welcome to maple's Q&A page!

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You can check all the Q&A's so far by clicking on the tab pages on the sides!
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The newest one is under the 4th Q&A tab!
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This was the first Q&A I did, thank you everyone for sending questions!

1. What sort of music do you listen to?
I don't think I fit into a genre category, but I can try to summarize it a bit... I'm very into 70s 80s 90s music - like Men at Work, Tears for Fears, Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, The Cure, Todd Rundgren, Kate Bush, that kind of stuff! Or 80-90s Japanese citypop kind of stuff. I also really enjoy some rock bands (e.g. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Rush, The Smashing Pumpkins...etc). I think I'm very nostalgic with music, and I got my taste from what my mom and dad used to listen to. That's one part of it. The other part is a bit more modern stuff I think - my favourites include Måneskin, Tennis, DJO, and Hozier. If you are curious you can find a link to my spotify account somewhere in my blog, haha

2. Do you prefer coffee or tea? & what kind?
Tea! I'm not a big coffee drinker. If I'm having coffee, it needs to be like a latte (iced or hot) - just plain black coffee is not my thing. I'm obsessed with matcha, I think is my favourite drink out of anything! I like it with oatmilk. Besides that, black tea or green tea is what I usually have. Before sleep I also like a 'bedtime' infusion kind of tea (with chamomile, lavender, etc!)

3. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
As a morning person, I think it's very hard not to. I'm a glass-half-full kind of girl, so even when things are hard and I'm sad or anxious, getting out of bed is already such a good part of my day that makes it hard to really answer this question. On harder days, I'd say being there for the people I love is what makes me get up - for example, waking up to make my boyfriend coffee. It's the small things.

4. Fav character or mascot? like snoopy, miffy, etc? + Do you have a favorite character? Out of anything?
Miffy, hands down! I love lots of characters like Snoopy, Pompompurin, Moomin, Rilakkuma... but if I had to choose one, it'd be Miffy. Besides cutesy mascots like that, I always found hard to have a favourite character from books, movies, or tv shows... I could never decide or say one that I relate to a lot.

5. Any regrets?
Yes and no. There's really just one thing that really comes to mind when I read that question, and it is one that I "regret" now, looking back, as the person I am - but at the time, what I did was the best decision for me. I wouldn't be able to bear it then. Sorry to be so mysterious, I promise the actual thing is not very interesting or big at all, but I don't think I can share here! Writing it would make me cry and I hate that.

6. What are your life goals & qualities you try to embody in daily life?
I try to be a better version of myself everyday. The only thing I have that I can control is the present. I also have been trying to be kinder (specially to myself) and to have more patience. I'm tired of hating myself and not allowing me to be happy; I was always waiting for the moment "when": when I get skinnier, when I buy this dress, when I grow up... that got me nowhere.
As to life goals: to be happy. To have a cosy home. To be able to surround myself with people I love or to be able to travel a lot to see them. I don't have bigger dreams than those!

7. Fav movie?
You are in luck, cause the other day I sent my friend a list of my top 20 movies. I cannot choose ONE favourite, sorry!! But here are the top 10:
The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Grand Hotel Budapest, The French Dispatch, The Devil Wears Prada, Pride and Prejudice, Sister Act, The Addams Family, Howl's Moving Castle and Picnic at Hanging Rock. Let me know if you ever want the other 10, hahaha

8. What's your MBTI?
INFP-T. I think that surprises no one?

9. You said you had surgery, can you say for what?
It was a dermatofibroma (or at least that's what the doctor thinks it is! I'm still waiting on the lab analysis). It was a small nodule thing on my left arm, so I had the surgery to remove it. It was very deep, the doctor said, so I had to get around 15 stitches on it - and because of that, I can't really do anything that would force it a bit, like lifting or carrying stuff with that arm! Besides that, it's all okay and painless.

10. Do you believe in astrology? What's your sign?
I sure do!! I grew up around this stuff, my mom always studied it, gave courses on it, etc. I'm an Aquarius Sun, Libra Moon and Pisces Rising.

this was my second Q&A, to celebrate 20k views! thank you

1. Silly little sleepover type question but do you have a crush at the moment?
Yes - my boyfriend is still my crush, even after 10 years of being together! (:

2. hi maple! how long have you been playing neopets!? i love ur site <3
Hi there!! Thank you! My first account (that I no longer have access to) was made in 2006. I must have played for 2-3 years and then lost access (and a bit of interest, at that point). My new account was made in 2022, and I made it to have a fun little distraction every other day - who knew I would get so attached to those silly pixels?

3. Take the chance to tell us anything you want. From your friend, Vashti
Hi Vashti ♡ thank you for that! Hmm this is hard to think of a random thing to tell... how about my childhood teddy bear? I got him when I turned one. My uncle brought it from the US (he's an airplane pilot). It was my favourite thing in the whole world - I still have him, and besides the music thing on his back that doesn't work anymore, he's basically still perfect! I love him dearly. I named him Botcho - as my mom tells the story, I was once with him and someone asked what was his name, and I blurted Botcho very quickly, as if I had named him in secret ever since the day I got him and just never told anyone. Botcho means nothing, it's probably just a combination of syllables that I could sound it out as a one year old, but it stuck! I never even brought him to Belgium with me, because the idea of losing him with my baggage or something terrifies me. So he is safe and sound at home, in my bed.

4. Any habits or rituals from your daily life?
To be honest, everyday is different for me. I work as a freelance graphic designer, so I make my own hours and I have no office to go to. Lately I haven't had much work at all, so I have more free time for myself. In the mornings I shower, tidy the apartment a bit, maybe clean something. Some mornings I go out for a walk and a coffee. I have lunch by myself, so I like to take my time to cook something nice and full of vegetables. I usually watch something on Youtube or Netflix while I eat. The afternoons are a bit more random: somedays I have to go grocery shopping (at least 3x a week), so I do that (and maybe stop at some other shops on the way), I cook my boyfriend's lunch for the next day, study for a bit, read (at home or at a coffeeshop), or maybe that day I go to the library and read there, pick up a new book. I like tidying up the apartment, vacuuming and then making myself a matcha latte to relax after. Around 7pm my boyfriend comes back from work, so we eat dinner together while watching something (rewatching Twin Peaks with him atm!) and we take our vitamins. Around 10:30pm I'm already sleepy.
I want to get back into working out at home again. Even though most days I walk 10k steps, I still would like to exercise a bit more! Sorry this was long and I'm not sure if it's what you wanted for an answer.

5. You said you like Japanese city-pop, so what are your recs?
Tatsuro Yamashita is one of my favourite artists. His stuff is not on Spotify, so I recommend listening to his stuff on Youtube or downloading it and putting on your phone (thanks, iTunes!)
If you want a playlist though, here's mine.

6. Hi Tabi! I want to know what is your blogs/ sites/ neocities inspirations for your own site? Either for the content or the visuals.
For visuals, I was a bit inspired by meixins for the nostalgic thing of clicking around in images instead of just a list of links... but what inspired me the most with this layout was my love of digital collages! I'm a landing addict (even though I don't publish my boards on there anymore... I save them and use for blog posts or other personal things!), and also enjoy making little collages to post on social media, those all made on Photoshop (you can see them also on my photo diary).
For the content, not really inspired by any other site or blog. I had personal blogs while growing up and always enjoyed sharing things I'm passionate about and some bits of my real life, so I feel like I keep doing that...

7. do you prefer to be called maple or tabi?
Here, on my blog and space surrounding it, I don't mind either! It would be very weird having someone in real life call me Maple, though! Specially because they don't know about this blog (not that I hide it, I just don't offer the information, you know? Unless they follow me on twitter, cause I shared the link there). My friends and family usually call me Tabs or Tabi so I'm used to those.

8. What would you do if you could slow down time?
I'd rather not have that power, as I would slow my whole life down. Time would never get back to normal pace.
With that said, a more casual answer would be: read more.

It's 1:30am so I'll finish answering this weekend!!
some more random questions thanks everyone that sent one!

1. Hi! Do you have a favorite studio Ghibli movie?
I do!! My all time favourite one is definitely Howl's Moving Castle! I also really enjoy Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro.

2. What is your skincare routine?
I'm very basic when it comes to skincare, I think. I use a cleanser, hyaluronic acid serum or niacinamide serum, and a moisturizer. Every two weeks I either use a chemical exfoliant or a retinol cream. And when needed I use pimple patches. Oh, and sunscreen!!

3. Speaking of skincare, do you wear makeup on a daily basis?
Yes, I use eyebrow gel and liptint everyday. When I want to feel a bit prettier I curl my lashes too. If I'm going out on the weekend or something a bit more special than buying groceries, I put on mascara and blush too. That's on most days, but if I feel like it I'll also use a tinted moisturizer on top of all of that! And on rare days I do the full thing with eyeshadow and bronzer.
It's funny because I went through a phase years ago when my everyday makeup would include eyeshadow and I had so much fun with it! When I look at pictures I still think it's pretty but it doesn't match my vibe anymore.

4. If you could have the same breakfast everyday what would it be?
I'm not a breakfast person! I usually only have water in the morning, maybe tea or matcha. When I do have breakfast, it's usually actually brunch, haha c: but, if I had to choose... probably toast with butter and scrambled eggs. It's simple and harder to get sick of - also, I'm not a fan of sweet as my first meal (I love pancakes, but not in the morning!)

5. What's your favorite movie?
I answered this on my first Q&A - I don't have just one! Since I listed my top 10 before, here goes the next 10: The Breakfast Club, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Clue (1985), Mamma Mia, Girl, Interrupted, The First Wives Club, Hocus Pocus, Uptown Girls and Howl's Moving Castle!

6. Last movie you watched and next one on your list?
You guys are such movie fans!! The last one I watched was The Holdovers! I liked that one quite a lot. Next one on my list is Priscilla, by Sofia Coppola. She's my favourite director and I think I'm the only one that hasn't seen it yet!

7. Do you use a paper planner?
Yes, it's something I have done since I was a kid - the school always gave you one to keep track of assignments and it became a habit! I have been using for the past three years the Muji planner. I like it because it's very simple and plain, so I get to customize it. You can even see my last december page here! I need to update my photo diary to include some of this year's.

(will update later today with the last three questions !!) okay i only took like months but i'll answer the last three questions from last time!! sorry !!

8. Growing up did you play videogames? Did you have a favorite?
We (my brother and I) had a Nintendo64 and we both loooved playing! We only had one controller, so we had to share - while one was playing, the other was watching and helping out. Our most played game was definitely Mario 64. There was a videogame rental place on our street, so we also rented out Ocarina of Time pretty often.

9. Do you usually read one book at a time or more?
Really depends, but more often I'll read just one at a time. Right now I'm reading two, though!

10. How many languages do you speak?
Fluently, two (portuguese and english)! I have been studying japanese for a long time now, and I can also understand a lot of italian.

thanks again for everyone that sent a question! hope this is fun to read~

1. Any new habits or interests lately? -Vashti ☆
Hi Vashti!! Hmm I started doing a paint-by-numbers map of Copenhagen and it's quite fun, maybe that counts as a new habit? I got it because the place means a lot to me and I wanted something to remember it by that wasn't just pictures I took there (it comes with a leather strap thing so after I finish painting I can hang it on a wall!). I don't know if this counts as a new interest, but I've been thinking about starting ballet classes once we move. It's something I always wanted to do as a child, but never got the courage for it, and I think it could be fun as a work out? Not sure if it works like that...

2. What are some things on your bucket list? ♡
Oh wow I thought about this for quite some days now, and still I'm afraid I forgot something haha! But there are quite some places I'd like to visit (too many to list here tbh). I'd like to see the aurora borealis in person, to be fluent in at least two more languages, see Tennis and Djo live, and maybe go to a ball or very fancy dinner just so that I could wear something very extravagant? I got this idea since I found out they do that in Versailles and you can rent out clothes to go. I don't know, sounds like fun!

3. Favorite ice cream flavor?
I'm not a huge fan of ice cream to be honest (I'm more of a savory person and I don't like cold things), but definitely pistachio! It needs to be real pistachio gelato though, otherwise it tastes awful.

4. Have you ever thought about updating your blog more often or daily?
Yes, I thought about it, but it's not really doable for me. One of the reasons for that is the fact that it's kind of hard for me to write (in the sense of opening up and putting my feelings and personal thoughts in a place where others could access). I'm trying to get better at it and I started to keep a paper physical diary to help.

5. How do you choose books for the bookbug club polls?
Pretty much the same way as it was before when Vashti was running the club with me, so basically I check my 'want-to-read' list and pick some from there. I opened the club up for suggestions now, so I hope to find some new titles to add to my list and keep things interesting for me as well.

6. If you could travel anywhere next month for 5 days, where would you choose?
Hmm considering how the weather will be, I'd say somewhere north of here (I hate hot weather!)... maybe Norway? Or Scotland! Always wanted to visit.

7. What do you use to study Japanese? What materials, resources etc?
I use the Minna no Nihongo textbooks as a base! But also watch some NHK videos when I feel like it, and I use the Duolingo app daily (I know some people don't like it, but I find it useful to practice kanji and get some vocabulary). For online dictionary I use jisho and tofugu has some great resources and articles too!

8. If you had to recommend one book that you read so far this year, which one would you choose?
I'll cheat and recommend The Rat series by Haruki Murakami! It was a phenomenal read.

9. Are you scared of anything "silly" (like the dark)?
Yes!! I'm scared of heights, amusement park rides, clowns (!) and people in scary masks, and I cannot watch horror movies. Also the ocean!! Everytime I think about how deep it is, it makes me nauseuos (I can go into the water at beaches, but never far from the sand and the moment I see fishes or other creatures, or I think about it too much, I got to get out!!)

10. What made you decide to be a vegetarian? Are you a picky eater?
I don't like to think that an animal had to be killed for me to eat, it makes me feel bad. And no, I don't think I am! There are some things I dislike, for example some fruits like pineapple and strawberry and coriander, but nothing that makes eating or cooking difficult.