westerosorting | win or die (Reply)

Name: Rachel
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 saw this community mentioned in a Game of Thrones post on

ohnotheydidnt a while back (and bookmarked it), so unfortunately I don't remember the specific LJ user.
Age: 22
Location: California
Occupation: College student

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 would be an English manor type. I love rich and interesting historical details, e.g. stones and bricks, dark and heavy wood, wainscoting, crown molding, old fashioned kitchen (black and white, gas stove, etc.) and bathrooms (claw-footed tub, etc.). It wouldn't be very castle-like; I'd like it to maintain some coziness (and be reasonably enough sized for me to upkeep!). Think 3-5 bedrooms, 3-4 bathrooms, a library/office (a must since I love to read), kitchen, dining room, parlor/living space, and perhaps a conservatory room with lush foliage. Two stories max. While I love this old style of house, I don't want it to be cold, drafty, or dark inside, but a warm and relaxing retreat.

Ideally, I'd like this house to be in California somewhere since it is my home state and I cannot imagine living for an extended period of my life anywhere else. I'd like it to be on a sizeable plot of land so I would be cushioned from any neighbors/streets.

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!

*Access to a personal bank account with an unlimited supply of money. Money makes the world go round, and I would want this so I can maintain a comfortable (but not over the top) lifestyle while also taking care of my friends and family (mortgages, debts, etc.). I'd pay off my student loans, travel the world for the cultural experience, donate to medical research (family history of breast cancer), and perhaps pursue more schooling or other education (flying lessons, cooking classes, amongst others!).

*Good health. Pretty self-explanatory, I think. As I mentioned before, I have a family history of breast cancer and it scares the hell out of me. It's crazy to me that something like that - so small, inside the body, unseen by the naked eye, and incurable - even exists and is affecting such a huge amount of otherwise healthy people. It makes me feel very helpless.

*To find someone I love who loves me back. Cheesy, I know. While I'm very content being on my own, sometimes I just want a bond with someone else where it doesn't matter what we do together, it's the fact that it's us together doing it. Shared experiences can be very powerful, in my opinion. On the other hand, however, I don't care about marriage or kids much.

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 proud to say that I will be graduating from a university in a few months. I'll be the first in my family to do so. As someone with an immigrant mother who worked insanely hard and wants the best for her children in this country, this means a lot to me. My mom has had to put up with my older brothers dropping out of high school, doing dumb shit like shoplifting, and becoming burnouts.

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.

This is a tough one, but I would say friendship is most important to me. I have a hard time making friends, so the friends I do have I am extremely loyal to. I don't need a lot of friends; one or two is enough for me. It's just important that I do have them because the other options in this question - love, knowledge, and adventure - can follow from great friendships.

The least important to me is pleasure. I've never been overly sexual, or self-indulgent in general. I sometimes purposely put other people's desires or needs before mine because seeing them happy makes me happy. Though that's a sort of pleasure in itself, it's not exactly right or healthy.

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

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

I love this quote because it reflects my love of knowledge and my belief that we make ourselves, but it also recognizes the need for compassion.

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 constantly worry about money, but I don't deny myself things like fun clothes once in a while. Financial security is very important to me; I want to be able to live comfortably without worrying about food, shelter, or power. If I find a commodity I like, I make sure I really want it before I shell out the money for it.

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

*Reading. I love stories and getting lost in worlds and characters. Anything from fiction to fantasy to sci-fi to graphic novels to the back of shampoo bottles is all fair game.

*Video games. Sort of related to reading, since I love good storytelling. Only difference is that this medium is way more fun and interactive! I like games with historical themes (e.g. Assassin's Creed and Red Dead Redemption).

*Costume-making. I am by no means an expert, or even very good at it, but I like to go all out on Halloween every year and make my own costume (especially if it's not a costume that can be bought prepackaged in a store). Several years ago for a Sim costume, I made a hat with a "floating" (on a thin stick) diamond on it and rigged it to light up green/red/white.

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

*Failure. I don't need or want to be the best at everything, but I'd like to at least function normally and comfortably in life and a career.

*Losing someone or something I love. Since I'm very loyal to my small group of friends (and since I love my immediate family a lot), it would upset the balance of my life greatly if I were to lose any of them (either through a parting of ways or death). And (superficially) since I rarely buy/acquire things unless I really love them, I try to take care of my things so that they last forever. Therefore losing those things would suck.

*Spiders. It's irrational. I just find them icky.

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:
*Reliability. I think I'm pretty trustworthy. I always do my best when a friend asks for a favor or to keep a secret. From my own experiences of being betrayed, I know how delicate trust can be so when I have someone's, I intend to keep it.

*Knowledge. I'm not just book-smart, but I'm quite handy too. I once fixed someone's toilet even though that's not really my area. I find it fun, in a way, to test my brain like that: using my common sense/combined knowledge, observation skills, and resourcefulness to solve a problem.

*Wit. I like making people laugh, and I think I'm not bad at it.

Worst:

*Introversion. I internalize a lot: my thoughts, opinions, feelings, etc. In group situations with strangers (either in school or social settings), for example, I pretty much don't speak unless I get a really good idea of something to say. I'm just too nervous what I say won't be good enough. As a result, people either think I'm a silent idiot or an elitist bitch, neither of which are true.

*Poker face/Lack of communication skills. Is this too similar to introversion? Basically, I have the worst time putting into words how I feel. My line of thinking is that actions speak louder than words. Once, I was meeting up with a friend for a popular movie (she waited in line there all day for us since I had work [otherwise I would have done it]) and I brought her a drink to sort of say "thank you" for sacrificing her time to stand in line and she just burst out, "OMG I thought you were mad at me! I can't believe you bought me this drink, thank you so much!!". I honestly had no idea why she would think I was mad at her; I definitely wasn't! I think she (wrongly) interpreted my normal/default "expressionlessness" as anger or annoyance.

*Cynicism. I can sometimes be a Debbie Downer. This ties heavily into my humor too; I make a lot of "dark" and sarcastic jokes that some people might see as slightly mean or critical or like I dislike everything. I'm just too much of a realist sometimes, and I recognize nothing can be perfect and idealization can be dangerous.

A Song of Ice and Fire Related

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

I just finished AFFC and will start reading ADWD this weekend!

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

*Daenerys. I appreciate her desire to understand her family and her place in the world. She is strong-willed despite her age, and she's still learning. Plus, dragons.

*Jaime. I love the psychology behind this mofo. The whole Mad King Aerys incident and his reasoning behind it, his changing relationship with Cersei through the series, his relationship with Brienne, and his determination to find/protect Sansa. I could go on, but you get the idea.

*Oberyn Martell/Petyr Baelish tie. I know we only get a little of Oberyn, but I love his taunting fight with Gregor and the way he stuck up for the women in his life. As for Petyr, I appreciate his scheming, puppetry, and "wisdom" (especially when he teaches Sansa how to play the game), even if I do think he has Nice Guy Syndrome regarding Catelyn.

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

*Tyrion. I can recognize why people love him, but I personally never really cared for him.

*Theon. He's weak-willed and a traitor. I do feel sorry that he's tortured though.

*Roose/Ramsay Bolton tie. I hate their physical descriptions, Roose is quite possibly more of a traitor than Theon in my eyes (the Red Wedding, uggh), and both are down with rape. They can go die in wildfire.

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

Petyr pushing Lysa out of the moon door! It made me gasp so loud when I read it. And then I cackled. And then I cursed George R.R. Martin for being so crafty by putting that toward the end of ASOS. One of the more physical reaction-evoking moments for me.

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

This might be a pipe dream, but I want Westeros to be free of a ruler(s), like the Free Cities. Since that's probably a bad idea, I suppose I'd like to see Daenerys regain her family's legacy by taking the throne and bringing relative democracy/peace to Westeros (as much as she can in this world). I don't have a strong like or dislike either way for Jon, but I kind of like the idea of him hooking up with Dany and becoming one of the three heads of the dragon (also reflecting my appreciation for the Lyanna+Rhaegar theory). Alternatively, I'd also be cool with Dany splitting the kingdoms again too.

I want Sansa and Arya to live, and Jaime to be free and independent of Cersei (I think Cersei could benefit from this too). I basically want most of the misunderstood or fucked up characters to find redemption and/or closure and/or happiness.

Whatever happens, I know I'll probably be throwing my book across the room with overwhelming and indescribable emotion.