link... wake up... link, the chosen one...  *  ind. ocarina of time & majora's mask-based interpretation of link from the zelda series! as portrayed by susanne.

hello, hi, it's been a couple of years. my dash is dead, so giving this a ♥ / ↻ would be appreciated. non-rp blogs do not interact, thank you!

* ﹡ﾟ    ━━━  TAG  DUMP !

leftist suriya characters appreciation post

since soorarai pottru, been thinking more about all the explicit leftist characters suriya has played in his career. and i actually mean explicit - characters that are supported by the narrative framing and structure and not just my own headcanons and stuff or a throwaway generic goody-shoe typical hero line. i have been itching to talk about this cos it’s obviously in my field of interests

suriya has played 4 openly various brands of leftist now, and that’s pretty cool! i love that none of them are cookie cutter personalities of each other, they all have their own select trait. this post is a toast to them;

michael vasanth (ayutha ezhuthu, 2004)

vimalan (maattraan, 2012)

iniyan (thaanaa serndha koottam, 2018)

maara (soorarai pottru, 2020)

[small write up on each character with pics behind the cut]

*****

1. michael vasanth (ayutha ezhuthu, 2004)

so michael was his first, said to be inspired by an actual university popular marxist student leader, george reddy. michael is very obviously somewhere along these lines - he himself is within the film known as the leftist student leader on campus with a huge following, much to the chagrin of his professors who want to stamp that out of him. he’s openly engaged in campus politics as well as politics outside, and he’s most definitely no weak willed liberal because he has no problems with violence or direct action, which he organises. he organises villagers to stand against others on their own feet, never once preaches about lying down and taking it easy or playing polite. which was nice to see lol i hate liberals who have morals about property damage but in ayutha ezhuthu, michael clearly doesn’t give a fuck. he and his group break things and smash cars and lorries on their way and threaten physical violence on their opponents too which is the way it should be because to him human lives are worth more than any property or vehicular damage. he never shies away from that. hell yes to violence and structural damage!

probably the most definite trait of michael compared to other suriya leftist characters is that michael still believes in the establishment and electoral politics, which u don’t particularly see his other leftist ones talk about. but here, michael works within the system, and trusts it to bring change if u put in the effort into that. though, it’s not as frustrating as it sounds cos michael’s work is not geared towards other liberals, but in villages and rural districts where he goes to spread word, and makes them choose their own leadership to represent. it’s way more marxist aligned and ~rise of the proletariat~ here instead cos he bypasses liberal bougie nonsense and never once is his voice used for that, but used towards and for the working class directly to both take up arms and resist violently themselves + hold ranks for themselves and choose their own leaders to influence their local politics/protect their environment.  

michael is fundamentally very marxist, with a dose of direct action plus violent resistance if need be, and supports organised proletariat uprising within an established political system playing towards electoral politics

(of course, a point to note in why this isn’t as frustrating as it sounds as mentioned above is cos this film was released in 2004. would michael still believe in the establishment and electoral politics now? things in 2020 are very different with all of us more aware of things around us and globally, it’s definitely a debate to be held. i doubt he will, since he’s not a pacifist or liberal. he’d say fuck electoral politics, all my homies hate electoral politics)

2. vimalan (maattraan, 2012)

second very openly communist character he played. prob gone a bit forgotten for others since he does die halfway through the film (which itself isn’t a favourite of anyone either, fans or neutrals) rip but can’t go by without mentioning cos i remember liking this character a lot and i teared up in the cinema first watch when he died. i was mad they killed the suriya i loved instead of the other one whom i found annoying lmao

vimal supports workers’ strikes and unions against bosses, even when that boss is their own shitty father. this automatically makes him stand out instantly considering he is sympathetic to the working class despite at the cost of his father’s annoyance with him. he’s also the first character suriya plays who’s explicitly anti-capitalist with line(s) about it, since michael had no canon lines regarding capitalism from what i recall. vimal outright does.

the leftist imagery tied to vimal the most is che, which is a nice touch. his room has at least one poster of him, and his phone’s wallpaper is also him. u can also see bhagat singh and ho chi minh books on his shelf. so.. safe to claim where vimal’s political ideologies are. it’s both tied in pictures and him siding with workers for their rights against corporations, since he obviously likes revolutionaries. vimalan was a class traitor and a supporter of the working class poor bb tragically gone too soon. ilu u didn’t deserve your terrible fate, sweet commie good boi :(

3. iniyan (thaanaa serndha koottam, 2018)

iniyannnnnn i love him and i think it’s a suriya char with one of the best character arcs in his whole career. mostly cos he had a very distinct ‘’yes i want to work for the government and change things from within’’ phase which gets squashed over the course of the film. we see him start off obviously in a very blatantly communist neighbourhood in a song that is also very specifically anti-establishment/politicians with a lot of hard resistance vibes. the entirety of sodakku is a very good introduction to him and what he stands for - in general the film promises upon wealth disparity, useless bougie politicians, and the rest of us being crushed under them.

what happens to him at the end of the movie is FANTASTIC because he no longer gels with what he wanted at the start of the movie. iniyan’s key leftist trait to me is that he’s the most anarchist of suriya characters, varying from other leftist suriya characters. he refuses to work with government powers and authorities, he looks down on their entire establishment and institutions (he does not at the start of the film, which is vital cos again, he wanted to work alongside them at first), and depends more on the good will of individual people over job titles, while clearly engaging in mutual aid and distributing wealth. these are very distinct anarchist ideals. i’d still peg him as anarcho-communist but would say he leans more towards anarchy and progressing on mutual aid over official state resources or state people for any kind of positive change since his faith in them has pretty much diminished by the climax. he does not give a shit about politicians, cops, or any kind of authorities at all, leaving them in the dust to raise his black flag and do his own anarchist hot shit.

iniyan is a good example of an anarchist arc for me in tamil cinema in simple commercial terms without heading too deep into actual words and phrases in a big hero movie, cos it’s also very easy to explain to anyone the shift in his ideas and his eroding faith in institutions with power. good for him!

4. maara (soorarai pottru, 2020)

this should be fresh in everyone’s memory, but yes, a character who is obviously in your face about it since he has an actual line - ‘’you’re a socialite, i’m a socialist’’ which caused all of us with good taste to whoop and cheer. plus he was very sexy in this whole scene, so what a bonus. it’s the most explicit thing said by him in the film, but there are also other little things peppered into his speech and background imagery showing u the kind of person maara is.

he gets married to bommi in a self-respect wedding ceremony. no priests or any kind of traditional hindu iyers/chants involved. u see it clearly with a periyar pic hanging behind him explaining who he is. he wears black a lot in the film, which fits him being a periyarist so i’d label him as such and consider it his standout trait from other leftist characters suriya has played previously because this is the only character with explicit periyar symbolism (i kid u not i saw multiple sanghis being very angry suriya dressed in black in this movie and were harassing him on twitter constantly since sp released. die mad, uglies). obviously, this also fuses well with the little things we see of him implying he’s ~lower caste~ like his in-laws being embarrassed about him on behalf of their own caste, and paresh sanitising his hands after shaking hands with maara on the plane, which is not subtle at all and trademark casteist behaviour about touching someone ‘’lesser’’ than you and u view them as ‘’dirty’’ or beneath you. as well as maara’s remark about breaking the class and caste barrier during his radio interview. being a periyarist fits seamlessly.

there’s also a bts vid of suriya on his bike where you can see an ambedkar pic pasted onto the side. i can’t remember any scene in the film where u can see his bike from this angle but it doesn’t matter, cos u can definitely tell the kind of person maara is and how he was envisioned as a character - an explicit socialist and periyarist, with a natural fondness for ambedkar too since ofc they overlap as many do irl as well. it is very in tune with his background in the film and i liked seeing the tiny aspects of these things seeded within the movie throughout from beginning to end. it’s explicit in a way that isn’t jarring or artificial, and a nice layer to him and feel endeared to since maara is a great character. u support him all the way with him being unquestionable in his stance and ideology. the sexiest leftist suriya character, if i say so myself, ahem.

/////

5. ngk (ngk, 2019)

bonus: THIS IS IT. THE BIGGEST SIKE. THE BIGGEST WHIPLASH. THE BIGGEST BASTARD.

it’s here cos damn, when they released that first look, i completely lost my shit cos that poster was sooo heavily che inspired and very, very obviously marxist. cue me thinking that holy shit suriya is openly playing some kind of marxist guerilla revolutionary in ngk and he’s gonna be some brand of violent radical leftist i’m gonna fall in love with. the beret, the raised fists, the red.. i was ready to be head over heels for this guy.

except of course, none of this was true, cos once the film released, u know that poster was only meant to signify how his village looked up to him before he sold them all out. it’s literally just a mural on the wall where a kid stares up at him in a larger extended poster. he COULD have been that character, but ngk’s character arc was a negative character arc and his moral downfall from the start to the end of the film, sacrificing all he stood for to arrive at his end point which was just dragging his village and all the youngsters who believed in him to the pits before jumping party to the winning group and abandoning all of them after manipulating them to act in his favour to gain sympathy. not to mention, also selling out to corporate tools to harness their power and influence in order to rise to the top himself, something he very openly states at the beginning of the film to his mum and wife that working like that is no way to live. he has a full reverse by this point, compared to how ngk was introduced to us as an audience with that first look of him.

the marxist poster was a complete 180 to how ngk falls on the spectrum at the end, but it was a great ride nevertheless and at least one thing was still true - i still fell in love with him cos he was such an asshole bastard but still so hot i had to give in. biiiicchh. i love u, non-leftist regressive jerk. u may have pulled the biggest sike on me, but.. my heart is yours, slut <3

*****

ok that’s really it and all i wanted to say so hopefully at least a few people read this lmafooo. i do think these characters and time have sort of seeped into suriya over the years as evident by his shifting left in the last couple of years, and openly also saying he has had a lot of perspective changes on things around him. he has been noted in recent interviews saying stuff like how he’s in favour of a cashless society, talking about a whole new level of poverty class being created during this pandemic. his written articles/statements/agaram related speeches takes jibes at india’s education system being brahministic/casteist in nature and how it creates barriers for the lowest strata of society while also being very sensitive about student suicides, showing understanding of it as a systematic failure and not an individual one, courts not functioning for justice, not demonising protests as it’s the only act left for the voiceless, etc. it’s nice. i wouldn’t go as far as to call him a leftist until he proves that to me (suriya is still very much in that liberal zone of appreciating the police and military institutions so i will never consider him one of us until he sheds these allegiances and rethinks his stance on them in society), but i’d say he’s definitely the furthest left of all prominent actors in tamil cinema as no one else really has said or written the things that he has, for which i’m very proud of him.

so keep up the good work and hot shit comments and ballsy articles, suriya, i look forward to u shifting further left and pissing off everyone from right wing patriotic assholes, to centrist bootlickers, and even cowardly liberal pacifists. i believe in u and i hope he crosses that steep liberal curve soon since we were all there at some point as well.

that’s all goodbye i love suriya thanks for reading 

Since Liona is a musician, I envision her spending her time between adventures playing a few gigs at some local venues.  However, I run into one of the things I have a love-hate relationship with D&D 5e having gotten into this hobby from 3.5 edition and Pathfinder: the game is wonderfully streamlined, but in places almost too much.

Per PHB, pg 187, “if you have proficiency in the Performance skill and put your performance skill to use during your downtime, you earn enough to support a wealthy lifestyle”.  That amounts to 4 gp per day, no check required.

Now, in most cases where the emphasis is on, yanno, actually adventuring and dungeon-delving, this is fine.  The rules as written assume that your players and characters want to dive into the heroics and only have to worry about starving to death if they get trapped in the Underdark for an extended period of time.

But then you have people like me who apparently want to turn the game into a life/economics sim and really should be playing an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign, and so want to know just how well your bard did crooning on stage that night.  If nothing else, it will add some flavor to the downtime.

So, 4 gp per day gives us a good ballpark to start from.  However, I feel that this shouldn’t be automatic, at least not until your characters reach 4th or 5th level when they are better established as heroes.

Here’s a Performance skill check results table I bashed together after looking up a 3.5/Pathfinder version:

DC      Money Earned 5         1d6 sp 10       2d6 sp 15       1d6 gp 20       2d6 gp 25       4d4 gp

So, if we use Liona as an example, she is currently 2nd level warlock with a background other than entertainer, has a +2 proficiency bonus, a +4 Charisma modifier, and proficiency in Performance and with a musical instrument for a total Performance bonus of +6.  This means she will at least make something every night and not be forced out into the street unless she has the worst luck in the world.  She has to roll a natural 8 or less to be forced to dip into her savings unless she gets lucky.  With a roll of at least a 9 she is guaranteed to make enough to maintain a modest lifestyle (1 gp/day) for another day, and with a 14 she might enough to be wealthy, though not reliably so.  With a lucky roll of 19, she’ll definitely have enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for about a week, giving her some breathing room.  Where she not an adventurer, she could live comfortably like this, though not necessarily get rich off of it alone and always on the edge of having to tighten her belt through some lean times.  A stretch of bad luck or poor earnings and she might actually have to get a real job.

Functional?  Probably.  Balanced?  Maybe a bit against the character.  I could probably stand to bump up the gold a little bit.

Other ideas I have in this vein is a random generator for which music venues are available on any given night as well as composing and selling music (likely some adaptation of these rules for artwork crafting), either as sheet music for a traditional medieval fantasy setting or actual albums for a more modernish magepunk setting like the Nine Cities.

Or maybe I’m making this more complicated than it needs to be.  A very likely possibility for me.

As always, your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.  Let me know what you think!

Empyreal Lord, Holda

“Summer” © Sandra Duchiewicz, accessed at her ArtStation here

[Inspired primarily by The Witch: A History of Fear by Ronald Hutton and its discussion of European folk religion]

Empyreal Lord, Holda CR 27 CG Outsider This beautiful woman radiates an aura of supernatural calm. Garlands of flowers are woven into her hair.

Holda The Fair Mother, Queen of the Seasons Concerns domestic labor, agriculture, witchcraft Domains Chaos, Community, Good, Weather Subdomains Azata, Family, Home, Revelry, Seasons Worshippers good-aligned witches, homemakers, women Minions azata, good-aligned fey, tsukumogami Holy Symbol a crossed spindle and broomstick Favored Weapon sickle

Holda the Fair Mother is the guardian of women and wives everywhere and a patron of agriculture and the home. Legend says that she once led the Wild Hunt, but retired from it in order to focus on improving the lives of mortals. She still maintains links to the Wild Hunt, however, and may lead fey of all kinds on cross-country rides and revels to celebrate harvests and other milestones. Her greatest festival is in mid-winter, to celebrate the approach of spring and to bring cheer to those in dark times.

Holda’s influence extends over domestic skills of all kinds, but particularly those seen as “women’s work”—cooking, cleaning, sewing and weaving. Those who beseech her aid find themselves blessed with miraculous abilities of creation, able to make magical items even if they are not capable of casting spells. Holda is known to curse those who are mean, impolite or wicked in embarrassing but non-harmful ways—cursing the malefactor so that toads climb from their mouth whenever they speak is a favorite. She frequently travels in disguise as a mortal woman, taking care to look fairly inconspicuous. Her seasonal aspect does influence her appearance, however—in her spring aspect she appears as a young maiden, in summer and autumn aspects she appears a mature woman, and she is aged in her winter aspect.

Holda is unusual for an empyreal lord in that her most devout followers are as likely to be witches as they are to be clerics. Many but not all of her faithful are women. Due to this link with witchcraft and womanhood, some authorities distrust or fear Holda, and her followers are sometimes persecuted in patriarchal lands. Holda’s agents frequently work to protect and support mistreated women around the world. Good-aligned fey often serve or at least respect Holda, with nymphs and hamadryads being common in her faith.

Holda    CR 27 XP 3,276,800 XP CG Medium outsider (azata, chaotic, extraplanar, good) Init +16; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, low-light vision, Perception +45, true seeing Aura holy aura (DC 27), primal (30 ft.) Defense AC 46, touch 27, flat-footed 33 (+12 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 deflection, +4 armor, +15 natural) hp 610 (33d10+429); regeneration 10 (evil artifacts, effects and spells) Fort +35, Ref +29, Will +33 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, resolve; DR 15/epic and evil; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm effects, compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, energy drain, petrification; Resist cold 30, fire 30; SR 38 Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft (good) Melee +4 keen speed sickle +46/+46/+41/+36/+31 (1d6+13/19-20x2) Ranged +5 longbow +48/+48/+43/+38/+33 (1d8+11/x3) Spell-like Abilities CL 20th, concentration +27 (+31 casting defensively) Constant—detect evil, freedom of movement, holy aura (DC 27), mage armor, true seeing At will—good hope, greater teleport, heal*, make whole* 3/day— quickened displacement, fabricate, holy word* (DC 25), overwhelming presence (DC 28) 1/day—control weather*, gate, greater restoration, heroes’ feast, resurrection, empowered fire storm (DC 27) * Holda can use the mythic version of this spell in her realm Spells CL 20th, concentration +30 (+34 casting defensively) 9th—astral projection, mage’s disjunction, mass cure critical wounds (DC 29), mass hold monster (DC 29) 8th—demand (DC 28), discern location, power word stun, protection from spells, stormbolts (DC 28) 7th—chain lightning (DC 27), greater arcane sight, extended mass suggestion (DC 26), regenerate, spell turning 6th—cloak of dreams (DC 26), cone of cold (DC 26), greater dispel magic, greater globe of invulnerability, greater heroism 5th—baleful polymorph (DC 25), break enchantment, dream, mark of justice, reincarnate 4th—arcane eye, discern lies (DC 24), extended heroism, neutralize poison, scrying (DC 24), secure shelter 3rd—bestow curse (DC 23), lightning bolt (DC 23), magic vestment, remove blindness/deafness, speak with dead, tongues 2nd—detect thoughts (DC 22), fog cloud, gentle repose, owl’s wisdom, extended shield of faith, status 1st—charm person (DC 21), enlarge person, identify, ill omen, reduce person, unseen servant 0th—detect magic, detect poison, mending, stabilize Statistics Str 28, Dex 35, Con 37, Int 30, Wis 29, Cha 28 Base Atk +33; CMB +42; CMD 69 Feats Brew Potion, Combat Expertise, Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Extend Spell, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Quicken SLA (displacement), Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run Skills Bluff +45, Craft (weaving) +46, Diplomacy +45, Fly +49, Knowledge (arcana) +43, Knowledge (local) +43, Knowledge (nature) +46, Knowledge (planes) +46, Knowledge (religion) +46, Perception +45, Profession (farmer) +43, Sense Motive +45, Spellcraft +46, Stealth +48, Survival +45, Use Magic Device +42 Languages Celestial, Common, Sylvan, truespeech SQ change shape (any humanoid, alter self), empyreal lord traits, seasonal aspect, seed of life Ecology Environment any land or underground (Elysium) Organization unique Treasure double standard (+4 keen speed sickle, +5 longbow, other treasure) Special Abilities Primal Aura (Su) All creatures in Holda’s primal aura gain a +10 on all Craft and Profession skills while they remain in the aura, and gain the benefits of the Master Craftsman feat for 1 month. Holda can revoke this benefit as she pleases. Resolve (Ex) If Holda makes a Will saving throw against an attack that has a reduced effect on a successful save, she instead avoids the effect entirely. Seasonal Aspect (Su/Sp) As a swift action, Holda may change her form to reflect one of the four seasons. When she does so, she gains a +4 enhancement bonus to two of her ability scores and gains the use of an empowered spell-like ability once per day, as shown below. Spring: +4 Dex, +4 Cha; empowered sunburst Summer: +4 Str, +4 Int; empowered fire storm Autumn: +4 Con, +4 Int; empowered horrid wilting Winter +4 Con, +4 Wis; empowered polar ray Holda is in her summer aspect in the statistics above. Spells: Holda can cast spells as a 20th level witch. She does not require a familiar to prepare spells, merely one hour of meditation. She is considered to know all witch spells except for those with the Evil descriptor, as well as spells from the Wisdom patron.

Happy Anniversary, Summoners!

The Fire Emblem Heroes game was released one year ago today, and to celebrate the anniversary, some of the Fire Emblem Heroes team members in the Treehouse got together to reflect on the first year since the game launched. Read on to see what they had to say!

Kris: It’s amazing how much Fire Emblem Heroes has evolved since launch. Many of us on the team play the game heavily outside of work as well, so each time a new option like Inherit Skill or the Weapon Refinery is added, we’re eager to play it on our own devices with our own teams.

But first, we’ve got to localize the content and get it out there, and on the loc side of things, there are aspects of the project that haven’t changed—mainly the amount of research involved. It’s a lot of fun digging into our archives for past games. The Heroes come from every main-series title, so we’ve put together a script database of all the games, including those not released in North America, to help us keep everything aligned.

The Treehouse “Fire Emblem Shrine” is not just for decoration. It’s part of our research!

Matthew: Even the early Famicom games like Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light have scripts that were quite lengthy for the time, so it really took a lot of work to get that all organized into something we could use as a reference. I mean, there are 15 games in the main Fire Emblem series alone!

Kris: It was worth the effort, though. The database allows us to research basic things, like item names or the way a character laughs, as well as deeper references. Most Heroes reference conversations from whatever game they’re from, whether word for word or just in passing.

Frederick does his best to serve his liege…       

…and tries to help the Order, too. Sort of.

Kris: When we come across these lines, sometimes they have to be tweaked for their new context, both in Japanese and in English. A line that was once used angrily in battle might now be recast for general conversation. A critical-attack line might now be the voice used when you tap a Hero during battle. Very often, a line originally directed to a different character might now be directed to you, the Summoner. It's an interesting balance of keeping the link to the source material while fitting a new context and not confusing any players who are new to the series. I get excited when people post online about a reference they got, like the various bonus audio lines for the first round of Choose Your Legends characters.

Matthew: Yeah, it’s always great to see when people pick up on those references. As for me, while I’ve played every game in the Fire Emblem series, Genealogy of the Holy War is still my favorite. I loved how complex the world was in that game, and, of course, that complexity brought about some great drama. When we were asked to work on localizing those characters for Fire Emblem Heroes, I was honored to help out. Sigurd is a very unique lord and Arvis is a very unique villain in the Fire Emblem series. It was important for Christian and I to do their characters justice through the dialog and voice.

Sigurd professing his love to Deirdre in the Super Famicom original game.

Here they reference events from the original game in Fire Emblem Heroes.

Christian: Genealogy of the Holy War originally came out for the Super Famicom, and it was never localized into English. Given how great that game’s characters are, figuring out how to properly render their stories in English was both a challenge and an opportunity. I wanted to get things just right.

I put a lot of thought into how to portray their speech in a style that could successfully bring across the 1990s dark-fantasy style of the original writing while preserving the complexity of the storytelling and characterization for the modern era. In Fire Emblem Heroes, there’s not much dialogue for each character, but it usually cuts to the bone of what makes that character special—and there’s a lot of info that you need to understand to get it right. Matt’s insight was invaluable there.

Matthew: In one of my main teams, Sigurd and Deirdre are together and share an S rank bond. (It’s canon after all, right?) Genealogy wasn’t the first game to give bonuses to characters when they were near someone dear to them, but it expanded the concept greatly and even introduced things famous to the series, like the weapon triangle and skills! There is a lot I want to say, but…since many players have yet to experience the game, I won’t spoil anything about the story here. Let’s just say that it’s much easier to increase the bond between Seliph and Julia in Fire Emblem Heroes than it was in the original game.

(By the way, I’m definitely using these characters for the Illusory Dungeon—that’s a rhythm-based dungeon in which you tap on the screen to attack enemies. And it releases in Fire Emblem Heroes later this month!)

Christian: One thing that has made me very happy is the positive response to these characters—both from fans who played the original Super Famicom game, as well as those who never encountered these characters before they appeared in Fire Emblem Heroes but now consider them to be invaluable parts of their teams. Just a year ago, a lot of Fire Emblem players in the West had no idea who Arden was!

Here, in Genealogy of the Holy War,  Arden is about to find a special ring!

That same ring gives Arden a unique skill in Fire Emblem Heroes as well!

Tim: While I appreciate the history of the older games like Genealogy of the Holy War, the greatest joy I’ve experienced in playing Fire Emblem Heroes during its first year has been the evolution of my beloved #TeamLucina. Lucina was, luckily enough, one of my first summons when the game launched. Since then I’ve been blessed with summoning Special Hero Spring Lucina, obtaining a handful of masked Lucinas (or “Marths”) from the Tempest Trials (thusly merged into a single +4), and the Lucina I got as my Choose Your Legends free Hero.

Matthew: That’s two blues and two reds. Is that team actually any good?

Tim: Imbalanced as #TeamLucina may seem, it’s a surprisingly solid squad—and it all came down to masked Lucina, who arrived upon my shores with naught but Falchion to her name.

Number 6 in my list, but number 1 in my heart.

Kris: We’ve seen a lot of fans online create their own #Team based on a character, artist, or voice actor. Masked Lucina is a great blank slate to work with, too. What did you do with yours?

Tim: I’ve been able to utilize features such as Inherit Skill and Sacred Seals to turn her into the team medic, and a rather efficient one at that. First, I used Inherit Skill to give her Reciprocal Aid, Renewal, and Breath of Life; eventually she earned the Breath of Life Sacred Seal, so whenever she swings her mighty Falchion, adjacent allies receive a whopping 14 HP. Moreover, she’s sitting pretty at 45 HP, meaning she can heal practically any ally to full with Reciprocal Aid. And just a few turns later, or at the start of the next round in the case of a Tempest Trial, she’ll earn 20 HP back thanks to Renewal and Falchion.

Christian: What about her A Skill and Special Skill?

Tim: I gave her Death Blow and Glimmer to further bolster her already staggering attack power of 52.

Matt: You monster.

My one regret is missing the 5 ★ version from the very first Tempest Trial.

Tim: Throw Ally Support into the mix, and #TeamLucina is truly a force to be reckoned with. I pity the poor soul who encounters it in the Arena.

Kris: In the meantime, I’ll just be over here working on my +10 Frederick. Leveling the duplicates to merge should go quick thanks to the Special Training maps releasing later this month, since they let you train your units based on their type for an easier way to earn Exp and SP.

That’s all for this time, but from all of us on the Fire Emblem Heroes team here in the Treehouse, we hope you all continue to enjoy the game!

Good luck, Summoners!

—Kris C., Matthew N., Christian N., Tim M.

BJP Unit Kargil concludes facilitation camp today, provides protective gears to corona virus warriors KARGIL 22 JUNE 2020 [email protected] Bharatiya Janata Party Kargil UT Ladakh today felicitated District Magistrate Kargil Baseer ul Haq Choudhary, SP,Kargil Dr. Vinod Kumar, Chief Medical officer District Kargil Dr. Ibrahim Khan and President President Press Club Kargil (Ladakh) The Corona warriors Felicitation program was held by Under the leadership of Mohd Ali Majaz District President BJP Unit Kargil UT Ladakh in presence of Mohd Hassan Pasha , Former J&K State BJYM Vice President, Zakir Hussain, District General Secretary, Haji Sadiq Ali President Block Kargil Town, Mohd Hussain President BJYM District Kargil, Shri Mohd Javid office Incharge. Ali Majaz, said that the whole world is praising the efforts that are being made by corona warriors to ensure everyone’s safety everywhere. He said that on the call of PM, Modi and National President J.P Nada, BJP has initiated a programme in which community of these Corona Warriors should be given applause for the work and security personnel standing on all fronts are working for the people. The Gov't of India is trying their best to provide world-class healthcare and financial support to all its citizens. Also BJP Senior Leader Mohd Hassan Pasha said, After Covid-19 brokedown, thousands of people who are called our unsung heroes have been on duty since day one. Such people are being called corona warriors across the nation. They consist of doctors, nurses, policemen and media persons etc. When everybody is sitting home, the Doctors, the Policemen, Nurses, etc are working in order to contain the Coronavirus. Our local administration is trying its best to serve and save the precious lives of our beloved ones. Pertinently, in a territory like Kargil Ladakh, the frontline healthcare workers, they are in grave danger of catching the infection, but still they are providing their services with utmost devotion. They cannot visit their homes, meet their loved ones, still are providing their medical services often without taking any break. 👇👇👇 https://youtu.be/MdRWJOovhqI (at Kargil Ladakh) https://www.instagram.com/p/CByYrBeFOKY/?igshid=1xqc8w0fuorlg

          LINK...     WAKE  UP...     LINK,     THE  CHOSEN  ONE...

I just finished Blackkklansman and I should just dive right in with a few things

Spoilers ahead obvi

1) I always get uncomfortable when white men are given scripts that prompt them to say horribly racist things. Like, Quentin Tarantino with all of his characters saying the n word? I always feel uncomfortable. I don’t know why I didn’t think that would be much of an issue in this movie. But by the time Adam Driver’s character was unprompted and started dropping the n word down and the real Ron was dropping sp**s and k*ke and other derogatory terms down when he was talking to the initial KKK guy... that really bothered me. I think it’s good that it bothers me, of course. I understand it’s a period piece and especially a period piece that deals with race and ESPECIALLY one that deals with the KKK... so why didn’t it occur to me that this was going to happen? I guess I figured that if I were a black person watching this, it would be a hard movie to watch. It was hard for me, a white woman, to watch. I think that’s good that it was hard to watch because white people have such a horrifying history and it’s good to not pretend that there is evil out there. But I guess my thing is- do these kind of scripts enable some people to really unleash racist thinking? I think by now, we know that white people are inherently racist. I think the movie seemed too Buddy Buddy to me and- other than what, one guy?- there was no hesitance that the real Ron faced when it came to fitting in with the police. So I dunno, you started off with a great scene at a Black Student Union where the main character Ron hears from a former Black Panther about a whole system of oppression and then it focuses strictly on racist cops. And you have this whole thing about these cops shooting down black folks and there’s a great part that ties in the Vietnam War with this as well...

“Now We are being shot down like Dogs in the streets by White Racist Police. We can no longer accept this Oppression without retribution. The War in Vietnam is Illegal and Immoral. I'd rather see a Brother Kill a Cop than Kill a Vietnamese. At least he's got a reason for Killing The Cop. When you Kill a Vietnamese you're a Hero and you don't even know why you Killed him. At least if you Kill a Cop you're doing it for a reason.”

And it was like- that’s a reasonable stance. The whole speech seemed like it could set up an arch for the character to challenge the men he worked for. I thought that’s where the movie was going and I figured the more he dived in with the KKK, the more he could see the racism that his coworkers displayed? But then, other than that One Guy, they ended up not doing anything? Like, they were all supportive and accepted this racism as a joke like it didn’t affect them? There was even a point where Ron asks Adam Driver’s character why he wasn’t affected negatively by the racism that the KKK showed and he kind of swept it off with a sentence or two about how he hadn’t realized he was passing off as a Christian WASP guy until he got into the KKK and had to deny his Jewish faith. But that’s IT. There was no hesitance in his motivation for doing this job and he said awful things as a part of his job but also was it REALLY necessary? Wouldn’t it have said more if these guys were uncomfortable with what the KKK was doing instead of turning it into a sort of game? And that’s the motivation behind their work?

But watching the KKK actors so effortlessly go about saying these things... I get that it’s acting. I get that. But I personally don’t think I would ever take a role where I would play such a character because I would feel horrible about it? It’s just such a wonder how white men and women have gone on this long, playing these roles and like... is it ever going to stop? Is there ever going to be a time where someone finally puts their foot down and says “I am tired of seeing white guys say the n word”. Like oh my fucking god, it’s concerning. The script was written by 2 black guys sure... but higher up on the bill it was written by 2 white guys. So half and half- but the white guys were higher up? And it just makes me feel like these characters kind of release catharsis for the actors where it’s like “in this context we can be as racist as we want and we can get really into character like an actor should and that will show everyone that we really are fantastic actors because we did this job that not everyone wants to do” (that’s what I felt when I attempted to watch Three Billboards and I’m sure there are countless other movies where white guys get acclaim for playing racists) Is it some sort of power high for the writers? Where they can write racist things that come from their head and then people can applaud their creativity when really it’s just... all that internalized or inherent racism that comes with being white? Basically I don’t understand why that language or behavior is necessary and it’s concerning when you look at the producers and... 4/6 are white. Is this kind of movie one that white people make to feel good about themselves? Like, “hey, at least we aren’t like THESE people”. I get that it was adapted from the book that the real Ron Stallworth wrote but still... you really do have to wonder about the power high that white guys must get.

2) the main villain in this is obviously the white woman. I’m bad with my words but white women are the reason Trump is in office and white women aiding and abetting white men with these racist ideaologies is scary and very very real. The parallels I saw throughout this with the “America First!” and the “Let’s make America great again!” were an obvious dig at the trump election. But even MORE SO, it was the white women that really had the power to destroy in this movie. And that’s a fucking parallel y’all!!!!!! Connie was fucking evil. Connie was brainless and evil and you can’t even make an argument that she didn’t know better- that excuses horrifying deeds TO THIS DAY that white women have had a hand in. It’s terrifying, I know. But that’s why white feminism is so gross. That’s why white women need to do better because their influence and support could literally help flip a racist society or election or movement or WHATEVER. Because they have NUMBERS. But their numbers do the wrong fucking thing all the time and it’s scary!!!! They’re like the senior citizens in a local election- you need them but they might not be for you!! And that’s fucking scary as hell! And the character of Connie made me sick to my stomach and it’s absolutely insane that a woman like her, who has a terribly racist and somewhat abusive husband, can be equally as racist and STILL SUPPORT HER HUSBAND! That’s what Trump voters did! They supported their husbands! There’s no pretending that these women don’t make their own decisions though! Because they choose to be ignorant or they choose to support their husbands or they choose to vote for a certain someone or they choose to be fucking racist. You can’t ignore their history and then say that they didn’t decide to be racist because of a husband or something. Connie decided that she’d support her husband and kill a house full of black people. It’s fucking scary and you can’t even blame it on the husband because SHE CHOSE THAT! She chose to do it and that’s fucking scary and that’s EXACTLY how racist white women are! I think the movie was spot on with the white woman part of this.

These are my two main things and I dunno... I will have to listen to the Black Men Can’t Jump in Hollywood podcast about this one but at this moment, I don’t think I was a huge fan because I think the potential for it was too good and I was a bit disappointed.

Obviously the white writers, white producers, and a lot of white actors is a bit concerning with a movie involving race. I thought it was going to be a little more thoughtful and more of an inflection about the Black Power movement and the relationship between races (especially because police brutality was a theme throughout the ENTIRE MOVIE? And the main character is the only black cop in his city. AND he is the one to infiltrate the KKK). It seemed pretty digestible for white people to watch, which I was surprised with. Once you had to get over the fact that the n word was going to be said 100 times and you get past how real the issues with racist white women are... it’s like everything that happens with race conflict is put aside? You don’t exactly know why they infiltrate the KKK and you get one like about two members being in NORAD... a fact I wouldn’t have remembered if I hadn’t read the Wikipedia page on the real Ron Stallworth and read about the NORAD guys having access to NUCLEAR BOMB CODES!!!!!! (Which would have been good to include in the movie because that’s like... a SERIOUS thing obviously) The racist guys are bad but they seem like more of a butt of a joke than an actual threat (that is until there’s a story about a lynching and postcards and then you have your bomb). But even then, when everything is over, there’s just one phone call that is made for closure and you’ve got a bunch of cops sitting around a phone laughing at the real Ron making fun of David Duke?? All that shit happened and then they talk about how horrible it is that the white woman is facing jail time for her bombing that car and then the fact that that killed her husband and these cops are HOWLING laughing about their trickery. I didn’t think this was supposed to be a comedy and... I was not laughing.

Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s my movie to critique when it comes to how it portrays race and black people. A lot of people seem to love it and I’m happy about that!! I’m glad so many people loved it and so many people resonates with it! But I think my main issues came with the white parts in this movie so I am going to say it’s alright for me to be a critic.

* This movie is NOT a thirst bank for Adam Driver?? If anything people should be talking about John David Washington??? This movie isn’t about Adam Driver, it’s annoying that that is what this film is reduced to.

** It was definitely influenced by blaxploitation and I think it kind of poked fun at itself for that but I didn’t think blaxploitation was a very good thing? I’d honestly love to learn more about that. That’s not a criticism, I am just wondering about that!

In 1997 the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) purchased Yin Yu Tang (Hall of Plentiful Shelter), a historic Huizhou residence in the town of Huang Cun in China's east-central Anhui Province. It then dismantled the structure, shipped it to the United States, and rebuilt it on the grounds of the museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The transplantation of Yin Yu Tang provides a unique vantage point from which to reconsider the appropriation of Chinese architectural heritage by institutions in the U.S. This article examines a series of issues related to the relocation and exhibition of Yin Yu Tang in a new geocultural context. It also looks into changes in Huang Cun in the aftermath of the Yin Yu Tang project to understand the challenges of heritage preservation in the Huizhou area.

Han Li. "Transplanting Yin Yu Tang to America: Preservation, Value, and Cultural Heritage." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, Vol. 25, No. 2 (SPRING 2014), pp. 53-64.

Although Yin Yu Tang was not initially classified as a protected relic, its value certainly changed when PEM launched the Yin Yu Tang project. For the local authorities of Xiuning County, Yin Yu Tang went from being an ordinary old residence to being a symbol of Huizhou architectural heritage. Just as importantly, it provided an opportunity to con nect Xiuning with the rest of the world. In May 1997, when the Xiuning County Cultural Relics Administration and PEM agreed to transfer Yin Yu Tang to the museum, the nature of the transaction was therefore defined as a cultural exchange that would promote international awareness of traditional Huizhou heritage. As I will discuss, this transaction led to a series of follow-up activities between Salem and Xiuning County that had socioeconomic implications for both locales. These activities included publishing educational materials, hosting international forums, organizing and promoting a "Xiuning-Salem" tourist route, and supporting other conservation works in Huang Cun. For local officials in Xiuning, "exporting" Yin Yu Tang has proven to be more than just a cultural exchange; it has represented a significant political and economic achievement.

[...]

Conservation of the timber frame provides a good case in point. To strengthen the deteriorated pieces, architects called for supporting the original wood planks with new boards made from a species of American wood with similar character and strength. Thus, while the new planks provide structural support, the original planks retain their role in the structure's historic fabric. Appropriating the authority of native craftsmen is another strategy commonly used by American museums to construct a sense of authenticity for their Chinese structures.8 PEM invited Huizhou carpenters, masons, and other craftsmen to demonstrate and apply tradi tional techniques to the reconstruction of Yin Yu Tang, and, rather than using nails, components were connected using dovetail tenons, a traditional method of Chinese joinery. By deliberately foregrounding these activities in its documentary film about Yin Yu Tang, PEM was able to successfully con struct this aura of authenticity ( f i g . 3 ).

The roof was another feature of Yin Yu Tang that required a creative solution, since the house was moved from the relatively warm climate of eastern China to a coastal town in the northern U.S. To protect the interior of Yin Tang from harsh winter weather in its new location, a clear paneled skylight is lifted by crane onto the roof in the fall, and removed each spring. The clear shield enables natural daylight to permeate Yin Yu Tang's central courtyard all year round so visitors can appreciate it as the outdoor space it was designed to be. Other than its interior courtyard, Yin Yu Tang's unglazed ceramic roof tiles were also exposed to winter weather in its new location. In this case, the conservation team replaced the base tiles with more durable, newly manufactured ones, while retaining the original cap tiles. Thus, the original appearance of Yin Yu Tang's roof has been maintained while it has also been modified to withstand harsh new winter conditions.9

Along with these measures, new features ensuring visi tor safety and accessibility were needed to comply with Massa chusetts building codes. These include a comprehensive fire detection and suppression system, heating and ventilation for visitor comfort and building conservation, new plumbing for drainage and water supply for the two skywell pools, and wiring for lighting and other purposes. These new elements were installed in the most inconspicuous and reversible fash ion possible so as not to preclude future preservation efforts.10 Further, in order to meet seismic requirements, electrical conduits, mechanical ductwork, and piping were fabricated using structural-grade stainless steel.11 And thresholds were reinstalled with electric screw jacks to allow disabled visitors to access interior spaces, while preserving the original look of the house.12 All things considered, then, the Yin Yu Tang that now stands at PEM, with its "authentic" Huizhou char acteristics, is not simply a physical entity transported intact from Huang Cun. It is a living reflection of a particular un derstanding of Huizhou architectural heritage and a negotia tion with contemporary American culture to re-present this in a new physical environment.

[...]

A second issue with the comparative approach is that it creates an inherent paradox of "paralleling" and "othering." Studies of museums have consistently pointed out how the very act of juxtaposing two items "others" the differences between them with regard to race, gender, class, etc.17 Apart from the obvious parallels in terms of class and business activity between the owners of the two houses, the differences between them — e.g., the unique lives and careers of merchants in the East and West and the dramatic differences between their respective cultures and levels of economic prosperity — inevitably create the trap of "exoticizing" the other. Realistically, while visitors may appreciate the furnishings as well as the manners and domestic spatial politics in these two houses, how can their juxtaposition not result in "exoticizing" Yin Yu Tang as a representation of the East? Or is reckoning with the unavoidability of this dilemma the only solution? Interestingly, while each PEM docent infuses the tour with his or her own understanding and personality, the institutional agenda is also in a constant interplay with the individual craft of curation.

[...]

Traditional Huizhou dwellings resemble fortresses from the outside, with tall, solid, white washed walls and small windows for ventilation and safety. Closed to the outside and open to the inside, such a house stands as a self-sufficient microcosm Since the austere facade and white exterior walls do not immediately reveal as much about the house as do the pictures of the other three houses, PEM's choice to emphasize Yin Yu Tang's horsehead walls effectively heightens the importance of this characteristic feature of the Huizhou dwelling. The importance of the horsehead wall to Huizhou architecture is also demonstrated in a separate Yin Yu Tang brochure. Here the image of the whitewashed exterior not only stands alone as the signature element of Yin Yu Tang, but it provides a background for four other pictures ( r i g . 5 ). These show Huang Cun, an old photo of an earlier generation in the Huang family, the second story of the house structure, and the interior of one room. Together, these photos attempt to provide a snippet preview of the environment where Yin Yu Tang originated, of the Huang family, and of the architecture and everyday life of the house.

[...]

The carefully arranged self-guided house tour also high lights this intertwining of the micro (everyday practices) and macro (social-economic changes). The rooms and items that visitors see on this timed excursion integrate characteristics of Huizhou vernacular architecture and decorative art with Huang family history and a brief explication of China's nine teenth- and twentieth-century history. Also interesting is that while the owners of the other historic houses at PEM are long gone, leaving only their legacy for others to interpret, the previous inhabitants of Yin Yu Tang become co-curators of their lives. In other words, through the audio track that visi tors are provided, they become both the subject and medium of interpretation.

The description of the main hall is a telling example. When visitors arrive here, the audio track (with interpretive narration available in both English and Mandarin) includes the chanting of a memorial essay from an ancestral worship ritual and the simulated sound of daily activities such as peo ple chatting, moving around, and relaxing.2' Visitors are thus encouraged to see how the main hall served both as a solemn public place for important family rituals and a casual space for everyday activities. The main hall also contains items bearing the imprint of a particular era — a speaker used for broadcasting propaganda during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and the portrait of Lei Feng (1940-1962), a socialist soldier-hero — and these items are called out in the spoken narration. In addition to the explanations provided by PEM staff, the audio track contains the voices of Huang family members, who recount their memories. For instance, visitors hear Huang Xiqi's personal recollections of childhood in this room, adding a layer of miscellaneous sensibility to the grand narrative.

Such stories combine personal and private family memo ries with the collective memory of cultural and social values to demonstrate the perennial yet changing roles of the main reception room. Indeed, throughout the self-guided tour of selected rooms and household items, PEM helps visitors experience the physical space of Yin Yu Tang, imagine quo tidian life there, and understand the ethics and social and cultural values behind the lives of Huang family members over time.14

The various genres and means through which PEM has restored and reimagined the Huang family's domestic life and its interaction with larger historical events ultimately transform Yin Yu Tang from a singular dwelling into a matrix of living scholarship of Huizhou architectural, cultural and social legacies. The interpretations integrate powerful and compelling micro and macro views from the past. They also reveal the gaps and fissures in the narratives surround ing otherwise homogeneous and timeless "heritage." Together, such efforts provide a panoramic view of the architecture, inhabitants and heirlooms in the house over the course of several generations. However, this has only been made possible by stripping the house of its original social context and transforming it into an object in a museum, exposed to the gaze of outsiders. Yin Yu Tang's history, constructed through interpretative narratives, is thus presented as a "lived" his tory that conforms to the established grand historiography of twentieth-century Chinese history. This naturally differs from the preservation of "living" history in Yin Yu Tang's home region, Huizhou. In particular, the deliberately choreographed traditional ceremonies included in explications of the house are imbued with an ersatz performative aura bespeaking the fact that the authenticity PEM constructs is actually a perfect simulation.

The Open 2019: An atmosphere from the Ryder Cup playbook… and that’s what Shane Lowry wants next 

It's an Irish day out there, Graeme McDowell noted, mid-afternoon. Cruel crosswind, driving rain.

Cruel crosswind, torrential rain.

Yet on Northern Ireland & Causeway coast, gray turned out to be the warmest color. Shane Lowry kept his guts and saw both the pursuit package and the raging elements to become the fourth Irishman who won the Open in 12 years. And every Open victory, and every Open winner, is special of course.

Shane Lowry kept his guts and saw both the chase package and the angry elements "

<img id =" i-69d05d728d6af6ca "src =" https://ift.tt/2NyDsEw /1s/2019/07/21/21/16318716-7270465-image-a-58_1563739788810.jpg "height =" 464 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-69d05d728d6af6ca" src = "https: //i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/07/21/21/16318716-7270465-image-a-58_1563739788810.jpg "height =" 464 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = " i-69d05d728d6af6ca "src =" https://ift.tt/2Z4JC4B "height =" 464 "width =" 634 "alt =", where he saw both the chase package and the raging elements

Shane Lowry kept his guts and saw both the chase package and the raging elements

Still felt this more. Lowry is an Irishman and this was a unique Irish Open; the first time it had left the mainland since 1951, but certainly not the last. Researchers have conducted questionnaires about the economic impact of opening up this part of the world, but their worthy work is unnecessary.

There were no drawbacks in these most joyful weeks, the triumph of the sympathetic Lowry who gave the 2019 championship the sender who deserved it.

& # 39; People have seen golf today and have never seen golf & # 39 ;, said the new champion. Certainly there will not be too many Open winners as thirsty. Lowry is a man from the south, but golf is not a border on this island, unlike politicians.

Lowry was supported and praised as if it were born a mile away, not in the Irish Midlands.

It was a sound that was rarely heard on a golf course for an individual warrior, but only added to the drama of the occasion.

It was not only a question of whether the leader could keep calm, but a local hero also had to remain calm. I've had all of Ireland. and Rory McIlroy discovered on Thursday morning, that is not always useful. & # 39; The last thing you want to do is come here and miss the cut & # 39 ;, said Lowry, recalling his confidence crisis before the game started.

The Ryder roar, ironically, is what Lowry has given his heart to hear. When he won € 1 million in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, he did not talk about winning majors. His ambition, he said, was to qualify for the Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits in 2020, led by his friend and fellow countryman Padraig Harrington. I repeated that desire yesterday, moments after winning his first major.

& # 39; The following year is all about being on that plane, & # 39; Lowry insisted – and from the right, no indulgence. He is convinced that he must make the team from the right, because rookies no longer have to be boosters. Similarly, since they are close by, it will be difficult for Harrington to select him without the decision being seen as favoritism. Lowry does not want to keep his friend open for criticism.

The couple are friends and often travel together. On one flight, their vessel experienced severe turbulence.

& # 39; No aircraft has ever crashed due to turbulence, & # 39; he advised soothingly. She seemed to settle down. At what time did Lowry, who had been silent until then, lean into the conversation. & # 39; Of course there is always a first time & # 39 ;, he offered.

& # 39; I could have killed him, & # 39; Harrington recalled. Yet he was in the back of the 18th green yesterday to congratulate his friend;

Not much time for friendly distraction, and certainly no dry humor in 18 soaked holes. At one point, when the crowd rose to what sounded like a victory song, four to five to play, Lowry looked positively at this temptation of fate.

However, he was never in less than total control, however, four when the day started, and in the worst case three clear ones, at best six – but those numbers only look comfortable afterwards. In the face of the storm, even a lead of five shots seems small. A bogey and an eagle on a par five, for example, and the pillow would be two.

<img id = "i-e335d0cd223c2e17" src = "https://ift.tt/2Gk4KfS Shane_Lowry_celebrates_with_the_Claret_Jug_on_the_18th_green_aft-a-59_1563739871594.jpg "height =" 559 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-e335d0cd223c2e17" src = "https://ift.tt/2LRrfwk /21/21/16315452-7270465-Shane_Lowry_celebrates_with_the_Claret_Jug_on_the_18th_green_aft-a-59_1563739871594.jpg "height =" 559 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-e335d0cd223c2i.dail sps: // co.uk/1s/2019/07/21/21/16315452-7270465-Shane_Lowry_celebrates_with_the_Claret_Jug_on_the_18th_green_aft-a-59_1563739871594.jpg "height =" 559 "width =" 634 "alt =" Shane Lowry celebrates with the Clare Jug on the 18th Greene after winning The Open "18th green after winning The Open

Shane Lowry celebrates with the Claret Jug on the 18th green after winning The Open [HappyforLowry&#39;smentalwellbeingmadeTommyFleetwoodnPlayandchallengeatevernotgoodtoputpressureonwhatmeansthatlowrycanbeleftbeforethelaststopuntilthesinkwasbroughtsix-freefromFleetwoodatthetimetoputonthelasttonyItwasalsoafamilyaffair

When he won in Abu Dhabi, Lowry asked his wife, Wendy, to have their daughter, Iris, wait for him at the back of the last green. I wanted a reason to smile even if I didn't win.

Not the least to be the unforgettable emotion of an Irish winner in Ireland. When he heard a man giving the winner's speech in his voice, an Irish-looking man, an Irish-sounding man, one of them in modern language, was a Gaelic dream come true. It is also not common.

The last man to win the Open in the country of his birth was Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999; before that, Tony Jacklin in 1969; before that, Reg Whitcombe in 1938. And the struggle to get this competition back to Ireland was so great, this was even more important than those historic triumphs. It didn't mean that an Irishman would win here. Location, location, location, has rarely been a mantra in golf.

& # 39; Look at the names on it & # 39 ;, said Lowry, looking at the famous Claret Jug. & # 39; I can't believe it's me. I didn't even know if I was good enough to win a major this morning.

The 19-year-old Irishman greeted daughter, Iris, and hugged wife, Wendy, after winning "

<img id =" i-540db3cd039b7b63 "src =" https: // i .dailymail.co.uk / 1s / 2019/07/21/21 / 16315464-7270465-The_32_year_old_Irishman_greeted_daughter_Iris_and_hugged_wife_W-a-62_1563739879030.jpg "height =" 421 "width =" 634 "alt =" <540397b i3 "src =" https://ift.tt/2Gk4I7K "height =" 421 "width =" 634 "alt = "The 32-year-old Irishman – old Irishman greeted daughter, Iris, and hugged wife, Wendy, after winning

The 32-year-old Irishman greeted daughter, Iris, and hugged Wendy, after winning

& # 39; I grew up thinking I was drawing on wells to win the Open – it's always the Open. A year ago, golf wasn't my friend, I remember having Carnoustie a year had in the Open played and then I cried. I was quite jealous when I went to Padraig's house and saw his Claret Jug on the kitchen table. Now I have one of my own. "

It was certainly not intended that Lowry would have it, given some of his dark moments. He was clear four times in the last round of the US Open in 2016 when he was swallowed up by Dustin Johnson, Dermot Byrne

Byrne admitted that he cried so hard the next day that I had to persuade the rented car and his flight home missed from America. He became the collateral damage of Lowry & # 39; s slump.

This is what championship golf does, so the protagonists talk so much about the importance of the family and not about winning, and all the other coping mechanisms they use to handle pressure Lowry admitted defeat two days after the US Open – unbelievably, he had a badly timed sponsorship obligation on Monday – and that is perhaps why he was most enthusiastic o m waking up this morning with a feeling of elation.

He is an emotion that his father, Brendan, an All-Ireland champion Gaelic footballer with Offaly, told him. Best of all, Brendan said, was to wake up the next morning and realize what you had achieved. A hangover can of course also play a role – not just for Lowry, but the entire country.

<img id = "i-876687444e8ecff" src = "https://ift.tt/2Z3Qa3B Lowry_hugged_runner_up_Tommy_Fleetwood_back_who_finished_six_sho-a-63_1563739900312.jpg "height =" 411 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-876687444e8ecff" src = "https://ift.tt/305gPND /21/21/16315520-7270465-Lowry_hugged_runner_up_Tommy_Fleetwood_back_who_finished_six_sho-a-63_1563739900312.jpg "height =" 411 "width =" 634 "alt =" Lowry cherished the runner-up Tommy Fleetwood (back) who finished six Tommy Fleetwood lowshots Lowry back) who finished six shots behind Lowry "

Lowry embraced second-runner Tommy Fleetwood (back) who ended six shots behind Lowry

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Doki Doki Literature Club: Easter Eggs Hinting at Another Game

When I initially first played Doki Doki Literature Club, I ignored opening up the .chr files which is not a real file format or looking into the messed up poems. By messed up, I mean the ones that were in English or seemingly any language other than just someone slamming their hands on the keyboard. But if you look deeper into these files and poems, you get a whole different picture. One that hints towards another game that the developers are most likely working on. One who's plot is already exposed more or less through Doki Doki Literature Club based on the novel Yuri gives the protagonist when they join the literature club: Portrait of Markov. This is further supported through Easter Eggs shattered in the game as well as in the game files. So what are these Easter Eggs.

Secret Poem

There are a total of 11 different secret poems you can get during the course of Doki Doki Literature Club. One of them contains blacked out text with just a few laters remaining. These types of images are easy enough to find the missing text or information by increasing the exposure. The blacked out information turns into white text for you to read. Here is that mystery poem:

As you can see it references a place where a character named Elyssa who has been experimented on. And there's a doctor trying to diagnose her problems before she presumably dies. The events described in the poem are quite similar to the events in the Portrait of Markov that Yuri is reading. A cult doing experiments on people to open their third eye and result in them going crazy for blood lust and self harm.

.Chr Files

Each of the .chr files points to a different club. 

Yuri's .chr file is rather straight forward. It is just Base64 and results in a story that apparently the developer wrote many years ago. There's not much to this .chr file other than a fun Easter Egg. 

Natsuki's is a picture if you change the file extension from .chr to .jpg. This will reveal a blue/grey image similar to those of inverted filter on a photograph. If you revert the colors it starts to look more like a person. Then if you take this picture and put it onto a 3D cone and look from above, you get the photo of a girl who is not in the story of Doki Doki Literature Club

Monika's .chr file is a picture if you change the file extension from .chr to .png. Which is a flaming ring with a square in the center with a bunch of black and white pixels. If you translate the pixels into binay. This can be done by changing every black pixel into a 0 and every white pixel into 1. Then do another conversion into Base64 you get the following result, which is a dialogue from presumably Monika to the player:

"Can you hear me? ...Who are you? I can't...I can't see you. But I know you're there. Yeah...you can definitely hear me. You've been watching for a while now, right? I guess I should...introduce myself, or something. Um...my name is...actually, that's stupid. You obviously already know my name. Sorry. Anyway...I'm guessing if you were able to put a stop to this, you would have done it by now. I mean, I know you're not, like...evil, or anything...because you've already helped me so much. I should really thank you for that. For everything you've done. You're really like a friend to me. So...thank you. So much. I think...more than anything else...I really don't want it to all be for nothing. ... Everyone else is dead. Maybe you already know that. I'm sure you do, actually. But...it doesn't have to be that way, right? Well...there's a lot of stuff I don't understand. I don't know if it's even possible for me to understand it. But I know that this isn't my only story. I can see that now. Really clearly. And I think everyone else has had the same kind of experience. Some kind of deja vu. It's the Third Eye, right? Anyway...I could be totally wrong about this. But I really think you might be able to do something. I think you might be able to go back...or however you want to put it... ...To go back and tell them what's going to happen. If they know ahead of time, then they should be able to avoid it. They should...if they remember their time with me in the other worlds...they should remember what I tell them. Yeah. I really think this might be possible. But it's up to you. I'm sorry for always being...you know... ... Never mind. I know that's wrong. This is my story. It's time to be a fucking hero. Both of us. 2018"

Monika is directly telling the player that something has gone terribly wrong and needs your help to correct it. And stop this mysterious third eye that's mentioned throughout the Easter Egg. Most likely in the follow up game coming sometime in 2018, Monika will be the protagnoist of the story trying to make everything right with the remaining characters: Yuri, Sayori, Natsuki, and whoever else makes an appearance in that game. We will most likely also have to recall events of Doki Doki Literature Club in order to do so as Monika suggests.

Sayori's .chr file if changed to a .ogg file extension will result in an audio file that generates a QR code to the website www.projectlibitina.com. On there is a medical file about someone named Libitina who would be 16 years old today. And someone was experimenting on her to open up her Third Eye, but they couldn't get it to close. Resulting in her self-harming, twitching, and giggling uncontrollably at inappropriate times.

"================================================================================ MONTHLY EXAMINATION REPORT January 5, 2004 ================================================================================ ====SUBJECT INFO Name XXXXXX, Libitina DOB 01/05/2001 Sex F Age 3 Height 35 Weight 31 Wing A Room 114 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Significance Level (001-100) 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ====SUBJECT NOTES Last Updated 12/05/2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As of December 5th, 2003, all personnel are forbidden from editing this field. All previous subject notes have been erased permanently. Addendum: Introducing bias during testing as a result of personal attachment to the subject will henceforth be punished by death. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ====PHYSICAL RESULTS BMI 17.8 HR 90 SP 101 DP 59 TMP 98.6 Eyes Normal Ears Normal Teeth Normal Genitals Normal Pain tolerance (01-10) 03 ====PHYSICAL RESULTS (THIRD EYE) HR 160 Reaction time (ms) 1 Strength N/A Local distortion 434 Distortion decay 29 Positivity (01-10) 01 Sensitivity (01-10) 09 Control (01-10) 01 ====PHYSICAL NOTES Last Updated 01/05/2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following occasional behaviors have been noted and should be ignored in future examinations: Twitching; vocal tics; biting; epiphora; vomiting; screaming; harm to examiner; harm to self; misplaced laughter Any self-harm attempts must be interrupted immediately. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ====TEST RESULTS Physical Response Test 100 PASSED Emotional Response Test 100 PASSED Physical Control Test 32 FAILED Emotional Control Test 22 FAILED Third Eye Activation Test 100 PASSED Third Eye Suppression Test 08 FAILED Sexual Response Test N/A N/A Minor Threat Response Test 100 PASSED Minor Threat Elimination Test 100 PASSED Life Threat Response Test 100 PASSED Life Threat Elimination Test 100 PASSED ====TEST NOTES Last Updated 01/05/2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sexual Response Test is bypassed during prepubescence. Requested bypassing the following tests: Third Eye Activation Test; Third Eye Suppression Test; Life Threat Response Test; Life Threat Elimination Test. All requests denied. Libitina has not yet recovered from the termination of XXXXXX and is not expected to do so in the near future. Continuing to administer these tests will only accelerate the deterioration of Libitina's health. You are choosing to avoid the measures necessary to prevent a repeat scenario, Doctor. Will you not have as much faith in your personnel as you do in your God? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================================ END OF REPORT ================================================================================"

There is a character in Doki Doki Literature Club that matches this description to a tee in Act 2. That being Yuri who's age and mannerism match up to Libitina to a tee. Are they the same person? We don't know yet. The XXXXXX is in reference to Elyssa, the number of characters match up and would line up with the secret poem.

Natsuki's Act 2 Poem

In the second act, Natsuki has a poem that looks like just a bunch of random letters and numbers. Based off everything we've learned from the .chr files, this is Base64. If you decode the message you get a poem talking about the third eye.

"Open your third eye I can feel the tenderness of ther skin though the knife, as if it were an extension of my sense of touch. my body nearly convulses. There's something incredibly faint, deep down, that screams to resist this uncontrollable pleasure, but I can already tell that I'm pushed to the edge. I can't... I can't stop myself."

So what we can tell based off the book and the clues shattered through Doki Doki Literature Club. We will either be playing as Monika or she will be our companion throughout the sequel as we face off against the cult and their third eyes that cause them to have blood lust. And at some point we will come across each of the girls: Natsuki, Sayori, and Yuri (possibly with different names, such as Yuri = Libitina) and have to remind them of our time in Doki Doki Literature Club to snap them out of the mind control of the cult or whatever the experiments are that resulting in the opening of their third eye. And the only other detail we know is that it's coming out sometime in 2018 based off Monika's dialouge in her .chr file.

What are your theories for the following game possibly coming out next year?

Valkyrie Profile

Valkyrie Profile is one of my favorite games from ages past.  I remember renting this more than a few times repeatedly, slowly progressing through the game each time.  I was familiar with Enix and tri-Ace's Star Ocean The Second Story, so I guess that got me interested in it.  Though I played the PS1 version, it's available on the PSP too.  Both versions are the same game, but the PS1 version displays in a 4:3 format and has item sorting.  It took me about 26 hours to get to the end with Ending A on Hard Mode.  

Valkyrie Profile is also a pretty bleak game if you consider the setting.  Just watch the five-minute Prologue detailing a small portion of Platina's life, her escape from her horrible mother, and tragic death.  Things don't improve from there.  Several of the blurbs about the various locations mention war with another country, you're outright told you only have so long until the end of the world, and you also see several people die over the course of the game.  Considering the nature of the protagonist, that's necessary to get new allies to fight the forces of evil around the world. 

Yes, little girl just got slapped by her mom. 

You are Valkyrie, a goddess of fate and chooser of the slain, tasked by Odin to recruit worthy souls from Midgard to send to Valhalla so they can fight in the coming Ragnarok, the war of the gods but also the end of the world.  Though the game is timed, it is not in pseudo real-time like Majora's Mask, but instead you 'spend' the remaining Periods for each Chapter on doing Spiritual Concentration to unlock new dungeons and allies, to visit towns and dungeons, and to recover health outside of dungeons.  When out of Periods, you're given a report on your Einherjar's statuses, you're given points to create new items, you're given supplies in the forms of gear and skill/spellbooks, and you're also given a list of traits and skills that Valhalla wants in the heroes you send during the next chapter. 

This game is an interesting mix of gameplay features.  It's a side-scrolling platformer game with turn-based RPG fights that has shades of fighting game mechanics in it.  Still with me?  You start with the 'airship' level of travel on the world map, so you can fly to any destination you like.  Land on a blue dot and you enter a town to converse with the locals and learn a little bit about the setting.  A red dot is a dungeon, and this is where most of the gameplay takes place.  Valkyrie can run, slide, and jump to get around obstacles, she can swing her sword to get the first turn against enemies, and she can shoot crystals to stun some enemies for a moment or shoot crystals into walls to form temporary structures she can climb on or explode to leave a 'dust' platform that slowly descends.  Most dungeons won't require you to do anything crazy with the crystals, but it's a handy feature that's only limited by the number of crystal platforms you can have active at one time.

Not all of the dungeons are sideways/upside-down affairs, thankfully.

 In battles, each member in your team of four is tied to one of the face buttons on the Playstation controller, so someone is Square, someone is Triangle, etc.  When it's your turn, you press the character's button to command them to attack.  That's simple enough, but the game's first actual boss battle introduces weapons that enable additional attacks.  Non-mages are able to use up to three attacks each turn, and that's controlled by the weapon that character is using.  In their stats, weapons have an O for which attack it enables, so you can have a really strong weapon that allows only one attack, or a decent weapon that can do all three.  Each character has their own set of attacks and you can only change the order they happen in (123, 231, 312).  Each attack has a direction it will knock the enemy into, so the idea is you work your team's attacks into a nice pattern so everyone's strikes hit.  But of course, enemies might be light, might be heavy, might fly, might block...

The game has a Practice feature where you can try your attacks on an enemy who's either light, heavy, or blocks, and neither side dies so you're given plenty of opportunity to try things out.  

Another reason you want your allies' attacks to hit is the way special attacks work.  Each attack when successful contributes a set amount of energy to the Heat Gauge, and when that hits 100, you're able to use Purify Weird Soul (or what's called Soul Crush in later games).  These are flashy special attacks that do a lot of damage and these too can contribute to the Heat Gauge, though it starts off with less in the gauge for each one in the chain you do.  They're mostly overkill for regular fights but they can put out quite a bit of damage against bosses.  You're then given Charge Turns before you can use them again, but you can reduce the time required by comboing enemies that are on the ground to release a purple gem that flies to anyone with CT.  Juggling a foe releases a crystal that grants a 5% EXP boost, stacking up to 40 times.  It does get button-mashy, but you can put out some great combos with the right team if you try to time everything just right. 

STEP ON IT PRESS BUTTON You thankfully have the option to just skip (if you already killed the monster with regular attacks for example). Also hi I’m using Retroarch here.

Magic is fairly basic compared to how warriors and archers fight.  Mages only get one attack per turn, and you need to teach them spells found in dungeons to expand their spellbook, though they only get set one offensive spell for their button.  Magic PWS is just the spell cast three times in rapid succession, but some weapons allow Great Magic which hits all foes...but it comes with the drawback of most early-game options having a chance to break when used this way.  My first time playing, I missed that you can actually activate magic from the in-battle Select menu to cast Heal, as well as buffs/debuffs.  Some spells like Fire Storm are capable of hitting all foes when cast from the menu, but with the drawback that you aren't able to combo off of them immediately. 

When you level up, you're given SP to add to skills like Fight or Tactics which raise stats, or skills like Demon Intelligence or Find Trap which don't have any effect other than fulfilling a Valhalla requirement if asked for.  You are able to find skillbooks for Automatic Skills, Support Skills, and Attack Skills and can allocate points to those too.  Each character is able to equip two Automatics and one Attack and one Support skill, though what's offered varies based on the character's class.  I liked how you only needed to use skillbooks once--for example, if you had the book for Auto Item and used it, then every character in your party and everyone who would join later would be able to put points into it.  You're also able to put SP into character Traits, some of which might be asked for in each Chapter.  These don't affect stats either, but they affect the Hero Value which determines their worthiness in Valhalla.  Something else that tripped me up my first time was negative Traits.  You can put skill points into those to lower their value, with the net effect of the character's Hero Value increasing just like raising positive Traits. 

Positive traits can be raised to rank 8, but negative traits can only be reduced to half their initial rank.  Some characters are just more heroic than others too.  

Valkyrie doesn't have a Hero Value but she has two other stats--Evaluation Level and Seal Value.  Evaluation is tied to the quality of heroes you transfer to Valhalla, but is also impacted when you open an Artifact chest at the end of dungeons.  Keep the item and you lose five points, or send it to Odin to gain one point.  You can largely keep every Artifact but not everything will have a use, but some of them are nice weapons and armor you'd definitely want to hold onto.  Consistently keeping a very low Evaluation Level unlocks the C ending where you're destroyed for being bad at your job.  The Seal Value is tied to Ending A, but it would require a guide or a lot of luck to enable due to the nature of how it increases and decreases. 

Not relevant to the review text, but I figured I'd show the map feature.  You can make the current/all layers translucent, and there's an item that can reveal every room that you haven't visited yet, but it won't tell you how to get there.  Nethov Swamp is a simple map, but The Tower of Lezard Valeth and the Tombs of Amenti are difficult to navigate even with this map.  

This game has three difficulties and three endings.  Amusingly, Easy is actually the hardest difficulty by virtue of it not having amazing gear, so while you get easy EXP and levels, you're operating at low power, basically.  Normal is middle-of-the-road all around.  Hard is interesting because every character who joins starts at level 1, but there are different dungeons only found here (but you don't get to play the Easy/Normal only ones in exchange).  New characters starting at level 1 sounds like a massive handicap, but you can put great gear on them to bolster their survivability, and there's a neat feature in the EXP Orb to help them catch up to the rest of your team.  When you complete puzzles and clear dungeons, you're given Event EXP that goes into the Orb, and you can then dole out the Orb's contents to your choice of characters.  Really helps given the nature of the game is to train up mortals to remove from your party until the very end of the game, so you can quickly get someone up to competence to replace whoever you sent. 

The Hard-only dungeons also have Flame Gems that unlock rooms in the post-game dungeon, so you could pretty much see everything in the game running through it twice.  Start a Normal save, sleep through the Chapters until Freya nukes you (Ending C), play normally and get Ending B, then start a Hard save and follow a guide to get Ending A and the Flame Gems too.  There are some dungeons available in any difficulty so there'll be some overlap, and you can get every character but one without Hard Mode, so it's your call if you want to one-and-done it or not. 

Like Star Ocean 2, there's a Voice Collection of your characters' battle cries, hit grunts, and death quotes, as well as some foes'.  This is at least shared across all saves so you can use different characters to slowly fill it out either in one go-through or through several.  The voices are all done by the late-90s Pokemon cast in the west, so you might hear someone familiar.  This still applies even in the PSP port though the CG cutscenes use different actors for everyone but Valkyrie.  The voice acting isn't bad but it's still in that "first generation we really had voice acting" kinda stage. 

I was a fan of Motoi Sakuraba's music in Star Ocean 2 and that still applies here.  The towns have somber music befitting their settings, and the dungeons have a pretty varied mix of music.  The standard battle and boss themes are high-tempo and some fights use unique music--some tracks from SO2 even show up in the postgame dungeon, even. 

Despite the fact he's actually close to my frontline, I still can't attack him with my melee troops because of how the game works with its 'row' feature.  

Even though you're a Norse goddess and there's other Nordic divinity in the game, there are no Vikings at all.  Midgard is largely Medieval Europe in setting, though there's an island nation that's based on Japan.  Might be kinda jarring for those expecting a more faithful to the myths kind of game.  And then there's the Egyptian pyramid in Hard where you fight a mummy at the end...

You would expect an RPG to have a focus on story, but there's not really much here (at least outside of Ending A).  The world's gonna end, so go find people to send to Asgard so we don't lose in the coming war with the Vanir.  RPGs tend to work on some ratio of story and gameplay, and VP has a much larger gameplay bias.  You're not given a reason to go to dungeons other than "well, evil is there so go kill everyone", but then there are no fetch quests or anything of the sort to deal with.  That may or may not be a drawback for some, but it's a change for those used to hours of exposition in their RPGs.  You just get it when you recruit people instead.  Valkyrie Profile Silmeria and Covenant of the Plume both work the story/gameplay ratio back towards the story side, at least. 

DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY ~220 days remain~

You see the scenes of characters dying, but they then don't show up in the story after joining your party (to account for them possibly being sent to Valhalla).  This then means that nobody really gets any character development since you see them a bit before they die for the most part.  All of their personality is contained in their recruitment scenes and their voicework during battle.  It's even worse because the first section of the game is fairly lengthy, involving Arngrim and Princess Jelanda, and you even control Arngrim for it!  You might expect the other character recruitments to go the same way but they're much shorter and automatic...but then you get two for one in this case and it further showcases the setting of Midgard and how bad things are.  There is no banter between people who knew each other in life, but I recently learned there are three special scenes when you transfer two certain people in specific chapters--who knew without a guide? 

Another thing that I had a problem with on this go-through is that you send your people to Asgard to fight in the war, but you're only given snippets of what happens.  You don't see any battles happen, just text overviews with a couple of conversations if that.  I know the point of the game is to have Valkyrie stay on Midgard and take the souls of the virtuous, but it felt like a missed opportunity to have the divine war, the entire reason you're collecting souls in the first place, be so out of focus.  Shame since some of the battles sure sounded cool. 

This is not one of those battles, but this is how the transcription goes for the most part.  

Though you're given a lot of time to go collect people and clear dungeons, I never really felt like I had to grind even on Hard mode.  Granted, there's a skill combination that snaps the game's difficulty apart.  The game is naturally harder without it, but levels don't really seem to have a dramatic impact on stats it felt like.  That could be why Easy mode is so difficult since you're lacking on the gear side of the equation and even maxing out skills doesn't make up for the slack. 

I haven't looked at the prices for the PS1 version for a long time but I don't think I want to know.  I got discs-only in okay condition for $50 years ago, so it might be worth pursuing the PSP version so you're not paying out the ass.  I mean it's a great game and all, but it rivaled Suikoden II for the price people wanted for it on eBay due to the low print run.  If you're gonna go for this version anyway, good luck.  I had a disk-read error during The Lost City of Dipan that thankfully was avoidable but you never know how bad the discs you'll get will be. 

So yeah, VP is a bit of a weird RPG where everyone on your team is dead and you juggle monsters to level up faster.  It's not the best choice for someone looking for a gripping story, but the battle system is pretty unique and it can be fun trying to time everything just right so you wreck your enemy.  Ending A definitely changes the story/gameplay ratio and delves into Valkyrie's past, so it's not like it's completely devoid of story.  And hey, since you'll probably need a guide already to get it, why not take the Hard route so you can fall back on the guide when you get stuck on one of the puzzles?

No winpose for you, Valkyrie. 

tag dump:   part 2!

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  [ navi voice ] hey‚  listen!  —  psa. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  support the local hero!  —  sp. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  those met along the way  /  faces you won’t forget.  —  p. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  your courage becomes the light parting these dark‚  dark clouds.  —  visual. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  destiny’s princess;  wisdom comes after a long road.  —  zelda. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  he who couldn’t handle the power of the gods.  —  ganondorf. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  your friend‚  your partner‚  one you won’t stop searching for.  —  navi the fairy. *

- ̗̀▵.  ╱  you must find  &  awaken them!  —  the sages. *