What's your full name? Are you named after anyone?
my name is fiorenza ophelia jane messana. i was named after my mamma's nonna (she died before my birth), the tragic ophelia from shakespeare's hamlet, and a combination of jane eyre & st. jane frances de chantal (as we are roman catholic, i have a confirmation name). messana is sicilian, and is taken from the town of messina where my ancestors likely came from. my mamma has a thing for british literature, if you can't tell.

How old are you and when is your birthday?
i was born on the 14th of march. i'm 25 at the moment, but i don't have much longer to go before i turn 26. and i can't wait, i always did love a party. though i typically stretch my birthday out a few days since the partying is different between family and friends.

Where were you born? IF not Chicago, how did you end up here?
i was born in trapani, sicily and when i was a few months old my pappa took his family and came to america, almost the entire family is settled here now. my uncles and their families are here, as well as my nonna. of course, mamma's family still lives overseas, but that just gives us incentive to visit every other year. family is strongest when it is together, so we all came because my uncles had a dream. the dream was shared and it has come true... although sometimes my parents wonder to what ends.

What do you do for a living?
i went to college for art conservation, which means i could be hanging out under the sistine chapel right now retouching michelangelo's great works. but i was needed here to help take care of nonna and help at the deli. so that's what i do. though i still work on my own, original, paintings in my spare time. but for now, i'm a messana and so i work with the family.

Tell us about your pets; past or present
i currently am waiting on a friend's dog to give birth and have her pups so that i can pick one, but it'll be a pitt bull because they are the sweetest dogs in the world. i have a hyacinth macaw named iago because i got him as a kid during my aladdin phase. and lately i've inherited a pet chicken from the lady in the next building because her son made her get rid of it. his name is henry and she visits him on tuesdays. he's actually quite a gentleman. i'm 97% sure this is against several laws but she's only keeping him till it's time to butcher him, and i'm invited to dinner. so there's that.

What kind of movies, music, books, and television do you like?
i like all kinds of things...jesus. um... i love anything with serial killers. i love british period dramas and tv shows. i love anthony bourdain and bizarre foods. i love the travel channel in general. i love adult swim. i love football/soccer whatever. i actually love hockey, but it's better to see live. it's easier to tell you what i don't like. i don't like old westerns. i don't like country music in general, actually. i like emotional things... but that can be anything from happy to sad. but i don't like things where there's no depth or variety because life doesn't work that way. i don't really like comic books, but i love movies about comic books (marvel, please...although i can't resist batman). i live on investigation discovery too. i don't like the godfather movies because it gives people the wrong idea about my people and they think we're all in the mafia. i don't like anything that encourages anyone to be lazy or give up or that some force 'meant' for whatever to happen when it was something they should take responsibility for. oh and i don't do this american thing of ignoring the bad things in life for fear it'll offend people or breed prejudice, but then i don't do people who watch or listen to that stuff to learn how to be prejudiced... so you know. i'm just not all about denial of history for any nation. i fucking love history because it's entertaining and it's truth... and it's something we need to pay more attention to.

Where were you five years ago and where do you see yourself in the next five years?
five years ago i was partying my ass off in college and doing everything i could to break taboos. i'm not a good catholic, and i was an even worse one then. i started getting tattoos and piercings (five years later and my parents still throw fits about it), and smoking pot, etc. not that i don't do all that now, it just seemed a lot more wild and free back then. partying all night, coming in long enough to shower and head to class... it took me three years to even argue my way into my own apartment after moving back... and even then someone is within a five block radius who can tell my parents what i'm up to.

Tell us something that everybody should know about you!
i am a product of chicago. i can speak sicilian italian, a fair few dialects of spanish, a touch of polish, even some hindi. i grew up dancing hip hop in the streets with other children. i've had to fight to keep things that i own because i've stepped into the wrong place at the wrong time, but through all of it i am as diverse, passionate, warm, and delicious as the rest of the city is. this place is a melting pot in the fullest sense and i love it all. i love everyone here who makes it what it is...and i hate obnoxious tourists who have no desire to truly experience it. oh, and i used to train to sing with the intent of going into opera when i was old enough... until i discovered art. so despite my appearance, you'll frequently catch me splurging on the opera when something wonderful is playing.

▸ full name Fiorenza Ophelia Jane Messana ▸ goes by Renza & Others ▸ birth date & age March 14, 1988; 25 ▸ place of birth Trapani, Italy ▸ relationship status Single ▸ occupation Waitress @ Messana's Cafe & Deli

★ plays piano, and violin. she is also a sucker for 80's and 90's music, depressing songs, punk, & opera. she once intended on becoming an opera singer and did voice training her entire life (for the sake of rp her singing voice is comparable to that of amy lee. she still is contemplating starting a band just for fun.
★ digs serial killers, trauma sites, rotten.com, criminal minds, crime shows, her tumblr & pinterest is mostly full of memento mori , skeletons, mummies, antique objects (especially medical supplies) and clothing.
★ used to dance hip hop with the other kids in her neighborhood & still loves to dance at clubs.
★ used to practice self-harm & began collecting tattoos as a replacement for the sensation of cutting. has depression & symptoms of bpd (different diagnoses from 3 doctors so it's hard to tell). to this day she self-medicates with booze, pills, pot and sex. she has been known to dabble in drugs when partying at clubs or w/ friends. However, she doesn't have a habit & avoids anything but coke, ecstasy, and pharmies.
★ doesn't have any hangups about her family's closeness. after all; they're protective and want the best for her. yes she resents having to give up her career some times, but she knew that she could go back and didn't want to miss the time she has left to be with her nonna. doesn't date anywhere near home and avoids italians just to keep her father and brothers off her case. they don't agree w/ her promiscuity and, in her mind, don't need to know about it and their neighborhood is a tightly-knit one.
★ loves football and never misses a world cup match. she always supports argentina, italy, & portugal's national teams. on top of this she has a deep love of hockey thanks to her oldest brother playing it all of her life until he blew his knee. she also has a thing for hockey players, though those aren't her only type.
★ terms herself as pan-sexual. her first time with a girl began at 12 with her best friend. she didn't have sex with a male until she was 16. she knows she's promiscuous, and doesn't have any hang ups about it. however, she hates being called a whore or when her brother pulls her to confession.
★ had a 4 yr long relationship during her time at nyu. it was the most romantic, creative, loving, and developmental time of her life. unfortunately two kids w/ un-diagnosed mental issues makes for pain and fighting. they broke up badly after graduation and since then renz has never been with another more than one night... until recently.
★ loves shakespeare, poetry, and 19th century british lit. however, she'll read pretty much anything once and typically prefers things that are either classics, or laced w/ magic. she was a total harry potter nerd, and now is deep into game of thrones. she has no shame about it. she also still dresses up for midnight rocky horror performances. hated twilight.
★ has not gotten more than short-term help for her issues and believes herself to be fine, despite the self-medication. she doesn't talk about it to most people since her own family could never understand it. instead she transfers her pain into music, art, and blocks the rest w/ her own ideas of medication. she's been mostly functional and believes that she's fine w/o drs forcing terrible pills down her throat.

▸short blurb Fiorenza Messana is a 25 year old Sicilian-American and a Chicago native (she's lived there since she was 4 months old) who has a degree in art conservation from NYU, yet is being put to work at her dad's deli and cafe in Little Italy. When she's not working at the deli; Renza is often looking after her senile Grandmother who has been passing on her traditional cooking skills to her youngest grandchild since she was a toddler. Obviously extremely family oriented (despite the constant struggles between being a modern American in a traditionally Sicilian family); Renza is also a very open and honest person (in general, although she keeps necessary secrets from her family) who is also pretty freaking eclectic and open-minded. She's fun-loving and laid back, as well as damn mischievous. She is quite a compassionate, diverse, loving individual who can adapt easily to most situations and do so with minimal fuss or drama. After her only major relationship ended after 4 years with her heart being ripped from her chest; Renza swore off relationships. Whilst she tries never to sleep w/ the same person time to prevent feelings from growing; Renza has always been an affectionate and touch-oriented woman. This has resulted in her spending more time cuddled with her friends than pursuing romantic interests. Despite her generally outwardly sunny personality; there is a dark side to her as well. Renz suffers from mental illness. Whilst her family were at a loss for how to help the girl; she's since learned to hide her issues in plain sight. She self-medicates constantly with alcohol, cigarettes, pills, pot, and sex. She has replaced a 10 year self-harm addiction with the more socially acceptable habit of getting tattoos and piercings. She's good at hiding her insecurities and putting others before herself as she'd rather not have to deal w/ her own demons.