#corvus.

Corvus, Corvo

Algo estranho habita debaixo da pele de Corvo. Não é por ser tarka, dizem os que temem ser vistos como preconceituosos. É por ser tarka, mas há mais!, dizem os que não fazem assim tanta questão. Leitora obcecada, passa horas sentada na mesma posição na biblioteca, apenas os olhos deslizando sobre as letras e os dedos passando as páginas. Há quem sinta calafrios ao olhar, mas não pode desviar a atenção: é hipnotizante, não parece humana. Bom, não é mesmo. Há de se concordar, porém, que sua personalidade é além do usual mesmo entre os que vieram do mar. Alguns acreditam que ela odeia a todos, outros percebem algo diferente nesse interesse ávido pelo conhecimento e argumentam que isso não poderia ser ódio. Talvez tivessem recebido alguma resposta quando setembro veio e foi, e ela continuou com seus livros debaixo do braço, os pés na ilha. 

Do they? Hm. Suppose it's not unfeasible to try.

- Corvus.

Please, please tell me - WHAT in the name of ALIA is Pallas' fixation on making me play Despacito? Of ALL the arbitrary songs ae could ask for. Why Despacito specifically.

Meet HALEY STERLING. They are EIGHTY-EIGHT years old and hail from SYDNEY, AUS. Haley embodies the constellation, CORVUS. They use she/her pronouns. Their faceclaim is VIRGINIA GARDNER.

Corvus reminds me of somersaults through the grass on a cool summer night, calloused hands and bruised thighs, crystal clear laughter, cups of tea left to chill on the windowsill and then forgotten about, anime with a prominent cherry blossom motif, bubble tea, a collection of succulents (each named and loved), cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, and the excitement from catching a rare pokemon.

BIOGRAPHY

To understand Haley is to understand her family, and even that might raise more questions than answers. If you ask her though, it’s really quite simple. She was lucky enough to grow up in a community that promoted individuality and love in its purest forms. There was never a moment where Haley felt like she didn’t have the world at her fingertips, and even before she had her first incident of accidentally charming one of her cousins into the middle of a mud pile after he pulled her hair, she knew that magic wasn’t just a gift from the stars. It was, and always has, surrounded her.

Now, as for Haley herself, she’s never been able to sit still for very long. She would always be running around the acres of land owned by the commune, and trying to get her to focus on anything for more than ten minutes was like pulling teeth. Not that that was an issue within her community, but it did have the side effect of Haley wanting to try out any and everything she could get her hands on — from music (yikes) to soccer (girl is not a team player) to surfing (she’ll leave that to her sister; Haley is much too big a baby). Then, at the age of 6 (a newborn, by magic standards), she began taking gymnastics and everything fell into place. Even as a child, Haley had a competitive streak that told her family she would excel at sports. When that was paired with the unparalleled feeling of nailing a new move or improving her balance, it was like finding a second home. And not to brag, but Haley is good at gymnastics. It’s the one thing she’s able to pour every last ounce of her ambition and drive into. She knows she could’ve been an Olympic athlete if she really wanted to, but there’s bound to be some eyebrows raised when they ask for her age and she tells them she was born in the 1930s. That’s okay, though. While she loves the feeling of victory, Haley much prefers the internal satisfaction of knowing that she’s spent decades honing her skills.

If family is her first greatest love, and gymnastics is her second, then being a total fucking nerd easily takes the number three spot. She practically cried when she attended the first Star Trek convention in 1972, and she eagerly watched every episode of Astro Boy as it premiered to English-speaking citizens in the 1960s. If it can get you labelled as a nerd, Haley has probably tipped her toes into its waters. While gymnastics helped her to focus herself, nerddom gave her a chance to escape into any number of different worlds. There was a particular peace that came with pretending she was onboard the Enterprise, or being sucked into the Digital World alongside Tai and his friends. That’s not to say Haley isn’t in touch with reality; she is, and she hates it. A little escapism never hurt anyone, right?

Her passions ultimately became the one thing to keep her sane over time. Corvus appeared on her skin at a young age and for years, no one quite knew what it meant other than that Haley was a true witch. The first premonition Haley had was at the age of 14, when she saw an older member of their commune being crushed by a tractor. She cried and cried and cried, not realizing that it had been in her head rather than reality. That peace only lasted for a few days, when that tragic incident came to pass out of nowhere. It scared people to know that Haley had seen something horrific, and it scared her even more when those visions never went away. They were unpredictable, and for a time, Haley was terrified to even sleep, worried that they would find their way into her dreams as well. Those years... were not kind to Haley, lets put it like that.

If she were anyone else, or raised any other way, Haley doesn’t know if she would have survived. But she did, and while she refuses to talk about the sleepless nights or the painful waking days, in hindsight, she has a certain respect for them. Instead of letting them drive her mad, Haley turned to her vices as a means of keeping herself in high spirits. It never fully worked to make the visions of death and pain more palatable, but it did allow her to have some form of hope. There was a period where she thought that telling people about their fates could make them change it, but she quickly learned that those things will always come to pass no matter what. To be quite frank, there is nothing Haley can do about it. And she’s had to accept that.

At the end of the day, Haley can list many of her faults before anyone else has a chance, She’s not the brightest crayon in the box, her competitive nature has a habit of getting the better of her, and she’s terrible at reading a room. She’s insecure, naive, a little too loud and a little too much for many people. But in her eyes, she’s already seen the worst that humanity has to offer. Rather than letting her fear control, she’s spent decades of her life working through balancing the good with the bad in her life. She didn’t initially want to go to Polaris but when she heard Jemma would be attending, Haley could think of nothing better than joining her. It’s really just another adventure, and one she intends on enjoying.

INCLINATION

In terms of magic, Corvus is one of a handful of constellations able to tap into darkness in its truest form. Much like its symbol, the Crow, Corvus is often times viewed as somewhat of a bad omen, which is not completely unfounded. Individuals with this sponsorship have the gift of premonitions, but only in the extreme. The things they foretell are nothing if not horrific, and it’s not unheard of for people with these powers to lose their minds from the tragedy they see. As a sick joke, Corvus also draws its energy from the negative thoughts of others — the more a user is disliked, the more powerful they are. The key to mastering Corvus lies in having a soul that remains true in spite of knowing the worst; the magic users that Corvus chooses to sponsor are always at random, with the stars hoping someone will stand up to that test.

CONNECTIONS

Filling the role of Samantha Evans’ nerdmance.

Filling the role of Robin Wright-Yang’s opposites attract.

Protector: So Haley is a bit of an idiot. Scratch that, she’s a major idiot, and she has a penchant for trusting too easily. And, with a power as capable of dark magic as hers, its not hard to believe that some people would want to use that for their own agenda. This person is someone who not only keeps an eye out for Haley to make sure she doesn’t accidentally buy a time share or get indoctrinated into a cult, but who also is there to help keep away any more nefarious scammers.