RAN ZHENBAI IS A GUARDIAN OF THE OTHER SIDE
aniyababo : ANDY
⟪ PERSONALITY ⟫ [ ISTJ ; Ravenclaw ; Capricorn ]
+ Calm and Practical, Dutiful, Patient and Determined, Responsible
= Enforcer, Honest and Direct, Ambitious
- Inflexible, Insensitive, Stubborn, Judgemental, Tends to blame herself a lot
When you hear people whispering about one of the few asian students in the Academy, it's not because Z(ee)'s a minority. No, it's not (entirely) because she has an undeniable resting face nor the fact that she tops almost every class she's in either- although these are definitely things to talk about. Though as people would say, the only real reason why Zhenbai ends up being the main topic of a conversation is because of her overall domineering pressence. Everywhere you may look or go to, there's always a hint of Zhenbai no matter how small. This is definitely true for the people in the Academy. You know that thing, where every school has their set of "elite" students? Not necessarily popular from the get go but are known nonetheless? Either for their looks, their familiy background, smarts, etc.? Well, Zhenbai's on that list. She actually falls on every caterogry- save for the fact that she isn't entirely liked by 50% of the student body- not even a number of the professor. One reason, that never fails to annoy anyone hearing the female's name, is her abilitiy to retain information being fed to her. Zee is a proud repository of knowledge, especially in regards to facts and statistics (rather than concepts and underlying principles). This allows her to apply herself to a variety of situations, picking up and applying collected data to futher improve her future responses once the matter finally presents itself.
Now you may say: 'So she's a smartass, what's wrong with that?' Well despite her calm and practical nature, Zee isn't exactly the best person to be with when you end up being the last two people on earth. She's an enforcer and always goes by the book or what she knows by experience. Order, clear and rational decisions, as well as effectiveness are important factors for the female. She believes that, rules are there as a guide for a group to get involved and fosters dependability amongst each other. This also builds a foundation for loyalty amongst the team, something Zee values greatly and commits herself to. So when anyone dares to discard or stray from that fixed idea, then that person is someone Zhenbai would not tolerate. Though from the get go, just based from her observations, Zee wouldn't even consider interacting with such reckless people- let alone actually stressing herself out with having to worry over them. Because honestly, chaos creates unforseen setbacks and would undermine a team's overall structure. This is mainly the reason why it's hard for the female to get along with others. Because for her, it's quite hard to find someone with the same mindset- especially with people around her age. Due to this, Zee would more or less avoid any group activities and would more or less do things on her own- something most of her peers would find very unfair (since they wouldn't be able to share her smarts) as well as very arrogant (thinking that they're 'unworthy' for her). The thing is, by doing things as is by the books or the rules, hinders Zee's creative thinking. She becomes inflexible to new ideas and ends up almost always having the vanilla solution, a safe and rigid (and to some extent, obvious) idea due to her reluctance of bending the rules for trying new things.
Aside from these, Zee tends to lean on the more direct and insensitve side of the spectrum. Though this may be both a good and bad thing. You see, Zhenbai isn't one to sugarcoat her words and would definitely speak her mind and the truth when need be. While not intentionally meaning to sound harsh, the female often hurts more sensitive people's feelings through her clean intensions of getting her point across. A fair example is if Zee witnesses someone being tricked by a another person. It may come off as random, where the female would go out of her way to 'warn' the victim of being continously fooled. [ "You know, I don't quite understand how a smart person like you can be tricked into doing something like that over and over again?" ] Which is why, despite not wanting to get into other people's business, Zee can't help but to- or would unconsciously find herself (albeit dejectedly) confronting either the victim or the accused. It's not like Zee wants to embarrass either parties but if there's something that gets on her nerves, something even worse than chaotic situations, it's disorderly conducts like manipulation and mindgames. Overall, the only time Zhenbai would even consider the other person's emotions, preferences, or individual qualities consciously, is when she's trying to determine the most effective way to say what needs to be said or do what needs to be done with the thought of a 100% success rate.
Speaking of getting her point across, this is something Zhenbai is willing to argue for. Because she is someone who knows a lot of information not many within her age range is aware of, she's quite good at debates and tends to be rather stubborn when it comes to such topics. At the same time, she also has the tendency to become judgemental when people aren't able to differentiate opinioins and facts. Because for some, their opinion in itself is a fact when it actually isn't. Facts are facts and Zee tends to resist any new ideas that isn't supported by those that she knows of. She would also react less and is unlikely to respect anyone who disagrees with actual ideas in a book- especially those who remain willfully ignorant of them. So it doesn't come as a suprise when she fails to realize, let alone accept that at some point, she can actually be wrong. However as Zhenbai is just an inexperienced youngin herself, there are times when she raises the white flag and accepts her defeat without putting much of a fight. This is especially true when she finds herself speaking to her mother and people she greatly respects. Because really, who is she to counter or resist them? Though here's the thing, because they are people she looks up to, Zhenbai wouldn't really have the will to argue- at least in front of them.
Don't get her wrong, Zee is all for integrity with her words and actions, but it would sometimes clash with her idea of how to be a dutiful daughter and pupil. Patience and determination are the traits Zhenbai finds herself leaning on for her to be able to stay focused on her goals, as well as to meet expectations and obligations to others, more so than for herself. You see having people call you a 'genius' and prodigy of the generation, although feeds one's pride and confidence, also brings pressure to meet those ideas. Because of this informal promise to everybody else, Zee would do everything in her power, even take extra time and go for that all nighter, just so she could achieve the best results. Zhenbai sees to it that she keeps being the responsible one in a group, fulfilling her duties to the people and organizations she's committed herself to. All these combined, all of whom Zee is or how she was brought up to be, has led the girl to believe that she's the only one who can see certain ideas through. This self-inflicted responsibility leads the girl to turn away any good opportunity for her to grow in certain aspects, and leave out good intentions and helpful ideas in the belief that if worse comes to worse, the responsibility for failure is hers alone to bear. It seems like, the female has taken it upon herself to shoulder any mistake done by the group, thinking that since she's the knowledgable one, she could've forseen such problem and should've stopped it from happening in the first place. The blame game is strong in this one, but it's more on to herself than pointing fingers at anyone else. It is because of this that Zhenbai has somehow programed her mind to become detached or to blur the idea of what should be done and what she wants to do, almost erasing the whole idea of the latter completely. In the end, despite all the talks about her and what people think they know of her, Zhenbai is in the same position as everybody else. She strives to prove everyone wrong, coincidently wanting to meet their expectations as well in her own little way- even if it means sacrificing a little more of her social life and having to look like a every now and then.
⟪ FATAL FLAW ⟫
If there is anything about Zhenbai that would cause her to plummet, that would be her inability or disinterest in going out of the norm and challenging herself to dab into things she's unfamiliar with. It's this "safety net" and "rulebook" mentality that keeps the female from exploring new ideas and possibilities, making genuine connections with other people, as well as getting in touch with her full potential. Additionally, Zhenbai tends to shoulder most of the responsibility for herself, rather than fully trusting other people to do it themselves. It is this idea that has her taking in more tasks and barely missing deadlines as a result. She's too hard on herself overall, but it's something she's been carrying over her shoulders for so long that, she isn't even aware of how toxic she is to her own self.
There is also this one tiny detail in her life which she can't or unconsciously chooses not to shake away. The little blackhole in her heart that embodies itself as a little boy living under their roof. It seems like; no matter how much her mother tries to let go of the past, no matter how the boy tries to get in his older sister's favor, and no matter what Zee rationalizes herself to do, she can't just bring herself to fully accept the boy with the same last name as her. Not yet at least.
⟪ BACKGROUND ⟫
Zhenbai was born and raised in the finer area of "Little Asia" in the eastern side of Roosenburg, where the west literally mixes with the east. It's a thriving community of asian nations dominantly resided by Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indians, Thai, and Filipinos. The area is also quite known for it's many gather spots, some in particular were famous for those going on blind dates. Lo and behold, one of these spots were actually where Zhenbai's parents met. It wasn't for a date however, it was just something the two had done one crazy Friday evening. Which led to another friday evening, and another, until buns were accidently placed in the oven. The following events were pure chaos. Zee's mother was finishing her final year in lawschool, her father on the otherhand had just gotten on his own two feet- meaning he barely earned anything for himself. To top it all off, they were young and foolish, they have no idea how to raise a child.
I wish I could say that everything went well after that. The first year passed and the "couple" had barely survived it. It was lucky that Zee's mom was even able to graduate, but her father had to work a ton of odd jobs on top of his day job just so he could make end's meet. The second year was just as bad. The Rans weren't even married so a lot of parental priviledges had to be on hold, Zee was clearly growing up well so they had to start saving up more for her education, their initial goals were also put on hold. Now the third year wasn't so bad. Zee's mom had gotten her first big case and won, her father's business was starting to strive and he didn't need to do more than two hobs anymore, and Zhenbai was doing well in her first year of school too. Then the fourth year just had to hit a curb ball. It didn't have to do with the impending promotion, nor the newly booked business dealership, heck it didn't even have anything to do with Zee's growing prodegy-like traits. It's just that the love wasn't there anymore, it hasn't been there since the second year when the "couple" fought over the idea of marriage. Not that they should marry, more so of the idea of how expensive and time consuming it was. That was it. The only reason why they even stayed together for another two years was for their little girl. But it was over.
Zhenbai just turned five when she heard of her father's marriage to another woman other than her mom. Barely two month after that news came another- that she was going to have a baby brother. Of course Zee was very excited, a little human that she could take care off. The only thing that confused her was the fact that, it wasn't her mom's tummy that was getting bigger. Now despite being a smart kid, Zee's parents just agreed that it was best for her to learn everything else slowly, which eventually didn't work. Zhenbai had pieced the information all on her own, that her father was having another child with someone other than her mom. She was fine with that, as long as she still gets to see him. But the wait of having to see her dad after a few weeks turned into months, which later on turned to years. Zee was about twelve when she heard any news about her father or his side of the family, and it came as a little boy about the age of seven.
The young boy was now an orphan who came into the lives of Zee and her mother with what seemed to be his family's will. It states that Zhenbai's mom was to become the legal guardian of the boy and would thus have all rights to whatever was left under the child's name up until he's of legal age- where he was to decide what would happen to everything else then. Again, Zee was somehow able to piece things together. He father was being a jackass even to his grave. He had left his son in his ex-wife, they didn't even reach that milestone togther and yet, he decides to have his son and all his belongings be under her care? Betrayal and anger aside, Zhenbai actually thought of this as a smart move. At least, since her mom was now a judge who could actually protect the boy. Did the will say that she should actually like the child? No? Good.
Fast forward to her junior year in highschool. Zhenbai had already reached a formidable status as one of the most gifted students in the history of the Academy. She excelled greatly academically, as well as in other extracuricular activities. Zee had even been nominated another spot within the student council, an opportunity that has been given to her since her freshman year. By the looks of it, everything was going according to Zee's whole master plan of things. She'd finish highschool with honors, take up a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology before preceeding to take up Veterinary Medicine. By the end of it, she's gonna be living in a house where she'll living with her six rescue dogs, living off of her hard earned money. But then, life throws another curve ball at her in the form of a tear in space and time itself. What's more, she's stuck with a bunch of girls she hasn't exactly interacted with at school (well, save for one). And get this, they have powers.
⟪ RELATIONSHIPS ⟫
⟪ THINGS TO KNOW ⟫
HEY MS. RAN! OH- SORRY, JONES. SO MS. RAN! HOW ARE THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE HALLOWEEN DANCE COMING ALONG? I HEARD A LOT OF THE FRESHMEN ARE INTERESTED IN GOING BUT NOT SO MUCH WITH THE SENIORS.
Zhenbai was busy discussing matters with one of her junior officers when the doors to the student leadership office suddenly flew open with a bang. The female junior officer grabbed at her chest and sent daggers at the intruder, whereas Zee merely shook her head with a sigh. She continued double checking the list at hand before answering the boy's quiery. "If you must know, Lee..." The female adjusted herself on the seat, leaning a little closer for the male to see what she was doing. "Jones and I were just discussing about the ticket prices and the possibility of this year's event to blow up like last year." The female leaned back on her chair before dropping the check board on her desk. "Who knew kids these days could take '+1's to a whole new level."
AWW STOP SULKING ABOUT LAST YEAR, MS. RAN! IT WENT GREAT! SPEAKING OF WHICH, DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER THIS TIME AROUND? YOU DID HELP PLAN THE WHOLE EVENT AND ALL. IT'S GONNA IF YOU AREN'T THERE TO SEE EVERYTHING.
Zee pursed her lips to the side and looked past the male befor her, seemingly thinking of the idea at hand. At the background, Jones lighting hit Lee with a folded paper role for saying that Zhenbai was sulking. "On one hand, I did plan the whole thing, didn't I? I have the right to enjoy myself once in a while." Jones almost choked in disbelief, who knew the older female could utter such words? Lee on the other hand, had sparkles around his eyes, sincerely hoping that the Vice Council member would finally start enjoying herself. Zee then let out a breath and brought herself back to sitting properly on her chair, "But then there's these things." Her hads spread at the pile of papers before her. "Not to mention that it's a costume party." The female involuntarily shivered at the though of having to see a giant chicken costume running around the halls.
WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF IT BEING A COSTUME PARTY ANYWAY? BUT WAIT, DUH IT IS HALLOWEEN AFTER ALL. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WEAR YET, MS. RAN?
"As a matter of fact Lee, I don't. I haven't had time to worry about the actualy dance because of all these preparations." Not one to give up, Lee took a chair and scrolled through his phone. A little over a minute later, the male runs up the computer and grabs some sheets of paper before spreading them across Zhenbai's desk. "Lee! What're you doing?" Jones chimmed in, standing up and trying to peek rather than take the papers away. It only took a second for Zhenbai to realize what those papers were before bringing herself to look up at the expectant boy. "Really?" She said in a rather bored tone, but the act doesn't phase the younger male. He just knows the Vice Council member better to know that her action was not a threat.
I'VE GOT MORE COSTUME IDEAS ON MY PHONE. I CAN SEND THEM TO YOU LATER ONCE I GET THE EXCUSE LETTERS READY. OH - THE EXCUSE LETTERS! SORRY MS. RAN, CAN YOU PLEASE WHIP UP A FEW OF THOSE FOR ME? THE VARSITY TEAM JUST KEEPS ANNOYING ME ABOUT THEM. SOMETIHNG ABOUT SKIPPING CLASSES FOR THIS EVENT THEY HAVE TO ATTEND.
"Another event? Weren't they the ones who asked for excuse letters last month as well?" Zee pursed her lips and crossed her legs but pulled out one of her drawers none the less. "I don't understand them. Why do they even go to school when all they do is skip their classes? Can't they spare not attending one of those events? It's not like our school's the winner or anything either." Jones gasped at the comment while Lee just scratched his head. "What? Did I say something wrong?" The two council members shook their heads and commented no further. This, this was close to being a threat. She's daring you to prove her facts wrong, never fall for it.
OH NO, YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT ABOUT THAT MS. RAN! BUT IT'S A BIGGER EVENT THIS TIME! THE ACADEMY'S AIMING TO BECOME THE HOST SCHOOL NEXT YEAR AS WELL SO, IT'S PRETTY MUCH A BIG DEAL FOR ALL OF US. WELL, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID.
Zee lets out her nth sigh for that morning alone and skims through her orange clear folder. "How many did you say they were?" The male didn't really have to answer that because the papers had already been prepared with just the right number of papers. "Just them, right?" the Vice Council membr leaned back to her chair again and found herself thinking aloud to herlsef. "Hopefully they don't get too caught up with just their sport though. Wouldn't want their grades to start slipping and having their lovely parent's money going to waste." At that moment, her right lip involuntarily twitched upward and she let out a light scoff in response to her own words- something the younger ones didn't fail to notice.
OKAAY- SO! THANKS FOR THESE MS. RAN! NOW DON'T FORGET THESE PAPERS, BRING THEM HOME LATER AND THINK ABOUT THE DANCE NEXT FRIDAY! IF THEY'RE NOT ENOUGH, I'LL SEND YOU THE ONES ON MY PHONE TOO! SEE YOU AROUND, VICE C! BYE JONES!
The doors to the student leadership office once again went with a bang, followed by a fading 'sorry!' from Lee. Jones shock her head at the older male's actions before turning her attension back to the Vice Council member. Zee was still pretty much in a daze before the younger female cleared . "You don't have to bother yourself with the dance, Ms. Ran. I'm sure you have better things to do." Zhenbai raised her brows at the words before shaking her head. She places a hand on top of her head lazily before speaking, "Sorry, I've just been thinking a lot lately. What with deadlines and such." Zee gazes back down at her assitant but is shocked when she sees concern in the latter's eyes. "I'm fine Jones." With a last minute attempt to raise the younger's mood, Zee could only think of one thing. "Please remind Lee to send in those suggestion, the ones he gave me earlier were horrible- to say the least. Also, if you have any suggestions too, I'm all ears."
Happy Crush ; The person she looks up to the most
⟪ RELATIONSHIP ⟫
* Zee would have definitely met Happy Crush either at the library, the wushu studio, the market, the little bookstore-coffee shop near her mom's office, or at her little brother's school. Honestly, these are the only places you'd even see Zhenbai other than in the safety of her home. At first they'd start out seeing each other frequently, noticing little things about the other every time they see each other. Like a different hairstyle, what book the other is reading, any change in the spot where they usually stayed at, how Zhenbai has a habit of touching her right earlobe specifically, how Happy Crush has a habit of scratching then pinching the bridge of his nose, and stuff like that. Of course these were all before Zee knew about the other realm and sudden costumes and magic. The interactions quickly shifted when the female finally got the purpose she needed to speak to the guy after those specified events. Why him? Well, let's just say seeing him holding different magic and rune related books is a dead giveaway that he might know a little something about her predicament.
* So since this is merely a happy crush, nothing much really blossoms. I mean, sure there's the fact that they saw each other's habbits when they're being shy towards the other. Or that one time where Zee laughed so loud at one of Happy Crush's jokes it made him so happy that he gently caressed the top of her head in amusement. All those light hearted fluffy things please! Of course, it's up to you if you want them to go the extra mile and actually admit that they like each other and probably start dating at some point.
⟪ LAST COMMENTS ⟫
- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ACCEPTING MY EXTENSION!! As well as being so understanding and patient! Hopefully Zhenbai's worth the wait! Also, I'm not quite sure if I did the interview part right. Please do tell me so I could adjust or rewrite what I did there.
- I’d also like to add that, one reason why Zee could still not accept her little brother despite him being with her for wuite a while now, is because everytime she sees him, she can’t help but be reminded of their dad. The man who promised her that he wouldn’t leave but he did. He also promised that he’d visit her, but he doesn’t. Over the years, you could only feel the resentment in Zee but with her little brother just arriving in the Cuo’s doorstep with that innocent yet sad look on his face- she just couldn’t handle it. Though after years of being with the boy, some of those resentment towards her father has slowly been healed- but again, not completely.
- I also hope you don't mind that I asked for an NPC as love interest. I mean, it's not really a love interest cause like the title, it's more like a happy crush if anything. The librarian (if you were to go for that idea) is pretty much someone Zee finds very odd- in a good way! She likes the fact that despite not liking typical things, he can get so excited and invested with explaining them then he's always got a smile on his face every time. You can practically see his eyes sparkle. Happy crush on the other hand thought that Zee was rather cute. Unlike what he hears from other people, she actually shows a lot of facial expressions, some too funny to even demostrate. This is especially evident when the girl is burried under one of her books, you would literally know the gist of what she's reading just by looking at her facial expressions.
⟪SCENE REQUESTS ⟫
- When one of the other guardians, preferably the one Zee doesn't get long with the most, slaps her with the reality that she can't do things all on her own. Where this said guardian returns the words Zhenbai threw at her before for being too reckless. "Didn't you tell me that a team's foundation is loyalty and dependability amongst each other? So where was that earlier? Why do you keep on sacrificing yourself and taking the blame for other's mistakes?!" It's up to you if they talk more about it or if it stops there since the other walks out on Zee out of frustration.
- Continuing the arguement earlier, either in another scene or the same day as well, another guardian- preferably the closest to the female (or maybe the one you wouldn't expect really) approaches Zee and makes small talk at first. Then when the tension or awkwardness is gone, the two start talking about Zhenbai's sacrifice. "To be honest, I didn't expect that from you at all- and that's saying something considering I'm the one saying it." She would look at Zee and smile before continuing, "For the generation's prodigy, that was bravest and stupidest thing you've done. I say, being in the same team as [earlier guardian] has turned you reckless." She then laughs at Zee's incredulous look, having been called stupid and being compared to the other guardian. The female was about to counter those words when the latter spoke again, "She's right though." The other female raises her head for a while, seemingly contemplating about something before she backed away, leaving a very conflicted Zhenbai looking nothing less than confused about her parting words.
- TBA
⟪ PASSWORD ⟫
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