Chatterbox: In This Month's Issue

April MCU 

:( I know we planned to get a MCU out this month, but unfortunately, I had a lot of stuff to do, so I won’t be able to get it out this month, I’m so sorry. :(

APRIL FOOLS!

Yeah, that was a joke — I have indeed prepared the MCU this month, don’t you worry. :) 

I’m pangolin, and welcome to the April MCU! I’ll introduce my AEs—or you know what, I’ll let them introduce themselves.

I’m Fir, they/them pronouns! I’m the team spirit of the Pickwick Club!

*mutters* You could say that again….

Heyo, I’m Barnacle, he/him! I don’t really contribute to the Pickwick Club, but April is my favorite month, so… *walks offscreen to continue making pies*

~I…I’m Mirage, she/her. I’m the creative…er, the creative mind behind the Pickwick Club. And, uh, I’m also a journalist.~ 

And I’m Koi, she/her. I’m a cat (BUT! I am not a CAPTCHA.) and Barnacle keeps trying to get me to be the mascot of the Pickwick Club, but that is never happening and he knows it.

Before we get into Important Dates, I’d like to have a moment of silence for Ella Starburst, who started the MCUs. We wouldn’t be here without her. Thank you, Ella!

Alright, Important Dates, courtesy of yours truly!

Month long observances~

National Alcohol Awareness Month

National Garden Month

National Poetry Month

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month

Stress Awareness Month

Important Dates

April 1st ~ National Sourdough Bread Day & April Fools’ Day (Poinsettia) Now that’s my kind of day! ~Oh, April Fools’ Day?~ What? Of course not — I love sourdough bread! ~Wait, rea—~ no, APRIL FOOLS! Of course I’m talking about April Fools’ Day! 

April 2nd ~ World Autism Awareness Day

April 3rd ~ National Geologists Day Yeah, you guys rock!! ...Please…please leave. Just get out. 

April 4th ~ International Carrot Day

April 5th ~ Passover Begins & Deep Dish Pizza Day (Avara)

April 6th ~ National Siamese Cat Day Yesss we need more cat holidays 

April 7th ~ National Burrito Day & Caramel Popcorn Day (OpalescentDragon)

April 8th ~ National Empanada Day WHY are so many of these holidays about food? I mean, I’m not complaining…

April 9th ~ National Unicorn Day & Easter Sunday (Poinsettia)

April 10th ~ National Encourage a Young Writer Day ohhoho…all you better watch out because on April 10th I am going to encourage all you writers SO HARD—

April 11th ~ National Cheese Fondue Day & National Pet Day (OpalescentDragon)

April 12th ~ National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day I’m TELLING you!! So many of these holidays relate to food! Specifically cheese! *squints suspiciously*

April 13th ~ Passover ends & Peach Cobbler Day (Avara) 

April 14th ~ National Pecan Day it’s pronounced ‘PEE-can’!! ~what? No, it’s pronounced ‘puh-KAHN’!~ *sibling squabble over the pronunciation of a nut commences*

April 15th ~ National Laundry Day As in…I can not do it? & World Art Day (Avara)

April 16th ~ National Librarian Day

April 17th ~ International Haiku Poetry Day & Blah Blah Blah Day (Avara)

April 18th ~ National Velociraptor Awareness Day *mimics velociraptor shrieks*

April 19th ~ National Garlic Day ah yes, the day you find out which of your friends are actually VAMPIRES

April 20th ~ National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day

April 21th ~ Eid al-Fitr

April 22nd ~ Earth Day! & Jelly Bean Day (Avara)

April 23rd ~ National Cherry Cheesecake Day & Wolfy’s birthday! (Wolfy) WHAT IS IT WITH THE FOOD HOLIDAYS!? AND CHEESE, SPECIFICALLY, AS WE’VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED!? Calm down, Barnacle. People just like food okay?? *avoids AE drama and gives Wolfy a delicious cupcake or churro or other delicious treat for her birthday :D*

April 24th ~ World Pinhole Photography Day

April 25th ~ National Zucchini Bread Day zoodles and pro-zoodlists, rejoice! 

April 26th ~ Get Organized Day haha never :’)

April 27th ~ National Tell a Story Day. I mean, I personally do this almost every day, but I'm still happy there’s a day for it :)

April 28th ~ National Blueberry Pie Day so many food holid— *claps paw over Barnacle’s mouth* mmph! MMPH! & Arbor Day (OpalescentDragon)

April 29th ~ National Zipper Day

April 30th ~ National Bubble Tea Day & Jazz Day if I listen to jazz music while drinking bubble tea…do I get bonus points? Bonus points for WHAT? Yes, Fir, you get 7 whole bonus points.

Now, before we move onto the next section, I’ve just received word of abnormal zoodles activity around DtE. Swarms of these zucchini snakes have been spotted behaving aggressively toward CBers and AEs. Please, for your own safety, lock yourselves in your houses and do not emerge until this has all blown over. Wait, what’s this? I’ve been April Fooled? Oh, never mind, there are no zoodles. To apologize for the confusion, have a free churro as an apology.

Ahhhhhhh zoodles!!! *hides under the table* 

Fir. Please. It was a false alarm. pangolin just said so.

Oops. Heh. Sorry. *emerges sheepishly from beneath the table* Can I have extra churros?

LMWAY

Last month, we asked you to tell us the most absurd place you can expect to find flowers. Here are the wonderfully creative answers we received:

Poinsettia says, “It would be extremely strange to find flowers inside a test tube in a school chemistry lab. Or in your dad's bedroom slippers. (Assuming he has bedroom slippers.) Or woven poetically through your uncle's hair.” 

Wolfy says, “My mind went directly to the toilet tank, but I suppose within a dusty old attic where the sun doesn't shine might be an odd spot as well.”

Amethyst says, “Well, it would be odd to see flowers coming gracefully out of a radio ;)”

Avara says, “I would least expect to find flowers inside a sock. Or any article of clothing, for that matter.”

OpalescentDragon says, “The most absurd place, eh? I picture an open book with a worn green leather cover, colorful flowers spilling out of the pages. Or perhaps a pencil with flowers coming out of the tip, like a mini bouquet.”

Golden Lion Tamarin says, “Probably the strangest place to find flowers would be in the void of space. Just, not in a planter, the flower itself is floating around in space.”

And you know where else you can find flowers? In this month’s MCU playlist! 

I don’t think that segues as nicely as you think it does.

ANYWAY, next up, we have the monthly playlist, a new addition to the MCU! The first 7 songs are courtesy of Avara, and the last 5 are the courtesy of Lupine. Here’s the songs:

Beautiful Day by U2

Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles

Spring by Vivaldi

Acony Bell by Gillian Welch

This Land is Your Land by Pete Seeger

Wildflowers by Tom Petty

Rain by Patty Griffin

New Season by Nadiiife

Daffodil by Florence + The Machine

The Seed by AURORA

Kalmia Kid by chloe moriondo

Would You Be So Kind by dodie

~*is in her room, singing along to the April MCU playlist*~

Hey, you have a surprisingly nice voice!

~*shrieks* get out get out get out please and thank you goodbye forever *blushes furiously*~

Gosh I really wish I could help resolve this conflict but I really MUST finish hosting this MCU… /s 

*shuffles papers professionally* Next, it looks like we’ve got the Book of the Month, review courtesy of Poinsettia!

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel is an adventure novel, set against the dramatic backdrop of the French Revolution. The Terror is at its height; hundreds of innocent people, nobles and commoners alike, are guillotined every day. Once condemned to die, there seems to be no escape for anyone. Yet, in the very heart of Paris, victims are being snatched from their deaths by a daring and unbelievably gifted band of unknown strangers. More and more victims are saved, and after each escape, the guillotiners receive a sassy message from the leader of the band - signed with a little drawing of the scarlet pimpernel flower. Everyone knows about the Scarlet Pimpernel, as he is called, but no one knows who he is. And the French Government is determined to get their hands on him..

Far away in England, the wealthy Frenchwoman Marguerite Blakeney - the witty, talented heroine of the story - has nothing to do but attend social events, listen to the boring conversation of her dull, uninteresting husband, and worry about her brother, who is still in France. Then, in a sudden twist of fate, her brother's life is threatened, and to save him she must find out and reveal to the French government the identity of the brave and ruthless Scarlet Pimpernel. Thus begins an adventure that turns into a terrifying quest to save her brother, prevent the Scarlet Pimpernel from certain capture, and perhaps discover the nature of true love along the way.

Although it presents a biased picture of the French Revolution, the Scarlet Pimpernel is a thrillingly well-written novel. Filled with twists of the plot, hair-raising adventure, and excitement, its characters seem to come alive, and the superb writing paints a vivid and gripping picture of Marguerite's journey, from balls and operas to the rugged shores of France.

Mm…sounds exciting and all but also like a lot of effort.

We really appreciate your valuable addition to this MCU, Koi. /s

Next, we have the advice column! We asked for your advice in pranking people this April Fools’. Here are the awesome prank ideas we received (honestly, I’m a little scared to get on the bad side of some of you guys…): 

Wolfy says, “Sticking googley eyes on everything is a fun (and harmless) prank. Ooh, this year April 1st is a Saturday, so if one is dedicated and a relatively good actor, they could convince their housemates that it's a weekday. My brain has enjoyed pulling this trick on me on many a weekend.”

Amethyst says, “To be Easter-themed, you could put eggs in unexpected places - in a lamp instead of the light bulb, for example.”

Avara says, “Try taking the batteries out of a TV remote, or computer mouse, or something. Then put a weight in there, if you think the person would be able to tell that the batteries are missing (nothing magnetic or metal, though. After the person realizes that it ‘doesn’t work’, secretly put the batteries in it, and brag about your genius in being able to ‘fix’ it.”

OpalescentDragon says, “If you are looking for a simple prank, head to the bathroom. Unroll the toilet paper slightly and draw a black spider on one of the squares. Roll it back up so the spider is hidden. I really scared my mother with this prank last year. >:)”

Golden Lion Tamarin says, “Put food coloring in your family milk carton.”

Don’t let Barnacle see these suggestions. Today’s been hard enough without him having new ideas for pranks…

*enters room in an explosion of glitter and everyone dives for cover* TOO LATE I’VE SEEN THEM ALL AND THEY’RE ALL FANTASTIC! *leaves to scheme*

I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that…Alright, on to the CBer Awards!

So this is a new section I’ve decided to try out. Well, technically, it’s an old section from Floof Industry’s MCUs that I thought we should revive. It’s a way to give special shoutouts to CBers you think deserve it :) This is sort of a trial run, so tell me what you think :) With that said, here’s April’s CB awards:

The Egghead!

Poinsettia nominated them “for starting the Egg Hunt, because it's a really fun idea and lends some excitement to checking threads every day :)” They were also nominated by Amethyst and OpalescentDragon.

Poinsettia and Flamarestii!

Amethyst nominated them “for starting the Magical Horses RP.”

The Admins!

Amethyst nominated them “for doing such an amazing job here... As always, thank you so much, admins! :D”

“Most Guesses in a SI” goes to ~Amarillis~!

Avara nominated them because “in the Song Artist SI, she guessed me 17 times. They also got guessed a lot from me -  30 times. Also thanks for putting up with my incessant guessing.

We’d also like to give a shout-out to ALL the CBers, really! Each and everyone of you are wonderfully creative, thoughtful, and talented individuals, and such critical parts of the CB, even if you may not realize or believe it. 

Next, we have April Jokes!

Q: What flowers bloom on faces?

A: Tulips!

(Poinsettia)

Q: April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring? 

A: Pilgrims!

(Wolfy)

Q: How do you fit an elephant into a refrigerator?

A: You open the door, put the elephant in, and close the door.

Q: How do you fit another elephant into the refrigerator?

A: You open the door, take the first elephant out, put the other elephant in, and close the door. The fridge isn't that big.

Q: The king of the lions is having a party. All the animals are invited, including you! Unfortunately, you have to cross a river full of crocodiles to get there. How do you cross the river?

A: You just swim across. The crocodiles are at the party.

Q: One animal didn't make it to the party. Who was it?

A: The elephant that's still in the refrigerator. Hurry, let it out!

(Avara)

Q: Why couldn't the little flower ride a bike?

A: It didn't have any petals.

(OpalescentDragon)

Q: When do gorillas fall from the sky? 

A: During Ape-ril showers.

(Golden Lion Tamarin)

Aaaaand, last but not least, here's the winners of this month’s LoTM!

3rd Place: Inside a Tulip (submitted by Poinsettia)

Why: It’s spring, flowers are blooming, and tulips are one of my favorite flowers! There’s a couple growing in my yard right now, and they’re so pretty :)

2nd Place: Whirling in the rain (submitted by OpalescentDragon)

Why: I love the rain, and thought this was a fun take on the concept of April showers :)

1st Place: A vale of violets (submitted by Amethyst)

Why: Similar to what I said for Poinsettia’s, spring is a time of flowers blooming, so this is perfect :) I love the alliteration and the imagery with this one (gosh I sound like my English teacher….)

And that concludes this month’s edition of the MCU! I hope everyone has a wonderful April and doesn’t get pranked too badly…

*giggles nefariously in the background*

Um, I should go hide. Thank you for reading, thanks to everyone who contributed, signing off,

pangolin

Barnacle

Koi

Fir

~Mirage~