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It has been discussed.

I can say this year has been-- in spite of being completely overwhelmed at times-- overall going in a good direction for me. I've starting picking up more and more books. This year so far I've consumed 28 and counting, alternating and trying out new genres which I didn't expect I'd like (legal drama? Yesss!) My relationship with my mom is in the trash but I'm still going to therapy and learning how to let go of toxic family and friends. Our home search hasn't turned up with results yet, but the market is competitive and we have a shortage of houses here. We remain vigilant, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed something suitable turns up and we can land an offer on it. I'm just devoting more of a focus on myself this year. Improving myself. I haven't been overly interested in anyone else's drama. My social life is debatable, but it doesn't bother me at all because I'm happy with the connections I do keep and cherish, and that's all that matters to me right now. I can worry about finding new friends later, when I've got this me thing down. I'm staying healthy both physically and mentally and I've really grown into being a mom to my awesome daughter who turns one on the 2nd. I'm still struggling with work, but I've been taking classes online and, if I work hard and everything goes right, I can be out of the frontline by June next year or earlier. @efaardvark Get this man a raise! @RepentantSky How have you been? Haven't seen much of you at all for a long time now.

I really think if you slow down and watch maybe 2 or 3 episodes at a time, that will do a lot to help you actually finish an anime. If you watch 90% of an anime in one day, no matter how good it is, it won't feel nearly as grand as it really should and you'll never be satisfied. It's my belief that when you take your time and give yourself breaks, you're able to not only experience the story for longer, but you also give yourself a lot more time to fully absorb the events of the story. When you go full "binge" there isn't any time to reflect on past events, it's just a constant uninterupted flow. As a whole, I think we'll be able to recognize more true classics in the future if the anime community as a whole practices this. If we all binge anime at top speed, the magic just kinda fades. Grand stories aren't meant to be experienced in their entirety from 11am to 9pm on a Tuesday in July.

Just finished the 1st paragraph of my book & my stomach is already in knots. My goodness, I wonder if this ever happens to Stephen King...

Drawing...

Well, really the PM system is in place for single-point-to-point interaction of users for matters they'd rather keep out of the public eye. It's akin to a whisper feature on a chat. It's also a place for rampant TOS violation. That's generally why people keep to the open forums. Not to mention, if you're more active on the site, a chat option does become available. Just throwing that out there.

I got this last week. If you're a Youjo Senki fan, you'll recognize it as the weapon Mary uses / and the rest of the United States. I won't talk about why that's absolute blasphemy and wrong. If you're more history minded you'll know it is in fact an M1 Garand - a Springfield model. This one was produced in the Spring of 1942, with a barrel date from 1944. All but the trigger group are Springfield parts. I won a lottery in this gambit, $650 for it, turns out it's well over $2,000 in value.

So True...

I'm CatSoul, as I've been referred to on MAL for years. (Some who know me on Discord have also referred to me as "Bananya".) My taste is perhaps a little unusual not just because of the abundance of furry anime in my favorites, but my main goal when searching for anime is just looking for something entertaining. I was really active on forums in elementary/middle school, but fell out of it as a lot of the ones I was on died (and the majority of the Internet went from a lot of small forums to a couple of big places). I also somehow got 6,000+ posts on the MAL forums, the majority of which I cannot remember. However, I do think that forums in general deserve more love and hope to spend a lot of time on here. Nice to meet you all!

Happy Birthday, ALL MIGHT!!!

I've been very fortunate so far in 2020. I haven't gotten sick & I still have my job, so those are things I am most definitely thankful for. This year has made me sit down & re-priortize my goals. I've gotten much more serious about improving my health & losing weight, I've actually begun writing my book, I've walked away from people & situations that simply aren't for me, & I'm making some big plans to do a few things I've always wanted to do once all this calms down.

Finally got around to starting a game in Link's Awakening. I am really enjoying it so far. No idea why I put off playing it for so long. Love the visuals of it.

Like your profile's cover pic. Looks like Reki from Haibane Renmei.

Well, I wouldn't exactly know the margin of normalcy from the various perspectives out there. My personal routine has certainly been a colorful one over the years. Though I often feel like certain individuals on the outside of this tend to romanticize the adventure. What started out as soul searching in my early teens became exhausting in my late twenties. After a health scare in the family, I really wanted to do as much as possible in life. My days usually start out doing an hour or so of working out. Most of my hobbies just require a particular level of fitness. I like camping but also rock climbing and spear fishing. I dabbled in archery for a long time. It's a target sport for me, never liked the idea of hunting unless it was a dire need. I love animals too much. Before COVID-19, I volunteered cleaning and bottle feeding lambs at a sanctuary that I liked to visit. I've been ankle deep in mud, grubs and excrement and the smell of urine stuck in my nostrils for almost a week. It's worth it, though. Animals are amazing creatures. As for camping. I've had a bug fly into my ear, which is the single most terrifying experience I'd never want anyone to go through. It was in there for about two days, until we found an emergency clinic to remove it. Now I sleep with very comfy ear plugs! Yuck! Then there's mosquitoes, sweltering heat and either scorpions or wolf spiders that like to drop by the tent and say hello. Still, getting to see the sunset/rise on top of a summit or cliff shelf or by a beautiful lake tops all the cons thus far. I also did a two month photography project at a workshop in Africa. It was the most nerve-racking experience of my life. Aside from getting some nice shots of the local wildlife and landscapes. The area became too dangerous to keep the workshop running. We never got to make contact with the locals. It was not worth the trip or money (including travel immunizations) but hey, trial and error? My favorite part of rock climbing is reaching the summit. Surprisingly, not for the rush of accomplishment but because it looks like a whole different planet from up there. Especially granite rock. Makes it look like you're on Mars! There's all kinds of plant life and pools of water with life, where you'd never expect to find them. Just at 550+ m above sea level you start finding minnows, it's incredible. Several years ago I did a lot of traveling. Germany, Basque, Chile, England. Most of it was with a group of friends. We didn't like going alone or small groups—there was about eleven or twelve of us. Sometimes, we learned things the hard way. Like realizing you're being swindled on prices, being manipulated over the laws so people can take advantage of your situation/surroundings or feed their ego about knowing what's best. Rental car troubles, shady department stores. It's kind of crazy out there. Then I kind of got exhausted from it all in my mid-twenties and wanted to take my life more seriously. Finished college, got a home, took on some pretty heavy responsibilities. My hobbies turned into making a garden, creating my own clothing and various arts. Things you can do in the comfort of your home. Fostering dogs, Pitties at first. Then I started investing in abused and rescue dogs. Which was a ton of work. I've had some in my care that were in terrible shape. I've adopted four that came from the absolute worst environments. It was a long, tiresome process to get them back to being a normal doggo. I remember making a blanket fort around my kitchen table for my dog, Nero. Slowly I introduced myself to his space by sleeping in it with him. That was the most welcoming back pain, at five in the morning, when my day started and I had to go to work. Also took some classes via my vet on living with/training a blind dog that I have. My fifth and final dog was unexpected. I inherited her from my late grandmother. She's a little troublemaker and came to me during a period of my life in which I guess I needed her most. Funny how the universe works. She taught me a different kind of patience and helped me back on a path of calm. I've never been inspired by anime characters or other types of fictional mediums in this sense. It was more of a rude awakening that life is short, and it happened at an early age when I had more freedom. I do like to be as helpful as possible and inspire people to follow their passion(s) when they can. This kind of life was normal to us; my group of friends and I. However, people that are not accustomed to these types of lifestyles like to view them or portray them in unrealistic tones at times. I've met people bored with their lives, completely unprepared for what they were getting into and absolutely regretting it in terms of sensible excitement. They were inspired or enchanted in some shape or form about what they see and hear and the experience is a little different from that. Hopefully, they still gain a sense of appreciation. Ultimately, it's nice to find people that are partaking and enjoying where their interests are. I'm sure there's a myriad of obstacles and idealization in the forte territory of another's journey, like any other field or curiosity. I'm glad that discussing our lives can be an exciting point of view but the world is filled with excitement regardless. I've been wowed by glow worms. GLOW WORMS! Chillin' out and doing their glow-thingy. I think people that chase after their interests, no matter what they are, are exciting people. There are realms of knowledge that are the backbone of society and necessity that I know nothing about. It's engraved in my person that tech savvy, industrial people are the reason some of us can live comfortably. For me, it's not too much of a fleeting realization. I've met a lot of likeminded people from the journey. If people see me as entertaining I would really like to point out all the pros and cons and how one is virtually impossible without the other. When someone tells me: "wow, that sounds like so much fun". I like to remind them that I had a bug in my ear for two days. Buzzing around and biting for nearly an hour before it died in there. I would trade that moment in for a cup of coffee on the sofa, any day. Yet, seeking adventure is always like this. It's a love/hate relationship. I hope you find people specific to what you're looking for. It's wonderful to have a person/group that gets how you're feeling or what you're experiencing or wishing to experience.

All things considered, I'm holding up surprisingly well. Right now, I'm mostly just going with the flow and riding out whatever wave is coming towards me. Despairing isn't really gonna help me much, so I've just been learning how to cope and make the best out of my situation. As for positive things: I've lost 10kgs since the start of March. I've been meaning to lose weight for years, and this year was the first time I had any long lasting success with keeping my weight down. So there's that, at least.

This is neat:

Good luck wit that. Seriously, if I found anyone like that I'd keep her for myself. (Though I would agree on the "Maybe not as crazy or manipulative.." bit as well.) I've been on a somewhat similar quest for quite a long time now. She either doesn't exist or is already taken. At this point I'd consider anyone who just satisfies the criteria of always voting in elections but hasn't voted "D" or "R" for the past several cycles. Someone who would seriously consider a ticket to Mars on one of SpaceX's Starships if/when they ever get those going would also be a plus. I know, dream on right? Still, there's got to be at least 2 or 3 of them out there somewhere. Probably not going to find them on places like facebook, twitter, tinder, or in a google search though.

Rewatching InuYasha for lulz

I'm watching Dragon Pilot and Little Witch Academia

I found my monitor. Now I just need to win the lotto.

Not too many. Around the time I started watching anime it was a rarity to find others that knew what it was in my area. It was difficult to find anyone that had seen anime that predated shows like Sailor Moon or DBZ. I was stuck discussing DBZ and Pokemon most of the times. Later, when we grew apart beyond school, I probably had one or two people at work that talked about anime. I have siblings but they never really got into it. Funny enough, when my mother was recovering from surgery at my place, she popped in a few Studio Ghibli films and was hooked. Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are her favorites. Recently she saw A Silent Voice and Carole & Tuesday.

Had yogurt again this time vanilla flavored was very yummy.

Got a travel Chinese tea set for when I go camping. Used it twice already and love it!

YA-HO! I'M NEKORA! IM NEW HERE. I WATCH ANY GENRE OF ANIME AND READ MANGAS. BEEN WATCHING ANIME SINCE I WAS A YOUNGIN LOL. I HAVE WAY TOO MANY HUSBANDOS WAAH~ . PLEASE TO MEET YOU ALL (人･㉨･)♡. P.S.: IMMA CRY WHEN ATTACK ON TITAN ENDS :'((((.

Welcome to the forums, hope you enjoy it here .

Lemon pepper broiled shrimp that I made for dinner:

My first digital art

Apparently it is not possible for my head to remain still while watching this video.

Subs, always. Or nothing. I’m not conversational but I understand spoken Japanese well enough that I often don’t even need the subtitles.

I prefer to choose sub tittle....because original voice not change

I normally watch subs, but my “when mom is around anime’s” include the dubbed version of Naruto. Apparently she read it has milder language. So, sometimes I watch dubs.

I really need to stop watching this show too close to bed time as it leaves all sorts of thoughts rattling around in my head Shisho (Kazuma) has surpassed Hatori as my 2nd favorite Sohma as he is an ally in helping Tohru break Akito’s hold on the zodiac members, especially Kyo. At the same time he is concerned for her safety & points out that the best thing she can probably do is continue to be a beacon of hope against the despair Akito tries to impose on them. His view of Akito as an unstable child seems spot on with much of her behavior best described as tantrums. While not aware of the exact nature of the zodiac curse, I agree with his suspicion that they are bound to the roles they have been assigned. Interesting how the word “bond” can have either positive or negative connotations depending on how it is used. The whole thing between Kyo & Kagura was bittersweet. Clear that she’s known for quite sometime her feelings for Kyo were not altruistic. Starting out as pity & later as guilt, believing that if she could make herself fall in love with him it would serve as atonement. I don’t think Kyo saying he would never fall in love with her was meant as cruel but telling her she can stop trying to make it up to him. And even if her initial motives were selfish, she at least played with him which was more than anyone else was willing to do. So he is grateful for at least giving him some reprieve from his loneliness. Him referring to her as “big sis” in the flashback scene I think expresses how he has always felt about her. Still I think it was painful for her to realize that she could never be there for him the way Tohru could after seeing the difference in their reactions to his cursed form. Now that I’ve got at least some of that down, gonna try to fall asleep. G’night.

i could watch either. but i do watch sub more. i think sometimes it just depends on what your use to hearing with that certain anime. Because sometimes i will watch one with dub and then sub and i may like the dub more in that certain anime.

Dr.Stone.

Sea shells or elbows for me but sea shells I rarely do.

Welcome to the forums, hope you enjoy it here I’ve always been a life long dog person myself, but did enjoy My Roommate is a Cat. And then there’s Karyl

Welcome to the forums, @ChimChimisahim. Hmmm.... tell me about this cat you say you have....

I am currently watching this anime called Kyousougiga, its an anime made in 2015 and has a weird style on the Alice in Wonderland Mirror city thing going on. Hard to follow, but its fun to watch

i'd like to talk about today's sponsor - RAiD: ShaDoW lEGeNDs

Adding to my t shirt collection

Hi everybody! I drew this sketch based on the film “My neighbor Totoro” and I made a speed-drawing video of it. I hope you like it YT Channel: Link in profile Instagram: Link in profile Good luck.

Gleipnir

I am loving Tower of God and recently picked up the Webtoon.

Your banner is awesome!

I don't think that, as a creator, staying completely away from the bad stuff is a good idea. If nothing else you're requiring someone else to decide for you what is "good" or "bad" so that you never have to bother with the latter. (If only it were that simple. ) I also believe it is very rare that something is entirely bad, with no redeeming features whatsoever. True there's the time issue. You simply can't evaluate everything personally. You certainly don't want to emulate the bad parts in your own material however, even inadvertently due to ignorance. Learning a lesson from other peoples' bad examples is actually a valuable skill, professionally speaking. The trick of course is to recognize what makes something "good" or "bad" and then deliberately integrating the "good" parts into your own material while rejecting and avoiding the "bad". And yes, the subjective definitions of "good" and "bad" make it all that much harder.

Want a chance to be featured as AFs member of the month? Wondering what it takes? Participating in contests 🖋 Writing anime reviews Uploading art content in the gallery Creating blog posts Are all wonderful ways to become featured!