win or die
Jul. 17th, 2012 01:41 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
essie007.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
westerosortingName: Essie
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!): It was recommended in a comment in the off topic chatter post at asoiafkinkmeme
Age: 23
Location: Boston
Occupation: EMT
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!. In terms of climate/geographical location I would like to live somewhere with little sunlight and seasons. I’m incredibly fair skinned and when I go out into the sun I pretty much burst into flames, (Oh melanin why do you mock me!) so I could never live anywhere near the equator or somewhere with no shade. I also like seasons; I don’t like places like California where it’s 72 and sunny all day every day. How incredibly boring (although it’s true I am allergic to the fall). My favorite season is winter, so a place with lots of snow and ice would be perfect, like maybe northern Canada or up in the Neverlands. When I was a kid I always wanted to live in the White Witch’s ice castle in Narnia. In real life though, that would be cold. My ideal house would have central air: heat in the winter and AC in the summer. I need to be able to control my own climate. Also, I wouldn’t want to live somewhere that was too humid (like Boston!). Nice dry air for me. Somewhere with trees would be good too. I grew up in New England and when I go out to the Midwest I’m always weirded out by the lack of trees.
In terms of an actual house I love gothic architecture, so I would love to live in a huge haunting manor furnished with rich Victorian furniture, with nooks and crannies, hidden rooms, and secret passage ways. And spires! I love a good spire. I would have a grand dining room with a grandfather clock and a huge library like the one in Beauty and the Beast. But of course my sprawling gothic manor would have excellent insulation and central air so it wouldn’t get drafty. And my kitchen would be modern and top of the line with stainless steel appliances. My bathroom as well would be modern and high end. And my indoor plumbing would be flawless.
Also, I’d have a swimming pool, although probably one with the possibility of being heated if I’m going to live in Canada. And a hot tub Jacuzzi! I would also have room for a horse (or two). I have always wanted a horse, god damnit, and the best my dad would do was send me to horse camp to learn to ride and muck stalls. And while I’m at it maybe I’d have a couple goats and a llama as well out in the barn, just because. Oh, and I would also have a husky lab mix dog. They are large and beautiful and loyal and friendly and I can’t have one in my apartment in the city, but if I lived in a huge manor I would get a big dog!
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! Well, I probably wouldn’t wish for anything because I have read the books and seen the movies and genie wishing never ends well for the wisher, but for the purpose of this question I will assume there are no consequences.
So first I would wish for an infrastructure that would allow us to distribute all the resources on earth to all the people who need them. Ie. All that food grown in the mid-west and sitting in warehouses would get to all those starving children in Africa. All the women everywhere would have access to birth control and abortions if they needed them. All the healthcare! (But no overuse of antibiotics)
Second I would wish that everyone wised up about the environment and fixed/stopped trashing the goddamn planet. In fact I would want us to come up with a sustainable solution so that the population grows too large exceeds resources population crashes thing that is a well known truth among biologists doesn’t occur with humans, because we are smarter than that. That would mean, sustainable clean fuel, less garbage, more public transportation in the US (incidentally this would fix a good deal of our drunk driving problems), no frakking, and everyone acknowledging that global warming is a real thing that exists. So basically I want to save the earth. Actually that’s not true, the earth’s been around for billions of years; it’s not going anywhere and it doesn’t need my help. I want to save the human race.
For my last wish I would wish for something selfish, because I used my first two selflessly and it seems a fair compromise. So for this wish I would wish to be very strong and flexible. I don’t want super strength or anything, I just want to be in perfect shape without ever needing to go to the gym. So I would be able to do all the lifting at work without ever breaking a sweat. 200lb diabetic, needs to be carried up to his 4th floor apartment? No problem! I would also be able to dance to the best of my abilities without spending time and money I don’t have killing myself at a studio. Splits! Leaps! Turns! I could get up on pointe whenever I felt like it. I could dance my way through life, and I wouldn’t suddenly loose all my technique and agility as soon as I got poor. Did I mention this wish was for an on-going state?
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. ;)
Well I once wrote an essay about this book and posted it to an online community. The author then responded to my essay telling me it was well-written, well-argued and had made her see the characters change her mind about the characters she had written. I don’t think I’ve ever received a bigger compliment in my life. At least not one that made me feel the way that one did.
I’m also pretty proud of the fact that I finally found an EMT job, and made it into Medic school on the Dean’s List.
Oh, and! I wrote a novel. It’s not a very good novel but I’m insanely proud of the fact that I finished it nonetheless.
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.
I’m going to say Knowledge and Family. It was sort of hard to even pick just two because a lot of those things are all mixed up in each other, like love and family and friendship. But knowledge I think is one of the richest gifts and most useful tools we have as humans. I also love acquiring it. Reading, learning experiencing and knowing new things is a pleasure and an adventure. I also put family, because you can know all the math and science and literature in the universe but if you don’t know that the most important aspect of the human experience is the people you share it with then you know nothing.
When I speak of family I don’t just mean biological family I mean the people that are with you every step of the way, adopted family, and surrogate family and biological family, the people you are always connected to know matter how far apart you are or how often you do or don’t see them. You get to choose your friends but your family is chosen for you (even if they aren’t your biological family I still believe this is true), and you have to find a way to get along with them and be there for them despite all the differences you might have. You can give to every charity on the planet but if you can’t be there for the people closest to you then you haven’t succeeded as a human being in my estimation. But of course, a true family member will still be your family even when you’re unpleasant and mean and pathetic. There’s no escaping family.
5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
I’m going to cheat and give you two:
“Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... , then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long, for redemption, for a reward, and finally just to beat the other guy, but I never got it. Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because, I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.” – Angel
And
“Do what you will, so long as it harms none” – The Wiccan Rede
I’m not sure how to really explain, because I feel the quotes themselves really explain it all, but I’ll try. Angel really gets to me, the whole show, and that character’s whole arc. It taught me something, about heroes, about family and evil and life. And that speech in epiphany I come back to it all the time, because it really sums it all up. Why we do what we do, why we should be good, why we should fight the good fight. What it means to be a hero or even just a member of the human race.
The wiccan rede is important to me not because I’m Wiccan (I’m Jewish actually) but because it summarizes my feelings on freedom. I believe in freedom of choice to the nth degree. I believe that every individual needs to decide what’s right for them and live their life the way that feels right to them no matter what others think or say. In fact I believe that every person’s right to live and love the way they see fit to make their own choices is a right that should never be curtailed UNLESS their choices harm another human being or infringe on that person’s right to their freedoms.
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 have a savings account and a checking account and I try to put away as much from each paycheck as I can. I try to always have cushion of money in my savings account that I never touch. Financial security is important to me because I don’t want to be caught in a situation where I’m in trouble and I can’t handle it. To me money is not actually hugely important as an item to have lots and lots of to never be touched. Money is a very useful tool that I use to get things I actually want that make me happy, but it’s not a goal in and of itself. However as a tool it’s an incredibly useful and widespread one that I could use more of. Although obviously there are some things that money is no help with whatsoever.
7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
I LOOOVE to dance. I took dance lessons/danced in companies for 16 years. Formally I did ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, pointe and west coast swing, but I love all kinds of dance. I love just going out with my friends and dancing. I love dancing in my basement. If I had the money I would still be taking classes. When I dance I feel free and powerful and joyful. There’s nothing like it in the whole world. Sometimes I’m listening to music and I just have to get up and dance. And then everyone in the cafeteria stares at me like I’m a crazy person off my meds. In high school I got a bit of a reputation as the girl who danced down the hallways.
Read/watch TV. So this might be an obvious one given the community, but I love to immerse myself in other worlds and characters, especially if those worlds involve aliens or vampires or magic. I’m big into the scifi and fantasy genres. In fact when I read/watch non-scifi/fantasy things I find myself thinking “This is good, but it would be better if it was set on a spaceship, or if the main character was a bisexual succubus (thank you Lost Girl!)”.
Write. I love to write, even though sometimes I hate to write. I have complex feeling about the blank page. I have all these stories and thoughts in head bursting to come out. Of course then sometimes they refuse to come out or they come out not the way I wanted them to and I have to keyboard smash. But I love words, and I love crafting them to my will. I love using language to express the twisting ideas in my brain. I love searching for the exact right word. And I love finding it. I couldn’t really live without writing, even if it drives me crazy sometimes.
Running. This is something that I do almost compulsively (it’s part of the ADHD). When I think I run. And if I can’t run I get antsy and frustrated, and sometimes I just end up bolting in heels and my new sun dress and this turns out to be a bad thing. But I pretty much run every day, and I always feel better after a run than before it.
Fandom. So this is a bit of a “no, duh” one, but I couldn’t live without fandom. I love these fictional universes so much and I think about them so often and for most of my life I have to hide that or at the very least I can’t talk about it because no one understands. But in fandom I can be myself. Fandom is full of people just like me, who love the things I love just as ardently and aren’t ashamed to show it. In fandom I can talk about all the things I really want to talk about. Being in fandom is finding a place I belong. It’s like coming home.
8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Cornfields. You might laugh at me, but cornfields are scary I tell you! They are large and all the same, and over your head. Imagine getting lost in a cornfield. Scary right! I am horribly afraid of cornfields, and ain’t nobody going to tell me it’s a ridiculous fear.
Communicable diseases. Mostly The Plague To End Humanity. You know that movie 28 Days? It scared the crap out of me. Not so much because of the rotting corpse zombie thing, but because they are infected people actively trying to infect you! *shivers* I’m not actually a germiphobe. I believe in a healthy immune system. I did not quake in my boots when bird flu and swine flu and all the other flus came along. But horribly infectious diseases, especially ones with no cure or that could result in death scare me. Like the zombie apocalypse diseases.
Spiders. I’m not sure how to elaborate on this more than I don’t like spiders, and they scare me. You know that scene in the second Harry Potter book/movie? Yeah? I never want to think about that scene.
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:
I am open-minded and accepting. I always try to accept people for who they are and the choices they make even though I may not understand immediately or agree. I always try make a point to better understand someone else’s point of view when I don’t initially. But this mostly comes back to my beliefs on freedom. It’s all back there in the Wiccan Rede. Whoever you are, whatever you want to do, as long as you don’t harm someone it’s all good.
I am brave. I never screamed or pulled away getting shots or splinters taken out, or broken bones set as a kid. I stood up for those kids in grade school who got picked on even though I was afraid to go against the crowd and my friends. It’s how my mother raised me. I also find if I realize I’m not doing something because I’m afraid of it, I HAVE to do it. I always ride the big roller coasters. I’d like to bungee jumping, if I ever have the money. When I was attacked on the street by a man dressed in all black and a mask trying to pull my pants down I kicked him in the shin and tried to chase him down when he ran. Although this could be termed as much more stupid than it was brave. Do not do this. Wait for the police people!
I am intelligent. I try to keep myself educated and informed. I love to read. I love to know things and learn things, and I generally consider myself a well-educated adult. I always try to use my brain and reason things out, and I’d like to think I’m a smart cookie. Despite the whole sometimes doing really stupid things thing.
Worst:
I am often insensitive and rude. So oftentimes this is unintentional, other times not so much. I’m incredibly blunt, and I don’t always care for social delicacies because sometimes I think they’re just stupid. I’ve always been big on honesty, and sometimes I hurt or offend people this way. Other times my being a jerkface has nothing to do with honesty. For example, apparently I’m a racist. I really try very hard to correct all societally ingrained prejudices, but every now and then I will open my mouth and something horrible will come out and everyone in the room will look at me like I am a horrible person (which I am) and I will go “What horrible dark corner of my brain did that come from and can I destroy it?” There’s more than one reason that I have an Ash icon. Sirens anyone?
I am lazy. I am like one of the laziest people on the planet. I mean if someone else is going to be affected by whether or not I do something than I do it, but when it’s just me? Yeah I’d rather sit on my bum. I am a Grade A couch potato.
I am disorganized. This also has to do with the ADHD, but I am messy and poor at planning and chronically late. When I’m not medicated I can’t get my shit together enough to shower and get dressed in the morning. All my clothes are currently in a pile on the floor, and I’ve never made my bed in my life. I still haven’t given my insurance information to the hospital for that emergency visit five months ago, and I haven’t filled out my accident report for an accident that happened three months ago.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.How many books from the series have you completed?
Four? I’ve “read” all five, but I did a lot of chapter skipping, especially in AFfC. Stay on topic GRRM!
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
My absolute favorites are Tyrion and Arya, because they are clever and complex and awesome and have some sort of moral center even if it’s not always clear if they’re doing the right thing. My other favorites are Jon Snow, Danerys and Sansa. Jon because his man!pain is adorable and I love his northern honor and how much he loves his family. Danerys because…do I need a reason to love Danerys? The woman needs to be queen. Sansa I have loved since she was a ridiculous 13 year old girl because she was who I would have actually been in AGoT, and then of course she got crazy awesome (way more awesome than me) and I continued to love her.
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Craster is the nastiest character I have ever read anywhere. He rapes his underage daughters and feeds his infant sons to Whitewalkers. Does it get any worse? Also Ramsay Bolton. If you don’t know why I despair of you. And lastly among the most reviled is Walder Frey, mostly because he orchestrated the Red Wedding, but the child bride thing just brings him up to the most disgusting characters ever level.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
I’m not sure I have a favorite moment. I’m going to say Jon giving Arya needle, because I love their relationship, but I’m sure I’m forgetting tons of awesome huge moments.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
Not the way GRRM will undoubted end it. I would like to see all the Starks happy and together in Winterfell and Dany on the Iron Throne. Some Arya/Gendry thrown in would be good too. Also I want Tyrion to marry a lovely woman who loves him and makes him happy and live happily ever after, maybe as Lord of Casterly Rock or hand of the Queen. Also the entire Aegon plot line would disappear, except for Ashara Dayne, because I’m not really sure how that’s going to fit into anything, and I think the last thing anyone needs is more inbreeding in the Targaryan bloodline.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Stark
Date: 2012-07-23 01:17 pm (UTC)[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-07-24 06:04 am (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-07-24 07:16 am (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-24 03:03 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-24 04:32 pm (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-07-24 04:49 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-24 11:43 pm (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-07-25 04:50 am (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-07-25 07:01 pm (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-07-26 08:08 am (UTC)[TYRELL[
Date: 2012-07-26 09:19 am (UTC)[Targaryen]
Date: 2012-07-26 09:50 am (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-26 12:18 pm (UTC)Oh, and my best friend is a paramedic and I used to have goats, so your application *spoke* to me.
Lannister
Date: 2012-07-26 03:55 pm (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-07-26 08:35 pm (UTC)[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-07-26 09:04 pm (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-07-26 10:11 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-07-27 01:18 am (UTC)[Tully]
Date: 2012-07-27 03:57 am (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-27 05:41 am (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-07-27 09:31 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-31 07:48 am (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-07-31 11:16 am (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-07-31 02:12 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-08-01 12:31 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-08-01 04:45 pm (UTC)SORTED: TULLY
Date: 2012-08-03 05:53 am (UTC)You may join
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