Hello, CBers who are reading this, and welcome to the July MCU! My name is Seadragon, my pronouns are she/her/hers, and I will be the host for this month. As for the matter of my cohosts…
— *runs onstage* Hello! My name is Ramya! And I am your first co-host! And my pronouns are she/her too! And my birthday is in July so I’m excited!!!!–
~ *strides in in a stately but somewhat shy manner* And I am Izzy, your other co-host. My pronouns are she/her, and I still don’t like public speaking, but it has to be done. Also, let it be asserted that technically I am older, so I am rightfully the first co-host.~
–Well, you appeared first when we hosted in January!–
If they ever agree enough to say the same thing, they talk like -~this~-. –We agree sometimes! We are very well-behaved siblings who like each other.– ~Emphasize sometimes, reader, and take “well-behaved” with fifty grains of salt (when it comes to Ramya, as I am practically perfectly behaved)–but we do like each other.~
Enough, enough. First, we have a moment of silence for Ella Starburst, the creator of MCUs. Thank you, Ella!

(After a moment) Now, the Monthly Playlist, by Thunder! Thank you, Thunder.
Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey
Roadtrip and Roadtrip- Dream’s Version by Dream
Sunroof by Nicky Youre and daisy
Lose Control by Teddy Swims
Top of The World by Imagine Dragons
Roundtable Rival by Lindsey Stirling
Dancin’ by CG5 (this is actually a cover, but Thunder likes CG5’s version best)

And Threads to Check, from WildWolf! Thanks, WildWolf!
Marine Animal SI, made by Beluga Whale: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/marine-animal-si/ –Ooh, marine animals! We should do that SI!–
~Except, considering that Seadragon is technically a fish, what would we post as?~ I am not a fish! *is ruffled, but tries not to show it* ~You share your name with a type of fish.~ (This is true. However, I have not entered the Marine Animal SI, in case anyone is wondering.)
Space-Related Personality Quiz, made by Moon Wolf: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/space-related-personality-quiz/
World Affairs Thread, made by Poinsettia: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/580499/
Prose Thread, made by Zeta Lupi: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/prose-thread/
Cool Words Thread, made by AmberFox: https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/582714/ ~Hooray for cool words!~
CBers as cool words thread, made by Moon Wolf:https://www.cricketmagkids.com/topic/cbers-as-cool-words/

Now we have Book of the Month, from Poinsettia! Thank you so much!
Sandy, by Elizabeth Gray Vining
Sandy is a seventeen-year-old girl staying in the picturesque village of Windrush for the summer. She’s facing an impasse in her life: should she go to college the way her well-meaning aunt wants her to, or find what matters most to her and what she wants to do? If it comes to that, what does she want to do? And even the present moment is filled with surprises, beautiful moments… and romance.
Sandy learns about the world and herself over the course of a beautiful New England summer, described with vivid writing, humor, and warmth by a superbly gifted writer who brings the setting and characters to life – a perfect summer read. ~It does sound perfect!~

We will proceed to Book Quotes, by me, Seadragon.
“What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does.” —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
“One could say, in fact, that no story really has a beginning, and that no story really has an end, as all of the world’s stories are as jumbled as the items in the arboretum, with their details and secrets all heaped together so that the whole story, from beginning to end, depends on how you look at it.” —The Endby Lemony Snicket
“Life, what is it but a dream?” —Through the Looking-Glassby Lewis Carroll
“To children everywhere sitting in cardboard boxes” –the dedication of Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
“She had always known that if you give a dreamer hope, her dreams will get bigger and bigger, and that if you give an adventurous child a boat, sooner or later she will sail away.” —Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirrorby Natasha Farrant

And now, Inspirational Quotes, also cobbled together by Seadragon! –With help from her fabulous AEs.–
“I am the one thing in life I can control.” –Lin-Manuel Miranda –*sings* I am inimitable, I am an original…– ~One of my trials is having to live with two Hamilton obsessors.Not just Ramya, Seadragon will sing “Satisfied” almost every time she has a shower~ Hush, Izzy, don’t spill my secrets!
“Being fearless isn’t being 100 percent not fearful; it’s being terrified but you jump anyway.” –Taylor Swift
“Just to be alive is a grand thing.” –Agatha Christie –*sings a different song from Hamilton* Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now…– ~SHUSH!~
“When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad, for the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle, yet most of the audience still sleeps.” –John Lennon
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than the things I haven’t done.” –Lucille Ball

Now, getting to the crowd submissions, we have Last Month We Asked You. What we asked you was: How do you celebrate the Fourth of July? Thank you to the contributors!
“Usually my family has hot dogs for supper, hopefully outside in the backyard with friends over. By that time the fireflies have usually started to come out – our own backyard fireworks :)) And then we head off to the local park where they have fireworks. Parking is always a hassle and everyone scours the lot for a good place. Eventually we settle down and the fireworks start – they last about 10 minutes. And then there’s a mass exodus and everyone heads home and goes to bed very late :))” –Poinsettia
“usually, my family drives up to my great aunt’s lakehouse in the Adirondacks – there’s hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, (veggie) burgers, and fireworks! this year, we’re just staying in the city but i think a nearby park might have a fireworks show on the 4th – i’ll either bike down to the park or just watch from my roof :p”–pangolin
“I’m Canadian, so I celebrate July 1. To be honest my family doesn’t do a ton for it, but we usually go watch fireworks and maybe have a special dinner or something.” –WildWolf (Happy Canada Day!)

And, the Advice Column. This was, “What are your eco-tips to fight climate change?”
“-Delete any emails or texts that aren’t absolutely InDiSpEnSaBlE – not many people have heard of this one, but the thing is that the emails are just data being stored somewhere, and to keep all that data, quite a lot of electricity is needed. So the less data there is, the less fossil fuels will be burned to keep it available. If you would like to keep an email for sentimental purposes, you can always take a screenshot of it or write it down on paper. Similarly, it’s a good idea to go through any online storage drives you have. It’s also quite satisfying to de-clutter:) You can also unsubscribe from any mailing lists you’re on and try not to send gratuitous emails, so that the data won’t be there in the first place. It’s a small thing, but it helps!
-Walk or bicycle to where you need to go – or you can carpool, which is really fun! (But only with people you trust, of course.)
-Try not to spend too much time on a laptop or smartphone (this goes for me too… :/) because it takes up a lot of electricity – summer’s the best time for doing non-digital things anyway :))
-Reuse things or buy secondhand items, rather than buying up new stuff.
-Try to find things to do in your local area, like going to a state park, instead of taking a flight to a different country for vacation.” –Poinsettia
“walk, bike, or take public transportation when possible! thrift – not only is it sustainable and relatively cheap, but it’s also really fun! you can also donate clothes you don’t want anymore to your local thrift store, and usually they’ll give you coupons! and shop locally if you can (though it can be more pricey so it isn’t accessible for everyone).” –pangolin -~Hooray for thrifting!~- –Look, Seadragon, we agreed!– Very nice.
“Remember even the tiniest things help. And the more people do those tiny things, the more it helps. So get your family and friends involved too!” –WildWolf
“Seconding what everyone else has said! Transport is an especially important point – if you have to travel long distances, ask your parents if you can go on a train rather than a plane, and keep it to a minimum in general; for daily travel, keep it eco-friendly too! Turning off the air conditioning as much as possible and finding other ways to cool down is another good way to save electricity.”–Amethyst ~Ooh, trains!~

And, Location of the Month.
Honorable mentions:
Sparkling fireworks, from Poinsettia! Because we all love fireworks, even though they can cause trouble.
Hiding in the refrigerator from the heat (ooh watermelon), from Hawkstar! Because the heat can be horrible and make us want to crawl into a cool place, and also, watermelon is a really nice fruit to have on a hot day. –Yes, melons! Seadragon has been having a love affair with Hami melon.– How is it an affair if I am not, shall we say, tethered to someone? And why would I fall in love with a melon? ~It’s a metaphor, calm down! –And there is also the matter of Seadragon’s Crush, which we won’t get into, will we?– No, we won’t, unless you’d like to be gagged and escorted from the stage. I do like melon, though (not romantically).
*coughs* ANYWAY, we now have third place, which is amber-infused skies, from Amethyst! Because it very prettily describes a summer sunset, or sunrise, it could be either.
In second place, pyrotechnic constellations, from Pangolin! This is also a really nice description of fireworks.
And in first place, bare feet in the dewy morning grass, from WildWolf! This sounds so peaceful to me, and one of the things I like about summer is the opportunity to have peace, away from school, and be outside.

Lastly, Important Dates! No individual did Important Dates, but we have a few that were crowdsourced on the MCU Questions Thread.
July 1st is Canada Day, and July 4th is Independence Day (for Americans).
Poinsettia’s grandma and many of WildWolf’s family members were all born in July. Also, a lot of my family; I suppose it’s only two people who are born in July, but one other relative is born in early August. (It’s one of my beliefs that my extended family argues because there are so many Leos. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to astrology, but when it can explain things that already happen…)
–And, Seadragon, how could you have forgotten?! My birthday is July 29th and I will be thirteen and I’m veryveryveryvery excited! I am a Leo, too; Seadragon and Izzy are both Capricorns.–
Yes, well, happy birthday to Ramya, when the time comes.

All right. This is it. We sort of need more MCU volunteers, though this one was much better than the one that we hosted in January in terms of the amount of contributors. Thank you so much to everyone who participated! –And of course your lovely singing, embarrassing-regarding-melons-and-crushes AEs.– ~That was just you!~ You two are indispensable, it would take me years to think of this much humor on my own…
This is Seadragon, signing off after revising four times between all the little codey “” and “” bits and crossing my fingers that the formatting turns out. Happy July, everyone!
–And this is Ramya, who says goodbye and wishes you a good month. But I’ll have a better one, because it’ll be my birthday!–
~And this is Izzy, who thanks you very much for reading. Bye!~