#blackmoormanor

[sonnyswoon]

Me as soon as my alarm goes off in the morning

[askthegirldetective]

//dude, @blackmoormanor have you seen this???

//like at least they put credit i guess, but it’s really weird to me that they did this?

[joesdrift]

I just realized I have had this blog for over 3 years and I just want to shout out: blackmoormanor, sonnywuzhere, differencedetective, and youcanfindmoreeggsthanthat, for being some of the first blogs I ever followed.  I love the clue crew!

[thebrothershardy]

Thanks for making the icons, they look awesome! :)

You’re super welcome! I’m glad you like them :)

[thebrothershardy]

Hey! Could you maybe make a Christmas icon featuring Ethel? ♥♥♥

Of course!! I made a few and added them all to the bottom of the icon page :)

[karenplaysnancydrew]

Hi! I'm Ana and I'm form upstate NY (currently in Rhode Island). My favorite food is basically any breakfast food, and my favorite books are the Harry Potter series. The most frustrating moment in an ND game for me was definitely the chemical puzzle in HAU. Other random fact: I'm obsessed with art history! :)

HELL YEAH BREAKFAST FOOD AND HARRY POTTER

art history is one of those things that I think is v. cool from afar but don't ever actually actively learn about

[agownofcoalandglowingflame]

I'm pretty sure the description thing I sent earlier didn't go through, so I'm going to send it again, if you don't mind! :) I'm quiet and shy, creative, optimistic, and smart. I like literature, history, and math. I like to read, write, and draw. Basically I just constantly try to be nice but probably fail at it lol (I hate describing myself but this seems accurate enough!)

Weird, I didn’t get it, but I’ll gladly do one for you!

Ok quiet/shy and optimistic, that makes me think of Kyler, but I’m also getting some Heather-y vibes!

[thegoldengardenia-blog]

Thanks to nancypaulbunyandrew for tagging me! These questions were tons of fun to answer.

1. Pick a style of music you enjoy. What about it do you like so much? Hmm, I love almost all music, so...ugh, I can't think of anything too specific. I enjoy soundtracks because they normally employ classical orchestration but include other stuff as well, like certain percussion or electronic instruments. I also enjoy J-pop and K-pop because their lyrics normally tell a much deeper story than English. And Japanese especially just works with vocal music, because its pronunciation doesn't automatically stress any given syllables in a word, so you can put the word basically anywhere in a song and it won't sound weird. I also really really love classical organ music, probably because the instrument itself has this deep and authoritative sound that just makes you sit up and take notice, and also because it gives this instant impression of pomp and circumstance and historical ritual.

2. Any favorite historical figures? Not really, for some reason. I like Tesla, but it's just kind of a "passing" interest there, like "yeah, Tesla was cool". I guess the closest thing to favorite "historical" figures would be the people who worked on the original Star Trek. But I usually tend to admire people from more recent times, rather than historical figures.

3. What was the last adventure you went on? Well, I went to Chicago back in May and had a grand old time, which was really surprising because I'd expected to be overly nervous and losing sleep and stuff. But instead I ended up feeling better than I normally do and having lots of fun, so that was good, lol.

4. Is there a particular area of knowledge you wished you knew more about? I wish I was better at the more technical aspects of music, like reading/writing sheets, musical theory and expressions, that sort of thing. Most of my knowledge just comes from me picking up techniques by ear, so I can never explain myself.

5. What would you change about a particular ending in a book/movie that you were unsatisfied with? Whew, I'm really picky so there are probably tons of examples I can't think of at the moment. One ending that aggravated me was in Tamora Pierce's first Circle of Magic book, where the main (young) characters are in trouble and do all this fancy magic stuff to try and save themselves but end up getting saved "for real" by the adults instead. I know it was probably meant as a "you're just a kid so don't try to do everything yourself" adage because that same message got really overbearing by the beginning of the second book, but it was disappointing. I mean, really, everything was very exciting with the discovery of hidden strengths and all, and then suddenly here come the adults taking care of everything. Yay.

6. Are you creative at all? What do you like making? (This applies to anything: art, writing, sewing, arts and crafts, gardening, cooking….just about anything) This probably sounds weird but I'm kind of too creative? Like, I love to write prose/verse/script, I love to play piano, I love to sing, and lately I've been getting more interested in composing and arranging music. I also do digital art (i.e. tracing photos and then making them into paintings because my real drawing skills are nonexistent) and make graphics and such, I like photography and knitting, and I'm interested in directing (TV more than cinema, though). So yeah, there's always a really big potential that I'll spend way too much money and/or waste way too much time on all these interests, lol. message me if you want some of my pointless creative energy!

7. If you could go back in time and give a younger version of yourself advice, what would you say? Oh, boy. I think the biggest pieces of advice I'd give myself would be "don't let your guard down", "don't take things too seriously" and "don't be too easygoing" because I basically brought so much trouble on myself by doing all of the above.

8. Any culture/language other than your own that particularly interests you? Japan! For one, I'm learning/teaching myself Japanese, which is really fascinating to me because of the grammar, the slang, the idiomatic phrases, etc.. And although I probably wouldn't want to live in Japan myself, the culture and people are interesting as well. One thing that I find really intriguing is the concept of politeness, which is quite different than in the West sometimes. For example, if someone asks you to do something that you don't want to do, you don't say "no thank you" - you ignore them completely, or you say "I'll do my best" and then do nothing. I've had personal experience with both those reactions and it's really kind of disconcerting at first! But there are other facets to Japanese culture that I love, like how public service announcements don't say things like "fasten your seatbelt", they say "let's all fasten our seatbelts" to give this "group effort" feeling. I could go on!

9. If you had six months of free time, with no financial worries and the ability to go anywhere or do anything, what would you do? First things first, I would visit Ireland (maybe Scotland too) with my mom for a month, and then go to Egypt for another month and tour all the tombs and temples and such. I think in between I'd take a month to go through Europe and look at the ruins and visit the big cities and such. Then for the other three months I guess we'd stay in Japan and just hang out and experience it, go to concerts and meet people and stuff. I dunno what else because I really don't have any huge wanderlust, and my mom just wants to visit Ireland/Egypt.

10. What is the craziest dream you can remember having? Ugh, I almost always have crazy dreams. Seriously, most of my dreams are more surreal than realistic. I think some of the most crazy ones were this recurring theme I used to have, of falling from a huge flight of stairs, where I'd wake up with my heart really pounding. There was like no context to the dreams at all except falling out of control. Ugh.

11. If your life were a novel/movie, what would be the title? Heh, I have this sort of personal inside joke where I call myself the "maniac girl", so I guess that would be the title. I am pretty much a maniac anyway (I get very obsessive about things I like, to the point of just surrounding myself with them for months on end), so I guess it fits.

My questions:

Have you ever spoken with a celebrity? (asking them a question on Twitter and getting it answered, saying hi to them in person, etc.)

How many languages do you speak?

When was the last time you argued with someone? Was it minor or major?

Are you a perfectionist?

Do you have cable? If so, do you watch more cable shows than broadcast ones?

Do you prefer buying CDs or downloading MP3s from iTunes/Amazon/etc?

What's your favorite means of transportation? (Driving, biking, walking, train, plane, boat...)

If you could work for Her in whatever department you chose, what would you be doing?

Your favorite book genre and why?

If you were asked to travel to a distant planet as a colonist, would you agree or decline the offer?

Would you drastically change your personal appearance? Why or why not?