ㅤ❝ㅤhow was your day, zhou lan?
-catalyst. ree. 積読本.
zhou, lan
PERSONALITY TRAITS — quiet, observant, nonchalant, indecisive, passive, laidback, caring, devoted, filial
ELABORATION —
• "hey." "hey." at first meeting, lan is a woman of few words. she doesn't say much and she prefers to let the other approach her and initiate conversation with her first before she does anything else towards him/her. it may be offputting to some, believing that she's a 'cold' person or someone who isn't very friendly in nature, but it's actually something a bit more than that. she would love to talk to another if the conversation warrants it. if it's about something she can relate to, then she has no problem contributing to the talk around her. but being from another country, half the time that isn't the case. she's taken to just sitting in the background, observing everybody from a distance because that's where she feels most comfortable. she prefers to have others talk to her because, to her, it shows that he/she is actually interested in starting some type of relationship with her, whether it's as acquaintances or potentially something more, and it makes her feel welcomed in such an already small town.
• "go where the flow takes you." really, lan is quite the passive person once someone befriends her. she's the type to say 'i don't care' and 'i don't mind' because she truly doesn't half the time. it's like she has no true opinion about anything other than her extreme likes or dislikes. it makes it frustrating for others, her indecisiveness bringing out unnatural distractions and anger, but she can't help it. she tries and does something to change her mindset, but it seems forever stuck on thinking that each object or opinion has two sides that she can clearly see. she can see and understand the pros and cons of each situation and that always makes her sit on the fence until something budges and she simply follows along with it instead, rationalizing herself with her own, possibly fake, opinions that she can come up with to back herself up.
• "everything must happen for a reason, right?" because of how passive and indecisive she is, lan one hundred percent believes in this phrase. she believes that things happen for a reason, good or bad, and that the current event or situation would've happened anyways if it was meant to be. she was never one to be forceful about any situation, trying to avoid confrontation or becoming passive-aggressive to be forceful, and she always tries to reason herself with this phrase. but she's also become incredibly laidback because of it. she'll do things at her own pace (even though it's really not that slow) and she'll let other people do certain activities or other things first because she actually feels like she doesn't need to do anything else if others want to do it. it's an odd mindset, but she doesn't want to keep others from doing what they want or need to do and be in the way of them doing it.
• "but yeah, hey. how are you, love?" honestly though, lan can be a bit odd in herself. once she becomes true friends with someone, she actually loves to dote on the person. she likes to make sure they feel like they're being cared for and looked after because she didn't really have that when she moved to south korea for university. she missed the constant nicknames her mother always called her 'sweetheart' and 'love' and 'dear' to the point where she ended up calling her friends that as well. she would even call elderly men and women that because they reminded her of her grandparents. she's filial and she knows it, wanting to transfer how much one person can care about another to others around her.
• "go where the flow takes you." really, lan is quite the passive person once someone befriends her. she's the type to say 'i don't care' and 'i don't mind' because she truly doesn't half the time. it's like she has no true opinion about anything other than her extreme likes or dislikes. it makes it frustrating for others, her indecisiveness bringing out unnatural distractions and anger, but she can't help it. she tries and does something to change her mindset, but it seems forever stuck on thinking that each object or opinion has two sides that she can clearly see. she can see and understand the pros and cons of each situation and that always makes her sit on the fence until something budges and she simply follows along with it instead, rationalizing herself with her own, possibly fake, opinions that she can come up with to back herself up.
• "everything must happen for a reason, right?" because of how passive and indecisive she is, lan one hundred percent believes in this phrase. she believes that things happen for a reason, good or bad, and that the current event or situation would've happened anyways if it was meant to be. she was never one to be forceful about any situation, trying to avoid confrontation or becoming passive-aggressive to be forceful, and she always tries to reason herself with this phrase. but she's also become incredibly laidback because of it. she'll do things at her own pace (even though it's really not that slow) and she'll let other people do certain activities or other things first because she actually feels like she doesn't need to do anything else if others want to do it. it's an odd mindset, but she doesn't want to keep others from doing what they want or need to do and be in the way of them doing it.
• "but yeah, hey. how are you, love?" honestly though, lan can be a bit odd in herself. once she becomes true friends with someone, she actually loves to dote on the person. she likes to make sure they feel like they're being cared for and looked after because she didn't really have that when she moved to south korea for university. she missed the constant nicknames her mother always called her 'sweetheart' and 'love' and 'dear' to the point where she ended up calling her friends that as well. she would even call elderly men and women that because they reminded her of her grandparents. she's filial and she knows it, wanting to transfer how much one person can care about another to others around her.
BACKGROUND + CURRENT EVENTS —
• born in beijing, china on february 4, 1991, lan has always been taught to be filial, always be kind and thankful towards her parents and grandparents who took the time to love and raise her to be the person she is today. she always tried to work hard, wanting to please her parents, that she stressed herself out in all her classes until she got the best grades that she could, which were mid-A's most of the time and an occasional B or two in there.
• her parents were always proud of her because of her hardworking nature, watching as she tried to study in between everything else school and life, in general, had to offer. granted, sometimes they wanted more that lan couldn't bring, but her mother always told her that it was okay. she didn't need the best grades if it stressed her to the point of breaking. but that didn't stop lan from trying her hardest all the way into high school when she actually hit her breaking point in her third year. it was considered one of the most important years in a young one's life and she tried to balance extra-curriculars, school, and familial duties and life until it became too much one day and she broke down because of it. she felt like her mental state shattered and she cried for almost a whole day straight. she thinks this is the reason why she is now a laidback and indecisive person, because she can't handle anything too stressful nowadays so she tries to avoid it as much as she can.
• however, she's been able to still handle school to the best of her abilities. she has already graduated from university in s. korea, with a major in chemistry strange enough, and she's currently happy with what she's accomplished so far with her little past.
• her parents were always proud of her because of her hardworking nature, watching as she tried to study in between everything else school and life, in general, had to offer. granted, sometimes they wanted more that lan couldn't bring, but her mother always told her that it was okay. she didn't need the best grades if it stressed her to the point of breaking. but that didn't stop lan from trying her hardest all the way into high school when she actually hit her breaking point in her third year. it was considered one of the most important years in a young one's life and she tried to balance extra-curriculars, school, and familial duties and life until it became too much one day and she broke down because of it. she felt like her mental state shattered and she cried for almost a whole day straight. she thinks this is the reason why she is now a laidback and indecisive person, because she can't handle anything too stressful nowadays so she tries to avoid it as much as she can.
• however, she's been able to still handle school to the best of her abilities. she has already graduated from university in s. korea, with a major in chemistry strange enough, and she's currently happy with what she's accomplished so far with her little past.
RELATIONSHIPS —
• father - zhou, jin (58) - businessman - quiet, awkward, hardworking, funny - jin and lan have an awkward relationship since he was always working, but he would always try to form a bond between him and his daughter. he would try and ask her normal questions like 'how was school?' and 'how are you?' but then it'd get awkward because he doesn't know what else to ask her. they eventually find their little rhythm when lan goes to him asking questions about businesses and how to manage them and things like that. sometimes the conversations end up being unexpectedly funny, and lan doesn't mind.
• mother - shi, lienhua (58) - high school teacher - caring, outgoing, personable - lienhua and lan have just as strange a relationship as lan and her father, but they're able to connect more because her mother is so outgoing and inviting compared to her. lan's also able to be very open with her mother, but sometimes her mother takes it to the next level and tries to pry more into her life. especially since she's at the age where marriage is an option, lienhua tries to figure out if lan is having a secret relationship without telling her or not. she wants grandbabies but jin is another story entirely.
• best friend (in china) - zhou, yixuan (25) - dance and yoga (tai chi?) instructor - dorky, caring, meditative, selfless - lan and yixuan is the pair of friends who had gone through part of the roughest times of life together and managed to get caught in that web of 'are we just friends or something more?' they know each other in and out and yixuan is able to bring out a more fun and happy side of lan that only he can do without much effort. they joke around a lot and help each other as best as they can. they would splurge all their money on a plane ticket to go and personally see the other in the toughest times but, in reality, wouldn't (98% wouldn't) because then yixuan or lan would be at the receiving end of unlimited scolds for the rest of life.
• best friend (in s. korea) - kim, jiyeon (22, fc. kim yongsun - solar from mamamoo) - student working to become a veternarian - cheerful, helpful, impatient, blunt - to put it simply, jiyeon is lan's outgoing side. she's the one who always brings lan out to do things around the city and she's the one who always stirs up trouble when she (probably) doesn't mean to. she's quite the forceful person but lan thinks that's why they get along so well together because it's like they're each other's halves (sometimes). it also helps that jiyeon is younger and always tries to use the 'don't be an old grandma like your old grandpa friend in china' card.
• mother - shi, lienhua (58) - high school teacher - caring, outgoing, personable - lienhua and lan have just as strange a relationship as lan and her father, but they're able to connect more because her mother is so outgoing and inviting compared to her. lan's also able to be very open with her mother, but sometimes her mother takes it to the next level and tries to pry more into her life. especially since she's at the age where marriage is an option, lienhua tries to figure out if lan is having a secret relationship without telling her or not. she wants grandbabies but jin is another story entirely.
• best friend (in china) - zhou, yixuan (25) - dance and yoga (tai chi?) instructor - dorky, caring, meditative, selfless - lan and yixuan is the pair of friends who had gone through part of the roughest times of life together and managed to get caught in that web of 'are we just friends or something more?' they know each other in and out and yixuan is able to bring out a more fun and happy side of lan that only he can do without much effort. they joke around a lot and help each other as best as they can. they would splurge all their money on a plane ticket to go and personally see the other in the toughest times but, in reality, wouldn't (98% wouldn't) because then yixuan or lan would be at the receiving end of unlimited scolds for the rest of life.
• best friend (in s. korea) - kim, jiyeon (22, fc. kim yongsun - solar from mamamoo) - student working to become a veternarian - cheerful, helpful, impatient, blunt - to put it simply, jiyeon is lan's outgoing side. she's the one who always brings lan out to do things around the city and she's the one who always stirs up trouble when she (probably) doesn't mean to. she's quite the forceful person but lan thinks that's why they get along so well together because it's like they're each other's halves (sometimes). it also helps that jiyeon is younger and always tries to use the 'don't be an old grandma like your old grandpa friend in china' card.
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