uh, tiene carne seca sin como se dice, preservativos.

He's trying to say, basically, does the jerky have preservatives. 

Quiere carne a sin preservativos?

Basically, you want meat without condoms?

Lo siento. Uh, no lo entiendo.

I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Él quiere decir conservantes.

He means preservatives.

Gracias. Estoy embarazado.

Thank you. I'm pregnant.

Michael asks Max who he's texting. Max says everyone has been messaging him but Cameron is the only one who hasn't responded, which isn't like her.

Wildly curious who he was texting though.  It's not like he's a social butterfly. His mom? The sheriff? Who? As I pointed out to some friends the other day, he spent his 21st birthday getting trashed with his SISTER. This is not a trait of a guy with lots of close friends.

Just as another note, Michael says he ghosted her. When exactly was that? Yes, Max ran out on her in the middle of a handy in 1x03, but they addressed that the next day.  She "broke up" with him in 1x07, but they were still good right up until she left town. 

Isobel:

"Does he seem different to you?"

Alex and Maria playing "Never have I Ever" in the car. Good way to do background on characters.

Maria has never cheated on a boyfriend

Alex has never been in a real relationship. Not even "Kellie Sommer-something".

Alex says that whenever he was with a woman he was trying to disappear.  Except for Sophomore year after Battle of the Bands. Seven Minutes in Heaven in Haley Moore's hall closet. Alex and Maria kissed and it was Maria's first kiss (and boob graze).  She always thought she'd marry Alex. Had to come up with a new plan after he came out. 

Alex says "I did too."

"Kissing you in that closet was the first time in my life that I enjoyed touching someone."

Max picks up Liz for their first date…

Just as a note, Save Tonight was the opening song in the pilot of OG Roswell. During the "oh, Max Evans is staring at you again." exchange between Liz and Maria.  So, it might go well with new beginnings or something ;-)

The Science:

"Psychogenic amnesia limits retrieval of stored memories, but if we light up your limbic system and gustatory cortex with some familiar signals…"

"Your milkshake might bring all my memories to the yard?"

**Note, second reference to this song in the context of Liz bringing Max milkshakes. First was in 1x06 by Isobel. Hmm. 1x06 and 2x06… maybe they should crack this joke in 3x06 too.

"Sometimes when people wake up from comas they have different personalities, different tastes even…"

Everything you ever wanted to know about psychogenic amnesia:

But, my main takeaway is that it's a specific type of amnesia where there's abnormal memory function but no brain damage or other clear cause of it.

Limbic system:

Basically the part of your brain that stores emotion, behavior, and long term memory.

Gustatory cortex:

Basically the part of your brain that processes taste.

Maria compares Michael to Chad because he starts fights and lies.  Alex disagrees and lists ways that he was doing good things:

He lied to protect his family from Alex's family.

He shouldered the burden of a murder he didn't commit for ten years so that Isobel didn't have to.

He pushed Maria away to protect her - which might be a good thing too because of all his baggage. 

First Date:

Max went to Ranch camp one summer and dislocated his shoulder while trying to read Lord of the Rings on horseback. #nerd. 

Liz references the gala as not their first date, but there was also the desert in high school.  I guess she doesn't count that either. 

Side note: Cam and Liz talked about him peacocking in 2x03, but that kinda felt out of character at the time to the Max we knew.  This Max DOES seem like he's peacocking a bit. Got dressed up, taking Liz horseback riding. He admitted to trying to one up whatever they did together before. Just an interesting (to me) observation.

Liz looks panicky when Max suggests truth serum (because Science!Liz probably could make truth serum), but once she realizes he means whiskey she's like, "oh yes, that's fine." Oh Liz… 

Diego details:

They were engaged just last year

Liz left without saying goodbye

Bioengineer 

They were working together on the Denver study

They would come home and keep talking about work

He had ideas to help improve it

They both spoke The Science

He pushed her to get better at The Science

When the funding was cut she realized she loved the work more than him

Liz couldn't figure out how tell him that so she packed her things in the middle of the night, hit the road, changed her phone, and blocked him on Facebook.

**This is the first time LIZ has mentioned social media. Interesting given the crap Maria keeps giving her about it!

Travis and fresh warm milk. What is up with it??

"Nice ring. Does it keep you from burning up in the daylight?"

David Anders introduces himself as Travis.

Just as a point of interest, Maria researched enough to find the bootmaker, figure out where he lives, but she didn't get his name??? 

Vampire Diaries/Originals reference.

Travis says he can't help with car stuff.

The milk was from a cow named Jennifer.  He milked her for the last time today. (Creepy).

Weird contradictory statements from Travis:

"You're the best thing I've seen in a long time."....

"Mm, I'm sorry. So many customers and all their ugly faces get all sewn up and stitched together in my mind."

"Yeah, that's the woman that bought them boots. While back. Nice lady. She paid cash."

Second reference to animals behaving strangely during a meteor shower:

"Meteor shower's got my girls singing a bit off key tonight.  Jennifer, she likes a good lullaby."

"Okay this guy is going to turn us into skin suits." (OG reference? Or just general sci-fi?)

Meteorchella at Planet 7 (Coachella-style party during meteor shower?) with any excuse to add sparkles!

Kyle says he's at Planet 7 because he's trying not to hang out with people from high school.

Isobel says she's trying to have fun without feeling like prey.

Don't think the details of Kyle/Isobel dancing matters all that much, but as a point of amusement I'll share that in the panel on Tuesday night they shared that Lily whispered something different to Trevino on every take...And they got progressively dirtier to the point that she finally felt like she crossed a line and profusely apologized.  Also the lick was a Lily addition. 

Max's confession about killing the drifter:

Kind of an interesting thing, comparing the first version of the drifter story in 1x06 to the 2x06 version. 1x06 was more dramatic, but 2x06 was more personal, I think. 

1x06

"There are moments that define our lives, and there are moments that divide our lives. Incidents that separate us into two different people: who we were before and who we will be after. Forever…One day we were children and the next we were something else. I was a killer. Michael an accomplice.  And Isobel...Isobel was broken."

2x06

"I killed a man once, on a camping trip. This drifter came out of nowhere, attacked Isobel.  I wasn't even thinking. I killed him. With this. I arrest people who kill people. Most of them usually regret what they did. You know, you can just tell that they're forever broken. It's like a piece of them dies with their victims. So when I could feel that darkness, like I had to kill, I wanted Isobel to let me die. Because I couldn't risk hurting even one innocent person. Cause life just wouldn't be worth living."

Kind of an interesting narrative choice to confess to murder on a first date and then have the girl just brush it aside. 

"No, it just hit me why you're so happy and idealistic, and I feel like an idiot. You are that way because you don't remember me. It's a clean slate.  It's like when you got out of the pods with whatever memories you had erased it's probably for your own good."

"Last I heard you were the love of my life."

"Your cohorts, they left out some details. Cause if you had your memories I'm positive the worst thing that's ever happened to you is connected to me. And I can't bear the weight of making you remember that again."

**Note, second time this has been implied.  Last time was by Michael in 1x08 regarding the alien symbol.

"...it's gotta have some connection to us right? Maybe it was something we saw somewhere before the crash."

"Sorry, are you, Max Evans, acknowledging that we must have had lives before we hatched out of the pods? You never want to talk about home."

"Hey, Roswell is home. Look, I'm sorry man. You're right. I've spent a lot of time not talking about where we come from or why we're here.  Keep thinking I can pretend the past away and just be normal. But if Isobel's blackouts are some alien thing, then I need to know more. Okay, and this symbol? That's all I have to go on. I mean don't you think it's strange that we don't have any memories? I mean, no parents, no language. We weren't infants, man. We were seven."

"I just figured our memory faded. Over 50 years in those pods. Maybe it was just time. Or maybe whoever put us in those pods doesn't want us to remember."

Travis and Trevor's house...with added bonus of his ring that Alex comments on.

Leather ribbons/strips on the wall are for (from?) Hayley and Gertrude. More cows, I presume. 

There's also a framed Purple Heart on the wall next to a photo of Travis?

"War really messes with a man's mind.  Gets it all twisted up.

Timeline issue!! Alex says Mimi was missing for 3 weeks, but according to the clearly established timelines in 201-203 it was 4 weeks (or a month ish).  I wrote about this here:

Maria put her jacket on a scarecrow to trick Travis. And did she leave it there?

(Answer: yes. She doesn't wear it for the rest of the episode. Smart of her, actually).

Michael sees Trevor come out of the house and is about to shoot him. Maria immediate knew it wasn't Travis and threw herself in front of Michael's gun

Trevor shoots Travis.

A bullet from the Crashdown shooting falls out of Max's journal.  Does it look like it has blood on it? Or maybe just ketchup? If it's THE bullet it would make a lot of sense that he kept it hidden - evidence that Liz was shot. See this comparison between one of Wyatt's bullets in 1x02 and the one Max finds in 2x06

"Sorry about my twin here. He's had a rough go."

"Combat does not make you an axe murderer."

"No, it wasn't the combat. It was the R&D. If a paramilitary group ever asks you to take part in a study, you run the other way. He showed up a few weeks ago. Locked me up out back. Lucky y'all showed up when you did. Gave me a chance to escape."

R&D is a military acronym for Research and Development. (Aka...The Science.)

Priscilla - the cow Mimi's boots were made from.

This is literally the only direct information gained about the boots from this little sleuthing excursion. 

Well, and that Mimi paid cash, which isn't like her.

Side note - I didn't really know what Paramilitary meant, so just in case any of you are also not good with military stuff, Paramilitary groups are like private armies. Like, I dunno, the private security firm that Jesse and Cam discussed in episode 2x04. 👀

Male doctor operating on Steph clearly states:

"All right we're approaching an arterial junction."

A female doctor replies and its less clear.  What I hear is...Blood gasses are back? Anyone else hear something that makes more sense than that?

He replied something like...the stint through here

She says something about pH levels.

Max admits that he didn't know what would happen when he decided to bring Rosa back.  He just wanted to fix the worst thing that ever happened to all of them.

"I can't believe we were Shyamalan'd by an evil twin."

I think Alex is referring to the twist ending? Or maybe just the insane axe murderer stuff.

M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the Sixth Sense, Signs, Split, etc…

During this scene is the first time we see Michael's tattoo… it's on his arm. I struggled with getting a cap of it, but I know there are gifs going around.

I had every intention of detailing the dialogue in the trailer scene, but before I could get to it, Carina posted the script, so I didn't think it was a good use of my time. Here's the script:

The next morning, Alex calls the Sheriff from outside the trailer for an update.

The Sheriff tells him that Travis and Trevor burned their home and ran...weren't caught by the sheriff.  Which means we may not have seen the last of them.

The Spanish:

"Oh my God. Dios mio, Max. I took off your pants before I even said I love you. I'm some kind of zorra."

Dios mio basically is Oh My God! So Liz really was spiraling. She went, "Oh my God, Oh my God..."

Zorra - female version of Zorro. Basically a vixen, bitch, prostitute… the internet has all sorts of fun words that it translates into. 

"I call this one Visceral Werewolf Part 2, dedicated to my boy Chee Chee, may he rest in peace."

Can we have more Bert? Bert is the best. Also kudos to his goofy friend who is wayyy too excited about this.

Forrest's slam poem:

Locked up for days,

Time slipping away,

On my knees I would pray to break free from this cage.

But bargaining for keys, you forget hidden fees.

And wishing for what you’re missing ain’t the same as living the dream. 

And now I’m fighting to stay on this side of the cage.

Even though I know a part of me wishes I’d stayed. 

Ain’t no prophet or rebel or savior or devil

Could have predicted, fought, cheated or leveled. 

A life with potential that’s squandered, 

A comfortable cell is a question I ponder. 

Am I a free man or a prisoner wanderer?

Max's memory flash:

Young Max, chained to the ground as described in 2x03. 

Max looks scared.

He's dressed all in white like the 1947 aliens after the crash (As shown in 1x12 and 2x03).

He's in a cave or something like a cave. 

Holes in the wall are glowing an orangey red color.

The ceiling is like the alien ship material with the alien symbol in it.  

A figure approaches from behind him, bends down, and places a hand on his shoulder.

It mirrors the figure approaching Nora in 2x03 and touching her shoulder before burning the military men...probably the same person? Noah? The stowaway? Someone new?

After the figure touches Max, he looks at the hand, and then a red glow lights his face.

MUSIC:

1. Xocoyotzin Herrera "Esperanza"

2. Jose Luis Lepe "La Carreta"

3. Eagle Eye Cherry "Save Tonight"

4. Lousiana Red "I Done Woke Up"

5. Whissell "Magnetic"

6. Stop Dead "Alchemistress Dance"

7.  Orville Peck "Turn To Hate"

8. Kim Petras "Close Your Eyes"

9. Orville Peck "Queen Of The Rodeo"

10. Moontricks "The Fall"

11. Years & Years "Hypnotised"

12. Jordan Critz Feat. Birdtalker "Through Your Eyes"

This time I couldn't find the Whissell and Stop Dead tracks on spotify - however the Stop Dead track is referenced at being by Chelsea Dawn in the closed captions.  Which I did find. Trying to confirm this. Let me know if anyone else had better luck!

[askthenewhopespeak]

An intresting talk coming from shared intrests AKA the one where Sora still can't keep a secret

Sora: *She enters the room* Oh, knife training! Cool!

Karma: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *this continues*

Sora: *She take kingdom key out* May I join?

Karma: You’re like… 12.

Sora: I’ll be 13 in March! And I know how to use that knife.

Karma: Prove it then.

Sora: *She attacks the training doll, stabbing it in the heart* I can’t throw, though. But I can stab things. Karma: Hm. How are you at dodging? Sora: I have no Idea. I always get the feeling dad goes easy on me, and he is one of the two people I can train with. The other…. Travels most year, so I can’t train with them usually. Karma: Who’s your dad? Sora: *freaking out a bit.* He is, um… Not here or very known. You won’t know him. *thinking: three lies in one sentence. Wow.* Karma: *they lean in close to the child’s face* You’re lying. Sora: W-why would I lie? *Karma staring at her for close scares her even more* Karma: I don’t know why. I just know you are. The direction you were looking. They way your hands are placed. Your time of voice. Sora: S-so what? Yes, I lied. I had my own reasons. *She tries to put a mask of confidence. It doesn’t work so well* Karma: *They pout* You’ve only just met me and you’ve already decided you can’t trust me. Why? I’m cool. I’m fun. I even let you attack my dummy. Sora: That’s not it! *She trusts Karma, but after what happened with Monaca… * I promised not to tell, and I already Broke it, so I try to not break it again until I know the consequences of the first time. Karma: *they dramatically collapse to the floor* And I thought we could have been friends. Sora: I-I want to be your friend. If that’s okay. I don’t have many friends besides kids I consider cousins. Karma: But friend’s don’t keep secreeeeeeeets. Sora: I-I promised Mitsi and Shuuichi and Kaede, though. And besides… You won’t believe me anyway. Karma: You said you’ve already told someone though. Go big or go home. And who can’t say that. I may believe you if you can prove it. Sora: I can’t prove it. That’s the entire freaking issue! *Out of frustration, she starts using Kingdom Key to stab the doll multiple times in different locations.* Karma: You can say fucking you know. Sora: Old habit. I used to have to pay for a kind of a curse jar if I said Fucking. Or did stupid things that ended up hurting me. This was a big jar. Karma: *they sigh* Kid where are your parents? This school isn’t exactly safe. A few people nearly died a few days ago. Sora: Not anywhere I can reach. *She sighs.* I wish I could, but mom and dad aren’t here and I need to live with it. Karma: What’s your name? Your real name. Sora: My name is Sora. That all that matters. Karma: Why are you hiding your last name? Sora: Because it’s part of the lie. I can’t tell you who my dad is, and I can’t tell you his last name. You can call me Sora Momento, if you wish. That’s the name I go by here, Karma. Karma: …how do you know my name? Sora: I know many things, Karma Graves. *She picks up her knife.* But not enough, apparently. Karma: *They instinctively reach for their gun, only to remember it has no bullets* Shit. Sora: Haa? What’s the problem? Is your name a secret and I didn’t know? Karma: No. It’s just that I haven’t met most people here yet. And no one would mention me to some kid. And even then you would know that name belonged to me. (All my knives are in the dummy. I have to have something…) *they pull out a dart* Who are you with? Sora: Mostly with myself. Chaotic Natural for the win! I’m not aligned with Maverick Storm or despair, if that’s what you ask. Karma: ALRIGHT HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW MAVERICK?! Sora: History always was my best subject. *She puts one finger on her lips in shhh symbol* Have you figured it out yet? I’ll tell you everything if you can figure my last name. Karma: History…? You don’t mean… I mean… That would explain how you know all this stuff… *the look at Sora* What I’m getting is that you’re hinting at being a time traveler. Which it seems you may have somewhat proven. I have no idea how I’m supposed to guess your last name though. Sora: Can’t make it too easy, can I? You know both of my parents, and I have dad’s last name. That’s all the hints you’ll get. Karma: *they lean in close to the child, taking in every feature. After a few minutes, they figure it out* Hijirihara. Sora: Yes. That’s my name. I’ll answer any question you have. *She stops* Please don’t ask much. I don’t want to destroy the future by accident. Karma: What I was the world like when you left? *they’re skeptical* Sora: You travelled a lot, coming back to the school few times a year. Sending us kids postcards and such- I have… had a pretty big collection in my room. You are the only person besides my dad I can train with. I like you a lot. Karma: I… What? I travelled? The world is fine? You didn’t come here to stop anything? Sora: No. We just played with a thing we shouldn’t and found ourselves here. Trust me, if I had a choice, I’d be in 2034 right now. Karma: I don’t understand… The world is okay? I’m just traveling? Sora: The world is pretty much fine, yeah. It is defiantly not worse than how it was in 2015, but most pepole agree it’s even a bit better. And as for you? *She pulls her shoulders* I have no idea. Karma: How much do you know about the tragedy that Junko Enoshima caused? Sora: I thought I knew everything. Facts, names, what people I care about did… But apparently I don’t. Karma: *they sigh and pull out a couple of chairs* Alright, therapy session time. Sit down kid. Sora: Okay. *She sits down* I feel like I got to warn you I’m snarky and not that nice? Karma: And I’m childish and sadistic. Sorry if you didn’t know that. Sora: No one ever said it like that, but I kind of guessed? I mean bi-Monaca explained to me once why she didn’t like you. Karma: *they smile darkly* Monaca eh? Heheh. What did that bitch tell you? Sora: Don’t call her that! She told me that you chased her, planning to hurt her until she died in pain. I refused to ask more. Karma: Jeez kid calm down! It’s almost like you’re defending her… Sora: I really wonder why? Maybe because she used to be my third favorite person in the world. Karma: Why on earth would you like her…? Sora: Because she is my big sister! *She tries to calm herself, more or less suceeding.* And she is the bestest big sister in the world. Karma: …you just recently figured things out about Monaca that were hidden from you. Am I correct? Sora: Pretty much, yes. *She stares to the floor* She started saying she did all this horrible things…Why didn’t anyone tell me? Karma: *they snicker* Fuck if I know, kid. Your parents probably wanted to give her another chance at having a good life. But second chances always have a shitty price. I got my second chance. It’s not much better than what I had before. Sora: Your second chance? Do you mean this school? Why isn’t it better? Karma: I don’t exactly mean this school per-say. I’m talking about my entire life after being rescued… Sora: Rescued? From where? *thinking: All the more things no one bothered telling me. Yay.* Karma: *they’re quiet for a few moments* I haven’t told anyone this. But you seem chill with being disturbed so why don’t I tell you some shit. Not everything of course. Let’s start with the fact that I’m a natural born killer. I even killed before I was born. For the longest time, I thought I was intersex. Turns out, I actually absorbed my own twin in the womb. Not sure which of us was the girl and which of us was the boy. Then, my mom died giving birth to me. I’m not quite sure what my dad’s deal was. But he kept me locked in a small basement. I had newspaper to do my business on. No windows. Only a small lantern. I got fed once everyday. Not very nutritional food mind you. I only had a television with one channel. A channel that would show 90’s cartoons and sitcoms. I was abused. My dad would let people down into the basement sometimes, do do what they wanted with me. If that’s too vague for you I’m surprised. I’m talking about having sex with me against my will. I was hurt mentally and psychically. *they lift up their hair to reveal scars and burn marks, as well as a missing eyeball* Sometimes my dad would bring home a kitten. I’d grow so attached to them. And then at night, my dad would sneak in and take them away, only to feed them to me later. I don’t want to scar you too much so I’m leaving the basement shit at that. After I was rescued, I was forced into the life of an agent. I kill, I torture, I abuse, I steal, I destroy, I torment, etcetera. I’m still trapped in a life I don’t want. Sora: *She gasps, holding her tears, before hugging the older teen.* No one will ever tell you to kill anymore. I can assure you that. This is just not them. Karma: *They’re taken aback by the hug. They awkwardly pat Sora on the head* Sora: That feels nice. It feels like mom’s hugs. She always pats me on the head. Karma: *after a few moments* Hey… Kid. I’m fine with killing alright…? It’s my job now. *They then mutter to themselves* It’s also kinda entertaining. Sora: But no you have the choice. Isn’t that what really matters? Karma: …sure. *they pull away* …are you stuck here? Sora: We know the device to bring us back is *somewhere* in this time period, because my friends took it with them, but it didn’t show up where they did. We hope it’s still in the school. Karma: What does it look like? Sora: Like a box you could enter a date too. It’s really simple. Karma: …do you want my honest opinion? Sora: If you’d like sharing it, yes. Karma: I think you have no chance of getting home unless you tell your parents who you really are. I’m sure there’s some nurses here who could do a DNA test to prove it. They’d be much more willing to help you. They’d keep an eye out for the box too. I mean you’ve already told me, so what’s the harm in telling others? Sora: Mitsi and Shuuichi are worried because they read too many time travel books where everything went wrong. I’m just… really bad at keeping secrets, I guess. I don’t think I want to tell them. What if they decide they don’t like things about me and change things about how I was raised, or decide to never have me? Karma: Hold up hold up hold up hold up. There’s more of you?! Sora: I thought you understood it when I said my friends lost the time machine. We are four. Karma: That must have gone over my head… Who are their parents? Sora: Kaede and Shuuichi are Naegi’s. Mitsi *She corrects herself* Mitsuru is Nakamura. Karma: The princi- headmaster. And I’m not sure I’ve met the other yet. Think I’ve heard of him though. Sora: That makes sense. He cured a lot of diseases. I think it was at least 100 by 2019. Karma: Really? Huh. Listen, about the other thing you said. I’m sure your parents would love you. I mean, even I think you’re really cool. Sora: *She blushes a bit. It’s not everyday someone you adore tells you he thinks you’re cool.* I know my parents love me. But they aren’t my parents yet, and I’m afraid that they’ll decide not to teach me to use the knife, for example. Karma: Well I’m afraid I can’t make you change your mind. But know that if you and your friends need anything, I’m here for all of you. I’ll do my best to help you out. Sora: *She hugs Karma again* Thank you very much. *She smiled* Can you help me train with my knife a bit more, please? Karma: Of course!