Every creation has an origin story. The little creatures of Jelly’s World are no different.
In Jelly’s story, the little creatures’ origins are tied to the mysterious and powerful Magic that Jellybean discovers when they are ten.
Together with their younger sister, Poppy, they unleash not only their imaginations, but a fair bit of chaos and hilarity throughout the ensuing years in the small town of Cratersville where they grew up.
My creation of the little creatures, of course, is a bit different.
I didn’t discover an incredible Magic with which to free my imagination.
Instead, I had a connection to a portal, which allowed me to envision scenes.
I was on a train when I first caught a glimpse in my mind of the creatures that would eventually become the little creatures that inhabited Jelly’s World.
I had already been writing scenes where created creatures were featured. These scenes were the early concepts of what would become Jelly’s story over time.
The main difference is that Jelly wasn’t creating the creatures in these scenes. They had stumbled upon the Realm where all of this creating takes place, yet they were not the instigator of change that would become their mission in the story as it eventually developed.
The little creatures as well as the true mission of Jelly’s story came about as I thought and pondered. This is how all stories and characters are born.
There’s always an initial vision where scenes come to you so clearly that you believe you could touch them. These images and ideas stun, being both hyperreal and utterly incomplete. They are duly noted, yet this is only the inception—a revelation.
What follows is where the characters come to life.
Questions are asked. Why did this character come about? What is their purpose, how do they fit into the story. Why does the story flow as it does? What is the purpose of the story? What is it trying to say?
What are the little creatures trying to say?
With all of these questions you can imagine that being a Creator is about being curious. It’s also a lot about embodying feelings.
You will notice that I don’t write from the little creatures point of view directly. There are some scenes where they appear. There are other scenes where they are mentioned.
This is not to objectify them. They exist. They are real. They have their stories, communities and connections to others. They show that those who change the world aren’t necessarily the ones with their names in lights or noted in history books.
Those who transform the world are the ones who change points of view via quiet conversations, who guide, who mentor, who nurture, who inspire by their actions. This is the soul spark that makes life worth living.
Many times, in our personal lives, these souls come and go, their names may be forgotten as the years pass, but the spirit they have imparted to us is a constant presence—a soul companion.
The little creatures are also guardians of secret hopes, protectors of tender feelings that the world is too rough to know.
I know this to be true because this is how the little creatures have touched me. The little creatures allow me to connect to a world where I, many times, feel alienated and alone.
The little creatures live outside of society’s decorum. They are pranksters and mischief-makers. They make good trouble—and bad.
They encourage change and growth. They encourage curiosity. They inspire child-like wonder. Through these actions they become real.
The little creatures are the connection to reality in the techno-magical world in which they live. They embody being grounded and present in a realm where distractions abound.
In many ways, the little creatures are encouraging us to become real again. To enjoy life in a real Earth full of wonder and real creatures.
Life is too short for obsessions with second lives or meta dreams.
Life is too short to be locked in the prison of distractions that plague our lives.
We’re alive—all of us—right now.
Let’s truly live in the short time we’re given.
It won’t come again.
—Tessla, Queen of Smiles, Keeper of the Portal
