Sender: Mollie B.
Out in the Field, an unexpected guest arrives: it's Folly from "Why Come Only One Girl?", who has some ideas for an April Fools' Day Cartoon.
(Bubs appears next to the blanket)
Folly & Bubs: "Picnic! Picnic!"
She also imagines Homestar, Strong Bad, and then all the other main characters appearing and saying "blah" (literally), then Bubs closing up shop ("Nobody's buying this picnic!"). She then imagines a loading screen that "loads for like, a hundred seconds", but seems to get stuck there as to what happens next. Fortunately, a certain someone shows up to take matters off her hands.
(cut to Strong Bad in the computer room, answering an email on the Lappier)
Strong Bad: If I can't check my email, then how I'm supposed to live my life?
Strong Bad gets an email from "Mollie B." (which Strong Bad embellishes to "Mollie B. Chowdwerworth-Gruelmanger. You know, of the Puntington Farms Gruelmangers!") asking what he does to keep up his personal motivation and inspiration.
(Cut to Strong Bad in the locker room, yelling at his reflection in a mirror)
Strong Bad: Chowderworth Gruelmanger?! You call that an overly-complicated old-timey last name?! That is bush-league, son! I am sick and tired of this crap! And I'm sick of losing to Purdue!
(zoom out to show Coach Z watching Strong Bad, twirling a jock strap)
Coach Z: Now that fella really knows how to mortavort a porson.
Strong Bad also suggests "that weird jocked-up thing of punching yourself in the face to get motivated", but doesn't recommend it for anyone who doesn't have "boxing gloves for hands", as demonstrated when Strong Mad gets carried away trying to "talk to orange juice" and sends himself flying with a punch in the face. And if you can afford the expense, you can always install a "spiky ceiling that closes in on you", which Strong Bad tries to use to help Strong Sad get through a video game ("It keeps making me jump when I'm not pressing juuuuuuump!!")
As for inspiration, Strong Bad likes to invert the old saw about "inspiration sneaking up on you" by sneaking up on other people and bugging them for ideas and inspiration, which he demonstrates on Bubs.
Strong Bad: (leaping out from the side of the concession stand) INSPIRE ME!
Bubs: Aaah! Mlg... leg boats!
Strong Bad: (unimpressed) Leg boats? That all you got?
Bubs: Er, yeah! It's like a little boat that your legs go inside of!
Strong Bad: So it's a kayak.
Bubs: No, no. For when you're standing up.
Strong Bad: So it's water skis.
Bubs: Yeah, yeah, 'cept it's called leg boats.
After that false start, Strong Bad manages to get an idea from Bubs for "file folder-shaped vitamins" ("Because office workers lead hollow lives, and this is the kind of thing they'd be into.") and other "gimmicky white-collar products that they sell in the checkout line at the office supply store". This ends up inspiring the idea of "file folder-shaped vitamin-shaped thumb drives, available in 'Never-Show-Up-On-Your-Desktop' and 'Some-The-Times-Show-Up-On-Your-Desktop' varieties!" But it turns out Homestar has his own ideas for motivation and inspiration... and also a big rock to sit on.
Strong Bad: Er, Homestar?
Homestar: And never cheesing or choosing!
Strong Bad: Homestar!
Homestar: Yeah what?
Strong Bad: You're in my house.
Homestar: Yep.
Strong Bad: Again.
Homestar: Yeppers.
Strong Bad: And... you brought a boulder.
Homestar: Not me. Plate tectonics.
It turns out Homestar is planning to brush off "the old ABDs" and hold a workshop on his mantra "Always Be'sing and Do'sing".
Homestar: Rules for an inspired life, Strong Bad. No matter what you do, or where you are, always be's be'sing and do'sing.
Strong Bad: So you started a cult.
Homestar: Yeah, kinda.
Homestar demonstrates that he's "be'sing on this boulder" and "do'sing an ABD workshop". He also critiques Strong Bad's attempt at "be'sing full of rage" and "do'sing a round-house kick to your face" as a prime example of "choosing".
Strong Bad: Just because something rhymes doesn't mean it's good life advice!
Homestar: Ah! And that's a perfect example of cheesing! You're a textbook case, Strong Bad. Textbook!
And on the subject of textbooks, Homestar is selling his book on "The ABCs of the ABDs" at the big "Always Be's Do'sing 3 Day Life Cleanse Seminar" at the Bubsmfort Inn conference center.
Homestar: Changin' attitudes with rhymin' platitudes!
Announcer: Entrepreneurial be's do'ser, and self-made do's be'ser, Bubs!
Bubs: I'm stickin' with leg boats!
Announcer: And the creator of File Folder Shaped Vitamins and File Folder Shaped Vitamin Thumb Drives, Strong Bad!
Strong Bad: I hope the hotel's breakfast bar can do omelettes!
Announcer: All this and more at the Always Be's Do'sing 3 Day Life Cleanse Seminar!
Homestar: If you're not attending, you're gonna be... lending. Your neighbor... a... yard tool... like a shovel. Or a rake. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. (hastily) See you at the conference! ABD! Not a cult! Wooo!
(The CGI Paper comes down)
Tropes:
- Acronym Confusion: When Homestar announces he's brushing off his "ABDs", Strong Bad guesses it stands for "Aloud But Deadly".
- Ascended Extra: Folly, based off one of the rejected designs from "Why Come Only One Girl?", appears and talks about her ideas for an April Fools' Day cartoon.
- Bait-and-Switch: It does seem like Folly will talk about how will this year's April Fools would go, up until Strong Bad answers an email about motivation and inspiration.
- Continuity Nod:
- Strong Bad's "File Folder-shaped Vitamins" are made by the same Faceless Megacorp that makes Smarty Juice.
- A flyer for an office supply store lists the Styleron Ecochair from "the chair" and the "cow clips" from Hremail 2000.
- Cult: Strong Bad remarks that Homestar has basically started a cult with his "Always Be'sing and Do'sing" movement. Homestar casually confirms that he has, though towards the end he quickly says it's not a cult.
- Descending Ceiling: Strong Bad uses a spiked ceiling to motivate Strong Sad into beating Clapping Party before they both die.
- Interface Spoiler: Folly talks about her idea for an April Fools' cartoon having a fake loading screen that takes 100 seconds to load, but the runtime on Youtube shows 7:07, way longer than the extra 1:40 needed for that joke.
- Punched Across the Room: Strong Mad manages to punch himself across the room while trying to psyche himself up to "talk to orange juice".
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Folly's dialogue is composed of an unpolished recording of an anonymous little girl talking like an actual little girl: breathlessly, with lots of hemming and hawing.
- Shout-Out: Homestar's "Always Be'sing and Do'sing" mantra seems to be a play on "Always Be Closing" from Glengarry Glen Ross.
- Stylistic Suck: Folly is simplistically drawn with Limited Animation and voiced by a little girl rambling incoherently.
- A Twinkle in the Sky: In The Stinger, Folly announces an ending for her idea for "The Next April Fool's Thing" where Stinkoman comes out and punches Bubs so hard he flies off into the sky.
Folly: And... a... and then people might think it's gonna be loading forever...
(Cut back to Bubs in the Field)
Folly: ...And then it's like... Stinkoman comes up and punches Bubs in the face.
(Stinkoman walks in, powers up, and hits Bubs so hard he goes flying off in the distance, leaving a message reading "happy april fools' day")
Strong Sad: Always be'sing and do'sing, and never cheesing or choosing, and always— Hey! I beat the end boss!
(the "stage clear" sounds from Clapping Party play)
