Win or Die

[bay115.livejournal.com]

Name: bay115, Bay
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!): missyquill has been mentioning about this community a few times and has successfully nagged me into reading the books. XD
Age: 24
Location: California, United States
Occupation: Two volunteer positions (one at library, another for city government not far from hometown). Need a paying job. D:




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 family and I mostly lived in apartments/condos as there’s only my parents, younger sister, and me, so I’m fine living in a fairly small house. It should be big enough to make room for a lot of my stuff (I should learn to get rid some of them, haha) at least. In terms of how the kitchen, living room, or bedroom looks like I’m pretty much fine with almost anything that isn’t in shambles and everything is in place, although I have a soft spot for a fire place.

The neighborhood should be an area where there are a lot of trees because I like forest areas, LOL. I also like cities where there’s a lot you can do like great cafes, shops, and restaurants. Sometimes it’s good to get out, haha.


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!
• Awesome drawing skills. I write as one of my hobbies (explained more later) and sometimes I wish I can do art for my stories. Of course I can practice little by little and have some friends help me with it, but I want to take the shortcut and have the talent for that already, lol.

• Winning or going on a trip overseas. I would like to experience seeing another country outside of the United States. Some countries/places I would like to go are Cambodia (the country my parents came from), the UK (know several friends there), France, Italy, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

• Being a better cook. I can make a few things like soup, fried rice, and pasta and also cut some vegetables. However I can’t cook/cut meat and more complicated dishes. I love food and would like to make several dishes on my own. A quick way to be a great chief is welcome, haha.

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. ;)
Graduated from university back in the spring/summer of 2010. I’ve learned quite a lot and experienced many things during my college career and though there are some things I would like to change overall I think it’s worth it. Also I was the first generation in my family to graduate with a degree, so it’s quite a big deal in my household and for me, 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.

I think love is most important. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your significant other. It can be loving your friends and family, loving yourself, loving your surroundings, loving what you do and what interests you. Pretty much love can relate to most of the other concepts being asked and a great motivator. Totally cliché I know, but I don’t care. :P

As for least important, money. Even though a little later I talked about how essential money security is, I don’t think you’ll need all the luxury stuff to make you happy and often times it’s wasteful spending. Money also tends to break family, friends, and loved ones apart when they make it a serious issue.

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

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway

This quote is moreso my values but I think this is something we all should do more often. Too many times people don’t listen to what the others say and brush it off. I know I’ve done that a few times and am learning to listen better. You don’t necessarily have to agree or understand, just let the other person have their say.

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 mostly use my money to buy food and, back when I had a part time job at university, help parents pay the bills. Only once in a while I’ll buy something for myself like games and books. I have a credit card and use it when necessary. I think money/financial security is important because you’ll need money for food and bills. It’s even more important to learn how to save and manage it well in order to get through some rainy days.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Reading and writing are big ones. I love reading all kinds of stories (whether fanfiction, published novels, etc.) as it’s always fun getting excited for the characters, the world they’re in, and the situation at hand. I write because I tend to have so many ideas inside my head that won’t leave me alone until I tell them and I love sharing my stories to anyone who have the same interests as me. Because I mostly write fanfiction I’ll often think about what scenarios that didn’t happen from the original source material I want to explore.

I play video games sometimes. I’m a big fan of the Pokemon game series and always in the mood for Tetris, lol. Played a couple Zelda games here and there and did some of Mario and its spinoffs. As you can tell I’m more into adventure and puzzle sort of video games.

Back when I was in high school I played tennis for three years but stopped when I began university. Even though it’s a very demanding sport I had a lot of fun and I miss it. I still watch Wimbledon sometimes and the US Open every year, though.

I tend to go fishing with my dad. Very relaxing even if neither of us caught a single fish, LOL.


8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
• Heights. I’m pretty much scared of falling down from a high distance (I sometimes wish I’m like Bran and not afraid of climbing, haha).

• Bites from spiders, reptiles, animals, etc. I’m so paranoid when it comes getting some sort of infection/poison from something else. Spider? I back away. Possum? I hurried off. Heck, I’m sometimes afraid I might get something after my cat playfully bit my hand once or twice.

• Death. Kinda related to my fear to heights and bites. There are many things I still want to experience and to die at a young age scares me.

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
• Friendly but also firm. Not sure if this makes sense, but I have people say that I’m sweet but that I also can be serious when the situation calls. Guess you can say I don’t let people take advantage of me all the time?

• Being respectful. Another thing I get complimented on. There might be a few stuff concerning all sorts of discussions I’ll not agree with, but I would be respectful on someone else’s explanation and beliefs and not say they’re very wrong.

• Helpful. I love to help others whenever possible. For instance, one of my volunteer positions is teaching patrons over computer related stuff and the people were very grateful for that. Same thing happened when I offer to be a beta and look over someone else’s writing.

WORST
• My anxiety. I tend to be nervous over the smallest things and wouldn’t be able to relax for a while. I have some people telling me I should ease up more. I’m getting better, but I feel I still have a lot to improve.

• Feeling lonely and not having good self-esteem. I also sometimes think no one cares about me and that I’m always alone even though there are people who will be there to support me. I also think I’m not good at anything, so I need to learn to be more confident in my abilities (mostly communication and decision making).

• Impatience. I’m actually known to be patient concerning waiting for something and being committed on various projects until the end. However, I get a little annoyed if there is a delay when someone said they’re get done with something within a certain timeframe, but I kept that to myself most of the time. I then would feel bad for being bothersome if I let my impatience known.






A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?
I completed all five books! Took me a while. XD;

2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Man, this is hard because I keep changing my favorites as I read along, but at the moment:

• Daenerys Targaryen. Dany’s story is one of those from rags to riches stories I tend to love so much. I’m always amazed at young people who accomplished a lot already and she’s no exception. She’s compassionate but also has a tough side too. I enjoyed the the ups and downs of her taking care of the dragons and the way it’s portrayed. My favorite moment of hers is in the third book when she fooled the Masters in giving away one of her dragons. I’m a little worried over her development in Dance With Dragons as the Meeren arc is going a bit slow (though I understand she wants to gain some experience as a leader) and I’m having some problems with her relationship with Daairo. Despite that I still love her a lot and I really hope she’ll be okay in next book (unsure what her fate will be after being discovered…).

• Davos Seaworth. Davos being one of my favorites is a bit surprising for me. When I watched the TV series I forgot about him, part of it have to do me having mixed feelings towards Stannis, haha. However when I began reading the books his backstory as a smuggler is very interesting and on A Strom of Swords is when I was warmed up to him. Love the scene of him being very humble when Stannis named him King’s Hand and I admire him when he tried to learn how to read and write. Even though he’s very loyal to Stannis there are times where he decides what action is right, for instance him smuggling Edric Storm. The part in Dance With Dragons where he wrote a letter to his wife and remaining three sons while in custody pulled my heartstrings and made me want to hug him. :(

• Tyrion Lannister . All right I have a soft spot for characters that are short because I’m small myself, LOL. With that out of the way, I really love how he’s a complex character. Like Davos, I admit I was okay with Tyrion at first when watching the TV series and then enjoyed him a lot during second season. When reading the books I appreciated him even more. He’s aware of his strengths and weaknesses (intelligence versus strength). His sarcasm is sharp and gets him in trouble several times, but he shows he can be caring too. The scenes where he stands up against Joffery I cheered. He has his fun moments, like the part where he auctioned himself during the slave trade in the fifth book. I’m rooting for him all the way, haha.


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

• Ramsay Bolton. Yeah, I think several of us can agree on that, LOL. The mention of him using women as sport (and also raping and killing them afterwards) was really unsettling. His treatment towards Theon, both physically and verbally, is just as bad too and really hate how extreme the abusing was.

• Joffery Baratheon. Joffery too is pretty self-explanatory. Didn’t like the way he abused Sansa and also how he wanted Bran to be assassinated. His behavior I’m not fond of either. He wasn’t a good ruler, so I agree with Tyrion that he would’ve been a worse king than Aerys Targaryen.

• Lysa Arryn. Her obsession with Petyr/Littlefinger didn’t sit well with me at all nor when she took advantage of him many years ago. Also her constant complaining Catelyn has it better than her. Catelyn’s marriage too was arranged and she wasn’t sure about Ned at first but later on she made it worked. The way Lysa spoiled her son is also uncomfortable to read at times.

4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
There are many great moments I can talk about, but when thinking over this question I’m always remembering back to one part at A Feast For Crows when Jaime got the letter from Cersei asking him to save her and he declined. I think it’s because I’m glad he didn’t considering their relationship is under the rocks and him saving her without second thoughts after all that doesn’t seem right. Also I think that’s a good Jaime character development scene (and he has a few XD).

5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
Dany as Queen of the Iron Thorne and Tyrion as the King’s (or Queen to be exact) Hand. Even though I think Dany still needs more time on learning how to rule, she has potential and would make an excellent queen. Tyrion I believe he’ll be a great one for Dany.

Another thing I would like to see is for the Starks to reunite because they all deserve that after what has been going on with them so far. Also I would like for Davos to have a happy ending of sorts, perhaps meeting with his wife and remaining sons (refer back to why Davos is one of my favorite characters, haha). Why yes, I love family reunions.

Other than those things I’m pretty much fine with whatever Martin has in store for the rest of the story as I think there will be several surprises coming on (one of the reasons why I love this series).

Comments

[TARGARYEN]

[caipirinhas.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to see you list Lysa as a least favorite. She's such an utterly damaged character. Particularly as you seem to come from her family - Tully!

Re: [TARGARYEN]

[bay115.livejournal.com]

Indeed she is utterly damaged and I can understand why many people feel sorry for her. I find myself feeling that way sometimes, but overall I can't bring myself to be emotionally invested in her. Nothing against Lysa fans, though!