You have one hour to give me ideas!

...as I have a meeting in an hour and have to have something to doodle to keep me awake and focused during it.

Thanks to the scrapbooking craze, I've managed to lay my hands on an inexpensive laminator* and some paper punches to make phone straps/keychains/charms/whatever with. So I'm looking for ideas for themed-type pictures to do for those type of items, like zodiac symbols or whatever.

Details: The images are going to be only an inch to an inch and a half in size. Nothing elaborate. Simple is the key. The problem with the European zodiac is that there's a full 12 symbols, which is a lot to do in two months. The Chinese zodiac has that same problem, plus is currently inextricably associated in my mind with Fruits Basket. The traditional four elements might work, but is now associated with Avatar in my head, arg. The Four Bishounen of the Apocalypse** are good, and I'll probably do new versions of them, but I don't want to add to the line as (a) they would no longer be the Four Bishounen of the Apocalypse, losing part of the joke, and (b) there's only so far you can take a good joke anyway.

So: any ideas of characteristics, labels, quiz results, etc. that you might see on a small piece of swag at an anime con?



* Which also makes stickers and magnets, amusingly enough.

** If you're new here, they're Snarky, Angsty, Brooding, and Cute.

Manga plot generator

Between my brain being fuzzy from lack of sleep*, being numbed by meetings all day, and someone's mention of Manga Plot Coupons in the previous post asking for ideas for con swag, my brain is giving me a half-formed idea on how to set up a random manga plot generator.

It wouldn't really be in full paragraph/sentence format, because that would be way too difficult. Instead, the would-be writer picks a few parameters - number of characters, whether the characters are all male, all female, or a mix, and the genre.** It then spits out character descriptions and backstory elements, a setting, theme, and plot coupons using the created characters. Naturally there would be a good mix of cracktastic elements.

So... I think I need to maybe come up with some samples of what the output would look like, because I'll be able to work out how to produce them then.





* Or horrific drug side-effects or something.

** Shounen, shoujo, josei, seinen, yaoi, yuri, BL, shoujo-ai.*** Josei, seinen, yaoi, and yuri would pick settings and plot coupons from options that involve more adult themes - harems, offices, career worries, horror, etc. I'd want to keep this PG-13.

*** I have an evil desire to add "hentai" and have the entire result for that option be: "What plot?"

GAH, idea-generating ahoy!

OF COURSE my brain is busy generating ideas that I can't really put into play in time for A-Kon. the_z posted a suggestion for a simple card game thing on my previous idea-generating post, and my brain wants to see if we can make it go viral.

( Cut to reproduce her comment and my response )