Time Machine, Please

I watched "Before You Go", a romantic film from 2014 which I watched just because there was Chris Evans (sorry, I'm in fangirling phase). The film turned out good; it's not something I usually watch, though.

In that film there was a scene where Nick (Chris Evans) and Brooke (Alice Eve) pretended they call their past self and gave advice. Recently I want to do that. 

I used to think that everything happened for a reason so the idea of time machine (or time turner, or time stone, depends on your fandom) to solve problem retrospectively wasn't interesting to me. That changes now, when I'm tired of studying medicine. I'm curious about the possibility of what will happen if I didn't enter medical school in the first place. Will things be better or not? Or what if I did this or that differently? What kind of experience will I get instead?

Don't get me wrong. I don't plan on giving up. I'm just tired.

Story of a Blind Date

It was Saturday afternoon and the boutique is quite crowded. Elza talked to some customers and helped them choose the clothes when suddenly,

"Elza, do you have a plan for next week on Saturday evening?" Ryan asked.

"Actually no. Wait, I'm talking to a customer, you mannerless spongehead," Elza then continued talking to the customer. 

After that, she approached Ryan and asked, "Why did you ask about my plan?"

"First thing first, I don't think it's a good manner to call me mannerless spongehead in front of customers. For your question, I'm going to reserve a table for you in the fancy restaurant on Fremont street, I forget the restaurant's name. Eh, you're still single right?"

"What the hell Ryan? Are you asking me for a date?" Elza rolled her eyes.

"Of course not me, duh. I'm setting you for a blind date," Ryan grinned in his usual childish expression.

"Is this part of a mission? Also, Ryan, everytime you make that face, I have bad feeling," said Elza.

"Relax. You prepare your dress and makeup then have fun," Ryan said then left.

A week later, Ryan drove the car to take Elza.

"Are you still sure that maroon is the right colour for the dress to wear on first date?"

"Ryan, if he's going to date me, he'd better get used to my style," Elza said.

"And you also wear maroon lipstick. Is that necessary?" Ryan asked.

"Yes. Problem?"

The car becomes silent after that.

They arrived at the restaurant then a host greeted them and showed them to the table.

"Rook? Roy?" Elza looked at the man who already sat at the table with a younger guy beside him.

"Oh, hi Rook. I see that my brother Roy took you here earlier."

"Explain this, Ryan," Rook glared at Ryan.

"You two enjoy your dinner. Eh, Roy, give your car key to Rook. I'll drive you home. Don't get involved in their adult business, kid. Now, do you want to play Mario Kart?" Ryan pulled Roy's shoulder after Roy gave Rook his car key.

"So, did Ryan..." 

"Yes, that spongehead told me that he set me up for a blind date," Elza cut Rook's question.

"And you agreed?"

"You also agreed."

"Well... Uhm, anyway, you look stunning in that dress," Rook said. "I still hate you, though," he added quickly.

"You also look fine in suit and I still hate you," Elza retorted.

They both ate in silence then Elza noticed that Rook started getting sweaty.

"It's hot, eh? I'm surprised that you don't take off your jacket."

"Ryan says that a gentleman should never take off his jacket. I'm a gentleman so I don't take off my jacket," said Rook.

"Correct. Ryan knows such rule but he doesn't follow it. What a spongehead."

Rook smiled hearing that. "Do you want to go somewhere else after this?" he asked.

"Yes, please. Take me to game centre. We'll rock the place with this attire."

"As you wish," Rook laughed.



P.S. This is another fanfic of "Children of Altar" (sorry, hahaha...). I struggle with description in this fic. I could imagine their dialogue but I had no idea what to write aside from the dialogue. If you can give me advice then please kindly comment. Thank you.

Also, that part where Rook didn't take off his jacket was inspired by a video of Patrick Stump getting advice from older gentleman.

I never go to formal dinner at fancy restaurant so if I make mistake in this story, please tell me. I did my research but I could still make mistake.

Swim!

It was a peaceful Sunday morning. Roy played the Witcher on his laptop and suddenly... "Roy, take a bath and let's go!" Ryan shouted.

"No."

"Come on!" Ryan wrestled Roy and managed to shut down the laptop in the process.

"I hate you! I was continuing my game and you shut it down."

"Take a bath, we'll go swimming."

"Why should I take a bath? I'll get wet again once I swim," Roy retorted.

"You stink," Ryan said.

They walked to the public swimming pool and Roy asked, "What is it Ryan? You don't like swimming."

"Are you scared? Don't worry, the pool is shallow enough for you."

"No kidding. I'm a better swimmer between us and seriously, since when do you get excited to swim?"

"Well, actually that's the point. We have to add swimming to our training regime."

"Sounds all right. But we don't really have to worry, do we? I mean, those Salty Spitoon visitors don't come to us and challenge to fight."

"What is Salty Spitoon?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan, you don't watch Spongebob?"

Dig the Ground, Satan

"By the way, I bought you a book today," Ryan handed Roy the book.

"Thank you, but A Clash of Kings? Why, Ryan? I haven't even read A Game of Thrones," said Roy.

Ryan answered, "Actually, I bought you A Game of Thrones long time ago. I buried it in our backyard."

"You what?"

"I put the book in a wooden box and bury it in our backyard. We have shovel or hoe there, take it. Consider it a game of treasure hunting."

"What the hell, Ryan? What mistake did I make to have a brother like you?" Roy groaned in disbelief.

"Just dig the ground, satan. Also please appreciate my effort to make the present more interesting."

Note: this story is continuation of my post, "Sunday Morning, 11 a.m." Well yeah, Ryan is so extra.

Sunday Morning, 11 a.m

The prompt today is "jangle". I didn't know the meaning so I looked up Oxford dictionary online. They also give sentence example, "Ryan stood on the terrace jangling his keys." So I think I would just continue that sentence.

Ryan stood on the terrace jangling his keys. He was just home after wandering around the bookstore to find a book for his little brother, Roy. Talking about Roy, Ryan saw his brother's motorcycle was still parked and the doors and windows were all still closed. "That satan hasn't woken up yet," Ryan thought to himself.

He came into the house and shout, "Roy, wake up! It's 11 already," then heard the answer, "It's Sunday!"

"By the way, I got a missed call from Don. What's up? Do you two have problem?" Ryan asked.

"Why would Don call you?" Roy responded while gaining his consciousness.

--------------------------------------------

The characters Roy and Don are taken from the ongoing series on Wattpad, Children of Altar. It's written by my friend. Check that out and give feedback. 

Also, I don't really know about sibling relationship and in real life I don't know any of my friends' siblings personally so I have no idea how to continue my story above. What would make someone call their friend's brother? What can make you trust your friend so you give them your brother's contact number?

By the way, did I just make a fanfic with original character? Hahaha...

Denial of a Harry Potter Fan

Let's talk about denial. It's one example of primitive defense mechanisms. It means refusal to accept reality or fact. 

As a Harry Potter fan, I deny the fact that Cursed Child exists. Okay, the story has been released quite a while ago and I'm a bit late to write it in my blog. However, it's my blog so I can write whatever I want here. 

I myself haven't read the book or watched the play but the internet is dark and full of spoiler (mimicking Melisandre) so I read the spoiler and curse the plot because it doesn't make sense. To be honest, it feels like fanfiction to me. 

I don't want to spoil a lot here but let me mention things that bother me. First of all, Voldemort. Never have I ever thought that Voldemort was capable of doing that.

Second: Cedric. He was a kind person and what he does in Cursed Child is out of character. A kind Hufflepuff won't do that. 

Third is Harry Potter. Really, what he said to Albus is unacceptable. Oh well, parents make mistake but again, that's out of character, especially when this character is Harry Potter.

Enough of my ramble. I'm out. See you in my next post.

"The Most Asian" Novel: My Experience with the Kite Runner

Few weeks ago, I read the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and it was amazing.

I will not spoil much but I will tell about my experience reading it. First, reading this novel in public place was a mistake. I brought the novel during my night's watch duty in hospital and I had to hold back my tears many times. So I was happy when I could finally read it at home because I could cry ugly tears as I wanted.

Second, this novel is probably "the most Asian" novel I've ever read. The "Asian things" come in many forms: Asian pride, parent-and-child relationship, our attitude toward people of different ethnicity or religion, the gender biased norm, marriage, the taboo stuff, etc. Then I realise something: regardless of ethnicity, location, and religion, Asians are Asians. Some proud creatures we are. Well, maybe not all Asians but I live in another part of Asia and I can relate and understand those things.

This is one of my favourite quotes in the book which is also one of "the most Asian" quotes, "Because history isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a, and nothing was going to change that. Nothing. But we were kids who had learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that either."

I guess those "Asian things", aside from the story line, are what make me love this novel so much. Because I could relate to it. Because it makes me cry and say, "Yes, right."

Mess

She's home again. Sitting in her room, infinite sadness in her eyes. "That home is a mess. Why don't you just leave?" people would tell her. "This is the mess I'm comfortable with," she wants to say.

Quick Visit, I Promise

Crossing the road to visit you, I said hello. It's a quick visit, I promise. No hug, no kiss. Just want to hold hands and see each other. Later we can continue with our own lives. Open the door, please. 

On Hufflepuff and Justice

In my previous post, I talked about how people often forgot about Hufflepuff's justice. People tend to think that Hufflepuff is a house of sweet innocent dumb people. Sorry, that "dumb" part is rude. 

We Hufflepuffs are kind, loyal, and hardworking. However, we are also just. Now I confess that even I forget that "just" part sometimes. 

Hufflepuffs value justice. This is why many Puffs helped fight Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. They couldn't stand the injustice that would have happened if Death Eaters had ruled the wizarding world.

However, why don't we, even the Hufflepuffs themselves, talk more about this "badass" trait? I'm not sure why but I remember something said by Miwako Sato from Detective Conan series, "But kid, remember one thing. The word 'justice' isn't a word you can involve in any occasion. It's something we must hold secretly in our hearts."

Justice is not something to boast about.

On Hufflepuff and Kindness

In Harry Potter books we know that Hufflepuff values kindness, loyalty, hardwork, and justice. Sounds too nice, huh? I mean, compare those traits to Slytherin's ambition, Ravenclaw's intelligence, or Gryffindor's courage.

I'm a Hufflepuff and believe me, I once thought, "What 'badass' quality does my house have?" The answer to that question is, "Maybe none." If you insist, I can say that Hufflepuff's justice is badass but people often forget this one trait when they talk about Hufflepuff.

When talking about Hufflepuff, we often talk about kindness, loyalty, and hardwork. The harsh truth is some people view kindness as weakness. I need to learn more neuropsychiatry to find out why. Perhaps because kindness is associated with a child's innocence. That possible reason is, in my opinion, what makes Hufflepuff precious. This house understands that Hogwarts teaches children.

I found this tumblr post a while ago and I shivered with a little pride. It said, "Children. They were teaching children. Rowena, Godric, Salazar; they tended to forget that. .... 'I will take them all,' she said. .... 'I will teach them how to be the backbone, the heart of this world. I will teach them how to stand steadfast, when all hope is lost.' .... No, she knew theirs would not be an easy path, or a glorious one. They would have no songs. No great tales in books. No laurels. No consolation, no thanks. But they would be the reason why, when darkness finally came, all of them in all their different colours would stand shoulder to shoulder and draw their wands as brothers in arms. ...." I also recommend you to read the tag, seriously. Some of the tags say #and this my friend is why no one is quite sure what a hufflepuff really is #the answer is: everyone.

And that, my friends, is why I like being in Hufflepuff, being a Hufflepuff.

Sanctuary in Warm Hug

Today's prompt is sanctuary. Reading that word, my mind wasn't directed to certain place but to warm hug. From that, I started to think that I read fanfic too often.

I don't remember if I ever give warm hug. I usually just give casual hug or side hug. However, I like hug scene in fiction, be it friendly hug, brotherly hug, or romantic hug. It just seems warm and comfortable. Often, the character feels safe and protected while being hugged. That's why I associate the word sanctuary with warm hug; because of fiction, or fanfic.

It is said that hug can increase oxytocin release. According to Marieb and Hoehn (2013), as neurotransmitter, oxytocin is involved in sexual and affectionate behaviour. It promotes nurturing, couple bonding, and trust.

What about reading hug scene? Do I experience oxytocin release while reading hug scene? If Does it mean that I'm affected in the matter of nurturing, couple bonding, and trust? It that's true, it may explain our emotional bonding to fictional character.

On a side note, since oxytocin promotes trust, do not hug someone you don't want to trust. Do not even imagine hugging a fictional character you don't want to trust. Really, we can't be sure about oxytocin and its magic.

P.S.

Oxytocin acts as both hormone and neurotransmitter. As hormone, oxytocin is involved in uterine contraction (during labor) and milk ejection.

If you can explain more about oxytocin or if you think I make mistake in this post (or in any post), please let me know.

Dress Shopping

"This dress looks funny," you pointed a dress.
"Oh, that mermaid cut dress?"
"It's called mermaid cut? Well, I want to try it."
You hurried into dressing room before I could respond.
"Do I look like Ariel now?" You asked while posing.
"Hahaha... Yeah, but instead of trying to be human, you ask the prince to be merman."
"That sounds like something you would do. Oh God, this dress is difficult to walk in," you said.
"That's a mermaid dress. Maybe you should swim instead?"
We wandered around the shop again. You tried on dress after dress while making some jokes (well, actually I made more jokes).
"You know, wearing these dresses makes me feel like a fairy tale character. Once I'm a mermaid, then I'm a princess with ball gown ready for masquerade, another time I'm a Greek goddess who blesses and curses anytime I want. I like them but I feel weird to wear them."
"Maybe we can try to look for tea length dress. It may suit your carefree vibes better. I mean, you don't have to wear long dress in your wedding," I offer.
"Really? I'm allowed to do that? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought those white midi dresses are for bridesmaids."
"I thought you knew. Have you ever read any wedding related stuff?" I asked in disbelief.
"Never. That's part of your duty as bridesmaid."
I facepalmed.

P.S. 
"Why isn't there any bridal shop assistant in this fic?"
"Because it's fiction (?) I want it that way."

Walk under the Rain (and Frog Quiz)

I'll walk under the rain in this journey with you. No, it won't be like that beautiful rainy scene in any movie. We will just be two people that dance and sing while getting wet, like frogs. You're a Pacific tree frog and I'm white's tree frog.

P.S. Find out what kind of frog you are in this quiz.

Not Allowed

"May I take care of your scar?"

"No. Every scar has story and I haven't allowed you to enter my story. Beside, it's scar, not wound. I can deal with it."

"Will you ever allow me? I just want to help."

"I don't know."

Out of Place

They stood in the corner. She wrote in her small notebook, he drew sketches. Both seemed out of place in the masquerade ball.

"Oh, you draw the lady with purple dress over there? Her hair is wavy. You draw her wrong," she said to him.

He retort, "Would you please shut up and go back to your writing? What do you write anyway?" Then he took her notebook and read while mimicking her voice, "A newlywed man play single on the dance floor."

Even when his face was covered with a mask, she could tell he was surprised. "What?" She asked.

"What was that supposed to mean? Play single? How did you even know that he's newlywed?"

"I just know," she replied. "Hey, would you like to dance? After that you can approach that lady in purple dress."

"I can't dance and I don't want to approach that lady."

"Put your paper and pencil in your pocket. I'll teach you how to dance and talk to a lady," she said while grabbing his right wrist.

"I talk to you all the time."

"All right, correction then. I'll teach you how to dance and talk to a lady other than me."

P.S. I've never gone to a ball or masquerade so if this story sounds unlikely, please tell me. 

Sansa Stark and Girl's Struggle

Game of Thrones season 6 is going to air soon. I'm a Game of Thrones completely internet fan. It means that I don't watch the entire show and I don't read the entire books either. I get information here and there from the internet and I can still call myself a fan, can't I?

I'm curious about Sansa's fate in season 6. Rumour says she will do good. I hope so because Sansa is my favourite character.

Why is Sansa my favourite character? Because, in my opinon, Sansa Stark is relatable. I guess every girl or woman, at some points in their life can relate to Sansa. There must be one time when a girl wants to speak up or put up a fight but hold herself because she remembers that "a lady's armor is courtesy" so she put her armor of courtesy to protect herself, to keep herself alive. If you consider that a weakness, then you don't understand. Some girls don't have many choices and all they want is to be alive and safe, and safe can be defined in various ways.

I also adore Arya. Many times I want to fight like Arya but I remember that I don't live in Westeros and I can't stab people as I want. I don't even know how to handle a sword. I think Sansa also wants to fight like Arya sometimes but she is aware that she can't do that. 

After all, those Stark sisters show and remind me the struggle of being a girl.

Some Places, Real and Fictional

I don't travel a lot and I haven't been so faraway from home. I would love to. There are places I want to visit, both real and fictional.

In real world, Russia is still on the top of my places-to-visit list. I want to watch ballet in Bolshoi Theatre or take Trans Siberian railway journey.

In fictional world, I want to visit Westeros after the place is safe and peaceful enough. But when? We can't be sure.

Westeros can be a great place to visit. From the cold North to fertile region of the Reach then to the desert of Dorne. I even consider taking Lady Slytherin to Westeros if she doesn't mind. She's not much into "A Song of Ice and Fire" but I guess she will agree to travel once Westeros is safe. 

Lady Slytherin is a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien so she may take me to Middle Earth in return. She has always wanted to go to there to meet Thranduil and rule the realm together. Let them rule, I will just visit the Shire. 

Another fictional place to visit, recommended by Elsa, is Cerulean City. I don't know much about Pokemon but I think it would be a nice place to visit. If I happen to visit Cerulean City, I surely will hire Elsa to be my tour guide.

I ended up writing one real place and three fictional places. It may explain enough about my perspective.

In the Morning

She looked at her right leg, at the dark temporary tattoo contrasting her pale skin. Its colour started to fade. "I need to buy a new one," she thought to herself. She considered having a new one on her waist, or her shoulder; anywhere only she could see it.

Once she wore her long skirt, the tattoo is covered.

Then she put on coral lipstick and practiced her smile. 

She was ready to face the day.

By the Lake

The skirt flowed along her legs as she danced among the flowers by the lake. Grace.

A wizard shouted, told her to leave. She twirled. Then flew. Away.

And the flowers wilted.