[ fei du's image of d's pet shop is weirder every day. also where's t-chan if he's around he can have a pat on the head. ]
Mm. It's a shark, right? I'm afraid this is a little out of my wheelhouse. [ he's a literature and art and crime guy not a stem guy. i'm free of lu bixing. ] Tell me something about it? I'd rather hear it from you than a plaque.
T-chan is not here... or at least, not with D right this moment at the enormous prehistoric shark.]
Otodus megalodon. It's a type of mackerel shark which existed almost three million years ago--by my world's time. It was one of the largest ocean predators, and its diet may have been almost any other ocean animal small enough to bite and big enough to satisfy it. As you can see, their teeth are as big as your hand. The warm waters of their homes and breeding grounds cooled too greatly, however, which probably led to their decline.
They were magnificent creatures living in a wild and free world. Emperors and empresses of the ocean.
fei du listens to this like a good student, actually, thoughtfully looking up at the shark display. his hands are behind his back, and he nods along, taking in the size of the teeth, the facts given. ]
In a world without human beings, if it goes along with my timeline of the world, too. How fascinating.
[ the kind of thing you would not want to run into on a fishing trip. ] What would you do if you saw one in reality, do you think?
[Yes. He's a big womanizer for sure. He's out there courting them.]
We are connected by the same universe then, Mr. Fei, as life must always be.
[Imagine getting attacked by a megalodon. Help. The smile he gets on his face is fond, not a smile most people would have standing in front of the gaping maw of a giant shark.]
I would speak to him or her, of course. I would ask them if they wanted to live in my shop where they would never have to worry about anything, about care, about food, or even about dying.
[ there were men on his hot or not, tchan bisexual party
anyway there is
a lot to unpack in this statement. the fond smile? sure. he comes to expect this behavior. look at t-chan. the brief reference to speaking to animals? sure! he's already talked about that once! the not dying part is new. thankfully he doesn't react much, only glancing briefly at d and raising an eyebrow. ]
Is that something you're able to do? Keep an animal from dying?
[Assigned bisexual just because you're a carnivore.......
D does not look at Fei Du for a long moment, but then he finally turns his head just enough. He smiles knowingly, perhaps slightly mischievously.]
I take care of the animals in the pet shop with the utmost care. They live very long and fulfilling lives. They don't have to worry about extinction, about being hunted unnecessarily, about their homes being destroyed, or about their food disappearing. So in a way, I believe so.
a smile curls across his face before he realizes it - fei du ends up returning the expression, making a noise of understanding. and a little delight, really. this is exactly the kind of thing he would have said. two of them! ]
You know, I just might have believed you if you said otherwise. [ this is wry, as he looks back up at the shark. ] Despite all that's similar in our universe, I wonder if perhaps I've just been blind to something that existed all along, or if they're just cousins instead of twins.
Though, if it's the former, if this ever comes to fruition and you need real estate for your very large friend, I may know a person or two to help.
[ if they like, get out of here, but that doesn't have to be said in a hypothetical. ]
[He follows Fei Du’s gaze to the shark again. But it’s the last part that gets him to glance at Fei Du in surprise.
Don’t validate him, hello?
He is quiet for a long moment, thoughtful.]
This is a kind offer. Actually, I’m looking for a new location for the shop. [The way he looks at the megalodon again, a bit… mournful? Sad? Detached in a way that is a forced attempt.] I left Los Angeles recently, and we’re looking for a new place to settle.
Well, that explains your foreign detective [ boyfriend ] friend. Fei Industries does have some holdings internationally - I might be able to help, if the circumstances are ever right. I've not ever lived outside of China, but I do like it.
Yes. He was an American police officer in Los Angeles.
[He hums softly and thoughtfully.] I am from China, but I have lived many places, mostly with my grandfather up until very recently. [The smile he gives Fei Du is tight and not much of a smile at all.]
There was an incident with my father, is all. So it was time to move.
He returns to gazing at the wide mouth of the shark and all its sharp teeth, lips thin.]
He was trying to protect the world, but... [His shoulders shift like he draws in a breath, but no air comes back out.] The detective shot him.
I had wondered if I too would follow the same path and share the same fate, and I guess I have if I am here. And after me, the son I have now as well. And back around again, again and again until the end of time, or until the end of the world.
[He hums softly in his throat, still peering at the shark... though his eyes do unfocus a bit, and he looks through it, then down slightly.]
Such are the way of things. Our duty doesn't end until the world stops facing destruction from humans who take and do not give, who have forgotten the magic of the planet.
[He finally turns his head and offers Fei Du a smile.]
This must be funny to hear considering, but life is very important, President Fei. I hope you won't ever forget while we're here.
this is one of the things fei du likes about talking to d - these sorts of phrases, the wide, philosophical nature of them all, the tantalizing hint at something else. it's a reflection of himself, really, one he doesn't often see in other people, and it's...
... there's a thoughtful pause. ]
... Don't worry. I never intend to.
[ when he tilts his head back, his gaze in return is a little intense, though not in an angry way, or anything - just understanding. searching, maybe, before he returns it back to the exhibit. ]
[Curiously, he watches Fei Du's face and expression, interested. The understanding is different. Like for Fei, D also does not have very many people understand most of his plights.
(A lot of them are not aware of his plights at all.)]
It's a difficult lesson to learn belatedly. [Even he can empathize with that.] What was it that made you realize?
[Not that Fei Du absolutely has to tell him. It's intrigued, but not forceful.]
A car accident rendered him braindead a few years ago.
[ so, not quite sick, but. this information is delivered very calmly, though he hasn't looked away from the shark. ]
There one day, gone in a flash. His medical records indicate that he be kept on life support should anything happen, though, there's been no sign of any brain activity since.
[He looks again at the shark with Fei Du, something idle and not overly interested. Thoughtful.]
So this is how you became the illustrious President Fei, I assume? [Shackled by a duty.] I had not seen my father in a very long time before what happened.
He had methods I didn't care much for in how to conduct Grandfather's pet shop.
That's correct. I took over the company immediately after.
[ shackled by a duty, indeed.
there's a soft noise in response, matching in tone - fei du's eyebrow raises. ]
Is that so? [ light, just curious enough. the door's open for him if he wants to explain, though he doesn't have to. ] A lack of care, in the opposite of the way you've treated it since, or...?
[He does not answer for a long time, but it doesn't seem like he won't ever answer. He's mulling it over, his lashes lowered slightly over the purple eye and the yellow eye.]
When he was younger, he became the assistant to a scientist so he could have access to a laboratory for his own personal work. He was interested in genetics.
[Haha. Yeah! Fei Du is right. D hums in affirmation.]
He wanted to save extinct species. [Gazing at the bones of the shark in front of them.] To find a way to keep them alive, or bring them back. He wanted to save the world from destruction, too.
[It feels like what D isn't saying, however, is very much how far the man was willing to go to do it.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
No. It became extinct long before I would have been able to add it to my collection.
no subject
Mm. It's a shark, right? I'm afraid this is a little out of my wheelhouse. [ he's a literature and art and crime guy not a stem guy. i'm free of lu bixing. ] Tell me something about it? I'd rather hear it from you than a plaque.
no subject
T-chan is not here... or at least, not with D right this moment at the enormous prehistoric shark.]
Otodus megalodon. It's a type of mackerel shark which existed almost three million years ago--by my world's time. It was one of the largest ocean predators, and its diet may have been almost any other ocean animal small enough to bite and big enough to satisfy it. As you can see, their teeth are as big as your hand. The warm waters of their homes and breeding grounds cooled too greatly, however, which probably led to their decline.
They were magnificent creatures living in a wild and free world. Emperors and empresses of the ocean.
no subject
fei du listens to this like a good student, actually, thoughtfully looking up at the shark display. his hands are behind his back, and he nods along, taking in the size of the teeth, the facts given. ]
In a world without human beings, if it goes along with my timeline of the world, too. How fascinating.
[ the kind of thing you would not want to run into on a fishing trip. ] What would you do if you saw one in reality, do you think?
no subject
We are connected by the same universe then, Mr. Fei, as life must always be.
[Imagine getting attacked by a megalodon. Help. The smile he gets on his face is fond, not a smile most people would have standing in front of the gaping maw of a giant shark.]
I would speak to him or her, of course. I would ask them if they wanted to live in my shop where they would never have to worry about anything, about care, about food, or even about dying.
no subject
anyway there is
a lot to unpack in this statement. the fond smile? sure. he comes to expect this behavior. look at t-chan. the brief reference to speaking to animals? sure! he's already talked about that once! the not dying part is new. thankfully he doesn't react much, only glancing briefly at d and raising an eyebrow. ]
Is that something you're able to do? Keep an animal from dying?
[ what's in your kibble ]
no subject
D does not look at Fei Du for a long moment, but then he finally turns his head just enough. He smiles knowingly, perhaps slightly mischievously.]
I take care of the animals in the pet shop with the utmost care. They live very long and fulfilling lives. They don't have to worry about extinction, about being hunted unnecessarily, about their homes being destroyed, or about their food disappearing. So in a way, I believe so.
no subject
a smile curls across his face before he realizes it - fei du ends up returning the expression, making a noise of understanding. and a little delight, really. this is exactly the kind of thing he would have said. two of them! ]
You know, I just might have believed you if you said otherwise. [ this is wry, as he looks back up at the shark. ] Despite all that's similar in our universe, I wonder if perhaps I've just been blind to something that existed all along, or if they're just cousins instead of twins.
Though, if it's the former, if this ever comes to fruition and you need real estate for your very large friend, I may know a person or two to help.
[ if they like, get out of here, but that doesn't have to be said in a hypothetical. ]
no subject
Don’t validate him, hello?
He is quiet for a long moment, thoughtful.]
This is a kind offer. Actually, I’m looking for a new location for the shop. [The way he looks at the megalodon again, a bit… mournful? Sad? Detached in a way that is a forced attempt.] I left Los Angeles recently, and we’re looking for a new place to settle.
no subject
anyway. ]
Well, that explains your foreign detective [ boyfriend ] friend. Fei Industries does have some holdings internationally - I might be able to help, if the circumstances are ever right. I've not ever lived outside of China, but I do like it.
Why leave? If you don't mind me asking.
no subject
[He hums softly and thoughtfully.] I am from China, but I have lived many places, mostly with my grandfather up until very recently. [The smile he gives Fei Du is tight and not much of a smile at all.]
There was an incident with my father, is all. So it was time to move.
no subject
Ah.
[ maybe it's by understanding, or maybe it's just good reading of people's facial expressions, but fei du doesn't extrapolate or ask questions. ]
I understand the feeling. [ a little smile. ] No shame in that.
no subject
He returns to gazing at the wide mouth of the shark and all its sharp teeth, lips thin.]
He was trying to protect the world, but... [His shoulders shift like he draws in a breath, but no air comes back out.] The detective shot him.
I had wondered if I too would follow the same path and share the same fate, and I guess I have if I am here. And after me, the son I have now as well. And back around again, again and again until the end of time, or until the end of the world.
no subject
fei du's quiet for a moment as he finishes, expression neutral - he's just observing d as he speaks. ]
A vicious cycle.
no subject
Such are the way of things. Our duty doesn't end until the world stops facing destruction from humans who take and do not give, who have forgotten the magic of the planet.
[He finally turns his head and offers Fei Du a smile.]
This must be funny to hear considering, but life is very important, President Fei. I hope you won't ever forget while we're here.
no subject
this is one of the things fei du likes about talking to d - these sorts of phrases, the wide, philosophical nature of them all, the tantalizing hint at something else. it's a reflection of himself, really, one he doesn't often see in other people, and it's...
... there's a thoughtful pause. ]
... Don't worry. I never intend to.
[ when he tilts his head back, his gaze in return is a little intense, though not in an angry way, or anything - just understanding. searching, maybe, before he returns it back to the exhibit. ]
That's a lesson I learned a long time ago.
no subject
(A lot of them are not aware of his plights at all.)]
It's a difficult lesson to learn belatedly. [Even he can empathize with that.] What was it that made you realize?
[Not that Fei Du absolutely has to tell him. It's intrigued, but not forceful.]
no subject
...It was taught to me from a very young age. I'm not sure I would call it belated.
[ a pause. ]
My father's on life support, you see.
no subject
So Fei Du has been through some shit. Same, though. (thinks about d's past)]
I see. He's ill?
no subject
[ so, not quite sick, but. this information is delivered very calmly, though he hasn't looked away from the shark. ]
There one day, gone in a flash. His medical records indicate that he be kept on life support should anything happen, though, there's been no sign of any brain activity since.
no subject
[He looks again at the shark with Fei Du, something idle and not overly interested. Thoughtful.]
So this is how you became the illustrious President Fei, I assume? [Shackled by a duty.] I had not seen my father in a very long time before what happened.
He had methods I didn't care much for in how to conduct Grandfather's pet shop.
no subject
[ shackled by a duty, indeed.
there's a soft noise in response, matching in tone - fei du's eyebrow raises. ]
Is that so? [ light, just curious enough. the door's open for him if he wants to explain, though he doesn't have to. ] A lack of care, in the opposite of the way you've treated it since, or...?
no subject
When he was younger, he became the assistant to a scientist so he could have access to a laboratory for his own personal work. He was interested in genetics.
no subject
well. fei du can read between the lines! boy howdy. he keeps idly focused, glancing up at the shark, but: ]
...I see. [ man. dads, right.
there's another pause, and then, dryly, sardonic - almost a little bitter, if you squint. ] Some people shouldn't be allowed to have hobbies.
[ this is the darkest joke in the way that it is not really a joke. jesus christ ]
no subject
He wanted to save extinct species. [Gazing at the bones of the shark in front of them.] To find a way to keep them alive, or bring them back. He wanted to save the world from destruction, too.
[It feels like what D isn't saying, however, is very much how far the man was willing to go to do it.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)