Westeros Sorting

Name: Korax
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Age: 21
Location: Berlin, Germany
Occupation: Student




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 have no dream house. I do have a strong attachment to having a place to call my own, though. I need a ‘home base’, a place to put my computer, my materials for drawing and my books, then I’m good (alright, a library of my own would be awesome, now that I think about it). That said, I want my private space that people can’t just walk in on.
I’m not one for owning a house. I’ve lived in rented apartments all of my life, and though I don’t move apartments more than I have to, I like the theoretical freedom of packing everything into boxes, get it all in a van and be out of somewhere in a day’s time if I want to be.
As for geographical surroundings, I sometimes think it might be nice to live by the sea or in the countryside, but then I remember that after two week’s worth of vacation at country-dwelling relatives, I get antsy. When I open my window at three o’clock in the night, I want to hear the sound of cars and people. There’s nothing more beautiful to me than the wastelands of old blocky concrete buildings on the periphery of the city, or the never-ending noise and light in the night. I just love the life pulsing in cities, busy and dirty and loud.
All in all, a spacious city apartment would be best for me – way high up, I love the feeling of looking over a city.

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) Health for my family and me. Obvious choice. I have chronic health problems that I was born with. I know what it means to be restricted by your own body and in constant pain. I don’t want this for my family or myself.
2) ***+#+~*~World Peace*~*+#+*** Okay, yeah, no. While this would be nice, I am much too convinced of the general bastard-ness of people to expect them to keep peace for longer than three days, even if some genie had magically solved all their former conflicts. People will always find a reason to fight; I think we’re all prone to be at times unfair, mean-spirited, cruel and egoistical. So I’d go with what would actually give me the opportunity to change something: A whole lot of money. For better or worse, money makes the world go ‘round. It won’t make you happy on its own, but in the end, who wouldn’t rather cry into a pillow made of one hundred doller bills than one made of straw?
3) Ability to fly. Because... well, it would be awesome! I know it’s a standard fantasy, but screw it, I would love to be able to fly.

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. ;)
Succeeding in the university I am at right now. It’s difficult. I’d call myself a rather intelligent person, but I’m apparently not as smart as many of the people there, or at least not in these academical matters. Which means I study twice as hard to get the same grade. Which is okay; if that’s what it takes, that’s what I’ll do. This goes hand in hand with overcoming my own teenage whinyness about my health issues. Yeah, there’s stuff I probably will never be able to do, or not as good as other people. It’s unfair. Unless I happen to stumble over the genie from question 2, it’s also not going to change. You go to war with the army you have, and mine happens to be in shabby armour with broken swords. So (in the spirit of torturing this metaphor until it screams), I’ll give them longbows, and maybe that’ll work. And if it doesn’t, I’ll try something else. But I’m not going to be broken up about it anymore.

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.
This was a tough one. My initial impulse was to go with knowledge because it makes life that much more interesting. However, the idea of being some sage up in a lonely tower isn’t for me. I am not a big believer in romantic love, or at least not in the Hollywood movie sort of way. But I ultimately chose love because I couldn’t pick either family or friendship; neither of these mean much without affection.
For example, I have a huge family, most of who I haven’t met for at least ten years, and I’m not attached to them. On the other hand, I’m slow to form connections, but when a friend is so close to me that they managed to worm their way into my black little heart, I defend them like any of my family. Maybe it comes from being a patchwork family kid, but family’s not that much about blood to me. That said, I do have a strong sense for my immediate family, especially my siblings (blood-related or otherwise). When someone hurts my sisters, they answer to me.

Money is pretty much the basis you need in the society we live in, but ultimately, while I’d hate being broke, I’d still prefer it over being left all alone. As for pleasure... I will always make room for pleasure if I can, but I can live on without it for quite some time if I have to. Last and least, I tend to think life throws quite enough adventure into your way, anyhow. I don’t have the strongest impulse to search for it. With my track record, if I’d actively go looking for adventure, I’d probably find myself dressed in a clown costume swimming unconscious in a river on the other side of the planet in a day’s time.

5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
I’m going to cheat a bit on this and take two quotes because I think in combination, they describe my outlook best.
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. (Oscar Wilde)
Life has this terrible habit of being frequently difficult and uncomfortable, and I deal with that best by applying a decent amount of sarcasm. Yes, life is important and you shouldn’t waste it – but I certainly enjoy poking fun at it, too. Life’s a terminal illness anyway, so let’s at least enjoy the ride.
Sometimes glass glitters more than diamonds because it has more to prove. (Terry Pratchett)
Something I find true in a lot of people, and it’s a very interesting phenomenon. I see myself on the side of glass here; I don’t have any great talents, but that’s just another reason to aim high and show what I can do regardless.

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.
It’s important. It’s not everything, but financial security and not having to rely on other people ranks high for me – especially owing someone money leaves a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I’d rather avoid. I can’t even imagine buying a house with a loan. I’m rather good with money. I’m disciplined. I don’t come from a very wealthy background, not extraordinarily poor, but enough to see that lack of money can make life difficult, and I never forgot that lesson.
Of course, I have my weaknesses – books and chocolate can always seduce me to impulse buying. Damn you, chocolate.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Reading. I read fiction and non-fiction. You can’t learn everything from books, but you can certainly take away a whole lot if you approach them with an open mind. Concerning fiction, I like Victor Hugo (favourite: The Last Day Of A Condemned Man), Terry Pratchett (favourite: Small Gods) and Heinrich Mann (favourite: The Loyal Subject) best. I also write and draw, and I play the alto recorder. I’m the creative type, though spinning tales is still my favourite occupation out of all these.
Then there’s playing computer games. I immensely enjoy strategy games and those were you have small teams under your control, like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Stealth-based games like Splinter Cell, and role-playing games, especially the Bioware kind that lets you pick the personality of the main character, have to be my favourites. I gravitate towards crowd control or sniper characters when I can choose a class.

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
1) Death. Easy one. My own, but also that of people I am close to. It bothers me most that I don’t know what comes afterwards.
2) Looking stupid in front of others. Hate it. If I seem timid, it’s often because of this. I’m louder in my own head, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself. So I guess you could say I’m sort of a coward, too... and I’m starting to think I’m making myself look bad with this answer.
3) Failure. I don’t like failing, and I like admitting it less, in front of me or other people. If I set myself a task, obviously I want to do good, I’m guessing that’s universal. But I can get pretty dogged and not necessarily in a good way. I know I tie my self-worth pretty close to my achievements, which is why failing at anything can get me down and scare 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:
1) I’m people-smart. I’m not extroverted, but I like being around all sorts of people and I like knowing what makes them tick. It’s easier to write a paper that’ll get a good grade if you know what the professor values. It’s easier to mediate between people if you can somewhat gauge their personalities. It’s easier to talk to an irritable relative when you can tell by their speech patterns whether this is a good time to approach them or not. It’s easier to comfort a friend when you know if they prefer a hug or a pep talk. And so on.
2) I’m the man with the plan. Well, the woman. I’m very organised. I like to work on my own. In groups, I don’t search out positions where I’m in charge, but I’ll grasp leadership when I realise we’re about to waste a whole lot of time waffling about. Also, when someone else leads and I think they’re not doing a good job at it, I’ll try to change their direction gently. If that doesn’t work, I’ll usually go for the coup by demonstrating my ideas and persuading people that what I have planned is less stupid. I mean... I’m not going to watch you drive the effin’ ship into the iceberg while we’re all on it. You can do that on your own time.
3) I’m loyal. If I hold someone close to my heart, I’ll defend them to the last and I’ll always be as nice to them as I can be.

WORST:
1) I’m horrible at expressing my feelings in words. I can talk a lot (as you surely have noticed at some point in this monster application), but I don’t talk about my actual feelings out loud. If I care about someone, it’ll be clear in my actions. If I don’t, no amount of poetry is going to change that. The reverse is also somewhat true. I tend to be too suspicious of overly flowery declarations of love. Everyone and me included likes a good wordsmith, but words are cheap, after all.
2) I’m ridiculously slow to trust, and even if I do, I’ll still be afraid of rejection. You do give people a lot of power over you if you depend on their affection and that’s scary. (Also, I have now made affection sound like a voodoo curse. Great success?)
3) I’m way too shy, especially around strangers. I could achieve more if I actually voiced the opinions and ideas that I have – and if I learned to speak in a voice louder than a whisper. I’m working on changing this, but it’s a slooow progress.





A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?
All of them, though it has been some time since I’ve read GoT (I read it first a few years ago and then never picked up the rest until recently because the style initially wasn’t for me).

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

Tyrion Lannister: No contest, no question, Tyrion is my favourite. From the first book on I knew he’s exactly the kind of character I go for. A moral shade of grey, but someone who’s quite aware he’s not perfect, who uses his head and has a prominent streak of kindness. At the same time, he’s not too smooth; he misjudges as well, which makes him relatable. Lately, he sometimes toed the line of How Far Is Too Far and that created good tension. But I find him more interesting as a flawed good-ish guy and hope he doesn’t turn to the dark(er) side. He has this odd kind of nobility that’s not a birthright, but a result of his personality and actions. I like the smart way he goes about things: that he plays the game without completely betraying his own integrity and how he refuses to yield despite the fact that from birth he’s got the short end of the stick, no pun intended. Of course, I also enjoy his snarky, sharp-witted comments.

Eddard Stark: Poor, poor Ned. He’s the sort of character that I look up to in a childish way. You know, the hero! The good one, the one you want to see succeed, and at the same time, I’m now too old to still think that he would. Lawful Good characters are a rare commodity in this series and I respect his ideals and his honour. Whenever I think about him, though, this one scene from the tv series pops up (which is the more immediate version of GoT in my head right now): Bronn just killed Vardis Egen at the trial and kicked him down the hole. Lysa says, “You don’t fight with honour,” and Bronn, pointing downwards, answers: “No. He did.” And that’s it. This series rarely rewards honour. I love Ned, but watching him at court was painful; like seeing a freight train, set firmly on its rails because that’s the only way it can drive, barrel towards a really steep cliff. You knew what was going to happen. That he wasn’t one to play the game right was his undoing, but of course, also his best trait.

Bronn: Speaking of Bronn, this might seem pretty strange right on Ned’s heels because Bronn’s attitude is about as far away as you can get, but I like Bronn a lot. He’s got a sense of dark humour. In a way I can respect an outspoken screw-your-honour-I-want-to-win approach just as well. I get the feeling from him that he knows exactly what he is and what has shaped him in life, title or not. There’s something admirable in so much honesty to oneself, even if it amounts to him being a person that is not exactly driven by the most lofty ideals. He’s a sellsword through and through; you know where you stand with him, and if you don’t, you have only yourself to blame. Besides, I was always entertained when he came on ‘stage’. I hope we see him in the future.

Honourable mention goes to Littlefinger. I don’t like him, but man, I enjoy him. Scheme on, you crazy diamond.

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

Lysa Arynn: Yes, I know her life wasn’t sunshine and butterflies, but everyone in these books suffers. She just made the worst out of every possible situation, the most prominent probably being how she raised her kid because she managed to bring him down with her. I can look past a lot in a character, I’m the kind that gets interested in villains most of the time, after all, but blatant stupidity annoys me.

Joffrey Baratheon: I know it’s not very fair to hate on a twelve year old, but – no, you know what, Arya is younger and she manages not to be such a brat. There’s my justification. This one probably needs no explanation, as I don’t think anyone was supposed to like him. A spoilt, cruel kid who tries and fails at being a king, or a decent human being, for that matter. I was especially revolted by his lack of respect for human life in general.

Bran Stark: I can’t really bring myself to feel more than a resounding ‘meh’ towards most of the Stark children, including Jon and Arya (*dodges rotten eggs*), but Bran’s many chapters of doing whatever piled up on my patience enough to mention him here. This has gotten slightly better, but I can’t forgive it yet. I know his storyline is going somewhere, I just wish it’d go there a little faster.

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

I cannot possibly pick one! Well, I’d have to go with Tyrion’s trial, it was a very entertaining read. Oh, and that image of Dany with her newborn dragons is imprinted on my mind – crowning moment of badass right there. Also, and this one might be a bit out there because nothing spectacular happens, but the description of Dragonstone at the beginning of ACoK just staid with me, it was so vivid that I can still basically see the whole daunting structure in front of me.

5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
I suppose it’s too much to hope for Dany in charge with Tyrion as her advisor? Damnit, I knew it. To be fair, I’d be okay with most endings. I just hope no prohpecies come true. I’m so sick of prophecies in fantasy literature.