Awoken

**"Awoken"** is a term used to describe those who possess supernatural powers in the *Life Is A Lesson* franchise. In all known cases, the Awoken "unlock" their powers after suffering intense emotional trauma, and according to Tommy Garcia it is some kind of extreme emotional defence. They have so far appeared in all four instalments in the franchise: *Extrasensory*, *Kings of the Road*, *Juvenile Prosperity* and *Onwards*, and they will appear in the upcoming fifth instalment *Parallel*. How many Awoken exist in the world is unknown.

## History

### Source and Activation

The true source of the Awoken's abilities are unknown and are unlikely to have one unifying cause. Tommy theorizes that every living person is born with supernatural abilities, but only a few undergo the circumstances necessary to activate them. In all known cases, the Awoken's abilities activated after they underwent intense and prolonged physical or psychological trauma, with their powers acting as a type of emotional defence system in order to combat the source of their trauma. The type of trauma appears to be unique between each individual.

It is possible that some abilities are genetic traits inherited from parents, but still need to be "activated". In *Extrasensory*, all characters directly related to the Moore family - that being Karen and her sons Michael and Harry - possess extrasensory perception, with each of them also possessing a unique power related to ESP. For example, Karen can project herself over long distances to appear as an illusion to those she seeks; Michael can induce sensory overload and even complete cerebral failure; and Harry can attune to the minds of others, placing them under his complete control. These factors suggest that, while ESP itself may be an inherited genetic trait, the actual extent and nature of the ability is changed according to the person possessing it.

Another possibility is that some powers are the result of interactions with paranormal entities. The only case of this is the Wolff Brothers James and Drew, the protagonists of *Kings of the Road*. The sons of an occult serial killer, both brothers are haunted by what they call "The Passenger", an entity that enhances their feelings of aggression and is the source of their powers; most believed that these factors were the results of a rare condition called "shared psychosis". Each brother appears to have their own Passenger granting them abilities unique to both of them. James' Passenger grants him what he refers to as "supernatural luck": in a dangerous situation, something always seems to, whether directly or indirectly, save James from certain harm or death, and even resurrected him following his death at the hands of the FBI. Drew Wolff, on the other hand, possesses powerful and unstable telekinetic and biokinetic powers that only seem to activate when he has an open wound, usually self-inflicted. According to their mother's diary, both boys began to change after their father supposedly summoned a demonic presence during a ritual that bound itself to each brother. However, both boys' powers only activated when they each underwent physical or psychological trauma: in Drew's case, it was seeing his friend being beaten by a cop and then stabbing the cop to death; in Jim's case, it was likely surviving the brutal beating he sustained at the hands of Mortimer. Nonetheless, both boys appeared more aggressive than normal even before they unlocked their powers, either as a result of their father's abuse or because of the entity possessing them. Throughout the first and second seasons, both brothers further embrace their dark sides, James the most so as he takes on the criminal identity of the "Copper Goblin". Again, in *Extrasensory*, there is a possibility that Michael Mayfair's powers of ESP are the cause of a pagan god called Dagon worshipped by the LCW, although Michael's familial links mentioned above may overshadow such likelihood.

The protagonists of *Onwards* - Cassie Richards and Tommy Garcia - both appear to possesses similar powers: telepathy (only between each other) and telekinesis. Cassie's powers appear to be naturally more powerful than Tommy's, but Tommy has spent most of his life training himself and learning to control his abilities. The origin of Cassie's powers is easier to discern: all members of her immediate family are deceased, having died in heartbreaking ways and just a few years apart; her powers are only unlocked, however, when she saved Tommy from being shot by her uncle Philip, proceeding to use her powers to tear her uncle's hand in half. The origin of Tommy's powers is largely unknown, due to the fact that very little of his backstory is known. When Cassie asks him (before she unlocks her powers), Tommy says he doesn't fully know either and offers a few theories; one is that his mother was a severe alcoholic and his father was addicted to psychoactive drugs such as LSD and heroin, with the resulting concoction changing Tommy while he was still in the womb and giving rise to his powers. The specific trauma he underwent to unlock them is unknown. It is Tommy who coined the term "Awoken" to refer to those with supernatural powers.

## Occurrences

Charaters that appear in multiple instalments in the *Life Is A Lesson* universe are listed under the series that features their first appearance.

### Extrasensory

#### Karen Moore

* **Name:** Karen Moore
* **Abilities:** Several powers related to her innate ESP, including memory reading on physical contact and mental projection
* **Description:** Karen is the mother of Michael Moore and Harry Mayfair, and the ex-wife of Ethan Mayfair. As a member of the Moore Family, she was born with ESP and her own unique abilities. Following an extramarital affair which resulted in the birth of her son Harry, Karen was banished by the Mayfair family, who forced her to abandon the child to its death and disappear. In 2019, she returned to Lillian while tracking down Harry, who had become a sadistic serial killer, and reunited with Michael in the process.

#### Michael Moore

* **Name:** Michael Moore, formerly Mayfair
* **Abilities:** Intense ESP which allows for memory reading upon physical contact and sensory overload, which could result in death following prolonged exposure
* **Description:** Michael is the son of Ethan Mayfair and Karen Moore, and the heir to the Mayfair Family fortune following the disappearance of his uncle, David. He returned to Lillian to attend the prestigious Whitehall Academy and unlocked his innate powers of ESP following the brutal murder of his friend Sharon Kates. Reuniting with his childhood best friend Lucy Rose, Michael decided to use his powers of memory reading to solve Sharon's murder, exposing the dark secrets of many of the town's residents and his own family's links to these horrdenous crimes in the process. Four years following this, Michael returned to Lillian to aid in the rescue of thirteen captured students, reuniting with his mother in the process and forced into a conflict with his half-brother Harry.

### Kings of the Road

#### James Wolff

* **Name:** James "Jim" Wolff
* **Abilities:** Regenerative healing and "supernatural luck"
* **Description:** James Wolff is the eldest son of Dennis Wolff, a notorious occult serial killer. Both he and his younger brother Drew are apparently possessed by "The Passenger", a supernatural entity summoned by their father. In James' case, he appears to possess what he terms "supernatural luck", able to avoid dangerous situations that would cause him harm. Another ability he appears to have is the ability to recover from serious injuries in a short space of time.

### Juvenile Prosperity

#### Melody Jones

* **Name:** Melody Jones
* **Abilities:** A wide selection of powers that are activated depending on her mental state, e.g. when under significant pain she unleashes devastating waves of telekinetic energy, or generates fire when panicked.
* **Description:** A young Awoken girl raised on the streets of Dallas, Melody Jones was taken in by legendary vagabond Travis Rogers, who could "sense" her supernatural abilities and would serve as her guardian as part of the Fr8ers. When she was very young, Melody discovered that she possessed a wide range of superpowers that were only activated depending on her emotional state; such powers include telekinesis that manifests differently depending on whether she is experiencing physical pain or mental pain, or the ability to generate fire when she experiences hysteria.

### Onwards

#### Cassie Richards

* **Name:** Cassandra "Cassie" "Miss Wild" Richards
* **Abilities:** Possesses immense and wide-ranging psionic powers, ranging from telekinesis to biokinesis and water manipulation; full extent of powers not currently known
* **Description:** Cassie Richards lost her father in Spring 2019 and decided to fulfill his last wish: a trek more than 3800 miles from Fort Kent, Maine to Santa Barbara, California to spread his ashes on the Pacific Coast, on the same beach where he met Cassie's mother. With nothing to lose, Cassie decides to undertake this journey, encountering Tommy Garcia in the process which resulted in them travelling together and becoming good friends. Following the discovery that she, like Tommy, possesses supernatural powers, the two of them went on the run to train and continue their quest west.

#### Tommy Garcia

* **Name:** Tommy Garcia, a.k.a MidKnight Rider
* **Abilities:** Immense telekinetic powers with minor telepathic powers that allow him to partially read the minds of other Awoken; able to telekinetically lift, stop and throw objects of varying weights with ease
* **Description:** Tommy Garcia is a bohemian hobo and squatter who learned he possessed incredible telekinetic powers following a failed suicide attempt. After running from his hometown of Altantica, Delaware leaving behind the boy he loved, Tommy adopted the vagabond lifestyle, inspired by the tales of Mr Old Soul, to become a legend in his own right as "MidKnight Rider". He coined the term "Awoken" to refer to himself and others with strange, supernatural powers. In 2019, he encountered Cassie Richards, knowing that she was "Awoken" but had not yet "unlocked" her powers, and joined her on her mission to cross the continental United States to spread her father's ashes on the Pacific Coast in Santa Barbara, California. When Cassie unlocked her immense powers while defending him, Tommy decided that he would train Cassie to control her powers as they continued west.

### Parallel

#### Gabriella Morales

* **Name:** Gabriella Morales
* **Abilities:** Can open portals to parallel realities
* **Description:** Gabriella Morales is the female counterpart of Gabriel Morales in her reality.

#### Gabriel Morales

* **Name:** Gabriel Morales
* **Abilities:** Can open portals to parallel realities
* **Description:** Gabriel Morales is the male counterpart of Gabriella Morales in his reality.