i m i t a t i o n

Awake and trying today. Family is being super fucking noisy today so it's being very distracting but am determined to get a few posts out. Fight on! (ง •̀_•́)ง

It goes without saying that Zeno's good at handling pain. The t-virus ensures speedy, almost near instant regeneration meaning most injuries can easily be shrugged off but his tolerance levels were further increased by his creators deliberately subjecting him to pain in the name of training. He feels it when getting hurt, when flesh is torn by either bullets or claws but openly showing pain during these sessions only resulted in earning more and eventually he learned to hide these 'weaknesses' by not showing any reaction except in the most severe cases. As a result, Zeno rarely ever flinches or pulls away and at most will grunt at receiving a particularly nasty wound like when Leon sliced off his forearm. He absolutely still feels most things and because of that, he's an ideal patient, allowing doctors to cut into his body without a fuss.

Oh, what a pitiful sight. It still shocked Zeno seeing how... utterly dejected his twin was since getting 'cured' with Elpis. The very virus that gave them their superhuman powers was also what was killing them slowly but seeing the horrific scarring where his other's Raccoon City Syndrome had spread, pale skin marred with what looked more like high degree burns couldn't help but wrench some kind of sorrow in Zeno's heart, seeing the other's terrible state. His brother. Human. He still couldn't quite believe it but the signs were there. The scent, how much smaller his twin seemed standing there. Afraid at what he'd become and how powerless he was as a result of it. No wonder he was shaking. Zeno might have felt the same were he in the same place. "Immune? To total reinfection? You're quite sure they were telling you the truth and not what they wanted you to hear?" He asks. It's the only thing he can say in that situation, holding out for the tiniest crumb of hope in that they were lying. They had to be, maybe to discourage his twin from finding a way to regain his powers and become a threat to humanity like they were, or maybe because... because... Because maybe it was true. Elpis, Spencer's last creation designed to of eradicate all progenitor-based viruses and bioweapons. It made sense given how prolific viruses were and the countless enemies Spencer had made over the years. Elpis being his final fuck you to the world was just the cherry on top of the rotten cake that was his legacy, and his twin was yet another casualty of the madman's schemes. He glances into the other's pale eyes, ones of fierce gold calmly meeting those of pale blue. "... Maybe, were it to be the case, we could get you something else. Cadou perhaps, or a Nemesis parasite? If you hate being human so much, that doesn't mean you can't find some other way of reinfecting yourself. It would just be... well, different."

Zeno is not a good sleeper. Being infected with the t-virus as he is helps to maintain his body and keep it optimal at all times but the drawbacks make it incredibly hard to settle down for a decent sleep. It's far harder for a B.O.W like him to be truly fatigued what with his body always repairing itself and those heightened senses of his tune into just every noise in the nearby vicinity, rousing him straight back to total alertness as soon as he hears something. With the Connections always pushing him to work, Zeno at best functioned with 2-3 hour light 'naps' a day to wind down before getting ready for the next mission or training session. Later in life when he had a bit more freedom to work outside of headquarters, he managed to extend his sleep by taking certain substances to numb his senses for a while.

Not sure if I've mentioned it before but Zeno has issues regarding appearances, though this is strictly restricted to himself. Looking like another man and having to emulate him so closely is enough for him to be repulsed at times by his own reflection if he's slacking on keeping his hair trimmed or isn't swamped in enough layers to differentiate himself from Wesker. On the other hand, Zeno doesn't usually judge others by their appearances. Some of his best friends are other BOW's, creatures most people would regard as hideous monsters so if somebody is regarded as 'ugly' or conventionally unattractive, he doesn't really see it. Sure, he can reasonably deduce who's 'attractive' when looking at them but Zeno's so largely isolated from what society holds as 'beauty standards' that traits many might find 'ugly' or are insecure about (i.e: birth marks, buck teeth, burns) are simply part of their body. He's way more likely to judge somebody for being deliberately slovenly or gross, like c'mon, you can do so much better than this.

Due to being part of the Connections, Zeno has a unique cellphone that isn't registered to any main networks. It's practically undetectable by normal means and is very hard to trace what with it and other phones like it operating on a separate network of satellites to avoid detection by legal authorities. It's mainly used for work, keeping in contact with other assets also working for the Connections but it's also useful to keep in contact with important figures instilled in positions of power around the globe so Zeno can be issued orders from afar if necessary. Were he happen to be in a relationship however, Zeno would still have this phone and keep it very, very secret but he'd also keep a regular phone to stay in contact with his partner so they don't suspect anything is wrong. It's a perfectly ordinary phone with perfectly ordinary contacts of good standing, nothing for them to worry about while his real phone stays well-hidden, along with all the horrific information that exposes him as being less than stellar.

"Pride month? Is that what it's called? Yes, we should all be a little more prideful about ourselves. Instead of tearing people down, we should be tearing them up instead! Oh. You mean a different kind of pride, don't you? It's still good."

Just this once, I am going to participate in sinday early and I'll say this; Zeno really does not give a shit if you see him naked. This man was a test tube baby, had people giving him the one over before he could summon up a single coherent thought so another pair of eyes on his bare body? Means nothing at all.

Quick thought after work but I noticed when after Zeno got cured with Elpis, he was pressing a hand to his chest an awful lot and upon thinking about it, tyrants tend to have enlarged hearts? Probably to help pump blood around the body efficiently when they're doing their BOW things so instead of feeling good after his RCS got cleared up, for Zeno, it probably felt like he was having a heart attack because his heart was still trying to perform at the same rate as when he was infected.