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@Periwinkle!
@Periwinkle!
Here's our chat thread! I'm terrible at starting conversation :') but uh have you read any good books or watched any good shows lately?
submitted by pangolin, age she/they, Outskirts of the Galaxy
(November 21, 2023 - 12:05 pm)
(November 21, 2023 - 12:05 pm)
Awesome! If you ever get around to checking it out, let me know what you think!
Thank you :D
Well, we have a tradition in which pretty much the entirety of my mom's side of the family goes to this huge Christmas party. However, the last few years that was on pause as the hosts of the party started going away on ski trips every winter break. This year it's back, though, and eveyrone's so excited! It's lots of fun - there's delicious food, fun games, dancing, Christmas movies, presents, and more. And my immediate family and I usually go to the mall to buy each other Christmas gifts, and then out to eat. It sounds like a little thing, but it's always really fun. And we've had lots of hot chocolate! How about you?
:D
Other than what I listed about my holiday traditions, not that much. My cousins are coming to visit though, and it'll be great to spend time with them. I'll probably try to practice keyboard a little over break to make my band teacher happy when we come back, and watch a lot of Christmas movies :b Also I'll be trying to finish Cinder and decide what to read next!
You have great music taste!
I like to read a little high fantasy! I read high fantasy comics and general fantasy comics as well. My to be read is so long but I want to read some classic high fantasy books. I also love the video game Skyrim and the TV show Willow. Oh, and I really want to do D&D! I tried making a party but it failed miserably. Luckily the high school I'm headed to has a D&D club so I'll be able to try it next school year! And I'd love to try writing some high fantasy.
(December 14, 2023 - 6:49 pm)
Alright, I will :D
You're welcome :)
Ooh those both sound like really fun traditions! Some friends of my family usually host a part at their apartment on Christmas Eve, and this is the first time they're doing it since the pandemic, so I'm pretty excited! There's always music, games, good conversation, and way too many Christmas cookies, and it's always really fun :) Hagging for our Christmas tree used to be a thing our family used to do as well, but we recently got an artificial Christmas tree, so that's not a thing anymore :P And when we open presents, there's a bit of an unspoken contest to see who can be the last person to open their present (my grandma always gets my dad deodorant or something for Christmas so he'll sometimes go months without opening it :P). We don't have too many traditions, but it's always fun anyway :]
Your break sounds like it'll be fun! It's always good to see family :) I'm not doing much either--my grandpa's visiting one day, and I think I'm supposed to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in ages, so that'll be fun, but besides that I'll probably just do a lot of reading and writing. :)
Thanks :D
Oh, that's cool! Do you have any favorite high fantasy books/comics? And I've never played Skyrim nor watched Willow (though I have seen the movie), and we just canceled our Disney+ subscription so that probably won't change any time soon :/ I've also been wanting to get into D&D! It's always sounded so cool! Unfortunately, my high school doesn't have a D&D club, but I'm trying to get my family into it. We're going to try to start a party with our neighbor-friends who live down the block, but none of us have any idea of how to play or even where to start so...it'll be fun, I think XD And yeah, I'd love to write some, but that requires so worldbuilding! I'll get around to it one day, though :P
Besides high fantasy, do you have any favorite genres to read or write?
(December 17, 2023 - 4:17 pm)
Those sound like fun traditions too! I hope you're having a great holiday season so far :]
Sounds fun! I hope you have a good time seeing your grandpa and your friend. Reading and writing yes! I always get SO MANY bookstore gift cards for Christmas, and we often find ourselves in a bookstore soon after the holidays pass, where I buy a whole lot of books. It's great :D
Yes, I like a lot of high fantasy web comics. I also love the graphic novel Nimona which I don't know if it really counts as high fantasy? It's sort of a blend between like "knights, princesses, queens, kings" sort of thing, modern times or futuristic times, and dystopias. The movie's really good too! Yeah, I actually have the official D&D starter set, and I reccomend it - it comes with a set of all the dice you'll need, pre-made characters for people who aren't sure where to start (you can of course still develop them and choose their names and stuff), a guidebook on how to play, and an entire campaign designed to get players up to level five and guide the dungeon master through. It's designed for a party of six, I think. I recommend it! There's a lot of D&D guidebooks that are helpful, but they're really expensive and I reccomend seeing if your local library has them. Public libraries also sometimes have D&D clubs, so if you're unable to get your family into it maybe that would work for you.
Yes! I love science fiction!! And realistic fiction. General fantasy is nice but I haven't really read it in a while. Oh, and I also love mysteries!
(December 21, 2023 - 6:40 pm)
I'm so sorry for the late reply! I've had barely any time to come on the CB this break :/ I hope you had a great Christmas, New Year's (speaking of which, do you have any New Year's traditions?), and winter break so far :]
XD I always get a ton of bookstore gift cards too!! Definitely no complaints there, ofc!! XD
Ooh, web comics, huh? That sounds interesting, I've never really read any, but I've wanted to -- do you have any favorites? And I love Nimona! I think that counts as high fantasy? I don't know. And I've been wanting to watch the movie, but unfortunately, I don't have Netflix :P Is it a lot different than the graphic novel, or does everything pretty much stay the same?
The official D&D starter set looks really cool! I got a rule book for Christmas, actually, so I'm trying to read that right now (apparently I'm going to be the Dungeon Master now because no one else wanted to...). Thanks for all the advice - it's so cool that we're both interested in D&D :D
I love all those genres too!! I haven't read a ton of realistic fiction latelty, but sci-fi and fantasy are so fun, and I love mystery. Do you have any favorite books in each of those genres?
Again, I'm so so sorry for the late reply! (Also, I'll try finish my Kyngdom replies soon!)
(January 1, 2024 - 10:21 am)
It's okay! I'm glad to hear from you again, regardless :] I hope the holidays + general break have been great for you too! I don't have as many solid New Year's Traditions as I do Christmas ones, to be honest. My aunt and uncle did host a super fun New Year's Eve party last night, and that was really great! How about you?
lol yep no complaints! Though I didn't receive as many this year, surprisingly! I was still able to use some Christmas money to buy a book, though, so it ultimately worked out :]
Yes! I definitely have favorites. I love Suitor Armor and Cursed Princess Club, the latter of which is available to be bought as a physical book. I think everyone should read Cursed Princess Club as the message is very deep and beautiful but conveyed in a funny, charming way. At first it just seems like a dumb, silly comic, but it contains a message of self-love. I'd hate to spoil anything, but I guess it's okay for me to tell you the very basic premise. It's about a princess who's very sheltered. One day, after being surrounded with love and sweetness her whole life, she is insulted… by her fiancé! So she goes on a journey to figure out how to love herself and realize she doesn't need to be beautiful in the eyes of a prince. Suitor Armor is a really cool high fantasy story about a suit of armor that's enchanted to be an amazing warrior. It can't talk and isn't treated as a human by anyone but the main character, but it seems there's much more than just an inanimate, soulless object to the suit of armor after all… It's not available as a book yet, I don't think. Neither comic is finished yet but often webcomics are turned into books before they're done.
Yes!! I love Nimona too! I really don't know if it's high fantasy or not XD So the movie is definitely different from the graphic novel but it's not really in a bad way and the author did play a role in the movie so a lot of the changes are made with purpose. The queer undertone of the original story is much louder in the movie, which is cool - on-screen queer representation, especially in something explicitly aimed at younger audiences, was great to see. It does leans into more of a "kids' movie" nature, with less violence than the book (though it still deals with heavy topics nicely) and similar exaggerated facial expressions and humor to other kids' movies. The worldbuilding is also great?? Like how the book has a "high fantasy but with science!" feel, the movie combines a futuristic, sci-fi feel with a fantasy idea. I would say the story is definitely different in some places. Nimona herself is in many ways just book Nimona, but turned up, if that makes sense? She's like the most herself. Ballister is quite different from backstory to personality, but weirdly not in a bad way and I still felt like his personality was captured, somehow. Same goes for Ambrosius. Ultimately the movie and book are very different but I really enjoyed the movie. It was one of the few times I didn't mind the differences between the two. If you ever get the chance to watch it, it'd be cool to hear your thoughts. Sorry that got rant-ish I just love Nimona! Who's your favorite character?
That's awesome! I've actually read a few webcomics about D&D that sort of helped me lol. Being Dungeon Master is tricky but if anyone can do it it's you! Btw, there's a lot of books out there about how to make fantasy RPG characters and guides for worldbuilding! I may have mentioned that already, but I wanted you to know. Have got a character? I guess not if you're planning to be DM but some DMs with more experience choose to make characters. I have a character, and she's even got a backstory! If you want, I could tell you a bit about her, but it's okay if you don't really care lol. Yeah, I love that you're interested in it too! It's really nice to have someone who's about in the same place I am with this to talk to.
Yesss!! But most realistic fiction books that come to mind would probably not be deemed appropriate for the CB :/ If I think of a good CB-appropriate one I'll let you know though! I'm getting into sci-if books; I just finished Cinder. What did you think of Cinder when you read it? To be honest, as much as I wanted to love it, I found some (most) of the "plot twists" quite predictable. I have a few theories about some upcoming "plot twists" as well… I also didn't find the romance very well written. Kai and Cinder have approximately two conversations before Kai is like "yep, I'm in love with Cinder. I definitely have sufficiently gotten to know her!" And Cinder's also just really randomly like "uh huh I'm in love with Kai." But I'm curious enough still that I'm reading Scarlet now regardless of my opinions about Cinder. So many people love the Lunar Chronicles and I still do want to know what happens. Even if I have some ideas about the story, there's of course plenty I can't predict. My favorite mystery has hints of fantasy and historical fiction, and chances are you've heard me mention it before. I just love The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reily by Rebecca K.S. Ansari, though!
How about you? Favorite genres and books from each genre?
And it's okay! I'm sure you're very busy; just take your time and don't worry about it. I love to hear from you when you're able, but I never want to stress you out :D
(January 1, 2024 - 6:13 pm)
this is so late arghhhhh :/ sorry, and thanks for waiting :]
Ooh, a New Year's Eve party! That sounds fun! Yeah, for New Year's Eve for the last few years, my family has been going over to our neighbors/friends' house - their dad cooked about two hundred oysters, and my dad made gimbap and hush puppies, and everyone made like ten different types of cookies, and there was just. a lot of food. it's pretty fun (even though i felt sick from all the food :P) :]
Ah nice! :D What book did you get (if it's CB appropriate and you don't mind me asking)?
Ooh both Cursed Princess Club and Suitor Armor look really cool! Both the art styles - the former in particular - look gorgeous :D I'm excited to read them - when I do, we can talk about them, maybe? :D
ooh the Nimona movie sounds sooo cool!! (and don't apologize for your ranting!! i enjoy hearing about stuff people are interested in :D) It sounds different than the graphic novel, definitely, but in a good way! i'm really excited about it - if i ever have a chance to watch it, i'll definitely tell you what i thought :D my favorite character is probably Ballister, but i like Ambrosius too! what about you?
Ah thanks for the tips and encouragement! :D i'll check out the resources you mentioned - they sound really helpful! yeah, i don't really have a character at the moment, but i'd love to hear about yours!! i'm sure she's really cool :D
yeah I get what you mean about Cinder - it did feel kind of predictable and instalove-y. i only read the first book - i got Scarlet from the library, but it'd been a while since i read Cinder, so i wasn't very interested, but i think i'll give it another shot some time! did you know that Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress were all drafted during NaNoWriMo?? i think that's pretty cool. and yeah, i think i've heard of The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reily, but i've never read it - it sounds cool, though! i'll definitely check it out some time :D
I don't read a ton of contemporary realistic fiction nowadays - I think my favorite realistic fiction books are Cannery Row by John Stienbeck, Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, or maybe A Seperate Peace by John Knowles. I don't know if those really count as realistic fiction anymore, though? For fantasy, I adore Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (and it's weird that they both feature corvids in the title), but I also love the Nevermoor series and about a thousand other books. My favorite sci-fi books are the Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Steed (I guess that could count as mystery too), The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and Vicious by VE Schwab (idk if that's sci-fi, though - maybe supernatural or something?). For mystery, my favorites are Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, and I feel like there's one I'm forgetting? If I think of it, i'll let you know :P
Hmm - do you have a favorite school subject? or a least favorite, maybe?
again, sorry for the late reply!! i really enjoy talking with you :D
(January 10, 2024 - 12:17 pm)
Cool! New Year's Eve is always a lot of fun.
(January 15, 2024 - 1:09 pm)
I'M HERE AT LAST :D sorry this took so long :/ studying for like seven midterms has been SO EASY AND FUN 10/10 would definitely recommend /sar anyway, midterms are pretty much over now (except for Japanese, but that won't be too difficult) so hopefully i'll be able to be on the CB more now :D
Yeah, I kind of struggled to get through Scarlet too. I just got it from the library, so I didn't feel obligated to finish it. I think maybe if I'd gotten further into it, it would pick up, but idk :/ if you finish it and it turns out it was actually worth it, lmk~
ah yes ofc!! i haven't read them yet (sorry, i've been so busy--) but i'm very excited to check them out! i didn't realize Cursed Princess Club comes with music - that's so cool, wow!! and yeah, i really do like both art styles (or what i've seen of them so far lol). and don't apologize for the rant!! it's always so cool to hear people talk about stuff they're interested in :D
yeah i love Nimona herself too XD all the characters are great!
no way Arcadia seems so cool!! Her backstory seems really interesting and developed, and she sounds like a really fun character to play! i feel like if i were to make a character, i'd be tempted to make them an orphan to get their parents out of the way so they could go on adventures :P but i really like what you did - how she realized what her father was doing was wrong and had him arrested :D
Yeah, definitely! It's been years since I've read When You Reach Me, so i don't remember the details (i should really reread it sometime), but it was really good! it's sci-fi and mystery, but has a kind of realistic fiction tone to it as well. I think it won the Newbery metal too, so that's cool :]
oh and I just remembered some more realistic fiction books i liked (i completely forgot about them, oops!) - i really love Kate DiCamillo's books, especially the Raymie Nightingale trilogy! they're more on the middle grade side, but i still really enjoyed them! :D
aw, i'm sorry all your classes are just okay :/ i definitely felt like that last year (though my English and history teachers were awesome). i really hope you'll enjoy high school a lot more! <3 and yeah, i took Algebra I last year. my teacher was awful, but it wasn't as hard as i thought it'd be! i thought it was pretty logical, and once you know all the concepts and formulas, it's not too hard to apply them. quadratics were the only thing i struggled with, but even that wasn't so bad! i do prefer geometry, though. good luck <3
my favorite class is English as well - my teacher is awesome, and we always have really fascinating discussions! my least favorite is chemistry or history, because i don't like the teachers. it's funny how the teacher can completely make or break a whole subject, isn't it?
sorry for the late reply! and don't worry about it taking you five days to reply - it took me, like, ten days, so i think you're good :P
(January 25, 2024 - 10:59 am)
lol it's okay I'm super late too XD Yep I imagine studying for midterms is just the best! /sar I hope they went well for you though :D
Yep I totally abandoned Scarlet. It was too boring for me :/ As much as I didn't like the romance in Cinder, it was even worse in Scarlet. The characters were boring and had very flat, dull personalities, and Scarlet just felt like an angrier, brattier version of Cinder. And the plot… idk how to explain it but it was just so. Slow. So anyway I dropped it, picked another book (not CB-appropriate or I'd tell you the title, sorry), loved that book, and finished it super fast. I really wanted the love the Lunar Chronicles, but I just didn't :/ So no, I can't say I found it worth it but I will now stop complaining about the book sorry lol
It's fine! You really don't have to check them out at all, ik you're probably super busy. Thank you for taking the time to have this conversation with me these past few months, though; I've really been enjoying it and hope you're enjoying it too!
Thank you! I'm pretty proud of her backstory to be honest :b I think it would make for something interesting stuff about her connection to her dad because he raised her, y'know? And I think it's possible that he could've been a horrible person and still have loved her and her mother. So I think that's a lot why she's on the road also, because she can't be in the town her father was exploiting right now with her conflicting feelings. Anyway I just think it'd interesting. Thank you for listening btw. I don't have a very large number of people I can just rant to about my interests irl so this is really nice.
Cool! I'll add it to my to-be-read list :]
Oh, Kate DiCamillo is awesome! I never read Raymie Nightingale but The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was one of my favorite books when I was younger. She's so good with symbolism and creates such real characters and deep messages in a way that can be simply conveyed to children.
Thank you! I really hope I like high school better, too. I have a lot of trouble making friends but every adult I meet is like "you'll find your people in high school" so hopefully that's true? I remember reading a poem of yours about middle school. I don't remember what it was called, just the last lines: "Middle school wasn't perfect./I should have danced more." It was a good poem and ik it's a random thing to bring up but I appreciated it! I want to (metaphorically) dance in high school - make friends, find my style, grow as a person, that sort of thing. People talk about coming out of my shell and trying to make new friends at my school, but it's just really hard. It's a very small school and most kids don't have similar interests to mine :( Last year for a time I had a solid friend group but they all sort of decided they didn't like me and just left (ofc after being mean to me for like months) :/ so not a great experience. You can see why I'm a tad hesitant to "come out of my shell" to people who have nothing in common with me when those who did rejected me.
Wow that was completely unnecessary. I say sorry too much so I guess I won't say it again but I feel like I just keep info dumping and it's not really fair to you. Feel free to rant all you want about whatever btw!
A teacher really can make or break the subject! I always looked forward to English up until now (the fifth grade English teacher has a side gig reviewing middle grade books before they come out, so she knows everything there is to know about great upcoming novels and is also just super cool, the sixth grade English teacher makes everyone laugh and let some kid sing Moana in her class once plus was super supportive of my writing, and the seventh grade teacher is always complimentary about my writing) but I'm just sort of lukewarm about my teacher this year. We did learn about Greek myths and read some interesting stories though! Idk, she's definitely a good teacher, but just not my favorite, yk?
What are you learning about in English lately? Did you have to read The Outsiders in middle school? We did in seventh grade, and I really liked it.
no need to apologize! Actually, here's something you might find interesting read recently. I read that people tend to say "I'm sorry" where "thank you" would work fine. I keep saying "sorry for ranting" when I can really say "thank you for listening." Do you know what I mean? Idk, I just found that an interesting thing to think about.
(February 3, 2024 - 2:38 pm)
(February 5, 2024 - 7:47 pm)