Chatterbox: In This Month's Issue

Well, here we are again! Welcome welcome everyone to a somewhat impromptu April MCU, a bit late and a bit unexpected because of unusual circumstances and-- {What she's trying to say is that Hawkstar was supposed to host, and organized everything up to here, but couldn't do the actual thing. So, WE, the heroes of the show, stepped in to save the day. You're quite welcome.} ^Sorry about the fact that you couldn't do it in the end, Hawkstar!!^

So, here we are, ready to bring you another Monthly Check Up. We hope it turns out well, but we can't really promise anything. Introducing my AEs,

^Vireo, she/her! Bouncy, imaginative, ready to make things fun.^

~I'm Ibis, she/her. Let's try to keep things pretty zippy here, ok?~

{NeVeR-- I'm Aldebaran, he/him, more or less the leader of all these little AEs. No fears, this MCU is going to be The Best.}

/So he says. Silvan, she/her. I think actually I might go away and read a book while everyone else is chaotic over here./

And our last AE... um... our last AE... is Eri? Hello? Eri? ERI?

|What? Who's calling me? What's going on? wHAT we're doing an MCU?? But I'm off on a date with Lyra, I can't possibly participate. Goodbye, lizards.|

{Not a cHANCE *catches hold of Eri's jacket*|

^Off with Lyra? Who's the Beautiful Boy now?^

|Oh, thank you, I always thought I was handsome. No, but I do have to go. I can't be here, and off in a park with Lyra, at the same time.|

~It's the CB! You can! Please just stick around, it won't be the same without you.~

|Well fine. I'm Eri, he/him, really would rather be elsewhere, but who cares I suppose MCUs are fun.|

{Actually, I'm starting to think maybe you should leave.}

Nooo!!! Right, now before anything else unprecedented can happen, let's just impose some silence on behalf of Ella Starburst, founder and creator of MCUs! Thank you so much, Ella. You worked so hard on what has become essential to the Chatterbox, and we're forever grateful :)

First up, Important Dates! These are from WildWolf, along with WildWolf's AEs, um - didn't get their names, sorry.

April 1: International sourdough bread day #Wait, what???# Mwahahaha, APRIL FOOLS! Well it is actually sourdough bread day too haha; also the 21st birthday of Lore, GloomyBear's AE! (GloomyBear) And April Fools' Day (Moon Wolf and Poinsettia)

April 2: National peanut butter and jelly day ^Y-yum.^

April 6: Siamese cat day and Fresh Tomato Day (Scuttles)

April 8: Total Solar Eclipse *Ooh, exciting. It's very interesting how
rarely that happens, and almost other worldly feeling when--* (Stop. This isn't supposed to be 10 paragraphs long.) (WildWolf and Moon Wolf)

April 10: National hug your dog day #Yayyy! Bring on the dog hugssss#

April 12: National grilled cheese sandwich day

April 16: National librarian day ^B-bring those h-hard-hardworking librar-rarains a t-treat.^

April 18: High five day #High fives, everyone!!# and National Velociraptor Appreciation Day (Peregrine Falcon)

April 21: National Bull Dogs are beautiful day *And WildWolf's birthday.* Fox, I said we wouldn't mention that! This is important dates! *Sorry* |And this is Eri because I couldn't help it! Happy birthday WildWolf!! Yay!!!! *consumes birthday cake*| ~*throws eco-friendly confetti*~

April 22: Earth Day (Moon Wolf)

April 23: World Book Day

April 24: Administrative Professionals Day (Amethyst) |Yay go admins! You really do deserve a day!! Sorry, this is Eri again.|

April 29: International dance day We should have a dance party!!!!# ^N-no thanks...^ (I'll pass.) #Aw, come on guys!#

April 30: Oatmeal cookie day ^N-not as good as ch-chocolate chip though.^ (Agreed.)

There's also Spring Day, a holiday Poinsettia invented :) ~Oh yeah I love that one!!~

~Wait, it's already tomorrow??~

|No, it's today|

~I mean, we started this off yesterday, and now it's the fourth.~

Please, let's NOT argue and just get this done. International Dance Day is coming up - and since dancing and music have to go together, what's this month's playlist like? Here it is, from Poinsettia!

~The Red, Red Robin by Billy Cotton (because robins appear in spring!!) (or, alternatively, the version of the same song by Al Jolson - I like both versions) (1920s pop)

|When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along, There'll be no more sobbing when--|

{When you stop singing *throws pillow at Eri*}

~Cheira Lisboa by Amalia Rodriguez (Portuguese fado)

~Violets of Dawn, by Eric Andersen (folk)

~My Love Follows You Where You Go by Alison Krauss (its own particular genre which can only be called Alison Krauss music)

~I Prefer by Maria Gillard (folk)

~Yesss I do prefer folk :D~

~I Give You the Morning, by Buffalo Rose (indie)

~L'oiseau et l'enfant by Kids United (rock)

/Kids United? Those obviously aren't us/

^What? We are united. Just in our own way.^

/*looks at Eri and Alde arguing over who took whose pillow* Um.../

|What's the discussion?|

^We're wondering whether we're united or not.^

{Yess we are united we're the whole United States of America ;)}

~Oh poor rest of the US~

Ahem. Thanks for the playlist, Poinsettia! Now--

~Wait why isn't Taylor Swift on it??~

^I don't like Taylor Swift!!!!!!^

~I know, but I do and--~

Help. Now, while you're drowning out the arguments of your AEs with this playlist, you can bury your nose in a book as well. Here are book quotes - the first four are Celine's, the others are {oUrS}

"Scottish folds are powerful" - On A Subeam

"First one out wins at all things ever" - On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

"Down, down Mango Street we go. Rachel, Lucy, me. Our new bicycle. Laughing the crooked ride back." - The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

"No mourners. No funerals." - Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

"'It would have to rain today,' said Rush, lying flat on his back in
front of the fire. 'On a Saturday. Certainly. Naturally. Of course. What
else would you expect? Good weather is for Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday; and rain's for Saturday and Sunday, and Christmas vacation and Easter.'" ~The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright

"This is the way I used to feel in Barbados, Kit thought with surprise. Light as air somehow. Here I've been working like a slave, much harder than I've ever worked in the onion fields, but I feel as though nothing mattered except just to be alive right at this moment." ~The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare

"Looking back across the years, Marcus remembered that his father's eyes had been very bright, like the eyes of a man going into action; and the light had caught suddenly in the great flawed emerald of the signet-ring he always wore, striking from it a spark of clear green fire. Odd how one remembered things like that: little things that somehow mattered." ~The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff

"No plans? Lucy thought. The idea struck her as peculiar - how could a person not have plans? - but also enticing. Though the Jersey
Shore wasn't all that far from her hometown, in some ways he was the
most exotic person she'd ever spoken to." ~Love, Lucy, by April Lindner

|Now can we finish off? Maybe? I want to go back to the park|

{It isn't what you want, it's what you get.}

^You're the life of the MCU, Eri.^

|I just don't see the point in making this fifty pages long.|

~We don't even have pages on the CB.~

|Shocking! How very degenerate of us.|

/I love those book quotes!! Books fOrEvEr~ *runs off and comes back with five hundred books, which are soon strewn liberally all over the living room*/

{Help I'm drowning in books!!!!!}

^And then each of these books has tons of charries, and tons of chapters, and tons of words, and - help.^

|Well technically, you can only drown in water or another fluid substance.|

{I'm up for an argument about chemistry if you are. How many people have drowned in worry? In fear? In happiness??}

|Absolutely none, technically speaking. You can't let poetic expressions run away with you, Alde.|

{Just watch me--}

Well, since we seem to be on advice and opinions, let's go on to the Advice Column. We didn't ask "How many things can you drown in?", or we might be able to settle this debate for once and for all, but - *pile of books tumbles on top of our beloved presenter* - Ack. Um. This is why we don't have a book of the month; there are already way too many books, and give Silvan another suggestion and she and Ibis will get all the books that author ever wrote, and we will drown. Supposing we haven't already :| This month, we asked you, "What are some ways you can contribute to nature?" Here are our responses:

WildWolf says: "Organize a neighborhood cleanup! Even if it's just you and your family, grab some trash bags and plastic gloves and clean up around the neighborhood, or a playground, or a forest!" ^Yes, this is so immensely important!^

Moon Wolf says: "Turn off the lights when leaving a room, reuse anything you can (any piece of paper can be a bookmark!), and advocate for endangered species"

Poinsettia says: "Reduce consumption in your lifestyle - things like making gifts instead of buying them, carpooling so you don't buy so much gasoline, handing down clothing instead of buying new items for everyone, not throwing out old furniture. In my neighborhood I often see items of furniture sitting on the curb for the rubbish, and while some of them are certainly spoiled, a lot of them are perfectly good, and it's just a huge waste. Sorry, that got a little rant-y :P" |Rants are good! More - shall I say rants are necessary?| {No, don't}

Peregrine Falcon says: "To take care of the earth, we should not litter and NOT USE RAT POISON I done two essays about that."

Scuttles says: "plant a tree! Also become vegetarian" /Just be careful of the kind of tree! Some kinds are invasive, and those can actually cause a lot of trouble :(/

Thunder says: "Plant a tree or a flower garden. I have a TON of trees in my backyard, and every year my mom plants flowers in the ground (she loves flowers)." ~As do we all :D~

Helping the environment makes our lives better, and so do inspirational quotes! {You're getting better at transitioning from one topic to another, but possibly you still need some work.} Here are Inspirational Quotes, courtesy of GloomyBear! ^Thanks, Gloomy :D Amethyst you're writing us all in one paragraph again wHy--^

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." - Wayne Gretzky

"Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being" - Kevin Kruse

|Therefore, why did you take my pillow?|

{But I didn't!!}

"We become what we think about" - Earl Nightingale

/Ooh, does that mean I can actually become a charrie in a fantasy book? Yay!!/

"Eighty precent of success is showing up" - Woody Allen

"The two most improtant days of your life, are the day you are born, and the day you find out why." -Mark Twain

"Fall seven times, get up eight." -Japanese Proverb.

~I love all of these :)~

Well, that's all for this MCU! We didn't get any submissions for CB quotes, Threads to Check, jokes, LMWAY, or LotM. Sorry! We hope to be back in a couple of years.

Or, wait a second...

 

APRIL FOOLS! We still have a lot to get through. Let's look for inspiration in our very own CB, which has a treasure trove of it. Here are Chatterbox Quotes, selected by Celine BurningBright~

"The moon is so darn gorgeous tonight <3

It's the second of the Hebrew month (Adar Bet, because it's a leap year, so there's an extra month), so there's almost no moon, save for a really bright sliver at the bottom and it's so glowy and wonderful"

Rainbow

"IT'S BACK MY BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL CB-- I've missed y'all so much, and the dear old CB itself!! I'm so glad to see it back!!!!!

*starts going into hysterics over my returned captcha*"

Amethyst

<awtyy>

"does anyone else remember that version of Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" that she sung with Elmo or did i just have a really obscure childhood"

Writing_in_the_dark

"i'm yet again caught up in another story idea i'll inevitably never finish send help

but how can i resist it? it's so fun. It's basically a species of bird people (not swans or bluebirds or songbird fairies, this is actually not ballet-related *gasp*) and fragments of worlds up in the clouds and aerial post offices and uhhh there's the whole issue of "beloved brother is dead or gone but maybe it's even good in a way and that hurts worse" and also "he's the one whose whole life revolved around birds so why am i the one who lived and turned into a bird person" and all sorts of other stuff but heh. i might post some if i get anything written, i'm having a ton of fun thinking about how wings and talons and such would effect worldbuilding. The hardest part is desiging it so it's both functional (even if it's not scientific or anything) and doesn't look weird in art though XD

BUT SERIOUSLY if anyone has any tips on how to not get caught up in 20 story ideas and daydream them but not actually write any of them and then not write enought when you do write - i need it please please PLEASE -!

okay i know return to Swan Lake bye"

Blackfooted Bobcat

"Tis I, the Salad Dressing Guy."

Julius Caesar

Thanks, Celine!! And while we're on Chatterbox stuff, here are Thread to Check, from Moon Wolf!

CaC: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/chirpatcricket/node/567190 

New CBers by Periwinkle - A place for new CBers to meet

 

BaB: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/blababoutbooks/node/562438

Book Log 2024 by pangolin - A thread to post the books you’ve read recently

 

DtE: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/567026 

Nocturnal Cafe by Miss Avian - A local cafe to meet and eat at

 

PP: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/puddingsplace/node/566989 

Paradise by uriel - A ski-lodge or solo-write that is still open to join as of right now

 

Inkwell: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/563469 

Random Writing Thread by WildWolf - A thread to put your random writing in

 

And don’t forget to drop by Kyngdom :)

Kyngdom: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/kyngdom-new/node/211392 

Perform at Bog+Burrow by Wigbig, the rabbit - A great place to RP and hang out

|We need to check that one out! You keep promising to, Amethyst, and then you fOrGeT.|

Too many other things to do - like write MCUs, and arrange for you to meet with Lyra, and etc.

{And anyway, "drown" is relative. It isn't really science, it's English, and you can interpret it in many different ways.}

|Then I'll look it up in the dictionary!|

{You can try...}

|Wait where is the dictionary?|

{Lalala...}

|You keep hiding things!!! Argh|

Let's, er, lighten up with some jokes! Here are your best April-themed jokes:

GloomyBear: "Did you hear about the mathmatician who was afraid of nagetive numbers? He would stop ant nothing to stay away from them!"

Moon Wolf: "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Spring apparently wasn't bad either."

Peregrine Falcon: "Person: 'I hate geology puns.'

Me: 'My sediments exactly.'"

Scuttles: "I don't trust stairs. They're always up to something"

Thunder: "What do you call a cute door? A-DOOR-able!"

^Aw, yes!^

|I love these ;D *starts pelting everyone with spring jokes*|

{NOOOOoooo *covers ears*}

~I think he's drowning in spring jokes.~

|But he CAN'T be!!|

{Come to think of it, even the meaning of liquid is debatable.}

Since we seem to be in a positive mood, let's keep it going. April is the month when April Fools' Day comes around! (Though now it's actually past April Fools' Day, hehe.) Last month, we asked you what your favorite April Fools' prank was. Here are the hilarious, imaginative responses we got:

WildWolf says: "Hmm, well every year me and my sister make up an April fools prank, and
my favourite was this one time that we told our mom that our iPad was
broken, and when she opened it up the wallpaper was a picture of us
making silly faces and APRIL FOOLS written on it. XD"

Moon Wolf says: "Add googly eyes to everything!" |Shall I add googly eyes to you, Alde? It might improve your good looks.| {No I'm not that desparate for ways to improve my looks.}

Poinsettia says: "Make up an outrageous news item and try to get people to believe it XD"

Peregrine Falcon says: "My favorite April Fool's prank is to put plastic bugs (specifically cockroaches) in people's beds or chairs."

Scuttles says: "I've a actually been planning for this prank for half a year and I'm so thrilled to finally get to do it! I saved a jar of mayonnaise and
cleaned it out, and I'm gonna fill it with vanilla yogurt and bring it
to school and eat it and convince all my friends it's mayo."

Thunder says: "Probably cuttin' out brown "e"s and sayin' "hey, look, y'all, I made brownies". I did that a few yearsback one mornin'... got my parents
gooood :)"

|Look out next April Fools', guys!! These are all way too good to ignore mwahahaha ;)|

/I'm leaving this house entirely next April Fools' Day./

Last, let's have judging for the Location of the Month! We asked you to give us your best April-themed location. Here are the amazing responses we got, all of which honestly deserved first place - y'all are so imaginative :)

Honorable Mentions:

Poinsettia, with "April showers"!

Why: Because there are so many of these :(

Thunder, with "In an April shower"!

Why: Same as Poinsettia's - very themed to the season!

Second place:

Scuttles, with "in an easter egg basket"!

Why: Because April is the season of Easter and eggs - though actually Easter was in March this year :)

First place:

Moon Wolf, with "Gazing at a Total Eclipse"!

Why: Because there's going to be a total eclipse this year in the US, and wheeeee :D

And we believe that's all. We hope it wasn't too rushed, and we apologize for the lateness--

|But it doesn't cOuNt as drowning!|

{According to the Emperor's Royal Dictionary, it counts.}

|And we all know who the supposed emperor is in this case.|

--though perhaps we can see why we're so late, and we had better be signing off - everyone, we're signing off,

|Eri and I'm out of hereeee| |(though it was fun :D)|,

{Aldebaran, restoring dictionaries to their proper places},

^Vireo, hope to see you again soon!!^,

~Ibis~,

/Silvan/,

and *gasp* Amethyst.