Westeros Sorting

Name: Mara
How did you find out about the community?: The lovely presocratic got all up in my face and told me to do it.
Age: 21
Location: Canada-land!
Occupation: Full time University student. I'm a fourth year double-major in Greek&Roman history and plain ol' regular history. I suppose you could say I am somewhat obsessed with history-- especially if it has to do with sexuality and gender .




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'm a huge city-slicker. I need to have that hustle and bustle around me to really feel alive and happy; small towns are nice for a few days, but I go completely nutters if I'm trapped there for longer than five days. I write a lot, and I get most of my inspiration traveling around city downtown centers, watching different cultures and ages interact on a daily basis-- the rich with the poor, the old with the new. I feel alive under city streetlights and with the sound of cars driving past. I was in Egypt for two weeks (back before the shit hit the fan) and Cairo was amazing. Constantly alive and humming.

However, in saying this, I need my green centers. My parents have always been huge into gardening, and we have the most beautiful garden in my backyard-- roses, lilacs, lilies, tulips, a pond with a waterfall-- the whole nine-yards. When we would go on vacations together, half the trips in the summer would involve going to different gardens all across the city we were visiting. Despite being piss-poor at taking care of plants (a fact my mother laments every day) I enjoy the fruits of other people's labours, and I need a garden close by. Warm weather is also a must-- I shrivel in the cold (she writes while it snows outside her window). I suppose the perfect place for me would be the BC coast in Canada; as long as I could deal with not seeing the sun for a few weeks.


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!

1) Unlimited amount of money for books. As a history student, books are an absolute must, especially if your school library is a piece of shit and figures they'll pack all the books away and make you wait a week to get one out! Uh, but I digress. In any case, books are my life-source. I need books, I cherish books, I adore books. But some of them (and by some I mean most) are bloody expensive. So to have an unlimited amount of money to purchase all the books I could ever possibly need would be brilliant.

2) No migraines. I'm a migraine sufferer, and to anyone who gets them you'll know why someone would wish to be free of them. They hurt; a hell of a lot. Best way to describe it is it literally feels like someone has taken a hot poker and is currently trying to push one of your eyes out of its socket. It can ruin your week, it prevents you from getting any work done, it makes you ill-- generally it just really sucks. And I'm going to be a selfish bugger and say I'd want to cure myself of it. If it doesn't count as a third wish, I'd get the genie to make it so migraines never existed so everyone would be free from its evil clutches.

3) I'd wish for my family to be able to age gracefully, without all of the medical complications that arise as the body wears down. Aging is something that terrifies a lot of people, and I hate seeing someone slowly wear down; especially as I grow older myself. I see it happen to those I love, and it's painful to watch. Arthritis, creaky limbs, failed eyesight, strokes, etc. All of them are things my loved ones have gone through/will go through/are currently going through. So aging gracefully, with no aches or pains-- yeah, that'd be pretty swell.

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. ;)

This might sound odd, but I'm really damn proud of my ego. Talk to anyone around me and they'll probably point out my self-confidence and slightly egotistical behaviour. Not in a negative way, of course, but it is a defining part about me. I'm proud of this because it's so rare now a-days. You meet so many people who continually bring themselves down and have no confidence whatsoever, and you wonder why they're so unsure of themselves-- why so many beautiful, charming, elegant young people are just throwing themselves under the 'Self-Doubt' bus. You start to think that maybe you're the weird one for being so in love with who you are as a person. So I'm proud of my accomplishment to just be continually positive with myself and viewing myself as a worthy individual. I work hard for what I do in life; whether it is my aptitude with the written word, my physical appearance or my snarky yet heartfelt quips. It all takes work and a certain amount of confidence, and I'm damn proud of myself.

I'm also pretty happy with my writing, but that sort of falls in with the above post: Aka- where I show you all how massively conceited I am.

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.

Can a few of these not be one in the same? Can adventures not be knowledge? Can family not be friends? Aren't adventures just a little bit pleasurable and isn't knowledge just a little bit economically fruitful? And where do we get love if not from our family and friends?

But I suppose if I have to choose just one (rather than circle around the answer in a pretentious way) I would go with... family. I'd be nowhere without my family (including my friends-- I'm tossing them in there so take that!). They support me in everything I do, even when I went up to my parents and said 'I want to be a specialist in the history of sexuality and gender!', or when I would practice sword fighting in my backyard with a broom-handle as a child, claiming I would be the next great gladiator. My parents just nodded, brought me some books (for the history claim) and a new broom (for the gladiator phase) and let me do what I needed to do.

Least important is... Pleas-- you know, I really cannot answer this. I could say money, but let us face it, that is just not going to fly-- especially when you have me going on about how I need books and vintage hair accessories. Pleasure; well, I find pleasure in the little things in life, and if you can't do that then you're life is pretty drab and plain. So I really cannot choose which is least important to me. Sorry! Total cop out.

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

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"- Albert Einstein.

I'm a day-dreamer; I live in my head, continually making up ridiculous stories while I sit on the bus going to University. Most of the time it causes me to break out into a rather deranged grin, and those sitting across from me wonder why a woman who looks like she stepped out of the 1940's with a red bandana on and with a pompadour hairstyle, is grinning like the Cheshire cat at a piece of dried bubblegum stuck to the window. You can be one of the most ignorant peoples in the world, but as long as you see the beauty in the sky and the appeal of the crayon, you're pretty much golden.


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'm a little strange about money. I don't spend a lot of money on small things-- I'm frugal with the small stuff. Need a new comb? Go to the dollar store. How about socks? Packaged from Fruit-of-the-Loom will do! And as I stated before, I dress in vintage clothing as much as possible, so what I do not make I find in second hand stores. I shop around a lot. HOWEVER, I will splurge on big ticket items now and again. Make-up is something I'll spend a little extra on (Can't live without my Ruby-Woo lipstick from Mac), and I'm a big video game fan so I'll spend $60 on a new game. I'm also a collector, and I like to get $100 figurines. If I have the cash, of course.

Financial security is important to me, though. I've been a very fortunate person; growing up in a financially stable household with Grandparents who had cash coming out their rumps. But I've always been aware of my financial situation. I panic if my money drops below a certain balance. So I splurge and buy things I don't need, but I also save my money when I can. So I'm a mix, I suppose. Both a bad spender and a good spender. A BIG SPENDER! And I'll even spend a little time with you~

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?

School IS my hobby. I am ridiculously passionate about history. Ridiculously so. I will go on and on about the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus and how it shaped Greek society and perceptions of love, about the reason behind the small phallic in Greek and Roman artwork, why the Renaissance was a glorious and gossip filled time period and go on about how much I adore Emperor Hadrian. I write essays for fun and I give history lessons to anyone who wants to hear. I even made a youtube channel and a twitter account where I talk about history. So I would count it as a hobby as well as a 'career'.

I also write. A lot. A lot, a lot. My hand is currently aching from typing too much last week. I probably should not even be filling this out right now! I write essays and I write fanfiction. I like writing hilarious stories, romantic stories, drama stories-- smut! I love writing smut, too. I am not going to lie, I am one gigantic pervert and a slash fan. You smash smut and slash together and I am one pleased little pervert. But on to the original topic of writing-- I've always been rather eloquent, whether it be public speaking or through the written word, so I enjoy writing and bringing my thoughts and feelings out to other people through my words. I feel a bit of smug satisfaction when I write something in a debate and slam someone down with just a few presses of the keys, and I feel incredibly happy when someone enjoys a story I've written. Writing if my life.

My other hobby is looking good. Aha, well, I suppose I should elaborate. I like to look good-- I like it when people compliment my appearance because I put a lot of work into it. Because I dress and do my makeup the vintage way, I spend a lot of time looking up different hair techniques (victory rolls, pin-curls, pompadours), scarf tying techniques, the difference between a 40's eyeliner flick and a 50's eyeliner. I even go as far as the 60's and style myself up to look like Audrey Hepburn or a toned down Twiggy. Vintage fashion and glamour is a passion and a hobby of mine. Looking good with bright red lipstick and a leopard print sweater is what I do.

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.

Running out of time. There is so much I want to do in life; I want to meet so many people, experience so many things and learn as much as I can. But I feel like I'm running out time, and I'm only 21! School is my life right now and will be for a very long time, and I'm afraid by the time I'm done everything I'll be too old to really experience all I want to and do all I want to.

Eternity scares me too, though. I know I said I am afraid of running out of time, but being around for forever is just a frightening concept for me. All things must come to an end, as with life, and that is what makes this world so special. If I knew I would be around for another hundred or thousands of years, I would not cherish the life I have now. Everything has to have an ending for me, including myself.

I am terrified of blood and wounds. I am so squeamish it is not even funny. My father cut himself on a prickly plant in the backyard this summer and asked me to help him with the bandaid. The blood was beading up and I almost passed out. I am just terrified of seeing guts or brain matter or gore of any kind. And apparently scratches from spiky plants. I just cannot deal; I can't watch people bleed or hurt or lose their intestines. It honestly terrifies me that I'll see an accident and just pass out and be of no use to anyone. Ugh, I can't stand it.

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.

THREE BEST: MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE

Alright, alright, I'll get serious.
1) This one is going to be a debatable one (whether it is a good quality or bad), but I am honest and opinionated. You ask me a question and I will tell you truthfully what I think about you/a topic/etc. I'm the person who will step in and tell someone something they may not want to hear in order to avoid further conflict. I do not mind the confrontation that comes with honesty. However, I will be nice about it. I will not personally attack a person for no reason at all and leave them to clean themselves up. I will point the issue out, state my views and opinions on it, and try and resolve any confrontations that occur. As I've stated before, I will knock you down when you need to be knocked down, but always offer a hand up if you ask for it. I am not cruel and I am not brutal, I am just willing to be direct and nip things in the bud before they get too severe. Animosity and festering hate is the worst thing in the world.

2) I'm hilarious? Well, I like to make people laugh, and I enjoy it when something I've said is able to cheer someone up. I try and sprinkle humour into everything I do. Sometimes it's a terrible pun, other times it's a remark on society, and sometimes it's plain snark. Laughter is one of the best sounds in the world.

3) I'm confident in who I am as a person. As I stated way up above, I know who I am and I depend on myself first and foremost to feel good about who I am. Society has no place when it comes to my body image and perceptions of self-worth. Not to say I don't get down on myself sometimes (I have terrible skin and I can be a smarmy jerk without realizing it, for instance), but if we're talking general every-day feelings I pretty much walk around town with my head held high and a smile on my face. I love myself. And if that makes me sound like a pompous arse, well... that's true too!

WORST:

1) I can be a pompous and vain arse! My confidence intimidates people, and sometimes I am just a plain ol' jerk. I never attack people on purpose and I do not degrade someone for their appearance/lot in life/intelligence, but there are other ways to come across as a jerk. I usually charm the socks off of people, but I get comments from people saying "I like you, but you're kind of egotistical'. I don't run around declaring how much I love myself, but my mannerism and humour and the way I carry myself can come off as very pompous. I am aware of this.

2) I poke people until they burst. Usually with quips and jokes. I'll make a comment about something and I will see something in that persons eyes, and I know if I keep going, if I say something again that they'll explode and debate with me. And sometimes I just can't resist pushing someone over the edge. I'm a troll, I suppose; a real life troll. Again, it's never a personal attack, but I may make a comment about, say... a specific author someone in the group likes. And I'll joke about the author, make a few comments about how I do not like them and why I do not, and wait for the person to take the bait. It's terrible, but I still do it. I only really do it to my close friends and family, however. If I've just met you I am definitely not going to be a complete tit. But still, it's there. I poke and watch the explosion.

3) I do not know how to say 'no'. I want to be friends with people; I like it when people like me, and I try to be as accommodating to everyone as I possibly can. Sometimes at my own expense, though. I'll tell someone I'm super busy all week with essays, but then they'll say how they've missed me or they need someone to talk to and I'll throw my work to the side and hang out with them for a bit. And when it comes to my writing; I used to be asked to write so many different stories from people, and for a time I did it even when I did not really feel like writing it. Not only did my writing suffer because there was no passion, but I was also getting aggravated. I leave my door open and sometimes people take advantage of that.





A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?

All of them! I'm a 'new' fan, but I ploughed through them really quickly once I got started.

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

Renly Baratheon: Renly?! You mean the guy who died in the second book? Who had no POV chapters and was an arrogant, fabulously gay, cryptic peach-eating man? Yes, that is the Renly I am talking about. I wrote an entire mini-essay on why I love the guy, and I won’t get too far into it, but in short I adore him because he's kind. He cares about the 'little people' (more evident in the show than in the books), he's got a wicked sense of humour and he generally brightened up the pages for me whenever he was mentioned or even featured. He's a side character, but I love him. ALTHOUGH I WOULD NEVER EVER DECLARE MYSELF KING AND THEN PARTY AT EVERY FORK IN THE ROAD ON MY WAY TO BATTLE. As fabulous as his Camp Party Rock was, that was just ridiculous. Oh, Renly...

Jaime Lannister: Despite tossing a kid out of a window, Jaime has got one of the better moral compasses than most of the characters in the series-- at least, to me he does. He knows what needs to be done, and he's willing to do it, even if he's made to be the villain. He's also a competent warrior, has a good head on his shoulders, and he's funny. I adore a character who makes me laugh and Jaime is great for that. Plus, gotta give a guy props when he'll jump into a bear-pit with no weapon in order to save a 'damsel in distress' (more like Jaime became the damsel but whatever). Also, he's got a little more respect for the ladies in the series than a lot of the guys out there. He was faithful to Cersei, eventually respectful to Brienne and seems to detest the thought of rape. I will never forget that 'SAPPHIRES' scene.

Margaery Tyrell: I love clever people. And Margaery is a clever girl. She knows how to 'play the game' and along with the help of her family (mostly her Grandma) she's able to just wrap everyone around her finger. She is not cruel nor is she violent, and although she definitely had a mean streak, it comes out when it is needed (like when someone locks you in a tower, accusing you of having crazy monkey-sex with everyone in the city including the goat, and then claims to be on your side). Her weapons are her words and her political mind. Plus, she made Sansa a little happier, and Sansa deserves that. She's confident, sassy, intelligent, beautiful and she knows how to play. Gotta respect her for that.

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

Ramsay Bolton: Do I really need to justify this claim? I think it's obvious. He made me sick to my stomach, I just... eugh. Terrible.

Catelyn Stark: BEFORE YOU TOSS TOMATOES AT ME LET ME EXPLAIN. It's not because she left Bran and Rickon in Winterfell, and it's not because she was a jerk to Jon-- NONE OF THAT. I just do not like her personality. I have met people like Cat; to me they are condescending and judgmental. They are the silent judgers. Every chapter of Cat's usually involves her judging someone for actions she does not completely agree with and she just sits there and judges! Judging, judging, judging! She comes across mightier-than-thou on many occasions and I just can't stand talking to that sort of person let along reading their thoughts. Also, she jumps to conclusions. And on a strictly literary note, her chapters bored me-- they did not drag and pull me in like other characters have. Only chapters I liked were when Renly was in them. Trololololol.

Aeron(Damphair) Greyjoy: Yay, more condescending people, only this time his judging comes from a higher power! Not a fan of self-righteous religious peoples in stories-- he felt more like a stumbling block for other characters. Like he was just a plot piece moved along in order to annoy Asha and the rest of the Greyjoys. And while he was annoying them he was busy annoying me. Chapters were dull, his thoughts were dull-- I never got into him.

4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?

When Renly laughed at Joffrey. Ahaha, no, in all seriousness it's hard to choose just one scene I really liked from all of the books. In ADWD I loved it when Dany went total Dragon Queen and rode off on Drogon. In AFFC I loved it when Jaime at the end came up with the brilliant idea of taking Tommen and running off to raise him to be the beet-hating awesome kid he was meant to be. In ASOS it was all of the book. CoK was the Battle of the Blackwater. GoT was the very beginning because it was the start of some amazing storytelling!

5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?

A dance party. Everyone in one giant dance-party; Bollywood style. Even the dead. Only they would do Thriller. Okay, seriously? I'd like to see Sansa left in one piece and be able to live her life in peace, I'd like to see Jon survive and keep control of the Wall (I'm not a fan of him being the 'chosen' one, even though that seems the most likely at this point), Dany would stay across the Narrow Sea where she seems more in her 'element', and I would like to see the Tyrells get a bit of power because I adore the Tyrells. All of them. Even Willas who we haven't met. Tyrion will live the rest of his days surrounded by books and good wine (IN MODERATION). Sam will become a super smart Maester. Aaaand I still really want this dance party.