Agh!! Forgot to mention I use she/her pronouns.

Hi, my name is Seadragon, I use she/her pronouns, I have two AEs, ~Izzy~ and –Ramya–, and I joined the CB almost 2 years ago now (April 2022…it seems like so long ago but also so recently!) I love cats, writing, trains, and various other interesting things. Happy reunion!

hey everyone!! Overmorrow here, previously fallen leaf and Lizardo before that for those who left before either name change. Pretty sure I'm sticking with this one now though haha. sorry i'm a little late to the party here but i've been reading the comments and i wanted to pop in to say hi to all of the previous CBers; it's so great to see you all here! i remember most of you and it's really cool to see how far you've gone. i know we went through some difficult times on the CB and outside of it but overall it's been such a wonderful community that i've been so lucky to have found and been a part of. i'm not as active here as i used to be but the CB was such an important part of my life in elementary school, especially during the pandemic, and was the first real community i think i was a part of. so thank you to everyone who kept this place alive, CBers and admins alike. happy valentine's day, everyone! <33

Hi everyone! I'm Satin, I was active from 2016 to 2020-ish. I was never really as active as I wanted to be, so I'm not sure how many people remember me,
but I have so many fond memories of my time here. Somehow I think this is the
first year I've participated in the reunion though. The past few years I've
remembered about it a few weeks too late and been extremely annoyed at
myself for it- so this year I refused to let myself forget.

It makes me really happy to see everyone here, both those I remember
and those I don't. The CB was always a safe place for me and I'm glad
that it still is that for people. I mean, it looks like it's even more
so now. Back when I was around mentioning queer stuff was still kind of a
no-go here, or at the very least it wasn't that common. Seeing pronouns in age or
location boxes and a "LGBTQIAP+playlist" thread in Pudding's Place is
making me a little bit emotional. The CB was always a place I felt I
could be a bit more myself, but even then, I never felt like I could be
open about that side of me here- so I'm really happy for everyone who
gets to be loudly LGBT+ here now.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well in that regard now. I can't really tell my family, but I'm away for college so most people here know that I'm bi and some know I have some sort of gender weirdness going on (still trying to figure that out)- or if not that specifically they know that I have a boygirlfriend back home who I talk about ever so slightly too much. We've been together for about a year and a half, although we met when we were kids. They're my favorite person Ever and I love her so much. And he's an artist, which is really cool. Dating someone who's also artistic, but in different ways than I am is… special. Special in a way that I can't quite articulate, because I haven't tried to before, but it seems relevant here, because this place was so important to my creative stuff.

Anyways, I'm a Freshman at college this year majoring in Theater and Dance with a minor in English, but I'm debating making English a second major. I have no idea what I want to do in either field, but hey, figuring that out is part of why I'm at school. I still love reading and art as much as ever, and writing probably even more so than I did when I was here. But I do firmly believe that the CB was formative in my developing a love of writing. Recently I wrote a play for my student theater group's 24-hour play festival, which was super exciting and kind of a big deal for me, cause the past few years I've been terrible about letting other people read my work. But I wrote a thing, and people read it and liked it and performed it for even more people, and it was SO COOL. If any of you writers get a chance to write a play and have it performed I highly encourage you to take it, watching something you wrote by brought to life is really special (and probably even more so when it isn't something you wrote during a six-hour time allotment).

Okay, I think I've rambled about myself plenty. I wanted to post this earlier today and then respond to some of everyone else's posts on this thread now, but it's been a busy day. I'm gonna try and respond to some people later tonight though, and I might hang around a couple days after. It's so nice to come back here, and lovely to hear how everyone's doing. Also, I'm sending all my love and gratitude to the admins. We wouldn't have this place if it weren't for you, and I am forever thankful for everything you've done and continue to do for the CB and all of its members.

Oh and Fleece my captcha's still here! He says "rdayn"!

It's good to hear from you, Satin. And we Admins are forever thankful for all you wonderful CBers, both in the past and the present . . . and yet to come!

Admin

Hi!!

Happy Valentine's Day! I see a few familiar faces and a lot of new ones, so hi I missed you and hi it's great to meet you! If you don't know me, I'm Quill! I'm 19 and my pronouns are she/her. I joined the CB in 2017 and left around 2022ish. I had three AEs, Harper, Ace, and Bean, and my captcha Basil.

I'm currently in my second semester of college, which has been going pretty well! I'm majoring in English Education, which I love so far, and I'm considering a minor in writing or theatre. I've been able to get involved on campus, which has been fun- I'm in two choirs, taking voice lessons, and I'm in a theatre group! We're doing Into the Woods this semester and I was just cast as Little Red Riding Hood, which I'm super excited about. I'm also currently going through sorority recruitment, which has been fun but very draining. College has definitely been a huge adjustment, but I really like all of my classes and the people I've met so far!

Other life updates: I graduated high school (obviously); I moved away from home for school; I was on the news with my job (it was so cool); I recently visited Europe for the first time (I visited my aunt in London over winter break, it was so fun); my family rescued another dog, bringing our total up to four (her name is Babushka and she's the sweetest thing); I'm starting my first field placement next week, so I'll actually get to work with students at a high school near campus; and at the end of the month I'm going to Rhode Island with the women's choir I'm in to perform at the ACDA conference (which is a pretty big deal I'm very excited).

I've missed the CB, I'm so happy to be back for a visit. This place was such a huge part of my life, and it still shows its impact on both me and my writing. It'll always have a special place in my heart <3. Old people I'd love to catch up, and if you're new and want to chat I'd love to get to know you!

-Quill <3 

ps, Hi Admins!! Missed you guys too! 🙂

Thanks, Quill. It's good to hear from you!

Admin

Hello!

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away…there was a forum for Cricket readers known as the Chatterbox. I grew up on Cricket mags from the early 2000s and was a CBer from roughly 2011–2017. It's always nice to come back and say hi to old pals, many of whom are going on to college and beyond. It's also delightful to see many new faces and find that the CB is as ever a welcoming home for budding writers and dreamers. There are so few online spaces dedicated solely to young people, so the CB stands out like the gem it is. And of course, a big thank you and a warm hello to the Admins who make it all possible!

As for what I'm up to…nothing terribly new or exciting. I work in a publishing company doing Boring Adult Deskwork. When I was a kid, I used to wonder what people in office jobs actually do all day. Write lots of pointless emails? Open Excel spreadsheets, nod sagely, and close them? You know–Boring Adult Deskwork. BAD for short. And by that, I mean I manage schedules and handle all the tedious administrative tasks for writers, editors, and translators so they can focus on bringing their cool stories to life. In practice, that involves writing a lot of emails and tracking 50+ book series at a time in various spreadsheets and software. When something goes wrong, it's my job to find solutions and get the translation teams the help they need. I also get to read many samples of people's work, offer translation or editing advice, and connect with awesome individuals the world over. Turns out, BAD's not so bad after all!

In my free time, I hold down various side jobs in translation. Currently wrapping up my 14th translated novel and starting on number 15. I also translate for two different game companies! It's a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Outside of work…I was in the hospital a lot last year, but that's neither fun nor interesting. Wow, I really didn't do anything, huh…

As ever, a million thanks to Cricket for continuously nurturing my love of storytelling and human connections! Hope to see some familiar faces this Valentine's Day.

Ruby, it's so good to hear from you again! Thank you for checking in. Best wishes for the coming year,

Admin

@Hawkstar: 

The academic writings are a mixture of both, although in a semi odd way. Most (although not all) of the the philosophy ones are for independent study type classes I’m doing with university professors. I’m not officially enrolled at their schools, so it’s…almost extracurricular school, I suppose? Academic enrichment. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m learning so much through the assigned readings, writings, and probably mostly just my one on one conversations with the profs!

As for my preferred mythologies, although I have written my own set of mythologies and religions for my fantasy world, I am a huge fan of pretty much every real world mythology! I especially love taking a comparative view, but if I had to choose one that I love the most…it would have to be Ancient Egyptian mythology, I believe. I’ve always been fascinated with ancient Egypt, so much so that my wee self checked out every relevant book to try to learn to read hieroglyphs! 

I read over a little bit of your Ski Lodge, and I must say I love the setting! You writing style is also wonderful, and I may have to come back later and read more now that I’ve gotten started… 

And, I’m afraid I tend to hold my poetry quite close to me chest…something that has remained true since my time on the CB. I am flattered that you’re interested, though! 

@Amethyst:

Greetings! It’s wonderful to meet you. Oh, interesting. I’ve always wondered how the “CB language”, if you will, would evolve over the years. Does the present CB have any unique expressions of its own? 

And, it’s lovely to hear that you’re working on reviving Kyngdom! And while I was extremely confused (although at the time I didn’t think so) when I first joined the story, it holds a special place in my heart. I’d love to hear what y’all are working on over there, if you’re at all interested in sharing. 🙂 

@Moon Wolf:

Hello, Moon Wolf! It’s lovely to meet you. It is so cool to see how AEs have passed the test of time—in fact, they seem as if they might be even more popular than they were when I was last here! It’s so cool that you have seven of them. Do you still utilize italic, bold, etc. to differentiate?

I’m also very happy to hear that Kyngdom is still up and kicking! 

As for your question—which is of the very good variety—well…most memorable part of the CB? This is a very hard question, and I must say I could be asked this probably a hundred times and always give a new answer. The CB was very memorable for me in general! However, for today, I will answer with: the creativity of other CBers. There are Ski Lodges and solo writes and picturings (written and otherwise) and poems and stories and debates and goofy thread ideas and unique phrases that will likely forever live in a special space of my mind plane, opting to pop into my working mind space whenever they see so fit.  

There's so many people to reply to and I'm being really rude to the Admins (I'm so sorry for posting so many times in a row; I promise this is the last one)! So here's some quick @s for everyone I have yet to reply to:

@Starseeker: hi! Ooh, Art History, very cool~ I hope working in an art museum goes well for you! I love art museums and I bet that's a super cool job

@Gracia: hello! I agree this is one of the best little corners of the internet 😀 Woah, journalism- sounds awesome!

@Quill: I remember you! It's great to see you again. It's really cool you're majoring in English Education! Good luck with Into the Woods and everything else you're doing!

… And I think that's everyone? I hope I didn't miss any old CBers; if I did, please don't take offense. I'm just very tired rn

You're not being rude to Admin at all. We're delighted to be able to facilitate conversation between older and newer CBers.

Admin

@Pointsettia, *bows back elaborately* It's nice to meet you as well! Fun facts, my art history professor (who is also my art museum studies professor) originally got into this field because of the exact reason you mention being interested in it: there's so much to learn about, always! I do want to work in an art museum, so I do specialize in art museum studies, but even within that there's so much to know about studio art, chemistry, history, politics, geography, biology, and so much more. Art history and museum studies are both such interdisciniplinary fields, so if you're interested in a lot of things, I'd definitely recommend it! One piece of advice I have is that a lot of museums are looking for volunteers a lot of the time. During the summers as well as my winter breaks, I work at a natural history museum in my hometown for some field experience. Even though it's not the same type of museum, it's interesting work and I enjoy it! You can try to see if any museums in your area, whether art, natural history, local history, or otherwise are looking for volunteers, and you can get your foot in the door.

@CelineBurningBright, haha yes, my date was great! We went to a cute little coffeeshop and drank London Fogs, played Scrabble, and talked about Pirates of the Caribbean. Maybe not a traditional Valentine's Day date, but it's very on brand for us! I play the clarinet, 4 types of ukulele (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone), the flute, piano, guitar, and I sing. As for being an amateur graveyard photographer, my mother is a member on a geneaology site where people request photos of their ancestor's graves. I help her in locating and photographing these graves. Hence the 'amateur'; my mom is the real star of the show!

@June, hello hello! Listen, I absolutely can't judge you for your love of Jason Todd; he's an icon. Personally, Tim Drake is my favorite, but Jason is a close second.

@Hawkstar, yes, we did have ski lodges! Ski lodges are probably, gosh, more than ten years old at this point, older than my CB time. Murder mystery stories/roleplays were already a thing, but the reason why they're called ski lodges is due to a popular murder mystery roleplay on here that was set in a ski lodge. After that one, the name stuck. I think more details on that story can be found in the CB Ultimate Guide, which was made by Kitten in… 2019? It has a lot of details on CB history!

@Amethyst, Yes, both a loveable little mutt and a loveable little boyfriend! Both of them are delights. (And maybe I shouldn't conflate my dog with my boyfriend, but to be fair, they're both great.)

@Moon Wolf, maybe this is a controversial answer, but I loved compliment threads! Also, there were 2 separate threads that I remember where people would handwrite letters to each other and post photos of them. I liked those too!

@Quill, HI HELLO! Lovely to see you, as always! 🙂

I do believe that was everyone! If I missed you or you have something to say, please feel free to add a comment below this! 🙂

~Starseeker 

@June: studying astronomy or astrophysics (and philosophy lol) sounds super cool!! do you have any idea what you want to do after college in any of those fields? also help I've been trying to get into Star Trek recently but I don't have enough free time to watch that many of them—I've seen a few TOS and a bit of TNG but that's about it. Any advice on where to start for that? Favorite episodes/characters/etc? [ALSO because I love bad jokes but don't know that many Trekkies irl who'd appreciate them you never know maybe you will… how many ears does Captain Kirk have? three: a left ear, a right ear, and a final front ear 😀 why does Picard hate waiting in line? he’s had bad experiences with queues]

@Chaser & Jay: I miss seeing you around but I hope you're doing good :] *fond zoodle nostalgia*

@Sterling: same as Chaser & Jay, I miss your wise ramblings and manyy AEs and amazing artistic skills but good luck with college next year!! historic preservation and linguistics sounds pretty cool~

@Ruby: I think I saw you at last year's reunion but don't know if I ever introduced myself lol anyway 14 translated novels?! :0 that's awesome, what novels? and what language are you translating them from?

happy valentines day, y'all!