No, Mr Bond, I expect you to win or die.
Jul. 24th, 2011 10:28 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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westerosortingName: Chilla
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scalesandfins told me there was awesome fanart to be found through hereAge: 22
Location: Eastern Europe
Occupation: student of maths
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!.
Ideally, there would be a house on some seaside in which I'd always be welcome, and there would be dogs and fig trees and a tame beach with dramatic waves. But it wouldn't be where I lived, just somewhere I could visit. I have no particular desires about where I'd live. Probably a shabby apartment with ugly-coloured walls but a big bed and stable internet. And heating and eternal amounts of hot water.
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!
First I'd wish to know the potential consequences of my next two wishes and/or what it would be wisest to wish for. I'm not sure I'd follow the advice of the first wish, but it'd be interesting to know.
If that's cheating, I'd like to have the ability to manipulate time. Not time-travel necessarily (though there's dead people I'd love to meet), but to just be able to make myself more time, or fast-forward through nasty anticipationy periods. Furthermore, I'd like it if I could know how to make people I want to make happy happy. (Which isn't mind-reading exactly, because most of the time, people don't really know themselves.) And I want my dog back. He ran away two years ago, when I left for uni. He was really important to me, and really - uniquely melodramatic, but awesome.
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 am financially independent in theory if not in practice, and I've acquired good friends despite being genetically predisposed to hate all humanity equally.
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.
Pleasure is the most important, because all of the others are meaningless without it. And my kind of pleasure involves Love and Friendship and Family and moderate Money and selective Knowledge anyway.
Adventure doesn't matter much to me. I don't dislike the concept but am inclined to maintain a hobbity outlook on it.
5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
I don't really remember quotes. Off the top of my head - "All power corrupts, but we need electricity." I don't really want power (career-success, money, the works), but I need it for both survival and basic luxuries. I keep struggling not to let the quest for money corrupt me, emotionally or morally or whatever, which could happen more easily than you'd expect. So, that's a fun balance.
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.
See above. I usually spend very little on myself, which means I get to be smug and self-pampering when I do decide to Shop. Although, honestly, all this usually results in is some ice cream and a shapely sweater.
7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
I like writing, both fic and original, though I don't tend to finish stuff. I don't participate in fandom very actively - but I like hangin' with fannish friends, constructing elaborate AUs and loose plots to revolutionarise the internet.
8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Birds – my ancient, intense phobia. I nearly vomited while watching Kung Fu Panda II (with my brothers! For a good cause! At least it was better than its prequel!) because the peacock antagonist was just a shade too realistic. When I am less than totally balanced and at peace, I get mild panic attacks from walking past flocks of pigeons, and close avian encounters petrify me even on a good day.
Isolation – both emotional and geographical. I don’t want people with me all the time (in fact, please, please, no), but I need people near me. At shouting distance, ideally. Huge empty rural houses, desert islands, surviving an apocalypse... all of that is scary to me.
Physical injury – bleurgh. Eugh.
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.
I'm good at being kind to myself and others. Which is nice! Except it means I flake out of non-vital obligations often and actively work not to feel guilty about it. And I encourage others to do so. Which is bad!
I abstract easily and am very good at applying things I've learned. This is awesome, because, hey, maths, and it's also useful socially. The downside is that I get very impatient when I have to learn and apply things I don't enjoy - like probability theory (the most singularly dull branch of maths I've encountered so far), or stilted formal communication.
I'm curious. I like finding things out about people - the way they think, the things they feel. Hypocritically, I find it really hard to be introspective on demand. I don't much like talking about myself unless it's with friends. Which is why this question (and a few previous ones) was difficult and draining. Done now!
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
a. Brienne. Is more or less a superhero, except without the smugness. She goes around, meeting people, seeing the best of them. When she can, she saves them. If it were that kind of 'verse, she'd save them all, then fly back home and molt back into Clark Kent again, and then endure getting giggled at on the bus home. Then get called back again to kill the revolting villains with the annoying one-liners, the Shagwells of the world.
She's at this lovely point where she's well past naivete but is still capable of idealism. I love how she could see the best in Renly - and oh, I do so hope he sincerely liked her, hope he had evolved beyond the obligatory Baratheon misogyny, though I don't doubt he found her funny too (he found everything funny, so that's okay). Then she saw the power in Cat. And then she saw something nice in Jaime - of all people. He had to work for it, but she saw kindness in him too.
b. Tyrion stole my heart pretty much immediately. I kind of - consistently get him. I'm entranced by the way he transforms his self-hatred into misogyny, transforms his love of life into hedonism, tries so hard to be pragmatic and for the most part fails extremely. He's fascinating. That's not why I love him. I just do.
I love his humour, his nastiness, his suffering. I want him to suffer more. I want him to get to ride dragons and get an awesome Targaryen queen girlfriend and take over the world and get over his daddy issues, but barring all that, I want him to have a few good moments, moments of giving and receiving kindness.
(I also must note I'm harbouring an immense crush on Peter Dinklage. Tv!Tyrion is a slightly different, less complex creature than book!Tyrion, but I love him there too.)
c. Aaaah. The answer here is "Greyjoys of A Dance with Dragons", but, because of the no spoiler policy, I'll need to choose someone else. (Anyone looking for a conversation about the awesomeness of ADwD Greyjoys is totally welcome to PM though.) My next two favourite-character choices are ADwD-influenced too. So... Sarella! The hottest of Sandsnakes, which is saying a lot.
2.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
a. Victarion. Wins by a landslide. He's the perfect intersection of reprehensible and dull. Cruelty's routine to him (other sadists, like Ramsay, at least have the decency to enjoy it), and yet he keeps drowning in self-pity.
b. Jorah Mormont. I keep forgetting how much he irritates me when he's off-page, but when he enters - chapter enjoyability plummets. Everything about him annoys me. His petty hate-on for Ned. His Crazy Ex hangup which seems to have mostly melted into habit by now. His obsession with Dany, which seems to be born from a lack of imagination and a lack of better things to do with his life. He's passive and pathetic in a not-sexy kind of way.
c. Littlefinger - but not tv!Littlefinger. I love the worn-out madame spin on tv!Littlefinger, and the way he diverts the "back-stabbing bitch" spotlight from Cersei, love the way he fulfills so many female-specific tropes, but isn't feminised.
Book!Littlefinger is totally bland in comparison. He's... just a boring, jaded nerd victimising the young woman of his choice by rolling around in his own intellectual superiority. Basically, he's drunk bomber jacket guy (link goes to Subnormality) and I cannot like him.
3.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
I was going to choose something shippy regarding gladiator rings, dashing blonds and their doomed-to-be-mauled future love interests, but then I remembered - Davos! Davos, having smuggled Robert's bastard away, arrives to tell Stannis he committed treason. He's not expecting to survive. He could have fled, easily. But he stays, because he's in love.
It's the moment where I finally got over mourning Ned, because, yes, Ned was amazing, but there's still honourable, kind people making decisions that have nothing to do with gaining power.
And Davos is just so - gleaming, here. Humble and matter-of-fact, and brave without even trying. And Stannis listens because he's secretly somehow in love with Davos too, and then Stannis forgives him, because Davos is so irrevocably right. And one person lives.
4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
(this changes weekly, you realise)
Jon encounters Bran north of the Wall and the two of them explore the Abridged History of Starks and come up with a plan to stop the ice zombie invasion. He eventually dies heroically or shacks up with a nice Sandsnake somewhere.
Tyrion and Dany provide the necessary dragon backup for the zombie plan. They also have a blazing, explosive romance and fulfill several prophecies, and either die in each other's arms or abdicate in Bran's favour. Or Myrcella's.
Eventually Melisandre and Euron eliminate each other in a flashy duel. Zombie Cat and Cersei also have some sort of confrontation, but I'm unsure about the outcome.
Nice things happen to Greyjoys.
Brienne takes the Jaime and runs. They travel east and become and become sellswords and live a short, not very illustrious, but happy life together.
Sansa marries Ramsay Bolton, but Petyr hires a faceless assassin to kill him before the deflowering thing. It is Arya, now truly faceless (having given up her last piece of self, Needle, bartering to save Jon). She gives Sansa her old face. Putting it on, Sansa kills first Ramsay, then Petyr. Nymeria tracks her down and joins her. She becomes Sansarya I, Queen of the North.
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Lannister
Date: 2011-07-25 09:27 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-25 09:51 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-25 09:59 pm (UTC)(yay Davos!!!)
Your ending is very creative.
Re: Stark
Date: 2011-07-26 02:00 pm (UTC)(There's also some ADwD stuff about Missandei running away with [spoiler] and starting a butterfly reserve.)
Stark
Date: 2011-07-26 03:01 am (UTC)I'm having a hard time placing you because there's not one uber strong vibe for one House. I do see Greyjoy, (especially in your quote about power) as well you don't have any particular requirements for your ideal home. (You didn't even really elaborate on a home either which is something I find intriguing as it says something about your personality in a subtle, mysterious way)
Overall, I personally believe you belong in House Tyrell not just because of the content, but how it was written. It is in your subtlety, how you painted your imagination, as well as the nobility I sense but not in an overly flamboyant sort of sense. I say this because it's because the latter, how other Houses can be extremes when it comes to terms of power and chivalry and exploration, that has me thinking that your light-heartedness & intelligence are perfect for Highgarden.
Re: Stark
Date: 2011-07-26 01:45 pm (UTC)Passivity can be sexy in context! Imagine young, war-torn Ned, a second son lost in a world of volatile lordlings. All he'd like to do is curl up and wait the war out, but he can't, he keeps having to act and make decisions. And then he comes home and keeps it up, the patriarchal role, making decisions with so much weight. Cat, who had found his staticness dull and cold initially, starts missing it. She's seeing how HARD it is for him to keep wearing that role all the time, the way his passivity could be restful and could let her be more active - if only privately.
And that is the evolution of Catelyn Stark, Fabulous Domme... If your taste runs more toward Ned/Robert, it works there too: Robert, who is addicted to acting on the moment, finding rest and temporary reprieve in Ned's contemplative embrace. That kind of thing.
Pathetic can be sexy in two ways. One is the roundabout "so pathetic it's endearing, so endearing it's sexy" route - such as early Sam, or, if you've seen Being Human UK, George Sands - or Mickey Smith of Doctor Who (rawr).
The other is more visceral. Think kidnapped Jaime or Greyjoys of ADwD. Formerly haughty characters being made totally... different. By suffering. Not everyone's cup of fictional tea, obviously, but in the right circumstances I can find it very hot indeed.
(Also! Thank you very much for the nice things you said about me. <3! Oh, and happy recent birthday!)
Martell
Date: 2011-07-26 05:49 am (UTC)Re: Martell
Date: 2011-07-26 01:46 pm (UTC)Tyrell
Date: 2011-07-26 06:25 am (UTC)Tully
Date: 2011-07-26 05:20 pm (UTC)Tully
Date: 2011-07-26 06:12 pm (UTC)Tully
Date: 2011-07-26 07:15 pm (UTC)And your description of Brienne is one the sweetest, aptest and funniest ASOIAF comments I've ever come across. :)
Tully
Date: 2011-07-26 08:32 pm (UTC)It's not a perfect fit, but Tyrell works a little better than Stark and Greyjoy, for me.
And I'm happy to see all the Brienne love in the apps this week. <3
Martell
Date: 2011-07-26 08:49 pm (UTC)I'm going to jump on the Tyrell bandwagon.
Lannister
Date: 2011-07-26 09:53 pm (UTC)TYRELL
Date: 2011-07-26 10:18 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-27 01:42 am (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-27 06:55 am (UTC)Targaryen
Date: 2011-07-27 05:24 pm (UTC)Martell
Date: 2011-07-27 09:13 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-28 02:12 am (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-28 06:56 am (UTC)I think, in the end, I go Greyjoy - but one who was fostered away from the Iron Islands, but isn't particularly resentful about it, and doesn't care what the other Iron Islanders think about it!
Targaryen
Date: 2011-07-28 07:32 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-28 08:36 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-28 10:44 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 04:55 am (UTC)Martell
Date: 2011-07-29 07:05 am (UTC)Your stress of pleasure not as frivolity but as the backbone of all other virtues sounds a lot like Renly's (extremely reasonable) rationale for his push for the crown, and makes me rule out houses like Tully and Stark, who are all about duty and ethics, often at the cost of happiness. You also said you have a hobbitlike aversion to adventure, so the adrenaline-junkie Greyjoys are out, although I do see the Asha resemblance.
The big thing that comes out here is your striking the balance between valuing a good life and the line capping your paragraph on Davos, and why you love him: "And one person lives." The Tyrells are good at being kind to themselves and others, and also seem to have done a better job caring for their people than most of the other houses we see.
I would love to see the duel of fire and pirates, btw.
Stark
Date: 2011-07-29 09:48 am (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 10:07 am (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-29 10:38 am (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 01:59 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-29 03:34 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 05:07 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 05:41 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-29 05:55 pm (UTC)stark
Date: 2011-07-29 06:19 pm (UTC)Tyrell
Date: 2011-07-29 07:39 pm (UTC)Lannister
Date: 2011-07-29 07:41 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-29 08:11 pm (UTC)I love how you talk about the characters in your book section as well, Tyrion especially. I think he's at his greatest and most notable when all his shades of grey are embraced.
Targaryen
Date: 2011-07-29 09:21 pm (UTC)Tully
Date: 2011-07-30 01:09 pm (UTC)Stark
Date: 2011-07-30 03:10 pm (UTC)Targaryen
Date: 2011-07-30 07:11 pm (UTC)Greyjoy
Date: 2011-07-30 11:43 pm (UTC)Targaryen
Date: 2011-07-31 09:27 am (UTC)SORTED: GREYJOY
Date: 2011-07-31 12:11 pm (UTC)You may join
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