Name: Zinovia Erato Diodorus
Nickname/s: Zinnia (Damien only), Zin, Nova, Rat
Species: Human
Age: 22 years old
Gender: Female
Hometown: New York, New York
Current Residence: Durron House
Studying: Criminology Postgraduate - 2nd year
Employment: Part-time Bartender at Raven Whispers
Family: Father: Lucas Diodorus. Mother: Seraphina Diodorus. Older Sister: Aoide Diodorus. Younger Sister: Thalia Diodorus. Ex-Boyfriend: Damien von Grebal
Friends: None currently
Relationship: Single
Player: Jadea
Contact Email: impatientbeauty@yahoo.com
Model: Carmen Soo
Credit: Beautiful News Readers
Background
Lucas and Seraphina Diodorus had always wanted nine daughters, all named for the fabled muses. It was an impractical dream born by blind ambition - namely, to fill the ranks of Hunters with the Diodorus name. Their first daughter was born in 1984, Aoide Diodorus, muse of song. She was a perfect beauty and they couldn't wait for another child. But, given that they were hunters, their life was eratic and often dangerous. It wasn't until they settled in New York in 1986 that they were able to concieve their second child, Zinovia Erato Diodorus. She was named in part for Seraphina's sister, who was killed on a hunt, and of course yet another muse. By then, Aoide was a bounding, lovely child and the Diodorus adults were already plotting their daughters lives. Despite repeated attacks on the family, they were able to establish themselves as innocent humans in the blind city, hunting by night and living as a simple Historian and his wife during the day.
In 1989, the beginning of Zin's well of memories, Thalia Diodorus was born amid the chaos of a werelion attack. Lucas and Seraphina had been scouting out a local vampire lair, and had stumbled upon the werelion completely by accident. Their natural hate of anything supernatural took hold, and while Lucas killed the werelion Seraphina huddled behind a dumpster and had her newest little muse. Of the event, Zin remembers only sitting up in her crib and staring, wide-eyed, at her bedraggled father and the infant in her mother's arms. She was only a child of three, but already was being exposed to the horrors of the world. More so when her father dragged the body down to the basement to dispose of the corpse. It was decided then that there would be no more children, and life moved on. After that night there were no more bloody corpses, no evidence that Seraphina and Lucas were not as helpless as they appeared. Zin chalked the wild memory up to her imagination, and forgot about it.
School came naturally to the exotic child, and she did well. Every day after school the three girls would finish their homework at the kitchen table, helping one another as they feasted on freshly baked cookies. It was the perfect, pristine life many americans scoff at, and in that life the three Diodorus girls, with their dark, dancing eyes, flourished. It had been decided even before Aoide's bith that they would not be exposed to the hunter lifestyle until they turned eighteen. It would give them time to mature and blossom in a normal environment, to finish school, and to possess the skills to hide what they were when the time came. A pretty girl going to college was less likely to be expected of being a hunter than a cold, distant girl who was homeschooled her whole life. And Lucas and Seraphina, they wanted their girls to fit in. Fitting in would only help them achieve a higher level in their hunting, help them to become the best.
As it was, Zin had a normal childhood. She thought her Dad was intelligent and a bit stuffy, and her mom was overly perky but good-hearted. She saw them as they wanted her to, and didn't question the odd mishap here and there - a woman cluching her mother's shoulder, demanding to know how she slept at night, or that time Thalia had fallen down the stairs and a piece of the stairs had come off, revealing a polished revolver. These things just happened, and Zin made no special note of them. Since the tender age of six, however, she'd felt another, keener emotion: jealousy. Always, she had to listen to how pretty her older sister was, how smart, how classy. Her parents praised Aoide to the moon and back, and then cuddled Thalia and patted the small girls head. As the middle child, ZIn felt very left out of things. She wasn't the baby, and she wasn't the star. She was just the girl in the middle, the one who shared their blood and little else. From the beginning, she'd been a bit of a tomboy, but in Middle School had abandoned most of her male friends after their kept swooning over Aoide. She never dated much, or had a special "gal pal" to gossip with. She just existed, reading, hiding behind her camera, and spoiling Thalia.
At seventeen, she fell in love. Zin was in her first year of college, studying Criminology, and she had fallen in love. The head-over-heels, absolutely crazy for him love that often hits a young girl of her age... but with Zin, it was deeper, infinately more meaningful. They'd met over spring break at a local coffee house. She was getting her fix and he was reading in one of the back booths... a booth she usually frequented. He had inky black hair worn loose about his shoulders, and right away it struck Zin in a way she couldn't describe. He looked so poetic reading, so lovely. She wanted to jump in his lap, drink his lips... thoughts she'd never considered before floated into her mind, making her blush heatedly. It was the blush that brought his eyes up, so dark and haunted. He stared at her like a man dying of thirst had just fallen into the ocean. Unable to help herself, she went to the booth and sat down. Three hours later, it was as though they'd known eachother their whole lives.
A month before she would turn eighteen, she decided to introduce Damien to her parents. They'd been dating for almost a year, and she felt that it was time they met. After all, Zin was convinced that after she graduated from college she would marry her artist, her Damien, and they would settle down in New York, with her a professional photographer, and him the stereotyped artist. They would be poor, she imagined, but fully happy, perhaps even starting a family of their own. Sadly, things didn't work out that way. The dinner went very, very badly and Zin discovered a side to her parents she hadn't known. After Damien left, they revealed to her everything - the family history of hunting nonhumans, of Aoide being a hunter herself, of their plans for Zin and Thalia to join the ranks... oh, and their plans to kill Damien because he was a vampire. She was struck speechless by it all, though something in her felt like a long-held question was confirmed.
After a stormy fight with Damien, demanding the truth, their relationship crumbled and she went to college feeling empty and lifeless. She began following her glamorous sister on stake-outs, trying to learn the family life though it was clear her heart wasn't in it. Her parents insisted, however, and their ambition spurred her to at least try. She became quite adept at recognizing nonhumans, better than either of her parents or even the perfect Aoide, but she kept it to herself. If their was a vampire nearby, but they weren't stalking him/her, she kept her mouth shut. Unlike the rest of her family, Zin didn't see nonhumans as monsters. Finally, it was time for her first kill - she had just turned twenty, and Aoide wanted her to come on the hunt. They'd been following a coven of witches for three months now, and felt ready to attack. Zin went, dragging her feet, and was so horrified by her sister, by how easy Aoide killed the coven, that she told her parents very plainly that she would NOT be a hunter. Aoide shrugged and said Zin had a weak stomach, and her parents agreed that Zin wouldn't carry on the family tradition... halfheartedly, of course. It was only Aoide's urging that kept them from forcing Zin into the hunter lifestyle. Knowing this, Zin thanked her sister and cut off contact with her family, even the baby, little Thalia.
Now she is in her second year of attempting Reading, the final in her Criminology degree. It was a drastic change from photography, but she couldn't handle it anymore. It reminded her, painfully, of Damien. He was still alive, having fled the city after their breakup, but he wasn't with her. Couldn't be, if he wanted to live, and that hurt... a lot. Despite not being a hunter, ZIn can't help but be attracted to nonhumans, befriending them even, and hopes against hope that she may stumble upon her broken Damien again. But minutes later, she scolds the thought. There can be no love between them. More so because she is now in league with Aoide in an effort to save the baby of the family, Thalia, from being found out by her parents. You see, after getting in with the wrong crowd, Thalia contracted lion lycanthropy. Aoide and Zin were quick to get their sister transferred to Reading, and have so far kept the older Diodorus' from discovering that their daughter is one of the monsters they hunt. Zin was surprised Aoide didn't share her parents feelings, but remembered how Aoide spared her from a life of hunting. They still don't talk much, but Zin loves and respects her sister.
Physical Appearance
Zin is very much her parents daughter as far as looks are concerned. Startling black eyes, oriental and framed by short, thick black lashes hide in a face that is a smooth blend of her asian, latino, and greek blood. Her nose is upturned and delicate, flanked by high cheekbones and china doll skin. Her lips are normal, very full, and often hide her crooked front tooth - an accident from third grade braces couldn't fix. Everything about Zin's face draws you in, almost as if she is magnetic. Flaws and perfections alike, Zin is a beauty in her own right; maybe not the pristine, obvious beauty of Aoide, but still a beauty. Flowing down from her face, one comes to a body much like that of a lanky teenage boy, all sharp edges and angles, covered in smooth, white skin. She is never going to be a Playmate with her small chest and slender hips, but Zin's long legs dazzle the masses and end in dainty feet. Overall, Zin's body is ever-changing. At one angle, she is stunning, at another awkward, and still another defiant.
Color wise, she is made up of creams and blacks; black, shoulder length hair faintly highlighted with brown and choppily cut, big black eyes, and creamy skin without a break. Her hair is a source of hatred for the younger Thalia, who is a diva at heart and loves to give makeovers, but Zin refuses to be bothered by it. Messy and unfussed over her hair shall remain. Of course, when you're just barely five feet tall and an ex-tomboy, you generally give up on being a beauty queen, so very few people are surprised to find out that no, ZIn doesn't wear make uo and yes, all of her clothes are from the Salvation Army. She has a tatto on the back of her neck, very small, that gives the date she met Damien. No one tends to ask whenever they see it just under her hairline, and if they do, Zin never explains.
Personality
Zin is fairly quiet, and will rarely be the first person to approach. She often likes to lie and wait for a good conversation to drop into her lap, and once one does she has no trouble at all talking someone's ear off. She has a passion for art, history, and criminals, and often gets the three mixed up which needs to some very interesting looks. Those who have known Zin for longer than one conversation know there are some subjects that are absolutely taboo with her. Bring one up, and she's apt to stop talking to you. One of those is her tattoo, another is her love life, and the third - and worst to bring up - is her family. Even if Zin has known you for years and years, and you KNOW her family, you still can't talk about them or bring them up in any way, which means no commenting on Aoide's picture in US Weekly, or gossiping about Thalia's latest lover. You simply pretend Zin is without a family, without a past. You also avoid nonhumans and hunters, if you're smart.
One curious habit of Zin's is her open staring. It makes many people uncomfortable, the fact that she can and will stare you down without blinking, but for her, it's a way to learn more about a person. You'd be surprised how much is revealed by someone looking away from her uneasily, or getting angry simply because she won't stop staring. It's her way of discovering what makes people tick, and its a habit she has even with old friends. Zin also is obviously curious about the supernatural, but it's a subject she's very close-mouthed about. You can see the interest in her eyes, smell it on her skin, but you can't bring it up or she'll be mad. That's another thing - Zin gets mad. A lot. Mostly it is her frusteration at being impotent in regards to many aspects of her life. But the real reason is her rage at Damien for lying to her, for being a vampire... for ever meeting her. Many things that Zin is angry about are a little silly, but it doesn't stop her from hating those things. From wanting them changed.
Talents & Weaknesses
Zin is very, very adept at recognizing nonhumans. This stems from her training with Aoide, but is also just something she has a natural knack for. Before she knew about the existence of nonhumans, it was simply being able to point out members of the baseball team, or a girl that shopped at a certain store. Zin is just exceptionally good at remembering details. From the small tear on someone's pantleg to the way someone walked in the door. It was no problem to add the criteria of nonhumans. But with that little gift, there is a drawback: nameley, Zin's memory. She could give you an detailed describtion of every kid in her class when she was in first grade, but couldn't tell you the name of any of her high school teachers. Or her parents phone number. Or the name of Aoide's fiancee. She is terrible with dates, with numbers, with addresses... anything that is not physical, Zin's apt to forget.
She is a very skilled photographer, able to bring to life anything she shoots. Twenty people might go out on a winter's day to take pictures, but you'd still know which shots were Zin's every time. They have a certain life to them, a depth, some sort of meaning that is always very clear. She brings out each detail that her mind notes, and makes it blossom through her camera lens. Even though she no longer dreams of being a photographer, it is evident that she would have lived well, had she stuck with it. But that's another thing about Zin, once she drops an idea, she never picks it up again. She's too stubborn to change her mind, too willful to consider it. Fighting with her over past choices is like getting into a screaming match with wallpaper - the only difference is that with the wallpaper, you might get somewhere.
