between the mountains

I ended up a Lannister, which quite surprised me. Of course, Jaime being my brother won't be any barrier to my crush. *eg*

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Hee. As long as you're not planning any "Lannister killing Targaryen" action that sounds good to me.

Mostly I'm just glad I'm not a Frey. ;)

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I was sure I'd be a Stark. Shows what I know.

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I am completely missing out on something here, aren't I?

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Hee. Well, if you haven't read the books then yes. George RR Martin - great fun. One of my favourite fantasy authors besides Tolkien.

Martin manages to create a world that feels believable and real, which I often find lacking in most fantasy fiction. Also he has characters to fall in love with. It's all based on earlier medieval Europe - but with really creepy, creepy magic and the occasional dragon.

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Cannot blame you for wanting those Direwolves! ;)
I'm not sure which house I would have preferred - maybe something Dornish? They have good food, and I have a strange softspot for House Dayne.

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Yes, this is over-commenting but still:

I think the moment I went from liking the series to loving it was when I read the Night Watch Oath:

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come

Because reading that oath for the first time gave me chills, and reading it now I still get chills - and when a book actually has a physical effect on me then that is usually a good sign.

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I'm also a bit amused that the write-up for Lannister says:

And then you’d pimp-slap them with your golden hand

And even more amused that my first reaction was "Oh, Jaime!"
Clearly I need help as the Jaime love has reached dangerous heights.
(But, but he does it because of Brienne dammit! ;D)

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I get chills every single frickin' time I read it. It's beyond magnificent.

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Yes, yes, all because of Brienne. And I will brook no denial on that fact.

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It so is. And then I read it and I get frightened for Jon all over again. It's all so ominous - and he is so alone! Surrounded by very scary people. *shivers*

We need the next book don't we?

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It's ... nice, but I think you really need the context for this one. I could see myself being gripped by it, especially if it's written in the sort of context that it seems to suggest - but I think it must work so much better in the context. But I will definitely be making a mental note of this. George R R Martin, you say? And it's a series? (Always better if there's MORE, right?)

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Desperately! (And I'm not kidding.) I'm going to do a(nother) reread of the first four books on my trip, in preparation for someday.

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aquamarcia.livejournal.com

I got Stark as my House, which I think coincides well both with the Night's Watch oath and most elements of my personality. :)

The Night's Watch oath reminds me of a Constantine Cavafy poem I read recently, called Thermopylae:

Honor to those who in the life they lead
define and guard a Thermopylae.
Never betraying what is right,
consistent and just in all they do
but showing pity also, and compassion;
generous when they are rich, and when they are poor,
still generous in small ways,
still helping as much as they can;
always speaking the truth,
yet without hating those who lie.

And even more honor is due to them
when they foresee (as many do foresee)
that in the end Ephialtis will make his appearance,
that the Medes will break through after all.

I get misty when I read that, too.

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It's ... nice,

Hee! I love your puzzled "...." of politeness. ;) But yes, I see your point quite clearly - it is much better in context.

And yes, it's a series. As a whole the books are called "A Song of Ice and Fire", and the first book is "A Game of Thrones". There are many reasons I love them, but the main ones are:
a.) I really love some of the characters. (I hate others - but hey, its allowed)
b.)I have trouble predicting what will happen, and most of the big revelations were quite shocking.
c.) Unreliable narrators - love that.
d.)A fantasy world that feels real, with corpus of history, myths and legends that feel like they extend beyond the story proper.
e.) No elves. The only elves I can tolerate are Tolkien elves - them I love. Others are just poor substitutes - so a book without elves is good with me. ;)
f.) Discussing the books with people who have read them. Martin is a master at plotting - an with all the unreliable narrators, references to legends and general uncertainty loads of fun can be had while trying to figure out what happened.
g.) The books, and some of the characters, can be very funny at times.
h.) gory violence - because I guess I'm that kind of girl.

I'll shut up now. ;)

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That poem gives me shivers - but in a good way. I love Cavafy's poems, but I had never thought of them as similar to the Night Watch's Oath. But reading this I see the similarity on sentiment. Thank you for posting.

And I'm a bit envious of your test results. Probably because I still cannot get over the fact that I got the same house as Aerys Targaryen....

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aquamarcia.livejournal.com

If I'd gotten Targaryen as my House I would be very heavily inclined to bear Rhaegar in mind.

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Psst ... I just absolutely had to tell you that I've started reading these books now. I'm only 200 pages into the first one, but I'm already loving it, so thanks for reccing it!

(And it looks like I'm a Lannister ... which so far I'm associating mainly with incest. Nice.)

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Yay! I'm so happy to hear that! (also this means another person to discuss the books with. ;) ) Any favourite parts so far?

And it looks like I'm a Lannister ... which so far I'm associating mainly with incest. Nice.

Hee! But they are also snarky and cunning! And book two and three is filled with Lannister goodness. But I won't say any thing else for the fear of spoiling you.

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I'm not sure I really have favourite parts yet, though I am enjoying all the gory violence, and that looming fear of winter (winter, I'm guessing, is bad). Also, I have a distinct feeling that I'm going to love Tyrion Lannister, and Jon Snow. And possibly Arya Stark as well, because that's the sort of character that I usually tend to like.

(I just found it odd that if you scored high on trustworthiness, you were a Lannister - they don't exactly strike me as being trustworthy, but I could be wrong, I suppose. But snark and cunning I can definitely deal with!)

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