westerosorting | win or die

Name: Lova
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is: ~~I was doing an interest search and came out luckier than usual.~~ Edit: And while I did an internet search later, I did learn about this comm earlier, through

cetacea and

ladynyks. ♥
Age: 28
Location: Sweden (English is not my first language, and I apologize in advance if something seems strangely put or unclear)
Occupation: Student(the eternal student)//illustrator//writer//information coordinator//web designer.

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!.
Oh, this is hard. Let's see...
1) I'm fond of the north-west coast of France, Bretagne and the beaches of Le Val Andres. I would love a house in a village by that coast. The beaches are so alive with animals, and the pull of the tide really resonates with something deep in me. It looks like this.The house in itself would be big and old, with beautiful balconies and many charming details in the design.

2) I also love the country, and while we're talking about an ideal home, I want to say big. As in an old mansion (I love old buildings). I'm very particular about where I live; when I chose my current apartment I brought a friend along to keep all the practical question in mind, because I knew that I wouldn't be looking at it from a practical standpoint, but rather from an inspirational. I'd like the house to be big, because as much as I love my family I love my own space just as much and if I move in with somebody I will need at least one room completely to myself.
I love the country, but I'd like to be in driving distance of the city and have a good internet connection (hah! XD) so that I wouldn't necessarily lack the bare necessities; and by that I mean sudden, undeniable cravings for strangely flavored chocolate and a good horror movie. The house itself would look something like this.

Climate has got to be reasonably warm - I hate being cold. I'm a very comfortable person and winters in southern Sweden make me want to climb into a time machine so that I could stand on the shore when the first people came sailing just so that I could wave them away. Or possibly smack them.

2. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Fear #1: Loss of control. This is actually a bunch of fears rolled up into one after some introverted analyzing. When I was a kid I used to have nightmares about my family dying in all sorts of ways and I was unable to help them. Not being able to control others is an acceptable form of loss of control, but not being able to control my own situation or even myself - that would be a true nightmare. A truly horrifying manifestation of this fear would be being diagnosed with a terminal disease (like for instance Alzheimer's disease) and lose my memory bit by bit.

Fear #2: Spiders. This isn't as ominous as fear #1, but as ridiculous as I feel when I type this down, spiders frighten me. Very much. I wish I was brave enough to shoo them out the door or capture them outside the house, but the truth is that every spider that finds its way into my apartment meets a (disgustingly) sticky end. I don't understand why they frighten me so much, I have no trouble with other traditionally scary animals. I love reptiles; I think I have an old picture of me somewhere carrying around a huge monitor lizard in a pet store. Scorpions creep me out slightly, but they don't paralyze me like spiders do. Illogical and cliche, but there it is.

Fear #3: It's not a mind-numbing fear, but the thought of dying unrecognized, unpublished and unknown is very unsettling. I would like to make a mark, and by now I have a pretty good idea of how to accomplish this. It's not a great fear, as I said, it's just... uncomfortable.

3. 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!
Ooh, interesting! I think that I would wish for this:

1) Unoriginal, I think, but it's cliche for a reason: a great deal of money, enough so that I would never have to worry about it again, and be able to help my family and close friends as well. Money is only a means to an end, and sadly it not only opens a lot of doors but solves a lot of practical problems as well. Just knowing that I would never ever have to take a soul-eating work again (like telemarketing...) just to get by taste like freedom in my mouth. It would also mean that I would be free to indulge myself in my writing, painting and studying as much as I'd like.

2) My second wish would be for my mother to be healthy. She has diabetes and at her age it's really difficult for her. She's so sweet and brave, but it breaks my heart to see her try to stay positive through everything. I'd wish her healthy again, and buy her a new start thanks to my first wish.

3) My third wish would be a selfish one: a library of my very own. I've always wanted a library. I love my little one-room apartment, but I have books piled everywhere. Thanks to my first wish, I now would be free to read as much as I'd like as well, to delve into stories, to do research in my favorite subjects.

4. 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'm very proud of my master's degree in Gender Studies, and not only because it took a lot of work but also because I was under a lot of emotional stress at the time. I'm also proud of landing my internship at a huge publishing company (which has been active since 1820's, I think) without any personal contacts at all. I called the CEO herself and talked myself into an interview.

5. 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 am going to cheat now, because all of the above are necessary except perhaps adventure.
Most Important - Love. That's the end I was talking about earlier - it all comes down to love, eventually. I work to get Money so that I can do the things I love. And here's where Knowledge come in; I love knowledge, and Friendship and Family as well. Not to mention pleasure... for me love and pleasure is greatly intertwined. They all overlap each other and it's much too difficult for me to disregard one.

Least Important - Adventure. I'm not an adventurous kind of person, or rather, I love adventure but my definition of adventure doesn't seem to de a traditional one. I like to travel a lot. As long as I have my home to return to, I'd travel all around the world. But for me it's also an adventure to go to a museum, read a book or try a new restaurant - even by myself. I'm an introvert. Alone =/= lonely. ♥

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

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
Anais Nin

The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Oscar Wilde

These two quotes sum up my attitude and values nicely. I analyze everything, for good or bad. The world, situations, people, myself... there are no absolute truths, no black and white world view to hide behind. I see everything in shades of gray, and when I do take a stand for something or other it is always thought through very carefully and I will always be willing to debate the matter again if somebody would feel the need to. I'm also mindful of where I stand and remind myself my standpoints and judgments say more about me than the situation in itself.

This way of thinking is a bit of a safety blanket for me. I'm not impulsive, but I am a bit eccentric (for a lack of a better word) and sometimes it's necessary to "call myself on my own bullshit".(that was a quote too, but I can't remember from where.)

7. 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.
Financial security is pretty important to me. As much as I love to write and paint, the old stereotype "The Starving Artist" has never appealed to me. Money in itself isn't important to me at all, and neither is expensive labels and brands. I want to get by, and if possible I'd like to be comfortable. Right now I'm on the verge of finishing an education which will land me a good job, with any luck at all, so that I can indulge myself in writing without having to count every penny.

8. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
♥ Writing - That's the main thing; writing is my life. I love creating stories and come alive when I do.
♥ Reading - I love books as well. I guess I gave myself away when I wished for a library, yes?
♥ Painting & Drawing - I occasionally paint and draw and create comics, and I find it as relaxing as writing. To coax something into life is magical.
♥ Bellydancing - I've been bellydancing for three years and I've loved every minute of it. This is both a spiritual thing and a means of exercise to me. It's a great way to be comfortable with your own body if you're not. I'm a passionate person (if you believe in astrology my planets are neatly divided into air/water), but I'm more adept at expressing myself verbally and through writing. Bellydancing gave me the means to express myself with my body, and that feels amazing.

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
Intelligent
It still feels like a strange and boastful thing to write, but yes, I'm intelligent. And since I'm not in junior high anymore, I'm not being treated like I'm radioactive either. Isn't it grand? In all honesty I love knowledge and if it was possible I wouldn't leave the University. (I actually contemplated becoming a teacher before I came in contact with actual students during my internship).

Proud
I'm putting 'Proud' both as a positive and negative trait. I am proud in the sense that I know my self-worth and in the sense of having a lot of integrity. I'm a very diplomatic person and I loathe rudeness, and I take pride in that and my ability to make people feel at ease and feel good about themselves. You should definitely know your limitations and faults, but I see no reason not to be fiercely proud of who you are and what you have accomplished.

Creative
I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but yes: writing, painting, drawing, dancing. If I was born to do anything it was to create stories, and everything else I might do along the way is just a bonus. Or at least, that's what it feels like.

Worst
Vindictive
Now this is something that I really work with. It's an unfortunate personality trait that I inherited from my mother's side of the family, and it's all about keeping some sort of inner file cabinet with slights and insults and various wrongs that has been done to us. "Has been done to us", yes. There's a lot of pride mixed up in this trait, I believe. And while being proud and keeping tabs is not something I necessarily view as negative (it helps to know who you can and can't trust, for instance), it tend to get in the way of life if you have a tendency to brood.

Proud
So, yes, I put Pride here as well. Not only for the above mentioned reason, but also because I have a hard time admitting when I'm wrong. I think so long and hard about things, how could I possibly be wrong? I am. Frequently. It's a horrible trait to have in a relationship. In a everyday sense, I can admit to being wrong, but if I feel that I'm being treated unjustly I waste no time at all before climbing the biggest horse in the country to speak down from.

Peculiar(Inappropriate/Introverted)
These are linked to each other, and I believe that it's the other side of my creativity coin. Being introverted I wouldn't see as a problem, except that society today (at least in Sweden) does not in any way favor introverts. And by inappropriate I actually mean my sense of humor. Sometimes funny, sometimes hilarious (apparently), and sometimes there's that awkward silence that tells you that you really shouldn't have laughed, and decidedly not so loud... all in all I can sometimes come across as a bit peculiar, and while my friends have decided to find it charming many people don't.

A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Will I get keelhauled if I cheat and choose three of each gender? *sighs* Oh, well... alright, but I'll choose from those perspectives we've got, that narrows it down a bit.

♥ Brienne - I do love an amazon. She is such a complex character, and I'm almost never drawn towards the "good guys". As it happens this has turned out to be one of those amazing series where there are no good guys and bad guys - it's amazing. Brienne is about as non-stereotypical as you can get, though, and I love her for it. Considering all the crap she's waded through, she's really adorably idealistic. And well, she's a treasure.

♥ Tyrion Lannister - He has some things in common with Brienne, come to think of it. The only thing I love more than Brienne's innocence is Tyrion's cynicism. He is so wonderfully human in his motivations, and there's just so much potential in him. It's a tragic thing to realize that he'd probably be the best husband in Westeros, but that he in all probability won't be able to live up to that potential.

♥ Jaime Lannister - He really caught me off guard. I disliked him greatly as a character until I got to see from his perspective. He immediately became one of my favorites, because like the others he was flawed but wonderfully, beautifully human. Now, if he could just realize how perfect Brienne is for him. Both of them are more than halfway there, but he's going to have to make a the first move, because she's not budging an inch. And I believe she's got the most uncomfortable place ever to wait for G.R Martin to finish the next book.

Other characters I've come to love:
Petyr Baelish(puts the 'man' in manipulation), Rhaegar(Too bad Robert won), Daenerys(she's going to save the day), Podrick Payne(D'aw!♥), Tywin(so cold and tragic), The Hound(please be alive), The Queen of Thornes(badass!Granny FTW!), Asha(more of her, please), Oberyn Martell (hate to sound fangirl, but the slash potential overwhelms me).

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

- Ser Gregor - "...Always reminds me of somebody machine-gunning a seal."
Seriously. And since Brienne killed Rorge maybe we don't have to read about rape in nearly every chapter in the next book?

- Bran - Despite his great, magical destiny, I just couldn't find him interesting. I found his perspective the most boring by far. Perhaps it was the fact that he was just a little kid, I don't know, but for the most time I just trudged through his chapters. The only emotional reaction I got was when I thought that Theon had killed him and Rickon.

- Cercei - So help me, I could never warm up to her as I did with Jaime. Maybe because she's utterly ruthless in what she does to others. She's not "Tywin with teats", she's Rorge in a blond wig and about as subtle when plotting too. Her perspective was the most cringe-worthy one of all. I had to do a little celebratory dance when she was finally dragged away, and another when Jaime chose not to come to her rescue.

Other characters who's managed to fall from grace(or simply never were): Theon Greyjoy(I thought that he was going to be one of my favorites! The disappointment!), Joffrey(sadistic little psychopath), Lysa Arryn(I can deal with needy, I can deal with crazy, but not both at the same time), Rorge(...no), Robert Baratheon (lousy king, lousy husband, lousy father).

3.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
The absolutely number 1 moment ever-ever? I loved the scene where Sandor Clegane waited for Sansa Stark in her bedroom, drunk as a skunk and as needy as a puppy. (A huge puppy with a big sword that could and would kill you in a heartbeat, but hey.)
I get sentimental; I found it very moving when she touched his cheek and he actually cried. Ladies and gentlemen, this scene had it all: love, hate and passionate self-loathing. Sansa was more concerned about the dagger at her throat but at that point I wasn't picky about who would rescue her. I still say she should have gone with him. For the love of... he was going north.

Another scene I'd like to mention is horrible, but I did find it hilarious when Tyrion found Shae in Tywin's bed. I felt sorry for Tyrion, naturally, but his father's hypocrisy was of epic proportions. I had to put the book down, I won't lie.
4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
~~Zombie Apocalypse!~~

Let's see... I'd like Sandor Clegane to be proven alive and well and I want him to end up with Sansa so they together could rule Winterfell. Failing that I'd like Sansa to end up with Petyr. She's grown on me and I'd like her to have a happy ending with somebody who has the means to protect her.
I'd like Dhaenerys to sit on the Iron Throne and rule Westeros (go dragons go! ♥). Oh, and I'd like Jaime to marry Brienne, and Podrick Payne to be happy. I'd like Tyrion to get a happy ending too, if possible. And a hug for free wouldn't go amiss, I'm sure.

Since there's no chance of Oberyn Martell riding off into the sunset with Loras Tyrell anymore... I'll just put them away in my drawer of weird and lovely pairings that will never happen, shall I? Hm. I believe that's it.

... and maybe a little zombie apocalypse.