Win or Die!

[lit-chick08.livejournal.com]

Name: Meg
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!): Someone mentioned that good fic was at Valyrian Forged but, when I went over there, it said you had to join here
Age: 25
Location: Pennsylvania
Occupation: Social Worker




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!.

My ideal house/home would be somewhere warm by the water, preferably the ocean, but I could live with a lake. The house itself would have a high, large wraparound porch so there'd be both plenty of room for people to gather as well as having a great view. I'd want it to have a lot of light, so large windows would be a must. The floor plan would be very open without many walls, at least in the common spaces. And there would need to be a very large claw-footed bathtub in the bathroom to soak in.

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!

My first wish would be to settle any debts so I would be able to have a fresh start. I think the worst thing in the world is to have any kind of debt, personal/monetary/whatever hanging over you head so I would get that out of the way right away.

My second wish would be the opportunity to travel wherever I want whenever I want. I love to be anywhere but at home, going new places, and meeting new people, so I'd want the opportunity to see as many places as possible, especially those that are so different from where I've lived.

And my third wish would be for my family to have good health and be taken care of as long as they live because my family is really important to me.

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 think the accomplishment I'm most proud of was graduating from college. I was the first woman in my family to actually finish college, and it felt incredible to be able to get my degree and especially to have my grandmother, who wanted to go to college but whose father wouldn't let her go, there to see it.

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 for me would be pleasure. I think it's really easy in life to get wrapped up in the every day crap that you lose sight of the things you enjoy. And the older I get, the more responsibility which comes with it, can be pretty boring/frustrating/etc. So the older I get, the more I really ask myself, "Am I doing this because someone wants me to do it or because I enjoy it?" So I try to do as many pleasurable things as I can to balance out the non-pleasurable ones.

The least important for me is money. As much as I would love to have more of it, I think people get so wrapped up in money, the having or not having of it, that it can really make them unpleasant to be around, so I never want to be that person.

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

There's an Abraham Lincoln quote that says, When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. I was raised in a very religious atmosphere and I really hated constantly being dictated to on what's right or what's wrong. And the way I approach everything now is very much situational; I wouldn't say I have a hard and fast set of values or morality because I think it can change in a minute.

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.

I'm horrible at managing my money. I try to do the "want vs need" thing when I want to buy something but I'm also the first person to volunteer to pay for someone or lend someone money if they need it even if I need it too. That being said, I very much would like financial security if only because it allows for so many more opportunities and can take a load of stress of a person. But I think the obsession with financial security leads to a whole host of problems where you can't ever really see what you have because you're too focused on what you don't.

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

I love to write and read anything; I was a double major in college of social work and literature, and I don't feel right if I'm not reading a book at any given time. I danced competitively for years, and I still like to take a class from time to time. I really love to bake and try out making new treats. And I love to swim; I was on the swim team from the time I was 8 until college, and I still try to swim once a week.

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

I'm deathly scared of snakes. When I was three and my family lived in Louisiana, I was in the backyard when one slithered across my feet, and it totally scarred me for life.

I hate heights. I can barely climb a ladder. I fell out of a tree when I was ten, and, even though it just knocked the air out of me, I like to keep my feet firmly on the ground.

I'm terrified of fire. My worst fear in life is to die in a fire, and, even when my friends or family will have a bonfire, I won't sit around the fire because I'm afraid of being burned.

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.

My best qualities?

a. I'm ridiculously laid back and very rarely go into anything with a plan. I prefer to get the lay of the land before I make any decisions. And, as someone who has a tendency to overthink situations, I work much better if I have to think on my feet and not have the opportunity to change my mind at the last minute.

b. I'm very goal-oriented. Once I decide that I want to do something/learn something/achieve something, I don't stop until I do it, even if I get a little bit of tunnel vision when it comes to it.

c. I can talk to anyone. It is actually a running joke amongst my friends that, any time I'm out in public, if there is a person who wants to overshare with a stranger or a small child who wants to discuss a Disney movie, they will find me. And I like to hear people's stories, so it works out well.

My worst qualities?

a. I'm insanely competitive to the point that my siblings do not like to play games with me because, if I'm going to play a game, then I'm going to win. If I can't win, then I try to find a way to cheat so I can win. And if I can't cheat to win, then I don't want to play anymore. (Yes, I'm a 5yo poor loser. I've made peace with it)

b. I do not like to admit I'm wrong, and it is like pulling teeth to get me to admit that I was wrong. Even when I've been proven wrong, I still try to find some way to show that I wasn't completely wrong.

c. When I feel strongly about something, I have a tendeny to talk over people to make my point and get loud. I very much want people to agree with me, and, when they don't, if I don't feel they're explaining themselves well enough, I get very frustrated and just get louder.





A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?

Just finished A Feast for Crows but have been already been significantly spoiled for A Dance with Dragons

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

Arya is, without a doubt, my favorite character. I think it's interesting that, of all the characters who are traditionally "good," Arya is the one whose morality gets played with the most. I mean, she's 9-years-old when the series starts and, even now at eleven, she goes to an entirely different country and starts training to be an assassin because, to her, that's the only option available. And I love that, for her, that is the only option available but Arya is going to make everyone pay.

Jaime has quickly become a favorite. I really love that we didn't get to see anything from Jaime's POV until the 3rd book because it allowed for all the preconceptions I had about him be unraveled one by one. I think Jaime's character arc is one of the most interesting in the series because he is a man who has done horrible things who isn't a horrible man. And, once he's lost his hand and Cersei, essentially stripping him of the things which he defined himself by, he has to figure out for himself who he is, which I've loved.

Varys is also one of my favorites simply because I love how we don't know who is allegiances are, why he does what he does, and I don't want to konw. The best part about Varys is he's constantly changing and it's his constant changes which make him fascinating. I never want Varys's motivations explained because it's much more interesting to not know.

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

From a POV perspective, I don't like Davos but only because I'm not at all interested in the Stannis component of the war. I think Davos himself is an interesting enough character but I really dislike his storyline.

I don't like the Reeds. I feel like they're simply walking exposition. And while I really want to meet their father, I don't feel like I really know enough about Meera or Jojen to feel invested in them as individual characters. To me, they feel more like plot devices for Bran without any incredibly defining characteristics.

I'm not that wild about Brienne. I feel like the constant repetition of how ugly she is stands in the way of real characterization. We got hints of what her life was like before A Feast for Crows, but I still feel like she's more a tool for Jaime's development (the way the Reeds are for Bran) that she is a strong character in her own regard.

4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?

The fight between Oberyn Martell and Gregor Clegane. I thought the emotions Oberyn brought to it, the repetition of Gregor's crime, the way Gregor began to become unnerved by it was incredibly powerful and it is the scene I would describe to people if I want them to understand what makes this series so different from others.

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

In my dream-world, I would love for Sansa to start really pulling people's strings Littlefinger style and start fighting back by playing the game of thrones. I want Dany to finally make it to Westeros to take back the kingdom; I think the other two heads of the dragon are Jon Snow (who it will be revealed is Lyanna and Rhaegar's child) and Tyrion. And I want Arya to finish off her prayer list, with Jaime killing Cersei. And mostly I want it to end that way because I need something good to happen to the characters I love, and I think there needs to be some actual justice.

Comments

Targaryen

[breve.livejournal.com]

What a switch... I went from being convinced you were a Stark at the beginning (something about your first wish pulled me that direction) to realizing you were completely a Martell by the end (because, you know, of everything else :>)!

I love that you listed Varys as a favorite character, because I find him so damn fascinating, and no one ever really talks about him. And much Arya love. She is my absolute and forever favorite. ♥