January MCU!

[Seadragon & Co.]

Hello, CBers! Welcome to the (unfortunately very late) January MCU! My name is Seadragon, my pronouns are she/her/hers, and I will be your host this month. And as for my cohosts–*shouts into the wings of the MCU Stage* Please don’t make us any later than we already are!
*Comes running onstage* –Hi, I’m Ramya, one of Seadragon’s AEs and your first co-host! My pronouns are also she/her/hers. I’m excited for the New Year but it’s been very cold here lately and I don’t really like that much at all.–
*Comes walking behind Ramya* ~I’m Izzy, Seadragon’s other AE and your other co-host. I don’t mind that it’s cold, but I wish it would rain more. Also, I hate public speaking, but it seems that it is a necessary evil of life in the world.~
Thank you, co-hosts. When Ramya and Izzy are saying the same thing, it will look like -~this~-. Though I don’t know if they will, since they have practically opposite personalities…
Firstly, we have a moment of silence for Ella Starburst, the wonderful CBer who created the MCU! Thank you so much, Ella.

*after a moment* Next, we will have the Book of the Month, from Moon Wolf!
Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty, set in the Great Smoky Mountains around 1900, is about a young member of the Faeran, an ancient race of forest people with magical abilities, who steals from humans to please her clan leader but gets hurt and stranded in the human world, forcing her to confront her loyalties, find unexpected allies, and grapple with her loyalty to her people and her growing connection with humans. ~I love this book.~

Now…what should I say? At this time?
*Runs to the front of stage* –Seadragon has been trying to improve her use of Transition Words in order to make her essays better and has realized that this is a good instance to practice them. Though I think that too many Transition Words make essays taste bad.– This is true (I hope in a metaphorical sense, since I don’t want Ramya to go around eating paper or, for that matter, Google Docs). Thank you for explaining the context, Ramya.

Anyway, at this time, we will be presenting to you Important Dates, created by Thalorwin!
January 1: Z Day, New Year’s Day
January 3: National Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day –Yum–
January 5 brings Twelfth Night
January 6 is Epiphany
January 17 is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday!
January 19 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
January 6: National Bean Day
January 8: Elvis Presley’s Birthday
January 10: National Houseplant Appreciation Day
January 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day –What should we dress our cat up as? Audience suggestions are welcome.–
January 20: National Penguin Day
January 22: National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day ~Our cat was once a Catptcha capable of human speech, albeit sliced into five-letter chunks, but ever since the CB Update, she has lost this ability, so we can’t answer her questions anymore.~ –We should learn to speak Cat!–
January 29: National Puzzle Day.

Furthermore (that doesn’t sound good) Moreover (that sounds even worse) To continue (there we go), we will now have Inspirational Quotes, provided by Thalorwin as well!
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot.
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Unknown.
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

And, going on ~Seadragon, I don’t think that that’s an actual Transition Phrase (TM)~ Well, what does it matter? Don’t be pedantic. ~But you said that you want to make your essays better, and so you should accept help from your magnificent AEs!~ Well, this isn’t an essay. ~But really it’s the only time when we’re allowed to help you with your pieces of writing, since you don’t let us into your school essays or your Personal Works!~ Okay, then find me a good Transition Phrase that fits here without sounding bad. *thinks* ~Seadragon, I regret to say that I cannot find a worthy Transition Phrase that you haven’t already used in this MCU.~ All right then. Very well.

And, going on, we will now have Book Quotes, from Hawkstar!
As my vision went fake, Sam and Hearth helped me leap off the cliff. Because, you know, what are friends for? – The Sword of Summer
He organized his toothpick collection alphabetically (they were all filed under T); he practiced sitting upside-down; he loudly yelled out the name of every animal that ran through their yard (not the type of animal it was, but the actual name he thought it should have, like “Chester,” “Skippy,” or “J.P. McWiggins”). – The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
If a person wants to murder any member of a family, then it is very important that the entire family also be done away with, or the distraught survivors might very well decide to take bloody revenge, or at least make a detailed report at the local police station. – The Fowl Twins –So if I want to get rid of Izzy, then I should also get rid of Seadragon… Good logic.– Um…well, I don’t want to be gotten rid of, and I don’t think you should get rid of Izzy, either… ~I believe that contemplating sororicide (or fraternicide), for brief moments, is part of the Universal Sibling Experience, and yet most people today have siblings but are still alive. So, don’t be alarmed, Seadragon.~ Okay…*relaxes slightly*
My eyes squeeze shut, blocking out the perpetual swirling of rainbow colors-the mural Mom painted five years ago after finally caving to my pleas. She can read auras, the palette of energy each person emits, which she depicts in one-of-a-kind portraits for her rich and famous clientele. But mine looks nothing like her usual work, and not just because of the sheer scale of it. Normal people have one to two colors in their auras. I have them all.
We don’t know what this means. – Soulmatch
It is natural to doubt your true love when you do not know if he is young or old. – The Last Everafter –Certainly! I wouldn’t like to think that my true love is an old geezer, or, alternately, five years old.– Nobody would, I’m sure.

Next ~Seadragon, you used that one already!~ Yes, well, there is a finite number of transition words in the world. Next, we will have the Monthly Playlist, by me, Seadragon!
January, Morgan Clae
It’s Raining, Wren
Bel Air, Lana del Rey
New Year’s Day, Taylor Swift

And now we have Threads to Check, from Hawkstar! ~Seadragon, I’m not going to nitpick you anymore, since “And now” isn’t a Transition Phrase (TM) either, and you’re clearly not listening.~ Okay, fine, then.
https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/the-bests-and-worsts-of-2025-form/ Fill out this form to tell about your past year! Created by Hawkstar
https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/current-reads-reading-rants/
Share what other worlds you’ve been reading about! Created by vice.verses.virtue.
https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/the-opera-house-obscurities-ski-lodge/
Come and catch this hot new ski lodge, to begin sometime in January! Created by Cielo and Bel.
https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/poetry-contest-part-2/
Resident poets, get inspired! The Poetry Contest needs to flourish into life once more! Created by Booksy Owly. *improvises* –Please don’t make us trundle door to door! This thread is flound’ring off the windswept shore. Help us save it, help us win our war, help the Poetry Contest be alive once more.– ~I don’t know if you’ll be winning any contests with something like that…~ –Usually I revise them, okay?– It is better than most advertising jingles.
https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/make-a-friend-thread/
Wanna chat with someone? Enter here to get paired up! Created by Friendmaker.

All right, now we have our MCU Questions Department! First off is Last Month We Asked You (LMWAY). (I’m departing from the official list of Transition Words, but I think the MCU might be better without them anyways. –I agree, this part tastes much better.– No eating the MCU! –I only licked it.– How can you do that, anyway? ~It is part of the AE Skill Set, Seadragon, and so is a skill that will forever be out of your reach.~ Okay then.) Last month we asked you, “Do you enjoy giving gifts, or getting them? Be honest.” Moon Wolf says, “Getting gifts are nice, but I prefer to give gifts! It’s the joy you feel at bringing someone else’s that feels super great, and their appreciation of your efforts.” I agree!

And the Joke Column, with the submission from Moon Wolf but voiced by Ramya, who wants to work on her comedy skills: –Why don’t snowflakes ever get lost?– ~I don’t know.~ –Because they always snow the way!– Ha ha ha. (It doesn’t snow where we live, so I’ve never had to ask a snowflake for directions, but maybe it’s worth a try.)

Now, the Advice Column. The question was, “What is your best advice for sledding down an icy hill?” I don’t know anything about this (see above), but according to Moon Wolf, you should “Use a smooth surface, and hang on!”

Lastly, Location of the Month! Our first-prize winner is Moon Wolf, whose entry was “sunrise over frost-peaked Dolomites mountains”. Congratulations, Moon Wolf! Even though this was our only submission, I still think it’s a nice location. I’ve been to the snow twice, and I can’t remember the sunrises very well, but they must be amazing.

Well, we’ve reached the end of the MCU! I’m very sorry that this was late. As always, we need more volunteers for the MCU, so if any time, your services would be very much appreciated… Thank you to all the participants in the MCU –and to your fabulous AEs, without whom the whole thing would be so much less interesting.– This is true. Thank you both.
~Thank you for reading, everyone! I’m Izzy, signing off.~
–See you! Ramya, signing off.–
And this is Seadragon, signing off after reading through the MCU one more time and making sure the Cloudflare thinks I’m human (I am, aren’t I?). Happy January, everyone!

[Thalorwin]

Thanks @Seadragon for the MCU!! It’s always so fun to read. (Even if it’s late) I just got the Cricket two days ago. 😉

Loved the AE banter as always! happy January to you as well!!

[Moon Wolf]

Thank you for this incredible MCU! I love the AE banter!

And thanks for first place for LoTM (albeit I was the only submission)

[Amethyst]

Thank you so much for the MCU!! It’s exceptional, and your AEs are spindiddly~

[Author]

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