Fictional Crush, Normal or Abnormal?

Is it normal... to have a crush on a fictional character?

I have had a crush on Draco Malfoy when I was in high school, but that was supported with the imagery of Tom Felton taking on that character role. Tom Felton is hot, therefore Draco Malfoy is hot too. So it's understandable.

But how about characters that are not even portrayed by an actor? To be precise... characters that are drawn? To be right on the dot... the manga character Levi Ackerman?

Too many ellipses going on. Oh boy...

I've recently gotten into the Attack on Titan fandom, and have been gushing over the anime and manga for days. Reading the manga, I discovered the allure of Captain Levi and became one of the many fangirls that would immediately pick him as their favourite character when asked. So here I am... having a fictional crush. 

Personally, I don't think it's normal. I googled his height for crying out loud! That's... not normal. He's short though, a few centimeters shorter than me in fact. I prefer taller men, but why should my preference even be stated here when Levi is fictional? Who cares about his height or age? What matters is his badass-ness, six packs, and brooding character, right? 

Gosh, if he was real, a lot of girls would be fighting over him. Would I be one of them? Erm.. his height would make me say 'no'. But he's fictional.. so yes? What am I saying?

Too many question marks. This is going no where...

Just tell me I'm not alone here, tell me I'm normal because it doesn't feel human to be this way. What 'way' is that? Whatever way you take out from this post. I'm done.

*Come to think about it, I did have a fictional crush after Draco. Prince Zuko anyone? Gosh, he was hot. I'm referring to the animated version of The Last Airbender, not the Shyamalan version. Ah, I wish he was my prince...

The Big Guy Has A Tight Butt

Which big guy? The one in Attack on Titan a.k.a the colossal titan; the one who flashes his muscles because he works out in his spare time. Yea, he probably works out. 

Oh, look, a butt shot. Not the first.
You have to admit, he does have a tight butt.
Is this getting obscene?

Where am I going with this? Well, I recently decided to pick up the anime and give it a go... and who would have known, I'm now a fan. Four episodes in and I headed straight to Ebay looking for 'fan-made' bracelets to wear. Yup, it's that awesome.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of anime. The only anime I've watched prior to this is Corpse Party (aside from Avatar, which isn't made in Japan). I don't quite like the art style or how the female characters are drawn. Plus, they can get pretty kinky and that makes me extremely uncomfortable. The only thing I actually like about anime is how weird they can get; the strange and bizarre concept of horror and fantasy. Is it safe to say Attack on Titan delivers such a weird, yet horrifying concept in a fantasy setting? Yes. That's why I love it.

Before watching the anime, I was warned by my friends that I should not invest emotionally in any of the characters or I will experience a lot of pain. So I took their advice and cared less for the characters, but the shock of how quickly the characters die is still something I would have to deal with. I thought nothing could beat A Song of Ice and Fire at picking off characters like the petals of a flower during a he-loves-me-not game, but I was proven wrong sooner than I thought. And... I kind of enjoy such unpredictability.

Wait for it... I sense pain coming.

These days, shows have become so predictable. I recently finished watching a Korean drama titled The Three Musketeers, and I knew who was going to be poisoned and who was going to be pierced by an arrow just as the scene was getting all too jolly. Did the writers think it was unpredictable? I don't know, maybe it is. But I called it before it happened. I thoroughly enjoyed The Three Musketeers and cannot wait for season 2, but it was predictable like so many shows today. Ah, if only it wasn't! 

I guess I can say that Attack on Titan was a breath of fresh air when it came to unpredictability. The air probably isn't too fresh around titans but the shock value is worth investing my time in. If a book, movie, series, graphic novel (*The Walking Dead #100), game, or anime leaves my mouth gaping, I'll give it an A+ immediately. No questions asked. After all, I love surprises... don't you? 

How Do I See Them?

How do I see the characters of The Clubhouse?

I do have my own imagination of them, but I can't really tie a specific actor or actress to them because they are unique in my head. No one actually comes close to how they look... however, if The Clubhouse was a drama, I definitely have some preferences.

If The Clubhouse was a Korean drama, the cast would be:

Zach: Choi Jin Hyuk (because he's my favourite actor, duh.)

Jodie: Kim So Eun

Guinevere: Cha Ye Ryun

Matthias: Choi Woo Shik/ Jung Yong Hwa

Richard: Kim Myung Soo
(KMS picture on left; I saw him in She's So Lovable, and he grew on me.)

*I know, the age and age gaps don't match. It's all about the chemistry anyway, right? Haha!

If The Clubhouse was a Hong Kong drama, the cast would be:

Zach: Raymond Lam (because he's my favourite actor too.)

Jodie: Linda Chung

Guinevere: Tavia Yeung
(Picture on right; she was brutal in Beyond The Realm of Conscience.)

Matthias: Sammul Chan/ Ron Ng

Richard: Bosco Wong/ Him Law

*I chose an older cast because I prefer this generation of actors. The age gaps obviously don't match, but who cares. I'll make sure their age will never be mentioned in the drama ;) 




If The Clubhouse was a British-American drama, the cast would be:

Zach: Darren Criss
(Picture on left; come on, he has been hot since A Very Potter Musical.)

Jodie: Jessica Brown Findlay

Guinevere: Natalie Dormer

Matthias: Logan Lerman/ Skandar Keynes

Richard: Thomas Brodie-Sangster

*Why British-American? Because it's harder to split them into two. Age and age gaps don't match either, but I do justice with a younger cast.

It seems I tend to have double options for Matthias and Richard. Hmmm...

Anyway, I would actually prefer a more racially diverse cast. After all, Skypeak Clubhouse is a retreat to the world's cream of the crop. But, that would be a tricky task and I'm just too lazy to do it in such a random blog post.

In all honestly, if ever The Clubhouse appears on TV screens, it would most probably be in Korean. It seems the most appropriate anyway, even though I think my choice of actors might end up being changed. EXCEPT for Choi Jin Hyuk though, he has to be in it :) He has to be.

Let's Lie!

Last weekend, my friends and I hung out playing tabletop games. One of the games I enjoyed was Coup. Coup is a simple game of doing whatever it takes to be the last one standing. You can lie about your identity and call a bluff to eliminate other players. 

First round, I won. No, I'm not here to boast. Wait.. I am. Ha! I won because someone lied, I spotted the lie, and called him out. I also won because I manipulated someone into thinking I was lying, when I was not. 

Second round, third round, fourth round, I made it as far as the last 2 players (if I recall correctly). Why? Because everyone was telling the truth. The truth prevails right? And when I had no one to call out for lying... the game was up to chance, with players having better character cards winning. Maybe I should have manipulated more, but the lack of experience was my downfall. 

One thing I learned from the game though, was that telling the truth is no fun... but telling the truth makes no room for lies. No one lied when everyone was telling the truth. Either that, or we were all just too honest. Personally, I did not lie because it was risky, but I did try to make people think I was. Sadly, I didn't do that enough. 

Now on to more lies.

I'm currently watching a Korean drama titled 'Liar Game'. I stumbled upon it when it was 2 episodes in, and I gave it a shot. After starting it, I became hooked. I freaking love that drama! 

Liar Game is adapted from a Japanese manga where a too-honest-for-her-own-good girl enters a game to win money. Each round, the contestants in the game have to lie, manipulate, and crack their brains on a way to win. They can work together, betray each other, or just simply trust; which proved difficult for everyone... everyone but that girl that is. 

What I like about the drama is the games thrown at the contestants. Not only must they twist the game to their advantage, they must also convince/manipulate others to join in on their plan. None of the games so far is an individual game, which actually reminds me of a Saw sequel (teamwork, such joy). It also shows the human nature and I tend to imagine what I would do if I was in the game. I would definitely love to play it though.

Honestly, I hate manipulating and lying to people; my conscience pricks me too much. But if it's in a game setting, I would definitely do it. After all, it's just a game... right? RIGHT? I would love to join Survivor for that very reason as well.

So how about you, would you do it in a game setting or are you already doing it in real life? Wait.. isn't the latter a telltale sign for psychopaths or something?

Anyway, one thing I know for sure is that lying is a sin. Let's NOT lie... unless the game requires it :) 

To The Streets We Go

Let me first say that food is not everywhere in Seoul and popular streets are pretty much asleep at night. It was a different experience compared with what I have grown up with.

In Malaysia, when we say there's food around, there really is food around. Five minutes from my condo and I can get my hands on chinese, malay and indian food. The smell of food wafts in the night air, and it carries on past my bedtime. I definitely made a mistake of expecting Myeongdong to be like Jonker street, because Jonker is food heaven at night while Myeongdong snoozes under the moonlight.

So while we were there, we found ourselves disappointed, especially after being told by a hotelier that there was food right around the corner. All we saw were the lack of it, and on most nights we retreated to 7eleven for a bowl of ramen. Anyway, cultural differences aside, I did enjoy Korean street food.

These are my tries:

#1 Hoddeok

I had it twice, because why not? I like sweet stuff, and this was sweet. It was 2,000 won per piece, which made it hard not to convert to ringgit and gasp at the large bowl of curry noodles I can get for the same price. 

No ruler to measure the claims
of it being 32cm though.

#2 32cm Ice-Cream

We bought one and shared it. The texture was not as smooth as McD's but understandable if it is required to stand that tall. I think it was 3,000 won, or was it 2,000 won? Can't remember. 

#3 Dragon Beard Candy

We actually tasted the Dragon Beard Candy in Guilin, China, and it was a let down. So we were very skeptical about tasting the Korean version. But when we did, it just completely blew our taste buds. They tasted so good! At least to me, that is. A box of 10 small pieces is 5,000 won. If it was cheaper, I would have gotten more.

#4 Jipangyi Ice-Cream

Yes, we had more ice-cream. This time in the shape of a J. The cone is corny, and the ice-cream was alright. Still not as smooth as McD's and I have no idea why. It was 4,000 won. No doubt a pricey ice-cream. 

#5 Bao, Pau, Steam Buns

This was stumbled upon when we entered Namdaemun. The pau was slightly translucent and the feeling were vegetables and thin pieces of beef. It tasted a lot like a vegetarian pau. I can't remember the price though. 

#6 Sausage Wrapped with Fish Cake

The name pretty much tells you how it tastes like. It was 1,000 won per stick, if I'm not mistaken.

# 7 Convenient Store Food

- Real Brownie: I decided to try it because it was talked about a lot. We paid 5,000 won for two small boxes, 4 pieces in each. It's not bad.

- Ddeokbokki snack: We got our hands on the 7eleven version because it was the cheapest; 1,000 won for a pack. Everyone loved it, which was surprising because my parents don't eat junk food, especially my mum. It was crunchy, sweet, and spicy, definitely worth trying.

- Seaweed: Definitely felt like we were carrying air home. Can't recall the price, but it's pretty standard everywhere we went.

We definitely did not try all the street food in Korea, and we opted out of some because they were just too expensive. But we still ate more than we usually did, which is definitely a good thing... WHEN on a holiday. 

Now back to eating healthy! Wait, I take that back. The M&M's I bought at the airport duty free section are calling to me, and the Real Brownies and Jeju chocolates have learned my name too. I think it's going to be a challenge for a while... a Real challenge.

Check out my other posts on South Korea:

Simple Itinerary

Lodging

My Shopping List

Trip Recap
Hotel Review

Food Review