win or die

[nurblet.livejournal.com]

Name:Nur
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 heard it through lovelysolitude and madri
Age: 17!
Location: England
Occupation: 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!.
I live in the countryside now, and I absolutely love it. I love the flowers and the trees and while the sheep and cows in the morning literally make me want to get the farmers to sell their lands to McDonalds there's something cool about being surrounded by wildlife too. So I guess my ideal location would be hilly, and green with gorgeous views of fields and valleys and waterfalls and basically something like the scenery from Lord of the Rings.

I've had so many thoughts on my ideal home; first and foremost there has to be a library. A large one just full of shelves and shelves of books. I simply adore marble as well so I guess staircases of marble would be pretty sweet, and long hallways to take me from room to room. I should take this as a chance to say, my ideal home would absolutely not be minimalistic in the slightest, I love collecting things, especially antiques, so my ideal house will just be cluttered full of stuff. All sorts of stuff. My ideal home would have a clock in most rooms, because I always like to know the time. The kitchen would be big and the dining room even larger (because I like food and I presume I would have family and friends coming round to visit my awesome mansion house with spectacular New Zealand-ish views) Oh, and I simply need gardens. A house without a garden can't be a home in my opinion for me, I mean, I don't particularly like gardening (but if I had this ideal home I could afford a gardener, right?)but there's something really tranquil about sitting outside in the shade of a tree and just watching the sun set or running around with friends or sunbathing with an iPod. A big garden, a library, multiple clocks, and marble stair cases would create my perfect house.

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. I think I would wish for the ability to read minds. But I've read the stories and now that general wishes lead to all sorts of catastrophic events, so I would specify that I would like the power to read minds, but only when I "activate" it per Se. How awesome would it be to know what people were thinking? Imagine, you're talking to someone but they're acting shifty, you don't know whether to trust them or not, just actively think about listening to their thoughts and BOOM problem solved.
2. This is probably going to seem super shallow but psychologically valid. I would wish to be really pretty. It's psychologically proven by evolutionary and social psychologists that those deemed "more pretty" were more successful in life. And that never hurts.
3. And then I think I'd wish for an evening to spend with Alexander the Great. This may seem strange, but over the last year I had to do a giant history project on him, debating whether or not he was a hero or a villain, and I think I would just really love to see him in the flesh and talk to him and just gauge that for myself. Combined with Wish number 1 it would be such a flawless last wish!

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. ;)

Okay I have two. I think the first one would be being able to stay strong in hard times. My family are from Libya, and so during the Arab Spring I was under so much pressure, what with seeing footage of my family home being destroyed plus coping with general exam stress I am so surprised that I didn't just have a breakdown, but I'm glad to say that I used this opportunity to kick-start a career in arabic and political journalism and still passed my AS Levels. (yay)
The second one is probably being chosen to represent Poland in a mock EU trial; I got to go to London and meet real members of the EU and debate about boring politics stuff that I shan't go into. It was such an awesome experience and I felt very proud about being chosen to take part, despite the long hours of work needed.

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.

Crikey! I think, above all, I would have to choose my family. I have two brothers and a ton of cousins and I feel that I belong to a big and secure family unit. I am so proud of each and every single one of their achievements and would love for them to be proud of me one day. I understand that money is very important, and I'm always complaining about not being able to fund my hedonistic tendencies (boom, Pleasure and Adventure are also important to me)but that's what families are for! They provide love, security, and fun (sometimes.) But yes, family is very important and I would never ever choose anything over them. I don't think.

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

"Y-O-L-O~" ....not entirely kidding. No, serious answer coming up.

"We discover that we do not know our own role. We look for a mirror; we want to remove our make-up and take off what is false and be real. But somewhere a piece of disguise that we have forgot still sticks to us. A trace of exaggeration remains in our eyebrows, we do not notice the corners of our mouths are bent. And so we walk around a mockery and a mere half: neither having achieved nor being actors" --Raina Maria Rilke, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

When I first read this this passage stuck to me. There's just something so honest and true about it. There's the whole element of not judging a book by it's cover but also a further idea that everybody has walls and disguises and secrets; and doesn't that put us all in the same boat? I think it's important to know that even when people are "fake" there's some part of themselves projecting from the defences they've put up. Sometimes, for instance, people appear more confident than they are because they WANT to be more confident. I suppose I really took this paragraph to just remind me that everyone is hiding something, and it's not always negative, but taking the time to now people, to figure them out, which bit belongs to them and which bit belongs to their barriers is an important life skill and really creates important bonds.


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 don't. I have a very bad habit of spending as much money as I have at the time.Money is important to me, and I wish I was more sensible with it and could prioritise, but then I see a gorgeous new dress and all thoughts of being responsible and adult fly away into the dark abyss of seriousness.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
I love to draw. I'm not very good at it, but I really enjoy it. I like the idea of being a creative person and there's something magic about imagining something and then putting it down on paper.
I play the violin, and I really enjoy it. It's a good way to work through any emotional issues you have by composing a new song or sometimes trying to go all medieval and play a folk tune whilst Irish Dancing. I love music, I enjoy playing a range of instruments (but the violin is and always will be my first love) and I enjoy the feel of having control over the notes and when something sounds good, or right, it's such a thrill and practically impossible to describe.



8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
1. Sibling death. I freak myself out all the time by imaging horrible ways to get the news that one of my brothers are dead. Morbid, I know, but I just get the massive heebie jeebies from the thought of my sibling dying before I do.
2. I'm pretty scared of roller coasters. Only the ones that don't have secure bars and leave your feet free and that sort of thing. I don't mind adrenaline but not from situations where I'm completely out of control like that.
3. I don't really have a third fear. I used to be frightened of snakes but I conditioned myself against that by forcing myself to have snakes wrapped around me for an hour or so in my friends house (they were her snakes) and they weren't allowed to come into the room and help no matter how scared I was. They left me in there for three hours and by that time I was totally acclimatized, if a little shaken up. So no more fear, but quite a dislike for the creatures?

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. My best quality has got to be my sass, dudes. I can pretty sassy and puns are my favourite thing in the world. Humour is an important quality to me and I pride myself in it. Because if I can't laugh at me, then what's the point?
2. I have a high aptitude for languages and I really think this is one of my best qualities because it's so cool being able to converse with people from around the world. I'm always interested in learning new words and grammar; and I think language barriers are a shame in the way of integrating cultures around the world.
3. I like to think that I'm a very open and liberal person and will accept you no matter your religion, race, gender, sexuality, whatever. I try not to actively take part in prejudices and judge people as they come.
WORST:-
1. I can be lazy. I can be incredibly lazy. If I think something takes too much time with not enough immediate benefit I simply don't bother to start it in the first place. This is such a bad trait and I need to stop it immediately. I suppose procrastinating sort of falls under this category as well, because I always put things off!
2. A giant character flaw is that I can be selfish. I see this and I accept this and I probably should try to change this. I don't like being uncomfortable and that sometimes leads me to making selfish decisions that are best for me and no one else. Sometimes, I don't even notice how my actions could affect people until it's too late so self-obsessed also. It's never good to see yourself this way but I think once you see it and accept it you can take steps to stop it being awful.
3. I can be a bit obnoxious sometimes. I think I put people off by being super chummy with them upon first impressions and then as they get to know me realise I'm actually a douche dressed in geek chic. Like, I just tend to sound big headed sometimes and enjoy attention, and while it's not my intention to be "one of those" kind of people, I guess I could appear that way sometimes?


A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?
I have read all the books and have re-read the first two and am in the middle of re-reading aSoS.
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
1. Margaery Tyrell
She's just amazing. She adapts so well and has the makings of a great Queen. She's kind and courteous and gracious and these are important qualities, especially in a place like Westeros where kindness can go one of two ways. It can get you killed or it can gain you loyalty. I definitely think Margaery is an amazing player of the game and knows exactly how to win. I hope she doesn't die too terribly.
2. Varys
I don't understand him. I want to. I want to so terribly. He's just so intelligent and thoughtful; there's something about the way he is that draws me in. I love complex characters and Varys is definitely one of those. He's playing the game of thrones but no one knows to what ends exactly. I have several theories after the way ADWD ended....
3. Renly Baratheon
COPPER. No, he's my favourite Baratheon and I was definitely rooting for him to win the Iron Throne. It would have been so perfect. He believed in a meritocratic state and wasn't afraid of a little ridicule. He understood what everyone else (apart from maybe Tyrion) has failed to grasp and that is that to keep the throne the people have to love you. And Renly had it all, and had the making of a proper renaissance prince/king.
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
1. Stannis Baratheon
He's interesting and I'm drawn to him because of that but he just has a giant chip on his shoulder and it bugs me. I like him, I just find him less endearing than his brothers and I detest the way he treats Jon. He doesn't understand that it takes more than gritting your teeth and discomfort to be a good king (although I like that he has a sense of justice, it's interesting).
2. Jorah Mormont
Jorah is one of those characters that I see as collateral damage. He was important to Dany but she grew up and was probably better off without him. He babied her and didn't treat her like a Queen--and if he didn't how was she supposed to learn to act like one?
3. Arianne Martell
This is such an unpopular opinion but while I agree she's a teenage girl I just can't believe how foolhardy and stupid she could be. The most important thing to her is to keep her pride and prove herself, but she wants to be Queen of Dorne and for that to happen she needs to mature first. After her little stunt with Myrcella I find it so hard to move on and forgive her; even though I get that she's sorry for it. I just think she was a bit silly.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
GOSH. Maybe when Tyrion killed his father. Such an epic moment, and the quote where it's like "in the end, Tywin Lannister, did not in fact shit gold" or something. I adored that, it was such a powerful scene. Or maybe when Littlefinger pushed Lysa and was all "ONLY CAT", that was such an intense scene that took my breath away. But my most, most, most favourite has to be Sansa building Winterfell in the snow. It's beautifully written and so poignant and reduced me to tears. It's so picturesque and full of gorgeous wonderful imagery that I could just sit here and fangirl over it forever. Hands down, my favourite moment.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
My dream ending would be that Kings Landing is taken by the Martells with Aegon and Jon Connington. Aegon then takes Margaery for his wife and therefore the Tyrells remain in power and continue Growing Strong. Hopefully Dany would remain over the Narrow Sea being a "Mother", because I sense that's what she really wants, and trains her dragons. One of the dragons should be ridden by Arianne Martell. Jon Snow really is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar and once Melisandre realises this she goes to kill him however the men of the Night's Watch protect him and end up burning her. Aegon gives Sansa dominion of the North, but she remains married to Tyrion and they co rule it together (even if the marriage isn't all that happy sorry Sansa.) Arya continues learning but then somehow the fates lead her to Dany who decides she is also worthy of a dragon and Arya remains awesome if not slightly disturbed. Bran and his folk, well, Jojen probably dies.

Also I'd like to see an establishment of crown over religion so that the sept doesn't have the power to hold a member of the royal family the way they held Cersei. Basically just Aegon and Margaery and Sansa and Jon to rule the Seven Kingdoms in their own ways. Arya and Dany to continue being awesome. Psychiatric help for Theon Greyjoy, and a whole litter of kittens for Tommen over at Casterly Rock.


I actually have no idea. I keep developing more and more absurd ideas for endings simply because I cannot imagine ever finding out who gets the Iron Throne. And ultimately, it's more than a war for the throne and I can't ever see this series ending. But I do doubt it would ever end happily, and I'm a sucker for angst, so I would like some sort of bitter sweet ending.

Comments

Re: [TULLY]

[nurblet.livejournal.com]

hearts <3