The 'Shroom:Issue 183/'Shroomfest

'Shroomfest Written by:, , and Art by: and

THE 'SHROOM: VACCILATING ON A VACATION

'Shroom Research Lab: ''Hello, everyone! It has been a while since we here at The 'Shroom Research Lab have been able to publish any updates. This is normally where we would tell you we haven't published anything because we've been so hard at work, but the truth is that we've been taking an extended vacation. That's right! We found a collection of documents that stumped us so badly that we decided we needed a vacation to clear our heads. Luckily, that vacation turned out to be just what we needed; leaving the laboratory for a couple months helped us to realize we had been overlooking old records concerning advertisement deals with The 'Shroom. After turning our attention to these records, we discovered that not even the paper's new leadership could escape fierce conflict.''

Even since the final great debate between Pitohui and Roserade had been settled, The 'Shroom had seen a lengthy period of peace. Elections were held, and a new Director and Sub-Director moved into the offices on the building's highest level. Writers continued to join the paper, and issues continued to expand while the staff dutifully kept up their work. Many months passed, and throughout the busy summer season, the staff began to think back on their vacation to Isle Delfino the previous year.

Waluigi Time and Anton could be heard talking about the island's delectable seafood when they encountered each other in the Cooking Guide studio. Pitohui and FunkyK38 often stopped to chat in the Palette Swap Director's office about how scenic Noki Bay, with its tower cliffs and crystal clear waters, had been. Every now and again, the distinctive aroma of Hotel Delfino's signature coffee blend wafted down the hall from the Website Manager's office, Lakituthequick only occasionally dipping into his dwindling stockpile of the hotel's complimentary grounds.

Amidst the busy summer season, the relaxing vacation seemed only a distant memory... Everyone dreamed of Isle Delfino, and Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time pored over the schedule and the paper's budget to see if they could arrange another vacation, but with The 'Shroom's budget tightened due to some incident with the budget approval process involving impostors in the building, nobody thought there was any chance of actually going to the sun-drenched island.

Then, one day, on a particularly hot afternoon, while Waluigi Time was setting out a bowl of water for Murphy, Ninja Squid came bursting into the Sub-Director's office holding an envelope. Intrigued, Waluigi Time stepped over to see the envelope's contents while Ninja Squid slammed it down on his desk. Inside the envelope was a letter from the Isle Delfino Board of Tourism. The tourism board wished to extend an offer to the paper. If The 'Shroom agreed to print a full-page, honest review of one of Isle Delfino's hottest locales, the tourism board would pay to get the whole 'Shroom staff down to the island. Either Pinna Park or Gelato Beach, The 'Shroom could choose an all-expenses paid trip to those two locations.



Naturally, Waluigi Time and Ninja Squid jumped for joy, tired and in need of a vacation themselves and excited to share the news with the rest of The 'Shroom staff. They talked among themselves for minutes about how great for morale this trip would be, and how nice it would be to get out of the chilly HQ. They thought and thought about how to share the news with the rest of the staff. Would an assembly be simplest? Could GBA make a great big banner so everyone would see the announcement on the way into work? Could they have the Vending Machine share the good news with everyone, one by one?

Eventually, they agreed that it would be easiest to call the Team Directors and Managers into their office in groups of two and deliver the news personally. There was only one small matter left...

...they had to practice their delivery!

Ninja Squid counted down from three, and he and Waluigi Time shouted out the words at the same time, Ninja Squid happily declaring that his mates on the staff would be going to warm up at Gelato Beach, and Waluigi Time enthusiastically shilling for Pinna Park's rollercoaster. Confused and assuming they hadn't heard one another correctly, Waluigi Time and Ninja Squid tried again, with Waluigi Time still talking about going to Pinna Park and Ninja Squid still talking about going to Gelato Beach.

They put all of the talk about announcing the trip on hold as they began to argue for their preferred vacation destination, with Waluigi Time passionately pointing towards the thrilling rides and unique foods found at amusement parks like Pinna Park and Ninja Squid trying to show Waluigi Time just how gorgeous and fun beaches like Gelato Beach can be. The argument quickly spiraled out of control. By the end of the week, staff members were dodging blasts of ink and weapons-grade granola bars flying down the hallways, only knowing that, for some reason, Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time had started to fight about beaches and amusement parks.



Well, nobody knew what had brought the conflict on, but everybody knew that the chaos of finding ink rollers and giant spoons in their drawers was making it impossible to get any work done, so the staff assembled in secret for a meeting in the Website Manager's office, the most secure room in the building. Pitohui, the Strategy Wing Director, brought with him one of the most rarely-touched books held in the Strategy Wing library, the Guide to Settling Directorial Disputes, Volume I. The book noted that the first step the staff should take was appointing a representative to go and mediate between Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time, and, since he had the book, Hooded Pitohui was chosen for the job.

Pitohui requested a meeting with the Director and Sub-Director and marched over to Ninja Squid's office, sitting down before Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time and making them an offer he knew they wouldn't refuse. If they couldn't settle this themselves, then The 'Shroom could survey the population of New Wikisburg, he explained, making sure to highlight how this would increase engagement with The 'Shroom. Neither Ninja Squid or Waluigi Time could resist the thought of increasing engagement, so they quickly agreed, even when Pitohui explained that, if beaches were more popular in New Wikisburg, Waluigi Time would have to give up shilling for amusement parks, and if amusement parks were more popular, Ninja Squid would have to stop showing everyone unsolicited pictures of beaches.



With their agreement made, the 'Shroom staff began preparing surveys, and Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time both ventured into New Wikisburg to go and meet with their potential supporters.

'Shroom Research Lab: ''Who would have guessed that something meant to be so relaxing would turn into such a stressful situation, even before anyone started to pack? We're currently looking through additional documents to discover what happened in the weeks following Ninja Squid and Waluigi Time meeting with Pitohui, so please stay tuned for further updates.''

Staff Notes


Hello, all of you readers of The 'Shroom! Yes, I'm taking over the judge's chair for the seventh 'Shroomfest. I must say that I wish this desk was a bit bigger. I hardly have room to spread out all of my reading material. I suppose that doesn't matter too much, though. I'll soon have to take my eyes off these books I brought and look over the posts you contribute to this event, after all!

Waluigi Time and Ninja Squid, it seems, have somehow already started arguing about vacation plans even before the inevitable rush to get to the airport terminal on-time and the three hour ride that becomes an eight hour ride due to a traffic jam. Waluigi Time is adamant that amusement parks offer more than beaches, and Ninja Squid is absolutely determined to make beaches look more appealing than amusement parks. Personally, I prefer the air- er, prefer frigid mountain peaks, I mean, but I suppose both sides here have merit, and, well, my opinions here don't matter. All that matters is which side gets more support from you, the readers of The 'Shroom!

Here's where I would normally tell you to go forth and support your side, but there's something I need to draw your attention to, first. We've updated the rules of the 'Shroomfest, and ask that you give them a fresh read-through, even if you've been a regular participant in the past. To point to the main changes, we've changed the "endorsements" category to make it clearer what exactly counts as an endorsement, and we've tweaked our description of the effort category slightly to better communicate what we're looking for from effort posts. In addition, we've clarified how points are earned. In short, one individual can only earn their team one point per category per week. Simply posting more won't earn your team more points, so be sure to go for quality over quantity! That said, you're still welcome to make multiple posts if you think of points you want to make throughout the week, as it might help you net the bonus points associated with each judge's session!

Keep these points in mind, and keep in mind that this event emphasizes fun and that a fun or creative post is just as likely to get your post noticed in a judge's session as a detailed post, and we'll all have a good time in this event.

I'm awaiting your posts and your votes, so go on and support your team of choice!

&mdash;Hooded Pitohui, Judge

Which destination do you prefer, beaches or amusement parks? Choose your side and cast a vote!

Join Team Beaches
I cannot believe I am ending up having to fight against my Sub-Director. Honestly, who would be expecting this?

In any case, I am here to tell you all how Waluigi Time is wrong here. Beaches are way WAY better destination for your vacation. I mean, come on, how could you not enjoy laying down on the sand and enjoying the sun, or even swimming in that refreshing water. It is sooo relaxing! Miles better than going into a crowded amusement park with all those excessive rides that only achieve in spinning your head in all senses and making your stomach feel weird. In addition, have you noticed how Amusement Parks all have some strange smell that's just a bit gross? This will not be the case if you go to the beach, as the air will likely be much nicer.

Over the course of the next three weeks, I will make sure to convince you that you will make the right choice by joining Team Beaches. I will give a closer look to the diverse activities you can enjoy to do on the beach, as well as the aesthetic and the food we can find around. I swear you will have an all new appreciation for beaches once this 'Shroomfest is over.

I will be surfing into our first week with some activities you can do on the beach. Come and join me, and together, we will show Waluigi Time that there is never a gull moment at the seaside!

Sea you in our debate thread!

&mdash;Ninja Squid, Leader of Team Beaches

Join Team Amusement Parks
I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.

So why spend your vacation getting a pound of sand stuck in your ear canal when you could be going to the amusement park instead? Just think about all the great things you can do there! The rides! The games! The food! The nifty little souvenirs like novelty t-shirts that say you went to an amusement park and all you got was a lousy t-shirt! Yeah, I can tell, you're reading this right now and already you want to plan your next vacation to the amusement park of your choice!

So, over the next three weeks, I'll be working to convince you why your ideal vacation involves a trip to the amusement park and not becoming shark food in a tragic, yet somewhat comical surfing accident. This first week, we'll discuss all the exciting activities you can participate in at the amusement park! Following that, we'll be focusing on the unique aesthetics and food of amusement parks. Oh, and don't worry, I'm all stocked up on purple paint this time.

Join me, and together we will rule- erm, we will show Ninja Squid that amusement parks are the superior vacation choice! After this, Team Beaches will be left bemused rather than amused!

&mdash;Waluigi Time, Leader of Team Amusement Parks

Rules
In order to help you earn points for each team, we have opted to divide things into three categories.

The result will depends on the number of categories a team will win. For example: If Team Alpha receives 12 endorsements, while Team Bravo receives 8 endorsements, that means that Alpha wins on the endorsements category. The team who wins the most categories will be declared the winner of the 'Shroomfest. In addition, the winner is officially and objectively the best according the The 'Shroom's law. Therefore, taking the win is very important!

Event Guidelines
The 'Shroomfest's thread will be opened by the designated judge, who will make a brief introduction to the current 'Shroomfest's subject and the two team leaders, who will make the opening posts for their teams..

Afterwards, for a period of three weeks, the team leaders and their supporters will rally in support of their team. They'll do this with interesting facts, light-hearted arguments, art, photos, and stories that will demonstrate the reasons why their choices should be crowned as the best under 'Shroom law. After one week, the judge will write a brief note, highlighting their favorite posts from both teams.

Using your votes, endorsements, and effort posts, you can help your team get one point per category each week. In other words, a given individual can earn up to three points for their team of choice each week if they contribute to every category.

Afterwards, the judge will present both teams with a fresh question to answer or challenge to complete over the course of the next week, to keep the discussion moving forward and provide interesting new angles for participants trying to think of ideas to support their team.

Once the three-week period has passed, the judge will conclude the event with a short message and invite the participants to come back for the results that will come out at the release of the 'Shroom's next issue. Any message posted after the judge closes the event won't be taken into account during the compilation of the results.

How to endorse a team: In the event thread, you just need to post, in bold, "Endorse: [Team]", filling in the brackets with the team you want to support. You're also encouraged, though not required, to offer some brief words of support to your team. It is entirely possible to change teams at any time by writing another another endorsement for the other team. Take note that only the last team you endorse before the event ends will be counted for your weekly endorsement, so be sure that the team you choose to endorse last is the one you want to support. How to give points to the Efforts category: To score points for your team in the "Efforts" category, you must add valuable posts to the event. Lay out your own opinion, create art or photos (caption are allowed), write entertaining stories, or even make a meme or two. Making the most interesting and entertaining case is an important part of the event, because it might help win those sitting on the sidelines over to your side. There's no hard rule on what constitutes an effort post, but, as a rule of thumb, it should be something which takes more than a couple minutes to create. If you are unsure if something is worthy of the "Efforts" category, just ask the judge about it on Discord or via a PM. Our main goal is to make the event as accessible as possible.

'''Please note that, in an effort to keep the event civil, fun, and lighthearted, we request that you please respect all the instructions. Any inappropriate behaviors (spam, flaming, personal attacks, etc.), and discussions regarding politics, social issues, or any controversial topics that veer away from the light-hearted nature of this event will not be tolerated.'''

The seventh 'Shroomfest will take place from June 18th to July 9th. To join in and support a team, click here.

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