Neb

In the off chance the OP returns to the forums, I have to recommend Portland's largest convention Kumoricon. It attracts over 10,000 guests a year and gets guests like people from Studio Trigger. I had the chance to work as volunteer staff this year and had a blast! There were lots of nice guests from all over the Pacific Northwest there.

Maya Fey from Ace Attorney is the closest thing I've ever had to a waifu. For seven years, I've always loved her outgoing, perky personality. Her cuteness adds to it! As for husbandos, I adore Claude from Fire Emblem. His dashing looks and sense of humor got me right away. I wanted to marry him with my character in the game so badly, but he wasn't available as an option. I went with Flayn instead, to Seteth's dismay.

Like usual I'm playing back and forth between several games at the moment. Most notably, I'm playing Pokémon Violet. Even with the update patch I still get a fair amount of slowdown and glitches. It's still a huge improvement compared to when I bought it on launch. Good lord the game was barely playable back then. I also picked up Dark Souls Remastered and got my butt whooped. I'm really not used to action games with such slow paced combat. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt has also been lifted from the back of my backlog. Aside from being unable to skip the recaps, I really enjoy the game so far. Mixing swordplay with magic is much more fun that I imagined.

In terms of usage I use both equally. Physical books are more satisfying to finish and it’s easier to retain information, while ebooks take up less space and are more portable. When I read to fall asleep at night I read my paper books for a little bit and then switch to my e-reader. My physical books are mostly books I bought that I thought were worth owning. Most of the ebooks I read are from the library and downloaded onto my Kindle. With library ebooks I don’t have to worry about a beat up book and save myself time from having to return it in person. If a library book is impossible to get digitally I will borrow a physical copy though.

During the rare times where I want background music for doing tasks I always go for jazz. It soothes me and improves the atmosphere of wherever I'm at. Bonus points if it's at night.

No. Being overtly hostile to new people is a huge red flag. So is hiding one’s true feelings while acting hostile. They make for entertaining characters though.

I’m 20, almost 21. I was first exposed to anime when I was 5, but I didn’t watch full series on my own until I was 13. As for manga, I started at age 9. Anyone of any age can get into anime and manga. In fact, my 64 year old mother is getting into anime right now! I’m trying to find good shows to start her with.

I plan on rewatching Cowboy Bebop in a few years with one of my moms. She likes sci-fi, action, and good dubs, so I think she’d enjoy it.

A little tired since I'm making myself wake up earlier.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

I’m reading The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

First job - Packaging roasted nuts for a local startup Current job- Unemployed for college dream job - Embassy employee and localizer Fav food- orange chicken Fav dog- havanese Fav candy- high chews Fav ice cream - chocolate chip and mint chocolate Fav vehicle color- blue Fav holiday - Christmas Day if the week- Thursday Tats- None yet Like to cook- Can’t cook Drive stick- Never driven Like veg - yes Wear glasses - Yes Fav season- Winter

I worked and attended at a small convention called Kumoricon in Portland just last month. It was my first convention and I had the pleasure of doing peace bonding for people's cosplay props. In between shifts I browsed the shops. By the end of the convention I ended up spending around $65 on an Oshawott plush and a blu-ray of Memories, a sci-fi anthology anime movie. I do feel like I missed out on parts of Kumoricon since I wasn't able to socialize much despite a few people reaching out. On top of that I didn't go to any panels. I didn't cosplay as anyone myself since I signed up to go last minute. Next year I plan on going to Sakuracon in April and next year's Kumoricon as Tao, a character from the Atelier games.

I chose to study Japanese as a major as a chance to learn it fully. I have zero talent with languages though. Pronunciation comes naturally to me, but everything else is a struggle. Any grammar and vocabulary I have to learn takes months to fully memorize. Don't even get me started on kanji. I always mix the readings up unless it's paired with another symbol to form a specific word. At the rate I'm going I won't be fluent for at least another decade. I've mostly accepted that at this point.

Just a title of this thread took me back. One of my moms and I did it often when I was around 10. My town had quite a few geocaches and it was always fun to see the creative ways people hid them. The stuff inside of them were usually not too exciting, but we always made sure to add some interesting knickknack in exchange. I kind of want to do it again actually.

I drink Starbucks even though I know there are better coffee places in my area. It's just convenient and it usually tastes the same regardless of who makes it. Plus I only drink cold brew and iced coffee and the local cafes only have small cup sizes. I enjoy some girly pop and indie music like Carly Rae Jepson and Pinkpantheress. I like Pokémon games despite the fact every single game in the series has felt rushed since the change to 3D. The older ones still hold up though and Sun and Moon and Scarlet and Violet are good, albeit flawed games. Despite not being that into ecchi I have enjoyed the Senran Kagura series. They're absolutely stupid in terms of story and fan service, but the repetitive combat is pretty enjoyable at times. Steven Universe is one of my all time favorite cartoons even though the show is an absolute mess. Despite the inconsistent scaling, rushed ending, and messy plotlines I still adore the characters and music. The criticisms toward the show are valid, but it still has some things going for it.

It's been consistently around freezing temperatures all week. Every time I take a walk my ears feel incredibly cold. The ice from last week's snow has melted thankfully.

Somewhat? I think I'm going in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go. When I was teen I hated my life. I felt very isolated and had frequent existential crises. Once I got more therapy, went outside more, volunteered at different places, and socialized more online I started to feel a bit better. The freedom of being an adult alone helped a lot. Even so, I still struggle. I have not adapted well to college at all and I have zero planning skills. I study Japanese as a major, but I'm terrible at speaking or reading in the language. I'm three years into studying and I still can't hold a conversation. All of my irl friends either live in a different part of the state now, moved to another state, or are too busy to meet up in person. I've only been able to stay in touch with one of them and our friendship is messy at times. My online friendships are nice, but I can't rely on them alone. I either forget to reach out or they're too busy with work or school to reply more than once a week. My sleep schedule has also been terrible for a good three years now. At the same time I have wonderful parents and grandparents, I'm financially stable, and I live in a much better area than when I was younger. My life is definitely good overall, but like the OP, I feel like something is missing. I only really feel fulfilled nowadays if I'm engrossed in really good entertainment or I'm volunteering for something. The rest of the time I feel like I'm missing something that would make me content. To be honest I have no idea what it is. Maybe once I've adapted to college, make some more connections, get better at the language I'm studying maybe I'll feel more fufilled?

With how quickly virtual reality is developing and how popular VR headsets are nowadays, I expect them to eventually become a mainstream form of entertainment, at least for the next generation. I imagine it'll be like how the internet is now. Many older people in the future who didn't grow up with it won't know how to fully use the tech and just not use it. I imagine a refusal or inability to fully use VR will likely be a gen Z and millennial stereotype for the upcoming generation that will grow up with it. Virtual reality films, TV shows, games, and voice chat will become more common and the non-VR entertainment that exists now will have VR "remasters" that incorporate a fake depth of field effect. The screen resolutions will likely be better, but vary depending on the price of the headset. I've tried a higher end VR headset at a VR café and have my own budget headset and both have been equally blurry. That's because the current technology just doesn't have high enough resolutions to compensate for how close you have to be to the screen. Once 8k and eventually 16k become widespread, I imagine that blurriness will be less noticeable. At the same time I don't think VR will completely replace traditional computer screens or TVs. In the same way that radio still exists despite being dated, I think there will still be plenty of people in the future who will rely on traditional tech. I have always had an eye condition that gives me double vision. As a result I'm more vulnerable to headaches and eye strain. When I wear VR headsets I have to take it off every 30 minutes or else I get a killer headache and my vision splits in two. I imagine people with similar conditions that are worse will not be able to use VR at all. For the sake of those people traditional screens will always have a place.

Since you enjoyed Asobi Asobase, you might like Daily Lives of High School Boys! It’s a solid slice of life skit comedy that genuinely made me laugh out loud at times. In the cute girls doing cute things sub genre, I recommend Non Non Biyori. It’s about four elementary school girls growing up in a small Japanese town. The pace and atmosphere are very relaxing. I’ve found it to be a great way to decompress after watching anime that are more intense.

If you’re interested in the Japanese language anime can be decent exposure and listening practice. Of course you have to be aware that not every character talks like a real person. Some characters will add words that would never appear in an actual Japanese conversation. When it’s natural speaking though I find it very useful. I just have to focus on hearing the sentence first before reading the subtitles. It’s actually helped me remember certain grammar patterns and phrases.

I am obsessed with the Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 3 soundtracks. They both have strong battle themes, cutscene music, and overworld themes. I don’t think there’s a single bad song in either game. The Trails and Ys games have underrated soundtracks as well. They always fit the mood of the situation well.

USA, or the state of Oregon to be more specific. It's not perfect, but it's my home.

For seasonals I'm watching Bocchi The Rock, Urusei Yatsura, and Chainsaw Man. I enjoy all three, but for very different reasons. I'm also watching Azumanga Daioh and Code Geass. The former is extremely enjoyable even though I already know all the jokes from the manga. The latter is... not my favorite. I just don't like the protagonist very much and the story is a bit out there for me. I also don't like how narrow the characters are either.

Sometimes when a character talks in an overly cutesy or angsty tone in an anime I've mimicked them to poke fun of how silly they sound. I've only done this at home, so only my parents have heard it. A few times they asked "are you talking to yourself in Japanese," and I had to say yes.