Win or Die
Name: Kaye
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!): erellim is a friend of mine, and we've been fangirling over ASOIAF together
Age: 26 in a few days
Location: Philippines
Occupation: Marketing 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!.
I like space and light, so I'd like a roomy house with large glass windows that give me a beautiful view of the sunset in the ocean. I want it to be minimalist enough not to be cluttered, but lush enough to be comfortable - couches you can sleep on, beds and duvets you can stay in the entire day. The white walls will be adorned with artwork, and in the living area, there will be a black grand piano which will serve as an accent piece. The dining area will have a dark brown, almost black, oval hardwood table with padded chairs, and modern chandelier lights hanging above. I saw these lights once, very simple, just chrome tubes and at the end of each tube is a spherical shade which houses the bulbs. I'm no interior designer, so I'm terrible at describing these lights, but that's the idea. At night, I want the light of the room to have this honey glow - white is too painful to the eyes, and the honey makes everything look prettier.
The bedroom will have a big bed with a duvet and plenty of pillows. I will have a walk-in closet and when you enter, doesn't have to be big but you'll see my things organized. I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive and I like things a certain way, so my clothes will be organized according to type and color. I will have dedicated racks for shoes and bags so it will be easier for me to pick out an outfit. One wall will be a floor-length mirror so I can see when I'm trying things on.
The bathroom should be elegant and pretty, and clean. Most importantly, it should have a bathtub where I can spend hours and hours reading, thinking, and just unwinding in general.
The kitchen will be the most important part of my house, because that's where I'm in command all the time. I want it to have the latest kitchen equipment, complete cooking utensils, and always, always a stocked pantry. I love to cook, and this is why my kitchen should have a counter in the middle with stools in front so I can entertain guests as I prepare delectable dishes for them.
I need to have two things in my house: a library, where I can read and store my books and spend my days writing, and a gym where I can do boxing, yoga, and Muay Thai. I tend to seek out physical activity when I'm stressed.
My grandfather had a green thumb when he was alive, and I seem to have been the only grandchild to have taken after him. I want a garden outside where I will plant fresh ingredients, because I love to cook. I also want patio recliner chairs where I can sit and watch the sun as it melts into the ocean every day, and where I can gaze at the stars at night. I also want an outdoor shower, but away from the prying eyes of the public, where I can shower after taking a dip at the beach in the morning. I want a really nice barbecue grill outside too, just because it's great for cooking.
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!
First wish: I wish to see the world. I love traveling, and I would like to see as much of it as I can. I'd love to go to places that people don't usually go to, and I love an adventure. It would be very interesting to learn other people's culture, study (and hopefully become fluent at) their languages, and see what else is out there outside my comfort zone. Then again, I guess traveling is my comfort zone - it's never bothered me to travel, although I've only traveled locally and have yet to extend my adventures outside the country.
Second wish: I wish to be given the means to help less fortunate children and neglected elderly people. I have an aunt who celebrates her birthday by holding a party for orphan children in an orphanage just outside the city, and she checks in on them regularly to make sure they get books, clothes, food, and toys. When I found out about this, I swore I'd do the same thing one day, when I have the means. I want the children to get food, clothing and proper education, and I want the elderly people to be taken care of - medical requirements, activities to keep them busy and happy, one-on-one time so they don't feel so lonely. I don't know what specifically to ask for - could be money (endless supply please), could be a position of power, could be people who are willing to help - but I wish to be given the means to do this.
Third wish: Probably the most difficult wish to grant, and the most selfish one too. I wish for peace of mind. I wish for this every year on my birthday, and here's hoping a genie can grant it. But yes, I wish for peace of mind, because I have so many things going on in my head and around me that I can't seem to get enough rest.
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. ;)
I could choose something career-oriented, or boast of the school I survived to get to this point, or some other life-altering turning point, but my greatest accomplishment is something very simple. I'm most proud of the way I maintain my friendships. My friends keep telling me I've taught them what friendship should be like. Others say I'm too caring and nice to my friends to a fault, but I don't care. If I care about someone, I put in the effort to show it, and if they do something wrong, I make it a point to let them know and help them out of the rut they're in.
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.
The most important one for me is friendship. Love fades, and when it does, friendship is what gets you through. Family, from my experience, isn't always the best - in my case, I do not want to be like them because I'd like to be much better. We have many differences, and while I do value them dearly, if I know they're not good for me, I don't really listen. Knowledge can be acquired regardless of your situation, pleasure is temporary, and adventure... well, you choose your own adventure. Friendship matters to me because you get all the others mentioned in this list when you're in a good, strong friendship.
The least important to me is pleasure. I would say money, but then there are some things I wouldn't be able to do without money, and in today's world, money is power. Pleasure isn't a right - it is a privilege and a consequence that comes with the other things on the list, which is why I don't have to prioritize it for me to experience it.
5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
Just part of the lyrics won't be enough - the entire description Jason Mraz wrote in the song "A Beautiful Mess" pretty much describes me. I have no other way of explaining it except that people have described me very similarly in the past, and some of the lyrics there I know for a fact I am, like "You're the kind of girl who can take down a man, and lift him back up again / You are strong but you're needy, humble but you're greedy", "the kind of words you say / Kind of turn themselves into blades", or "Your comebacks, they're quick and probably have to do with your insecurities / There's no shame in being crazy".
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 come from a household that is very strict when it comes to money, and so I used to follow a strict budget. I wouldn't buy something unless I absolutely need it, wouldn't go out if I know I didn't have resources, and I was never one to be swayed by what was trendy and what people wanted to have. Today, I do still follow a budget, but I find it more difficult to manage money just because it's scarcer than it once was.
Financial security is important to me not as an end but as a means to an end. The things I want to do with it - charity, travel, further education, discovery - I am passionate about these things, and money plays an important part in making these dreams come true. At the same time, however, I've seen how money ruins people. My dad's family is one such case - they're fighting all the time because of money, and I don't want money to change me the way it has changed them. This is why I value money very much, but not as the end goal itself, but as a means to achieve the things that will help me live life to the fullest.
7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
I love to cook, and would like to open my own bakeshop or restaurant in the near future.
I also love traveling, but none of the fancy stuff - I like adventure, which is why I go for the travel-for-less kind of approach.
I'm also fond of taking pictures, but I don't claim to be a photographer - I'm a hobbyist is more like it.
I love to sing, and you'll usually find me jamming with bands performing every Friday/Saturday night somewhere, but I've never been in a band. I also love theater and am a frustrated musical theater actress, doing theater until high school but not pursuing it further because of studies.
I love reading books (well duh), which is why I have a degree in English and majored in Anglo-American Literature.
I go to the gym to train for boxing and Muay Thai. I used to play basketball and was a member of the varsity team in high school. I was a so a girl scout, and a contributor in our school newsletter. And I did choir, in school and at church. And I volunteered as a peer tutor and ended up tutoring our valedictorian and salutatorian in trigonometry and physics.
8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Flying cockroaches, or even if they're not flying, because they're disgusting. Plus I'm bitter that they're the only ones who will survive a nuclear fallout.
Losing people I love so abruptly without giving me enough of a chance to say goodbye. I've always had trouble with this, I would like to at least know that I've said everything I needed to say before we part ways for good.
Not having a voice, and not being respected. I've had one too many instances where this has happened, and it's made me feel powerless. I don't like not having control over things, and I don't like not having a say at things. That's why I'm mostly very assertive and aggressive - I want people to see that I'm someone who's not to be taken lightly. This backfires often though: my best friend's friends call me The Nazi, and many people are afraid to joke around with me because they say I'm too serious.
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:
1. Loyalty - I am loyal to my friends and to those loyal to me, which is very helpful when I'm stuck in a rut and I need support.
2. Resourcefulness - When I am left in a rut with no one else to help me, I find my own way. Learned this very early on, as I was left to be taken care of by my grandfather when I was young and my parents didn't give me anything I ever wanted.
3. Stubborn streak - Being stubborn has proved of more use to me than harm. My being stubborn pushes me to be resourceful and industrious, and I do trust my instincts. It's led me to quite a number of successes in the past, and there's no changing this trait for as long as I know it's useful to me.
Worst:
1. Temper - I don't really react unless I'm provoked, but when I am provoked, no one can stop my temper from blowing off the lid. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble in the past, and it still does today.
2. Unforgiving - They say forgive and forget, and usually I'm quite forgiving, but I have a list of non-negotiables. Some of these are reasonable, some of them are not. You do one thing in this list of non-negotiables and I will never forgive you, and I will not stop until I get my revenge.
3. Decisive - This is a problem because some decisions you can't take back. Once I make up my mind, I don't listen to reason - I go through with my decision, and leave it at that. If it backfires, then I turn to my resourcefulness to make my way out of it.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.How many books from the series have you completed?
Five
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Daenerys Targaryen - She's the real deal. She's a badass who knows what she wants, who doesn't pursue too much - she only wants what's fair and really, she wants to settle down and rule so she can do people good. She has her flaws (she's a Targ - she still has the temper, AND her judgment gets clouded at times by love), but she's one of those people I'm rooting for in the book.
The Sand Snakes - Technically, they're three and not one, but take the sisters collectively and you have my second answer. They're feisty, they don't listen and follow rules, and they know how to use their sexuality to their advantage. What's not to like about them? I'm pretty excited to see where their story will go and how their characters will develop in the following books.
Arya Stark - I think Arya has that potential to be someone great and someone bordering dangerous at the same time. She's feisty and she's not your typical girl who wants to be a lady, marry a knight or a lord, and live happily ever after (excuse me Sansa, lol). She's very resourceful and instinctive and at times impatient, but she's willing to do whatever it takes to learn what she needs to get what she wants. She's a fighter, and I like that she is, because someday that will make her one of the characters other characters in the book should watch out for (given that George RR Martin doesn't decide to kill her off like the rest of the Starks haha).
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Catelyn Stark - Book Catelyn is feistier than TV Catelyn, but that doesn't mean I like her any more than the other. Although it's perfectly understandable for Cat not to love Jon Snow because he reminds her of Ned's infidelity, it was utterly immature and selfish of her to treat him the way she does. I don't like the way that she talks to him and talks about him. It also annoys me how she blames her not being able to love Jon for every other misfortune that falls to the Starks. Cat also doesn't listen, and she mostly has her mind made up already when it comes to issues concerning her family. When she is brought back by Beric Dondarrion as sort of an undead Cat and she puts Brienne to the blade, I was angered by her refusal to listen to and understand reason.
Lysa Arryn - I already dislike Catelyn Stark for being such a doting mother to a fault. Lysa Arryn is in a class of her own. As a young woman, she was so desperate for Petyr Baelish that she actually slipped into bed with him and lost her virginity. She became very paranoid after the death of her husband (which she was responsible for anyway, although that was Littlefinger's doing), she babied her son too much, to the point of him becoming spoiled rotten and unbearable, and in the end, her death came for being such a child and STILL pining for Littlefinger. I say, serves her right that she died that way.
Ramsay Bolton - This one I'm still debating in my head because he's so screwed up in the head, you can't help but admire how brilliant his crazy is. But that's just it - he's so screwed up in the head, for me he beats Mad King Aerys in my book. He basically turned Theon from someone who felt entitled to a puppy dog, and his conditioning of Theon's mind was so thorough that Theon still feels he has to be the same puppy dog even when Ramsay is not present. I'd say he's my least favorite for the same reason I admire him - he's just too disturbing.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
Daeny emerging from the funeral pyre of Khal Drogo with the dragons. I know there are many other great events that have taken place since then - four books' worth, in fact - this remains to be my favorite moment because of the dragons.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
I would like Arya to come back from Braavos and use her training in the House of Black and White to get revenge on everyone who's still left alive by the time she finishes her training. I also want her to be reunited with Nymeria, who I think has had similar training but with a pack of wolves, and I want them to carry out the revenge together. I think that would be badass.