Behold the Sparkle Stick 3000! As you can see, it's reminiscent of a sword, but with the obvious caveats that it's somewhat smaller and that it lacks a blade. It's also quite sparkly, though this aspect is not captured well in the photos. I must emphasize that the photos don't do it justice.
I decided to make this on a whim, and my expectations were low since it didn't seem like there was really much to work with, as far as the design went. It actually turned out rather handsomely though, so much so that I'm almost proud of it.
As you can see, it balances fairly well and there are a number of ways to hold it. However you think it might best be used, be forewarned that, being made almost entirely out of IRON, the heaviest element known to exist in the core of a STAR, it stomps in at a crushing 11.5 ounces (326g).
This fabulous paint job was provided by my friend John, who refused to be identified because he's apparently so busy that he doesn't need more referrals. What a fine problem to have.
Jinny: I think that would be a nice prize during FF9 part 2, since it's another Square game, but maybe it'll be grab bag. For now, I'll put it with FF9.
But let's not get our hopes high; this prize is most certainly Augora's .___.
Concerning the elements in stars, the heaviest one is iron only because it has the most stable nucleus and heavier nuclei are potentially prone to fission creating lighter ones (while lighter nuclei are prone to fusion, so we all end with iron).
I thought the issue was that iron is the heaviest element that can be created with with fusion while also releasing energy. I.e. once iron production begins, the star has exhausted all other fuel, energy production ceases, and it collapses almost immediately.
So now that it looks like Mercury won't be making that Kratos plushie, I'm not sure of another good idea for a God of War II prize. Maybe a perler? A signed copy of the game?
(I also just remembered I have a Japanese Oswald the Lucky Rabbit plush toy I bought a few years ago, which is in decent condition. Maybe if I run Epic Mickey 2 for AGDQ '14 we could use it as a prize?)
EDIT: Oh yeah, let me throw in my obligatory reaction to the custom Wind Waker.
I now have a Batarang in my possession, it's not one of the Arkham Asylum ones (was specially made for a costume iirc). It's marked in a few places due to the sheer volume of criminal ass kickery it's been involved in over the years but I think it'll make a great prize. Pic to follow
My friend Nightwing also has a picture of Joker that he's willing to donate as a prize, which will come framed. Both for the Batman games.
Gary Storkamp said he would gladly print out some of his previous work that we can use as prizes. I already have some ideas as to which works I will use as prizes (Mario blocks are going to have a lot of prizes), but I was wondering which Metal Sonic people would prefer as a Sonic block prize.
Well, it means 13 minutes and 11 seconds before the start of the highlight.
My theory as to why:
The timer is stored internally as a value of -791 seconds. The formatting code calculates -791 / 60, and comes up with -13, so that is displayed in the minutes place. Then, it calculates -791 % 60, and gets -11 as the remainder of the division. When inserting this number into the displayed time string, it merely checks whether the number in the seconds place is < 10 in order to determine whether it needs to add a 0 for padding. Since -11 < 10, it pads the string with a 0. Hence, "-13:0-11".
Why the video loads 13 minutes and 11 seconds before the start of the highlight is a mystery to me, though.
Concerning the Sonic art, I decided I'll just have Gary print both Metal Sonic pictures because why not?
BTW, I forgot I had these prizes!
Mario 3 perlers
Zelda Cel art
I know it doesn't say Wind Waker, but let's be honest, I doubt anyone would really want to run Phantom Hourglass for a marathon. I can also take a picture with less glare later.
Ooh, I still need to make some Perlers to donate. A lot of games already have really nice prizes, so feel free to reject as many as you want; you're not going to hurt my feelings.
Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (2-piece: Arthur throwing a torch maybe?) Ecco the Dolphin Kid Chameleon Gremlins 2 Donkey Kong Country block (THE COLORS o_O) Rayman Rocket Knight Adventures NES Batman
So yeah, mark me down for any of those that you think would fit well without diluting the prize pool!