text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Nov 19, 1991
|Filing date
|Dec 6, 1990
|Priority date
|Jan 8, 1990
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Mark D. O'Neill
|Original Assignee
|Neill Mark D O
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (1), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (17), Classifications (8), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/462,146, filed Jan. 8, 1990 now abandoned.
This invention relates to "board games", in general, and to such a game for adult afficionados of "movie" trivia, in particular.
As is well known and understood, one of the most popular form of indoor entertainment is the playing of board games. As is also well known and understood, there exist many different types of board games for adults, for children, and for playing by adults and children simultaneously. In recent years, moreover, board games have been produced which call upon interaction with the individual players, calling upon them to do more than just move their playing piece around a Board in a predetermined manner, but to participate by answering questions posed by other players at the same time. The most popular currently of such games today are those emanating from the introduction of "Trivial Pursuit" some few years back, where players are questioned concerning facts of general knowledge. Other popular games at present are of the "Pictionary" series, which require action by the players in an attempt to convey information to his, or her, partner(s). In other words, and as will be apparent, the "Pictionary" type game may be considered to be more "active" in nature, while the "Trivial Pursuit"-type game is more "passive" in nature.
As will become clear hereinafter, the "Box-Office" Movie Game of the invention combines both "active" and "passive" natures in affording an adult board game--and, particularly, one for "movie buffs", for indoor entertainment. As will be seen, the invention comprises a board game where individual players are questioned in an attempt to correctly identify a movie from which a quotation comes, in accordance with the position on the Board where the player lands. (In this respect, the game presents features common to previous board games of a generally "passive" nature.) The player is additionally required to impersonate actors and/or actresses for the other players to identify, in accordance with landings on other positions on the Board. (In this respect, the game takes on its "active" nature.) Landings on other positions dictate other actions to be taken--which, as will be noted, require neither "passive" knowledge of the player or "active" involvement, but merely dictate that certain things are to happen, without any "input" from the player landing there. As will be more fully described below, the object of the game is to traverse the board while attaining a plurality of achievement awards showing competency in such movie disciplines as "Comedy", "Action & Adventure", "Drama & Musicals", "Mystery & Horror" and "Science Fiction & Fantasy", and to then ascend "winner's podium". In a preferred embodiment of the invention to be described, the achievement awards are in the form of "nomination rings", one for each category of the movie disciplines utilized, to be placed upon a playing-piece statuette along the lines of a movie-land "Oscar".
These and other features will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates one form of playing board as employed in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of a "podium" which a winning player seeks to ascend in accordance with the rules of the game;
FIG. 3 pictorially shows a statuette-type of playing piece utilized by each player of the game; and
FIGS. 4a and 4b are top and side views, respectively, of the type of "nomination ring" which the player attains in accordance with the game rules, and which must be attained before the player can seek to ascend the "winner's podium" of FIG. 2.
Referring to the drawing, it will first be understood that the "Box-Office" Movie Game of the invention includes one playing board 10, one conventional 6-sided die (not shown), a first plurality of Movie Quotation Cards, a second plurality of Actor/Actress Impersonation Cards, a third plurality of Set Back Cards, a plurality (e.g. 6) of player statuette trophies 12, a plurality (e.g. 30) of Achievement Award Nomination Rings 14, and a Winner's Podium 16. In one version of the game of the invention, some 100 Movie Quotation Cards were utilized, 60 Actor/Actress Impersonation Cards were used and 36 Set Back Cards were employed.
In preparation for the start of the game, the players divide into teams, with each team selecting one of the trophy statuettes 12, and 5 of the Achievement Award Nomination Rings, one for each category of the movie disciplines used. One player for each team is selected "Captain", who then rolls the die, and the "Captain" that rolls the highest number starts the game. Next in turn is the "Captain" that rolls the next highest number--and should two "Captains" tie, they roll again to come up with the order of starting. Of course, if there are insufficient numbers of players to form "teams", then each player may designate himself, or herself, as the "team" and to play individually.
As previously mentioned and as briefly described, the players, in turn, attempt to advance their trophy statuette 12 around the playing board 10, landing on different colored squares as they go, which represent various movie disciplines as "Comedy", "Action & Adventure", "Drama & Musicals", "Mystery & Horror" and "Science Fiction & Fantasy". Depending upon the color location, the players are read a quotation from a movie from one of the plurality of Movie Quotation Cards and if correctly identifying the movie from which the quotation comes, that player goes again. Should the player correctly identify a movie quotation that is marked on the Movie Quotation Card as a Nomination Ring quote (# next to the quote), the player collects an Achievement Award Nomination Ring 14 for that category. Play proceeds in a counterclockwise direction around the playing board 10 as many times as are necessary until a player collects five Nomination Rings--one for each of the five movie categories indicated--, and if that player also has completed at least one full lap around the Board 10, he or she can then proceed to the center of the playing board 10 for the final series of movie quotations as he, or she, ascends the winner's podium 16. The first player to correctly identify a movie quotation from atop the winner's podium 16 is declared the winner.
Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the playing board 10 is composed of a plurality of squares colored "Yellow" (Y), "Pink" (Pk), "Purple" (Pl), "Blue" (B) and "Green" (G), although in the actual construction of the Board 10 the squares are only "colored", without the need for any "lettering" to appear. Each such color square identifies one of the movie disciplines employed, as in the following manner: Yellow--comedy; Pink--action & adventure; Purple--drama & musicals; Blue--mystery & horror; and Green--science fiction & fantasy.
Also shown are a number (e.g. 4) squares that are colored "Red" (R), and a number (e.g. 2) of additional squares colored "black" (Bk). As for these positions on the Board 10, the "Red" square will be seen to require the player to impersonate an actor or actress from one of the plurality of Impersonator Cards utilized. If the player lands on the position colored "Black", the player follows the directions on the plurality of "Set Back Cards" used in playing the game. If the player were to land on a square colored "Yellow", "Pink", "Purple", "Blue" or "Green", then the player is asked to correctly identify that movie from which a quotation corresponding to the color of the square comes from.
Before describing a method of play according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it would be helpful to understand how the "Movie Quotation Cards", the "Set Back Cards" and the "Impersonator Cards" may appear. Four examples of the "Movie Quotation Card" should be sufficient.
______________________________________Category______________________________________QuoteYellow 1. He slimed me!Purple 2. Now look here, Charlie Alnut. I can manage this boat as well as you can.Pink 3. I know its tough for you. They wouldn't let you in the Academy because you're Duke Mitchell's kid, you have to live with that reputation. It's like every time we go up there you're flying against a ghost. That makes me nervous.Blue 4. Yuri was sent here by the KGB while he was still in his teens and for all intents and purposes he can pass for an American.Green 5. He needs to go home. He's calling his people and I don't know where they are.Answers1. Ghostbusters2. The African Queen3. Top Gun4. No Way Out5. E.T.QuoteYellow 1. This Cinderella story! Out of nowhere, a former greenskeeper now about to become a Masters champion. He hits the ball . . . oh, its in the hole!Purple 2. Wouldn't this be a great world if insecurity and des- peration made us more attractive.Pink 3. Where the hell did you get him, Pyscho's-R-Us?Blue 4. Murder can be an art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create.Green 5. Mom. There's something out there. Its in the tool shed. It threw the ball at me.Answers1. Caddyshack2. Broadcast News3. Lethal Weapon4. Rope5. E.T.QuoteYellow 1. I'll prove myself to you. I'll solve your little problem and then you'll say "Pete Vinckman is a guy who can get things done. I wonder what makes him tick."Purple 2. The train had knocked Ray Brower out of his Keds, just like it had knocked the life out of his body.Pink 3. Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash.Blue 4. One medium-dry vodka martini. Mixed like you said, sir. Not stirred.Green 5. Never tell me the odds!Answers1. Ghostbusters2. Stand By Me3. Top Gun4. Dr. No.5. Star WarsQuoteYellow 1. Hooray for Captain Spalding, the African explorer.Purple 2. Rosebud.Pink 3. Come on, make my day.Blue 4. The stuff that dreams are made of.Green 5. I never drink . . . wine.Answers1. Animal Crackers2. Citizen Kane3. Dirty Harry4. The Maltese Falcon5. Dracula______________________________________
As will be seen, these quotations call for the "passive" involvement of the player, by identifying the movie from which the quotation comes.
The next, Set Back Square Cards, on the other hand, require no involvement by the player--either of a "passive" nature or of an "active" nature, and direct the player in what to do. Again, four examples of these Set Back Square Cards should illustrate their various contents.
______________________________________1. Setback Your latest comedy film is trashed by the critics. Penalty Since your film is receiving good word-of- mouth advertising and is setting BOX OFFICE records, retreat 7 squares and roll again.2. Setback Your latest epic western is way over budget. Penalty Since no one at the studio knows this yet, your penalty is to retreat 4 squares and roll again.3. Setback Your latest musical film is panned by the critics. Penalty Since even your spouse and children hate the film, your penalty is to retreat 9 squares and roll again.4. Setback Your latest comedy film about two vaudevillians in the desert is rumored to be way over budget. Penalty Since your BIG EGO is still giving you delu- sions of grandeur and riches (even though you are $30 million over budget), forfeit one Nomination Ring, retreat 7 squares and roll again. If you don't have a Nomination Ring, re- treat 10 squares and forfeit this turn.______________________________________
The Impersonation Cards of the invention identify one actress and two actors, for example, along with a list of movies that they have appeared in. Upon selecting one of these cards, the player picks either the actress or one of the two actors, and, through impersonation, or otherwise, tries to convey to the other players who that person might be. As will be seen, this requires the "active" participation of the player. Again, four card layouts would be helpful in explaining the configuration.
______________________________________Impersonation Cards______________________________________ 1. Karen Allen Raiders of the Lost Ark Animal House Star Man William Defoe Platoon To Live and Die in L.A. The Last Temptation of Christ William Shatner Star Trek The Babysitter Visiting Hours 2. Ingrid Bergman Casablanca Cactus Flower Gaslight Cary Grant Arsenic and Old Lace To Catch a Thief North by Northwest Dan Aykroyd Ghostbusters 1941 Spies Like Us 3. Bo Derek 10 Bolero Tarzan Marty Feldman Young Frankenstein Silent Movie Lawrence Olivier David Copperfield Pride and Prejudice Rebecca 4. Mia Farrow Rosemary's Baby The Purple Rose of Cairo Zelig Billy Dee Williams Return of the Jedi Mahogany Lady Sings the Blues Sylvester Stallone Rocky Rambo II Over the Top______________________________________
As previously indicated, in a preferred embodiment of the invention there may be utilized 100 Movie Quotation Cards, 36 Set Back Cards, and 60 Impersonation Cards. Before the game begins, each set of these cards is shuffled and placed in a rack, for example, until needed.
The general rules of the game, and its play, may be as follows. All players--whether they be captain of a team or an individual--begin their play with their trophy statuettes 12, on one of the corner squares 18. The player with the first turn then throws his, or her, die, and moves the trophy statuette 12 the number of squares shown on the die. Another player then selects the first card from the Movie Quotation Card Rack and reads the quotation that corresponds in color and category to the square landed on by the first player. The quotations, in particular, are read from the front of the card and replaced into the rear of the Movie Quotation Card rack after the player's response is given. The correct identification of the quotation is listed on the back of each card. If the player correctly identifies the quotation, indicating the movie from which the quotation came, then that player throws the die again and continues around the Board 10 in a counterclockwise direction; if the answer is incorrect, on the other hand, then the die passes from that player to the next one to go.
In play, the players proceed in a counterclockwise direction around the Board 10, and must make at least one complete lap (i.e. passing the start square 18) and collect the five Achievement Award Nomination Rings (one from each movie category) before progressing into the center of the playing board 20, where the winner's podium 16 is. One way a player collects an Achievement Award Nomination Ring is in answering a quotation on a Movie Quotation Card identified by a characterizing symbol, e.g. a #. Thus, for instance, if the player starts from the cover square 18' and throws a "2", if the Movie Quotation Card contains the symbol # alongside the category "G" for "Science Fiction & Fantasy" then the player will attain the Achievement Award Nominating Ring for that category if he correctly identifies the movie from which the "Science Fiction & Fantasy" quotation came from; otherwise, the player will not attain that Nominating Ring.
In continuing the game, the players are not required to land on a corner square in order to enter the center 20 of the playing board 10, once they have attained the 5 Achievement Award Nomination Rings 14. For example, if a player throws a "6" at a time when he, or she, is only "two" squares away from a corner square, the player then moves the two squares onto the corner, and then proceeds four squares into the center 20. During play, the players always move the number of squares designated by the throw of the die, except when approaching the winner's podium 16 at the center of the board, where all rolls end on the first step of the podium.
Should a player, on the other hand, land on one of the "black" Set Back Squares, at that time another player chooses the first card from the Set Back square rack and reads to the player the set back penalty imposed. As with the Movie Quotation Card, the Set Back Card is then replaced at the rear of the Set Back Square Rack.
In the event that the player lands on the "red" Impersonation Square, then that player chooses the first card from the Impersonation Square Rack. As noted, each card contains the names of two actors and one actress along with a list of movies in which they have appeared. The player so landing is then allowed two impersonations of one of the actors or of the actress listed, and should the impersonation be correctly guessed by another player--either from his own team where team play follows, or from another player in individual play--, the impersonating player throws the die again and continues until forfeiting the die in the normal course of play, i.e. by answering a later quote incorrectly (or, by the dictates of a Set Back Square Card). At the same time, the player who correctly guesses the impersonation--or the impersonating player's team if one of its members correctly guesses the impersonation--collects a Nomination Ring of his or their choice, without having to identify any movie quotation. Should the impersonation not be guessed correctly, however, the player doing the impersonation remains on that Impersonation Square until the next turn, where they select a new Impersonation Card, and try once more. Should the second impersonation also not be guessed correctly, that player waits until the next turn, where, upon throwing the die, finally moves from that Impersonation Square further around the Board.
After the player has collected the five Achievement Award Nomination Rings 14 and made at least one complete lap around the playing board (more laps, if needed, until the five Nomination Rings have been attained), the player can then enter the center of the board 20, to progress towards the winner's podium 16. As previously mentioned, all throws of the die end at the first level of the podium such that, for example, if a player is two squares away from the podium 16 and throws a 6, that player only moves to the first level of the podium 16 and stops. All players, therefore, begin on the first level of the podium 16, and begin to climb the podium one level at a time. Upon reaching the podium, to move towards the top, the player must correctly identify a movie quotation. If the player answers incorrectly, they remain on that level until their next turn comes. On the first level A of the podium 16, the player then there selects the category that the other players must selected the quote from. On the second level B of the podium 16, the other players, by agreement or by majority vote, select the category of the five available movie quotations that the player must identify. The first player to identify the movie quotation from the second level B is declared the winner.
In playing the game, the players, by agreement, majority vote, or otherwise, decide as to how long a player may take to identify the movie quotation and just how precise that identification must be. In similar manner, time limits are established for guessing impersonations on those occasions where the player lands on the "red" Impersonation Squares. In similar fashion, players may divide the categories amongst themselves at the beginning of the game for reading purposes, according to which one player may read all the quotations from the "Comedy" category, another from the "Drama" category, etc. Also, that player reading may supervise the dispensing of the Achievement Award Nomination Rings 14 for that category at the beginning, and hand them out when a quotation from the category is correctly identified. However, should that player land on a square from the category he, or she, is supervising, then the quotation is read by another player.
For impersonations, the game rules may be decided upon by the players to utilize both verbal and non-verbal clues, inclusive of the imitations of facial expressions, walks, mannerisms, as well as other quotes from the movies, in order to add to the communication of identifying information and to increase the fun of playing the "Box-Office" Movie Game. Along this line, it might be more fun-filling if the players decide beforehand that the male players who land on Impersonation Squares only do impersonations of the actresses identified on the Impersonation Cards, and that the female players only do impersonations of the actors there set forth. These and other rules may be agreed upon beforehand to increase the flexibility of play.
While there has been described what is considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent that modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. Thus, whereas the invention has been described in its particular environment of a "movie-type" game, it will be equally clear that the format can be utilized in a similar manner for identifying theatrical plays, television programs, books, songs, etc. All that would be required, would be a similar series of play where players are called upon to correctly identify a quotation identifying that source work, and impersonating individuals associated with such art forms. As will be seen, even in those environments, the playing of the game will be seen to combine the "passive" knowledge of the player with his, or her, "active" participation in impersonating--by words, expressions or manners--the individual identified. For at least such reasons, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Dec 21, 1988
|Jun 12, 1990
|Gorski And White Games Unlimited, A California General & Partnership
|Method of playing a performing artist game
|"The Trivia Game Trivia Game", Games Magazine, Dec. 1984, pp. 24-25.
|"Trivial Pursuit", Master Game-Rules of Play, Selchow & Righter Co., 1981.
|The Trivia Game Trivia Game , Games Magazine, Dec. 1984, pp. 24 25.
|Trivial Pursuit , Master Game Rules of Play, Selchow & Righter Co., 1981.
|Citing Patent
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|Aug 26, 1992
|May 18, 1993
|Ferguson James A
|Analogies board game
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|Hurst; Dereck L.
|Educational board game with water spout
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|Jul 8, 1997
|Reutlinger; Alicia L.
|Vehicle history and trivia race game
|Oct 6, 1995
|Nov 25, 1997
|Musleh; Susan
|Method and apparatus for a secret identity adventure game
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|Sausa; Damien
|Quote and year trivia question game
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|Jun 22, 1999
|Sindelar; Joseph A.
|Theatrical learning game
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|May 1, 2001
|Randall A. Morton
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|May 8, 2001
|Joseph A. Balog
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|Apr 6, 2004
|Jo Ann F. Simmons
|System for providing entertainment and enhancing human relationships
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|Crenshaw Michael D
|Movie-related card game
|May 20, 2005
|Dec 14, 2010
|Pinpoint, Incorporated
|System and method for providing access to video programs and other data using customer profiles
|May 20, 2005
|Nov 8, 2011
|Pinpoint, Incorporated
|System and method for providing access to data using customer profiles
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|Nov 27, 2012
|Hoshiko Llc
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|May 27, 2014
|Andr� Fontana
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|U.S. Classification
|273/249, 273/290, 273/440, 273/431
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Jun 27, 1995
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Nov 19, 1995
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|Jan 30, 1996
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19951122


text:
LEGEND OF ZELDA TIME LOOPS: Two New Loopers for the Price of One
Disclaimer: Didn't you read the one on the previous chapters? Legend of Zelda isn't mine.
10.1 - Detective Ethan Redfield
Looper Conference: LOZ Side story Part 1 (Cross with Elder Tale)
The light of the sun was blinding overhead as Link awoke laying face up on the ground. Most of the time he awoke, it was both literal and figuratively, as he was usually napping in one way or another. His eyes opened to snow covered fortress city that he had never seen before. He searched his memories for a moment to get the feel for the loop, when he was forced to stop as panicked shouts filled the streets, 'where am I,' or 'is this, Susukino,' and finally 'but this is just a game! Where's my keyboard? I want to go home!'
Wherever he had just looped, it would be an odd one, he just knew.
Half an hour later, he sat in a private home he owned in Susukino. His memories revealed he was part of a guild called the Termina Alliance. Apparently, a version of the other Hyrule loopers were there, awake or not. He sent a ping out, only for countless pings to echo from across Theldesia. He sat down atop his bed and looked up, pondering what to do this loop, only for a menu to open.
His eyes scanned the wealth of information, such as his own:
Guardian Lv. 90
Butler Lv. 90
He snorted, apparently the loops had a sense of humor saddling him with a subclass he never acted out before. That was when the sound of ringing in his ears. His menu shifted and showed him Zelda was trying to call. It was short and to the point, "Link, meet me at the guild hall. Everyone currently looping are here as well."
Their guildhall was in Susukino's meeting hall. Upon opening the doorway, it resembled a small villa, reminiscent of Hyrule Castle's interior with big tapestries containing the symbol of the triforce. The other loopers had gathered in the dining hall: Zelda, Malon and Impa were on one side of the table with Vaati and Gannondorf on the other.
Lv. 90 Cleric
Lv. 90 Fortune Teller
Lv. 65 summoner
Lv. 90 Animal Trainer
Lv. 90 Monk
Lv. 90 Berserker
Race of Ritual
Lv. 90 Sorcerer
Lv. 90 Vampire
Lv. 90 Assassin
Lv. 90 Assistant
There were a few other guild members present, none awake, but they took on the appearance of friends he knew in Hyrule. Most of them made sense, such as Romani, sister of Malon, the Masked Salesman who took on the form of a foxtail this time, even the king of Red lions was there as a werecat. The more baffling members though were Tetra (since she was another incarnation of Zelda), elf forms of Tatl and Navi (sisters in this loop), and even Marin from his dreams of the Wind Fish adventure.
More bizarre than the Unawake guild members was the fact that Ganondorf was the guildmaster. Link couldn't help but think that Zelda would typically be leader in one form or another. He searched his loop memories for an answer, and a moment later, the history of Termina Alliance held the solution. Apparently, the guild was originally called the Gerudo Thieves, who held aspirations of ruling Susukino. They were the most successful PKers out there, drawing their targets to assault more rowdy adventurers and counterattacking en masse, claiming self-defense.
Things changed when Zelda appeared on scene, using her saint like attitude and kindness, redeemed the the king of thieves, Ganondorf, and his Lieutenant Vaati, reforming them and purging the worst elements from the guild. Ganondorf re-christened the Thieves into the Termina Alliance.
Questions arose from the non-awake members, seeking to be reassured that everything would be alright, some desiring confirmation that they were indeed in Elder Tales or another world altogether. When the questions became deafening, Ganondorf arose, sending out a deep pressure that demanded silence. When all noise had dissipated, he turned towards Zelda's side of the table, "Impa, please escort the newer players out and see if you can answer their questions. The veterans will discuss this world and our future actions in it."
Impa looked to Zelda, who nodded in acknowledgement of Ganondorf's command. With that, the room emptied of all but the loopers minus Impa. Vaati was the first to speak, "I have looped here once before. It seems my role is similar to that time, replacing the local guild leader's second in command. Ganondorf apparently took the guild leader's place. But with Zelda's presence earlier, everything has changed from what I knew of this place. I assume the anchor, Shiroe, is in Akiba."
Zelda folded her hands together, "What was your impression of the Anchor."
Vaati sighed, "Shiroe was very cunning, sent me out of Susukino to explore the land with a friend of his. Of course, I saw through those attempts to get me to leave, but the rest of his plan wasn't unveiled until I had already departed."
The dark wizard finished with a brief tale of his adventures with Kaname, along with how to access the world's menu system, the help guide (which sent a ripple of jealousy through even Zelda) and tips on how to survive in the world (such as cooking food and building items that no longer existed in the game world). Malon also shared her own adventures with Shiroe in the Crescent Moon Alliance. Following that, there were a brief moment of silence as the gathered loopers considered their options. Malon arose first, "I will look into my farm outside the city."
Plans were already taking shape in her head for later in the loop for forming a party to go to the dragon nesting grounds and capture some eggs for breeding. Before exiting, a hand landed on her shoulder, Link's, which made her pause. The triforce wielder spoke, "Better safety in numbers. I will accompany you."
The city was in a dreadful state, with adventurers laying on the ground, sitting against walls without a shred of life in them. They were like living dolls, their hearts still beating but their minds far away. When Brigandia took over, they at least had some direction and motivation, but now...it was almost pitiful. Life briefly returned to their faces as Malon passed by, but seeing Link next to her drove the hope of a girlfriend or companionship from their minds.
Link grimaced at the adventurers as they slipped through a stone alleyway into the more public market. But the stone marketplace was somehow worse, with angry customers shouting at the people of the land for selling them tasteless food. The landers were getting more and more nervous, backing away from the stands as the adventurers. Silently, Link's Master Sword and Hylian Shield materialized in his hands as he approached the gathered players, his blade extended towards the stand, "Leave!"
The player raised his hands, "Come on, man, I ordered this sandwich from the stand and had a bite. It had no taste to it at all. I think I deserve a re-fund."
Link's blade never wavered, causing the player to start sweating a bit, "You'll find that all the food here, except ingredient items, have no taste. No exceptions."
The other adventurers contemplated Link, examining him and sizing him up. They read his information readout, but it was when they reached the Termina Alliance guild member status that their swords were drawn. Link didn't know it, but the adventurers picking on the landers were former Gerudo Thieves members. Link's mouth twitched into a grin, "Oh?"
The leader spat in Link's direction, "You're what's wrong with Susukino these days, a pack of do-gooders that ruined the game for us, turning Ganondorf into a weakling like yourselves."
The commotion drew a crowd of adventurers and landers around the stand, people whispering among themselves. One in particular approached Malon from the side, "Seems like your friend has everything under control."
Malon turned to the speaker and froze. She had heard of her, seen a picture of her given by Ganondorf. Her hair was bright pink, cut short with a blue headband holding her hair in place and her eyes held a soft, calculating gleam to them. Malon's face turned pale as she backed away. The girl sighed, "As always, my reputation precedes me even in the newer loops I never visited. Sakura Haruno of the Naruto loops at your service."
Lv. 90 Monk
Lv. 90 Scholar
She held out her hand. Malon looked at her, then to the hand and back to Sakura. Deciding it better not to offend one of the first loopers, she accepted it, "Malon, Zelda Loops."
The pink haired ninja gave a bright grin, "Well met. You have nothing to fear from me. I already have plans for the loop with the Wyrvens. Hoping to try my hand at breeding dragons, maybe taking a few eggs for home."
Malon nodded, "I'm going to do that myself when I get a party together."
Malon's gaze turned back to Link, but Sakura's never left Malon. That previous calculating gleam had returned, "Oh? You have experience back in Hyrule with animals?"
Link and the thieves were still facing each other down, only talking. Malon nodded, "I've raised most creatures in Hyrule in one loop or another."
Sakura circled around behind Malon and stood next to her, glancing between Link and Malon, "And you ever tried cross-breeding," she baited.
Malon sighed, "Yeah, but Link talked me out of trying any more cross-breeding. He and the other loopers didn't seem to like the results."
Sakura shrugged, "But did you enjoy it?"
Malon nodded, "It was fun, applying my knowledge and making a new form of life! It was like nothing I've ever done before."
Sakura nodded, "It's like that for me in my home loop. 'Sakura, do not experiment with the borg' and 'Sakura, do not cross-breed Godzilla and chickens.'"
Malon looked at her with a slight amount of anger, "I heard what you did to Kakashi. You sent him into a coma for the better part of three loops!"
Sakura cringed, and lowered her head, "I've made mistakes and I've done terrible things to others, I won't deny it. Heck, I've unleashed the Zombie apocalypse on Konoha more times than I can count. But when I research, that's not my intent."
She held up her hands and glanced at them, a gleam entering her eyes as she allowed her passion to flow out, "I just love the thrill of discovery! Trying new things that no one ever has before and pushing the boundaries of mortal knowledge to new heights! Sure I screw up and things break, but the Loops give you infinite tries to get this stuff right. I don't set out to hurt anyone, but what's really lost if I make a mistake? It's all gone when the Loop resets, with only a few people remembering what happened. What's really important in the Loops is doing the things you love doing and discovering new ways to keep your love for them alive."
Malon considered the notorious looper's words. She really didn't sound like the ravening sex-crazed madwoman who committed atrocities on her friends for giggles. She sounded like a kindred spirit. And what's more, she made sense. What would it hurt if she really pushed herself? How bad could her cross-breeding experiments really get if the Loops just wiped away her mistakes like Sakura said?
Then, a blade cut between the two of them. Sakura and Malon looked up with Link's eyes burning with anger at Sakura. Malon looked to Sakura, who now held that calculating gleam once again. Her voice that was filled with so much joy a few seconds ago sounded like ice, "Link...been awhile since we faced off at Wall Rose."
Link's teeth were bared against the girl now. Sakura chuckled, "Come now. I did nothing to you, only took apart that interesting wall for study. Who could have known they were filled with 50 meter tall Titans?"
"I did, but you wouldn't listen, and half of humanity died due to attacking titans thanks to that. Holes don't plug themselves, never mind those titans tearing themselves free of those walls. I'm warning you, stay away from my friends," he growled, his blade now inches from Sakura's eyes.
She gave a wicked smirk, "You think you could take me?"
Link tried ignoring her, even as memories of their destructive fight played across his mind and his body being left broken atop the remains of the wall. He instead looked to Malon, "Are you alright?"
Malon put his hand on Link's blade hand, "What are you doing!? We were just talking. She's not going to cause any trouble, right Sakura?"
Malon's eyes were so innocent, pleading. Sakura held up her hands, "I won't start any trouble. We really were just talking Link."
Sakura's hands reached forward, tapping her menu screen and opening up her friend list. Seconds later, she sent the request to Malon, who opened mentally without moving her hands. She blinked, surprised. Link probably wouldn't think it wise, but Sakura seemed OK, and she had promised not to cause trouble. A couple seconds passed as she weighed her options, then decided to accept her friend request with but a thought.
Sakura closed the menu and shrugged, "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll leave, peacefully."
She took a step back into the crowd and faded into the crowd. Link returned his blade to his sheath and turned to Malon, "Keep an eye out for her. Wherever she goes, trouble will follow. Let's get you to the farm."
The rest of the trip passed without incident as they make their way to Romani's ranch. Upon arrival, Link turned to leave and left her one warning, "Malon, please be careful. Don't let anyone you don't know into the Ranch. And if you see Sakura again, let us know immediately."
Malon felt torn. On one hand, Link had more experience looping than her. On the other, Sakura's words would not leave her, "I don't think Sakura's going to cause trouble. She promised after all."
Link scoffed, "Sakura would only follow the exact words of any agreement she gave. She won't cause trouble...no of course she wouldn't...herself. Her machinations will cause trouble...or she'll trick us into starting the trouble. Just be careful."
He turned to leave, "I need to let the guild know of this development."
The girl Malon had interested Sakura, greatly. In a way, she reminded her of herself just as the loops were starting...though much more sane by comparison. If she could thank her teammates for anything, it was the counseling she was given over a hundred loops that solved quite a few of her problems, though most of her therapists did go insane, they just reset in the end anyway.
It was that last shrink that gave her purpose, a 'positive' coping method of expanding human knowledge, to see the boundaries of science expanded. The loops held infinite possibilities even as they continued expanding to encompass more and more loops. And now, she hoped to help this new Looper cope with hers.
Her looping experiences served her well as she accurately predicted the Thieves would have a tracker follow Link and Malon, and they would inflict some form of revenge on Link in one way or another. This tracker was a natural at erasing his presence and following Malon and Link. Given some time to hone his abilities, he might have made Jounin one day in the Elemental Nations. Against regular adventurers or new loopers, it might even have been enough. But to Sakura, he might as well have been a child playing ninja on the playground with other academy hopefuls. As he made to leave the area, a pink blur enveloped him as he slammed against the tree, a kunai embedded against his neck in a way to apply pressure but not injure.
Her mouth had a simple grin, but her eyes held no mercy, "Let's talk, shall we?"
Interrogation was hardly her strong point. No, she left that to Sasuke when Awake. But she did have a healthy supply of veritaserum on hand and was dying to use it. A few drops forced down his throat, and he started singing like a bird. The Thieves were gathering even now on the edge of town, planning to hide in the woods around the ranch and kidnap Malon. Sakura envisioned those thieves and knew they would do terrible things to her given the chance. The captive tracker was to meet with them at the gate and lead them to the Malon's ranch.
Perhaps it would be best if they disappeared. After all, she could always use more test subjects in her subspace pocket. With that decided and a shadow clone departing under the disguise of the assassin, her eyes darted between the farm and her captive, a new branch of her plan forming.
10.2 - (generiguy)
Link Awoke and looked around. He was on the very top of a floating island, with blue sky all around him. His name was Geezer, and like the other villagers on this island, he was a white blobby... person... thing. He was waiting for another villager named Gomez to wake up and climb to the top of the island, where a square pedestal sat surrounded by green grass. He was probably the Anchor, Link decided. Link dug a little deeper into his memories, and his eyes widened.
Apparently, the villagers here had no sense of a third dimension.
Link looked around at the most definitely 3-D world around him.
Forget waiting for Gomez, Link thought. I'm going to see what's up with this Loop.
As Link walked through the door back to the village, arms full of several yellow and blue cubes, a villager emerged from a doorway. After yawning, it pulled out a red cubical fez from nowhere, put it on its head, and looked around. After a second, it spotted Link and his curious cargo.
"Are... are those cubes?" the villager, who Link recognized as Gomez, asked.
Link looked down at the contents of his arms and nodded.
"All 64 of them?!"
Link nodded.
"...you got them all before I woke up?!"
Link shrugged. "I've seen harder puzzles."
"Even the artifacts?!"
Link nodded.
"You... even got the anti-cubes?!"
Link nodded at his pile of cubes, around half of which were blue.
"All 32?!"
"The one with the bell was actually pretty fun to solve."
"But... the clock cubes take a week before they appear... And Zuish... and... but... they're hidden until you turn... Wha... How did you... ...Hexahedron... "
As Gomez stared at Link with a look of utter confusion, Link decided he'd mention the Lens of Truth later.
10.3 - (Leviticus Wilkes)
Sometimes, you just knew that you were in for a really, really bad loop. Sure sometimes that realization came too little too late, but every so often, Link's impressively well developed sense of danger informed him of such facts. Other times though, it was the world around him that managed to inform him of it's general level of suck.
This loop had the distinction of filling both categories within a matter of seconds. Yes, Link was in for a hard loop.
Link Awoke in an alley, smaller than usual and clothed in a few ragged coats and moth eaten pants. Neither really did much to disguise the fact he felt as though he had been sleeping in dank alleys for most of his life, but they certainly helped keep him warm. Above him, the sun had already sunk low in the west, forcing the city walls to cast long shadows, while a cool breeze swept through the street, indicating twilight was almost upon them.
Link got to his feet and took stock of his body. Small, with short arms and legs, and an oversized head in comparison. All were indicators of youth, and thus he guessed his age to be about twelve. Link then turned his scrutiny outwards, scanning the cobbled street, checking the area against his own encyclopedic knowledge of technological eras.
'Large houses, crammed close together, with only a handful of unlit torches the would provide illumination at night...
...Wait, walls?'
It was then that Link's Loop memories kicked in, as he stared in gob-smacked awe of what his mind told him where 50 meter tall stone walls, constructs so enormous that until his Awakening in the loop, he had revered them as gifts from god, if not gods themselves.
'Those things are huge... And they surround an entire NATION!'
Link continued to stare at the impressive feat of human engineering, utterly amazed at the constructs before him, so completely engorged by the shocked and entrancing wonder that the enormous wall, absolutely lost in awe of what his memories deemed Wall Rose...
...that he completely missed the twelve year old blonde being beaten up by three guys not twenty paces to the left him.
Of course, when said blonde cried out in pain from a particularly vicious right hook to the jaw, Link had enough sense to turn and see that someone was being beaten up in a rather one-sided three on one fight. Thus, Link took the necessary actions.
Namely, he got a running start and kneed the guy who was holding the blonde in the face, leaving a sickening crack as he broke the bullies nose and knocking the bully off the blonde and onto the cobblestone street.
Link didn't really do what he did next in any particular way, certainly not in any manner that would require or suggest an adjective to be present to describe the action; he just stepped between the bullies and the blonde, intent to stop them from hurting the kid.
"Hey, wants the big deal bozo?" The lead bully growled from on the street. "Get out of our way so we can teach that little heretic a lesson."
Link rolled his eyes and slipped into a fighting stance. Three kids versus the Hero of Hyrule with hundreds of years of experience? Get real, they were going down.
Link, the blonde, and the bullies all turned in the direction of the horse, youthful shout. Running down the road were two more kids. "WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
The bullies lined up all grins and muscle, looking like a ludicrous impression of a phalanx. "It's Eren. This time around, he's out for our blood, the little prick," one of the bullies said. Another was more observant however.
"He's got Mikasa with him! WE'RE SCREWED!"
And just like that, the bullies ran like cowards, leaving Link and the blonde to wonder what was happening. The boy, Eren, stopped and smirked, red faced and huffing. "Ohh...look at them...the mere sight of me and they scurry like rats." Eren sucked in another breath to satiate his burning lungs.
"N-not quite," the blonde said, actually quite surprising Link with his voice. He had thought... But the blond continued. "They ran away when they saw Mikasa, more like... ow."
Link stepped back as Eren and the asian girl, Mikasa crowded in on their friend. "Hey, you okay Armin?" Eren stuck out his hand, but Armin, instead of taking it... teared up. Armin struggled up, leaning heavily on buildings wall.
"I don't need help to stand..." Armin got up and looked at Link. "Thanks...?"
Link just shrugged. "You're welcome."
Eren glanced from Armin to Link and coughed into his hand. "Maybe we should get out of here..."
"...and then I told them that humanity would need to go outside one day. That's when they started hitting me." Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Link sat forlornly by the long river that ran through the town of Shiganshina, brooding. Link checked the story against his Loop memories, and growled angrily and with shame at himself. His memories told him he had been an orphan, a street urchin, for his entire memorable life, quietly raising himself and living off of scraps he could find and, when that was too hard for him, from charity at the local Wallist church.
His feelings stemmed not solely from Armin's little speech about how he'd been beaten, but also from his memories telling him that, had he not woken up literally a minute before Eren and Mikasa arrived, he probably would've joined in the bullies beating. Suffice to say, his pre-awake self had been a bit of a jerk.
"Thank you, for helping me."
Link jolted out of his introspection. The three kids were all looking at him, various degrees of gratitude and confusion etched in their faces. "We never did ask you name..." Armin prompted.
Link shrugged. "Link."
Eren raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you help Armin, Link?"
Link mirrored the look. The three kids were all looking at him as if anyone showing genuine kindness or empathy to a complete stranger was well out of the norm. Of course, his loop memories quickly collaborated to remind him that it was. More evidently though, his memories told him that Armin was being heretical, suggesting that humanity leave the safety of the walls and venture out into 'their' territory.
It was then that Link remembered another fact about the walls. They were basically living through a zombie apocalypse, albeit, one where the zombies were three to fifteen meter tall monstrosities that weren't rotting and didn't come from a virus affecting humans.
"Hey, Link?"
Link jolted out of his thoughts again at Eren's voice. "Eh?"
Eren minutely glared at him. "Why. Did you. Help Armin?" Now Mikasa and Armin were fidgeting in apprehension.
Link shrugged. "I'm a nice guy. That's about it. Do I need a reason?"
The three ten year olds collectively blinked. Link rolled his eyes, laid back on the grassy riverbank, and decided to let his companions figure things out. Eren took Link's prompt and got into an argument with his sister, which lasted up until Armin spoke, "The wall may not have broken in one hundred years, but that's no guarantee that it won't happen today, and still..."
Link opened an eye and sat up, both actions done to more effectively glare at Armin. "Armin?"
The blond flinched at the strength of the glare, resulting in Eren and Mikasa glaring at Link. Eren spoke hesitantly, "Yes?"
Link leaned in. "You do know you've just doomed us all, right?"
The ground shook and bucked for a moment, almost as if some great force had appeared to rend the very fabric of the peaceful life the walls tenuously held. The four children stood up.
"What was..."
There, rising from a cloud of steam just beyond wall Rose, was a Titan. A monstrosity so huge that it just surpassed the Wall's height of fifty meters. It dwarfed the humans cowering in it's sight. With an almighty shift of it's leg, the skinless, colossal monster readied itself, and then loosed a kick that effortlessly destroyed one hundred years of peace.
And a big chunk of the wall as well.
'Yup, this loop is gonna suck,' Link thought.
10.4 - (generiguy)
Link stepped out of the temple of time to find a world much less apocalyptic than he expected.
Instead of a decrepit Castle town, he found a bustling launchpad, with a giant red tower looming in the distance. Link stared for a moment before focusing his attention on the figure in front of him.
"G.G. Cuccoo launching in T-minus-60." announced Ganondorf, his usual organ replaced with a control panel filled with sliders and buttons, at least 5 of which were large and red.
"What. Did you do. To Castle Town."
Ganondorf gave a low chuckle. "You are going to find this... interesting."
He turned to face Link. "As I'm SURE you well know " - Link's expression hardened - "Cuccoos can summon infinite swarms. So if someone were to say, train a Cuccoo to flock on command..."
Ganondorf gave a low smile.
"Then they could, say, eject that flock at high speed. And use that power for other things. And in addition to actually effective leadership, and the great supply of Cuccoos Hyrule is blessed with, and a legal grant from a certain princess..."
Ganondorf pointed to the rocket, which gave a burst of smoke and began rising into the air, emitting something white.
"Hyrule now has the power to launch cuccoo-powered rockets."
10.5 - (masterofgames)
A very shell-shocked Link stumbled into Castle Town, having to resort to hanging onto a fence to keep from falling until he could reach a bench in the marketplace, collapsing down on it and pulling out a bottle of something a bit stronger that the suspiciously alcoholic milk he enjoyed from time to time, though his hands were trembling so hard, it took him a good four tries to open it.
After a minute, Zelda sat down next to him, in her usual disguise for going out in public. "Rough loop?"
Link swallowed and re-stoppered his now half-empty bottle. "I'm swearing off time travel outside Hyrule. Never again. It does weird things to clocks. No, from now on, only in Hyrule, where it's safe!"
Zelda tilted her head in puzzlement. "Clocks? I'm not sure I understand."
Link looked up at her, with dark, sunken eyes haunted by knowledge best left unknown. "I won't go into detail. You don't deserve that. Nobody does. But... Zelda, they have cucco clocks out there!"
10.6 - (generiguy)
Link stared at the golden wolf in front of him, which had a ... derpier-then-normal face.
"Sometimes enemy. Much pointy. Such helmet. Then, much helmsplitter. Such jump and much sword. Very helmsplitter. Such helmet gone.
How helmsplitter? Much simple. First such shield bash. Very Nunchuck. Then much A."
Link continued staring at the wolf, very confused.
"Such teach Ghost Doge. Now very try!"
Link sat up and stretched. Another day, another Loop. And he was back in Kokiri village this time.
He smiled. He really treasured the memories of his childhood here. He quickly checked the Triforce and sent out a ping at the same time. After a couple minutes, he didn't receive any response. Solo Loop it was. He was looking forward to testing out his newest blade and seeing how it compared to the Master Sword and...where was Navi?
Link glanced around. He usually didn't arrive too much earlier than the point where the Deku Tree was attacked. Maybe...
Link hopped out of bed and quickly made his way out of his house. If he was early this time, he might be able to head of Ganondorf's attack on the Tree completely.
Link raced down the path towards the Tree. After all these Loops, it was pretty simple to slip past Mido, with or without a sword and shield. This time, he had opted to Wind Waker up a breeze, and sail over using the Sailcloth. Mido has just stared in shock, before jumping up to catch him, but a quickly chewed Pegasus Seed let him speed away. Mentally, Link went through his inventory.
'Maybe I can rig up a Light Arrow Launcher? Link up a couple with overlapping fields of fire in front of the Deku Tree? No Cuccos, that's for sure.' Link shuddered. Malon had forced him to 'disarm' his Cucco Bombs a few Loops ago, and he hadn't chanced fate yet by trying to build up a new stockpile. Link made the final turn into the Deku Tree's Meadow, and froze.
Link wasn't early. In fact, Link would say he was very, very late. The field was trashed. Long lines of grass were torn up all around the meadow, and several of the smaller trees at the edges were snapped clear in two. As for the Deku Tree itself, it was already the ashen shade that marked it as being dead. The tree was on its side, several of its massive roots piercing through the soul, and massive gashes of bark were ripped loose, scattered about the ground. Link stumbled forward slightly, stunned at the sight. 'How did we not hear anything?'
A faint voice echoed from a nearby root. Link twisted, moving closer, searching for the source of the voice. A faint light glimmered at the base of the upturned root, and Link realized it was a fairy. Not just any fairy.
Navi lay in a small heap at the base of the root. Her glow was flickering, revealing her tiny, feminine form. Her wings were damaged, one partially torn and the other crumpled.
"I-I'm so-ory, Link. I-I tried to-to stop him. I cal-led fo-or you. Ganon is-s back. He-he chopped down the De-eku Tre-ee..." Link dropped to his knees by Navi. She'd called for him? She shouldn't even... The answer hit him, obvious now that he thought it. Navi was Looping. She was Looping, and she had seen Ganondorf, and tried to stop him from attacking the Deku Tree. She had called for Link's help. Link closed his eyes. How long had it been since he had listened to Navi's voice? A hundred Loops? A thousand? It used to be, when he was first starting out, Navi could call to him across vast distances, much farther than her voice should be able to carry over. Now, though...
Tenderly, Link scooped Navi up into his hands, and called on the healing magics he knew of. A mixture of divine magic and healing chakra filled his palms. Navi's wings straightened and healed, her glow returned, and intensified, until she appeared to be nothing more than an orb of light, glowing in Link's palms.
"How? How did you do that, Link?"
Link smiled. "It's kind of a long story. Basically, time is Looping a lot more than the little trip we took to the future and back. We're back at the beginning of the journey."
"But, the Deku Tree...it...he..."
Link glanced up and around the clearing, before spotting what he was looking for. He carried Navi over to a spot off to the side of the fallen tree. A fairly large seed lay on the ground. Link pulled out an Ocarina from his subspace pocket, and quickly played the Frog's Song of Soul. Unlike what happened in Koholint Island, where the Rooster revived from his corpse, the song had a different effect on the fallen Deku Tree. The large fallen form of the tree quickly crumbled away, while the seed in front of them sprouted, and quickly began to grow. Link hopped back, finishing the song, as the tree sprouted into a tall sapling. The sapling opened its eyes, coughing a couple of times, before focusing on Link.
"Hello! I'm the new Deku Tree. Huh, I'm a bit taller than I expected to be." Link had learned that the new Deku Tree had most of the memories of the old one, and, more importantly...
"Do you have the Kokiri's Emerald? We need it to stop Ganon's evil plans." Every Deku Tree could call on the Kokiri's Emerald from where it was hidden away.
The Deku Tree shook sadly. "No, Ganon has claimed it. You must find a way to retrieve it."
Link nodded. If worst came to worst, he could gimmick the Kokiri's Emerald he kept in his Pocket to work in breaking the seal. The fit was usually close enough to work.
Navi took off from his hands and circled around his head. "Link! I don't understand what is going on. How did we end up back here? Didn't we win?"
Link grinned. "Don't worry. We'll beat Ganon. I have plenty of tricks that can work. Heh, now it's my turn to teach you."
Link could just imagine the scowl on Navi's face from the way she flit around angrily.
10.8 - (Stonebrow)
It had taken the free time of a few dozen loops, and required several fused loops to get the parts and equipment necessary. But it was finally time to unveil Link's project.
Zelda had her self-breeding project, and Ganon spent time tutoring the rare looping antagonist whenever he could find one. Link, however, had focused on this ever sense he saw Mario and Bowser competing so strongly, yet without bloodshed.
Now everything was ready, and they were in Hyrule with the whole gang awake this loop; it was time to unveil his creation.
"You had best have a good reason for getting us together, Link," Gannon growled. "I was at an important stage of research in cucoo weaponization, I think you will find it… vexing… once I complete it."
Malon glared at the man, pulling a Light-arrow out of her subspace pocket and starting to jab it into him. "No more cucoo research! Did we or did we not all sign the Kakariko Accords?"
"Ow! Stop that at- Ow! Once! Wench!"
Link rolled his eyes; they all ignored the Accords when it suited them. "Hey, cut it out, both of you. We're here to test out my project! I give you- Zelda Cart Racing!" With that, he whipped the sheet off of the go-kart next to him.
There was silence from the others.
Zelda was the first to speak. "This was your big project? Couldn't we go horse racing instead?"
"I love Epona, but this is not the same thing guys. And I didn't just bring go-karts, I brought mushrooms, star-men, grabbed a bunch of banana skins from Donkey Kong… Oh, and two words… Blue Cucoo…"
Impa snorted. "And where will we race? Hyrule is rather lacking in transport infrastructure."
Link smirked. "It was until I paid the Gorons to lay out several tracks around the country side. They literally work for rocks, you know. They go nuts for exotic geology- they mostly eat metamorphic rocks around Death Mountain."
Ganon smiled, a chilling sight, even for those used to his new demeanor. "Then let me be the first one to challenge you Link, in the Hyrule Cup Prix!"
Link grinned back. It was all worth it- he was go-karting with Gannondorf!
10.8 cont. - (generiguy)
"Oh, and before we start, teleporting your kart is cheating."
Ganondorf and Zelda frowned simultaneously.
"...I'm pretty sure that making a ramp out of Moblins is also cheating."
"There were no rules against it."
Malon scowled at Ganondorf. "So does that make it okay if I use a few hundred Cuccos?"
"Was Death Mountain supposed to erupt mid-race?"
"No, but you have to admit it made this race much more fun."
Link surveyed the smoldering, boulder-stricken ruins of the track.
"Although it's probably going to need a bit of renovation before we use it again."
Saria walked into the Lost Woods and gasped. Two of the four large tree trunks had been replaced with rubble, and the once-pristine grass was charred in several places. Most of the trees had several strips of missing bark, and in the corner a small fire smoldered. 'What monster could have caused this?' Saria thought, her eyes widening.
An explosion sounded nearby, and Saria whirled around.
And nearly got ran over by something green moving at very high speed.
Several more colored blurs sped around the bend, leaving trails of dust in their wake. Saria instinctively froze, then ducked to avoid a ferocious-looking blue cucco, throwing her arms over her head. When she reopened her eyes a second later, the clearing was empty once more save for a large banana peel that definitely was not there before.
A few minutes later, a shell-shocked Saria stumbled into her house and refused to come out for the rest of the morning.
Impa suddenly swerved to the right and shot off a bomb arrow at Zelda, forcing her kart off the track and, with a splash, into Lake Hylia.
"Navi?" Zelda asked the fairy flying over to her kart.
"Hey! I'm coming! You don't have to pester me..." Navi panted. "You guys are brutal to each other."
Navi grabbed the hood of the car. Her wings beat furiously, hauling the car up into the air. No matter how many times she fell, Zelda still found it slightly amusing to watch a tiny ball of wings carry a several hundred pound kart into the air.
When the kart was above the track, Navi let go and watched it drop to the ground and zoom off. "Thanks!" yelled Zelda behind her, already trying to catch up.
Navi sighed and stretched her aching wings before zooming off to another downed racer. 'How does that "Lakitu" guy DO all this lifting anyway?'
10.9 - (generiguy)
Link grabbed the last rung of the ladder, and with a final heave, pushed himself up to the top of Tingle Island's tower. "Hey, Tingle!"
"Ooooh!" said Tingle. "Mr. Fairy! Welcome! Welcome!"
Tingle paused for a second before sniffing the air in Link's direction.
"You don't have a chart this time, sir? Have you come... to play?!"
Link walked over to Tingle, a smile on his face. Someone who knew Link much better would have recognized that smile as a something-very-unusual-was-about-to-happen smile, but Tingle was not one of those people.
"...Yes. I even brought you something to play with!"
Link produced a metal ball the size of a Cuccoo, with several holes drilled into it on all sides, and offered it to Tingle. Tingle took the ball and examined it.
"Sir... this doesn't look like a toy..."
Then the 'toy' began firing dark green spheres.
"AAH!" Tingle tried to drop the ball, but found that he couldn't, because he was 3 feet to the right of where he was. And then he was in the ocean. Then he was on top of Tingle Tower. Then floating in midair- and then falling.
Ankle and Knuckle stopped their turning to look at the source of the noise, and were rather shocked to see their brother materialize in midair, then disappear in a cloud of purple smoke. As Tingle continued teleporting randomly, Link leaned over the railing to stare at his creation.
'Ender Pearls are awesome.'Link thought. 'I wonder what else I can test while I'm here.'
Tingle heaved himself out of the water and flopped onto the sand. "Mr fairy... that... was very naughty..." he groaned.
He looked up, face full of sand, to find Link standing in front of him with a cocked bow in his hands.
"Mr. Fairy!" Tingle tried to yell, but it came out as a whimper.
Link let go of the string.
Tingle may have been immature, but he knew when someone was trying to kill him. As the arrow sped towards his face, Tingle closed his eyes. Now, he would never find the fairies and learn their songs, their dances, and see their world. There was a Tingle-filled gap in their culture that would never be placated now.
And it was all because of that mean boy! He looked like a fairy! Well, now he was being MEAN! Fairies were NEVER mean! To think Tingle trusted him, and was even willing to decipher any charts he had! He wasn't a fairy. He was EVIL.
...Shouldn't he have felt a booboo already?
Tingle opened his eyes.
And then the ground beneath him gave way into a sinkhole of blue, sending Tingle down into the ground... and then the blue turned into orange, and Tingle felt himself fly into the air, do a midair flip, and land on his feet.
Tingle stumbled forwards for a second before blinking and doing a double take. He was... back on the deck of Tingle Tower?
"Thanks for deciphering my chart, Tingle! You're the best!" Link said cheerily, waving as he disappeared over the edge of the ladder.
"...what?" Tingle got out, barely managing to stand.
'Great! I got to prank Tingle, AND test out the Ender Ball and Portal Arrows!' Link thought, flicking the ignition switch to the King of Red Lions' newly-installed rocket engine. 'I wonder how he'd react to Zelda Kart.'
10.10 - (Stonebrow) *Edited by LordCirce for completion*
Link saw it through the window. It was shiny, and called to him. It called to his soul.
Link entered the store. "How much for the guitar, the one in the window?"
"Hello! You're in luck, it's on sale, $200."
"Hm, would you take this ruby the size of my fist?"
"Er, where did you get this?"
"Never heard of the place."
"It's in Africa."
"Oh, that would explain the ruby then. Sure, she's yours. I'll throw in the accessories. You know how to play?"
"Not exactly, but I'm musically inclined."
"Well, OK. Here, take this beginner's guide. Come again!"
"Thanks, I will!"
- Back in Hyrule -
"Alright. Strum up, strum down, strum up, strum down."
*Breng! Brank! Brunk!*
"This is harder than an ocarina..." Link complained to himself. But it looked so cool! And he just knew he could use it to teleport to other places than temples if he could get this down.
"Maybe I should use that instruction booklet after all."
"Ok, so that's a C cord..."
"Smoke, over wa-ter..."
"Hello, I'm Link, and I'll be your entertainment for tonight! I've got some classic folk songs sped up so you can dance to them, and if you have any requests, I'll do my best."
The patrons of the milk bar looked up briefly. One man clapped once, then sipped his drink again.
Ganondorf smirked from the back. "Free Bird!"
Link jumped up, snarling. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
10.11 - (generiguy)
When Stanley came to a set of two open doors, he walked through the left door announced the mysterious British voice following Link, as he walked through a door. This loop was a bit weird. Link was in an office trying to find out where his co-workers had all mysteriously vanished to, and this voice kept narrating whatever he did.
But that's what Stanley would do. You don't seem to be in much of a hurry at all.
Link looked upwards, eyebrows raised. Was the voice loop-aware? He tried to spot a trace of whoever was speaking through the ceiling, but all he saw was a ceiling.
It's a shame, too. I had a perfectly-crafted story, all ready for Stanley, and now you show up and take his place. Hm. Can I tell you a story, not-Stanley? asked the voice.
Link paused for a moment, then nodded.
Once upon a time, there was a tree. the voice began narrating. It was a perfectly normal tree, except that it held worlds in it. It started off with only a few branches. It was a bit odd, carrying all of those worlds, but it managed, and it grew.
The narrator paused.
Then, somebody introduced a pony to the tree. The tree liked the pony, and grew a nice and big branch for the pony. But the pony brought so many friends that the tree had to grow even further. The tree grew so much, in fact, that it made space for everybody on the planet. Even if a few of its branches were invisible, and wouldn't be noticed, there was a branch for it.
The narrator sighed.
Then, the tree decided that it wanted to grow further. And one its gardeners decided it would be a great idea to invite Stanley. And the tree grew a branch for Stanley, and for all of his friends, and invited Stanley inside. But of course, there was a problem: Stanley couldn't fit into the tree.
Because the tree was in my story.
Link resisted the urge to facepalm as the voice chuckled. But don't take that too seriously. After all, it's just a story. So. What did you think of my story, not-Stanley?
Link rolled his eyes. "If that was supposed to be Yggdrasil, that's completely inaccurate."
Oh, yes, yes, I know. Anyway, the story I had ready was for Stanley, and you're most definitely not him. Do whatever you want with the office, I guess. Oh, and good luck with your time loops. Now that's a good story.
"So what's a normal loop like for you?"
Oh, you know. I have the story set up for Stanley, but he derails it to try and get more achievements.
10.12 - (kalimaru)
Link looked down at the ball he'd just been given. "What is this supposed to be?"
The Great Fairy laughed. "It's Din's Fire!"
"No, Din's Fire is an red eight-sided gem with a sphere at the center. This is a metal ball with the symbol for radiation on the side and a button on top." Link looked up at the Great Fairy. "So what is this?"
"Well, why don't you press the button and find out?" With that, the Great Fairy shrank back into the Fairy Pond and left Link feeling more than a little put off.
Having retreated to Lake Hylia, the Great Fairy joined her colleagues. All of them were wearing large white lab coats and glasses. As one, they turned to watch the sky and wait for the fruits of their labors.
"So why was that ball made?"
One of the fairies shrugged but kept watching the sky. "We thought that magic would be too silly to give to a hero."
"And it wasn't tested first?"
Another fairy spoke up. "We figured that the hero could handle it."
"Ah. Well consider this the test then." Slamming down the ball, Link whipped out his ocarina and warped to the Spirit Temple. Turning, he watched as the mushroom cloud formed over the now ex-lake. "Well it did make a lot of noise and burn up the lake, so I guess it makes sense that they would confuse the two."
10.13 - (generiguy)
Link walked out of Termina's Clock tower and, without bothering to wait for Tatl, set off for Termina's resident banker. This loop, he was planning to buy out the Marine Research Laboratory and renovate it to be the venue for a few hundred a capella squid quartets. Last time he had tried setting that up, Ganondorf was looping in as Skull Kid, and he had rattled the ugly scientist who worked there just a bit too much. As Link walked up the steps to the Banker's mat, he was glad that nobody else was looping this go-around.
"I'd like to withdraw 5,000 Rupees." Link asked the banker, like he had so many times already.
The banker stared back at Link and laughed. "Ha! Well, little guy, you can sure dream! Maybe if you save your allowance you can buy something for the party-"
He paused to stare at Link's outstretched arm. He stayed silent for a few moments, trying to process the immense balance he saw.
"Thanks!" Link waved, tucking the rupees he had teleported from the banker's vault into his subspace pocket and setting off from the shell-shocked banker. Then all of what the banker said registered.
'Party?!' Link's eyes widened.
...Oh no.
Termina's clock tower bonged once, and in an instant the town changed. Banners appeared on walls, confetti fireworks exploded overhead, the clock tower noisily unrolled several party streamers, and a pink blur flew past an annoyed Link, now sporting a conic party hat on top of his normal green one.
Link sighed and spoke up. "I had plans this loop."
The pink blur screeched to a halt in front of him, kicking up way more dust than most people would think possible from a gasping pink fairy. "You made plans to not attend a Pinkie Pie Party?! You need to lighten UP big time, mister greenie hero!"
Link blocked a thrown cupcake with his shield. "How long is this party going to go on? Because in case you hadn't noticed, the moon's falling in 3 days." He pointed upwards at the large angry face in the sky- now sporting rainbow face paint and a moon-sized party hat.
"Yepperoonie! It's going to be the BEST moon-falling party EVER!" The overexcited fairy replied, then zoomed off with an "Ooh!".
'...So much for no other loopers.' Link thought, grabbing his confetti-covered party hat off of his head. After a second he shuddered, then quickly thrust his ocarina in his subspace pocket. 'Oh Farore, I hope she NEVER finds out about the Song of Time.'
10.14 - (generiguy)
But as Stanley came to his wits and regained his senses, he got up and walked out into the hallway.
Link thought otherwise. The last time he had been in a loop like this, he had the mysterious narrating voice tell him a story. He seemed to particularly care about the story, and even mentioned creating a story for 'Stanley', who he was taking the place of in this loop. Link wanted to see what would happen if he completely disregarded that. So for the sake of science, instead of walking out the door, Link walked over to the office room's window and peered through it, while doing one of the few things he did best: saying absolutely nothing.
Stanley stepped in front of the window to admire the view, but all he could see was pure white, so he turned around and got back on track.
Link continued standing.
There was nothing there. No choice to make, no path to follow. Just a window filled with light. Stanley knew this perfectly well, yet he continued to stand there, driven by some outside force.
Link continued standing.
Perhaps Stanley would have been justified in doing this, had there been something to the window. If there was something to interact with, then Stanley's actions would have made perfect sense. But as it stood, Stanley was just standing in front of a perfectly ordinary window.
Link continued standing in the same place.
Stanley was literally just standing there. He's not even doing anything. Perhaps Stanley was suffering from a medical condition that made it impossible to follow the story. Perhaps Stanley was actually a horse, and could sleep standing up. That would make an interesting story. But back to the point. Stanley seemed to be suffering from an acute disease called idiocy.
All Stanley had to do to resume the story, was to turn around and walk down the hallway. Stanley was not very good at following directions, but surely this was simple enough for his diseased brain to follow.
Perhaps Stanley wasn't injured at all. Perhaps Stanley had a large ego, and wanted to show that he was superior to the story. This would have made no sense, and Stanley knew it. This story was perfectly rational, if only Stanley would get back on track.
Link continued standing, holding back the urge to smile. This was surprisingly entertaining.
Stanley couldn't have been dead, since he had just smiled, yet his legs refused to move. Stanley may have possibly had a stroke, or another of those physical aliments that tend to handicap your species. Maybe next time, Stanley can substitute a more capable species. One that can actually follow directions, like "Move away from the window."
Link wondered what would happen if Ganondorf looped into this, and concluded that he would probably have punched out the window and completely derailed all point to the story.
Stanley. Stanley. Stanley. There's no point to all this nonsense. You won't get achievements for this sort of behavior. The only thing standing in front the story's progress is you, Stanley. You're the handicap here. Not me. If nothing's wrong with you, is something wrong with me, Stanley?
Link stood perfectly still.
Is it my narration? Because it's perfectly good narration. It can't possibly be that. Hmm... Perhaps it's a problem of my tone?
Perhaps it simply failed to transfer itself over mediums. You have to admit, Stanley, that my voice is a very good voice. Is it the tone failing to convey itself? Let me try again.
Stanley walked away from the window, and continued down the hallway.
Can you offer me some explanation here, Stanley, I'm genuinely confused. This window is of absolutely no importance to the story. What. So. Ever. I can understand if you wanted to hear about the broom closet ending, and you decided it would be a good idea to stay there and listen. But this is completely irrelevant to everything the story is about, and you know it.
Oh, I give up, Stanley. You win.
You win!
Are you happy now, Stanley? Now that you've had your indulgence of silly pastimes, can we continue with the story? Just pull back from the window, and walk through the hallway.
Link stood perfectly still.
Well, I don't know what's going on with you, Stanley. I don't know what's come over you. I sincerely regret letting you take part in my story, Stanley, if you're going to stand around all day doing nothing. Did you know that?
Stanley decided staring at a window was absurd, and deliberately walked away from the window and into the hallway to find his co-workers.
Well, I've come to a conclusion, Stanley. Since I'm most definitely not keeping you there, somebody else is running the story. I'm not sure why this keeps happening, Stanley. It's already happened... hmm, four times now. Anyway, since you refuse to budge, I'm going to go ahead and say it's their fault. There's nothing I can do until they make you pick up the story. It's going to be quite boring unless they can add some interesting flavour to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.
Of course, they won't get very far in the story, with how cooperative you're being.
Oh, this is hopeless. Good luck with Stanley, other narrator. I'm done with this story.
After a minute of silence to see if he was actually gone, a wide smile broke out on Link's face.
10.15 - (generiguy)
Link climbed up the now-familiar ladder to Tingle Tower, and stepped up to the deck. Normally, Link wouldn't come here unless he needed a chart deciphered, a test subject, or a drowning lockpick to save like that weird loop he'd had where that was Hyrule's currency. This visit to Tingle was for a different reason: curiosity.
As Link walked over to Tingle, Tingle's head popped up too late to notice Link casually slip Ankle and Knuckle spare Power Bracelets. Nevertheless, Tingle was delighted to see him. "Ohh, Mr. Fairy! Hello! Have you come to play?!"
Link shook his head. "I was wondering, Tingle, why do you dress like that? Are your clothes supposed to be a fairy?"
Tingle's smile deflated slightly.
"Oh, that's a secret, Mr. Fairy. Can you keep a secret? Can you tell nobody?"
Like every looper, Link was extremely good at lying through his teeth. Link nodded.
Tingle leaned in so close to Link's face he could smell Tingle's breath. Tingle's eyes narrowed, and Link could almost feel the area around them darken.
"I'm a hired assassin for the Princess. " Tingle spoke in deep whisper, several octaves lower then his normal voice. "This costume conceals 27 different knives and two vials of poison in my hat, mister fairy. And my pants are dyed. With blood."
Link tried to take a step back, but Tingle grabbed his shirt and looked at Link with a serious expression.
"With blood."
Link tried to take another step back but Tingle's eyes went bloodshot.
"WITH BLOOOOOOOOOOD!" he yelled, looking directly at Link with an expression of pure hate that severely contrasted with his outfit. Link tensed and put one hand on the Master Sword, the other ready to cast a shield spell if need be. Preferably an explosive one.
Then, as suddenly as it had vanished, Tingle was back to his cheerful disposition. "And it refuses to come out when Tingle washes it." he smiled at Link. "Thanks for asking, Mr. Fairy!"
Link stood in place for a few seconds while his brain rebooted.
10.16 - (masterofgames)
Link paused to stretch as he finished his trek to the Sword of the Goddess. He liked Skyloft, he really did, but the fact was that he just spent more loops down on the ground, and the thinner air up here tended to get him tired faster. He couldn't help but grin though, as he was about to be reunited with his most graceful partner. Nothing against the others, but Fi was just so useful, and though he would deny it if asked, he rather liked her dancing while interpreting the language of the goddess. He had no doubt that if she had a rapier of some sort, (well, and arms) she would be untouchable in a fight.
Walking up to the pedestal, he drew the sword. "Well Fi, ready for another grand adventure?" he chuckled.
Fi's answer was not quite what he was expecting as she emerged from the sword and hovered before him. "Master, I am receiving conflicting conclusions as to the proper steps to suggest you take to ensure your immediate safety. I calculate fifty percent odds you should look behind you, and fifty percent odds you simply run." she calmly stated.
Link paused at that. Then his curiosity won out and he turned back to look.
There were two more pedestals behind him.
More importantly, there were two more swords.
Even more importantly, there were two beings each hovering over one of those swords.
The first folded her arms and scowled at him, wings beating rapidly in agitation as her usual soft blue glow changed to an angry red. "You have some nerve! I go out of my way to go above and beyond the call of duty to help you! I offer my nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the entire world and everything in it! I keep track of the to do list, and patiently tell you what the next step is, no matter HOW many times you forget and ask me again! And you repay me by slipping off to go adventuring with another partner?!"
Oh crap, Navi was here!
The other sword spirit growled, light glinting off her fang. "I break you out of prison, let you tag along on my mission, do you the honor of recruiting you as my personal servant, tell you the lost lore of my people, aid you with my magic, GIVE you some of my magic, save your life, let you into my HOME, let you FINISH my mission, and then grant you your freedom from my service with no strings attached, and you just up and replace me TWICE?!"
Oh crap, Midna was here!
... Oh CRAP! Midna was Awake!
"It's not as bad as you make it sound! I really did devote myself to finding you once we were separated, and it was only with the most reluctant of hearts that I oh crap you already know about Tatl and the King of Red Lions don't you?"
A pair of nods and angry glares answered him.
"Mommy..." he whimpered as he braced himself.
Fi floated in the same location where she had started, next to her sword in one of the only remaining intact locations in the room. The pillars were fallen, the walls cracked, and the roof had a long crevice which shifted dangerously every so often.
In front of Fi, Link stood, a pair of mirror shields strapped on his arms. He was breathing slightly heavily as he slowly he lowered his shields. Out in front of him, Navi and Midna both lay, panting and exhausted on the floor.
"Are you two finished?" He asked, still tense and ready to block more flying masonry or Navi's Koten Zanshun she picked up from a Bleach Loop.
Midna growled lowly, but didn't move from her position on the floor, while Navi fluttered weakly. Link sighed, then turned to stare at the fairy.
"I know I told you about my adventures, and those that accompanied me." The question 'what is the problem?' echoed unspoken.
Navi moaned, then sniffled slightly. "...you don't need me."
"Huh?" Link frowned at Navi's quavering voice.
"You don't need me! I've seen, Zelda, she showed me pictures, videos, of your fights. You've fought Ganondorf, Majora, Demise! Dark powers that I can't even imagine, and you did it without me!" Navi fluttered, rising up in the air. "What use is my knowledge? You know more about this world, and others, so many other worlds, than I do. You told me about your adventures, but seeing it..." Navi flutter to rest on her sword, which was skewed to a slight angle in its pedestal. "I'm useless."
Before Link could respond, Midna scoffed. "Feh. You sure are, if you're going to give up like that."
Navi glowed an angry red. "What?!"
Midna sat up, her hair stirring. "So what? Yeah, Boy-o has gotten stronger, but that just means that I'll need to work harder. I can't let my servant outshine my majesty. If you want to give up, fine. Less competition for me."
Link stepped forward before another fight could break out. "Navi, Midna. Yeah, it's true that I don't 'need' a partner as much. I'm not a wide-eyed kid or lazy farm boy anymore, and it would be an insult to both of you to pretend that I am. But! I do need friends. These Loops...they are lonely. Zelda, me, Ganondorf, we don't have it quite as bad as many Anchors, because we tend to show up together fairly often, but I still spend long times in lonely loops." Link grinned. "You both are unique, and knowing that there are more people out there sharing these experiences will help me, help us, tremendously."
For several moments, they were all silent. Then, with a faint chime, Fi floated forward. "This is all true. I welcome you both. I predict a 78% decrease in difficulty in keeping Link unharmed with your assistance."
"Hey!" Link frowned as Midna and Navi laughed. Fi then floated over to Navi.
"May I peruse the videos provided by Hylia's Reincarnation?"
Link raised his eyebrow. "Wouldn't you have more recordings yourself?"
Fi turned to look at him and nodded. "Yes. However, knowing the disposition of Zelda, I predict an 86% chance that embarassing videos would be included in such a compilation, and a 93% chance that they are of unknown nature to myself."
A chill ran over Link's spine as Navi giggled, pulling a thin PADD from her Pocket. Fi floated around to view it, and Midna flew over as well, grinning.
10.1 - Sakura is...reasonable!?
10.2 - When Link solves puzzles, he solves puzzles!
10.3 - And the walls come tumbling down.
10.4 - Houston, we have Bwak-off.
10.5 - Cucco clocks. Not to be mistaken with their nice safe cousins, cuckoo clocks.
10.6 - Memes have infected the Loops. Oh noez.
10.7 - Let's give Navi a big hand to welcome her to the Loops. No, no, don't swat her!
10.8 - For some reason, Shy Guy is still a racer in this version.
10.9 - Link + Toys = Odd Times for Tingle
10.10 - "This kind of music just soothes the soul. Now I'm gonna play the Frog's Song of Soul."
10.11 - The Zelda Parable (based on the Stanley Parable)
10.12 - Din's Fire, Tsar Bomba, Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to
10.13 - There is always time for a party. Always!
10.14 - The brooding hero stares out the window, waiting for his dashing, red-haired Gerudo King to come and sweep him off his feet and... "Gacck! OK, OK, I'll go through the door!"
10.15 - Tingle Tingle KILL YOU Limpah!
10.16 - Demise hath no fury like a companion spurned. Oh, and welcome to yet another Looper, Midna!

subset: commoncrawl


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Book online, or call 877-822-0000 and ask for rate plan BARB.
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The Umbrella Sky Project began in 2011 as a part of the city of Águeda's famous annual Ágitagueda Art Festival in Portugal. Each year, during the hot summer months of July, August, and September, a handful of the city's narrow streets gain colorful umbrella canopies that provide shade for the pedestrians passing through. Rooftop cables are strung with numerous parasols that help cool the roadways in a creative and cost-effective way, and the sea of umbrellas forms a unique geometric pattern overhead as well as changing shadows on the roadway below. Programming like outdoor workout classes give this shaded area an added layer of functionality, enabling high-energy and fitness activities despite high summer temperatures.
Since the project began, these pop-up shade structures have become an annual summertime installation and they have developed a cult following around the world. Creators of the Umbrella Sky Project, Sextafeira, have also launched offshoots of this work in other cities such as Lisbon, where they have added to the streetscape by stringing multicolored balloons over urban alleyways. As with all of their projects, the polka-dot shadows that shine down onto the street below add more color to people's lives in everyday settings.
Photo credits, from left: Adam Rifkin via Flickr, Laura via Flickr, Umbrella Sky Project via Facebook
Follow Umbrella Sky Project
Website: sextafeira.pt
Facebook: facebook.com/UmbrellaSkyProject
Twitter: @umbrellaskypt


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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Safe as the proverbial houses
Over the past few days, there's been a lot of talk about Andrew Little. Labour's support is at best static since the last election, and that was considered to be one of the worst results the Labour Party has ever seen. There's been comment that, surely, Andrew Little has to go before the election so the Labour Party has any chance at winning the 2017 election. Read the rest of this entry
Auckland does NOT have a land supply shortage!
In today's state of the nation speech, John Key talked about housing affordability. Specifically, he singled out a favourite whipping boy of the right – local councils – for allegedly failing to open up enough greenfield land for development. Specifically, he was implying that Auckland Council needs to open up more greenfield land and get over its compact city fetish.
2012 in review
Every year, WordPress.com gives you a "year in review". Here's the Politicalisation one for 2012.
Thanks for reading this year. Hopefully we can find more time to write here in 2013 (though, I do doubt it).
Here's an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 7 years to get that many views.
AT HOP a little bit confused
Today, I received my AT HOP card. Because I've got a Snapper/HOP card, I got it for free. Cool. What's not so cool is the utter confusion as to what products are going to be available. Read the rest of this entry
Site Update: Maori Language Week
Unfortunately, I have only just found the word I needed for this so it won't be all week, but for Maori Language Week, Politicalisation will be known as Tōrangapū.
It's the Maori word for "be political" or "politics", so I thought it was an appropriate word to go with.
Unfortunately, because the banner is a picture and I have no image editing skills, the change will only happen on the title bar of your browser, but it's there, and will be until next Monday.


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The Canon 85mm F/1.8 is commonly used for Fun, General purpose, Landscape/scenery, Low light, Macro photography, Night photography, Portrait, Portrait photography, Portraits, Professional work, Special effects, Sports/action, Travel, Video, Weddings, Wildlife photos and more.The Canon 85mm F/1.8 is most used by customers who consider themselves to be a Casual photographer, Casual user, Enthusiast, Photo enthusiast, Photography student, Professional, Pro photographer, Semi-professional, Semi-pro photographer among others.The Canon 85mm F/1.8 is popular because customers like the following qualities of the Canon 85mm F/1.8: Clear glass, Consistent output, Durable, Easily interchangeable, Fast / accurate auto-focus, Lightweight, Nice bokeh, Quiet, Rugged, Sharp, Simple controls and Strong construction.
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|Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Standard AutoFocus Lens - USA Warranty


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IDEA Public Schools reach new graduation milestone
IDEA Public Schools celebrated the seventh-consecutive year whereby 100 percent of its senior class plan to attend college in the fall.
Not only were the schools' more than 400 graduating seniors were accepted into colleges and universities, but the students have been offered more than $15.2 million in scholarships.
Weslasco, Texas-based IDEA Public Schools is a network of tuition-free, K-12 public charter schools serving 13,000 students in 28 schools throughout the Rio Grande Valley, Austin and San Antonio.
Subscribe to the new San Antonio Business Journal Morning Edition at this link.


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CZ Model 52 7.62 X 25mm Tokarev Nice Condition $350.00
Guns International #: 100663607 Seller's Inventory #:
Category: CZ Pistols - Handguns - European Pistols
Seller's Information
When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com
Seller: Willoughby McCabe & Co.
Company: WM&Co
Member Since: 5/7/08
State: Texas
Zip: 75218
Country: United States
Phone: (469) 759-6146
Fax: (469) 759-6128
Seller: FFL Dealer
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
5 days
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CZ Model 52 7.62 X 25mm Tokarev Nice Condition $350.00 Military saber and RID marked, 1 mag, good bore, clean with no blue loss. 0G051051 $350.00
Price: $350.00
Manufacturer: CZ
Model: 52
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OpenStack Icehouse
The successor to the Havana release of the OpenStack open source cloud computing platform, OpenStack Icehouse debuted in April 2014 as the ninth release of OpenStack. Among OpenStack Icehouse's most prominent feature additions are live updates for Nova compute, a new Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) capability called "Trove," and storage replication enhancements.
The follow-up to OpenStack Icehouse, codenamed OpenStack Juno, is expected to offically debut in October 2014.
See also "A Cloud Computing Dictionary Resource" in Webopedia's Quick Reference section.
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