Win or die
Name: Andrea
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is: misstopia
Age: three-and-twenty
Location: Toronto
Occupation: recent j-school grad, library assistant, freelance researcher, aspiring novelist, full-time dreamer
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!
As long as there's TV/Internet in Middle-Earth. I seem to remember hearing about an actual Shire-themed community somewhere, in New Zealand perhaps? Maybe I could move there. But it would probably be like living in a theme park, and after the novelty wears off I'd be calling up real estate agents to get me into Hogsmeade or something.
My conundrum is that I'd love to live someplace with a history and a touch of magic and where I can look out the window and see stars at night, not just headlights and skyscrapers, but it can't be a lonely castle atop a mountain (although I would totally visit there for a weekend getaway) because I need my modern comforts and I love bustling cities filled with life and culture. It'll have to be a city with a great public transit system and lots of green spaces so you can watch autumn arriving in all its crisp splendour. The summers can't be too sweltering, but I'm okay with cruel winters because cuddling with someone when it's cold is preferable to sweaty grossness. I'm not a fan of tropical heat. Anyway, I can see myself living in both a high-rise condo on the waterfront and a little cottage in a sleepy village. Maybe I can do the Persephone thing, travel back and forth. I'm not terribly picky about interior decorating. Some shelves bursting with books, a fridge bursting with fruit, maybe slap some cherry blossom decals up on the walls... If the place has a high-speed Internet connection and a clean bathroom, I pronounce it living space.
Ideally I'll travel a lot, see the world before settling down, so to speak. Right now, I don't know where my perfect home is, but I figure I'll recognize it when I get there. :)
2. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Not writing. My creativity's been lying fallow for way too long, and I don't know if it's the beginning of a quarterlife crisis or if journalism school salted my fictional fields or if I'm just a lazy undisciplined bum. I have dreamed of being a writer since I was nine, because nothing is cooler than making up shit for a living, but I've been so unmotivated in recent years (maybe because you could get kicked out of j-school for making up shit) and now I'm scared that I peaked at 17. Being voted Most Likely To Become Famous does that to you. It's like, "Yeah... still working on that." It doesn't help that I still feel as confused about life as I did at 17. Maybe I have Peter Pan syndrome. Writing is pretty much the only thing I'm good at, except maybe passive aggression and alienating people, and I often brood about whether I'm good enough to warrant a fanbase readers, despite knowing that writers don't succeed because of talent alone. All right, I will stop being all tormented-artist now. This fear basically translates to "not wanting to grow up" and "not knowing WTF I'm doing with my life." And I really don't. "Still I always feel this strange estrangement!" If I'm not writing, should I be back in school studying something practical like accounting, or looking for a full-time grown-up job, or finding myself in outer Mongolia? Also, people on Facebook keep getting engaged and married, and it's not helping. I suppose my deepest, darkest fear really is... adulthood. There, I've named it. Sorry you had to read that entire emo essay before I got to the point.
Being alone. Not in the sense of loneliness per se - after all, I hate parties and socializing with strangers and not-friends, and I don't think there's anything wrong with choosing to stay at home reading on Friday night. I am afraid of being alone in the world, of close friends drifting away, of losing my parents, of never finding true love. I don't think that kind of solitude is liberating - more like terrifying.
Insects, with their creeping and crawling and buzzing and their segments. If it has too many legs (OR NONE AT ALL AHHHHHHH), I will kill it with fire. Or more accurately, I will run to get somebody else to kill it, and I will cower in the background until the all-clear is given.
3. What is your favorite aspect of your physical appearance and why?
In high school, I was the girl whose arm got pinched by squealing female classmates. "You're so SKINNY!" they would marvel. Not gonna lie: their palpable envy was nice. In university, I did not experience the Freshman 15 weight gain, so my body has remained pretty much the same. I like my collarbones, I like my small chest, I like my tiny waist. I'm also a big fan of my writerly hands with their long, slender fingers.
4. If you could change one thing about your physical appearance, what would you change and why?
Sign me up for flawless skin. Imagine a world without pimples and age spots (and greyscale), a world where the beauty industry doesn't bilk women of billions in makeup and moisturizer. A perfect complexion = the next best thing after eternal youth.
5. Imagine you're given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Wishing for more wishes is not permitted!
Money whenever I want it. Because it CAN buy happiness. No more existential crises about the future. I can travel around the world and look for my dream home and my One True Love, or get a degree in whatever random subject I want without having to stress about tuition fees, or, I don't know, save the polar bears. Unlimited possibilities!
Perfect health for me and my loved ones. Because I mean to enjoy that unlimited money.
And I'm going to save the last wish for a rainy day. I thought about wishing for a Hugo Award or something, but I should probably work for that myself and not rely on the genie. The magic lamp will sit on top of a bookcase next to my aging portrait Horcrux other collectibles until an emergency, like a sudden apocalypse. You never know.
6. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)
I've played Lady Macbeth five times. First in a Grade 6 talent show where I wore sneakers with an ugly floral-patterned dress, then in Grade 11 for my final exam in drama class. I won the drama award that year - that class and the people I met in it made high school a place I wanted to be, and I'd never forget the experience. Then I reprised the role for a performing arts assembly, wearing a translucent red nightgown and carrying a bowl of candles in front of like half the student population, and took part in a Shakespearean soliloquy competition ("really mad... but so internalized," one of the judges wrote of my performance). Finally I played Lady M for my theatre school audition, where they asked me to act it as a shower singing session. Got in; went to j-school instead. After a horrible freshman year filled with angst about whether I was in the right program, I got my shit together enough to graduate with honours.
And I feel accomplished whenever I manage to finish a piece of writing. School assignments, newspaper articles, movie reviews, a one-act play I got workshopped at a local theatre, even a simple blog post - as long as I FINISH it. This application, for example: I can't tell you how good it feels to post it after tweezing and plucking at it for DAYS. I'm so bad at finishing things I start, and that really gets into the way of accomplishment.
7. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you?
Love conquers all. At least, it encompasses those other things for me: I love my mom and my dad and my friends (the ones I can count on one hand, not the ones who add you on Facebook because you lent them a pencil crayon that one time in biology homeroom), I love learning new things and travelling to new places, and who doesn't love money and pleasure? But maybe I'm just a romantic. Why yes, I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss! And a prince, I'm hoping, comes with this...
Sad thing is, I don't think I've ever actually been in love. I mean, I figure I would know, right? It bugs me because I'm worried that since I've never been, I won't realize when it happens. But I'm not actively looking for a relationship - how am I supposed to walk if I have to leave behind one glass slipper everywhere I go? - so I guess, in a way, love is also the least important to me right now. Wow, I totally cheated on this question.
8. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values?
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
-The Lord of the Rings
Dreams are "nothing," sister? Without dreams, there could be no despair.
-The Sandman
9. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you?
I have no head for figures. Financial smarts, meet Ilyn Payne. Most of my paycheques go directly into savings, so having a safety net/nest egg is important to me. I get all my coupon-snipping thriftiness from my mom, who is frugality personified. I don't like buying shit that isn't on sale, that's how cheap I am. Hahaha.
10. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Read. This is pretty much a given. I've been on an Agatha Christie kick this year, and I recently finished the Fables graphic novels.
Write. Well, these days, more like daydreaming about writing.
TV. The wasteland of this work week has been much brightened by returning shows. I'm determined to rekindle my love affair with Sylar! I also watch Grey's Anatomy, House, Lost and way too many other shows to list. I am a TV junkie. True love never dies: Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars.
Movies and celebrities. I'm all about the shiny fantasy/historical epics. And meet my harem of hot Hollywood men: Adrien Brody, Cillian Murphy, Clive Owen, James McAvoy, Johnny Depp. Among others.
Internet fandom. As a spectator sport - I don't actually engage but I love fanart and fanvids and shipping and hearing about other people's ships. I also enjoy reading Fandom Wank and Fandom Secrets for the lulz.
Long walks on the beach. Or long walks anywhere, really. It's kinda surprising given my enthusiasm for the sedentary lifestyle, but I love exploring places on foot, especially if the company is good. It could be a building or a park or a neighbourhood, and we could chatter nonsense or just stroll in comfortable silence. I have this friend who's my favourite person to wander around downtown with because she agrees with my whimsical "rule" to let the traffic lights choose our path. We would walk down a street until we reach an intersection, and if the light changes, we would cross and start going up that other road. You find all sorts of interesting stores and restaurants that way. Another time I went on an unforgettable date that took us past the grounds of a mental care centre where patients waved to us from the windows and we waved back. It was random and quirky and made me feel like I was in a romantic comedy. Which isn't a bad world view at all. I mean, you can't live in a depressing Oscar-baiting drama all the time...
11. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical).
I am...
Imaginative. Recently on PostSecret there was a secret with a map of the world, and it said something like, "Up to Grade 4 I thought this was only a map of our side of the world, and there was another side on another map somewhere." It really spoke to me, that idea of undiscovered worlds out there, or within us. I had flashbacks to my childhood roleplaying games, where I would rope my friends into my elaborate crossover mythoverse after school. (My character was the daughter of Loki and Artemis... I was an awesomely geeky little girl.) I don't really know how to put it into words, but I've always felt there was more to the world, more layers and depth, more angles and nooks and secret passageways. Imagination flings open all the doors.
Witty. I am known to be funny in some circles. I don't have the class clown/life of the party kind of humour though - I'm more fluent in sarcasm (I got compared to Daria a lot in high school) and I do weird and wry well.
Intelligent. Book smarts, natch... I'm not that good with people, despite working in the "public service" sector. I've always coasted through school, winging assignments and barely studying. I was that kid who noticed the teacher's mistakes, but didn't always point them out. I was that student who bullshat 10-page essays the night before deadline yet still graduated among the top of the class.
But I am also...
Insecure. About... everything. Appearance (is naturally wavy hair a good thing?), education (omg my friend is going to grad school! does that mean I should too?), lack of a love life (why does she have a boyfriend?), etc. I'm sensitive to slights and desperate for people to like me, which seems kinda contradictory and hypocritical, considering my next lovable trait.
Ridiculously anti-social. Talking to people at parties leaves me drained. Once I actually pretended to get a call on my cell and walked out rather than forcing myself to mingle. If I'm not enjoying the conversation, I resort to sullen silences and let others do the heavy lifting. It makes for some awkward moments and needless to say I am not the life of the party at social functions. It's just too much effort to befriend strangers. I take a long time to warm up to people.
Lazy. Yep, sloth is my favourite sin. This translates into a severe procrastination problem and is probably the root of all my lack of discipline in writing. I could spend days sprawled on the sofa with the remote in one hand and a bag of chips in the other. Attractive, I know.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.Which is your favorite book of the series so far? What about your least favorite?
Of all my books, my signed copy of AGoT is the most smudgy and bent out of shape. Beginnings ftw! First trip to Westeros and all... you know what they say about firsts. It's also the book where I skip the least number of chapters on rereads. I don't have a least favourite book but there are parts that I tend to skim past, e.g. I thought Tyrion's chapters while he was trying to glad-Hand in King's Landing totally dragged, as did Jon's adventures among the wildlings.
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series?
Arya Stark. Love her, the fierce little wolf bitch. She is a fighter and a survivor, and before this is done she is gonna do more awesome and terrible things. I have much more in common with Sansa, but I want to be as fearless and resourceful as Arya.
Jon Snow. I root for the underdog, even when he's being arrogant or angsty. I think it's endearing the way he's always trying to do the right thing, and I want him to keep his vows and stay true to what he believes in. And he is totally the type of guy you bring home to meet the parents (shut up, I am allowed to think Jon Snow is cute because I was 14 when I started reading ASoIaF). He seems to be on his way to becoming more badass, though, which intrigues me.
Jaqen H'ghar. Cool, sexy, mysterious, has an accent. What's not to like? Except the pig boy look, I guess. I wouldn't hit that.
My runner-up is... wait for it... Stannis Baratheon. This doesn't mean I want to sit with him at the unpopular lunch table. I just have a soft spot for the guy, likely because we first meet him through Maester Cressen's eyes and the ACoK prologue is my favourite. Young Stannis just needed a hug. Now it's too late for that and he needs a mouthguard instead. I love his relationship with Davos and how their senses of justice and morality play off each other. Both of them tell it like it is, and I've got respect for that.
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series?
Lysa Arryn. STFU and DIAF, stupid cow. I think I hate her all the more because I, like Sansa, have a shrill irrational aunt who says poisonous things about my mother. Yay transference!
I don't think I have any other "least favourites." It's kind of a given that characters like Gregor Clegane and his henchmen are very unpleasant, but they serve their purpose in the story quite effectively. The only other person who consistently annoys me is Jorah Mormont. His sob story about his wife did not make me sympathize with him. Plus, I am creeped out by his perving on Dany. Speaking of Dany, sometimes I find myself irritated by her purple-eyed-dragon-princess-of-prophecy Mary Sue-ness, but I like her when she's kicking the slavers' asses from here to the Skahazadhan.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far?
No way in seven hells I could pick just one! It was hard whittling it down to seven:
* "THE KING IN THE NORTH!" - I still get chills no matter how many times I've read it. And every single time, it always upstages the birth of the dragons.
* Jaqen H'ghar giving Arya the iron coin - "Then we must part, for I have duties too." That was when I knew Arya was going to pwn all her enemies. And like I said, I have a big crush on Jaqen. Or whatever his name is.
* Dany in the House of the Undying Ones - Mmmm... LSD.
* Tyrion meets the Red Viper - The snark is epic. And Oberyn Martell? Is the guy you don't bring home to Mom. Red Viper, ILU and RIP.
* Jon elected Lord Commander - SNOW! SNOW! CORN?
* The kingsmoot - Because Asha Greyjoy rocks. And the Crow's Eye is a great villain.
* The princess in the tower - The whole chapter is just so beautifully written, and then Doran suddenly brings the awesome. I can't wait to meet Quentyn!
Honourable mentions to Bran meeting the three-eyed crow in his coma, Renly's peach, and "Only Cat."
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end?
Howland Reed shows up and shouts, "You just got PUNKED!" It'd be hilarious.
I'm really looking forward to finally meeting Howland Reed, though. The scene where Jon learns of his true parentage will be amazing (yep, I believe in R+L=J). And then after all the epic battles are done and won, I want Jon to choose to remain on the Wall. Unless there isn't a Wall anymore. I just want him to remain a northman. Oh, and Pyp and Grenn survive and go on to have their own sitcom.
I'd also like to see Sansa outwit Littlefinger, Tyrion get some freakin' respect from people, somebody go to Asshai and Valyria so we can find out what the hell's going on there, and Jaime achieve redemption, which he can do by killing Cersei and/or kissing Brienne before dying heroically. And I will be a sad panda if there isn't some sort of Stark reunion. But no matter who ends up on the throne, I'm confident that GRRM won't disappoint.
Links to at least 3 applications you voted on:
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