I'm a tactile person, so I really like minis and tokens. No flat character cutouts though please, I'll sometimes 3D print minis to replace those.
Recently picked up Moonrakers, which has little starships and metal coins for counters, and it lights my brain up like a Christmas tree.
I had a similar issue with books two and three and unfortunately stopped reading after them. They were well written but I read to relax; I can deal with a little darkness but those books were downright bleak.
If you like teens fighting ghosts, with a little bit of interpersonal drama tossed in, it's a fun romp. There's a little of Stroud's typical subtext about social class in there too.
Netflix had a show based on it a few years ago but of course they dropped it after one season, even though it was quite good IMHO.
Rereading Lockwood and Co. I like reading YA books when I'm stressed and Stroud is quite clever.
A bunch of randos on the 'net won't be able to tell you any better than she can. If she says she's fine reaffirm your friendship and tell her you're there if she needs to talk and otherwise carry on. Not much else you can do without jeopardizing the friendship.
The FDA actually requires that raw fish be frozen prior to consumption to kill parasites. Food Code 3-402.11-12.
I've had a Gameboy for most of my life so I'm a sucker for portables. Donkey Kong, Oracle of Seasons, Pokemon Crystal, and Super Mario Land 2 all get replayed with some regularity. For GBA the Golden Sun games are still in my top ten favorites to this day, and the SNES ports like Link to the Past and Super Mario World were great to have in my pocket.
No but my dog does.
Got a Gameboy Color from my grandparents in '98 and I'm still riding that high to this day.
If you like JRPGs Golden Sun is the bee's knees.
A lot of your questions depend on what game you're playing. The first question I would ask is, what genre are you interested in playing? D&D is the biggest out there right now and it's medieval fantasy-ish but it has a lot of it's own baggage mixed in. There's a free version of the rules you can download, feel free to do that and give it a quick read through just to get a feel for the tone.
Finding a group to play with is tricky. The best thing might be to get some friends together and all try the game together. Barring that, local game stores might help you find a group, or some places in the Internet have "Looking for Group" (LFG) communities.
You don't need to buy dice just yet. Some TTRPGs use weird dice shapes and not all use the same dice so it's best to decide on a game before spending money on it. If you want to try a game before getting dice you can always use a dice rolling app. If it's D&D you want to play then feel free to find a standard set of seven polyhedral dice. They're not too expensive and collecting pretty dice is a hobby into itself.
How a game is played depends on which game you're playing. With actual D&D it depends whether you're in a combat scenario or not. If you aren't the rules are a lot looser: the DM describes a scene, then you and the other players tell the DM what your characters would like to do. The DM will determine if dice need to be rolled or if an outcome isn't possible, and repeat. Combat is a lot more complex, you have a specific turn order and a much smaller selection of actions based on your character build.
On a larger scale, a bunch o adventures strung together is what makes a campaign. Most groups play this way, but especially if you're new finding (or starting!) a group running a one-shot is a good way to learn how to play. A single adventure you can complete in a single session is great for learning and the story stakes are much lower.
Roleplaying looks different depending on the group you're with and what you're comfortable with. I usually speak in third person at all times, no funny voices or anything like that. I have a friend who comes up with a voice for every character to use when speaking for said character in first person.
That was a pretty big info dump but let me know if I can answer specific questions. I've been playing TTRPGs for nearly 20 years and I've dipped my toes into a lot of different games so if I can help I will.