FREE DEMON POSSESSION WITH EVERY EXORCISM!

corey did very well at keeping their psychic abilities hidden from their grandparents, but not always so from outsiders

corey took more of an interest in the overlook and their family history when they got older, eventually seeking work there; they would be hired as general staff, picking up slack, usually housekeeping work or waiting tables

for most of their residence at the hotel, corey held a neutral to wary relationship with its supernatural energy... it never outright sought to harm them, but it was never quite pleasant, either

aside from their supernatural experiences, corey's focus is mainly dedicated to their creative work, usually writing and photography. they haven't published any of their written pieces, but they do freelance photography to keep the lights on during the overlook's off season

in corey's timeline, jack and wendy divorced a year prior to jack seeking the caretaking position at the hotel; not wanting jack to do the job alone for liability reasons, ullman asked corey to join him for the winter, with the promise of a pay bonus for their trouble

Personality:

Deeply insecure and deflects by typically keeping to themself

Usually bottles up their emotions because they heavily affect their powers, often leading to extreme outbursts when the pressure becomes too much

Tends to be exhausted due to the unhealthy ways they cope with their problems; Very obviously traumatised and not going to a therapist about it

Cares about others more than themself, though this is not always obvious with how aloof they can act

Yearns for a simple life but feels obligated to use their powers to help those that can’t help themselves

Creative/artistic, their mural painting job is one of the only things that helps them drift away from their mental anguish

Powers:

Shapeshifting; strictly animal shapes (real and mythological) or unstable, amorphous blobs, always distinctly recognisable by being all black with white eyes (similar to how DC’s Beast Boy’s shapes are always green)

Speech duplication; can mimic any human/humanoid voice once heard - they are so good at this that they can convincingly conjure a conversation between multiple people with their voice alone

Minor clairvoyance; they will have flashes of the future, but they are often too detached to make sense of in the moment

Mutant sturdiness; takes more than a few punches, slices, or bullets to put them down

Background

Birth: December 24th, 19XX - An unnamed child is born to a poor couple in a small Midwestern town. Unable to care for them themselves, the child is given up for adoption. The child is nicknamed “Dove” and spends a few years in the foster care system before finally being adopted at the age of four by a scientist named Dr. H. Moreau. Moreau renames the child to Caius Heavenly and relocates them to the remote woodlands of New England.

Childhood: Caius grew up enduring constant supervision and experimentation within Moreau’s compound, alongside a plethora of other children and subjects. Moreau’s goals were to “improve” the human race, combining human DNA with that of animals and putting his subjects’ bodies through intense physical tests in an effort to force start any latent mutant genes they may have.

Caius was chosen as they had been born in a town plagued by radiation problems; as such, Moreau felt they had strong potential to develop superpowers. The experimentation on Caius as a child was rather mundane, but as they would grow up, the violence and invasiveness towards them would increase drastically.

Teenhood: Caius was around fourteen when Moreau decided they were showing the most promise among his “children,” leading to an unwavering focus on them. Caius was the only subject in Moreau’s compound that was treated with some semblance of normalcy between rigorous experimentation sessions. Caius was afforded their own room in Moreau’s mansion, was dressed in nice clothes, ate (mostly) well, and was given a lot more freedom compared to their “siblings.”

This was when Caius’ powers started to develop more outwardly, starting with his speech duplication and clairvoyant abilities. Moreau took particular interest in their clairvoyance and tried to force it to be stronger, but his methods may have actually caused its weakening. Caius’ shapeshifting abilities began to develop a year later.

It took a considerable amount of time for Caius to consider that a world existed beyond Moreau and the compound. One of his siblings, Seth, managed to momentarily escape, but was ultimately captured and returned by Moreau’s employees. He went on to tell the other subjects about his brief taste of the outside world and inadvertently helped Caius realise that they no longer wished to remain in the compound.

Escape: Shortly into Caius’ seventeenth year, authorities raided Moreau’s compound. Unwilling to let his work be “misconstrued,” the scientist initiated his emergency protocol and attempted to blow up the compound, along with all of his notes, employees, and victims inside. The event killed a majority of those on the premises, but among the small number of survivors was Caius, who ran off to try and figure out how to live life.

Caius learned about Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and fled to the X-Mansion, seeking refuge. There, Caius was taken under the wing of Professor X himself as they acclimated to a life outside of the compound.

X-Men Training and Ejection/Resignation: Caius trained as an X-Man for three years, taking on the alias of The Raven for their inclination towards the bird as their favourite animal form. When expected to actually perform in a heroic scenario, however… Caius had a severe panic attack that nearly cost the lives of both one of their team members and a civilian. Due to this, Caius never actually became an official X-Man. As Cyclops was leading their first mission, he was the one to give the order that Caius was not ready to be a superhero. They doubled down on that by resigning from the X-Men program altogether, despite others’ opinions on the matter, choosing to instead pursue the life of your average day-to-day New Yorker.

Meeting Deadpool: Though Caius’ first encounter with the infamous Merc with A Mouth may’ve been a complete coincidence, Wade was, somehow, astutely aware of who they were— in regard to their brief history with the X-Men, at least. Beguiled by their “anxiety-ridden charm,” Wade began making any excuse to pop up in Caius’ life, and even convinced them to give anti-heroing a try; they didn’t need to live dully just because they couldn’t live up to the standards of the “greater” heroes.

Wade was Caius’ first true friend in a post-Moreau world, and eventually, his first lover as well. Despite the many issues between them, it is decidedly better for them to have each other than to not, and they even ended up married. The Raven can now often be seen joining Deadpool on contracts/adventures, even if they may not participate in as much of the action as their companion.