(no subject)
Name XIAO, Dai; though his students have jokingly nicknamed him 'Count D' due to his eerie, somewhat vampire-like appearance and mannerisms.
Age 28
Gender Male
Sexuality Xiao Dai can appreciate a beautiful woman just as he can appreciate a beautiful man; gender has never been important to the decisions he has made in his life regarding relationships and sexual activity.
Faculty Member/Professor Professor; Zoology, Biology.
Residence A small, comfortable apartment on the outskirts of the city.
Appearance The epitome of Chinese androgyny, Xiao "Count D" Dai casts a striking, elegant figure in any crowd. He is willowy, fairly tall and beautifully long limbed, flawless porcelain skin an attractive contrast the inky black of the chin length, poker straight hair that falls to veil the right side of an oval face. Almond shaped eyes -- the left a royal plum and the right a startling gold (a 'condition' inherited from his grandfather) -- rimmed with long lashes sit under a fine brow; cool, detached and usually sparkling with ever so slightly mocking amusement. He is graceful and precise, aloof and cruel, carrying himself with a hypnotic air of feline indifference and snakelike charm. The smooth curve of his nose leads down to a perfect cupids-bow mouth, his lips thin and classically delicate. Distinguishing features of his would certainly have to be his hands; slender, spider-like fingers tipped with long, neat and very sharp nails. He takes a certain amount of obsessive satisfaction in painting his nails to match what he is wearing, very much enjoying the simple pleasure of an outfits finishing touch.
Dai firmly, absolutely refuses to conform to Western fashion, his wardrobe a medley of long, colourful silks, satins and other fine materials. He would rather be seen dead than in a button-down shirt and a pair of trousers -- the idea alone horrifies him. Instead he sticks to floor length, thin, traditional Chinese dress, handmade with love and exquisitely embroidered down to the last detail. In the classroom Dai tends to stick to simple outfits -- less flamboyant and a slightly more practical. Black with a touch of colour here and there; reds, golds and greens. Occasionally he will wear a long, delicate voile wrap or shrug of a complimentary colour around his shoulders (some with sleeves and some simply strips of finely tailored material); they flutter as he moves and stream out behind him in the breeze to give him an almost ethereal appearance. Beneath it all he wears a light, long sleeved top and a pair of thin leggings, preferring slip on 'ballet pump' style canvas shoes as opposed to the footwear of the average American man. And of course, he has these pumps in just about every single colour under the sun. Shoe-to-clothes colour co-ordination is a must.
Personality To say that Xiao Dai is something of a mystery would not be too bold a statement. He is a secretive, quiet creature who keeps himself to himself, having never been one for talking any more than absolutely necessary. Words are precious to him; he loves to read and will spend hours and hours pouring over books and scrolls, but when it comes to speaking them it is in his nature to use them sparingly. Dai much prefers to let his body language do the talking for him, and is a professional when it comes to getting his point across with a mere glance or gesture. He controls his classes with his presence alone -- cold and playfully cruel -- to tease and play games is something he takes great pleasure in and isn't something he has ever tried to hide. Why should he? He is incredibly intuitive and very shrewd, and almost always knows far more than he ever lets on. In his opinion, it's much more fun that way.
He loves all things to do with nature and has been living 'green' for as long as he can remember; his family was always incredibly conscious of the environment and living in harmony with it. Having grown up in a picturesque village in rural China, Dai has constantly had an appreciation the beauty of the natural world. He keeps all sorts of exotic plants in his apartment, and wishes to one day move back to the Xiao family property in China to tend to the gardens and animals. Taking care of living things is something he feels incredibly strongly about, though interestingly enough it doesn't stretch to humans. The human race is something Dai looks upon with a certain amount of disdain; polluting the Earth with their greed and industry, and taking it entirely for granted. He lives by the philosophy that to take is also to give, and that to care is also to be cared for. If the human race were to take care of the Earth, then the Earth would take care of them.
History
NOTE I do know that canonly, D views his father with. Well. Disdain would be a good way of putting it, lmf. But. I thought it would be fun to flip that around for the purpose of this RP, so. Deal with it? I love you all, I swear. ♥
Xiao Dai was born into the lap of luxury, the only son to young, wealthy and very beautiful traditionlist parents, living together with his extended family in the Xiao family home, an exquisite property surrounded by acres and acres of Xiao land. As a young boy he was quiet, calm and perfectly behaved, unquestionably loyal and obedient to his mother and father. His father. Dai always felt an extreme sense of closeness with his father that he could never begin to imagine feeling with his mother, and loved spending as much time as he possibly could with him. There was nothing he loved more than being held by his father -- his idol -- breathing in that warm, familiar smell and playing with all that long, silken hair. His father seemed to cherish their time spent together too, the gentle touches and secret smiles he saved only for his son proof enough for Dai that he was loved. Later in life he might wonder whether their father-son relationship had accidentally strayed into something slightly less... accepted... though it would never be something that bothered him. He loves his father.
Dedicating his life to the study of plants and animals was a decision that came naturally to him. Honestly, as if he'd do anything else. Xiao Dai with a desk job? Please. His calling was to educate himself and others about the the essence of all things alive, and it was something he would put his heart and soul into. Always a high achiever, Dai passed his high school years with flying colours and by eighteen had no trouble in getting accepted into one of the most prestigious Universities in his field. Biology, zoology and botany. Teaching. He studied hard for his degree, juggling his lectures, his home life and his hobbies (a sewing class, the violin -- he'd been playing since the age of ten -- and a plant care nightclass) for the four years it took him to qualify. It was worth it.
After a few years of work in China, moving his base seemed like the next step for Xiao Dai. As loathe as he was to leave his family (or more importantly, his father), it was onwards and upwards: the world was waiting to be experienced. He wanted to see and learn as much as he could, and America seemed like the perfect place for that. Besides. Foreign Universities were always looking for new professors, weren't they? Dai had to go where the work was. He was fairly fluent in English and knew it would just take a little extra studying to brush himself up to the standard needed to be able to teach lessons in the foreign language, and after a break period of just under a year Dai found himself comfortably settled in a small apartment with a handful of job offers.
Evergrove University.
It looked promising.