westerosorting | Win or die

Name: Ayumie
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is:

munditia is to blame.
Age: 29
Location: Munich, Germany
Occupation: Editorial assistant

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!

Part of me wants an old farmhouse with a big garden and lots of space. However, then I remember that I hate insects, am really, really bad at handiwork and have lived in a big city all my life. So city living, is it.

I rather like Munich, so I'd love to have a biggish apartment near the city center. At least the more important rooms (bedroom, living room etc.) ought to be facing into nice, green backyard with trees in them. There should be big windows, too, with a lot of light and space. The furniture would be comfy, with lots of light wood and a nice, big couch to sit on. Oh, and a big kitchen, ideally opening into the dining room. I love to cook, so I'd have a lot of appliances and different big cupboards to hold lots of Asian dishes. I'd also like to have one corner of the living room fitted with tatami and furnished with a few Japanese pieces: a kotatsu (heated table with a blanket over it, a small cabinets, cushions to sit on etc.). I lived in Tokyo for a year during my time at university.

Also, I'd appreciate a balcony, a walk-in closet and a fireplace. If living with a significant other, we'd have a shared bedroom, but also separate rooms to retreat to. And I'd definitely need some sort of storeroom for all my knick-knacks and decorations. I like to change the decorations in my apartment with every change of the season and thus tend to accumulate a lot of stuff.

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!

1. Enough money to live comfortably without having to work (unless I chose to) and occasionally do some good. I don't need to be really rich, but having to worry about money is really not what I want to spend my life doing.

2. For the people I love to be happy and healthy (note: I also love myself!) Is that one or two wishes?

3. World peace. No wait, that the kind of wish that usually ends with a wold wide dictatorship or aliens invading and killing everybody, so I'll settle for a horse. Yes, somewhere inside of me there's a thirteen year old.

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.

1. Family/Friendship – Because aren't friends the family that we chose? I just call them the people I love in here. A lot of things (traveling, movies, cooking) aren't fun unless you have somebody to share them with. Humans are social animals, I guess. We just aren't made to be alone.

2. Money – I know it sounds terrible, but money may not be able to buy happiness, but it does buy a lot else. Namely security. It's not like I need that much money – I just don't want to have to think about it, or rather, about not having it.
Knowledge – because knowledge is fun. I loved being at university, I love watching documentations on tv and reading books on a wide range of topics. Also, knowledge gives you perspective and helps you deal with live.

Of all the things above, I probably value adventure the least. Sure it sounds grand and exciting, but most adventures range between simply uncomfortable and plainly dangerous. I just want to enjoy a quiet life. Also, I hate when things don't go according to plan. Plans are good.

5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.
Samuel Johnson

We can always choose to be kind. It may not always be easy, but there is a choice. If more people were kind to each other even if there was no immediate gain for them the world would be a better place.

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.

Financial security is very important to me. I check my bank account almost every day to see money coming in and going out. Before I buy anything big, I usually save the money instead of taking it out of my savings. Most of all I like having a steady income and knowing how much my savings will grow the next month and the month after that.

At the same time I don't feel like I'm stingy. I like going out, I like buying nice things and being able to take a cab instead of waiting 20 minutes for the next train. Last month I bought myself diamond earrings. However, all these expenditures are premeditated. I a lot myself a certain amount of money to spend in one month or for certain occasions and that's that. If something is way more expensive than expected or, say, I see a pair of cute shoes at a time when shoes are not budgeted (and I can't reasonably say that I need that particular style) – well, I'm not buying it.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?

Well, as my hobbies I usually list swimming, skiing, reading, meeting friends, cooking, watching TV/movies and so on. I also (try to be) active in several fandoms, although I'm afraid my most productive days are long past.

Since I find my job very stressful, I just like to relax in the evenings and weekends. I often invite friends to my apartment to cook and chat and watch TV shows (most recently The Big Bang Theory). About once a week, I need time for myself, though. At those times I don't do anything special, but like to hang out at home in my pajamas. Good times. Oh, and recently I've been going hiking on weekends.

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.

1. Heights. Because when you fall down? You die.

2. Losing the people I love. Because while I need rather a lot of alone time, not being able to share my life and experiences with anyone is terrifying.

3. Waking up one day and realizing that my life has passed me by. Right now I'm kind of happy with nothing in particular happening, but who knows how I'll feel about this ten years from now?

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 very organized and thorough. I like to plan things well in advance and usually everything works out fine. It sounds kind of boring, but spares you a lot of unpleasant surprises.

2. I usually try to consider alternate points of view before forming an opinion. It's not always easy, but I think that it's important to step back and look at the bigger picture.

3. I am loyal. I don't really know how to elaborate on this one.

Worst
1. I can be really stubborn. Sometimes I just want to be right, no matter the costs. And when that's the case I don't like being contradicted either.

2. I dislike making decisions, particularly important ones. Mostly I procrastinate and hope that the whole thing will go away. If it doesn't, I bite my nails and write lists until something kicks my ass into action.

3. I like to complain. A lot.

A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1. Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?

The Hound. He pushes all my buttons – what can I say, I like them tall, dark and tortured.

Sansa. Because she grows a lot. And although she has very few resources, she consistently uses them to her best advantage. She may seem passive, but she manages to survive in a situation which would be too difficult for a lot of people. That deserves admiration.

Daenerys. Again, she grows a lot and shows initiative. Nobody ever taught her how to be a queen, but damn if she doesn't try. And at least she realized that she's out of her depth – which is more than can be said for a lot of other characters I could mention.

2. Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?

The Mountain that Rides – For the obvious reasons

Ramsay Snow – Again, for the obvious reasons

The Onion Knight – Because he bores me to death. When I am reading the books and reach one of his chapters, I go 'oh, noes...', put it aside and go to sleep. Literally. I mostly read in the evenings in bed.

3. #1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?

Joffrey's death. The one come-uppance (other than Viserys') I can really enjoy. I mean the Mountain dies, but takes Oberyn with him and what happens to Theon is just too much.

4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?

The three heads of the dragon turn out to be Daenerys, Sansa Stark and Asha Geyjoy. They proceed to make a treaty with the Others who turn out to be an ancient civilization that has been robbed of their homeland by the Children of the Forest. Also, the dragons learn to speak and really like math. I would really like the ending to be not completely dark, at any rate. And neither too twisty nor too stereotypical, if that makes any sense.