Win or Die
Jul. 7th, 2012 06:34 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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westerosortingName: Sigune
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!): Via the same person who got me to read the series:
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cabepfirAge: 32
Location: Belgium
Occupation: copywriter
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!.
Ha! I'm really having trouble with the word 'ideal' here. Does 'ideal' mean 'ideally suited to your circumstances' or rather 'dream house ideal' :)? I guess I'll try for a compromise.
Location is the easiest thing to answer: give me Western Europe and a mild climate, please. I can't stand heat, which rules out south and central Europe, and too far north there isn't enough sunlight in winter (and too much of it in summer). In fact (this is almost depressing in its total lack of imagination and adventurous spirit), I'm quite happy where I am. It doesn't get overly hot here, it doesn't get overly cold, it's flat enough to make cycling comfy and we have the most wonderful clouds. Also, there are endives and chocolates aplenty. I can't seriously envisage living in a place where endives and chocolates are rare.
As for a house/home, ideally it would be, well, home-y. My ideal habitation has airy rooms with lots of light, enough space for my books and comics, and a spaceous bathroom with a tub (for long soaks - very important!). A place in the city centre would be perfect, with easy access to shops, opera house, museums and public transport. A small garden would be nice, and proximity to a park too. I'm not much of a gardener, exactly, but I do need a regular dose of greenery, grass and trees.
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!
I have read too many fairytales to treat this situation naïvely. Wishes like these usually have unintended (and unpleasant) consequences and genies are not to be trusted. I'd ask the genie to get back into his bottle and that would be the end of it. Seriously. I don't feel wise (or cunning) enough to make sure nothing bad happens as a consequence of my wishes.
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. ;)
LOL - I don't have enough accomplishments to make a list XD. The only one I can think of is completing my PhD. That I am proud of because I persevered, devoting several years to one project, and ended up with a book that lived up to my own expectations. And of course I am proud of the fact that my jury was pleased too.
Apart from that, I think that so far I have managed not to harm anybody. I hope that counts as an accomplishment too.
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.
Least is easy: adventure. I'm the least adventurous person I know. The only adventures I seek out are culinary.
Most: well, I'm going to refuse to choose between Friendship, Family and Knowledge. Friends are your chosen family, and without those attachments a person would be emotionally dead. But without knowledge (or the quest for it), a person would be dead bored.
5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
"Since our position is fundamentally tragic, there should be as much humour as possible." (James Joyce)
...I don't even like James Joyce (not at all, in fact), but this rings very true to me. I'm a pessimist who likes to laugh. Laughter makes a lot of things more tolerable. It is often the last refuge of the powerless.
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.
Money isn't important enough for me that I'd do anything for it, and if given a choice, I'd rather not devote my life to 'making money'. Money is entirely a means to an end. I also have a notion of 'too much money' - when I hear what some CEOs or sportspeople earn, I imagine that they must be at a loss as to how to spend it.
However, I do consider financial security extremely important. Money matters a great deal to me in the sense that I want to live comfortably. I don't mind having to save up for things, but I don't like having to deny myself things because I cannot afford them.
I like to think that I manage my money prudently, perhaps even conservatively. I won't buy an expensive item unless I have the money ready. Loans and debts scare the hell out of me, and the fact that they are sometimes unavoidable (mortgage) doesn't mean I have to like them.
7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
- my Gawain Project. I have been working on it since I was fifteen (not continuously, mind :D!) and will probably continue to work on it until I die. Which is a slightly unsettling thought. The project used to be a novel, but in the meantime it is a comic. I write and draw it myself, inspired by my deep love of the Arthurian legend - and of my characters, who are basically a small army of imaginary friends ;). I love them all dearly, even the villains! (Contrary to GRRM, I don't seem to be capable of killing anyone off... :p)
- working on my dolls. I have several dolls, which I customise, paint, style and make clothes for. In fact they are also part of the Gawain Project, as they represent some of the main characters.
- I love reading, unsurprisingly, both novels and comics. My favourite books are historical novels, 19th-century novels and (good) fantasy. In comics, my taste ranges from manga (mostly involving samurai :D) over American comics (mostly Dark Horse and Vertigo, plus some more 'alternative' ones) to European comics (mostly French and often published by Delcourt).
- opera. I don't play music, but I do love listening to it - especially folk and classical music of just about any era. I rarely go to concerts, but I do have season's ticket for the opera. Wagner is my absolute favourite because his music is all about storytelling. I can put The Ring of the Nibelung on repeat and never tire of it XD.
- art. I'm a rank amateur myself, but other people's art is like food to me. I need to feast my eyes on it on a regular basis.
- fencing. I stopped after 11 years when my beloved maître d'armes retired, but I really long to pick it up again. I miss my sword!
8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
- not being able to support myself (as in being unemployed/really poor/infirm...). I really don't like depending on other people. I mean, I'm not afraid to ask for help, and there are things I just can't do myself, but I'd hate to have to ask for help all the time. Having to beg for anything seems like the most horrible thing in the world.
- loneliness/losing the people close to me. I'm not a very sociable person, but I have a small number of very close friends and am very close to my immediate family. I can't even bear to move abroad for fear of being far away from them. The thought of any of them dying is one I just don't want to contemplate. I know it will happen eventually and I guess I'll survive, because most people seem to do so, but it frightens me terribly.
- the size of the universe. This is going to sound ridiculous to many, but whenever I try to think about outer space, my brain short-circuits. It's just too vast to encompass and it makes me afraid. *shudders*
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:
honesty - As I like people to be honest with me, so I owe it to them to be honest too. Because I have difficulty 'reading' people sometimes, I set high store by being 'readable' myself. If people don't like that, that is their choice, but at least they will know who I am and what they can expect of me. I'm a WYSIWYG sort of person: my likes and dislikes, comforts and discomforts, you can read them in my face. Lying is a waste of time and energy to me, and I don't like it at all.
reliability - I don't commit very easily, because when I do, I will make good on my promise. It's very important to me that people know they can count on me. I'd hate to come across as careless or flakey. So if I think I won't be able to keep a promise, I will refuse to make it.
loyalty - I am very loyal, to my family, to my friends, to my employer - even to shops and brands. I will defend them through thick and thin, and be more forgiving of them than of others.
Worst:
insecurity - This is a very big one for me, though I'm not sure how 'bad' it is for other people. I do think they find my insecurity annoying sometimes. I've also had people telling me that insecurity is just masked pride :(.
jealousy - This one is really shameful. I hate to say it, but sometimes I'm jealous of people who are better at things than I am, especially if it's something I'm good at. It's not that I always want to be better at things than others. But when it comes to things that I care about, I just can't bear to be worse.
I bear a grudge like no one else... - I'm a trusting sort of person and I tend to assume that other people reason like me. That means that my trust gets betrayed now and then. When that happens, I will retract my trust and loyalty and basically withhold it forever. I would never stab people in the back or retaliate in some way or another, but I will conclude that I have got to know the person in question better and that they are to be avoided. I don't forgive this sort of thing. Nothing that person does or says can make things right with me again. It's not pretty, but I just don't want to be cheated twice.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.How many books from the series have you completed?
Allllllllllll!
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Ned Stark
Ned is one of a rare breed in a world full of treacherous, conniving characters. Whereas I am normally inclined to favour clever villains over goody-two-shoes, there are so many treacherous people in Westeros that Eddard Stark is a breath of fresh air. Together with his Lady Cat, he has also accomplished that most extraordinary of feats in Westeros: to raise a normal family :D. Good parents who love their children - they are practically unique!
For me, Ned is easy to love because he is honest, outspoken, and tries to do the right thing in a corrupt world. He is serious in an endearing sort of way, and not without humour. Lord Eddard's actions are basically fuelled by powerful emotions (his love for his family and foster-family), whereas to outsiders he seems cold. Though to some he comes across as a holier-than-thou sort of person, he is actually harder on himself than he is on others, and one of the most humane characters we meet.
One of my favourite things about the series is the fact that Ned actually looms larger now that he's dead; we keep getting these tantalising tidbits of his life and glimpsing more aspects of him through the eyes of others. He just gets more and more fascinating. As you read on, it also becomes clear that Eddard isn't as representative of House Stark as he had seemed previously. His reserved, thoughtful and honourable character is something that actually sets him apart from many of his ancestors and siblings.
...Ach, he's 'the Ned', I say to you :P.
- What, you think he's a literary crush of mine? Whatever gives you that idea?!
Tyrion Lannister
I can't resist witty, sharp-tongued, bookish, clever, brave characters with loose morals and a carefully hidden sensitive side. It's as simple as that.
Tyrion is just fascinating. He is about as high-born as you can be, but his deformity places him in the strangest of positions. Despised by his father and sister, he is nevertheless the quitessential Lannister: cunning, ambitious, resourceful - but unlike his father and sister, he has a heart. He proves that cunning doesn't equal evil, which makes it easier to admire his masterful manoeuvers than it is to admire his father's.
I admit that Tyrion is much more entertaining than Ned (*grins*). He also has a survival instinct that Ned seems to lack. The two of them are very different, but I wish they had got to know each other better. Westeros could have looked so different!
Bran Stark
Meh. Third place is really difficult. There are several characters that I like a lot - Catelyn Tully (excellent sharp tongue), Brienne of Tarth (swordswoman, yay!!!), Jon Snow (ah, Ned Junior...), Sansa Stark (just want to know how she'll turn out), Jaime Lannister (wonderfully improved after one bit was removed), Samwell Tarly (bookish self-confessed coward *hugs*)...
So, um, I'm not sure I can explain this one very well... I don't much care for the magic stuff in ASoIaF, strangely, which I guess makes my choice for Bran a bit quaint. I only know I was quite heartbroken when I thought Bran had been killed by Theon, and thrilled when I discovered he was alive. He's my favourite of all the children in ASoIaF, probably because he combines genuine wisdom (which doesn't come out of nowhere - it's a combination of his education and experiences) with childish innocence. He's a sweet boy, with a boy's dreams and a good heart, and an example of everything Cat and Ned did right. I just find Bran very loveable. He's also a symbol of hope for me, a young boy who'll grow into a decent man if given half a chance, and with all the horrors in these books, I need a bit of hope :)... Here's to hoping he doesn't turn into a skeleton under a tree :/. He'd be a great lord of Winterfell.
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
NB: these are my least favourite characters, not the characters I least like reading about. The latter would be my Top Three Characters I Don't Care To Read About - yes, I'm looking at you, Victarion Greyjoy (urrrgh), Arianne Martell (pfff) and Daenerys Targaryen (*zzzzzzzzzzz*).
Cersei Lannister
I always thought she was pretty horrible, but in FfC Cersei utterly disappointed me by proving to be stupid. I like a good villain, and I fully sympathise with Cersei's frustrations at being treated like a pawn rather than a player simply because she is a woman, but... Seriously, she turns out to be a lazy and incompetent queen who incidentally also ruins the children she wants to protect. She doesn't have a clue about how to rule effectively. Whyyyyyyy, Cersei?!
Theon Greyjoy
If there's one thing I can't stand (okay, there are more, but...), it's a person who tries to be a villain because he thinks it's kind of cool and then fails miserably at being smart and strong. Theon Greyjoy is a man without convictions who wants to be badass but doesn't really have the skill for it. He only succeeds in being cruel to people smaller, weaker and/or less free to act than himself. He wants to run with the big bad boys and finally gets beaten by someone bigger, meaner and even more cruel. He feels wronged when he shouldn't, and he turns against the people who took care of him - even those who treated him like a brother. As far as I am concerned, he is one of the most despicable characters in the series. Especially because he's sane (well, until he met Ramsay Snow, that is) and still does what he does.
Arya Stark
It makes me sad to have to include a character I liked a lot in the first book... What's not to like in a gutsy tomboy who would rather learn how to use a sword than to behave like a proper young lady? She was fun, clever, outspoken and loveable. But after five books I don't recognise that girl anymore. She's turned into an assassin, and she wants to be that. I'm so disappointed. With her courage and resourcefulness, she could be fighting for something, but instead she chooses to be some faceless creature that kills people, not in self-defense or in an honest fight, but sneakily and on request. It makes me sad. So if she ended up on this list, it's mostly because of how much I liked her *before* she turned into this...thing.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
Somehow, several of my favourite ASoIaF-moments involve Catelyn Stark. She can be so wonderfully snarky. The first passage that came to mind is in CoK, when Stannis and Renly parley and Catelyn verbally shakes her fist at them, saying that if they were her children, she'd knock their heads together and lock them into their bedroom. I guess there are more striking or defining or thrilling moments in the books, but I much enjoyed this exchange between the two stubborn pretenders and Eyerolling Cat Tully :). She's so often confronted with the absurdities of the Game of Thrones.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
Happily!
Daenerys marries her cousin Aegon and they decide to conquer the Lands of the Summer Sea instead of Westeros, having decided they don't like the Westerosi climate. Ser Jorah takes the black.
Stannis Baratheon kills the Boltons. Unfortunately, Val was right about greyscale, and Stannis, Selyse and Melisandre, having caught the disease from Shireen, all die.
Tyrion gets the Iron Throne. He hires a PR agent to work on his popularity, but is every bit the smart and decent ruler he proved to be during his stint as Hand. Sansa Stark, Lady of the Eyrie, is the first woman to become Hand of the King and performs her duty most diligently, combining charm, insight and firmness to great effect. Littlefinger returns as Master of the Coin, conjuring money out of nowhere to finance Tyrion and Sansa's policies. His first measure is to sell all male Freys to the remaining Masters of Slaver's Bay, who promptly turn them into eunuchs. The Crown makes a nice profit and the Twins are entrusted to Brynden Blackfish. Once the treasury is filled up again, Litllefinger dies in a tragic accident.
Jon Snow is healed by Maester Samwell Tarley, who rivals Maester Aemon in skill and wisdom. Jon keeps the Wall, the Night's Watch strengthened by new recruits sent by Good King Tyrion. Together with Sam, he figures out a way to stop the Others. Meera Reed disentangles Bran Stark from the weirwood and he becomes the new Lord of Winterfell, and true to his name, he restores the castle (and its glass garden!) to its former glory. Davos Seaworth returns Rickon to Winterfell and stays on to serve the young Starks with his sage counsel. Lady Stoneheart is 'unzapped' and Lady Cat laid to rest. Ned's bones finally find their way to Ned's grave.
Jaime and Brienne declare their love for each other, get married, and have children. Jaime is a sweet and yet very Lannistery stay-at-home dad while Brienne valiantly defends Casterly Rock with Oathkeeper in hand.
Victarion and Euron Greyjoy kill each other, leaving the Seastone Chair to Asha. Theon is the first Drowned Man who fails to rise again after his uncle Damphair has forced him to undergo the ritual in an attempt to remind him that he's not Reek.
...I know, I'm a silly little thing.
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[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-10 04:05 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-10 05:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-10 06:57 pm (UTC)I saw a tiny bit of Stark, but mostly Tully. Especially in your family values and ability to hold a grudge!
[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-07-10 08:46 pm (UTC)Between Tully and Martell... with the jealousy, grudge holding and the meticulous answer you gave on how you'd like to see the series end—amongst other things—I'm going out on a limb and say Martell.
[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-10 09:06 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-10 09:24 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-10 10:21 pm (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-07-11 05:54 am (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-11 07:46 am (UTC)[Targaryen]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:00 am (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:08 am (UTC)I appreciate how you dislike Cersei in a logical, not misogynistic way, without bashing her character and your ending amuses me. :)
[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 12:04 pm (UTC)Also, I am glad to see another person who want Jamie and Brienne to end up together in some capacity :)
[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 04:17 pm (UTC)If it's not prying too much, where in Belgium are you? My husband is from there, and we just returned from visiting his mother in Antwerpen :)
Re: [TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:27 pm (UTC)Re: [TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-12 07:00 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-11 05:15 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-11 07:18 pm (UTC)[Tully]
Date: 2012-07-11 07:50 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:00 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:09 pm (UTC)And welcome to this community! ♥
Re: [TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 08:19 pm (UTC)It is TOO my own house and hometown. I can see you are a very canny Tyrell ;-). Of course it helps that you've actually been here :P.
I don't know how much I'm allowed to say before the voting has closed, so I'll just shut up now...
[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-07-11 11:01 pm (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-07-12 12:35 am (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-07-12 07:59 am (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-07-12 11:19 am (UTC)And I loved reading what you wrote about the characters. Totally agree with you on most parts. And I'm glad that I'm not the only person out there that dislikes the direction Aryas character has taken!
[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-07-12 08:31 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-12 10:17 pm (UTC)Even though House Mormont is sworn to the North, though, I honestly don't see a whole lot of Stark in you. I think Tully is a better fit. I do think you're the hardest one for me to sort this week, though!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-12 10:23 pm (UTC)I think you're a Tully.
[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-13 01:50 am (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-13 02:09 am (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-07-13 02:17 am (UTC)[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-07-13 02:44 am (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-13 10:12 am (UTC)SORTED: TULLY
Date: 2012-07-13 11:56 am (UTC)You may join
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We are pleased to have you here and we look forward to your participation!
Re: SORTED: TULLY
Date: 2012-07-20 04:57 pm (UTC)