Explorations in Clayland Part 12: Fungus Finale

Admit it, you're going to miss them.

Our final foray into the world of the mushroom folk is nigh.

Leading the procession, a purple mushroom drives a plant-matter vehicle that looks an awful lot like a primitive automobile. He rides alone, no umami troops to transport today.

He is followed, however, by a sweeter sort of transport. A watermelon transport trundles behind on four stubby legs (it originally had six, but two were lost at some point and could not be glued back on).

In the wake of the living transport of red and green, four mottled mushrooms march. Only one has a spear, but the top left one's body is composed of vines with arms that end in claws. The bottom two look shriveled.

Briskly breaking out into a stride behind them, four more come clopping over. The top left one has affinity with flames, as a volcano-like eruption encapsulates its cap. The top right one has an atypical cap, with many bulges rather than a smooth dome. The bottom right one is covered in stinging mud. That's all of them.

Wait. I almost forgot the bottom left one. Easy mistake. An entirely ordinary, blue mushroom folk.

Moodily marching in the rearguard, mushroom mystics make for a magical ending. A black mushroom carries an amulet of power around its neck, while a priestly blue one raises a staff to ward off evil. Another mushroom with a smaller mushroom in a pouch on its back is present as well, this one swinging a censor. The last-shroom is decidedly more sinister. It walks with a black cloak trailing behind, an ominous glyph on its cap, and a magical staff charged with black magical potential at the ready.

As this final cohort of mushrooms troop off into the woods and fields, think back on all the varied fungal forms we've witnessed these last several sessions. Makes a person want a Mushroom Swiss Burger, doesn't it? Extra Swiss, hold the sentience in the mushrooms please.

Bonus:

More fruit and nut warriors I missed the first time. Strawberry, a generic red acorn, a thick-speared white acorn, and a tomato.

The smallest and simplest warriors yet. Two watermelon seed warriors, with spears twice as long as they are, flank a fluffy marshmallow warrior. Guess it is fitting to save dessert for last.

Comments

Creative Tool: Idea Mutation

It's mutating out of control! Here is another wild method of improving the creativity of ideas through the process of introducing random 'mutations'. I call it Idea Mutation. Method: Start with an idea. Add it to a circle on the far left side of a piece of paper. That is round 1. Make two branches off the first idea. Each branch has a new circle. That is round 2. For each branch, roll a 10-sided dice and select the 'mutation' from the table below. For each branch, create a 'mutated' idea incorporating that branch's mutation. Continue branching and mutation ideas for subsequent rounds (3, 4, etc.). Modifications: Include different mutations (ex. Add Thrill, More Collaborative, Clearer, etc.) Add null mutation (no changes for certain branches) Change probability of mutations (same mutation for more than one number) Examples:

Creative Tool: Idea Bracket

Let the Best Idea Win. How to generate great ideas? Why not create an Idea Bracket ? It is analogous to a sports league play-off. Ideas are pitted against each other, with the winning idea moving on to the next round. The last idea standing is the winner. I do have a few additional rules. The Three M's : Modify, Merge, and Markup. These rules allow for both idea modification and saving sub-winner ideas. Simple enough, right? Let's try it out on some examples. Story Beginning Location Floating City and Haunted Graveyard merged into Floating Graveyard Screaming Wastelands modified into Blasted Wastelands Winner was Floating Graveyard and Sundered Titan merged into Floating Graveyard of Titans Artistic Inspiration Shack Brainstorming and Review Idea/Notes merged to Shack Review Ideas TCG View modified to TCG Mashup Shack Review Ideas marked for later Monster App and Walk and Song merged to Walk and Song with Monster App Priming Winner was T...

Writing Tool: Panic Cards

For writing emergencies only... In a previous post , I created a break-in-case of emergency box for days where I'm severely struggling to get my writing goal in. In case that box is not enough, or if I'm away from my house, I've devised another emergency method to keep me from veering off my writing track. Panic Cards. What are they? Simple. Index cards cut in half with encouraging phrases on one side. The other side has a small, randomized reward for completing the writing task. I made it random on purpose to increase the intrigue. To use them, I pull out the card, read the phrase of encouragement, and get the writing done. Once the thirty minutes of writing is completed, I turn over the card and reap the reward. Silly? Maybe. Effective? Time will tell. It's better to have an emergency plan and never use it than to not have one when an emergency comes calling.

The Mark Williamson Creative Universe

Search This Blog