No one can live in the light all the time
Name: Elizabeth, I go by Liz
Age: 18.5
Location: Nebraska
Are you open to cross-gender votes? Of course!
Would you be open to being voted as characters who are not in your age range? Would you prefer to be voted as a character who is within your age range? I'm open to cross-gender, cross-age, whatever!
1. What are your three defining positive traits? Explain how you exhibit each trait in everyday life.
Sense of humor
I like being able to make people laugh, seeing somone smile or hearing them giggle over something I've done or said pretty much just makes my day! Also, being able to make light of unpleasant or uncomfortable situations has helped me to feel better in the past, to not look back on those situations with as much pessimism as I could have. Also, it helps that I have a group of friends that are as random as me-we feed off each others' energies, it's great!
Intelligence
It's one thing to know everything, it's quite another to know a few things that make up the foundation of a subject, and to then expand upon them. That's what I tend to to do, and it serves me well in school & work, among other things. I like being well-informed, so I read the paper and watch the news when I can-though I can't as much I'd like because of work, more's the pity.
Creativity
I write as a hobby, and it allows me to express things I couldn't say out loud, especially my poems. Also, my poems have gotten some recognition, and I'm fairly sure one's going to be published. It's always nice to be noticed, to get a little necognition for the work you've done. Plus, it has the added bonus of keeping me from tearing my own hair out from boredom. ~_^
2. What are your three defining negative traits? Explain how you exhibit each trait in everyday life.
Stubborn
I'm stubborn to the point of idiocy & pigheadedness occasionally. I refuse to back down from my position, even when I'm proven wrong. But by then, it's usually a matter of trying to protect my pride. Also, arguments with me generally aren't a good idea...sometimes I try to browbeat people into agreeing with me. They don't generally rank among my finer moments.
Sharp-tongued
I have a tendency to shoot my mouth off before I know all the facts about...well, anything. I'll yell at my family, insult my close friends, or snap at people I hardly even know. And since I have a big vocabulary...sometimes the insults I use are pretty creative. *winces* More often than not, people get pissed, they get upset, and I get into trouble. And the cycle just keeps repeating itself. *facepalm*
Withdrawn
When I get upset, sometimes, instead of talking to someone about it, I'll just go off into my own little space and brood. On the surface, I'm maintaining that everything's fine, even though I just want to be left alone to dwell. Coupled with my rather excellent memory (not trying to brag, honest!), the potential for dwelling on bad things, past and present, just grows exponentially.
3. If you were studying in Spence, which would be your favorite place? (By the lake, garden, church, caves, etc.) Why? Probably by the lake, because I've always felt at peace around water. In fact, there's a place at Holmes Lake (a lake here in my town) that I like to go and sit, listen to music, think...in general, be by myself and enjoy that time.
4. Would you have stolen the wine from the church in order to be in Felicity's group? Why or why not? If you weren't part of their crowd, what kind of clique would you be in, if any? Why? I probably would have done it, if only to prove to them that I wasn't going to back down from their challenge, that they didn't scare me. Because not doing it would probably have made me an outcast for the rest of my time at Spence. But if I wasn't in their clique, I probably would've kept mostly to myself. That's how I am when I don't know many people, if I'm not in a group. I'd probably be a loner bookworm. =)
5. If the Door of Light were to appear in front of you and you were to go into the realms, what would you choose to do in them? What would they be like for you? Well, they'd definitely be by a pretty good-sized body of water-a lake, an ocean, what have you. As for what I would do in them...I'd probably wish to be intensely creative, and do all my writing there. And if it was possible, I'd bring my beta Crystal with me, so she could help me if I needed it. That and I'd like to meet her in person...she seems really cool.
6. Do you think the power of the realms should be shared by the members of the Order? Why or why not? I think it should be shared, actually this question reminded me of a quote from National Treasure: "They thought the treasure was too great for any one man, even a king." I think that kind of fits here. It also ties in with that whole "Who will guard the guards?" thing. The Order could maintain they're in control, but who's going to keep them that way?
7. If you were a woman living in the Victorian Era, what do you think your life would have been like based on how it is now, your ambitions, and place in society? I'd probably be a bit of an oddball. I like to do my own thing, I kind of bridle at others (I guess in the Victorian Era that'd be men) telling me what to do. And if I was aspiring to teach history back then (it's an option I'm considering now) people might wonder if I was doing that because I couldn't get married. In short-life would be very different. And I'm not too sure I'd like it, in fact I'm pretty sure I'd hate it.
8. If you were granted power by the realms and could use it inside and outside of the realms, what would you choose to do with it? I can't say for certain that I wouldn't use the power to fix things about my appearance that I don't like. Mainly shrinking my pores and cleaning up a few "problem areas"...but that strikes me as selfish. *sigh* I'd probably still do it, knowing me. I'd also try to use it to help people...because if I used it purely for my own gain, I most likely wouldn't be able to live with myself later. That's just how I am.
9. What is your favorite scene (A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels combined)? Why?
I really like the first couple of scenes after they take the power out of the realms. Turning the statue into an ugly cancan dancer, Gemma speaking fluent French, taking away Cecily's voice, fixing Pippa's dress-those are all the kinds of things I would do. And believe me, if I'd had that power during high school, I would've been in Spanish 3/4 my sophomore year. ~_^ It's those kind of experiments that always seem the most fun to me.
10. What is your favorite quote from the books? Why? "Better that I hurt myself than be hurt by them. It stings less."~Ann Bradshaw-I like it because I used to cut myself, and that was often how I felt during and right after. And I think it brings Ann down to an extremely human level, it made her more relateable, especially for me.
11. Pick one character among Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa. Tell us what she (the character you chose) could have done differently. (We are sure you did not agree with their every action.) I think that (if it were me) Gemma wouldn't have put the whiskey on Felicity's chair. I mean, I know she was angry, but that seems like a pretty childish move to me. I would've gone for something a little bit sneakier (I can't think of anything at the moment, lol), something less likely to get both of us in deep trouble.
12. Which A Great and Terrible Beauty/Rebel Angels older character would you consider as a good role model? Why? I think that Ms. Moore (before we find out she's evil, and everything) would be a good role model. She encourages the girls to learn, no matter what their futures have in store for them. "Your mind is not a cage. It is a garden, and it requires cultivating." I couldn't agree more-it's probably why I read as much as I do.
13. Sort these words in order of appeal to you: beauty - glory - security - power - wealth - self-fulfillment - freedom. Explain your answer.
Freedom-I'm rather in love with my free will. I like being able to make my own choices, regardless of the consequences of those choices, positive or negative. It's making the choice that's important to me. The reason my father and I get into so many fights is because he tries to control what I can and can't do with things that are mine. And that really pisses me off.
Self-fulfillment-I want to be happy, just like I'm sure everyone else does. I mean, who wants to go through life thinking they didn't spend their years doing things they liked or wanted to do? I want to publish my book & fall in love, those are the two big ones. Everything else on top of that is just gravy.
Beauty-I'll admit it, I'm a little bit shallow. That's probably the reason this is third on the list. I've never been what anyone would call a beauty, so I'd kind of like to be a little bit better looking. And sometimes I can't help but wonder if I was passed over for things because of the way I look...so I'd like to remedy that.
Security-I'd love to be emotionally and financially stable, to know that if something unexpected popped up, I'd at least be able to handle the worst of it. I kind of want the whole "house, husband, and children" thing, stable family, stable job-but stable doesn't have to be boring.
Wealth-I debated between making this the fourth or fifth choice. But in the end I put it here, for a couple of reasons. One, now that I have a job, I realize how hard it is to manage money properly, and how hard some people have to work for crap wages. Two, because...when I wasn't working, I didn't miss the things I couldn't do without money, because I rarely got to do them. So it wasn't really important.
Glory-I don't take compliments very well, so tons of praise and accolades being heaped upon me probably would just embarass me. And I don't like feeling like all eyes are upon me-my knees start shaking and you can barely hear me when I speak. The only exception being if I finally finished my book and published it. Then I probably wouldn't mind, because I have a feeling it'd take 2 or 3 years to finish.
Power-"With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly. Do not tempt me!"~Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring
I guess I'm sort of afraid that if I got a bit of power, I'd mishandle it, and I don't want that to happen. We don't need a Sauron-esque figure running around...and while I'd like to be in a position of power at work, I don't want it to go to my head. If that makes any sense at all. LOL
14. If possible, please post one or more pictures of yourself here. This is not mandatory, but if you do have pictures, you're encouraged to post them.
(Sorry that this one's kinda small...I tried cropping it, obviously with questionable results, LOL)
(Me in costume for Kiss Me, Kate)
(I'm the one in black)