My ex and I are still on good terms so I guess I can reminisce a little. Back when we were still together we did most of our hanging out...at a mall. This mall looked recently built--as opposed to my local mall--and would have the same four 'geek' stores any mall has.
Anyway, at my mall these stores (Spence's, Hot Topic, Geek U, Game Stop) were all spread throughout her mall (60mi to my north) had them all across from one another. It was the weirdest damned thing following her go back and forth between these shops because they we VERY similar.
It's hard to go into these four stores and not see very a shit ton of Gen-X stuff or anime stuff. I say this because I spent a lot of time just gazing at random shit while she tried on cool clothes. I tell you, she had TASTE.
Anyway, Hot Topic is so stark to me. I call Spencer's the Gen-X/Early Millenial store. It just has that vibe to me and it's the place where my brother and his friends visited a bunch growing up. That and the humor and style just doesn't appeal to Boomers. At all.
Meanwhile, Hot Topic has always felt to me to be a late Millenial store. Perhaps that's just because I visited it often (especially since I hatched). That and the concentration of anime merch makes it a HUGE hotspot for Zoomers and late Millenials.
Anyway, my ex--is it weird to gush about an ex? I don't know, I was aro pre-hatching and she's the only one I have--bought clothes...and other stuff...and we basically just spent all of our time talking. At the food court, in my car, etc. It was just a lot of fun.
The whole point of this thread is to say my ex was fuckin' fun to be around and helped me grow up a whole lot. Also, she's a great artist and animator! I love when we talk about story details, too. Damn! What a weird tone this thread has...