Chatterbox: In This Month's Issue

Hello!, and welcome, girls, boys, fire-breathing dragons and walking talking magic bow-ties, to this month’s… MCU!! *fireworks go off in the distance*

¿with commentary by ~us truly~ of course¿

::/though in parenthesis is Lyric speaking :) \::

May 1: National Mother Goose Day

May 2: International Harry Potter Day

May 3: National Chocolate Custard Day and Two Different Colored Shoes Day (Scuttles)

May 4: National Star Wars Day (Lyric & Moon Wolf) ¥+~May the 4th be with you~+¥ and Anti-Bullying Day

May 5: Cinco de Mayo and Orthodox Easter

May 6: National Nurses Day

May 7: National Teacher Appreciation Day and National Fentanyl Awareness Day (stay safe y'all!!)

May 8: National Have a Coke Day and International Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War 

May 9: National Lost Sock Memorial Day ¿RIP, socks. You served us well. We will never forgive the washing machine for taking you from us forever. Vengeance must be served!! D:< ¿ and Em's friend R's birthday (Thunder)!! ***HAPPY BIRTHDAY R!!! *throws water confetti* :D ***

May 10: National Clean Up Your Room Day ::/yayy!! :D \::  ***boo D: ***

May 11: National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day

May 12: Mother’s Day <3

May 13: National Apple Pie Day ***the McDonald's apple pie in Tai Wan... soooo good.... :DD*** ¥+Din Tai Fung in Tai Wan... sooo good.... :DD+¥ ::/everything in Tai Wan... sooo good... :DDD\:: ***hehee :) ***

May 14: National Dance like a Chicken Day *** BAWK BAWK!! *runs wildly around the house slewing chicken feathers everywhere* *** and Moon Wolf’s CBversary (Lyric & Moon Wolf)! ¥+Happy CBversary Moon Wolf!!+¥ ***here’s to many more happy years!!!! *clinks glass* *** ::/o_O CE is that WINE?!??? You’re not 21 yet!!! That’s underage drinking!!\:: ***Saffy, stop WINE-ing (haha, see what I did there? :D)! I’m a dragon! Normal rules don’t apply to me! I can turn my body to water on command!! :DD*** ::/maybe so, but a lot of the CBers are kids! We need to set a good example!\:: ***okay, fine… DO NOT drink wine ya lizards!! It's horrible and bad for you and you will REGRET IT BLERGH :D I am just drinking very dignified grape juice~***

May 15: National Chocolate Chip Day and Silver's birthday (Silver Crystal)!! ¿HAPPY B-DAY SILVER!!!!! :DD *throws cake or your preferred birthday treat at you*¿  ::/AT her?!?\:: ¿I mean... yeah?? Isn't that what I said?¿  ::/*sigh* what I have to deal with...\:: ***oh, oh! Let me get out the dignifi-*** ::/NO!\::

May 16: International Wear Purple for Peace Day

May 17: National Endangered Species Day ***sAvE tHe vAqUiTa!!!!*** and International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (Scuttles) ¥+woo-hoo! *waves a pride flag*+¥

May 18: National Learn to Swim Day

May 19: National Take Your Parents to the Playground Day

May 20: National Pick Strawberries Day and World Bee Day ¿did you know that strawberries aren't really a berry?! :0 they're actually an aggregate fruit! on the other hand, lots of weird things ARE berries, such as eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers... bananas...¿

May 21: National American Red Cross Founder’s Day ¥+...you mean Clara Barton? I mean, she was the founder of the American Red Cross... so why isn't it just National Clara Barton day? :/ +¥ ::/maybe it's not Clara Barton's day, just the day of Clara Barton founding the American Red Cross??\:: ***the American Red Cross... should totally be a super hero/villain name! :D***

May 22: National Solitaire Day

May 23: National Taffy Day ¥+I still don't know the difference between taffy and toffee...+¥

May 24: National Asparagus Day

May 25: National Tap Dance Day ***TAP TAP TAP TAP tappin' on the roof! TAP TAP TAP TAP tappin yeah we do. TAP TAP TAP TAP now we're fallin' through. TAP TAP TAP TAP whoops there's a hole in the roof!***

May 26: National Paper Airplane Day ::/all our dreams and all our desires, are paper planes in front of our eyes-\::

May 27: Memorial Day (Lyric & Thunder)

May 28: National Hamburger Day ¿why is it called a hamburger if it has beef?¿

May 29: National Creativity Day

May 30: International Day of Potato ¿potato~¿

May 31: World No-Tobacco Day and National Macaroon Day (no, not macarons)

¥+May has the last frost date (Blackfooted Bobcat) so time to get your spring gardens up and going!+¥

::/also, May is Mental Health Awareness month, as well as AAPI heritage month!!!!\:: ***wow, I just realized that all of Celi's AEs are Asian! How did we not realize that before?!??*** ¥+May is also- *takes a deep breath* Arthritis Awareness Month, Better Sleep Month, National Walking Month, Women's Health Care Month, National Returning Youth Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, Better Speech and Language Month, ALS Awareness Month, Skin Cancer Awareness Month, National Preservation Month, National Wildfire Awareness Month, National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, National Foster Care Month, Correct Your Posture Month, National Dental Care Month, Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, National Moving Month, National Brain Tumor Awareness Month, Sturge-Weber Syndrome Awareness Month, Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month...+¥ and so much more but we should probably move on!!

***Celi, you're back again!!***

yup, and it's a good thing too. At this rate, we won't move off of important dates in a thousand years! Which reminds me of that Christina Perri song "A Thousand Years", so let's get on to the Monthly Playlist, brought to you by the amazing... Amethyst!! :D

~"Something to Love", by Jason Isbell ¿he is a bell? ;) ¿

~"Breakfast at Tiffany's", by Deep Blue Something

~"invisible string", by Taylor Swift

~"Perfect Love", by Trisha Yearwood

~"Eleni", by Kostas Mantzios

***hey, you know what's my "something to love"? The CB!!!***

yess, great segue!! Next up, CB quotes, brought to you by the marvelous Ms. Maisel- ahem. I mean, Moon Wolf!!:

“I wish my school had a cheese club…” - Scuttles

“Well, here is a story unfolding in the depths of the Inkwell... a story of an ancient country and the battles tearing it apart, of the characters - some brave, some villainous, all captivating - fighting their way through it, each trying to find a path; of animals and humans, magical beings, kings, nobles, everyone, whether in palaces or forests or inns, each a part of a story that has been continuing for many years. It is Kyngdom.” - Poinsettia

“Don't base big life decisions on whether an ear of corn rattles or not.” - Blackfooted Bobcat

“i don't suppose I could ever see a cocoa cat, perhaps an all brown cat would do:)” - Cocoa cat

“Why do people always talk about what they would say to their past self if time-travelling, but never  what they would say to their FUTURE self if their FUTURE self time-travelled and visited THEM? What would you say to your future self? What would you want to know about the future?” - Slytherin Unicyclist

And while we're on the topic of quotes, here are inspirational quotes, brought to you by... Hawkstar? Oh deer (;)), it appears Hawkstar's running a bit late, so... by me! :D

wait I'll post those later :) 

And to wrap up the quotes section: book quotes, by… Moon Wolf again!!

¥+and NOT the marvelous Ms. Maisel+¥

¿who even is the marvelous ms. maisel?¿

I honestly don’t know…

Book quotes~

"'Sorry, Tom,' said Mr. Lemoncello. 'At the Lemoncello Library, we value the truth more than myths. 'What about all those Percy Jackson books you have?' fumed Edison. 'Those are myths!' 'And they are correctly shelved as fiction.'" - Chris Grabenstein, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

"'You don't belong here; you're no Baggins---you---you're a Brandybuck!' 'Did you hear that, Merry? That was an insult, if you like,' said Frodo as he shut the door on her. 'It was a compliment,' said Merry Brandybuck, 'and so, of course, not true.'" - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

"'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver. 'Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you.'" - C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 

"'No wonder he and my brother don't get along,' Linh said. 'They're basically the same person.' Practically on cue, Tam shouted from the bathroom above, 'Dude - this guy uses more hair products than I do!'" - Shannon Messenger, Lodestar

¿and we do love that book quotes transitions nicely into the book of the month...¿

BotM, from Luna silvermoon~

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Blurb: When young, country witch Tiffany Aching’s little brother is kidnapped by the Queen of the Fairies, she will have to call upon the help of the nac mac feegle clan, tiny cow-stealing warriors the size of your thumb.

¥+*starts chanting* THE WEE FREE MEN! THE WEE FREE MEN! NAE LAIRD! NAE QUAIN! NAE MASTER!+¥ 

&um, I think you mean "NAC MAC FEEGLE! THE WEE FREE MEN! NAE KING! NAE QUIN! NAE LAIRD! NAE MASTER! WE WILLNA' BE FOOLED AGAIN!”&

¥+ACH CRIVENS! D: +¥

And while you guys are busy declaring independence, I think it’s time for… LMWAY! Last month we asked you: "May is the month of Mother's Day (hey, that rhymes!)! What are you doing for your mom this Mother's Day? Any good memories you'd like to share?"

Moon Wolf says: "I'm not sure yet but probably having tea time with her and buying some snacks to go with it.

WildWolf says: I'm probably going to make a water colour card for my mom like I do it every year :D

Silver Crystal says: I'm going to make my mom a handmade card and also make her a pair of earrings and a bracelet with beads that she picked out a few months ago :D

Poinsettia says: I'm planning to make a card for my mom, and maybe a nice dessert too :)

¥+aww, y'all are all so sweet!! <3 <3+¥

And what else is sweet? 

***candy???***

No, advice! Advice column is up next! For some of you, May is the month of Finals (and I just realized, the other MCU I did was December, which is the month of midterms! :0), and we asked for your advice on studying/self-care! Here are your responses-

¥+and best of luck to everyone on finals!! You got this! We believe in you!! :DD +¥:

Moon Wolf says: eat some mints, sleep at least 8 hours, review your notes, and hope for the best ¿hoping for the best. yes, that is a great strategy ;) ¿

WildWolf says: Well, I don't actually have finals (I'm homeschooled) but the best advice I can give is take care of yourself! Drink lots of water! Get plenty of sleep! And try not to stress too much :)

::/yess!! Do us a favor. After you're done reading this MCU,, go get yourself a glass of water! Self-care, all day, every day :D\::

Lyric says: Make a to-do list with all your assignments/tasks to do. I use Google docs and color code my assignments/tasks by due date. There's a feature that lets me check them off too, which is nice. I usually do several categories: "Due Today/Tomorrow", "Work on Daily", "This Week", "For the Weekend", "Next Week", and "Later", which I highlight in black so I can't see those assignments and don't stress out about them.

Thunder says:  Ok, so, what I would do is get plenty of sleep the night before, make sure that you're well rested, maybe make a Jeopardy!-themed game thingy of the subjects of the tests you have to study for, and maybe take some ginseg for focus and eat a peppermint to help remember the things for the test (I read that last part 'bout the ginseg and peppermint in a Big Nate comic...)

Silver Crystal says: May is the month of APs, so some advice for that would be: study both in class and out of class, watch videos on strategies different people use on the test, study the rubric (!!!!!!). This year I have three of them in a row, so wish me luck T^T

***SO MUCH good luck Silver YOU GOT THIS!!! To everyone too!! :DD***

Poinsettia says:  What I like to do when I have to study for something, is make notes (or get out the notes I've already made) on what I'm studying, then reread them and reread them and reread them several times a day until I know them really well. If you do that, you save yourself the stress of trying to commit everything to memory on purpose; you just sort of remember it naturally because it's become familiar. As for self-care advice... well, try to take some time to relax and do things that make you happy, and remember that good grades, while very useful, aren't everything. A lot of universities aren't even requiring test scores anymore, so it's no longer something Essential to Your Progress (phew!) And the really important thing is that you've understood and learned and thought throughout the school year, something that tests aren't very good at measuring.

So much good advice! But it kinda concerns me that sleep is mentioned at least two times... but you don't need sleep to do well on a test, right??

¥+girl, you totally do+¥

I am so going to fail. But moving on! I think that after all this talk of finals (remember, finals mean summer's coming up soon too though!), it'd do us some good to get our spirits laughing (wait I meant get our spirits lifted and laugh. But okay...)... it's a good thing you guys submitted a buncha wonderful jokes too!

Moon Wolf chortles: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims.

WildWolf laughs:  It's allergy season!? You've got to be pollen my leg.

Thunder guffaws: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims! (the Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrims)

Poinsettia giggles: not particularly May-themed but - Q: Why did the pony buy some medicine? A: Because he was a little hoarse. (you may have to say this one aloud to yourself to realize the pun)

***WAIT Celi's wearing that shirt right now!!***

I actually am lol. It says: "I'd love to say hello but I'm a little horse" ;)

And while we're on the topic of puns, there were some quite clever ones in your LotMs....

~

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order :) )

Moon Wolf with "A Superbloom Valley"!

Why: superblooms are amazing, and a superbloom valley is definitely where I want to be in May! In fact, my mom and I were just talking about visiting one of them! :D

Poinsettia with "The Mayflower"

Why: the Mayflower! Also, one year for Mother's Day, my brother/I/both my brother and I made a ship for my mom called "The Mayflower"!

In third place... 

Lyric with: "May-be this is corny :p"

Why: I do love a good corny pun (as Leo says, "corny and cheesy are two of my favorite things"! (or something like that :) )), and this one made me laugh. Plus, you can read it as "maybe this is corny :p" or (like I challenge you to a witch's duel) "May, be this corny :p" which can also be read in the sentimental/cliché sense, or can be read as you're telling May to be corn-y as in have a lot of corn, and May is the first month of corn season!! :D yeah that's it lol

In second place...

Silver with "In the field"

Why: very simple, and very nice. I imagine a field where there's a cool breeze blowing, a small apple orchard off to the side, blue skies, green grass... it's very calming and peaceful and very May, which I imagine as a calmer month :) 

WildWolf with "Enjoying the May flowers" 

Why: I love the way this looks in the location box! And enjoying the May flowers is always a great place to be!! The rest will be short bc I have to get ready for school but yeah sorry :)

In first place...

Blackfooted Bobcat with "planting may-hem"

Why: as I've said, always appreciate a good pun, and I really really love this one!! It also captures the essence of May perfectly I think!!

Thunder with "Preparin' for SUMMER VACAY"

Why: yess, so excited summer's almost here!!

And I think that's the end, plus I have to get to school, so signing off~

***Celine!!!! Happy May everyone!! Yay May! :D***

::/Sapphire; remember to self-care! Now's the time to drink a glass of water! :)\::

¥+Ember :)+¥

¿Rumination¿

&and Paradox, thank you!! :)&