Nova Turner is twenty-five, androsexual and non-binary. They were born on march 18th. They live in Manhattan. They are from Seattle. They are a barista for a living, and often get told they look like Jerick Hoffer. We wish them the best of luck in the city that never sleeps! [Laura, 24, GMT+1, she/her]
Welcome to the Big City, Laura! Please make sure everything on the checklist is in order before sending in your account for Nova in the next 24 hours. We’re so excited to have you here with us!
Orion grew up in a relatively normal family. So normal, they have never been able to figure out why they struggled with severe anxiety for almost their whole life. It started when they were four years old and suddenly completely shut down. They were a mute for nearly two years, after which they slowly started talking to their family again, though they remained a selective mute. Most people confused their inability to speak with rudeness and judged them or even got angry, which fueled their anxiety. Books and films were their escape into fantasy, where magic and heroes were real and nothing could hurt them.
Though they tried to escape from the cruelty of reality for as long as they could, being a quiet child who always had their head buried in a book, there was no escaping from their classmates, whom had found an easy (and very anxious) target to make fun of. Orion tried to keep their head up, even if it was only figuratively speaking. But as they grew older, the taunting got worse. Their younger brother tried to protect them, but once they started high school, the bullying and abuse had started to become physical. It was around this time when Orion became painfully aware of just how lonely and miserable they felt. They weren’t sure if they had subconsciously had suicidal thoughts before, but they were strong and loud inside their mind now.
Self harm became a distraction, more than anything, from those darker thoughts buried in their head. It was easy to hide their self destruction from their inattentive parents, who never showed much interest in their children and often treated them more like a burden than anything else. Perhaps it was because Theon was loud and aggressive and Orion was unreachable, which made them give up on their job as a parent pretty fast. It wasn’t helpful to either of their children, however.
Caught up in emotional breakdowns at just the thought of having to go to school, Orion sank deeper and deeper into the clawed hands of depression. Books no longer provided a safe space to run to and after a couple of years of mental agony, Orion attempted to end their life. Their brother found them, got them to the hospital, took care of everything and convinced Orion to drop out of school.
Though it was embarrassing, it lifted a great weight from their shoulders. However, Seattle remained a city full of bad memories and Orion rarely left the house, resorting back to fantasy worlds that were provided by films and books. Theon once again tried to look after them, but it only made Orion feel guilty for being such a burden to their younger sibling. Eventually they couldn’t take it anymore and packed their stuff, leaving their family home without a word. Using nearly all the money they’d saved up, they took a plane to the other side of the country, not planning to ever look back.
These days, Orion remains a bit of a loner, though they long for the company of other people. Of friends. Instead, they’re seeing a therapist and got themselves a job as a barista to make sure they can afford the rent of their tiny apartment. They remain a naive and dreamy person, who has far less trouble having a whole conversation with their cat than with another human being, but they're trying and that’s all their therapist asks from them right now.
