Win or Die

[moonunitomega.livejournal.com]

Name: Eliza
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is (individual user if possible, not just a community name!): I actually found it through the kink meme. (Kinda embarrassing…) I’ve started writing fic for the series, and I was looking for more. I saw this community and I thought it would be fun to join and connect with people who enjoy ASOIAF as much as I do.
Age: 20
Location: Virginia
Occupation: Student, Tutor (actual money-paying job)




All About You

1. Describe your ideal house/home. Please go into as much detail as possible, and be sure to include your ideal geographical location in the description!. I’d love to live in a small Victorian-style house in New England. I want a turret! It wouldn’t be a huge house, maybe 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, 1 ½ baths. What it must have is a library. I adore books and I need space to store all of them. I don’t need a huge backyard, since I’m not very good with plants. Maybe a small herb garden. A decent-sized kitchen (since I’m a bit of a foodie) is a must. And I would love to have a piano. I chose New England because a lot of my family is from there and the climate is fantastic. (I don’t do well in the heat.)

2. Imagine you’re given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Please be as elaborate as you can. Wishing for more wishes is not permitted! Oh my goodness. I’d first wish for financial stability for the rest of my life (and specify living in financial comfort, not just stability.) Second, I’d wish for the ability to feel well-rested after four hours of sleep. There’s no reason to waste all those hours sleeping. I’m a bit of an insomniac as well, but I’m at a high-powered university and I’d rather not waste my time passed out every afternoon due to late nights. Third, I’d wish that I would an attractive, intelligent gentleman at least ten years older than me, and that we’d fall in love and live happily together.

3. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? Why? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)I’m very proud of the fact that I was on Teen Jeopardy when I was 15. I didn’t win, but I did make a decent amount of money that is currently residing in my savings account. I also made several friends, got to visit California for free, and…contracted the stomach flu, but that’s not quite so fantastic. My brains are my best asset, and I love proving my intelligence.

4. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you? Please explain why for each choice.The most important would be knowledge, definitely. I love learning. I love reading. I love gaining new information and using it. I hate when I don’t know exactly what’s going on. There’s not much more I can say, really. This is why I’m confining myself to academia for the rest of my life. Learning and teaching are two of the things I do best.
Least important would be…probably family. I sound like an awful person. Family is important, but it’s much less important than all those other things. I’m not terribly close to anyone in my extended family, since they all live far away. I’m a very independent individual, and I hate having to rely on family for anything. Especially money.

5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert A. Heinlein
I pride myself on my ability to do many different things. I can sing, dance, act, write, draw, solve puzzles, cook, do math, etc. I love learning new skills and experiencing new things. Also, the character that says this quote – Lazarus Long – is more or less one of my role models. He’s lived for thousands of years and has done just about everything, including running a restaurant, captaining a ship, surviving on the frontier, fighting in wars, and siring countless children. I’ll try anything once, and master as many skills as I can.

6. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you? Go into as much detail as you can. To put it bluntly, I’m cheap. I don’t like spending money unless I have to. I buy things that are on sale, I use the most efficient meal plan at school, I put money aside and save it for the future. I hate borrowing money. Hate it. It’s a point of pride for me that I can manage my own finances, budget myself, spend only what I have to. I hate being in anyone’s debt, financially or otherwise.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office? I read, all the time. Mostly science fiction, but I also enjoy horror, mystery, the occasional fantasy. I sing and play the piano. I sew. I draw – it’s one of the areas where I can see drastic improvement every year. I write – original and fan-fiction. I’m involved in amateur theater, and I’m going to try and direct a production of King Lear in the fall. Basically, I’m artistic as hell. I love making things with my hands, especially if they’re useful. (Including food.)

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
I’m afraid of heights. That’s probably my biggest fear. I can’t really explain it, but I can’t go on roller-coasters. I remember once my family was staying in a hotel with a glass elevator and I had to close my eyes and face the wall inside it so I wouldn’t freak out.
I’m afraid of large dogs. Always have been. The biggest dog I ever met was the size of a sofa. I was five. It was terrifying. Granted, the dog was probably the sweetest, gentlest creature on the planet. It let my little brother and me ride it, for god’s sake. I was still terrified.
And I’m afraid of death. I don’t want to die, ever. Hopefully there’ll be some artistic legacy (hell, even my future dissertation) that’ll survive longer than I will. I still don’t like thinking about the fact that I will die eventually. I’m not terribly religious in any way (or nonreligious – my beliefs are kinda weir) - but I’m not convinced that there’s an afterlife, and the idea of oblivion is just…ugh.

9. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical). Please answer as fully as you can, as this is an important question.
Best:
1) I’m intelligent (if that counts as a quality). I consider it my strongest asset. I learn quickly, I have a near-photographic memory, and I can grasp most anything I try to learn. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, and I hate people who do brag, but this is really…ugh. Sorry. I’m just smart.
2) I’m creative. I can think of more effective ways to solve problems. When I was in high school I figured out my own shortcuts to solve math problems and taught the rest of the kids in my class how to use them. I love creating worlds and characters to inhabit them. I’m always ready to try a new, unorthodox method, and I won’t stop if I fail.
3) I’m independent. I manage my workload, my extracurriculars, my finances. I know my limits and I know when I’m doing too much. I don’t really need to interact with other people in order to function. When I’m doing my own thing and in control of my own life, it’s immensely satisfying.

Worst:
1) I can be negative. I tend to draw attention to my own faults as well as those of other people. Since I’m always looking to improve myself, I can neglect my good qualities and highlight the bad ones. Self-esteem has been an issue for me. My attitude can be very snarky, very dark, very grim, and my family has been known to call me a bit of a killjoy. I’ve been trying to work with this, though.
2) I’m a bit socially awkward. Now that I’m in college, I’ve finally found people that I can get along with really well. But back in high school, I was the kid in the corner. Social cues don’t really come naturally to me – I’ve had to train myself to learn how other people think. I don’t tend to keep up with trends (outside of the internet, that is), and I can isolate myself without meaning to. This kind of relates to the above – I can be acting like a total buzzkill sometimes without realizing it, which just spirals into this huge cycle of social outcast-dom. (That’s not a word, I know.)
3) I’m very, very nervous. I get very stressed out meeting new people, and I’m not very comfortable in social situations. I can stress out. A ton. And I’ve been known to have panic attacks when I’m about to go into a hell week or something like it. I always get my work done and resurface, but for a little while it’s scary.




A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Number one, without question, is Littlefinger. I always love the morally-ambiguous schemers. (Funny moment: my friend asked me “Why do you like him, he’s such a dick.” I faltered for a bit before explaining that, in part, it was his amazing acts of dickery that endeared him to me. Also, he’s a funny guy.) Number two would actually be Stannis. Seriously. I know he’s the least charismatic person in the world, but I kind of feel bad for him. He had two attractive brothers that he got sandwiched between for most of his life (not literally) and he’s so socially awkward it hurts. But he’s a decent guy. Third is probably Bran Stark, because he’s adorable and he doesn’t deserve half the shit GRRM does to him. I want to give Bran the biggest hug ever.

2.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
In no particular order, Viserys, Joffrey, and Melisandre. Viserys is a little shit. Joffrey is also a little shit. Melisandre isn’t so much my least favorite character as she is terrifying. Zealots are scary. I don’t understand their motives at all.

3.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
Oh man. Probably the scene in ASOS where Sansa builds the snow castle and then Littlefinger comes and helps her. It’s just a beautiful scene, and the imagery is so strong and clean and wonderful. And then Robert Arryn ruins EVERYTHING. (MY OTP IS NOT OBVIOUS AT ALL, NOPE)

4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
Haha. Oh man. I suppose I’d put the Targaryens back on the Iron Throne. I think that more than anything else the people need a rallying point and those kids are just charismatic enough to do it. Although anyone who fights/schemes/murders his or her way to the throne is pretty awesome, and if they can hold it, they can take it, as far as I’m concerned.

Thanks, guys! Can’t wait to see where I end up! (Also, elaborating was hard. I’m normally concise. :P)

Comments

Stark

[esc-key.livejournal.com]

Despite your fear of large dogs and heights, I think you might be either Stark or Targaryen. I'm going to say Targaryen, although your aloofness would work well in the north....