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Reunion Thread
Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
Reunion Thread
Reunion Thread
Hey, uh, the reunion is in 2 days, and in the past we've always had a main thread for one? I'm a little early but I just think when old CBers begin to arrive, they ought to have somewhere to go… So, um, hi! I hope it's okay I'm making this thread if I'm a current CBer, I don't know if it's usually the old CBers that do it…
Anyways, hello, everyone! For anyone who doesn't know, every February 14th we have a reunion where old CBers pop in to say hi. It's really cool to see everyone!
For anyone who doesn't know me, I'm Periwinkle, but most people just call me Peri. I'm a current CBer, here since January 2021. I use she/her pronouns, and you'll usually catch me working on my ski-lodge, giving advice on the Confessions thread, writing about my AEs, and occasionally sharing my poetry.
And for anyone looking for old reunion threads, here's a few. Thank you to Kitten for providing all these links last year so I only had to dig up the 2022 reunion, saved me a lot of time XD
2022 - http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/chirpatcricket/node/507452?page=1
2021http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/chirpatcricket/node/472475
2020 - http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/429653
2019 - http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/401395
That's about it! Have fun, can't wait to meet everyone <3
Thank you for starting this thread, Peri! I hope the Valentine's week reunion tradition continues for many, many years!
Admin
submitted by Periwinkle, age Pi, Somewhere in the stars
(February 12, 2023 - 6:11 pm)
(February 12, 2023 - 6:11 pm)
I'm Hex, she/her. I like reading, writing, origami, board games, soccer, arguing, and bad jokes. I joined the CB late 2021-early 2022, somewhere around new years.
(February 13, 2023 - 11:38 pm)
Hello everyone! I’m Indigo (although it’s a little surreal to write that because I don’t go by Indigo anymore in any contexts except this one :P). I was active on the CB from ~2014—2018 which is… fully like five years ago now, I feel ancient :00
I’m struggling to think of what to say since I participated in the reunion thread back in 2022, and I feel like what I said then covers a lot of my thoughts now as well. I suppose I do have some updates, though?
I graduated high school last summer, and have been taking classes at my local community college since. From there, I plan to transfer to a four year. Things have been going well for me; on the whole, I think this last year has been less stressful and busy than my senior year was, although I am kind of in a horrible time crunch right now because I have a bunch of midterms and stuff due soon. (I’m actually procrastinating on studying for my comparative politics midterm tomorrow by writing this update. Don’t be like me, kids.)
More than updating you guys about all of the minutiae of my life, I’m curious how the CB has changed/stayed the same since I left. Which… actually, just looking around, it seems like a lot of things from my time on the CB are still very much present now?
For instance, the “Last to Post” thread is still active (which fills me with a deep satisfaction, because if it’s still active, then when I inevitably post right before the heat death of the universe it will make my win that much more meaningful >:3c). Also, just looking at the guide from 2020 which is still pretty high up, it seems like CBers still write ski lodges, call characters “charries” (btw when writing that, do you mentally pronounce it as “Carries” or “cherries”?), and pass on the sacred knowledge of what’s truly important (i.e. Blue Moon ice cream).
It’s interesting, because I wouldn’t have expected these cultural aspects to have carried on so strongly. Do you guys have any theories about how/why these traits seem to be reproduced so consistently across different “generations” of CBers? I feel like it might have something to do with the format of the website—or it may because of the demographics. I know that for me, the CB was my first introduction to socializing online, and if that’s true for most other CBers, it makes sense to me that a highly CB-specific online culture would organically develop.
Admins, do you have any thoughts?
Also, current CBers: how would you say the CB has changed over time? Also, if you have any questions about what things were like when I was active, please feel free to ask and I’ll answer as best I can remember.
Before I go, a couple more questions: do you guys still say “everybuggy” instead of “everybody”? Is November still Nano season in the Chatterbox? In my day, if the CB had a national anthem, it would be played by Lindsey Stirling—is that still true today, and if not is there another artist super popular with CBers?
P.S. Sorry if the formatting on this post is wonky, it's been a while haha
Hi, Indigo! It's wo good to hear from you. So far not many CB alums have returned for the Valentine's week reunion. Ski lodges are still very popular. Maybe because they're so much fun and rather unique to Chatterbox. Yes, we still use everybuggy. We've stopped posting mention of Nano because there were privacy concerns with that site. Chatterboxers are still amazingly skilled writers, and we encourage them to post their writings on this site, and not only stories. There are also threads of wonderful poetry and artwork. We still do get mentions of Lindsey Stirling, but it's been a long time since I've seen mention of Blue Moon ice cream. Thank you for checking in. Please come back again!
Admin
(February 14, 2023 - 12:06 am)
Hi Indigo, good to see you! What are you studying in college?
It is interesting how the CB culture has remained so consistent over the years. Ski lodges, AEs, talking CAPTCHAs, etc - those aren't things you find anywhere else on the internet. A wildly creative generation had to first come up with those things, which is to me the most amazing part. I do see changes in terms of how CBers interact with those components & each other, but the building blocks are still there.
The CB is like a Narnia, and people fall into it already speaking the language. I think it specifically attracts a certain kind of person - people who are mature, insightful, thoughtful, creative, curious, well-read, and with their values more set on immaterial things. Also, like the Admins said, most CBers are extremely good writers, and let me tell you, I used to take that for granted. WRITING SKILLS ARE RARE! (Creative writing skills are even more rare.) Don't take yours for granted, guys! If you have a gift for writing, take good care of it!!!
(February 14, 2023 - 11:02 am)
This might come off as a little pretentious or wordy, but the CB (and other small-knit online communties) is really fun to look at from a sociological perspective. Like Micearenice said, a creative generation introduced the core concepts of the things that now form the culture of the CB; future generations have built on those things and solidified them into our strange, fun little CB cultural norms, folkways, and mores. I think part of what makes this community so "magical" and interconnected is that we share common ground. We're all creative people with a passion for writing and artistic expression. Even if we're wildly different, we've still got that shared trait! It's like the glue of our little society. It's incredible to me how timeless the CB is, in the best way possible. Even with all of the very first CBers grown up and moving on in life, their legacy and echoes of their creations are still here. It's kind of poetic, in a way.
(February 14, 2023 - 4:24 pm)
That's such a good (and poetically written!) point. Someone could write a book on the CB, honestly.
(February 14, 2023 - 6:18 pm)
Yep, ski lodges are still around! I wrote one myself, although it came out sort of differently from others. (e. g. nobody died. well, one person did, but then that person came back to life at the end.) I pronounce it "charries," like "cherries" but with an "a" sound instead of an "e" sound, if that makes sense? I'm afraid the Admin's right, no one talks much about Blue Moon ice cream anymore, but I do know the whole story behind it. :)
I think maybe CBers share so many traits because they're all, or mostly, Cricket readers, so by default they'll be interested in literature and writing and so on. Also, since at first it can be hard to figure out what's going on (what's a ski lodge? what's an SI? what are AEs?), and because it's very centered around books and writing, I think only the type of people who feel like they would belong in creating/participating in this type of community actually perservere and join it. And finally, maybe the older CBers help to pass on that culture to the younger ones. I love CB culture!
I do have one question: I've seen a couple of returning CBers mention "hay fights." What were those? I've never seen any...
And to answer your questions: aside from Lindsey Stirling, AURORA and mxtmoon seem pretty popular with CBers, but mostly we have pretty varied tastes :) I think the CB has changed a bit, from what I've seen of the 2020 and 2021 threads (I like to dig around in the back pages). It feels less.. thoughtful, I guess. Other than that I think it's pretty much the same, though!
Ooh, Iffy says "ddfun!" Yes, Iffy, this reunion is fun!
(February 14, 2023 - 8:30 pm)
There are so many well-written responses to this post so I'll keep it short- I think you're right that it's many kids' first internet experience- which is good because A) it's one of the only truly kid-friendly sites out there, and B) because it doesn't quite feel like the internet. It's almost like writing a letter: the time it takes for posts to come in makes you think about what you're saying, and being respectful and kind is much more highly valued. I love seeing so much love for the CB :)
- I pronounce it "carries" myself
- I do think the demographics have changed here, probably in conjunction with the Western world at large, and while I know that shift caused conflict for a long while it seems to have calmed down (though I likely missed a lot in the past year), which is nice. But the core things are the same.
- I don't know if they still say "everybuggy", but when I was active "lizards" was used in the same way.
(February 15, 2023 - 10:46 am)
Yo! I'm Sabrina or Nemesis or Nem. 'Round these parts I used to go by Catsclaw or, later, Catsquill. I use She/Her pronouns. I was active here from... gosh... like 2016 to 2020? oh man. In the past year i've gotten into punk rock and metal, pathfinder, and figured out what I want to do with my life (own a coffeeshop) so that's nice.
Lovely to see you all, and have a great valentines' day.
It's good to hear from you, Catsclaw! Thank you for checking in.
Admin
(February 14, 2023 - 12:12 am)
CATSCLAW HELLO. *hugs* Is is ok if I call you Catsclaw, or would you prefer Catsquill? Either way, it's great to hear from you again! Owning a coffeeshop honestly sounds like a lot of fun. How have you been?
(February 14, 2023 - 5:22 pm)
I'd prefer Sabrina, or Nemesis, or Nem, thanks! I've been... Well, not amazing, if I'm honest; school's been impacting my mental health, so everything's a bit wonky, but I'm doing okay. Found religion at some point, and that helps! Not necessarily any religion my grandparents would want, but I do my own thing.
(February 14, 2023 - 10:17 pm)
Heyo, it's I, Darkling, resident cryptid, madman, geek, and eldritch god by turns.
(February 14, 2023 - 12:51 am)
Darklingggggg <3<3<3
(February 18, 2023 - 11:38 am)
Hello all! I'm Reuby Moonnight! When it's night I go by LateNightQueen.
I joined cricket last year on December 13th. I'm 12, Bi and I use she/her pronouns. I have a very chaotic personality, and it may show due to my amount of AEs
$Can we get listed?!?!.$
Yes Strawberry, after.
I mostly spend my time on here posting doodles on ART POSTING, trying to create ski lodges, creating chaos with my AEs and possibly ranting about stuff no one cares about. I like to watch anime and listen to music. Specifically bands/artists like: Potsu , Olivia Rodrigo, MGMT, TWICE, Super Beaver, Cave town, Purrple cat, Snail House and Musical soundtracks.
It's really cool to be able to meet old CBers. I feel so new and inexperienced compared to you all. *nervous laugh*
My computer doesn't autocorrect..so don't mind my grammatical errors.
$MY TURN!!!!$
Oh boy. But I did promise you.
Strawberry -Spastic sugary bunny.
Hour -Demigoddess.
Agua-Water prince.
Lore-Gay prankster.
Mhaya- Board bookworm.
Fern-Sweet nature boy.
Tigerlily-Athletic protector.
Cori-Nonbianary musician.
Rin-Wild Child
Clem-Musical lover.
Crawaline-Jewelry maker.
Kamryn-Angry shortie
(February 14, 2023 - 1:33 am)
Hey everyone! It feels kinda surreal to be back. I see some familiar faces which is nice. I was on the CB from... about 2017/18 to 2021, I *think*. I'm honestly not totally sure; I might go check that later and come back with a more accurate timespan. I've decided to pursue clinical psychology as a career, though I imagine that I'll always write and pursue art as a hobby. I've also been listening to a lot of good music lately. Been really into Sparks, Franz Ferdinand, Talking Heads, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and Therion. So a weird mix of things, but I have been getting more into metal music lately. I've also been playing a lot of videogames lately, lol. Working on finishing Faith and Pathologic 2 at the moment. I've also been taking a sociology course that's been really fun so far; so have my psych courses.
Anyway, it's really great to be here today! I haven't been on the CB in years, so it's nice to see it again. I hope everyone's doing well. I might come back to add more when I have some time.
It's great to hear from you, Sybill! Welcome back. - Admin
(February 14, 2023 - 7:38 am)
SYBILL HELLO IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AHH
i know we didn't talk an extremely large amount but you were definitely one of my CB role models. how are you??
(February 14, 2023 - 1:54 pm)